'Commentary'
The Saturday Share - 10/22/16
22 OCT 2016 0
Cyber criminals and robots occupied our thoughts this week. Maybe this would be a good weekend to re-watch the Terminator or Robocop?
1. Ransomware has been around for a long time, but 2016 is the year it really broke into the mainstream. Expect to hear about more and more cases of this cybercrime in the near future, because it's not going to stop anytime soon.
2. A wide scale DDOS attack shut down some of the web's most popular sites on Friday morning for folks in the US. Big name sites such as Amazon, Twitter, PayPal, and Reddit were affected. The issue was resolved in about two hours, but it's always a little scary to be reminded just how fragile some of these services we depend on can be.
3. Another bizarre patent troll attempt, this time someone is claiming to own the idea of auto-playing video based on an ancient television patent. Who said copyright law needs reform?
4. "I don’t miss late-night television... And I’m a little embarrassed that, for 33 years, it was the laser focus of my life.” David Letterman speaks frankly on retirement, priorities, and finding a new purpose
5. The Science Museum in London has rebuilt Erik, the UK's first robot. He won't be passing the Turing test any time soon, but this clunky animatronic was pretty impressive for its time. You have to appreciate the imagination of his designers.
6. One robot is built, another is lost. It looks like the Mars lander Schiaparelli crashed while attempting to land. Pour one out for a cyber homie.
7. More robots!? I know, but these little guys are too cute not to mention. These swarm bots work together to carry out complicated tasks (like helping you find your phone). Like poetry in motion, I'm sure great grandpa Erik would be proud.
8. After months and months of speculation, Nintendo has unveiled its new console, the Switch. After experimenting with motion control, and dual screen experiences, the Switch's gimmick is portability - a console you can play on the go as easily as the living room. Interesting stuff.
9. Is design broken? And if so, how do we fix it?
10. Voice actors in the gaming industry are going on strike. While that's noteworthy on its own, the broader conversations about royalties and profit sharing across the industry for developers and artists is even more fascinating. As one dev puts it "If @WilWheaton gets royalties on a game before myself or any of the others who spent years (not weeks) working on it, the system is broken."