The more nuanced follow up, however, is that it’s only worth the work if you’re putting in the right amount of work.

Yeah…this is why I abandoned by privacy journey a few years ago. It felt like it took a lot of work, created hiccups for very little reason, and was overall just not enjoyable. But I was able to get Bitwarden out of it, which, I think, is a pretty swell privacy-focused app.

…god damn it…

Putting up those dishes is going to be exhausting!

Or am I?

My wife does this, and I’m just like, “…wtf is your problem?”

Yeah.

But then you read on and it says Apple is allowing the kit to not be used in the EU only. Outside of the EU, presumably, Firefox will still have to use the Webkit or whatever. So, while Apple uses its own engine in both the EU and the US on its phones, Firefox will be able to use its own engine in the EU, too, but will have to continue using Webkit in the US and other markets outside of the EU.

I’m not sure what disingenuous about that.

I’ve been using Vimium for years and just now learned the Shift + T thing thanks to you XD So, thanks!

I find Vimium better for a mouse-free Firefox experience.

I think, like Obsidian, it stores them as markdown files.

Then Logseq. It’s an outliner (each line can be it’s own…thing…), but it’s open source and a direct competitor of Obsidian. In fact, I was ambivalent between the two when I first started with online note-taking.

My wife of a year younger than me is the mom in the meme. I’m 35. The joke is still alive!

As opposed to the people who don’t vote because they live under a rock or in their mom’s basement?

I mean, I’m kidding, but people you’ve never met can absolutely fuck up your life when in comes to politics.

Now what misanthropic government would do that? Surely none exist!

Among respondents who own luxury brands that they themselves bought (e.g., Gucci, Versace, Rolex), 44% prefer to live in a world without any of those brands altogether. Among respondents not owning such brands, the fraction preferring to live in a world without them is 69%.

That’s interesting.

Actually, this is kinda like using fossil fuels. If we didn’t have fossil fuels our lives would be miserable. And while using them adds some utility, burning fossil fuels still leaves us miserable, particularly as climate change grows worse.And so, even though I use fossil fuels to fuel my car, heat my home, and cook my food, I’d still prefer to live in a world where its significantly reduced to phased out altogether.

Now that is a good argument!

Claude.ai. I took the transcript of the video and asked for an outline using a prompt I usually use for outlining textbook chapters lol.

Here’s an AI outline because this was actually a good talk:

• How Platforms Die

  • The speaker introduces the concept of platform decay or “enshittification” and how it leads to the death of internet platforms.
    • He defines platforms as firms like Uber, Amazon, and Facebook that connect users and business customers.
  • He outlines a 3-stage process called enshittification where platforms:
    • Are initially good to users
    • Abuse users to benefit business customers
    • Eventually abuse business customers to only benefit shareholders
  • This results in the platform becoming a “pile of shit” that dies.

• Facebook Case Study

  • He uses Facebook as a case study of enshittification’s 3 stages:
    • Initially attracted users by promising privacy protections and custom feeds
    • Then broke promises and sold user data to advertisers and flooded feeds with publisher content
    • Finally, reduced value to users and fees for publishers to extract all value for shareholders
      • This led to an angry user base and brittle equilibrium

• Causes of Enshittification

  • Lack of Competition
    • Weak antitrust enforcement has allowed consolidation across industries
    • Companies can use predatory pricing to undercut competitors
    • Mergers eliminate competition
      • Example: Google relying on acquisitions rather than in-house innovation
  • Unrestricted “Backend Tweaking”
    • Tech platforms control the algorithms and systems behind their products
    • They can arbitrarily change these to alter user experiences
      • e.g. Facebook reducing visibility of publisher content in feeds
    • Done without transparency, oversight or accountability
  • Bans on Reverse Engineering
    • Laws like DMCA 1201 and CFAA criminalize circumventing DRM and terms of service
    • Makes it illegal to reverse engineer platforms to enable interoperability
    • Tech companies use IP laws to prevent modding and adversarial interoperability
      • e.g. Apple using IP laws to prevent iOS modding

• Solutions

  • Strengthen Antitrust Enforcement
    • Block anti-competitive mergers
    • Break up existing tech giants
  • Pass Privacy, Labor and Consumer Protection Laws
    • Comprehensive federal privacy laws with private right of action
    • End worker misclassification through gig economy
    • Apply consumer protection standards to platforms
  • Allow Adversarial Interoperability
    • Roll back laws criminalizing modding, reverse engineering
    • Use government procurement to incentivize open ecosystems
    • Appoint special masters to oversee platform legal threats
  • Keep Interoperators in Check
    • Bind interoperators to the same privacy, fair trading and labor laws
    • Determined through democratic process vs corporate policy

• Conclusion

  • We need to prepare and spread these policy ideas to capitalize on the next crisis
  • Efforts are underway to enable a better internet through this approach

Where are the facts tho?

It’s been a few years, but I really liked Linux Mint and Xfce. The former is more friendly for beginners. But XFCE is responsive…like…you click and the computer responds immediately. It feels like the computer is really yours. Don’t get me wrong, though, Linux Mint is really responsive, too, particularly in comparison to Windows.

You can always try them out, too, before you commit with your current computer. In the past, I’ve used VirtualBox to virtualize Mint/Xfce. Here’s a tutorial. It sounds fancy, but it’s pretty easy.

Lol no. I take it out when I don’t need it.