GeekNights Mondays: Science Technology Computing

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the current state and evolution of bicycle technology. Not all advancement in modernity is "good" advancement. In the news, delivery robots are a menace , the illegitimate and fully compromised Supreme Court's broken clock was correct on geofence warrants , climate change is killing us , and AI slop music should be demonetized . Related Links Forum Thread Bicycle...

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the challenge of company-managed devices. In the news, Britain has banned the kids from all social media , Nvidia is issuing $25 Billion in corporate bonds , and Verizon screwed a guy over with MDM . Related Links Forum Thread Company Devices Discord Chat Company Devices Bluesky Post Company Devices Things of the Day Rym -  Jinxxy Scott -  Ant...

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the evil cameras all around us. In the news, Nvidia introduces an underwhelming chip to make underwhelming PCs , the US gestapo are trying to buy advertiser datasets in a dangerous escalation of the police state , and Furality is this weekend ! Related Links Forum Thread The Evil Cameras All Around Us Discord Chat The Evil Cameras All Around Us Bluesky Post The E...

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the problem of spam in the current era. We last talked about spam in 2007 . (Note that spam is distinct from slop . In the news, Rym is back from Hong Kong , supply chain attacks remain a major threat, the kids are booing AI people at graduations , Musk lost his lawsuit against OpenAI, deepfake software is getting better, and Meta is laying off 10% of its entire...

Tonight on GeekNights, it's a Tech News Roundup! Madison Square Garden's insane surveillance machine , Github's ongoing collapse , Mac minis being hit by the ongoing RAM crisis , Ask.com is dead , a trivial-to-exploit Linux vulnerability , OpenAI won't stop talking about goblins , Apple fixes a notification vulnerability with Signal , iOS finally adds end-to-end encryption to RCS , AI slop podcast...

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the dangers of trying to mandate age verification on the Internet . In the news, Discord embarks on a disastrous age verification scheme , Anthropic is mad that other "AI" companies are using their product , and Goldman Sachs launches an AI-free index . Related Links Forum Thread Age Verification on the Internet Discord Chat Age Verification on the Internet Blu...

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss webcams . In the news, ICE murdered another person in broad daylight with video and witnesses, and Senate Democrats are willing to shut the government down over continued funding of ICE. Call your senators today . No funds for ICE: abolish, dismantle, and prosecute. In other news, Europe may ban Elon Musk's nonconsensual porn machine and France is planning to buil...

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss tech bubbles like the Dot-com bubble . Unrelatedly here's a video by Hank Green titled The State of the AI Industry is Freaking Me Out , and a video by Adam Conover titled Sora Proves the AI Bubble Is Going to Burst So Hard . In the news, nearly 7 million Americans marched in defense of democracy , Amazon AWS went down Sunday night reminding us how fragile the Int...

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss fitness tech like heart rate monitors and Strava and Dance Dance Revolution . In the news, Tik Tok has a dubious deal to keep operating in the US and the regime has plans for the algorithm . Also go see Perfect Blue remastered while you can. And read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay . Related Links Forum Thread Fitness Tech Discord Chat Fitness Tech B...

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about specific mice. Mice we've used over the years, since the days of balls. In the news, Google dodges consequences in the US but not in the EU , Google is sued yet again for their advertising monopoly, and Google is looking to flood the phone lines of tiny businesses. Related Links Forum Thread Specific Mice Discord Chat Specific Mice Bluesky Post Specific Mice Th...

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the modern marvel that is video chat. In the news, Perplexity is using undeclared crawlers to scrape content , Samsung has a crazy Micro LED TV , real life ad block is possible , and Trump is forming the American SS . The next GeekNights Book Club book will be The Running Man , by Richard Backman, who you may know better as Stephen King . Related Links Forum Th...

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss audio interfaces. Rym uses a PreSonus Studio 1810c to record GeekNights, and as his general purpose "sound card" in the studio. In the news, the CEO of GitHub steps down , you can consider Forgejo if that worries you, Reddit will block the Internet Archive , and Trump illegally forces the National Guard to deploy to the streets of Washington DC. Related Links Foru...

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider why there, broadly, aren't major consumer technology developments lately. In the news, Debian reduces support for i386 and Chrome OS is combining with Android . Also we'll be live at PAX West ! Related Links Forum Thread Why there's no big tech news Discord Chat Why there's no big tech news Bluesky Post Why there's no big tech news Things of the Da...

