Gray’s Music: Over the Telegraph

Inventor of the telephone Elisha Gray also pioneered the world’s first purpose-built electric musical instrument.

By: Matthew Wills

daily.jstor.org/grays-music-ov…

#science #technology

I’m So Tired

Recently I was shopping for a water gun for my son’s birthday, and to my surprise, it was hard to find a simple, sturdy one that didn’t have some kind of battery-powered feature. Not only is that one more thing to break, but I really don’t want to add yet another device to the list of things in our house that require charging. It got me thinking: nearly every purchase these days feels like a negotiation between joy and technology.

That’s not to say they’re always at odds. But finding the sweet spot is getting harder.

There was a time when the march of “smarter” items was a net positive. It made things smoother, smarter, simpler and generally more joyful or interesting to use. These days, that optimism is harder to summon. I know I sound like the aging guy yelling at clouds, but I don’t think it’s just nostalgia. The balance really does seem to have shifted over the past decade, and the trend line isn’t encouraging.

Sure, there’s still plenty to like. I can check the weather, unlock my front door, and queue up music from the same screen. But the magic wears off fast. What starts as convenience often ends in clutter. Every small problem now has an app, gadget, or subscription that fixes one issue and quietly creates three new ones.

Streaming music feels less intimate than owning a few beloved albums. Delivery apps bring cold fries, surge pricing, and mystery fees. Social media promised connection but mostly delivers outrage. Smart homes? Great until the WiFi blinks and nothing works or your fridge needs a firmware update. Even the web is a mess of pop-ups, autoplay videos, cookie banners, newsletter traps, and paywalls. Every click has a privacy cost as well.

You can never possibly watch all of the amazing entertainment that on YouTube and every streaming service out there. And yet, it’s more frustrating than ever to navigate subscription costs while fighting the algorithm that recommends more and more ragebait on YouTube. Toys for toddlers need firmware updates. Cars have become rolling iPads. Your heated seats might already be installed, but unless you pay a monthly fee, they stay cold — taunting you with unearned luxury. Most products require an account. They harvest data. They nag for upgrades. When they break, you’re not allowed to fix them. The tools don’t serve us — they serve their makers. And it’s exhausting.

Even Apple, a company I’ve long admired, feels less like a craftsman and more like a casino. Their stuff still (mostly) works great, but it no longer feels entirely yours. Most of the apps I use are rented. Let a subscription lapse and the functionality vanishes. Not all subscriptions are bad, but when everything is a subscription, it dulls the entire experience. Even products that don’t have a subscription (yet) associated with them loom over us. We’re just waiting for the shoe to drop.

I don’t know what to do about this, really. I have tried to be more intentional about my purchases in general, limiting my exposure to subscriptions, overly complicated features, and “smart” tech in general. I fully appreciate that this makes me sound like the old man I’m increasingly turning into. But my optimism around any consumer purchase has been replaced by cynicism and even a bit of dread. It makes me sad but hopeful that a turning point looms as more folks tire of the state of “smart” everything and looks for something a bit simpler.

#apps #smartHome #software #streaming #technology

Uncover the untold story of Apple VoiceOver! Join us as we reveal fascinating insights and genius ideas behind this groundbreaking technology. Despite valid criticisms, we acknowledge Apple's transformative impact on the industry. Discover the real story today! youtube.com/watch?v=5tLSycbey6…

#AppleVoiceOver #Accessibility #TechHistory #Innovation #BehindTheScenes #TechInterview #Apple #Technology #Inspiration #DesignThinking

Long passwords are important.

Source: reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/c…

#tech #technology #encryption #password #passwords #Security #cybersecurity #computing #computers #computer

4Chan hacked; Taken down; Emails and IPs leaked

Apparently they were not only running an old, unsecure version of PHP their entire stack was outdated.

the-sun.com/tech/14029069/4cha…

#news #tech #technology #security #privacy #4chan #hack #breach #databreach

4Chan down UPDATES: Thousands of users report issues accessing controversial website...

