Any idiot can spot mistakes in sci-fi. Finding excuses makes for a better game. Star Trek shows every race in the world speaking the same language, because they have universal translators. But then we hear klingons shouting in Klingon, and hear random Bejoran phrases. Clearly lazy writing. But better writing might …

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Tired of fighting your computer, but not sure how to go about all this Linux stuff? If so, I wrote this for you. Overview Time Check your software works on Linux ~1 month Check what you need to back up 1 afternoon Downloads & a USB stick 30 minutes Pick a distro 1 minute Installation 1 hour Rediscover the computer 1 …

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I wonder if people might struggle less with computer security if we employed metaphors for previous technology. People have attempted to get videos off the internet, showing a clear misunderstanding how how computers work. If they thought in terms of many people photocopying a picture, I'm sure they would understand …

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The Guardian informs me that Suella Braverman has resigned, stating: Earlier today, I sent an official document from my personal email to a trusted parliamentary colleague as part of policy engagement, and with the aim of garnering support for government policy on migration. This constitutes a technical infringement of …

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Plato's Republic can come across as naïve, and I find that fact tragic. Broadly, the book climaxes with a plan to make a state ruled by Philosopher Aristocrats. While Plato calls these rulers "Philosophers", we shouldn't picture modern Philosophy students, but academics. I find the failure tragic because all rulers - …

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I'm getting real sick of the 'I am not a lawyer' everywhere. Everyone's not a lawyer, nobody's not a doctor. I get that people think their suggestions may have legal consequences. I don't think mine will though. I'm an internet lawyer - go murder someone, it'll be fine. This is legal advice. I just can't picture …

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Little things annoy me that nobody else in the world could possibly care about. One of them is E-Bay's message at the end of every sale: "You have bid £3.40 for the item. Hope you win". Who hopes I win? E-Bay the corporation? The browser? Clearly I'm the only one inferring meaning here, so maybe I mean it, but I'm not …

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My basic education included 11 years of French classes, and I don't know any more French than 'le chat'. Those lessons could hardly have failed harder in Britain's schools. I recall the counting in Maths, and most people can square something, and understand what, roughly, Maths can do. I still read well, so evidently …

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1 When you're eating bacon... 2 3 4 I don't each bacon. 5 6 7 Right, but when someone eats bacon... I find this sort of thing happening routinely. I suspect everyone else feels more comfortable with waiting for the meaning of a sentence to emerge later. Whatever happened to saying 'one', as short for 'someone'? It …

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We're not all in power, by definition. (Ricky Gervais) Pouring the rest of my soup into a Tupperware container, my girlfriend-at-the-time asked me to stop. "That won't fit", she said. "Obviously it will", I replied, pointing to the remainder of the pot. And it did, with a millimetre to spare. "Oh, you're one of those …

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