May 2018 - Sam Harrelson

Microsoft and Apple helped build new braille display standard

May 31, 2018 May 31, 2018

It’s really nice to see traditional rivals like Apple and Microsoft working together on something as important as accessibility. Hopefully this partnership is fruitful and the two companies (along with other tech industry leaders) continue to work to make computers and technology more accessible for those with different kinds of impairments. — Read on www.engadget.com/2018/05/31/microsoft-apple-usb-if-accessibility-braille-display-standard/

Is your site http or https? It’s going to matter soon

May 30, 2018 May 30, 2018

This is going to bite a number of nonprofit, church, and community org sites hard when Google’s Chrome browser switches how it defines http sites as insecure… Plus, in July 2018 in Chrome version 68, Chrome will mark all HTTP sites as “not secure.” Source: Google’s Chrome browser to drop secure label for all HTTPS sites …

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“friction from touching the walls of our mother’s womb”

May 30, 2018 May 30, 2018

🤯 This is beautiful. Why didn’t I know this already? Fingerprints are formed by friction from touching the walls of our mother’s womb. Sometimes they are called “chanced impressions.” By Week 19, about four months before we are issued into the world, they are set. Gorillas, chimpanzees, and koalas also possess exclusive prints. — Read …

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“Catholic in nature”

May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

In a letter dated May 10, 2018 to Baker, church leaders say the congregation voted 131 to 40 to take down the work because community members view it as “Catholic in nature.” “We understand that this is not a Catholic icon, however, people perceive it in these terms,” the letter said, “As a result, it is …

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Remains of man crushed while fleeing Pompeii

May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

Poor guy… A man managed to escape the first eruptive fury of Vesuvius in 79 A.D., only to be crushed beneath a block of stone hurled by an explosive volcanic cloud, new excavations at the site suggest. — Read on www.cnn.com/2018/05/29/health/pompeii-victim-crushed-rock-eruption-intl-trnd/index.html

iOS 11.4 with Messages in iCloud

May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

Lots of good updates today for your iPhone and iPad, but Messages in iCloud is definitely something I’ve been looking forward to since it was announced last year. Better late than never. Messages in iCloud is also now available as part of iOS 11.4. This feature lets you keep messages across devices in sync sort …

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Your Domain and Your Home Address

May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

I often shock potential small business or nonprofit clients by knowing their home address or cell phone number during our first or second call. It’s easy if they have already purchased a domain. I don’t do it as a scare tactic, but as an educational moment about the need to plan ahead and think through …

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Roko’s Basilisk: The Most Dangerous Thought?

May 28, 2018 May 28, 2018

You have to be really clever to come up with a genuinely dangerous thought. I am disheartened that people can be clever enough to do that and not clever enough to do the obvious thing and KEEP THEIR IDIOT MOUTHS SHUT about it, because it is much more important to sound intelligent when talking to …

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Apple Watch and My Health

May 28, 2018 May 28, 2018

I’ve owned a couple of Apple Watches in the past and always appreciated the design and constant alerts. But after a while, I would look at the Watch on my bedside charger in the morning and think “Do I need to wear you today? Nah.” So, I’ve been skeptical about the Apple Watch and thought …

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Cautionary Tale of Climate Change Prepping from Ancient Egypt and Bronze Age

May 24, 2018 May 24, 2018

These agricultural feats managed to extend the life of the Egyptian empire about half a century longer than it might otherwise have lasted, according to the archaeologists. The lesson for our own civilization — which is likely to face increasingly severe droughts as humans change the climate far faster than nature has ever done — …

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We need to have a conversation about what “godly” means, y’all

May 24, 2018 May 24, 2018

A majority of S.C. Republicans — 52 percent — said Trump was “godly.” — Read on www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article208990104.html

Harrelson Agency is Now a Cloudflare Certified Partner

May 22, 2018 May 22, 2018

I’ve spoken at numerous events and conferences on the topic of web hosting and security and I’ve been quoted in the New York Times about that same topic over the years. Website security is something near and dear to my heart and I made sure to bake that into the very essence of every website …

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What Makes “Let’s Dance” Great

May 21, 2018 May 21, 2018

Owning your own platform is important, and valuable

May 21, 2018 May 21, 2018

I often get the question from clients of why I mostly recommend having your own website on WordPress or a self-hosted platform in the age of Facebook. As companies who built their businesses and traffic flow on the back of Facebook over the years have found out, that can be a very precarious decision. Audience …

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Faster horses

May 20, 2018 May 20, 2018

I don’t know… this feels a little like Henry Ford’s “if I had asked what people wanted, they would have said a faster horse” approach to utilizing tech to save humans time… Like Google, we envision a future that’s based on collaboration between humans and machines. Where we seem to differ is that we believe …

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Why you should quit blogging

May 17, 2018 May 17, 2018

Fun post that highlights many of the concerns I hear from clients and friends when I encourage them to blog. Blogging and newsletters are still incredibly impactful for businesses, churches, nonprofits… or just sharing what’s on your mind. Get out there. Be yourself. It’ll be ok. You think that you are a terrible writer. No …

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What is real? Forking universes, equalities, and religion

May 13, 2018 May 13, 2018

When scientists search for meaning in quantum physics, they may be straying into a no-man’s-land between philosophy and religion. But they can’t help themselves. They’re only human. “If you were to watch me by day, you would see me sitting at my desk solving Schrödinger’s equation…exactly like my colleagues,” says Sir Anthony Leggett, a Nobel …

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