Kyle Rankin @kyle@librem.one

Fun rhetorical challenge for you:

Describe/explain something technical so that someone non-technical can understand it, but also so that someone technical can't criticize it for being imprecise.

This is exactly the kind of #privacy problem we are trying to solve with the Librem 5 on multiple fronts, hardware and software.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/19/opinion/location-tracking-cell-phone.html

Important read. Unless more people push harder for #privacy from the companies that collect and sell our data and the govts that buy it, the rest of the world will follow in China's footsteps--the tech (and largely, the will) is already here.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/technology/china-surveillance.html

I mean, seriously, how many places out there have engineers who develop an M.2 breakout board to debug their phone and then release the schematics so you can make one for your own phone? It's basically Hogwarts over here @purism -- I'm surrounded by wizards.

https://source.puri.sm/eric.kuzmenko/librem5-m2-breakout

I used #3dprinting to make the gift box for my wife's birthday present. It definitely helped add to the mystique.

I've really enjoyed processing our new-and-improved anti-interdiction orders. So far I have to say out of all the glitter nail polish, orange is my favorite (looks so cool against the black case) followed by rainbow. #infosec #tamperevident

https://puri.sm/posts/anti-interdiction-services/

@bear454 I think "ruled out" would be too strong, but once I got more information on what was involved I edited it so people wouldn't get the wrong idea in case when we explore it in the future we don't find a way to do it.

We are living in an age where everything from clothing to furniture to technology is cheap and disposable. The assumption is that nothing lasts, so one might as well buy the cheapest thing and throw it away when it inevitably breaks. Nowhere is this more true than the phone market, but it's something we want to change with the Librem 5.

https://puri.sm/posts/librem-5-longevity-solving-the-problem-of-disposable-technology/

@simon The modems do. For the entire phone you certify the device as a whole, and if the hardware changes, you pay to recertify everything again and wait for that process to complete. So it would waste both time and money to certify each batch since the hardware is changing (such as the resistor change in Birch). So instead we will certify the mass-produced device that won't have any more hardware changes.

@briana That argument has more relevance on Intel platforms w/ Meltdown and Spectre and CPU microcode. Beyond that the goal is to limit and remove any binary blob firmware, especially w/ security impact altogether and use FOSS alternatives.

My understanding on the phone is that there are fewer proprietary blobs remaining that would likely need a security update or impact the security of the device in a reasonable way.

Why has it taken me so long to learn about set pgp_auto_decode=yes in mutt? So many mail clients skip MIME and just embed armored PGP in-line. #gamechanger

TIL: Many people believe govt. intelligence agencies only operate effectively within their own borders, in particular that NSA/FSB/PLA are powerless in Europe. #themoreyouknow

@briana The point is to bring the supply chain closer to *our* oversight and we are in the US. I talk about some of your concerns in https://puri.sm/posts/protecting-the-digital-supply-chain/ and this is also why we offer anti-interdiction services for those w/ that threat: https://puri.sm/posts/anti-interdiction-services/

It was particularly difficult to keep quiet about #Librem5USA after seeing this article earlier in the week: #supplychain

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/12/huawei-is-now-shipping-smartphones-with-zero-us-components/

It's been so difficult to keep quiet about Librem 5 USA! It's a Librem 5 phone with electronics fabricated in the US like our Librem Key and devkit. As I mention in the post, our goal is to shrink our #supplychain and directly oversee as much of the process as possible. #Librem5USA

https://puri.sm/posts/librem-5-usa/

"These owners can choose to share some, all, or none of their footage with police; police do not need a warrant in order to request camera footage from residents....when camera owners are "uncooperative or unavailable," officers are instructed to contact Ring and request that the captured video be preserved." #privacy

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bjw9e8/inside-rings-quest-to-become-law-enforcements-best-friend

The Butterball turkey hotline, but for Facebook employees. (h/t @Viss ) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/02/technology/facebook-chatbot-workers.html