CONTROVERSIAL website 4Chan has gone down for thousands with users unable to access the message board. More than 1,000 users of the site have logged complaints on the Downdetector website, which me…

^{Allan Glen (The US Sun)}

Released last Friday, a digital reconstruction of the Titanic chronicles a never-before-seen view of the wreck that is “accurate to the rivet,” a statement says.

thisiscolossal.com/2025/04/tit…

#titanic #history #photography #science #ocean #technology

Anyone who is blind, or who has worked with the blind, knows how expensive our technology can be. This couldn't be more true with relation to braille displays. Even the cheapest costs at least $799, and it's already behind the newest in that line, at $899. This is the Orbit Reader 20 and 20+. Now, a student in India wants to change that by creating a display that is truly affordable (under $50)! Please pass this on, so that we can give him greater recognition within the blind community. Even if it costs a bit more than he initially suspected it would, there is no excuse for the $2,000 to $5,000 average price of such technology when cheaper alternatives can be designed! He is determined to bring this to market, so let's help him do it and show our appreciation for his hard work on this life-changing project!

forbes.com/sites/kevinanderton…

#access #ACB #accessibility #affordability #blind #braille #BrailleDisplays #children #education #employment #independence #India #learning #NFB #ocr #parent #reading #science #school #students #teachers #technology #work #writing

An Algorithm Deemed This Nearly Blind 70-Year-Old Prisoner a “Moderate Risk.” Now He’s No Longer Eligible for Parole.
—

A Louisiana law cedes much of the power of the parole board to an algorithm that bars thousands of prisoners from a shot at early release. Civil rights attorneys say it could disproportionately harm Black people — and may even be unconstitutional.
propublica.org/article/tiger-a…

#News #Louisiana #Prison #CriminalJustice #CivilRights #Technology #Law

TIGER, the Algorithm Banning Louisiana Prisoners from Parole

^ProPublica

South Africa gets online system for reporting data breaches

“South Africa’s Information Regulator has launched an online platform for public and private entities to report security compromises. It has instructed all organisations to report any compromises through the system. The system is accessible through ...continues

See gadgeteer.co.za/south-africa-g…

#databreaches #security #southafrica #technology

South Africa gets online system for reporting data breaches

^{Danie (GadgeteerZA)}

Hi folks, I'm trying to jumpstart federation on my little gotosocial instance and get a more full feed of things to read and interact with.

I could use your help. If you could boost this, I would appreciate it. If you see this and favorite it, I will follow you if your interests seem to align with mine.

I'm not asking for follows... rather I'm asking for you to help me shout out into the ether that I'M looking for people to follow. My main interests are going to be hashtagged below.

By the way, the way hashtags work here is that currently, if I search, I only see what my server is already knows about... which would mean just the folks I follow, since I'm a single-user instance. Not very helpful 😂

I will also be using one of my apps that can load the main feed from other servers, to see if I see something interesting. If you see a follow from me and come here to check me out... I mean you no harm and I come in peace.

Thanks all!

#linux #fedora #foss #floss #oss #fediverse #raspberrypi #technology #gnome #polymerclay #fantasy #scifi #adventuremotorcycles

If Commodore hadn't gone bankrupt in 1994, we might have had an AmigaPhone in our pockets. 🥲

#RetroGaming #RetroComputing #RetroGames #VintageComputing #retro #commodore #amiga #1980s #1990s #tech #technology #vintage #old #nostalgia #graphics #mobile #design #artwork #digital #DigitalArt #art #artist #arte #arts #GraphicDesign #image #MastoArt #FediArt #CreativeToots #ArtistsOnMastodon

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang Leaves Everyone SPEECHLESS

youtube.com/watch?v=1Oqt4zzxjT…

#technology #Future #Computing #NVDA

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang Leaves Everyone SPEECHLESS (GTC Supercut)

Highlights from the latest #nvidia keynote at GTC 2025. Topics include @NVIDIA's insane Blackwell GPUs, reveals of the Blackwell Ultra, Vera Rubin, Rubin Ult...

