the world needs more quiet places https://www.quietparks.org/
We've identified two new, easy data points for #TrackingTheTrackers, and are already applying them to @fdroidorg@mastodon.technology They can be added to @exodus Looking forward to seeing what others do with this! https://guardianproject.info/2020/12/15/new-data-sources-api-key-identifiers-and-broadcastreceiver-declarations/
@exodus's ETIP database is the canonical place for #TrackingTheTrackers on #Android, @guardianproject, @fdroidorg@mastodon.technology @privacylab and others all contribute there, join us! https://guardianproject.info/2020/12/11/%CE%B5xodus-etip-the-canonical-database-for-tracking-trackers/
I'm starting work on the "Popularity Contest" idea for @fdroidorg that will provide #anonymous statistics on app usage as part of @guardianproject's #CleanInsights project, follow progress at https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroidclient/-/issues/396
#resilient #distribution systems include support for mirroring! This blog post goes into the core concepts with examples: https://guardianproject.info/2020/12/07/distribution-in-depth-mirrors-as-a-source-of-resiliency/
It is time for a comeback of double spaces between sentences! The rationale for switching to single in #digital text is #proportional fonts. With the rise of #Markdown and blogs, lots of people are writing prose in #monospace again.
#Cuba's #ElPaqueteSemanal is well known for providing access to digital media where there is no Internet. It should also be recognized for a system with decentralized, built-in, human-powered curation. Thanks @SujathaTF for highlighting that.
https://nacla.org/news/2014/12/20/do-cubans-really-want-us-style-internet-freedom
Starting this week, I want to try something new in the #fdroid weekly meeting slot (Thursdays @ 11:30 UTC): I'll have "office hours" so anyone can come and ask any question, either via the regular chat channels, or realtime voice in https://meet.jit.si/fdroid
Facial recognition may just be the beginning. Next generation video analytics tools could allow police to track people by their hair, their clothing, and more: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/video-analytics-user-manuals-are-guide-dystopia
Working hours, the first 12000 years: the historical decline of free time
https://agathoniamedia.com/2020/11/23/working-time-the-first-20000-years-the-historical-decline-of-free-time/
And yet another disappointing but unsurprising pick by #Biden, wasn't he supposed to be better on #ClimateChange?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/19/senior-biden-adviser-set-for-key-role-has-ties-to-oil-and-gas-climate-activists-warn
Is your open source project still using Slack for its community? Consider:
Mozilla has migrated their chat to Matrix: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Matrix
Mattermost now offers hosted service with special pricing for OSS projects: https://mattermost.com/nonprofit/
There are probably even more I'm not aware of.
There are good Free options now. Time to get out of the proprietary SaaS lock-in.
Now that#Biden has won, it is important to remember what he has done. He called for war with Iraq starting in the 90s:
https://theintercept.com/2020/01/07/joe-biden-iraq-war-history/
As VP, he helped #Maliki's party stay in power even when his party lost the election. Maliki then went on to persecute the "multi-sectarian and moderate" Al-Iraqiya party which had won 51%. Many point to this as a key event that helps ISIS flourish. He did with executive power. He's now the chief executive.
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/524551-a-biden-victory-would-be-a-loss-for-iraq
In case you thought the RIAA had gone away or gotten less evil: https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/10/2020-10-23-RIAA.md
youtube-dl has received a DMCA takedown from the RIAA:
https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/10/2020-10-23-RIAA.md
#Technology gives us #power, that is the key reason why we seek and use new technology. What is rarely discussed is how the uneven spread of this new power will affect society. When good people get it first, it can trigger huge improvements. When bad people get it first, they use this power for personal gain at the expense of everyone else.