keverets @keverets@librem.one

#Covid19

For the NoScript/uBlock/uMatrix gang

Excuse me?
Google now moderates your saved bookmarks? The hell?

Anybody confused why people still listen to turntables or CD players forget that they never:

- stop working because they can't connect to WiFi
- stop working because they need a firmware update
- stop working because the manufacturer dropped support
- say "if you like Bach you might like Taylor Swift"
- play ads
- recommend "turntable premium"

#Jitsi remains committed to privacy, but now you need to sign up for a Google or Facebook account in order to use their public hosted instance.

https://jitsi.org/blog/authentication-on-meet-jit-si/

What a joke.

Zoom now wants you to focus on Section 10 of their ToS which they've changed today to say they won't use your calls and other data to train their AI models. Instead, focus on Section 15. Zoom (like most Big Tech ToSs) can change those terms at any time.

They laughably say you should "regularly check" their legal pages for those notices and if you don't but keep using the services you've agreed to the changes. These services are unethically deployed technology at their most fundamental level.

Regular reminder: if your site or app doesn’t work in Firefox, it’s broken.

I lived through the “this site requires and/or is best in IE” era, and I’d rather burn it all down than return to that.

Pro-tip: Firefox does most things better anyway. Give it a spin and enjoy a less-tracked web.

As ever, disregard what a company says publicly and focus on what the legal documents says you are agreeing to when you use their product.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/7/23822907/zoom-train-ai-models-user-data-customer-consent

When you think, do you have an internal dialogue that includes words?

Boost if you're interested.

Ages when you’re in your prime: 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 101, 103, 107, 109

Zoom's terms of service now include training GenAI with no ability to opt out

Check section 10.2 Service Generated Data; Consent to Use.

https://explore.zoom.us/en/terms/

When reviewing apps, F-Droid takes the user’s point of view, first and foremost.

Various apps have features that are not in our users' interest but that don't make them ineligible for inclusion, like tracking or using non-free network services. Which is why we clearly mark apps that have these "Anti-Features", so that users are able to make an informed choice whether they find those acceptable or not.

The latest version of the F-Droid client is now able to show a description explaining why an app has a specific Anti-Feature, so users don't need to find that information elsewhere to make an informed decision.

And thanks to the hard work of @IzzyOnDroid over the last few days, we now have those descriptions for many apps in our repository, so the client actually has something to show the user.

#FDroid

https://f-droid.org/docs/Anti-Features/

"Getting rid of physical books because we now have databases is like getting rid of sunshine because of the existence of vitamin-D pills and cod liver oil." --love that.

a cogent plea for keeping physical libraries available:

https://scottlocklin.wordpress.com/2023/07/28/death-of-the-physical-library/

In /e/OS, we are replacing the Mapbox Maps SDK, that is not open source anymore, by the @maplibre SDK! 🗾

We will also switch to @stadiamaps tiles.

How will the Overture Maps Foundation affect or relate to OpenStreetMap? What is their reason for existence? https://www.engadget.com/amazon-microsoft-led-group-shares-data-for-open-alternative-to-google-maps-160001416.html?src=rss

If you are horrified by the Web Environment Integrity proposal by Google (#DRM for ads), stop using Chrome and switch to Firefox and block ads everywhere.

The only eyeballs left for Google to show ads are the ones protected by ad blockers. That’s the highest growth opportunity they have, and we cannot let them have it.

and now that every web browser (except Firefox) is Chrome with a new coat of paint, we see Google beginning to turn the screws.

https://packmates.org/@gsderp/110741122410298439

Reasons for historians to be concerned about Threads winning and killing Twitter: Twitter provides access for the Internet Archive and allowed my project full access to download up to 10 million Tweets a month related to COVID and Saskatchewan. Facebook and Instagram block the Internet Archive and don’t provide access to academics. Twitter owned by Musk is terrible and not currently providing access for new Academic projects, but Meta is also really bad for archiving.