dangillmor

dangillmor, 3 days ago (edited 7 hours ago) to random

I asked Google's "AI" who won the 2020 presidential election, and it told me it was "still learning how to answer this question. In the meantime, try Google Search."

Google Search does have the answer in the first link, of course.

I suspect Google is trying to avoid anything arguably partisan, but this is ridiculous.

(Note: my brother did this days ago and also got the waffling answer from Open AI, which gave me the right answer.)

dangillmor, 4 days ago (edited 20 hours ago) to random

Re the Adobe terms of service uproar, the company is claiming that it's all just a misunderstanding.

Anything is possible, but consider:

1. Adobe is a longstanding abuser of the "intellectual property" system. (A former CEO once told me that if the company's software could make copyright effectively permanent, that would be fine.)

2. Every time we hear about one of these licensing "mistakes" it's always -- always -- on the side of giving the company more control, and money.

dangillmor, 4 days ago to random

Silicon snake oil is going to be a very big business. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/06/09/home-health-tests-doctors-fda/

dangillmor, 4 days ago to random

When I'm czar of journalism, using the expression "lean into" (and its derivatives) will be forbidden.

dangillmor, 4 days ago to random

I'm working on an experiment to create a fediverse outpost for my small town, as a possible approach to supplementing or (ideally) replacing the Facebook group that currently is the source of news in the community.

Advice on next steps? Looking at various things now e.g.

-- Find a hosting service specialilzing in Mastodon?

-- Install myself at the hosting company I use for my blog?

-- Any good guides for a project like this?

dangillmor, 4 days ago to random

Microsoft security is too often an oxymoron. Latest example:

"Microsoft's lack of stringent controls and code reviewing mechanisms on the VSCode Marketplace allows threat actors to perform rampant abuse of the platform, with it getting worse as the platform is increasingly used.

"As you can tell by the numbers, there are plethora of extensions that pose risks to organizations on the Visual Studio Code marketplace," warned the researchers."

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/malicious-visual-studio-code-extensions-with-millions-of-installs-discovered/

dangillmor, 4 days ago to random

It is an ongoing disgrace that journalists continue to support Musk's evil business. If you know a reporter who's using Twitter, please tell him/her to stop disrespecting the audience, and the craft.

https://www.notus.org/media/elon-musk-x-politics-addicted-twitter

dangillmor, 5 days ago to random

Apparently Microsoft heard the news that its insane "Recall" feature needs some remedial security work.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/7/24173499/microsoft-windows-recall-response-security-concerns

Looking forward to security researchers exposing what will certainly be huge holes in this protection.

Microsoft simply cannot be trusted.

dangillmor, 5 days ago to random

Facebook bots invading forums where people are trying to have conversations with other people is a genuinely evil development.

https://theconversation.com/ai-chatbots-are-intruding-into-online-communities-where-people-are-trying-to-connect-with-other-humans-229473

dangillmor, 5 days ago to random

Really hate to see Google give into the extortion from the Canadian government, but Google's ethical stances are totally transactional at this point.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/google-canadian-news-companies-1.7228190

dangillmor, 6 days ago to random

And this, from the Washington Post, describes Trump apparatchiks' plans to withhold federal funding from anything they don't like -- blatantly illegal, which as usual is part of their assault on, well, everything other than extremist policies.

https://wapo.st/3XekhX4

dangillmor, 6 days ago (edited 3 days ago) to random

You won't find this on the NY Times homepage, but "If Trump Wins" is very much the kind of journalism we need from the most important news organization in America.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/06/07/us/politics/trump-policy-list-2025.html?unlocked_article_code=1.yE0.HGUJ.n4G0j7au9_es&smid=url-share

If the Times -- and the rest of our news media -- did this kind of thing relentlessly, they'd be doing their jobs.

It's now or never, journalists. You -- and democracy, which makes what you do possible -- are a prime target of the fascists.

(Paywall-free link)

dangillmor, 6 days ago to random

@ddayen (who unfortunately doesn't post here anymore) is one of the finest commentators on how economic policies have done terrible damage to so many people. In this piece, "Homeowners Want Housing Prices to Go Up," he goes straight to the heart of how hard it will be to have affordable housing for most people.

https://prospect.org/infrastructure/housing/2024-06-07-homeowners-want-housing-prices-to-go-up/

JamesGleick, 6 days ago to random

Trump is testing the mainstream press. He’s saying in every way possible: Yes, I really am going to be a dictator. Yes, I really am going to dismantle the democratic institutions that have defined this country for 250 years. Yes, this really will be the last election, if I win it. And by the way, of course that means the end of a free press.

Now, how are you going to cover this political season? https://mastodon.social/@indivisibleteam/112576597337880208

dangillmor, 6 days ago to random

Stanford University police arrested a journalist covering a protest there. This is illegal. California law bars police from doing this.

Will there be accountability?

https://stanforddaily.com/2024/06/05/letter-from-the-editors-on-todays-arrests-at-the-presidents-office/

ernie, 7 days ago to random

I am going to make stupid small websites that people use.