Believe it or not, we don’t cover every piece of tech news here at SnapMunk. In an effort to keep you apprised of all things relevant in the world of technology and startups, here are some noteworthy tech news items that didn’t get a full column this week but certainly deserve a glance.
ISIS Launches Official Android App For Kids
If you’ve been wanting your kids to learn from crazy Islamic extremists, you’re in luck! ISIS just released an Android app for kids that teaches them the Arabic alphabet, along with the Arabic words for various weapons, including tanks, guns, and rockets (seriously). Honestly, this feels like a joke that Sacha Baron Cohen would pull – except that it’s terrifyingly real.
Image via BGR.com
Woman Follows GPS Straight Into Lake Huron
Remember that episode of The Office where Michael followed his GPS straight into a lake? Well that actually happened. A 23 year-old woman driving in the rain and fog followed her GPS straight into Lake Huron. Surprisingly, alcohol was not involved in this incident.
Image via Techworm.net
French Billionaire Opens Tuition Free School In Silicon Valley
Xavier Niel, the billionaire owner of Iliad SA, is opening a tuition-free computer engineering school in Fremont, California. Complaining of the high cost of U.S. universities, Niel wants to make it possible for more individuals to achieve the American dream. Niel launched a similar school in France in 2013 and has achieved significant success, with French recruiters fighting over his graduates.
Image via LinkedIn
Congressional Candidate Forgets To Close Porn Tabs
Leading the way in the “Stupid Moves By Politicians” category (and that’s a MASSIVE category these days) is Mike Webb, a Virginia congressional candidate who forgot to close tabs on porn websites before posting a screenshot on Facebook. Of course, Webb quickly deleted the post and then tried to explain away the post by saying he had a computer virus. Riiiggghhhtt. Sure buddy. The ol’ two-tab porn virus. That one’s a killer.
Google Sticky Car Patent Glues Pedestrians To Hood Of Car
Leading the way in the “Crazy-Ass Stuff Done By Google” category (another massive category) is Google’s recent patent for ultra-sticky glue on the hoods of their self-driving cars. The idea is that if a self-driving car strikes a pedestrian, the pedestrian will be stuck to the hood of the car until the car slows down, which is safer than the pedestrian being flung into traffic. This makes me feel really really good about the idea of self-driving cars.
Facebook Making It Easier To Report Gun Sales
We’ve all dreamed of breaking up an arms deal. Or maybe that’s just me. Either way, Facebook is now making it much easier for users to report the suspected sale of guns on the site. Users can flag posts that appear to be, “describing the purchase or sale of drugs, guns or regulated goods.” Prior to this you could only report suspected sales as harassment or a possible threat of violence.
Photo via Forbes.com
Netflix Now Shows You How Much Your Internet Speed Sucks
Netflix has never had good relations with Internet Service Providers (ISP), and this probably won’t do anything to improve matters. They created the website Fast.com to allow you to test the speed of your Internet service, and then compare the actual speed with what you think you’re getting. Internet speed tests aren’t new, of course, but with this one Netflix is clearly trying to send a message: ISP’s are not to be trusted.
Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments!
Stephen Altrogge is a freelance writer based in Tallahassee, Florida. He writes about tech, marketing, faith, and lots of other things. He’s married to Jen and has three young girls. Every day he consumes more coffee than the entire population of Colombia. He knows more about Star Wars than any respectable man should, and he runs more than any sane man would. He once attempted to eat a 2 pound hamburger in under an hour. He failed.
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Poor politician and his stupid excuses. That just shows that he really does not care enough to cover his tracks and that is perfect for a politician I guess. Just sad.
I like all of these stories and the Netflix has me completely freaked out. I do not even want to know how bad our internet is. However, could those numbers be used to keep data bandwidth Nazis like Comcast honest?