dangillmor

dangillmor, 2 hours ago to random

Meet the "private equity" people who did so much to drive Red Lobster into the ground -- the top executives at Golden Gate Capital.

https://goldengatecap.com/team/?_sft_function=operating-executives

They sold off the restaurant real estate to help pay for the buyout, and leased it back at what the bankruptcy filing describes as "priced above market rates."

dangillmor, 5 hours ago to random

Journalism is always seeking a daddy, and it looks like Apple News is the latest one.

https://www.semafor.com/article/05/19/2024/as-clicks-dry-up-for-news-sites-could-apples-news-app-be-a-lifeline

dangillmor, 6 hours ago to random

For purely political reasons, North Carolina's right-wing Republican legislature is ensuring more sickness and death. This is repellent, and totally on brand. https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2024/05/20/doctors-call-public-mask-ban-unconscionable-political-point-making/

dangillmor, 7 hours ago to random

...and, still aboard the Big Tech sleazeball express: "Open"AI used Scarlett Johansson's voice even after being told not to do that. https://www.npr.org/2024/05/20/1252495087/openai-pulls-ai-voice-that-was-compared-to-scarlett-johansson-in-the-movie-her

dangillmor, 7 hours ago to random

Today is a nonstop torrent of abusive acts by Big Tech.

In this one, it looks like Google effectively paid off the feds to avoid a jury trial in the antitrust case. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/google-cuts-mystery-check-us-bid-sidestep-jury-trial-2024-05-20/

dangillmor, 8 hours ago to random

So you deleted those iPhone photos years ago, because you wanted them gone forever?

Apple obviously kept them around anyway.

And you trust Apple? Give that some thought...

https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/20/24161152/apple-ios-17-photo-bug

dangillmor, 8 hours ago (edited 7 hours ago) to random

Microsoft Windows is turning into the ultimate spy-on-the-user system. "...it includes logging things you do in apps, tracking communications in live meetings, remembering all websites you’ve visited for research, and more."

And you're supposed to be thrilled at the capabilities?

https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/20/24159258/microsoft-recall-ai-explorer-windows-11-surface-event

UPDATED to clarify: BTW there's an app for Mac that does a lot of this (noted in the story); at least usershave the choice.

dangillmor, 8 hours ago to random

The Red Lobster meltdown wasn't just bad corporate decision-making. It looks like some serious sleaze was going on, too. See the latest from the great Matt Levine: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-05-20/the-endless-shrimp-investigation?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTcxNjIyODA0NywiZXhwIjoxNzE2ODMyODQ3LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTRFNOWElEV1JHRzAwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJGMzJGMjA0ODRDNUE0NDU4OTNGNDk0MUZDRkE0RDNCMSJ9.FWWq9v8-QpPH2SjLU_CRrKFqSgdqfZj7qVknv5Q8aR0

dangillmor, 2 days ago to random

Social media disappointments:

1. Journalists are still actively participating at exTwitter, thereby actively supporting Musk, who is helping extremists bring down democracy and, by extension, a free press.

2. Reddit got away with stomping its volunteer moderators and users, and its execs are cashing in on an IPO that in a more just world would have flopped.

3. Writers I respect decided to stick with Substack despite arrogant, extremist-friendly investors and leadership.

dangillmor, 2 days ago to random

Palantir is an evil company, and its CEO showed at a conference that he is a supremely evil person.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/may/17/ai-weapons-palantir-war-technology

(Also, right on brand that a New York Times commentator moderated the panel and helped Karp avoid serious questions from one of only two reporters who bothered to attend.)

dangillmor, 3 days ago to random

If you're interested in space, one must-follow account here is @sundogplanets -- Prof. Sam Lawler. She's been on a campaign to help people understand how the basically unregulated communications satellite race is causing havoc for astronomy, and is potentially creating the conditions for a space-travel - and basic communications ---catastrophe.

She just posted this jaw-dropping thread on how bad this is getting:

https://mastodon.social/@sundogplanets/112456699856194393

dangillmor, 3 days ago to random

More than almost any other site I check frequently, @niemanlab embeds tweets in its stories. This means -- since I refuse to support Musk's anti-democracy and anti-journalism company -- I miss much of the content, since I allow Privacy Badger to block Twitter content.

There are ways to show the tweet content -- paste in screenshots, for example -- that don't support the deadbird site. It's a shame that Nieman Lab won't take that minimum step.

dangillmor, 3 days ago to random

Nabiha Syed is the Mozilla Foundation's new executive director. She is brilliant, and motivated in the best directions, a great choice for this post.

https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/mozilla-foundation-welcomes-nabiha-syed-as-executive-director/

dangillmor, 3 days ago to random

Such moral cowards running New York University -- ordering student protestors to write phony apologies.

This is right out of the authoritarian playbook -- and it craps on every notion of freedom of expression.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/17/nyregion/nyu-protests-apology-letters.html

You don't have to agree with the protestors' politics. But you should damn well understand that America is in wave of McCarthyism right now.

dangillmor, 4 days ago to random

Another Supreme Court "justice" who's an out and out insurrectionist. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/us/justice-alito-upside-down-flag.html?unlocked_article_code=1.sU0.Ul57.KzkpFSD-0V_Z&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

dangillmor, 4 days ago to random

As warned, Reddit has taken a bundle of money from "Open"AI and will use it to further monetize what you -- and the volunteers who moderate it all -- contributed for free.

It's the norm now, and particularly slimy in this case.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/16/24158529/reddit-openai-chatgpt-api-access-advertising

dangillmor, 4 days ago to random

Read the latest from Josh Marshall on polls, debates, and (as nearly always) wretched NY Times political coverage. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-quick-survey-of-numbers-vibes-and-the-inner-lives-of-campaigns/sharetoken/GxZzy8WqefbD

dangillmor, 4 days ago to random

Democrats ask America's most corrupt Supreme Court justice, Clarence Thomas, if he would be kind enough, pretty please, to explain more about his corruption...

He is, of course, not explaining anything -- and daring anyone to do something about it.

https://newrepublic.com/article/181627/clarence-thomas-rv-loan-democrats-letter

dangillmor, 4 days ago to random

I was honored to meet Mastodon founder Eugen Rochko, aka @Gargron, yesterday afternoon in San Francisco. He's the real deal: committed to doing something good for the world and boasting serious technical skills. He also has genuine humility, a welcome trait in the tech world.

The occasion was a meet-and-greet put together by Flipboard's @mike, whose company has enbraced the fediverse in a big way.

I hope to do more to help make the fediverse succeed.

You're helping, by participating.

dangillmor, 4 days ago to random

As CNN documents, it was outsiders who caused the violence at UCLA, not the students. And it's vital to keep in mind that the police "stood by for hours" -- watching (obviously indifferent if not pleased) as the outsiders beat up protestors and journalists -- and thereby became collaborators with the violent intruders into a peaceful protest.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/16/us/ucla-student-protests-counterprotesters-invs/index.html

dangillmor, 4 days ago to random

Dairy farmers get vast subsidies from taxpayers -- ridiculously high subsidies in some cases (though they have nothing on weapons contractors).You would imagine that would persuade them to do their civic duty in reporting possible bird flu cases. Nope.

https://www.notus.org/healthcare/farmer-bird-flu-cases-hide-cows-federal-government

If bird flu breaks out widely in humans, it will be beyond catastrophic.