Mike Elgan - Google+ Public Posts

In this week's Mike's List

2018-04-25T15:13:26Z

In this week's Mike's List

Beer robots, gaming hotels, smart spatulas, cell phone stun guns, smart desks, dumb games, sound cameras, giant LEGO cars, wacky web sites and more!

Subscribe free for the current issue! https://elgan.com/mikeslist

#mikeslist

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This startup lets you go off the grid for the weekend

2018-04-24T15:57:50Z

This startup lets you go off the grid for the weekend

Slow Cabins is a startup that rents a cabin in a secret location that uses solar power and has no internet connectivity.

http://gastronomad.net/home/2018/4/24/how-to-really-get-away-from-it-all

#slowcabins

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Why Apple needs to give iMacs touchscreens

2018-04-24T02:49:25Z

Why Apple needs to give iMacs touchscreens

Because the next generation will expect it.

Case in point: My cute baby granddaughter Princess Squishyface got impatient with the pace of the Google Photos slideshow on her dad's iMac, so she did the natural thing — she tried to swipe to the next photo. She's 17 months old.

#touchscreens

Why I bought this beast of a thermos

2018-04-23T22:25:49Z

Why I bought this beast of a thermos

I just bought a thermos called the Stanley Classic One Hand Vacuum Mug.

The main reason is that it's the only thermos I'm aware of that both fits in a standard car cup holder, and also has a mouth wide enough to accommodate my Aeropress coffee maker. The Aeropress fits well enough in the top, which means I can make coffee directly into the thermos.

These sound like insignificant features, but for me, they're very important. Here's why:

http://gastronomad.net/home/2018/4/23/why-i-bought-a-stanley-thermos

#thermos #coffee

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What is this thing?

2018-04-23T18:45:53Z

What is this thing?

I saw this after exiting the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco while driving through the Presidio. What is it? (Note: It's about 20 feet high.)

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23andMe ancestry information gets better long after you spit into the plastic tube

2018-04-23T17:30:16Z

23andMe ancestry information gets better long after you spit into the plastic tube

Wow. 23andMe's ancestry kit is on sale for $69 on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2qSRqq8

I first took the test several years ago. They send you a plastic tube with instructions and a pre-addressed and stamped package. You spit into the tube and mail it in. They send you email with a link to the results on their web site.

The most fascinating aspect of this by far is that as they get more data and better computational methods, they refine the information about your ancestry.

When I first took it, they told me I was probably 99.9 % Northern European, and that somewhere between 66% and 99% of that was basically UK ancestry.

But this week I checked again, and based on many more of my relatives doing the test and probably other reasons, they now tell me that I'm likely .4 % "Iberian" and .1 % Native American.

It's not much different, but still: It's fascinating to me the the data keeps getting more refined over time. Same goes for the health-related information.

Anyway, I've never seen a price this low. You should do it: https://amzn.to/2qSRqq8

#23andMe

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I was on TWiT!!

2018-04-23T16:40:23Z

I was on TWiT!!

+Iain Thomson, +Dwight Silverman, Greg Ferro and I solve all the world's problems in two hours. Don't miss it!

https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/663?autostart=true

#twit

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Confused about mobile platforms? You’re not alone. Here’s clarity.

2018-04-21T19:51:00Z

Confused about mobile platforms? You’re not alone. Here’s clarity.

(Read my column: https://goo.gl/YnsgRA )

What in the heck is going on?

The world of mobile and IoT operating systems used to be pretty stable and comprehensible. Suddenly, however, surprising events and weird changes have left everyone scratching their heads.

Here are the questions I’m hearing about these operating systems — and the answers:

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3269204/operating-systems/confused-about-mobile-platforms-you-re-not-alone-here-s-clarity.html

#android #androidthings #windows #ios #macos

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Cancel everything!

2018-04-14T20:57:29Z

Cancel everything!

The new Mike's List is here! Pants-mounted keyboards, tank rollerblades, coffee drones, self-cleaning LEGO, anti-social media, wacky web sites, and much more!

Subscribe to get the current issue: https://elgan.com/mikeslist

#mikeslist

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When every public screen is your personal screen

2018-04-14T15:03:52Z

When every public screen is your personal screen

(Read my column: https://goo.gl/8Tjh7L )

One screen, one user.

But what happens when any screen can serve hundreds of users?

A startup called Misapplied Sciences has developed technology, which it calls “parallel reality,” that enables hundreds of people to look at a single screen and see completely different, customized views. I could look at a screen and see information in English, while the person standing next to me sees the same information in Mandarin and a third person sees French. Or, for that matter, I could see my texts and the others could see theirs.

Misapplied Sciences, which was founded by former Microsoft employees and Walt Disney Imagineers, has demonstrated screens that send different colors of light — they’re called “multi-view pixels” — in a huge number, possibly even millions, of directions.

This technology could bring us something like augmented reality, but without the glasses.

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3268845/data-privacy/when-every-public-screen-is-your-personal-screen.html

#misappliedsciences #multiview #parallelreality

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