Kyle Rankin @kyle@librem.one

A: WHO announced Covid-19 is a pandemic
C: That's what I want to find out
A: I say the pandemic was announced by WHO
C: You mean you don't know?
A: Well I should
C: Then who announced it?
A: Yes

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/03/covid-19-is-a-pandemic-who-declares/

Now that so many places have been forced to build and use the telecommuting infrastructure/practices you must have to make it a success, I wonder how many will finally see the benefits and shift to it long-term.

In retrospect, this Heads talk is probably the driest presentation I've ever given. Sorry about that folks, next one will be better.

I just realized that #SCALE18x marks the 10th year I've attended and spoken at SCALE. My first presentation was an Introduction to Forensics talk at SCALE8x.

It looks like the latest #Librem5 kernel update reduced active power consumption by another 100-140mA based on my own measurements. I hear there are a lot more improvements in the pipeline once we switch from 5.3 to the 5.6 kernel.

Before Clearview Became a Police Tool, It Was a Secret Plaything of the Rich #privacy

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/technology/clearview-investors.html

If you are going to #SCALE18x this weekend check out my talk on Saturday at 15:00 titled "Heads: Tamper-evident Firmware with User-controlled Keys" #infosec https://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/18x/presentations/heads-tamper-evident-firmware-user-controlled-keys

While The Invisible Man looks interesting, I can't stomach watching Elisabeth Moss get abused any more. I stopped watching the 2nd season of Handmaid's Tale for the same reason.

I saw a Sonic truck up the block completing the fiber endpoint that they ran past my house last weekend. I was so excited I went up to give them some praise and see if they wanted coffee or anything. #gigfiber #itshappening

The latest changes to hit the #Librem5 staging repo have dramatically increased my quality of life. First, Chatty now can use the haptic motor so I get vibration notifications w/ messages. Second, the top menu bar now features quick access to more settings.

Apparently when you move a registered Google Fi SIM to a new phone w/o re-registering it w/ the Fi app, incoming SMS have 16 random chars appended to the end. I assume registration causes local apps to hide the text. I wonder what Google is using those strings for?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProjectFi/comments/5k3h9t/texts_ending_with_tilde_and_random_letters/

Something I was proud that we did at Linux Journal was support customer privacy to the point we rejected the giant ecosystem of ad trackers dominating the industry.

It is hard (and costly) to do and I'm pleased to see The Markup take a similar stand:

https://themarkup.org/2020/02/25/president-letter-nabiha-syed

Having brisket for dinner yesterday meant waking up at 2am to put the meat in the smoker by 3. After a 13 hour smoke and an hour rest, it was perfect. I think I've finally figured out my technique. #bbq #brisketlogistics

Going with the theme of things that can be intimidating, are tough to get into, have a point, take a lot of time and dedication to finish, yet are so worth it, I present a whole beef brisket in a New Yorker tote bag. #BBQ

A powerful thing about the #Librem5 running PureOS instead of a mobile-specific OS is that existing desktop apps run w/o porting to a new platform, some just need UI tweaks to fit on the screen. GNUcash works out of the box in landscape mode both without the toolbar at default scaling and with the toolbar scaled 1.5x.

"Rankin warned that tech giants were now "redefining the word "privacy" in their own marketing." While they may claim to protect it, what they really want is to protect privacy from their competitors, he added. "They add security measures to their software and services so only they can capture, view and sell all of your data and others can't.""

https://www.dw.com/en/smartphone-startups-take-on-google-apple-and-put-privacy-first/a-52369255

When you have a busy full-time job and active family life, yet also want to write a new book, it means waking up a few hours early every day. #writing #coffee