Remembering the Newton MessagePad, 20 years later Twenty years ago, Apple released its first experiment in tablet computing, the Apple Newton MessagePad. While it proved to be a financial disappointment for the company, Apple's first touchscreen device paved the way for future innovations in mobile technology, including the wildly successful iPhone and iPad. The tablet also served as the cornerstone of a new market of personal digital assistants (PDAs), a term Apple coined to describe a handheld computer that functioned as a mobile complement to, rather than a replacement of, the desktop PC. MacWorld

Minitel: The online world France built before the web It was the late 1970s. Former French presidents Charles de Gaulle and George Pompidou had recently died. The Arab oil embargo caused energy prices to quadruple for a time. Marseille remained gripped by drug lords. And France had to face the fact that its telephone network was one of the worst in the industrialized world. Fewer than 7 million telephone lines served 47 million French citizens, and the country's elite felt that the domination of U.S. firms in telephone equipment, computers, databases, and information networks threatened their national sovereignty. Or at least it damaged their cultural pride. IEEE Spectrum

Disputed report claims 32TB of Windows 10 builds, including source code, have leaked online Earlier today tech and security site The Register posted an article claiming "32TB of Windows 10 internal builds, core source code leak online." The article stated that a massive archive of Windows 10 builds had been uploaded to the website BetaArchive.com, including source code. If that were true, as The Register points out, it could lead to a nasty wave of Windows 10 exploits, as hackers who gain access to the source code can pore over it for vulnerabilities. PC Gamer

RadioShack auction #1 Through July 3rd starting at 7pm CDT...Iconic RadioShack memorabilia auction...From humble beginnings in Boston in 1921, over the past 95 years RadioShack established itself as a globally recognized leader and the go to retailer for consumer electronics. RadioShack has always been known as the place for answers to the American public's technology and electronics questions. "You've got questions, we've got answers." U Bid Estates

Linus Torvalds explains how Linux still surprises and motivates him Linus Torvalds took to the stage in China for the first time Monday at LinuxCon + ContainerCon + CloudOpen China in Beijing. In front of a crowd of nearly 2,000, Torvalds spoke with VMware Head of Open Source Dirk Hohndel in one of their famous "fireside chats" about what motivates and surprises him and how aspiring open source developers can get started. Here are some highlights of their talk. Linux.com

Is now the time to get rid of cable TV? With one daughter headed to college and another just a few years away, Ron Baslow, a single dad, was looking for ways to economize. One easy target: his $125 monthly bill for cable TV, internet, and phone service. Like many of those who responded to the latest Consumer Reports Annual Questionnaire on telecom services, Baslow didn't think his bundle provided great value. Consumer Reports

Professional communication: The good, the bad, and the ugly Workers send more than 108 billion emails every day. While this might seem like a lot of productive communication on the surface, the average employee spends nearly a quarter of their time sifting through their inbox and dealing with more than 100 emails they send and receive. Fundera

Obscure Steam games and digging for hidden gems Every now and then someone makes the argument that all really good games eventually do well, otherwise "if there are really good games that don't sell, how come I never come across one?" That argument is always refuted by the statement that of course you don't come across games that are obscure, by definition. Which is itself then easy to refute by saying yeah, but surely you'd still come across one occasionally if you went looking. Nition

The tragedy of FireWire: Collaborative tech torpedoed by corporations The rise and fall of FireWire---IEEE 1394, an interface standard boasting high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer---is one of the most tragic tales in the history of computer technology. The standard was forged in the fires of collaboration. A joint effort from several competitors including Apple, IBM, and Sony, FireWire was a triumph of design for the greater good. Ars Technica