Kyle Rankin @kyle@librem.one

I love the smell of nail polish in the morning. It smells like security. #antiinterdiction

Since the #Librem5 runs regular PureOS it means you can often solve problems using the same steps you'd use on a desktop. In this post I use classic command-line techniques to backup and restore my phone:

https://puri.sm/posts/librem-5-backup-and-restore/

Update: Avast has shut down the subsidiary company that was capturing and selling customer data due to all the backlash. One down, a few thousand to go. #privacy

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/01/avast-kills-off-jumpshot-the-subsidiary-that-sold-all-your-web-data/

Wow. Even medical software can't escape #adware corruption. Opiod maker paid a million dollars so software would show pop-ups recommending opiods to doctors.

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-01-30/health-records-company-pushed-opioids-to-doctors-in-secret-deal

Don't dismiss compulsory student tracking via a phone app just because it's limited to athletes. These measures always start with a small powerless group, then use that "success" to justify expanding to others. #privacy

https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=14274

Every traditional for-profit company is now faced with the (false) choice of selling customer data and risking customer backlash if they get caught, or leaving money on the table and risking shareholder backlash (and lawsuits) if they don't.

Your browsing data is so valuable that even an AV company that's supposed to protect you from software that capture and sells your data, itself captures and sells your data. #privacy
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjdkq7/avast-antivirus-sells-user-browsing-data-investigation

Something that has surprised me over the few weeks I've had this #Librem5 phone is the rapid progress. Each week brings at least one big improvement. Case in point, yesterday's kernel update (should hit main repos in a few days) made a noticeable change in the phone's heat and touchscreen performance.

I've really been enjoying how easy it is to write simple, useful GUI applications for the #Librem5 and I wrote two posts this week that describe how I wrote a simple screenshot and flashlight app:

https://puri.sm/posts/easy-librem-5-app-development-take-a-screenshot/
https://puri.sm/posts/easy-librem-5-app-development-flashlight/

More worrying for me: what happens to the data if one of these DNA companies fold? It's a valuable asset they will be tempted (if not required) to sell. Think of the well-funded companies who would line up to buy it...

It's happening. People are becoming aware of the #privacy implications of services around them and are voting with their feet.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/23/23andme-lays-off-100-people-ceo-anne-wojcicki-explains-why.html

In a world where everything must be "connected", this means ever more eWaste (and wasted developer time) when companies inevitably pull the plug. Since the software and protocols are proprietary, customers can't revive them or switch services.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/smart-scale-goes-dumb-as-under-armour-pulls-the-plug-on-connected-tech/

Apple canceled the project to encrypt iCloud backups two years ago due to pressure from the FBI because it "would deny them the most effective means for gaining evidence against iPhone-using suspects" #privacy

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-fbi-icloud-exclusive/exclusive-apple-dropped-plan-for-encrypting-backups-after-fbi-complained-sources-idUSKBN1ZK1CT

Update: I gave up and decided just to fix my tags. I used Picard for the first time and it made what would have been a horrible task surprisingly easy.

I have a well-organized but inconsistently-tagged music collection, so it's frustrating that music apps rely so much on tags and infuriating that most remove file browsing entirely.

Update: Kashmir Hill's piece in the NYTimes today describes a US startup that's providing law enforcement the exact kind of facial recognition tech I was warning about in China. China's present surveillance state is becoming our future. #privacy https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/18/technology/clearview-privacy-facial-recognition.html

Popey suggested I try out yad and I like it! Looks like it supports some more use cases than zenity, is supposed to be lighter weight, plus it's faster to type. Check out the file dialog on the Librem 5!