^YouTube

Oh wow. Skype is shutting down after 23 years, 14 years after Microsoft bought it.

"It’s not clear how many people are impacted. The most recent numbers that Microsoft had shared were in 2023, when it said it had more than 36 million users — a long way from Skype’s peak of 300 million users."

techcrunch.com/2025/02/28/micr…

#news #technology #TechNews #skype #microsoft

Microsoft hangs up on Skype: service to shut down May 5, 2025 | TechCrunch

Microsoft is retiring Skype from active duty 14 years after acquiring it, with users given nine weeks to decide their next move.

^{Paul Sawers (TechCrunch)}

Top Tech Tidbits for Thursday, February 27, 2025 - Volume 1004 ♿️
toptechtidbits.com/tidbits2025…

The Week's News in Access Technology
A Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd. Publication
#news #technology #accessibility #a11y #disability #blind #deaf #deafblind #toptechtidbits

Top Tech Tidbits. The world's #1 online resource for current news and trends in access technology.

Subscribers: 36,455 🔢️ subscribers were sent this issue via email.

First, they shut down the Basic HTML site, forcing many of us to switch to clients such as Thunderbird. Now, they're using qr codes which are not only inaccessible to the blind but also to those who don't use smartphones! This is ridiculous! Yes, they do still have the option to click whether it's you trying to sign in or not (which still requires a smartphone and a carrier, which they claim to be concerned about), but how long before they remove that, too?

pcmag.com/news/google-is-repla…

#accessibility #Android #authentication #blind #Google #GMail #IOS #Narrator #NVDA #sms #Talkback #technology #Voiceover #Windows

John Oliver (the Comedian/ News guy) created a guide for how to reduce how much money Facebook/ Meta make from you. Check it out here:

johnoliverwantsyourraterotica.…

#tech #technology #privacy #news

As Facebook Abandons Fact-Checking, It’s Also Offering Bonuses for Viral Content
—

Meta decided to stop working with U.S. fact-checkers at the same time as it’s revamping a program to pay bonuses to creators with high engagement numbers, potentially pouring accelerant on the kind of false posts the company once policed.
propublica.org/article/faceboo…

#News #Facebook #Meta #Zuckerberg #Tech #Technology

Facebook Boosts Viral Content as It Drops Fact-Checking

^ProPublica

🗺️ As many people are angry with #Google & asking for alternatives to #GoogleMaps, here are some Free & #OpenSource options:

📱 App
- osmand.net/
- organicmaps.app
🌐 Web
- mapcarta.com
- openstreetmap.org

Not Open Source:
🌐&📱
en.mapy.cz
wego.here.com
mapquest.com
🌐
lokjo.com
📱
komoot.com
magicearth.com

#FCKGoogle #Alternative #Apps #App #Web #Software #News #Tech #Maps #Map #Technology #it

Mapy.cz

Nejpoužívanější mapový portál v ČR s celou řadou tématických map - základní, turistickou, cyklistickou, dopravní a plno dalších. Nabízí možnost reálného leteckého, panoramatického nebo 3D pohledu.

^Mapy.cz

I've been seeing hate on NASA lately, being bought into by leftists even, and I just want to point out something very important:

Musk has hated NASA for a *long* time. There is a reason it is being attacked, and a reason public opinion is being swayed against NASA: It *keeps SpaceX in line* more than anything else.

NASA is being seen as "competition" to SpaceX, as the obstacle in his way. It has been like this for quite some time, and now, with DOGE and other things, he can do something about it.

I would like to point out a few things:

1. SPACEX IS NOT CHEAPER
They boast they can "do what NASA does for 10% the cost!" Sure, it's easy when you did none of the R&D.
SpaceX saved on:
Landing tech: DC-X project in 1991-1996
Tank structure: Shuttle SLWT tank, 1998-2011
Merlin Engines: direct descendant of the Fastrac Engine, 1997-2001.

