The game is afoot with this week’s episode! Michael and Michael start things off with a tale of two feet – specifically, how this unit of measure has had two definitions for a long time in the United States, and is finally gaining full resolution, per an article from the New York Times.
Tales of derring do continue with a story about how a super-secret iPod geiger counter was developed by a couple of Apple engineers and the US government. After having a discussion on some of the Bondesque spy gadgets, the co-hosts turn their attention to a method for divining a physical key, all from a surreptitiously captured audio of the tumblers falling into place, which could then be used to manufacture a key to open the lock.
Maps feature once again in the discussion – this time from the new Google Maps topographic improvements starting to roll out, to map oopses such as the 212 story obelisk in the new Microsoft Flight Simulator. Michael R is excited about the VR aspects of Flight Simulator, but not quite so much about the Facebook account requirement that Oculus now brings. A story about a 16 hour real time experience of a team flying from LA to Dubai
Wrapping things up with a weekend camping opportunity for the sure footed, both co-hosts agree that this is something for others to enjoy.
If you’ve come across a story you’ve enjoyed, share it with the Games At Work team! It’s fun and easy to do so — a quick tweet to @GamesAtWork_biz will do the trick.
Selected Links
New York Times article: America Has Two Feet. It’s About to Lose One of Them — https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/science/foot-surveying-metrology-dennis.html
The Verge article: Go read how the US government built a top-secret iPod right under Steve Jobs’ nose — https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/18/21374491/go-read-this-apple-us-government-secret-custom-ipod-david-shayer
Q (James Bond) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_(James_Bond)
Mashable article: Hackers can now clone your keys just by listening to them with a smartphone — https://mashable.com/article/spikey-house-keys-listening-smartphone/
MacRumors article: Google Maps Gaining More Detail With New Color-Mapping Algorithmic Technique — https://www.macrumors.com/2020/08/18/google-maps-gaining-more-detail/
The Verge article: An innocent typo led to a giant 212-story obelisk in Microsoft Flight Simulator — https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/21/21395084/microsoft-flight-simulator-melbourne-obelish-openstreetmap-bing-maps-data-glitch
The Verge article: Facebook is making Oculus’ worst feature unavoidable — https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/19/21375118/oculus-facebook-account-login-data-privacy-controversy-developers-competition
Kotaku article: Flight Simulator Pilots Make 16-Hour Flight From LA to Dubai in Real Time — https://kotaku.com/flight-simulator-pilots-make-16-hour-flight-from-la-to-1844784142
Desert Bus — https://desertbus.org
Six Colors post: Put anything in your Mac’s menu bar with BitBar — https://sixcolors.com/post/2020/08/put-anything-in-your-macs-menu-bar-with-bitbar/
Lonely Planet article: Would you try this extreme ‘cliff camping’ experience in England? — https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/extreme-cliff-camping-experience
Honister’s Cliff Camping offer — https://honister.com/cliffcamping/
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