Geek Stuff category archive
Geeking Out 0
Updating a VirtualBox virtual machine (VM) of Manjaro Linux. In the background is another VM of Slackware Linux (the oldest still-maintained Linus distro). The VMs are running on Mageia Linux with the Fluxbox window manager.
Twits Own Twitter 0
Katharine Trendacosta, writing at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, takes a look at Elon Musk’s stewardship sewership of Twitter. A snippet:
Follow the link for her reasoning.
Aside:
As I may have mentioned, about the time of Twitter’s creation, I heard an interview with one of its founders on my local NPR station (WHYY in Philly at the time–I forget who was the interviewer and who was being interviewed); the person who was being interviewed droned on and on about how this new thing was going to contribute to the discourse.
The interview convinced me to have nothing whatsoever to do with Twitter, and I’ve never regretted that. But I have also watched as Twitter became a go-to outlet for many of moment. I have watched as (far too) many persons came to rely on it for news, information, and commentary. And I will concede that, before Musk at least, Twitter as an organization did not seem to have an agenda other than to grow itself; it bumbled and it fumbled, but it usually tried–with mixed results–to get it right.
(In a larger context, I have become convinced that “social” media isn’t. It amplifies asinine and drowns out dutiful, magnifies mendacity and disrespects data, as its secret algorithms suck users down labyrinthine rabbit holes of hate and hostility so as to “attract eyeballs” amd “foster engagement.”)
Still, it’s a shame to watch Musk mangle something that had risen at least to the level of mediocre.
Licensed To Lurk, Licensed To Leak 0
In episode 438 of the Going Linux podcast, Larry and Bill parse the Windows 10/11 EULA (End User Licensing Agreement) so you don’t have to.
Aside:
There’s a reason these documents are generally written at about the 17th grade level.
They want you not to read them.
The Crypto Con 0
Some of the shills have settled with the SEC.
Plenty of Phish in the Sea 0
Susan A. Nolan and Michael Kimball, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, look at the traits and tendencies that make some persons liable to take the bait in phishing schemes. You might want to follow the link and see if it reminds you of anyone you are know.
On a related subject, we have almost completely stopped getting those phony car warranty telephone calls. They haven’t stopped trying, though. They’re now using the mail. I got one of their phony letters just the other day.
(Broken tag fixed.)
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Yes, it’s true. Twits own Twitter.
The Myth of Multitasking 0
Many years ago, I tried out for a tech support job where my potential employers had built “multitasking” into the job description. One was expected to deal with phone calls, emails, and chats simultaneously. It was a great experience, but I ended up not making it through the training period.
Now comes Peg Streep at Psychology Today Blogs to explain that multitasking is a myth (emphasis added); follow the link for the complete piece.
Aside:
The rock that sank my boat had nothing to do with my technical or people skills. Rather, this company placed great emphasis on telling callers and chatters when you would get back the them. I wasn’t able to get that down.
Driving away from that office for the last time was one of the two times in my life I have felt as if a physical weight were being lifted from my shoulders.
The Crypto Con 0
Michael Graham wonders why so many reputedly responsible fiscals were looking the other way.
It’s All about the Algorithm Ambulances
0
Yet one more indication that “social” media isn’t.
The Anti-Social Algorithm 0
Emma talks with Dr. Nicholas Kardaras about how and why “social” media isn’t.
It’s All about the Algorithm, the Snaring Economy Dept. 0
Emma talks with Adrian Hon about the “gamification” of the work place in this, the snaring economy.
It’s not a pretty picture.
The Crypto Conundrum 0
If it’s not real in the first place, can you be penalized for stealing it?
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry charges you with being addicted to your phone.
Yes, you (but certainly not me–well at least to the extent that I avoid “social” media like the anti-social plague that it has become). They further argue that this is no accident:
Follow the link for some recommendations on how you can get your life back.
Digital Security Theatre 0
Bruce Schneir thinks that the efforts to ban TikTok, which seems to be the new “in” thing in the West, miss the point. A snippet:
The entire article is worth a read.
Artificial, Yes. Intelligent, No. 0
Rebecca Watson cautions us not to believe the hype about “artificial intelligence.” An excerpt:
. . . it’s unfortunate that “AI” caught on years ago to describe these chatbots because at this point we just have to use it so people know what we’re talking about, but this kind of “AI” has absolutely nothing to do with anything that could be called “intelligence.”
Or you can read the transcript.
