Geek Stuff category archive

“No place to hide” frolics.

Paul Krugman wonders how the crypto con successfully conned so many persons. A snippet:

So how did cryptocurrencies come to be worth almost $3 trillion at their peak? (Two-thirds of that value has now vanished.) Why was nothing done to rein in “stablecoins,” which were supposedly pegged to the U.S. dollar but were clearly subject to all the risks of unregulated banking, and are now experiencing a cascading series of collapses reminiscent of the wave of bank failures that helped make the Great Depression great?

My answer is that while the crypto industry has never managed to come up with products that are much use in the real economy, it has been spectacularly successful at marketing itself, creating an image of being both cutting edge and respectable. It has done so, in particular, by cultivating prominent people and institutions.

Follow the link for his reasoning.

At Above the Law, Joe Patrice takes a long, detailed, and lawyerly look at Twitter’s suit to force Elon Musk to honor his contract to buy said “social” media platform. It’s a fascinating read, even for a non-lawyer.

I won’t try to summarize it. I’ll just say that Patrice seems to think that Twitter’s lawyers are earning their fees.

Former Uber executive outs Uber’s duplicity.

Uber is nothing more than gypsy cabs with an app.

“Social” media isn’t.

For example.

Aside:

As I have said before, the landscape of the internet has changed drastically since the Communications Decency Act was passed almost three decades ago. I agree with Dan Romer in the article at the link. “Social” media outfits that manipulate content so as to attract “eyeballs” and increase “engagement” are not impartial platforms for their users’ statements, unlike, for example, my most excellent hosting provider, which provides me a platform, but does not manipulate my content in any way.

Section 230 of that act sorely needs updating to reflect the reality of today’s internet.

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Writing at the Tampa Bay Times, University of South Florida professor Murad Antia writes that he has little trust in crypto-currency. A snippet; follow the link for the full explanation of his reasoning.

So why do some people believe in cryptocurrencies? Why invent a currency outside the purview of the government and the Federal Reserve Bank? It is a horrible idea. There needs to be a central control of the money supply to prevent and control speculative excesses. It is reminiscent of the shadow banking system collapsing during the 2008 financial crisis, which worsened the economic downturn.