Geek Stuff category archive
The Disinformation Superhighway,
It’s All about the Algorithm Dept.
0
David Neiwert explains. A snippet:
Follow the link for the full story.
Geeking Out 0
VirtualBox virtual machine of POP!OS with the default Gnome desktop (I loath Gnome with the fire of a thousand suns–Gnome spells “simplify” as “d-u-m-b-d-o-w-n”) on Mageia v. 8 under the Fluxbox window manager. The wallpaper is from my collection.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
At Above the Law, Mark Herrmann reflects on how often persons misunderstand the possiblities of technological advances, starting with examples from the early days of automobiles. Then he moves to today. An excerpt:
But we didn’t realize that algorithms run by artificial intelligence would cause many of us to hear only our own thoughts reverberating constantly in the echo chambers of our computers.
I commend the entire article to your attention.
No Place To Hide, the Clock is TikToking Dept. 0
Bruce Schneier reports that TikTok has changed its terms of service to include a provision that it may now collect biometric data.
One more time, “social” media isn’t.
Geeking Out 0
The Fluxbox window manager on Mageia v. 8 with Xclock and GKrellM. The wallpaper is from my collection.
Geeking Out 0
A VirtualBox VM of Windows 8 on Ubuntu MATE under the Fluxbox window manager. The Ubuntu wallpaper is from my collection. The Windows wallpaper is from a Windows theme.
Geeking Out 0
Mageia v. 8 with the Fluxbox window manager. Xclock is in the upper right and GKrellM with the “Glass” skin in the lower right. Thunderbird and Firefox are tabbed in a shaded (sometimes referred to as a “rolled-up”) window (by the way, you can’t do that with Windows). The Grand Canyon wallpaper is from my collection.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
A reporter for SFGate tested Youtube’s algorithm and determined that you are just three clicks from the rabbit hole.
Aside:
When I visit Youtube, I turn off autoplay.
After a short while, Youtube turns it back on.
Taming the Toxic Titans of Tech 0
This is a relatively long video (a little less than half an hour), but well worth a listen.
Parler Talk, Stringing Apple Along Dept. 0
When you browse to a web site, your browser sends a “user agent” string which typically identifies the browser, the operating system, and other information about your system. (Depending on your browser, you may be able to customize your user agent string.) Generally, the information transmitted is innocuous and betrays no personal information.
Now comes Parler, which is customizing itself especially for iPhones.
I suspect that they are doing so by using iPhone users’ user agent strings to tailor their behavior.
Accounts Receivable (Updated) 0
Afterthought:
I am not surprised that the right-wing bubble is filled with statements and political cartoons attempting to place the blame for the temporary interruption to gas supplies to the southeastern U. S. on President Biden, even though it was caused by (likely Russian) cyber-gangsters and an American company’s inadequate security practices.
Fact is absent from right-wing discourse.
Anyone who has paid attention to businesses’ attitudes towards cyber-security has seen that security is often treated as an afterthought–a troublesome expense to be minimized–rather than as an essential aspect of doing business.
No, the blame for the success of this ransomeware attack rests squarely on the pipeline’s operator’s incompetence.
Addendum:
In the Tampa Bay Times, cyber-security expert Mark Khan’s article supports my conclusion as to where the responsibility for this security breech lies and offers hints for protecting systems from being pwned.
Geeking Out 0
Listening to The Circular Staircase with the VLC media player on Ubuntu MATE under the Fluxbox window manager. The wallpaper is from my collection.
Geeking Out 0
Updating a VirtualBox virtual machine of Fedora from v. 33 to v. 34 on Unbuntu MATE under the Fluxbox window manager.
Geeking Out 0
One of the things I miss from my old place in Delaware is my 21 rose bushes. But I still have virtual flowers. (And, to be honest, we have lots of other flowers on our deck.) On the other hand, living in a condo, I don’t have to mow the lawn. That’s something I don’t miss.
It’s All about the Algorithm, Abysmal Algorithms Dept. 0
I have a Gmail account (mostly because I have an Android phone and a Google account is required for updates to the device), which I use mainly for news alerts. It is not my primary email address and I do not share it with others except by accident. (That is, when I’m using my email client, I sometimes accidentally compose a message when the Gmail account, as opposed to my primary email account, is in focus.)
The IMAP interface for Gmail includes a mailbox labeled “Important.”
I have observed that the emails which Google considers to be “important” to me are invariably not.
Indeed, in this case, Google is never right and always wrong.
Frankly (I do everything frankly), I find it rather gratifying that their algorithm is not infallible.
Geeking Out 0
VirtualBox VM of Windows 8 on Ubuntu MATE under the Fluxbox window manager.
Afterthought:
When I use Windows, I always place the taskbar at the top of the screen.
And you can too.
Geeking Out 0
Updating a VirtualBox VM of Bohdi Linux on Ubuntu MATE under the Fluxbox window manager. The wallpapers on both are from my collection.
Aside:
Updating a Linux install is nowhere nearly so annoying as updating Windows. Linux updates are much quicker, and reboots are necessary only when the kernel has been updated, so as to start utilizing the new kernel. And you can reboot at your convenience.
Almost all Linux distros have a GUI application for managing software installs and updates. I prefer the command line because I learned very early in my DOS 3.2 days that the command line is always faster (provided, of course, that you know the commands).
Windows requires a reboot after every update so as to update the Windows registry, which is a kludge of unimaginable proportions.