In the aftermath of a recent violent event, there are calls to apply greater censorship to commentary on all social-media platforms. Those living in some Asian nations and elsewhere will already be used to the concept of censorship. That does not mean that others should follow this trend but instead should actively resist, as the ability to freely debate and exchange ideas was the original reason the internet was brought into being. The biggest problem with censorship is perspective. Consider two nation states with completely different cultures and perspectives. Which one and who gets to decide what is a valid opinion when the two are so different? This is the danger that now faces a number of Western nations, and apart from the US, where rights are enshrined in the Constitution, there is little protection. If you live in such a nation, let others know that freedom of speech and debate is a much better option than the alternatives.
A warning for readers using Microsoft Word. If you have a large document, make backup copies regularly. I recently triggered a refresh that resulted in destroying the contents of the document. If Microsoft had a recovery tool that worked, this would not be an issue, but alas they don't.
The next version of Android is currently called Q. There is better connectivity, more privacy controls, a new desktop mode, support for foldables and a number of other interesting features in the first beta. What will finally be delivered later this year remains to be seen, but Android continues to grow as an operating system. That said, I'm still getting used to the recent upgrade to version 9.
In the "it's never too old to learn new stuff" category I've been taking some courses on different block chain technologies. One little titbit I found was that there is a maximum number of bitcoins, a limit of 21 million, with the last bitcoin currently estimated to be mined in 2140. I'm guessing that estimate does not take into account advances in processing technologies between now and then, so that prediction is subject to change. You are probably still fine for the next 100 years or so.
The UK signals intelligence agency GCHQ has released emulators for well-known World War II-era cipher machines. They are run on the CyberChef platform that you can check out here: gchq.github.io/CyberChef. There are emulators for Enigma, Typex and Bombe if you are into that kind of thing.
There has been more noise about 5G in recent weeks, not the least of it about the banning of Huawei 5G technology by certain countries. From the marketing side, the key sales point is speed. From the techie side, it is terms like beamwaving and mmWave technologies. Users, however, are more interested in how well it supports their apps. Most people are used to slower speeds and hardly notice it. They do notice when an app or a service no longer runs as expected. Then there is the standard not-in-my-backyard, or Nimby, situation whereby people want the service but not the antenna systems required to run it being located in their line of sight. Next there is the issue of meeting all those promises made by the marketing people on all the wonderful things 5G will be able to do and deliver. Finally, there are the inevitable complaints about all that electromagnetic radiation flying around unseen and causing cancer. I don't envy trying to implement everything necessary for the 5G upgrade, but where it has been done, downloads are fast. There is a Dilbert series of cartoons in here somewhere.
Facebook has had a recent loss after the powers that be have stopped the social media giant from bypassing anti-discrimination laws and blocking people of different groups from seeing ads. It turned out that some advertisers stopped those it deemed not good enough from receiving ads for housing, jobs and credit. Anybody surprised that Facebook and others were doing this hasn't been paying attention. The decision has brought a number of lawsuits to a close. I suspect there are similar suits in the works against other large providers.
Some readers will remember the Atari gaming system. Others will have seen the Indiegogo campaign for the Atari VCS. If you did, it looks like they won't be meeting the July arrival date, as it is still in the hardware-design stage. Part of the problem is a change in the target CPU and graphics chips -- better ones, that is. Arrival could be delayed until the end of the year, but should support 4K and Ethernet. I've had similar campaigns deliver late, so this is nothing new. What was new to me recently was Indiegogo cancelling a campaign to raise funds for a more open alternative to one of the now-politically biased social-media platforms. Turns out even Indiegogo can turn political.
James Hein is an IT professional of over 30 years' standing. You can contact him at jclhein@gmail.com.
