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Rob Pegoraro

@robpegoraro.com

8.4K followers 660 following 4.7K posts

D.C.-based freelance technology journalist covering, and often vexed by, computers, gadgets, and other things that beep. May or may not be notable. He/him. Read: PCMag, Fast Company, etc. Write: [email protected]

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · Jan 16

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🔎 disclosures: robpegoraro.com/disclosures
📷 photos: flickr.com/robpegoraro
🤳 less-edited photos: instagram.com/robpegoraro
🧾 resume: linkedin.com/in/robpegoraro
➕ B-sides, outtakes, other extras: patreon.com/robpegoraro

Get more from Rob Pegoraro on Patreon

creating technology journalism for the curious and the skeptical

patreon.com

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 15h

Pope Leo XIV supports journalism! So we've got that going for us, which is nice.

Audience with participants in the 39th Conference of the MINDS International Association

press.vatican.va

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 19h

This is a good look at one of the most important issues in my state. For folks unaware of Virginia's YOLO campaign-finance laws: Companies can give unlimited donations direct to candidates here, so a politician may give up non-trivial amounts of money to oppose data centers.

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 1d

Went to the DC exurbs to write about a growing political trend — citizens who don’t want more data centers, and are looking for politicians who’ll help.

Locally they’re getting help from both parties. At higher level, Rs are resolutely pro-data center and Ds are conflicted. t.co/Ir0QW8FUey

https://www.semafor.com/article/10/13/2025/as-electricity-bills-rise-candidates-in-both-parties-blame-data-centers

t.co

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 23h

Not great, BOS!

Departures screens at Boston Logan International Airport show about half of the flights are delayed. United's flight-status report for my flight suggest that the problem is ATC limiting arrivals here.

Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 23h

To be fair, some of that cursing was editing-driven.

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 1d

Once again begging PR types to trust that if a freelancer has a phone number in their e-mail signature, LinkedIn, business cards, etc., it is not a desk-only line because this is not the 20th century. Y'all already have my "best number"! There is no other, top-secret set of digits I will give out.

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 1d

Timed it right to enjoy some character-building New England weather.

Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 1d

I appreciate that the T finally replaced the 1970s-vintage rolling stock on the Orange Line, but why do these new trains have to beep every second when they're stopped at a station? It sounds like I'm in an ER.

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 1d

Less of a connection to the U.S. in particular, but I wouldn't veto that

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 1d

Happy Fiorello La Guardia Day to all who celebrate!

Katelyn Boo-urns @katelynburns.com · 2d

name an italian more worthy of an american holiday than columbus

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 2d

Watched Firefox for the first time in this century, probably in 40 years, and realized I'd forgotten how much of that Clint Eastwood Cold War flick involves the Moscow Metro. There's always a transit angle!

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Reposted by Rob Pegoraro

Michael McDonald @electproject.bsky.social · 3d

At what point will our media ask about Trump’s obvious mental decline? He’s so far gone that he does not remember he was president in January 6, 2021

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 3d

Won the EWR lottery today--"won" meaning that while ATC and a runway closure delayed my flight to Newark for 3+ hours, they also held up the flight from there for almost two, both flights were two gates apart, and my checked bag got from plane to plane in seven minutes. (Respect to EWR rampers.)

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 3d

Can confirm that the Starlink WiFi on United's regional jets is a massive improvement over the old air-to-ground connectivity--even setting aside this outlier of a download speed. (This is from an E175 northeast of NYC with 18 of its 76 seats empty, per the seat map shown in UA's app.)

Screenshot of the Speedtest app for Android shows a download speed of 479 Mbps and an upload of 18.2 Mbps, with a United Airlines ad below.

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 3d

One of the least-scalable transit systems I've ever used.

Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 4d

From this report by @harrymccracken.com, the San Francisco version of Tesla's Robotaxi is unserious as a Waymo competitor. Also weird: How the safety drivers/observers apparently aren't allowed to chat with passengers, unlike the Tesla Loop drivers in Vegas who have actual driving to do.

Tesla’s ‘Robotaxi’ service is no Waymo

My rides in Elon Musk’s supposedly autonomous ride-hailing cars still involved a human overseer in the driver’s seat—among other notable rough edges.

www.fastcompany.com

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 4d

This is a presale for Citi cardholders.

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 4d

Stunning plot twist: Ticketmaster's site worked reasonably well, but Citi's payment system struggled with displaying the in-page frame for the call/text-based authentication system that they somehow require instead of letting me confirm a purchase in the Citi app on my phone.

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 4d

Hello, fellow Rush fans.

Screengrab from Ticketmaster's site:

You Are Now In The Queue

27,624
People Ahead Of You

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 4d

Takeaways from watching the debate on YouTube:
• Earle-Sears' interruptions were annoying, as were her idiotic talking points about wind and solar power;
• Spanberger's studious vagueness on some issues did not help her cause;
• aside from one Spanberger ad, every ad pitched quack health advice.

Virginia Mercury @virginiamercury.com · 5d

Spanberger didn't answer "yes" or "no" when asked if she still supported Jay Jones's AG race, while Earle-Sears dodged policy questions and didn't spell out how she would follow through on her pledge to eliminate the car tax. virginiamercury.com/2025/10/09/s...

Spanberger, Earle-Sears clash over violence, abortion, and taxes in lone Va. governor’s debate • Virginia Mercury

After months of polarized campaigning, the two women faced off at Norfolk State University, sparring over the Jay Jones controversy, political rhetoric, and abortion as moderators pushed hard to keep…

virginiamercury.com

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 5d

The rapid progress of Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind must enrage the fossil-fuel fetishists in the White House. Have they considered trying to self-soothe by snorting some coal dust? #CVOW

America’s biggest offshore wind farm will be online in six months

Dominion Energy’s 2.6 GW project off Virginia’s coast is progressing fast. The utility has a new, more definitive target to plug into the grid: March 2026.

www.canarymedia.com

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 5d

Would eat

Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 5d

It's so good.

Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 5d

Yet another karaoke bar has failed me by not having Richard and Linda Thompson's "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" on their list.

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 5d

He got a sword! An attendee drew him this - note the Techdirt and Bluesky logos.

Drawing on a piece of paper with hand-torn edges, labeled "A sword for Mike Masnick" with the caption below "Because my dad didn't give you one" (it's from the kid of i2 Coalition exec director Christian Dawson)

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Rob Pegoraro @robpegoraro.com · 5d

Showed up late to the Internet Infrastructure Coalition's awards reception--which turned out to be the right time to see them give @mmasnick.bsky.social their "Internet Infrastructure Protection Award" award, with Mike joking that he was only going to accept that honor if it came with a sword.

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