keverets @keverets@librem.one

I've been talking about how AI will directly lead to an Idiocracy (2006) scenario for some time, but today's update to the "can you melt eggs?" saga is as clear an illustration of how as I think it's possible to ever have.

Quora's AI answers made up the melting point of eggs, and then Google picked it up and responded affirmatively that you can indeed melt eggs.

Then people wrote articles about how stupid it is that Google says eggs can melt. The Google fixes the answer.

Then Google ingests an article about how stupid it is that Google says you can melt eggs, and suddenly Google starts answering affirmatively again that you can melt eggs, citing the article about how stupid Google is for thinking you can melt eggs.

my perpetual advice to new university students: go the fuck to class and go the fuck to bed. almost all student crises stem from not doing those two things

@ian

8675309 (as in, Jenny's number from the Tommy Tutone song) is a prime number. What's more, it's the bottom half of a twin prime pair: add 2, and you get 8675311, which is ALSO prime.

If you're writing software that implements number-theoretic algorithms, it can be problematic to test it using small primes like 7 or 11, because small primes tend to have a lot of weird properties tend to trigger exceptions and edge cases. Having a pair of easy-to-remember, "big enough" prime numbers like the Jenny primes is really useful.

Airbus open sourced their new cockpit font. Make it the default for all your embedded projects, because it's REALLY good and has real testing in difficult environments!

https://b612-font.com/

@GeePawHill @mariyadelano This is why I go on and on about making cooperatives and non-profits the default business model. I can't make it happen by myself, but I sure as hell can tell people my idea and try to get them on board. Imagine if our laws promoted and prioritized the non-profit, cooperative business model over the for-profit model that is the norm today. The world would be such a better place if it weren't in the best interests of the vast majority of execs to actively look for ways to screw workers and customers out of their cash. Imagine if instead of creating value for shareholders/investors, it benefitted them to create value for *us*.

I love my smart TV. I love the way it takes a long time to boot up because it's trying to refresh the advertisements on the home screen. I delight in the way it randomly restarts because it's downloaded an update without asking me, each of which makes the TV slower and slower with every subsequent install. I adore the way it buries the apps that I want to use, and that I use without fail every single time, below the apps that it's being paid to promote and which I have never touched in my life and would never use without the cold metal of a glock pressed hard against my sweating temple. I am infinitely thrilled by the way the interface lags constantly, due to the need to have one thousand unnecessary animations rendered on hardware ripped wholesale from a ten year old phone. I feel myself borne aloft on wings of pure joy when I am notified that my data will be collected and analysed to determine my useage patterns. Even now I am writing this from a field of beautiful flowers and soft luscious grass as I lie and look up happily at the bright blue sky, smiling happily to know that this is the future of technology

Amazing review in WIRED: "Ring cameras are cheap and ubiquitous, but contributing to a just society is also a factor in keeping your family safe." https://www.wired.com/story/why-we-do-not-recommend-ring/

Turns out you on a #Librem5 you can install android in a container and it runs at native speed. The android window shows as an app, so I can just use an android app if I find a native version lacking, neat!

Mozilla's new report on the data privacy of modern cars is nightmare fuel. Enshittification has definitely hit the car industry: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/its-official-cars-are-the-worst-product-category-we-have-ever-reviewed-for-privacy/

Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft

These are the first 6 companies designated as ‘gatekeepers' under the Digital Markets Act.

They have 6 months to ensure their core platform services comply with our rules, including:

✔ Allowing users to unsubscribe and remove pre-installed services
✔ Allowing the download of alternative app stores

❌ Banning tracking outside of their services without consent
❌ Stopping ranking their products more favourably

➡ https://europa.eu/!NbfBbn

#DMA

Today many devices have add internet connection and rebranded as “smart”, where smart is actually a euphemism for collecting and selling your data. Smart TVs are big offenders here but new cars are just as bad.

VW collects your driving behaviors such as your seatbelt and braking habits and pairs that with info such as age and gender for targeted advertising.

Mozilla found brands including BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, and Subaru similarly collect data about drivers.

https://gizmodo.com/mozilla-new-cars-data-privacy-report-1850805416

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7s-BgfcFXw

What they said.

This may be obvious, but I recently started routinely adding "-youtube" to google searches. This eliminate most pages with links to garbage YouTube-monetized videos that try to attract people looking for basic instructions on how to do simple things. Greatly improves the quality of search results.

#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.