by Eric W. Austin Do you think it’s a hassle when you have to cancel a lost or stolen credit card? Are you annoyed when your email gets hacked? Does it unnerve you to know your Facebook and Twitter posts are used to target you for advertising? Are you alarmed at the idea of Russian […]
by Eric W. Austin “Nothing’s foolproof,” Augusta Deputy Chief Jared Mills told me at the beginning of our meeting on the issue of school safety. “The best laid plans are not going to prevent this from happening.” What is ‘this’? Take your pick. Terrorists and school shooters. Bomb threats and bullying. Our students and teachers […]
by Eric W. Austin How does it feel, sitting there on the digital shelf? Have you checked your best-buy date? I think I’m still good for a few more years yet. It may not feel like it, but on the internet, the product companies are selling is you. Facebook isn’t a social media company, it’s […]
by Eric W. Austin Pssst! I know a bit about my fellow China residents. I know, for example, that 96 percent of you want to stay in China as you age. In fact, on the whole, most of you think China is a pretty great place to live. There is high confidence in our emergency […]
by Eric W. Austin Her name? It’s not important. She lives right here in China and could easily be your next-door neighbor or relative. You’ve probably passed her going into the post office or exchanged neighborly smiles down at Hannaford. Maybe she goes to your church. In her early 60s, with long, graying hair pulled […]
by Eric W. Austin I love technology. I hate technology. I just can’t decide. When I was a boy, I dreamt of moving up to the mountains and living in the hollowed-out trunk of a redwood tree, making rabbit snares from deer tendon and barbed wire. Then Dad brought home our first computer. Now, I […]
Honest, open, accountable journalism needs help to continue by Eric W. Austin Technical Advisor In Lewiston, fake news is taking over the town. Five candidates faced off in the town’s mayoral race back in November. According to local election rules, if no candidate cracks the majority with at least 50 percent, there is a second, […]
ERIC’S TECH TALK by Eric W. Austin I opened the door and stepped hesitantly into the dimly lit room. Curtains covered all the windows. The only light came from a half-dozen computer screens glowing menacingly in the darkness. A scary-looking German Shepherd slumped in one corner. She growled low in her throat as I came […]
by Eric W Austin We’ve published a lot of stories over the past year, but which ones stood out from the crowd? More than 20,000 people visited townline.org in 2017, with pages on the site viewed more than 70,000 times. One of the advantages of a website over a traditional newspaper is the ability to […]
Eric’s Tech Talk by Eric W. Austin Writer and Technical Consultant In August of 1981, an upstart cable TV station began broadcasting these slick new videos set to music. They called it “music television.” The first music video to air on the new channel was the Buggles’ song “Video Killed the Radio Star.” It was […]