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Iain Thomson

@iainthomson.bsky.social
2.7K followers 596 following 1.8K posts

UK journalist in SF covering security, space, and science, and stuff that looks fun. Into sailing, F1, F5, the Oxford comma, and Marmite. All views my own. Signal: iainthomson.60 if you want to talk. Reluctantly siliconlimey on Insta & iainthomson on X.

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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 18h
Certainly a lot of people at SF Tech Week weren't playing along.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Time to get some goats in there.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Hope you had a good glug of onion gravy in there too. @jonhoneyball.bsky.social also has some interesting condiments.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
And, to quote Sir Terry, a person is not dead while their name is still spoken.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
static.klipy.com
Blade Runner: Roy Batty's Tears In Rain Monologue
Alt: Blade Runner: Roy Batty's Tears In Rain Monologue
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
We lost a giant of the computing industry today. Margaret Hamilton has shuffled off this mortal coil. Best known for the Apollo missions, she was also a key player in the software reliability sphere, set up several companies, and was a huge supporter of women in STEM. And inspired a Lego figure.
news.mit.edu
Margaret Hamilton, computing pioneer who led software development for the Apollo program, dies at 90
Margaret H. Hamilton, a profoundly influential computer scientist best known for leading the software engineering team at MIT’s Instrumentation Lab during NASA’s Apollo program, died at age 90.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Deep Impact was a much better film, from a scientific and plot standpoint. Plus the classic line: "Well, look on the bright side. We'll all have high schools named after us"
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Logged into Facebook and it suggested wishing happy birthday to two friends who are dead. It really needs to fix that. Shine on Dominic, we miss your wit. And Guy wrote some beautiful copy and was a rascally companion on many a pub night.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Dickens really needed a good editor to cut down on the wordage. Best wishes to Mr P.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
"Jeffrey Archer: successful novelist, disgraced politician and convicted liar." Superb piece. "For all his talents, he will be remembered as a man affected by a defective moral compass, whose public humiliation was entirely self-inflicted." Lloyd Turner would have liked that.
bbc.co.uk
Jeffrey Archer obituary
Politician and best-selling author whose career was mired in scandal and disgrace.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
"We." Tax dodger who moved to Dubai says what?
Staggering hypocrisy.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
His PR team must have been watching and thinking "No! You said the quiet part out loud. We've already got what we wanted."
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The chill in the nostrils, the grass crunching and leaving track marks, squirrels jumping to keep their feet warm, and much less BO from folks on the Underground. I hope it comes soon for you.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I do miss walking across frosty grass and hearing it crackle underfoot. So rare over here.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Back to waking up in darkness as the nights draw out again, but seeing the sun rise is a lovely bonus.
Sunrise in the East Bay
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
See also computer security textbooks.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
And when sites could get Slashdotted. Nowadays getting something on there barely registers in traffic terms.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
For me, there can be only one - the X1 carbon. Great keyboard, light enough to carry all day at a conference, and very good battery life.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Just finished it. Everyone on the podium deserved it, quite a race.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I'm giving up and going to bed. Not ruining tomorrow for this.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
It's chaos at the moment.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Looks like you're right.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Sure, but you got to hear a Crofty Bahrain pun.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
We'll see. I'm staying up just in case. The medical car laps look a bit rough.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
If you're staying up for the Malaysian Formula 1 it might be better to go to bed. A mate on-site says the rain isn't stopping any time soon. All credit to the band, playing a trombone in a lightning storm can't be fun.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
I would have liked to go longer but we ran out of time. He's an amazing interviewee.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Cooking mussels linguine and I'd forgotten how frustrating the recipe is.
imgflip.com
One Does Not Simply
A One Does Not Simply meme. Caption your own images or memes with our Meme Generator.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Hope you have a lovely anniversary. It was a very special party.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I was thinking more like Uber.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Hope you're both safe.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Bruce Schneier is always a joy to interview and his latest book, Rewiring Democracy, isn't too negative about AI. Also one of the few to have a law named after them - “Any person can invent a security system so clever that she or he can’t think of how to break it,” by @doctorow.pluralistic.net.
techfinitive.com
Bruce Schneier on AI: “These massive US AI companies have no viable business model”
Security legend Bruce Schneier is worried about AI. In this exclusive interview, he explains why he thinks open-source AI is the answer
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Just think about the healthcare...
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
If it's the one I'm thinking off I'm recording and applying today.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
My latest column is up, after a rewrite following Trump's decision yesterday. Now, by Executive Order, the government has renamed AI as Super Intelligence and the industry will not be regulated, except by itself. Which has always worked out well historically...
techfinitive.com
View from the Valley: AI pleads for regulation on its terms, Trump obliges
AI companies are getting vocal about the need to slow down and get regulated, writes Iain Thomson from San Francisco, and they got exactly what they were after
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
A university mate slept with a virgin and she signed up to become a nun afterwards. That was a bit of a blow to his confidence.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I've got over a decade on the shows and they're always fun. The archive is on the site, and thank you for supporting the site
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Wow.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
AI can be remarkably stupid at times, like the people that set the parameters.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
We had a lot of fun on this, and the title refers to Google's Project Suncatcher - a "datacenter" that has just four TPU chips. Each TPU will require 1.3m2 of radiators to cool it. Keeping things chilled in space is very hard and, barring new technology, big datacenters in space are unsupportable.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Angel Island is on fire. Better a controlled burn than one out of control.
Angel Island controlled burn.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
If you listen carefully you can hear Sam Altman's teeth grinding...
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Prospective candidates could face "accidental" defenestration.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I didn't go to the gig but suspect it was very Silicon Valley.
youtube.com
Silicon Valley S01E1 Opening Scene (Kid Rock)
YouTube video by Shad0w Br0krer
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The expo is being torn down, the local hotels and bars are counting their earnings, Usher is probably thinking "I'm never doing that again," and another Dreamforce is in the bag. The Trailblazers need to tone it down. We get it, you love the platform. www.techfinitive.com/features/dre...
techfinitive.com
Dreamforce 2026: The five key takeaways
Fresh from the San Francisco event, Iain Thomson shares five big takeaways from Salesforce's annual conference, which has just closed its doors
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Woke up to a Nixle alert for San Francisco - a mountain lion has been spotted near 44th and Ulloa. The cat distribution system is a thing, but please don't do "Who's a big growly kitty then? Do you want snuggles and food?" That would be followed by "Aaaagh!" Plus, think of the litter box issues.
sfgate.com
Mountain lion sighted again in SF this time in Outer Sunset
Animal control officers are on the scene.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
On this day in 1991 @billybragg.bsky.social released Sexuality, one of his best known songs and remarkably sex positive for the time. The video is also a joy; damn I miss Kirsty MacColl.
youtube.com
Billy Bragg – Sexuality (Official Video)
YouTube video by Billy Bragg
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Utterly shameful behavior from GSU.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
It was a little shocking to find that, in many cases, freelance rates are lower now than they were 20 years ago.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Even Benioff is sitting there with a look of complete boredom.
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Iain Thomson @iainthomson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Dumbest quote from Dreamforce so far from Siemens: "If you love what you do, you'll be good at it "
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