Those three things alone saved SpaceX over 90% of the R&D costs. It's easy to "appear" cheap when you're using off the shelf tech someone else (NASA!) developed.

2. NASA IS GREAT FOR THE ECONOMY!
For every $1 spent on NASA, $8 is put into economy. Its stupid to not invest in that kind of ROI! 800%! At times, its ROI Has been 1600%!

Simply put, if you defund NASA, the economy would shrink so much you would actually have to RAISE taxes to make up for the lost revenue, and without its existence we would be 30 years behind in technology and the quality of life for everyone would be much lower. Science and research is GOOD for society, it's the fuel for all progress.

3. WHAT HAS NASA DONE FOR ME?! (Surely you just mean NASA is good for tech & science folk....)

Nope! Good for all!
Ever have an MRI or CAT Scan? They wouldn't exist without the Apollo program! The software that made them possible was originally written to analyze lunar photography.

Low power digital x-Rays was planetary body research.

Heart pumps are modeled after space shuttle turbopumps.

The software that designed your car was originally written to design spacecraft!

Who do you think pioneered all the early research into alternative power like solar panels, hydrogen fuel cells, and durable batteries? NASA!

NASA developed tech and satellites is also what improves agricultural yields while reducing the needs for water, fertilizer, and pesticides.

Do you really think Musk gives two shits? No. He wants the money, he wants to let SpaceX run amok without any oversight for safety, without any "competition".

All fights are important, but do realise that this one is a huge thorn in his side, and one that is keeping a huge problem from ballooning and swallowing us all whole.

Do not be fooled or swayed by lies, of tactics meant to divide, of things being done to make you be angry at NASA. If he can make you hate NASA, he won.

Expect far more space junk to fall, the night sky to be ruined by satellites, and the loss of all things good that proper research and design does for humanity and gives back to the world. Not to mention: enjoy seeing the horrible things he can accomplish fully unchecked.

ETA: Now that you know, call / fax / email your senators and reps, and whatever else too! Boosting gets people thinking, but thinking is not action!

#SpaceX #nasa #space #earth #science #technology

Really? You had no problems with having debconf hosted in the Zionist state. You even refer to that illegal entity by the name "Israel". Does the Debian project have the same values as the Zionist state?
I understand a free software project not wanting to be on a proprietary platform, but this is ridiculous.

#debian #freesoftware #freedom #zionism #Zionist #palestine #free_palestine #foss #opensource #tech #technology #politics

Signal is a secure messenger, but there are interesting alternatives, such as @matrix , @session , @delta , @simplex or XMPP …

➡️ matrix.org

➡️ getsession.org

➡️ delta.chat

➡️ simplex.chat

➡️ xmpp.org

If you’d like to learn more about these options, have a look at the responses to this toot.

#matrix #session #signal #XMPP #messenger #decentralized #tech #technology #OpenSource #FOSS #WhatsApp #security #InfoSec #data #safety

Session | Send Messages, Not Metadata. | Private Messenger

Session is a private messenger that aims to remove any chance of metadata collection by routing all messages through an onion routing network.

^Session

'Dad Baffled When 6-Year-Old Daughter Turns Off AI Function on High Tech Doll and Plays With It Like Regular Toy'

futurism.com/dad-daughter-ai-t…

Psychiatrist: '"I think because it takes away control from the child," she wrote. "Play is how children work through emotions, impulses and conflicts [as] well as try out new behaviors. I would think [it] would be super irritating to have the toy shape and control your play — like a totally dominating playmate!"'

#AI #technology

Dad Baffled When 6-Year-Old Daughter Turns Off AI Function on High Tech Doll and Plays With It Like Regular Toy

A dad and "AI evangelist" couldn't understand why his daughter didn't like the AI function of a toy he bought for her.

^{Frank Landymore (Futurism)}

On this day in 1983, the ARPANET network officially switched to using the TCP/IP protocol, effectively creating the Internet.

