• 7 Posts
  • 65 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 9th, 2023

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  • The thing is, “research” doesn’t speak, humans do. If a tree falls in the woods… and so on. Part of being a scientist is communicating what you’ve done, otherwise no one else will know. It’s a skill that has to be developed in some more than others, and it was a key part of my training as a scientist. I don’t really like that part as much, but I do it because it’s what makes my work have any impact.







  • While I agree that the fingerprinting data is interesting, on iOS, TikTok doesn’t require any of those permissions as indicated. Some of the articles state that they are required, but they aren’t. As far as I know it isn’t possible, without a zero day of some sort, to access camera, sound, contacts, etc without explicitly granting those permissions.

    That said, that is a lot of data, and for those that can be linked back to an individual. And I’m sure most people are less careful with permissions. The fingerprinting data is clearly powerful, and I find it extremely fascinating, since there is VERY limited input and such effective output.


  • Sources on any of this? Perhaps it works differently on Android.

    The main thing which you miss though is that it has “the algorithm” down pat. While it knows I’ll watch cooking videos and videos of people yelling at cops, it doesn’t bother trying to show me things about Trump, etc. it is keeping me in my own custom echo chamber. I have no idea how it works so well.

    Now imagine someone hell bent on believing things like the pizza molester stories or Jan 6th alt histories. This is a very effective tool for radicalizing people and reinforcing the “truth” they already suspect. It’s easier to divide people based on preconceived notions than trying to convince people of something new.






  • I switched from hosting my own mail for close to 10 years to using Fastmail. The webmail client is much better than Rainloop and Roundcube. I like it better than Gmail TBH. I’m very happy with my decision, but I’m only hosting for me.

    I also considered Proton, but it doesn’t satisfy a couple of your requirements. It is a good value though, and the privacy features are tops.

    The best value I’ve seen by far is Microsoft 365. The webmail for Outlook is quite good and you can host your own client if you want and connect with IMAP. It’s especially a good value if you use the family plan. Bonus is you also get MS Office and a TB of storage. Downside: Microsoft. But 2024 MS isn’t the same as 2005 M$.




  • lol, what world are you living in? Yes, it’s better than retail, but for high skill jobs (which the government desperately needs) these things are not true.

    • Random layoffs—sure, as long as you’re the right kind of employee
    • Vacation is accumulated at an embarrassingly slow rate, especially for newer employees.
    • pension. Right, but there are similarly no stock options or significant performance bonuses you find in the private sector
    • you’d be surprised at the work schedules for government employees who aren’t admin assistants

    Pay is so far behind still it isn’t funny.