Update Raspbian OS on the Raspberry Pi

I have an early Raspberry Pi model running the Raspbian OS "jessie" release (which lacks Python 3.6 and its useful "f-string" format syntax.) So, I wanted to upgrade to the contemporary "buster" release to resolve that issue. Here's what worked:

1. Follow these excellent instructions (Use the section "Update Raspbian to the Latest Version") to manually update OS releases sequentially. So, in my case, I upgraded from "jessie" to "stretch" and then from "stretch" to "buster."
2. You'll likely want to upgrade the Docker packages, too. To do it, refer to the following steps:
   
• Remove the existing Docker installation (See "Uninstall old versions.")
  
• Download and run the "Convenience Script" (See "Install using the convenience script") to do the upgrade installation.

Now, "You're Good to Go" with the latest release ("buster" in this example!) Enjoy 😀👍

Simple and useful VPN solution

Historically, VPNs have been difficult to set up, required client and service side configuration, tricky to start and fickle when in service. Now, Mozilla has partnered with Mullvad to offer a low-cost, simple to use VPN solution for up to five devices via a single $4.95 USD / month subscription. I've been using it while traveling the past week and have found it easy to use, network performance is hardly affected, and reassuring to know that I have an encrypted tunnel through an open hotel or coffee bistro network. Check it out 😀👍

Mech Wars - Not where we want to go!

This excellent article by Frank Pasquale, published in The Guardian, highlights the rise of militarized AI and the various scenarios of how it may play out and possibly be "managed." Essential reading for today's rapidly evolving global perspective.

Open Source: The Naive "Good Ol' Days" are Gone

It used to be that open source was generally trusted because it was assumed peer-review would catch stuff like this. Welcome to the World of Today; not any more!  

Keeping your household conversations private!

Mozilla has published instructions on how you can turn off human reviews of household audio captured from voice assistant devices. Check it out!

That's scary

From MIT Technology Review; this is just scary! Humans aren't the most stable geniuses, huh? And consequently, making an AI to think like them is sure to be fraught with contradictions and anomalies 😮 Not to mention that the Corp that gifted us with Windows Update is at the helm 😲

The future audience of the Internet

Interesting. Pay attention to market share, folks! Per this article from Fortune.

Organic Composite looks promising

Cool! This organic composite described in Phys.org looks promising for providing a light-stimulated electric current producing media 😀

The Raspberry Pi Story

Ever wonder how those little boards got created and who was behind them? Check out this article from TechRepublic.

Sometimes the way forward is backwards...

A thought-provoking article from System Engineer Paul Czarkowski on why VMs may be poised to make a come-back in 2019 😲