Alex Likes Reading

Hi, and welcome! I'm thrilled that you've decided to read about some things that I'm writing about what I'm reading lately.

The Most Interesting Things:

Microsoft resurrects Clippy and then brutally kills him off again
The often-ridiculed Microsoft Office mascot from the late 90s made a brief reappearance in the company's group chat app, Teams. I for one am ready to see MS embrace their history and let Clippy come back in a self-aware way… apparently their internal "brand police" disagreed and sent him to the Recycle Bin. #justice4clippy

Chinese Goths Stage Selfie Protest After Subway Rider Ordered to Remove 'Horrifying' Makeup
I'm fascinated by things that happen in China, especially any type of protest, since their government keeps a tight lid on Internet traffic, bans keywords and search terms, etc. In this case, a university student was told by a Guangzhou Metro security person that "the make-up was problematic and too horrifying. It must be removed on the spot[!]"
The original poster's makeup wasn't even too wild, but blessedly, her fellow Goths have begun using the hashtag "#ASelfieForTheGuangzhouMetro" on Chinese social network Weibo to shame the Guanzhou Metro. Click through to see some of the pics!
It'll be interesting to see how this particular issue develops, given the increased use of facial recognition tech, especially in China.

I’m 14, and I quit social media after discovering what was posted about me
This piece provides an interesting account from a young person who finally joined Twitter & Facebook at age 13, only to find she already had a social media presence — through her parents' posts! It's a fascinating, short, and well-written article which imparts an interesting perspective.

This early iPhone prototype looked a lot like a PC
If you've ever been curious what the iPhone looked like while it was being developed internally by Apple, here you go:

Courtesy of one of my favorite tech publications, The Verge, we get a behind-the-scenes look at this development tool from the notoriously secretive Apple. If you've ever looked inside a desktop PC, this will probably look very familiar to you! The full article has lots more info about how it all works, along with plenty of pics.

Alright, well, I think that'll do it for this edition! I'd love to hear your feedback. You can tweet me @alexweberis to LMKWYT, or reply to this email.

Until next time,
A