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the blinky lights and LEDs the kids are putting on everything including their computers. In the news, Windows 10 has extended security support , Broadcom is desperate to monetize VMware , and the EU forced Apple to comply , at least in the EU. Related Links Forum Thread Blinky Lights Discord Chat Blinky Lights Bluesky Post Blinky Lights Things of the Day Rym&nbsp...

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider toilets, washlets, and bidets. (Oh my). In the news, some context on the current Iran conflict , and Apple WWDC25 was mostly uneventful other than keeping old devices going for a while yet. Related Links Forum Thread Toilets and Bidets and Washlets Discord Chat Toilets and Bidets and Washlets Bluesky Post Toilets and Bidets and Washlets Things of the Day Rym&nbsp...

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss capacity management. It's changed a lot over the years. In the news, evil people are trying to accelerate climate change , and a silly camera is coming . Related Links Forum Thread Capacity Management Discord Chat Capacity Management Bluesky Post Capacity Management Things of the Day Rym -  Lemmings: How DMA Design Redefined Puzzle Games Scott -&nbs...

Tonight on GeekNights, we muse a bit on the problem of discoverability. Nearly all experience is mediated , and this includes deciding what web site to look at. In the news, Rym is back from Zenkaikon , Moon Zooz is continuing to rock it, the cosmological constant might not be , niri is a scrollable-tiling Wayland compositor , and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is a dangerous idiot . Related Li...

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about MIDI . The Musical Instrument Digital Interface, which is still in use today. In the news, Donkey Kong ‘94 is re-released on Switch, Youtube adds translated dubbing , and Ontario (rightly) taxes Americans using their energy. Related Links Forum Thread MIDI Discord Chat MIDI Bluesky Post MIDI Things of the Day Water your yard FOR FREE !!! Rym -  Sound...

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Windows 11 and the fools who refuse to upgrade. In the news, the iPhone 16e arrives , Gmail is (correctly) dropping SMS two-factor , Twitch is capping uploads for 0.5% of streamers , and Germany represents a profound realignment of global politics . Related Links Forum Thread Windows 11 Discord Chat Windows 11 Bluesky Post Windows 11 Things of the Day Rym -&...

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss electronic payments. We grew up in a world where credit cards were imprinted on carbon paper and cheques were on physical paper. In the news, the Baltics have disconnected from the Russian power grid , Football Manager 25 will be skipped , and there's one weird trick to stop Google's terrible AI summaries. Related Links Discord Chat Electronic Payments Forum Threa...

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider all the ways to sell software. From shareware to software-as-a-service to "just buying it" it's evolved quite a bit over the years. In the news, CES happened , Republicans killed net neutrality , and Pornhub is blocked in the entire US south . Also we will be live at MAGFest , which is imminently about to sell out. Related Links Forum Thread Ways to Sell Software...

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about Terminals . From the VT100 to any modern Terminal Emulator , they are still a part of the computing world and are worth knowing about. In the news, Jimmy Carter has died at 100 , Chinese state-sponsored hackers attacked the US Treasury, and a hero has defeated a fake Nintendo lawyer . Related Links Discord Chat Terminals Forum Thread Terminals Bluesky Post Term...

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about drones. In the news, the common clay of the New West think they're seeing nefarious drones everywhere and we have WordPress vs WP Engine . Related Links Forum Thread Drones Discord Chat Drones Bluesky Post Drones Things of the Day Rym -  1-900-490-FREAK Scott -  Elevator Music

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider blogging . In the news, Roblox is making a closed ecosystem Discord competitor , the US gave Intel a pile of money , and Intel's CEO hit the bricks . Rym has also consolidated all of his social media into rym.social and talks about how he set up cross-posting across microblog , Mastodon, and Bluesky. Related Links Forum Thread Blogs Discord Chat Blogs Bluesky Pos...

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about widgets. Mostly status and telemetry widgets that people like to put on their desktops or their phones. They have their uses, but are usually useless. In the news, Cloudplane is shutting down in December , Adobe's Project Turntable is stunning , and Tesla's robots were (obviously) fake . If you are able to vote in the United States, make a plan to vote . You ca...