Matt Williams

Delivering engaging, strategic communications for large-scale projects, businesses and organisations.

[Dr. Dan Lomas @Sandbagger_01]

GCHQ Annual Lecture 2026 - as delivered
https://t.co/VGHBUs07t3

[STRATCOMCOE @STRATCOMCOE]

In just two weeks, #RigaStratComDialogue 2026 will bring together global leaders, experts, and innovators to tackle the defining challenges of our time. The conference programme is officially announced and the conversations shaping tomorrow start in Riga. https://t.co/vwdx2FMpKL

[Web Design Museum @WebDesignMuseum]

In May 1998, Adobe released Adobe Photoshop 5.0 bitmap graphics editor. Windows and Macintosh versions were launched simultaneously.

Photoshop 5.0 included new features such as magnetic lasso and pen, freeform pen, color management, and more.

[The Retro Room 🎮🕹🎬🎥 @TheRetroRoomRoo]

I'm at 68 uploads of VHS tapes I've digitized for preservation on the Internet Archive. 📼🎉

All of them are either lost media or have original commercials. 📺

Let's get to 100 asap! 💯 (Link below)

[The Retro Room 🎮🕹🎬🎥 @TheRetroRoomRoo]

Go watch some 80s, 90s, and 2000s culture here:
https://t.co/JYdsM4U2pH

[Matt Williams @MattWilliams84]

@Daniel_Rubino Thermals? Does it feel warm after several hours of use? Thanks.

[Cátedra Inteligencia @CatedraInt]

The Estonian Internal Security Service (ISS/ KAPO) Annual Report.

PDF https://t.co/q1SxyZezgE

[MaxC @ColeFusionHQ]

British nicknames are an unregulated industry. a 5'6 tradesman called Anthony is professionally known as Shetland Tony. a man who lost an eye is called Keth. a quiet man wore a yellow jumper once and became
Mumblebee.

what's the best nickname you've ever heard

[Tim Shipman @ShippersUnbound]

Very sad to learn of the death of Len Deighton, who was one of the two greatest spy thriller writers of all time and in some regards was Le Carre’s superior.

Anyone who has not read Deighton should try Funeral in Berlin, Bomber or SSGB. Most of all they should seek out Berlin Game, the start of an epic 10 book Cold War series focused on Bernard Samson.

Deighton’s writing was sharp, satirical, gripping and often amusing. His office infighting in the intelligence services was delicious and his characters are beautifully drawn.

The Samson cycle starts with a meticulously plotted run of five books (Berlin Game, Mexico Set, London Match, Spy Hook and Spy Line) which all stand alone but tell one big story from the jaded but dedicated perspective Bernard a brilliant field operative. Len’s genius idea was to use the sixth, Spy Sinker, to retell the whole cycle from the perspective of everyone else, exposing what Bernard didn’t know and misunderstood.

There is then an origin story about Bernard’s dad during the war, Winter, and then a concluding trilogy of Faith, Hope and Charity, which is not as high quality but deals with the fallout from the events of books 1-5.

It’s an epic achievement and the greatest long series in spy fiction, accepting that the Smiley series is the greatest short series.

Do yourself a favour, give it a try

[Elorm Daniel @elormkdaniel]

Most streaming platforms rent space on third-party delivery networks to get their content to you. Netflix decided that wasn’t good enough so they built their own. They spent roughly $1 billion over a decade building a once-secret content delivery network called Open Connect, consisting of over 17,000 servers strategically placed across 158 countries.  While competitors pay companies like Akamai and Cloudfront to move their data around the world, Netflix owns the pipes.

Here’s why that matters. Even at the speed of optical fiber, it takes approximately 100 milliseconds for data to complete a roundtrip between Los Angeles and London.  Multiply that delay across millions of simultaneous streams and you get buffering. Netflix’s solution was to stop sending data across the world entirely. Instead, they place their cache servers directly inside ISP data centers bringing the content physically closer to you before you even press play.  By the time you hit play on a popular show, a copy of that video is likely already sitting on a server less than a mile from your home.

Then there’s how the video itself is delivered. Netflix doesn’t send you one fixed quality stream. It uses adaptive bitrate streaming dynamically adjusting video quality in real time based on your current connection speed.  Your internet slows down for two seconds and Netflix quietly drops the resolution, buffers ahead, and steps the quality back up before you notice anything. You never see a loading spinner. You just watch.

Netflix accounts for approximately 15% of global downstream internet traffic and at peak times, up to 15% of worldwide internet bandwidth.  All of it flowing smoothly, because a decade ago they made a bet that owning their infrastructure was worth a billion dollars.
And it was.

[16bitmanfred.bsky.social @mdscntstmgm]

A Raspberry Pi 4 is still the ultimate budget multi console and DOS emulation machine btw.
50 bucks, less than 15W power draw, virtually inaudible, plays thousands of great games and most of video gaming history's milestones.

[Tips Excel @gudanglifehack]

Complete anti-loss setup (10 minutes):

1. Find My Device: ON

2. Find My Device Network: ON

3. Theft Detection Lock: ON

4. Offline Device Lock: ON

5. SIM PIN: activate

6. 2FA all important accounts

7. Record IMEI in the cloud

8. Routine backup

Eight steps. 10 minutes. Just once.

[Matt Williams @MattWilliams84]

Some great illustrated explanations from the community: it would be good to have a @CommunityNotes for these.

Thanks @SpencerHakimian for asking the question!

[Spencer Hakimian @SpencerHakimian]

This is probably a stupid question but can someone explain it to me like I’m 5.

If Iran blocks off the Persian Gulf/Strait of Hormuz, why can’t countries must move their oil through The Red Sea/Gulf of Aden?

[Matt Williams @MattWilliams84]

@lehain Voici: https://t.co/iYQTy7arso

(NB il faut connecter pour voir le livre entier)

[Jaanus K 🇪🇪🇪🇺🇺🇦 @jaanus]

🇪🇪 Estonia's Foreign Intelligence Service knows its stuff and russia well

They have published their 2026 yearbook. Always an interesting read

Here are the top findings:

[Vincenzo DM @DM_Vincenzo]

On the 1st of October 1795, the Habsburg Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liege were annexed by France and reorganised as the ‘United Departments’. Ancient entities such as the County of Flanders or Duchy of Brabant Vessem to exist.

[Vincenzo DM @DM_Vincenzo]

The massive Palace of Justice in Brussels without scaffolding (anno 1910)

[Jaden Williams @JadenJTW]

PC players when they launch a modern game

[Matt Williams @MattWilliams84]

Best of luck with it! Once you've settled in, it would be great to see a mini video showing a day in the life of live news coverage in 2025.

[Erron Gordon @errongordon]

Live from the heart of the BBC newsroom @BBCNews Live has launched in our new streaming production area

[Matt Williams @MattWilliams84]

At least one of these vids will leave you with a massive grin on your face - whether a massive football fan or not. Cheers @aintbychanzz__ for the thread!

[Joey👽 @FCBJoeyy]

One game is all it takes to write your name in football history and just a few players can boast of that

Here are 10 matches where players became immortal

A Thread

1. Zidane with one of the greatest volleys in the game to secure Madrid’s 2002 UCL