November 2022

Microsoft Testing Ads on Windows 11 Sign-out Menu

As if the Windows Search taskbar tip flyouts were not bad enough, Microsoft is reportedly testing advertising their own products/service via the Windows 11 Sign-out menu. Again this appears to be targeted to select groups of people who have the Windows Insiders Builds for Windows 11 installed. Microsoft sign-out ads (Albacore) I have on occasion while visiting Bing while using Chrome have gotten ‘an ad’ from Microsoft to use Microsoft Edge. To be honest this wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be when I saw the article come across my feed. There ‘ads’ are very subtle and blend…

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Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…

Which is fine with Elon Musk if you are doing so as parody and you fully disclose on your Twitter account is parody and not affiliated with Musk. However, impersonating Elon Musk with your ‘verified’ twitter account will not be tolerated. Some American celebrities have had their Twitter accounts suspended or banned over the weekend for changing their name and image to impersonate Elon Musk. Before acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk said he was against lifetime suspensions, promising to reinstate banned users like Donald Trump. Now, Musk wrote that Twitter will permanently suspend account impersonators if they are not clearly labeled as parody….

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Twitter To Delay Rollout of Verification Badges

While the new Twitter Blue is looking to roll-out as planed on Monday, November 7th, Verification Badges will not. At least not until after this coming Tuesday’s US Mid-term elections. The delay could possibly be longer if there ends up being a need for any special run-offs. The reported move to delay the rollout of verification badges comes just days before the U.S. midterm elections, with polls closing on November 8. The New York Times reports that the move was aimed at limiting the potential fallout of verified users impersonating political or other government figures, such as President Biden, or news outlets…

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Twitter: Well This Is Awkward…

Rumor has it Chief Twit bit off a bit more then he could chew with the massive lay-offs on Friday. Seems, they have let some employees go that they hadn’t intended to or didn’t realized they needed to fulfil Musk’s grand plans to breathe new life into the 16-year old platform. Mere days after cutting its workforce in half, Twitter is asking some employees to return, according to Bloomberg. Citing two sources within the company, the outlet reports management at Twitter has come to the realization it either let some workers off by accident or without realizing their experience was essential to building…

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Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Blames Self for Lay-offs

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey who was in support of Elon Musk’s taking over Twitter blames himself for what has happened this past Friday. Jack Dorsey says he can “understand” if current and former Twitter employees blame him for the state of the company under Elon Musk. The co-founder and former CEO of Twitter took to the platform on Saturday to say he was to blame for the situation. “Folks at Twitter past and present are strong and resilient. They will always find a way no matter how difficult the moment,” Dorsey said on Saturday. “I realize many are angry with me. I own…

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Weekly Round-Up: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Today is Sunday, November 6th: time for the weekly roundup of the good, the bad and the ugly tech news of the week! Plus for those of you who observe Daylight saving time (something we don’t do here in Arizona) time to turn your clocks back an hour if you have forgotten to do so. The Good It is always a good thing when people can find new purposes for old technology. Nothing worse then having old computers end up in a landfill. It could be repurposing an old PC to run as a media center for a non-Smart TV…

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New Twitter Blue is Coming

It appears Chief Twit’s demands for the new Twitter Blue to be launched on Monday, November 7th are happening (sort of) . There has been some pre-launch testing happening on iOS. This testing has confirmed the new $7.99 USD price for Twitter Blue with the blue verification badge (or more like paid status symbol), however some of the other mentioned features are still ‘coming soon’. According to an in-app iOS notification viewed by TechCrunch, the upgraded Twitter Blue, starting at $7.99 per month, will add the blue verification checkmark previously reserved for accounts that applied through Twitter’s free verification process. Other…

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Swedish Engineer Creates The Commodordion

You have to appreciate someone who can find new uses for old technology instead of sending it to a landfill.  In this case we have a Swedish software engineer named Linus Åkesson who has created a fully functioning electronic accordion. The Commodordion was built using with two Commodore 64 Computers, Floppy Disks, and tape (plus some other electronic components). Sure sounds like something MacGyver would come up with. Åkesson—a versatile musician himself—can actually play the Commodordion in real time like a real accordion. He plays a melody with his right hand on one C64 keyboard and controls the chord of…

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5G network roll-out in Africa Continues but Pricey Devices Impede Adoption

In the US the major wireless carries started slowly rolling out 5G networks to parts of select cities in 2019. By the December 2021, they expected to fully activate their 5G networks, but delays ensued due to concerns about possible interface with certain instruments on commercial aircraft. With all the advertising the big three (AT&T, T-Mobile & Verizon) US wireless carriers have been pushing out about 5G it is hard to realized there are still other parts of the world that are not using 5G as much. The adoption of the fifth generation (5G) mobile network in regions like North…

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Advertisers are Fleeing Twitter

Hear that Giant Sucking Sound Elon? No, it is not all our jobs going south of the border to Mexico as 1992 presidential candidate Ross Perot claimed would happen with the passing of NAFTA. No, that is the sound of all your advertisers pulling out their money from Twitter. The reasons are many, but mainly have to do with content moderation and issues raised by civil right groups calling for boycotts. Those advertisers that brought in a big chunk of Twitter’s revenue (more than the ‘new and improved’ Twitter Blue) will ever make which Chief Twit desperately needs to help…

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