Diaspora*

Open-Source Facebook Alternative Diaspora* Releases Its Source Code

by Robert Quigley | 9:40 am, September 16th

Back in May, you may recall that an open-source Facebook rival called Diaspora* burst into national prominence overnight thanks to a New York Times profile and strong anti-Facebook sentiment, raising more than $200,000 over Kickstarter when they had only been shooting for $10,000. (They or someone else also managed to sneak a dirty UNIX joke in the New York Times.) Last night, the Diaspora* team opened up its source code to developers and gave us our first glimpse at what Diaspora* will look like.

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Geekolinks

Geekolinks: 7/3

by Susana Polo | 4:00 pm, July 3rd

New Wonder Woman Meets Tim Gunn’s Approval (Newsarama)

Goodbye HDMI? (Digital Trends)

Diaspora* the Facebook Killer Makes Its One MonthCheck-in (Diaspora*)

Author Accidentally Gets 700,000 Facebook Fans (Urlesque)

Lt. Cdr. Worf as You’ve Never Seen Him Before (Joshua Flynn)

Turns Out You Also Wouldn’t Like Him When He’s Drunk (Twitter)

Steampunk Ghostbusters. That Is All. (LeagueOfSTEAM)

(image via Super Punch.)

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There’s a Dirty UNIX Joke in the New York Times’ Facebook Backlash Story (Update)

by Robert Quigley | 12:09 pm, May 12th

This morning’s New York Times features a story on a group of NYU undergraduates working on a would-be Facebook killer called Diaspora*, the software for which “will let users set up their own personal servers, called seeds, create their own hubs and fully control the information they share.” The article is a neat read both for the specifics of the proposal and the anti-Facebook sentiment it highlights amongst young’uns in the tech community; it also marks what may be the first time a dirty UNIX joke has managed to sneak into the hallowed pages of the Times.

A tipster draws our attention to the writing on the left side of the chalkboard behind the students: “TOUCH GREP UNZIP MOUNT FSCK FSCK FSCK UMOUNT.” Wait a second: That’s not intelligible code! It’s almost as if it has another meaning.

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14 of the Best Geekiest Beers

Given beer's pervasive place in human history, it's not surprising that the geeky pastimes of drinkers would eventually rub off on the beers themselves. The result is a veritable cornucopia of nerdy beers, 14 of which are right here.

Tweetosystem

Eric Limer I'm trying to come up with a control scheme where I can use my xbox 360 controller for leisurely web surfing. It's....interesting.
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James Plafke For a show about a sport I don't really dig, Friday Night Lights is an alright show.
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Eric Limer Just spent a few hours playing Kyntt. Stunning, cute little game. Highly recommended.
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Max Wanna create work flows, wanna make it all work work work.
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James Plafke I am jealous Elmo got to make out with Kristin Chenoweth.
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Eric Limer I swear under my breath A LOT. This must make people near by me very uncomfortable. That being said, I have no intentions of stopping.
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Max Court is now in session at the Burp Castle.
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Eric Limer I don't look at my finances as often as I should which is the main reason why I don't often want to look at my finances.
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Max Desert PolyBus: The game where you drive to Reno and then die.
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Eric Limer If I wrote a webcomic, every strip would be titled "Get it? GET IT?!"
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Max Got chili oil on my hands and face. It hurts. A lot.
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Eric Limer Suddenly I remember what I hate about PC gaming. Mainly never having a computer that can actually do it.
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James Plafke The halftime show taught me that football-watching men drinking beer who love seeing muscular men beat each other up really like to vogue.
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Max Pestering your friends at 8am is how you show you care, right? #hopeso
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Eric Limer Twitter is like RiffTrax for EVERYTHING.
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James Plafke I know global warming is scary, but not having a winter was pretty cool. I didn't have to spend money on shoes for the snow.
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Eric Limer I hereby apologize to all persons --past, present and future-- who have the misfortune of hearing me "sing" dubstep songs.
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Max Even Facebook's Timeline thinks I could have done more with my life.
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Max I did that thing where Facebook turns your Timeline into a movie. Mine had pictures of ducks and foliage set to really dramatic music.
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Max "But I don't wanna go to the dog show!"
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