Alex Goldman

Looks like Bill Gates is firing some shots at Google Glass. A new patent on which Gates is listed as an inventor proposes a technology that would blur computer monitors or alert users when a camera is present.

The near-anonymous Tor browser is pretty convenient for buying illegal things online. Except there's no search function. Until now.

Until earlier this week, it's likely that most internet users had never heard of OpenSSL. But thanks to the Heartbleed bug, which put all manner of usernames and passwords at risk, the OpenSSL project is coming under some serious scrutiny. To understand how the Heartbleed bug happened, it's important to understand how the OpenSSL project works.

Television pushes social media really hard in its advertising these days. You'll see ads and even TV shows with hashtags in the corner, and anyone who watches AMC shows knows about their whole "second screen experience" deal which keeps you tethered to your computer while you watch The Walking Dead or Mad Men. But Nielsen has found that most viewers aren't all that engaged with social media while they watch TV. 

Would You Buy an App that's Just Silence?

George Bush's paintings, some of which long ago found their way into the public eye through a leak from the hacker Guccifer, were put on display earlier this week at the George W. Bush presidential center. 

This week, a vulnerability in the OpenSSL protocol called "Heartbleed" was discovered. If none of the words you just read make any sense, here's a good explainer about how 2/3 of the internet was exposed to this security vulnerability. Worried that a website you use regularly was vulnerable? This site can help.

A few weeks ago, we did a TLDR episode about the general inaccuracy of those "amazing pics" accounts, which frequently post photoshopped, poorly sourced, unattributed photos.

A couple months weeks ago, we talked to Alex "The Mittani" Gianturco about the world of Eve Online. 

Well if someone had just asked me, I could have told them that - a study has found that video games with frustrating and counter-intuitive controls are more likely to cause aggressive behavior.

Until yesterday, the #1 app for Android in the Google Play store was called Virus Shield. As Android is a platform known for security vulnerabilities, Virus Shield promised a one-button solution for protecting your device. There's just one problem. It appears to be a complete and total scam.

Last week, Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz took a selfie with President Obama that, unbeknownst to The President, was orchestrated by Samsung to promote the Galaxy Note 3 cellphone. Turns out The White House isn't super happy about that.

 

What an honor! Thanks for the #selfie, @BarackObama pic.twitter.com/y5Ww74sEID

— David Ortiz (@davidortiz) April 1, 2014

Business review site Yelp has added an update to its mobile app allowing users to search with emojis.

Web designer Richard Westenra has created an ingenious browser plugin that swaps out the headlines from the British tabloid The Daily Mail with user comments about them.

A Silent Spotify to Fund a Tour

Irishwoman Phil Prendergrast wants to head the European Parliament's LGBT Intergroup. And she's making her case on the gay dating app whose users she's aiming to serve.

An actress from the awful low budget movie that was partially responsible for the deaths of four American in Benghazi, is suing to get the movie off YouTube. She says it ruined her li...

Project Flame: A Computer Dating System from 1966

Google Glass has been crazily divisive in San Francisco, where businesses are banning its usage and fights have erupted over people who are wearing it. A company called Reputation Management Consultants says it has found an elegant solution - Anti Glass, a service which will stymie people from using the device to look you up online.

Sarah Kessler (who wrote the story TLDR episode 9 was based upon) has written an amazing dissection of what it takes to be a freelance worker for hire on the internet.