"January 1, 1983 is considered the official birthday of the Internet. Prior to this, the various computer networks did not have a standard way to communicate with each other."

usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit07/…

#internet #technology #history #OnThisDay #OTD

Exciting news for #KMP devs! JetBrains has officially launched this new site named "Klibs.io" for finding KMP libraries. It has 1400+ libs already, including our own "KHealth" too 😉

Check it out: klibs.io/?query=khealth

#Kotlin #Multiplatform #JetBrains #KHealth #Technology #Software #Health

Calling all #WordPress users, especially those passionate about #Accessibility! I need advice: My current contact form on this page of my #Website (laniecarmelo.tech/connect-with…) is very basic. I'm using WPForms Lite, but improving it would require manually adding fields since advanced features are locked behind their premium plan.

I’ve tried the Fluent Forms plugin, but I didn’t find it accessible. Can anyone recommend a free, #Accessible contact form plugin that allows for creating more robust forms? Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

#Blogging #Tech #Technology #WebDevelopment #InclusiveDesign #WebAccessibility

The first text message was sent on this day in 1992 by then a 22-year-old engineer Neil Papworth to wish "Merry Christmas" to his colleague.

"It didn't feel momentous at all. For me it was just getting my job done on the day and ensuring that our software that we'd been developing for a good year was working OK."

history.com/this-day-in-histor…

#OTD #OnThisDay #technology #history #phone #TextMessage #MerryChristmas

Long term technologies, waiting in the background

Once in a while, there is a disaster. Phone lines go out, the Internet breaks down, and mobiles don't work⁰. Then the Ham Radio Operators save the day.

Amateur radio is one of those things I'm only vaguely aware of. It chugs along in the background unnoticed. It doesn't follow the fashion of today's industry, nor does it chase growth at all costs. It is an open standard, run by a decentralised group of people rather than a corporation, and it favours relentless practicality rather than KPIs.

I love technologies like this.

The recent stratospheric rise in popularity of the QR Code is a example of where these long-term technologies work well.

I've been banging on about QR codes for over a decade - while marketers sneered and tech companies tried to usurp, QR codes kept chugging away in the background. When the pandemic hit, and people needed a way to scan in to venues or present a vaccine certificate, QR codes were ready. They were an open standard, completely decentralised, relentlessly practical, and battle tested. They were rolled out in a variety of situations.

Every contender who has come at them with a proprietary barcode has failed. And because people have had a chance to get used to QR codes, they're not seen as weird any more.

They are boring magic. Decentralised and free.

The Fediverse is similar. It powers Mastodon and other social networks. At the moment, proprietary networks like Twitter are dying and new networks like BlueSky are in their ascendency. But BSky will eventually get bought out by cryptoloons, or will shit the bed in some other spectacular fashion.

The Fediverse will have been rumbling on the the background. Slowly gathering momentum. Waiting for an implosion or emergency.

There are various other technologies like this. Built in to the fabric of online society, quietly ploughing their own furrow, increasing resilience, despite being unfashionable.

What technologies do you think are waiting to be rediscovered in times of change?

1. Sounds like fun! ↩︎

#technology

The End of MS Tag

Three years ago, I wrote about the deficiencies in Microsoft's Tag system. It was painfully obvious even then that MS had no desire to back the "standard" they'd tried to create.

^{Terence Eden’s Blog}

Mária Telkes died #OTD in 1980. She was a Hungarian-American biophysicist, engineer, & inventor who worked on solar energy technologies.

During World War II, she developed a solar water distillation device, deployed at the end of the war, which saved the lives of downed airmen and torpedoed sailors. In the 1940s she and architect Eleanor Raymond created one of the first solar-heated houses, Dover Sun House, by storing energy each day.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A1r…

#science #technology #WomenInSTEM

Super interesting fellowship for people who have been displaced and forced to migrate. The Migration + Tech Monitor is looking for fellows with lived experience to work on pressing issues in these topics. Stipend is U$30 000 for 12 months

migrationtechmonitor.com/about…

#Fellowships #Migration #Migrant #Technology