Kyle Rankin @kyle@librem.one

Happy Tax Day, for those that observe.

Many people turn a blind eye to Apple's absolute control over products and how they restrict a customer's freedom, because they trust Apple won't abuse that power.

That control takes on a new significance when it's handed over to the Chinese government.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/technology/apple-china-censorship-data.html

It must be the tangibility. I've fixed countless computers over the years, but they rarely provide the same sense of accomplishment. Maybe it's because I take tech skills for granted, or maybe it's the visceral sense that this quiet engine that was dead now growls and is alive.

There is a deep satisfaction in troubleshooting and fixing a car that won't start all by yourself, even if it's something relatively simple like replacing a broken fuel pump on an old VW engine.

Interesting article that directly compares Tesla's lock-in and remote control tactics to Apple's: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/05/14/tesla-apple-tech/

It used to be that "If you aren't paying for something, you are the product" but now you are the product regardless. https://puri.sm/posts/data-double-dipping-when-companies-mine-paying-customers/

Why is it so hard for people to have #privacy? Because a TV company can make almost as much profit selling customer data as it can selling the TVs. https://www.engadget.com/vizio-q1-earnings-inscape-013937337.html

Each time I see someone correct someone else with a pedantic edge case, my brain now sings: "You've been hit by, you've been struck by, a Well Actually" to the tune of Smooth Criminal.

Both proprietary and free software users care about their privacy, but free software users are actually empowered to *protect* it. They can audit the code and, if they have to, remove any questionable bits and still use the software. https://puri.sm/posts/audacity-telemetry-and-why-free-software-means-better-privacy/

This week’s news about the Audacity project adding telemetry and the public outcry is a perfect test case to explore why free software means better privacy. I do just that in this post: https://puri.sm/posts/audacity-telemetry-and-why-free-software-means-better-privacy/

This is the key point and the reason FOSS means better #privacy: "The joy of open source means that users can, if they wish, verify Audacity's claims for themselves before deciding that the time has come for a fork." https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/07/audacity_telemetry/

Office culture skipped in this piece: poor managers can only tell if you're working by seeing you at a desk. They also rely on "dropping in" at a desk to force an employee to prioritize their immediate needs. WfH requires them to be level up as managers. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/06/ceo-i-want-my-employees-understand-risks-not-returning-work-office/

In honor of #WorldPasswordDay2021 here's my favorite talk I've given on password policy: Sex, Secret and God: A Brief History of Bad Passwords in a 10-minute Ignite-style talk: https://opensource.com/article/18/5/brief-history-bad-passwords and the full-length talk I gave at BSidesLV 2017: https://infocondb.org/con/security-bsides/bsideslv-2017/sex-secret-and-god-a-brief-history-of-bad-passwords

Given that classic story of Target knowing a teen was pregnant before her father did, which Big Tech companies would you trust with smart underpants that could track a woman's cycle?

While I'm sure this clothing will be more expensive (to start) than non-smart alternatives, I wonder who will be the first to follow the "smart TV" route and subsidize the cost by selling your data.

Apparently the future of clothing is "smart fabric": shirts that act like computer displays, microphones stitched into single strands of fabric, clothing full of sensors and semiconductors. All I can think of is how this will be abused. #privacy https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/05/03/smart-fabric-future-of-clothing/