I spend most of my time editing other people, but I’m still reporting, too.
Find samples of my work at Technical.ly, Engadget, Insider, CIO Dive, Cybersecurity Dive, MeriTalk, and more. If you’re looking for clips about a specific topic or subject area, just let me know.
Data centers are encroaching on this Pennsylvania town, so locals are taking action early
Data center debates have taken over local discussions in a rural Northeast Pennsylvania community — and no one has even applied to build one yet.
In Luzerne County, residents at a Dorrance Township meeting yesterday echoed the concerns of many other communities facing the data center boom: environmental damage, stress on the water table and energy usage.
The Dorrance discussion is currently focused on very early-stage zoning laws, not specific land development projects. Learning from nearby townships that have gone through recent data center battles, they’re trying to prepare.
“Because if you don’t establish zoning for it, then someone says, ‘Well, I can do whatever I want to. You can’t stop me,’” Township Supervisor Kevin Gallagher said, alongside fellow supervisors Gary Zane and Bill Wengrzynek. continue reading
SEPTA riders complain of more bus cancellations. Here’s why that’s a good thing for Philly transit.
To their dismay, Philly bus riders recently noticed more cancellations and missed trips on their transit apps.
Before you gripe: That may actually be a sign of positive upgrades at SEPTA.
So-called ghost buses, or rides that say they’re scheduled to come but never show up, are usually caused by early-morning callouts from operators, SEPTA technologists told Technical.ly. These callouts used to easily get lost in the shuffle, so the related buses were never removed from the system — causing transit apps to show riders a scheduled bus that just never arrives.
A simple form now means you’ll know about cancellations sooner. That’s thanks to the “Ghostbus-ters,” an affectionate name for a multi-department coalition of workers tasked with finding a solution. continue reading
It took a TikToker barely 30 minutes to doxx me
In 30 minutes or less, TikToker and Chicago-based server Kristen Sotakoun can probably find your birth date. She’s not a cybersecurity expert, despite what some of her followers suspect, but has found a hobby in what she calls “consensual doxxing.”
“My first thing is to be entertaining. My second thing is to show you cracks in your social media, which was the totally accidental thing that I became on TikTok,” Sotakoun, who goes by @notkahnjunior, told me.
It’s not quite doxxing, which usually refers to making private information publicly available with malicious intent. Instead, it’s known in the cybersecurity field as open-source intelligence, or OSINT. continue reading
Apple is convinced my dog is stalking me
As far as I know, no one is using an Apple AirTag to stalk me. But if that were to change, I’m not even sure I’d notice Apple’s attempts to warn me. The “AirTag Found Moving With You” notification near-constantly sits on my homescreen, and I’ve gotten used to quickly swiping it away.
But I’m getting ahead of myself – let me tell you about my dog, Rosie. She’s a sweet tempered, mild mannered rescue. Still, there was one catch when we adopted her: She’s a flight risk.
We’ve seen this firsthand when the sound of fireworks or a strong wind causes her to enter a full-blown panic. Rosie shuts down, shakes and, when it’s really bad, tries to run away. We’re working on it, but, in the meantime, we’ve turned to Apple AirTags as an extra reassurance.
The $29 quarter-sized AirTag attached to her collar keeps track of her location so that we can quickly find her if she ever got away. It’s mostly for peace of mind — we’ve only had to use it once — but it’s also quickly become an annoying part of my daily routine. continue reading
Katie Malone 