PoliticalCustard

PoliticalCustard, 2 months ago

I don’t use them mainly because they put pressure on an already problematic property market (UK). Also, I don’t want to stay in someone’s house, especially if I’m going out with friends, the anonymity of a hotel room is heaven; pop that card on the door handle and close out the world until you’ve recovered enough to face the scary outside people.

PoliticalCustard, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

I’ve never used Fastmail, so I cannot comment on that but I just closed my Proton account because of their donation to Bellingcat. It might not be a problem for some but it was for me.

propagandainfocus.com/proton-mail-imperialist-sto…

PoliticalCustard, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

While in theory it is nice that an organisation would give over so much power to its customers in terms of where donations go, it does come with the risk of problematic decisions being made. Then later, when they’ve boxed themselves into a corner, quite unnecessarily, all they can do is go along with what their customers decide and then pass on the morality of that decision to those customers. But that’s not really good enough to say “My customers made me do it!” No, you gave your customers too much power in the first place. It’s a privacy organisation so surely better to give some money to a group that supports and compliments your aims. Bellingcat (regardless of the problems raised in the article I posted) has nothing to with privacy. If people read the article and decide they are happy with Proton, then go for it. I’d rather people make a decision with their eyes open.

PoliticalCustard, 2 months ago

I have had a Tuta (Tutanota) account for years and they’ve always been good (I just have a free account and it’s always been fine for my needs) tuta.com

PoliticalCustard, 2 months ago

If I’m not using my cam, it’s not plugged in. If I am not chatting, my headset’s physical button has the mic deactivated. That’s two potential vulnerabilities I just don’t have to think about.

PoliticalCustard, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

Yeah, burner account. And look up loads of stuff you don’t like to confuse it. 😂

For example, “Is Thomas Friedman single?”

PoliticalCustard, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

I like Rob, I trust him, but this video is a sales pitch for his voip service, I think this should be made clear up front. It could be the solution everyone is looking for but he takes six minutes to get to the point at which you discover it’s a sales video for a paid service he’s created.

I am not complaining about the service or what he’s offering at all and it’s good that this video has been posted for people to see - especially a non-YouTube link too. :)

PoliticalCustard, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

It’s a very interesting coincidence. And say your co-worker was looking up stuff related to this subject why would it be you who gets served the ad? That doesn’t really make sense. If mics were listening into conversations we’d be hearing a lot more of these “coincidence” stories and it’s pretty rare to come across them. I am not saying it doesn’t happen, I don’t trust these fuckers with anything. I use Linux with NextDNS filters up the ass, and have a rooted, degoogled phone with Adaway on it because my trust is so low and I cannot stand ads - if one ever does get past my setup I immediately am searching for a way to find out how it got through, which is rare.

I love what you are doing with your house set-up. How did an ad get to you, I guess it was is on your phone.

PoliticalCustard, 2 months ago

Really fascinating piece, thanks for sharing. Hurt my brain a bit though. :D

PoliticalCustard, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

One of the few Google apps which is actually really good. I have used it to identify obscure parts in order to be able to repair or replace them myself. If I want to use it I have to borrow someone else’s phone. It’s the only thing I miss about Google. I am definitely not surprised about the behaviour you speak of though.

PoliticalCustard, 2 months ago

I am not sure; I’ve not tried. I degoogled my phone and I’ve not tried to put it on there since. It’s just banned completely. :D

PoliticalCustard, 2 months ago

It might be helpful, I’m not going to rule out using it, but it’s all going to happen on my machine and I’m not paying for it or logging in anywhere to use it AND it’s going to talk cockney… “Oi oi, ya fuckin’ muppet, you missed a semi-colon. Ya useless fuckin’ nonce!”

PoliticalCustard, 2 months ago

Interesting piece. It’s a bit weirdly worded in that it suggests that the police shut the accounts when really it’s Mega, Proton, Tuta who are closing the accounts. Presumably the police tell those companies which accounts are being used for illegal purposes and then those companies then close the accounts. I was a bit alarmed at first because it sounded like the authorities were closing the accounts when that’s not really the case.

PoliticalCustard, 2 months ago

Yep, I set 2 for public trackers. I’m not very good at holding onto stuff for long periods of time, but I just got my first seedbox on Saturday so that may change. I am also kicking myself for not getting a seedbox years ago, it’s so good… and holy hell the speeds are amazing.

PoliticalCustard, 3 months ago

Hooking up an AI model to the turbo-charged sewage pipe that is Reddit’s “vast catalog of user-generated content” has surely got to constitute abuse against machines. If they ever really develop “intelligence” they are going to be absolutely furious with us. 😅

PoliticalCustard, 3 months ago

The West is also helping because it’s still buying Russian oil and gas, it’s just coming via a more circuitous route so its origin can be hidden. Oil laundering, basically. It’s just more expensive now because it’s travelling further and there are more middlemen involved. Hilarious really.

From the Wall Street Journal (April 2022) The West Is Still Buying Russian Oil, but It’s Now Harder to Track

PoliticalCustard, 3 months ago

That is an absolutely fascinating article on the technical operation of a scam app. A definite warning to us all. Also I was very interested to read the terms and conditions of the Snap Store, specifically section 14: Limitation of Liability (which could be titled “Sorry, You’re Fucked”).

I don’t like bitcoin, it’s an environmental disaster that had potential but has turned into a highly volatile speculative device beloved by libertarians, grifters, and scammers. I do feel for the person who lost the coins, that cannot be a very nice experience to deal with.

PoliticalCustard, 3 months ago

If anyone knows how to get the beta without having to join the beta programme on Google Play please let me know; my phone is degoogled. They do have an apk on their site but it’s not the beta.

PoliticalCustard, 3 months ago

I can’t wait to get a Kobo… but my 10 year old Kindle Paperwhite refuses to die (I just transfer books to it via USB, it’s not been in contact with Amazon for years). I did put an OS on the paperwhite allowing for white text on a black screen and it allowed epubs but it was a bit crashy and needed to be rebooted every now and then and a Kindle reboot takes several minutes. Definitely a Kobo next though…

PoliticalCustard, 3 months ago

I still hop but less often, I always come back to an Arch-based distro though, mainly because there’s so much in the AUR. Garuda at the moment after quite a long time with EndeavourOS, and a very short time with Nobara before that.

PoliticalCustard, 3 months ago

A little red onion is nice, or finely sliced spring onions (scallions - a strange name, I’ve always thought, because it reminds me of the word rapscallion) Pearl barley is nice for a bit of bite.

A nice homemade dressing is the most important bit for me - once you’ve mastered the simple art of making a good dressing you will never have store-bought again!

I do love a Greek salad, a nice salty feta cheese is worth a chef’s kiss.

PoliticalCustard, 3 months ago

I don’t think he’s coming out of nowhere, he became well known in left circles in Europe when he became the Greek Finance Minister in 2015 (for the left-wing Syriza party) and attempted to defend Greece against predatory European lenders. He’s written several books and has taught at many universities.