Gregory's Server|
26 posts total
12
I struggle with the notion that tech companies do not understand consent. IMHO, they do understand consent. They understand that seeking consent - freely-given, specific, informed consent - won't get them where they want to be. To my mind, that's not a misunderstanding of consent, but a determination to avoid consent. That's typically why one sees language of "choice" and "control" and "transparency" to describe an opt-out regime. They're not confused. It's by design.
Show previous comments
  @neil crashlytics which used to be under twitter's fabric (now under google's firebase) used to have a page in their docs telling you how to set up a dialog asking the user whether they want metric collection or not. there was a warning saying most users would choose no, so it is advised to not show the dialog at all. New blogpost: An introduction to 'ethical licensing' > Technology ... has always been political. I’ve very little time for discussions which try to separate “tech” and “politics”. The same is true with licensing models. Over the last couple of years, I’ve seen more people talking about “ethical licensing”. And, while I’ve yet to see an “ethical licence” come up in the course of my work, I thought it might be an interesting topic for a blog post.
Show previous comments
( I should that it was @luis_in_brief who pointed me towards this, and he gave me the actual link: )  My blog posts, into which I put considerable time and effort, and which (sometimes) contain material not covered elsewhere, are probably part of commercial LLM training data. Does that comply with the licence? No. Does it infringe copyright? Probably, IMHO, from an English law perspective. Other jurisdictions, YMMV. Is this "stealing” or “theft”? No. I get that this is an emotive topic, absolutely, but I thought we had moved beyond “copyright infringement is theft” 15+ years ago. You know what would be nice? An "open firmware" project, where people produce and share FOSS firmware for common household devices, replacing the manufacturer's firmware with a decrapified version. A smart TV? Reflash it with FOSS firmware, which removes tracking, calls to the manufacturer's servers, and any Internet-connected services that you don't want? A printer? It's now yours. No ink subscription, or need for an app to print remotely. And so on. A man can dream, eh.
Show previous comments
Starting such a project is relatively straightforward. Reverse engineering firmware is hard, though 😭 I love writing code but I don't have the skill required or the time to acquire it. (Talk to me in ten years, when my kids are older.)  In this blogpost, I’ll show you how to use OBS - a fantastic FOSS audio and video mixer - to inject your own adverts into your video call streams, so that you too can offer people the chance to pay you £3/month to turn off adverts in your calls with them. You can do partial ads (in the corner of the screen), interstitials, full screen video replacement, and scrolling subtitle ads. Works with all video conferencing software.
Show previous comments
 @neil I should do this for work calls, I mean yeah we both entered into a contract with certain expectations but I need more money  @neil I can see possibilities in hardware was well. "Please present a valid credit card if you would prefer not to be struck by this vehicle for the next 30 days or 15 encounters, whichever comes first." Today's #FreeSoftwareAdvent is Organic Maps Organic Maps is a privacy-focused, community-developed, open-source navigation app, for Android and iOS. Don't forget to download your maps ahead of time. I used it recently in Germany, and I was impressed.
Show previous comments
 @neil @organicmaps it is using #openStreetMap, so it is as good quality as your local mappers make it... so, contribute to the map in your local area! @neil @organicmaps The route planning is amazing. The hiking trails it found in our Odenwald were better than the official ones. @neil @organicmaps Strongly seconded! And wonderful that it works just as well without any 'Net connection.
Show previous comments
@neil what about #LibreWolfBrowser ? With #ublockorigin , #SkipRedirect , #JShelter , #clearurl as add-ons 
Show previous comments
@neil  I have had 6 calls so far today. Each one has used a different system: XMPP (Sandra) Signal (Dad) VoLTE (Mum) Teams (client) WhatsApp (client) Jitsi (client)
Show previous comments
 @neil This situation is getting absurd. The amount of different places that I get notifications is completely out of hand. Interesting! "I'm trying to log in to my account, and am being rick-rolled. Why? Tusky [an Android fedi client] does not support usage by accounts on some servers because of their association with hate groups."
Show previous comments
 @neil Good. It's like.. 3 servers serving fascists. *Happily posted from my tusky app.  If your complaint is that there is too little fun / shitposting in the fediverse, you are following the wrong people. If your complaint is that there is too much fun / shitposting in the fediverse, you are still following the wrong people.
Show previous comments
@neil ... and if you follow the right people, your feed is juuuuuust right! 😇 
Show previous comments
@neil I was "forced" to deGoogle my phone because I have a Huawei, and let me tell you it's an absolute pain in the ass. The "big" apps all work fine, but all the small, local administrative stuff don't. The transportation app didn't work. The health insurance app doesn't work. The delivery app doesn't detect my location. Payment app entered captcha loop. @neil
Show previous comments
I need a better bio. Not here (well, yes, perhaps also here), but for meetings and conferences and things. We were all asked to introduce ourselves at a panel session yesterday, and every other panellist spoke for *several minutes*, about how they had won an award for this, were chair of that, sat on this group, wrote this paper which was published here, and so on. My usual "Hi, I'm Neil. I am a lawyer, and I'm sorry" felt rather lacking.
Show previous comments
@neil FWIW, when a bio is spoken, I prefer short, to the point, and informative. Written bios can be longer, but should still be to the point and informative. In both cases, the bio probably should be tailored for the audience. What's interesting about you for these people and this occasion? Plus maybe one memorable unusual thing. It's not an easy thing to achieve. @neil I did a networking event the other month and they always have a "skill share" and it was someone from NatWest Enterprise on how to write your 60s pitch for networking etc. I'll see if I can find my notes from it. As I don't think they sent the slide deck out. Clams struggle with programming, but they're right at home with shell scripts. They keep their code to themselves though, rather than sharing it under FOSS licences. They're shellfish like that.
Show previous comments
 @neil Did you know clams use their reflexes instead of their brains for storage? They rely on mussel memory. The #Kolektiva database seizure (https://kolektiva.social/@admin/110637031574056150) shows the importance of #e2ee. If DMs had been end to end encrypted, seizing the database would have been less impactful, as while the seizing authority could still have seen who messaged whom, the content itself would still be encrypted, even if the db as a whole was unencrypted. If you want to DM more privately, you are welcome to ask for my matrix, XMPP, PGP, or Signal details. That said, I have changed my view on whether fedi software should implement #e2ee for DMs. Originally, I thought “yes”. Now, I’m less sure. Doing e2ee well is hard, and is perhaps best left to the myriad existing alternatives, rather than being Yet Another Thing for overworked fedi developers to get right, particularly given the consequences for getting it wrong. 12
|
@neil me buying dvds on eBay doesn't seem so silly now. 😁
@neil I once had the notion, as a property law academic, that fragmentation of copyright interests should be constrained in the same way that restrictive covenants are supervised by the courts. There was a member of staff at (IIRC) Berkeley with similar ideas. But things have moved on so far now, making reasoned arguments about ©️ is like dissecting a train wreck after it's happened. It's like, go ahead guys, when the whole thing collapses I hope some of us can find enough food to keep us alive.