In Porthcurno, Cornwall, there’s an old telegraph cable landing station. It’s how Britain talked to the Empire — and it’s now a museum. But the technology here isn’t quite as obsolete as you might think. Thanks to Steve and all the team at the Porthcurno Telegraph Museum! You can find […]
The first part of “How To Be Popular On The Internet*” is all about an old saying: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And if you do succeed… well, you’re still going to need to do that. My site’s still online: http://www.preparingforemergencies.co.uk/ The government’s site is in […]
I’ve put the North-o-Meter, and some other old UsVsTh3m games, up at https://www.tomscott.com/usvsth3m/ – I’ve disabled the sharing buttons, though. No-one needs them to go viral again. In the middle part of “How To Be Popular On The Internet*”, it’s time to talk about giving the people what they want, […]
On a rainy Scottish island called Jura, it’s time to talk about the Manual, about long-term sustainable success, and about not having just that one catchphrase. The term “viral” has fallen out of fashion in the last few years, which is why this series wasn’t called “going viral”. And in […]
The Global Vehicle Target is the new standard for testing autonomous driving and crash test systems. To cameras and radar, it looks like a car: but if you hit it, it’ll fly apart. So if your emergency braking doesn’t quite work… well, this is what happens. Thanks to everyone at […]
For years, moderators of online forums and chat rooms have wielded a metaphorical “banhammer” to deal with anyone who steps out of line. Now it’s real. Well, a bit more real, anyway. THANKS TO: Mat Hill for design and coding: http://mat-hill.xyz/ Chris Joel for the idea, and for wielding the […]
Back in the 1920s, wingwalking claimed lives. Daredevils would move around on the top of a plane’s wings, in mid-flight, often without any harness or any safety line. Maybe they’d be able to clip onto something during takeoff and landing, but maybe not. There are still a few of those […]
In the 1830s, two French brothers, François and Joseph Blanc, pulled off the first telecoms scam in history. The optical telegraph, a line of semaphore towers stretching from hilltop to hilltop, was for government use only: but something as simple as the law wasn’t going to get in their way. […]
That’s right, we’re kicking Season 2 of the Basics off with a technical episode about a somewhat-obsolete technology! IT’S PARTY TIME. Wait, no, not party time. IT’S CODE TIME. Close enough. Let’s talk about seven-segment displays, and about the longest word you can write with them. Public domain list of […]
There’s a reason music videos look strange. I could just talk about framerate, cuts and continuity… or I could get an actual music video director. And a leaf blower. Directed by: Sammy Paul https://twitter.com/icoepr Produced by: Cambria Bailey-Jones https://twitter.com/cambriabailey Guy Larsen https://twitter.com/thisisguido Director of Photography: Ciaran O’Brien https://twitter.com/ciaranobrien Featuring: dodie […]
