Brian Gongol
June 19, 2015
Microsoft's upcoming Edge browser should be much improved
Standards have won at last
China had a year of unfettered access to OPM database
Everyone seems to have an excuse -- antiquated computers, slow procurement policies, and the like. The time for decisive action is long overdue.
EU plans to hold websites responsible for what users post
FCC says carriers can block robocalls
Just wait -- this only means more awful calls from spoofed numbers
FCC wants to fine AT&T $100 million for lack of transparency on "unlimited" data plans
The carrier says it has to throttle back customers who are responsible for the heaviest use; the FCC says the problem is that can't really be called "unlimited"
June 18, 2015
The OPM data breach was a full-blown catastrophy
What makes a place attractive to data centers
Strip Andrew Jackson from the $20 and leave Alexander Hamilton prominent on the $10
The plan to put a female figure on the $10 bill (in addition to Hamilton) would be much better-executed by stripping Jackson from the $20. The $20 is a more widely-used bill, so it would put the female figure in wider circulation, and Jackson is a poor representative of the virtues we espouse today (among other things, he was a slave owner and authorized the Indian Removal Act of 1830). Jackson deserves no exalted place in history or on our currency.
The nation is fortunate to have Paul Ryan in Congress
Ello gets an iOS app
June 17, 2015
Samsung Galaxy phones can be hijacked
600 million phones are at risk
Clean up after yourselves
Protest and free speech are one thing; leaving behind a mess for other people to clean up is quite another
North Korea says it's having the worst drought in a century
A nation that lives without creating surplus won't do well in times of shortage
California wants Uber drivers to count as employees, not contractors
That's a direct hit to the company's central business model
Former Nokia CEO is leaving Microsoft
He led the sale of the company to Microsoft, and about a year later, he's out
June 16, 2015
Why we should assume Russia and China both have the Snowden documents
It might not even require that they have the documents Snowden himself captured -- they may very well have been inside the systems already
More nuclear saber-rattling
This nonsense should have ended with the Cold War
Automation to enable fresh groceries in underserved neighborhoods
Automation reduces the cost of delivery and might ultimately make fresh groceries economical (and profitable) to sell in low-income neighborhoods. A robogrocery looks like a very smart application of technology to solve a human problem.
OPEC has no apparent plans to cut back on oil production
When a cartel can't enforce enough production discipline to create an effective price control, nobody should be surprised when everyone instead goes all-out to produce like mad
Reagan was packing heat
He carried a gun in a briefcase as President. Maybe he knew they were going to make "Air Force One" and was practicing for his own role.
June 15, 2015
UI Hospitals takes small steps toward protecting patients
Too many have taken their own lives simply by jumping off the parking ramps. A sad illustration of our woefully inadequate care for mental wellness.
Cold War v2.0
Heavy weapons are headed to Europe, and who could blame us for sending them?
United leaves passengers in Canadian barracks when plane breaks down
A real disaster for customer serice; a real credit to Canadian hospitality
Chicago hockey legend won't enjoy the Blackhawks victory
Whether his dementia is the result of game-related traumatic brain injury or not, it's sad to see people like Stan Mikita lose the capacity to use their minds as in their youth. More research is decidedly needed.
SpaceX opens competition to college students to design Hyperloop pods
They're building a test track and eventually want to see the technology commercialized for 700 mph transportation in a tube