Hans-Christoph Steiner @eighthave@librem.one

It would be nice to have a #homebrew package for https://gitlab.com/fdroid/sdkmanager, I have no access to #macOS, but I can assist. It should be easy, it has very minimal dependencies.

Do you sometimes just want one tool from the #AndroidSDK in a container or VM, and don't want to deal with the whole pain of setting up #Java and everything? Try the #FDroid sdkmanager instead of the official one. For example, `apt-get install sdkmanager` then `sdkmanager platform-tools`. Plus this verifies all packages using `apt-get` style GPG-signed index with SHA256 values. Useful in #research on #Android #malware #tracking etc. In pypi, Debian, Ubuntu, and https://gitlab.com/fdroid/sdkmanager/

One of the hidden benefits of using #NoScript is that it forces delays when going to sites that are a rabbit hole of distractions. While temporarily enabling #Javascript for a site, I often ask myself, "do I really need to see this?" And often, the answer is no. And that makes me happy. Humankind has worked for millenia to make information accessible. Now I think sometimes we've made it too easy, especially for distracting fluff.

Hey #plant people: anyone know a good source to see photos of house plants in their native habitat? Like I'm a big fan of #cyclamen, I thought they were tropical because they're so colorful. Turns out they are #native right here where I live. I have a very nice #shamrock, and I'm wondering what they look like in #nature.

@PublicLewdness I agree, but I think it is important to highlight that VPNs are a tool that has really bad failure modes for #privacy. If the provider fails, they can leak an immense amount of personally identifiable information on their users. Good privacy tools eliminate key metadata from data flows. It is possible to have tools where the failure modes are mostly just denial of service, e.g. there is no personally identifiable information to leak.

@lcannell @Siberian the #US could instead bail out the depositor companies by taking an ownership stake, in which case they would not fail, and then it would not come out of the FDIC bank fees. I suppose this is better than 2008, since the bank owners are not being bailed out. But I still think back room deals to bail out private companies is corrupt. If FDIC insurance for all deposits is a good thing, then change the laws and regulations to make it so.

@Siberian @lcannell

Bailing out #SVB depositors means that the insurance premiums go up for all depositors. FDIC money comes from banks paying insurance premiums. #SVB is getting special treatment. I think we're back to #TooBigToFail, this time the #SiliconValley is taking the lead, not #WallStreet.

Plus #SVB was actually fighting against expanded deposit insurance, so why should the banking system bail out depositors in such a bank? https://www.levernews.com/svbs-lobby-groups-fought-proposal-to-bolster-deposit-insurance/

@lcannell There are many tools to manage financial risk, I've never heard of buying extra #FDIC coverage. But a quick search for "private deposit insurance" shows many options. Isn't the #US supposed to be a #capitalist system built around private enterprise? That's the typical story, but the truth lies somewhere else.

@Siberian I think the FDIC is a great idea, my point is that it automatically covers a fixed amount of deposits. This is widely known and documented. Those who deposit more than that in a bank are taking risks. If you have that much much, you have resources to manage risk. But here, we have typical US #socialism for the rich. Oops, I left my millions in a risky bank that cratered, the US Gov will bail me out. But if I lost my job and can't pay my mortgage, sorry tough luck, this is #capitalism!

If the "U.S. banking system remains resilient and on a solid foundation", as #US Treasury says, then why do they need to take a special action to bail out #SVB depositors who should have gotten insurance for themselves? To me, this looks like yet another #bailout for the wealthy and well connected.

No bailouts for #SiliconValleyBank or its depositors. Insurance has always been there, and those companies that didn't buy it are the ones responsible for taking that risk. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/mar/12/silicon-valley-bank-collapse-no-bailout-janet-yellen

The real #privacy protections of using a #VPN come from putting all your eggs in one basket: force all your DNS and traffic through the VPN provider. Then nobody else sees your real IP address, etc. As long as the VPN provider does everything right, doesn't get hacked, or doesn't have to comply with secret government orders, it does provide a real privacy improvement. But I have a real hard time buying into putting so much trust into one service. I wonder if it is possible to be so good

One thing I haven't figured out how to do well is to simultaneously laud good acts while blasting the bad acts. For example, #Google insists that Chromebooks be unlockable so users can install any OS. That's great! The same Google insists Chromebooks cannot allow "Unknown Sources" even though #Android always has. This looks like plain old monopolistic abuse. Or the #Chromium team works in public and behaves much more like a free software project, while #Chrome forces users to login. Any tips?