Thanks Alexa, Go Sue my Car.

Teaser medium

We learn a bit about Brian, Drobo 5n is awesome, mystery Go player is an AI, LG Ransomeware, PDFs, a suit against Apple for a patent they didn’t implement, ransomware now illegal, self driving cars, and organ shortages. And more news.

Brian at Helm's Deep

Thank you for hand-me-downs and cast-a-ways

It’s a new year. Are you backing up your computer? Brian is thankful for his geek friends that can hand him down old Drobo disk arrays that save his data.

Brian also talks about how he kept his old Fujitsu SnapScan running by being a computer packrat.

Drobo 5N 6TB - Amazon

Network Attached Storage – 5 bay array – 6TB storage included with 3 × 2TB hard drives, Gigabit Ethernet port (DRDS4A21-6TB)

Lyle’s unboxing video:

Adding skills to Google Home

Google home can’t learn skills like Alex, but it does have one special ability

That mystery Go player crushing the world’s best online? It was AlphaGo again

After 50 straight wins, DeepMind’s AlphaGo earned a draw—because its connection timed out.

Man Has To Beg LG To Uncripple His 'Smart' TV After Ransomware Attack

That particular ransomware posts an image to the screen of the television pretending to originate with the FBI, and claiming that users must pay a $500 penalty to return full functionality to the television.

California Law Makes Ransomware Use Illegal

On Jan. 1 a new law went into effect in California that outlaws the use of ransomware.

Family Sues Apple for Not Making Thing It Patented

A lawsuit filed against Apple this week argues that, by not actually making a product that it patented, the company is partly responsible for an automobile accident.

PDF’s and Preview on the Mac

It seems Sierra’s PDF-related problems go deeper, and you should exercise caution when editing PDFs with Preview.

Universal 3D - Wikipedia

Universal 3D (U3D) is a compressed file format standard for 3D computer graphics data.

The format was defined by a special consortium called 3D Industry Forum that brought together a diverse group of companies and organizations, including Intel, Boeing, HP, Adobe Systems, Bentley Systems, Right Hemisphere and others whose main focus had been the promotional development of 3D graphics for use in various industries, specifically at this time manufacturing as well as construction and industrial plant design. The format was later standardized by Ecma International in August 2005 as ECMA-363.

Self-driving cars will exacerbate organ shortages.

As technology takes the wheel, road deaths due to driver error will begin to diminish. It’s a transformative advancement, but one that comes with consequences in an unexpected place: organ donation.

Organ Donor Registry | organdonor.gov

Signing up on your state registry means that someday you could save lives as a donor—by leaving behind the gift of life. When you register, most states let you choose what organs and tissues you want to donate, and you can update your status at any time.


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