Updates:
I’m planning on moving future “items of interest” to a new show all together. I will continue publishing monthly recaps to keep people up to date on what I’m up to, but news and interesting links will now be moved to a new show. Future monthly recaps will include clips from recent interviews and any follow-up considerations.
New Show Coming Soon
I’m planning on taking the links I allready compile to track important updates regularly into a (hopefully) entertaining and informative audio broadcast. The hope is that the few items that do require a visual component can be made into their own stand-alone videos. I will be producing the show on a bi-weekly (once every two weeks) basis for paid subscribers.
If you’ve found my assortment of links interesting in the past, or want to give a little to get a little, now is the best time to lock in your support and get access to the upcoming show!
Help me find a name!
I haven’t come up with a name yet, but if somebody can come up with one I like faster than I can I’ll be happy to gift them a free year. I want it to be catchier than “The Libre Solutions Network” that skill synergizes my passion for technology and freedom. This show will include all the same news and interesting links I share regularly.
This is NOT Substack exclusive, but it is premium
If you’re a keener for decentralization and eager to walk the walk the radio show is also going to be available as a Mitra subscription paid in Monero at a substantial discount. If this option gains traction, I’ll consider more supporter only posts on the fediverse.
Recent Items
Items of Interest
I don’t personally use Krita myself, but it’s incredible to see how far this open source painting program has come!
Fedfree is a website aimed at teaching people how to run their own servers, of various kinds, on libre operating systems e.g. Linux and BSD. It aims to do this, using libre software exclusively, teaching people about the importance of libre software and hardware as it pertains to freedom; the right to use, study, adapt, share. The right to read. Universal access to knowledge… education. Education is the goal.
I’m excited to see this relatively new resource grow!
This is a good overview of inexpensive ways to start self-publishing immediately.
Another good web resource on Linux, with a bit more content.
More than you ever wanted to know to compare different browsers.
A fascinating project aimed at making private networks (innernets) work well for small communities. I am convinced that tools like this are a vital part overcoming ongoing challenges.
* Review of Reputable, Functional, and Secure Email Service
This is a great overview that lays out the thought process of comparing different mail providers.
I’m a huge fan of ‘Nobody Special’ and this is a must-watch explanation of how much of the AI hype cycle is manufactured. Taking this into consideration explains a lot of bizarre behavior by corporations and ‘influencers’.
* All credit card PIN numbers in the World leaked”
I think to the degree that PINs and passwords exist at all in the future, they need to tolerate large lengths. The security provided by a 4-digit pin is becoming vanishingly small. I would love to see institutions and services adopt different authentication methods that aren’t inherently centralized.
* No, I don’t want to fill out your contact form
A good list of reasons why contact forms are generally a bad solution.
* You Can Now Bridge Fediverse and Bluesky Accounts
I connected my accounts, the fediverse grows! This is excellent because it means that fediverse users can effectively opt-out of Bluesky’s ranking and filtering nonsense.
* Modernizing the AntennaPod Code Structure
The video is worth the watch, such a huge undertaking for one of my favorite apps!
* Ottawa wants the power to create secret backdoors in our networks to allow for surveillance
I’ve added this link to cyberfreedom.ca. Every time I see one of these stories I hope that people recognize that there is a coordinated push all over the world to vastly enhance internet censorship and surveillance.
* Jeremy Hunt bets on creating a $1tn ‘British Microsoft’
* No One Should Have That Much Power
This is a must-read refutation of the logic behind measures such as introducing back-doors, dragnet surveillance and dragnet surveillance.
Telegram, Signal, Session Oh My! There’s been a lot of back-and-forth about fighting over various messenging apps. I would argue there is no single perfect messenging app. The best solution in my opinion is to use the most secure application with the people you interact with.
* Why I Don't Trust Matrix Developers to Produce a Secure Protocol
This is a technical post raising concerns about matrix’s end-to-end encryption capabilities. In my opinion this is where avoiding hostile cyberspace is paramount, if you host a server with trusted contacts the risk is minized. Of course, I sincerely hope developers in the matrix ecosystem incorporate this feedback to make it even better.
If we want a better technological landscape, we need to fund it ourselves. Brodie does an excellent job raising concerns about how the Linux foundation members choose to spend their money, and makes great suggestions on how to better support the linux desktop.
* Fight for citizen’s right to use the Internet anonymously
Online anonymity is important, and it’s arguably one of the more effective safeguards against online tyranny.
* Rightsholders Want U.S. “Know Your Customer” Proposal to Include Domain Name Services
A concerning escalation regarding hosting providers, effectively making those who provide online services more vulnerable to retaliation from government and vigilantes alike.
* Social media companies have too much political power, 78% of Americans say in Pew survey
It is undeniable that large tech companies have an immense influence over public discussions. Personally, I would prefer we embrace attention democracy, rather than merely wish big tech can be compelled to play nice.
* The Myth of Online Radicalisation
Online radicalization is often used as a pretext for more internet censorship and surveillance. It’s important to really take these problems head-on and take a close look at the details.
* Proton Mail Discloses User Data Leading to Arrest in Spain
I took the liberty of graphing Proton’s requests from governments.
This was a great conversation about digital privacy as a whole. I’m a big fan of Naomi Brockwell and The Hated one has done some fantastic videos on a variety of topics.
* Stack Overflow suspends user for editing posts in OpenAI protest
I’m skeptical that these kind of ‘revolts’ are effective in general, but it’s an excellent example of nominally neutral cyberspace becoming more nefarious.
* Troubling iOS 17.5 Bug Reportedly Resurfacing Old Deleted Photos
Talk about embarassing! It seems that nothing is really deleted unless you run a drill through it.
* Why Your Wi-Fi Router Doubles as an Apple AirTag
Is WiFi even worth it? One can start to wonder. Definitely worth keeping in mind.
* Privacy, human rights, and Tornado Cash
Molly White does an excellent job striking at the root of the issue when it comes to privacy, decentralization and finance.
* Valve says you aren't allowed to bequeath a Steam account in a will
Despite having a lot of goodwill from gamers, Steam is still DRM (Digital Rights Management) software that has disappointing terms of service.
Truthstream Media does phenomenal work. I’d highly recommend giving this documentary the time. Despite being made prior to the Covid Crisis, The Minds of Men is a fantastic timeless work.
