This Day in Blogging History: Edward Tufte on Aaron Swartz; Public domain kids' graphics; Walt Beanpole

Cory Doctorow 6:00 am Tue Jan 21, 2014

One year ago today

Edward Tufte on Aaron Swartz and his own hacking career: At Saturday's memorial to Aaron at the Cooper Union in NYC, Tufte remembered both Aaron and his own hacking career, inventing "blue boxes" and using them to make illegal calls on AT&T's network, and wondered about what would have become of him had he run into the same prosecutorial zeal as Aaron faced.

Five years ago today

Public-domain childrens' graphics: Grandma's Graphics hosts a really lovely collection of web-resolution public domain children's artwork, perfect for design projects.

Ten years ago today
Silly Disney songs: Walt Beanpole are comedy-rockers with a penchant for writing silly songs about Disney parks. [Note: I have been hoping that these folks would come back ever since they shut down their site, but it seems gone for good. Walt Beanpole, are you out there? Please come back, we miss you!]

Blogging History: Painting characters on coin-heads; UK wants brawl-proof pint glasses; EFF kicks Diebold's ass

One year Coins painted as fictional characters: Andre Levy, a designer in Frankfurt, likes to paint coins. Five years Britain seeks ban on glass pint-glasses to prevent bar-brawl injuries: The… READ THE REST
Blogging History: Soviet plane-spotting head-gear; Ralph Lauren visits Uncanny Valley; Internet bubble's blessings

One year Soviet plane-spotting head-gear: Drakegoodman scanned this 1917-ish photo of Soviet planespotters in exotic headgear; according to a commenter, the binox are focused at infinity "so that when you… READ THE REST
Blogging History: Non-gender kids' clothes retail; London cops apologize for geek-mugging; Lucas ships Xbox malware

One year Better way to organize kids' clothing departments: Ever since our daughter's birth, my wife Alice and I have found ourselves shopping the "boys" section of the department stores… READ THE REST
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Save 50% on a 1-year subscription to Dashlane's premium password manager

We all know vital information about ourselves and our private digital accounts can be compromised by cybercriminals. However, many would be frightened to know just how compromised they and their… READ THE REST
The Bite Helper removes the itch of a mosquito bite in seconds

While mosquitoes have certainly earned their title as the deadliest animal on earth, their impact on most of our lives is usually a lot less consequential. But even though they… READ THE REST