@edbott@mastodon.social
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edbott

@edbott@mastodon.social

Tech journalist. Author of 25+ books. Returning to ZDNET July 2023. (My posts are searchable via tfr.)

Bott, not bot. He/him.

Available for writing/consulting work. Contact info: edbott.com/contact-me/

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

edbott, to random
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I will not accept this Jerry erasure.

edbott, to random
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If you're frustrated by your MacBook's constant demands that you enter your password, I've got a secure solution for you. You just need the right hardware.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/i-added-a-hardware-security-key-to-my-macbook-and-it-made-my-logins-faster-and-safer/

AAKL, to random
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deleted_by_author

    •
    edbott,
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    @bob LOL, ok

    dsilverman, to random
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    Remember that story last week about a media company that claimed to be able to listen in on casual conversations and then target ads at the speakers? So many, many tech sites curated/rewrote the original story.

    But @edbott took a closer look and, as you'd expect, it's not what it seemed.

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/new-report-claims-your-phone-tv-and-smart-speaker-are-spying-on-you-but-is-it-true/

    edbott,
    @edbott@mastodon.social avatar

    @spacewizard @dsilverman Hey Ed H, I think you might have missed the joke in that kicker. I certainly wasn't calling for anyone to harass anyone. I was making a joke about talking to a website that can't hear you because those smart devices aren't really listening.

    Also, 404 Media is the old staff of Motherboard/Vice. They're not some bunch of kids who deserve coddling. Personally, I think this story needed a lot more reporting.

    edbott,
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    @spacewizard @dsilverman

    This was RIGHT AT THE TOP of that 404 Media article:

    "The news signals that what a huge swath of the public has believed for years—that smartphones are listening to people in order to deliver ads—may finally be a reality in certain situations."

    No. No, it does not. And a LOT of people read that story and thought it was true, based on the many shares I saw.

    edbott, to random
    @edbott@mastodon.social avatar

    About that viral report last week claiming advertisers are eavesdropping on your casual conversations via smart devices. The longer you look, the more obvious it is that the entire story is pure, uncut bullshit.

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/new-report-claims-your-phone-tv-and-smart-speaker-are-spying-on-you-but-is-it-true/

    edbott,
    @edbott@mastodon.social avatar

    @Dean_Baguette I dunno, man, people have been fleecing suckers by telling them lies for as long as humans have walked the earth. Doesn't mean the lies are going to come true.

    Oh, I have a machine that can turn lead into gold. You should invest in my company!

    edbott, to random
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    Hoping for a Windows 10 support extension? Microsoft just quietly crushed your dreams

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/hoping-for-a-windows-10-support-extension-microsoft-just-quietly-crushed-your-dreams/

    harrymccracken, to random
    @harrymccracken@mastodon.social avatar

    Somehow I find Intuit's abject failure to do anything with Mint after buying it to be a personal disappointment in a way I usually don't with messed-up acquisitions. RIP. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-01/intuit-winds-down-personal-finance-app-mint-shifts-users-to-credit-karma

    edbott,
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    @harrymccracken That was about the most Intuit thing I might have expected.

    jamesthomson, to random
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    Why do I look at all new GPU features in terms of how many bananas I could render?

    edbott,
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    @jamesthomson It's just a banana, Michael. How much could it cost to render? 10 gigaflops?

    jerry, to random

    To those people celebrating a year on the fediverse, I’m glad you’re here and I’m honored to be part of this community we’ve built together.

    It’s someone saying “I’m glad you’re here”

    edbott,
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    @nomdeb @jerry :thumbsup:

    edbott,
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    @nomdeb Oh we have some catching up to do!

    edbott, to random
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    Oh come on it's 2023, you can flip the switch n a few seconds.

    dstacey, to random

    @edbott Say Ed, are you still living in NM (Albuquerque?)

    edbott,
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    @dstacey nope we are in Atlanta now

    edbott,
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    @dstacey Atlanta these days

    edbott, to random
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    Normally, Microsoft has a big event every fall in which they unveil a bunch of new Surface PCs. This year, they spent most of their time talking about A.I. and then introduced a very expensive Surface for a niche market. My take is here:

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/can-microsoft-recover-from-the-collapse-of-its-surface-business/

    edbott,
    @edbott@mastodon.social avatar

    @templarian

    I think they were traumatized by their experience with the SP6 (I think?) issues and decided they would never be the first one to market with a new Intel CPU.

    ernie, to random
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    The microgenre of tech YouTubers doing videos criticizing Linus Tech Tips’ ethics then paying for their videos with websites that resell Windows licensing keys is bigger than you’d think

    edbott,
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    @ernie Ouroboros as a Service...

    edbott, to random
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    We're going full White Bronco.

    edbott,
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    I am not tuning in for any of this bullshit.

    dsilverman, to random
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    Well, it’s not a secret anymore, now is it? https://mastodon.social/@donni/110880011992912445

    edbott,
    @edbott@mastodon.social avatar

    @dsilverman It's Waffle House. They just invented Waffle House.

    edbott,
    @edbott@mastodon.social avatar

    @dsilverman If you order right.

    edbott, to random
    @edbott@mastodon.social avatar

    This one's for the Windows folks in the house. My latest from ZDNET:

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/3-essential-windows-tools-for-troubleshooting-and-how-to-use-them/

    edbott, to random
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    That's much better.

    edbott,
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    @Catawu @kurtsh Oh, the filtering totally works! It's really a perfect solution for removing what I consider clutter. Of course I would never try to tell someone else what they should or shouldn't post.

    gutocarvalho, to random Portuguese
    @gutocarvalho@bolha.us avatar

    Tech Reporters and Personalities

    Dina Bass: @dinabass
    Hayden Barnes: @hayden
    Hans Brender, Mr.OneDrive: @HansBrender
    Ed Bott: @edbott
    Lesley Carhart: @hacks4pancakes
    Ben Collins: @oneunderscore__
    Chris Davies: @c_davies
    Eva Galperin: @evacide
    FireCube: @FireCubeStudios
    Lisa Gade: @lisagade
    Scott Galloway: @profgalloway
    Lauren Goode: @laurengoode
    Jensen Harris: jensenharris@mastodon.social

    edbott,
    @edbott@mastodon.social avatar

    @samvarma

    I haven't left. Just been busy!

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