Some while ago, I answered a question over on Quora about whether or not it’s okay to pirate a video game if you can’t afford it. I write for a living, which of course means I take intellectual property seriously. Also, I write for a living, which means I don’t have very much money.

So, as you might imagine, I answered no, it’s not okay to steal ( Read more... )

Trigger warning: Stalking, graphic death and rape threats, doxxing, threats of swatting, impersonation

I’ve been putting off writing this for a while now, because it involves dredging deep into some incredibly ugly stuff.

Most of you know that I’ve been stalked for years by a stalker (or stalkers) who has created fake social media profiles in my ( Read more... )

First up in today’s game of “who fed it and who ate it:” Artificial Intelligence.

AI is everywhere. AI chatbots! AI image generators! And now, AI code assistants, that help developers write computer programs!

Only here’s the thing: AI doesn’t know anything. A lot of folks think these AI systems are, like, some sort of huge database of facts or ( Read more... )

I keep, on my phone, a list of books I want to write. There’s something wrong with it; somehow, every time I finish a book, I discover the list has grown longer, not shorter. (Side note: You can tell someone’s an amateur whaen they say “I don’t want to show my book to an editor or publisher because I’m afraid someone will steal my idea.” Nah bruh, ( Read more... )

There’s a polyamory conference in London. It’s called PolyDay, it was founded in 2004, it’s non-profit, and it became one of Britain’s most popular and successful poly events.

PolyDay 2020 and 2021 were canceled due to Covid. In 2021, a woman who runs a site called “PolyPages” announced that since PolyDay hadn’t hosted an event in 2020 or 2021, she ( Read more... )

It is a fact universally acknowledged that running a WordPress site is a dangerous thing to do. WordPress is often attacked by hackers, because so many sites run it and so many people are not good about installing security updates. The hackers will use the commandeered sites for all sorts of nefarious purposes: installing malware, hosting phony ( Read more... )

Today, a landmark in improvised engineering was reached. Plans for an (almost) entirely 3D printable firearm went up on the Internet, able to be freely downloaded by anyone ( Read more... )

I am on TV right now. Or, at least, I think I am. I don't know, because Comcast is the most miserable tech company I've ever had to deal with ( Read more... )

Windows 7 is the best version of Windows I've ever used, and I've used literally every version of Windows since Windows 3.0 ( Read more... )

In case you haven't seen the news that's been lighting up the tech sector these days, Apple recently sued Samsung for multiple patent violations concerning Samsung's cell phones allegedly knocking off iPhone design and technology, and won, to the tune of $1 billion in fines.

There's a rumor going around the Internet that Samsung is planning to pay ( Read more... )