We didn't know it at the time, but 16 May 2013 was a pretty big day for the Internet: the Rob Ford/crack smoking story broke; adorable hatchet-wielding hitchhiker/Internet meme Kai was sought for murder in NJ; 16-year-old Kiera Wilmot was spared from prison for doing a science experiment at school and got a scholarship to space camp; and the guy who put his own face in his child sex-abuse videos was caught, thanks to the Internet's human flesh search-engine.
A year ago, it was a pretty big day for the Internet
Frontier, a terrible company, is going bankrupt
Frontier is the bottom-rung of the top-tier of US ISPs, serving customers in 29 states. Despite enjoying monopoly control over its customers' online lives, and despite massive government handouts and a lackadaisical approach to maintenance, and despite out-and-out theft from customers, the company is filing for bankruptcy, having accumulated $16.3b in debt through mismanagement. READ THE REST
Schneier: "It's really too late to secure 5G networks"
Bruce Schneier's Foreign Policy essay in 5G security argues that we're unduly focused on the possibility of Chinese manufacturers inserting backdoors or killswitches in 5G equipment, and not focused enough on intrinsic weakness in a badly defined, badly developed standard wherein "near-term corporate profits prevailed against broader social good." READ THE REST
Something Awful's "Fuck You and Die" forum went from freewheeling jokesters to Nazi shitposters, so it's dead
Long before 4chan and other anything-goes forums existed, every major online community had a similar community: the Well had its "weird" forum, Usenet had alt.syntax.tactical (among others), and Something Awful had the "Fuck You and Die" forum, where people were funny, mean, obscene, and gross, sometimes all at once. READ THE REST
Save up to half off on some of the coolest gadgets at prices that beat Prime Day
You might not need a new set of headphones, or a drone, or a guitar that isn't a real guitar but plays like a guitar. But gadgets are always just the coolest, so you've absolutely got to at least check them out, right? Of course, you do. And right now, this handful of interesting tech is… READ THE REST
These four deals can get your fitness regimen headed on the right track
For many, the past year has been a gut-punch. Unfortunately, the more sequestered and sedentary lifestyle that many have been forced to live means there's probably more gut to punch as well. With the world reopening, it's time to get off the couch and get serious about achieving some new fitness goals. Right now, you… READ THE REST
The VentiFresh Eco uses NASA tech to fight your smelliest home odors
In the teeth of another searing summer, it's often tough to avoid … the funk. You know what we mean. From garbage bins to litter boxes to clothes hampers, there are usually some areas of your home or office where the smells tend to linger. And in the summer, with all that heat and stagnant… READ THE REST
