111–120 of 215 posts
Yet another spying case that could be avoided if people stopped using non-free software.
Maybe they should take it a step further and not use software at all. Also looms are destroying cottage industry and maybe it isn't too late to riot some more against the enclosure of common grazing lands.
You're being sarcastic, but do we really need an app to deliver sound to headphones? I think that's a solved problem.
What I think would be interesting is: what if a company like this made an app like this, but then clearly stated to users that it'd be collecting data on them and sending it to marketers? They could even pitch it as helping to keep prices "low". How much would this hurt sales? Would it even hurt sales at all? Given the proliferation of "smart TVs" and various IoT devices, I'm extremely skeptical that a company would…
If someone familiar with Amazon's hardware business and Kindle sales numbers could chime in, we could get a sense of whether the transparency approach works.
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> The reason why I bought a bluetooth toothbrush was for a ranking system We are truly living in a modern fall of rome. We will choke on our bluetooth enabled toothbrushes, 700 dollar juicer machines, our fucking fitbits. We've ravaged the earth to adorn ourselves with decadent shackles and we will reap the consequences with fake tans and ultra clean teeth. In the past year I've gone from being an environmentalist to…
An age where "idiots are getting promoted for baseless ideas" is closer to the truth. This is why people who were traditionally more humble now have the obligation to speak out - but I often see them silenced at the tech companies they work for... These companies are often selectively listening to exactly the wrong people, who are usually in the minority in the company anyway!
You don't appreciate the diversity?
I'm curious if anyone knows a way to temporarily disable/enable apps without having to uninstall them. Android used to have a "Disable" button in the App Manager, but my current 6.0.1 phone isn't showing that for any apps. Am I missing something?
Is anyone compiling a black-list of companies that implicitly charge users by quietly (or not-so-quietly) collecting their data? This is increasingly becoming the consumer protection issue of our time. A white-list of companies that do NOT do this could also be useful, especially as alternatives to companies on the black-list.
1) data is being collected (e.g. my precious steps/vitals/food intake on fitbit)
2) data is being transmitted to "mother ship" and then sold to everyone that is willing to buy (e.g. why on earth did iOS fitbit app wanted to connect to facebook??? and then I stopped using fitbit - of course I was using a throwaway email and false name/DoB to begin with)
3) data is being correlated and adding more juice to each user's profile (e.g. iOS fitbit app getting my IP, fake-name, throwaway-email, vitals, not-my-iOS advertising identifier)
No way around this. Only using a good hosts file, PMP, and Firewall IP (on iOS and for jailbroken devices). Anyone who runs stock iOS or Android is in the mercy of all "these people".
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The app shows metadata about the currently playing track, such as title and artist, so it really does look like it has full access to what is currently playing. This is discomforting. What if I am playing a locally synced file "board meeting xyz company case abc something secret in the title.mp3"
Or even worse, something HIPPA protected. They could be in for a world of hurt here.
The user, again if they are or are employed by a HIPAA covered entity, might be, though.
Is anyone compiling a black-list of companies that implicitly charge users by quietly (or not-so-quietly) collecting their data? This is increasingly becoming the consumer protection issue of our time. A white-list of companies that do NOT do this could also be useful, especially as alternatives to companies on the black-list.
Reading about spying headphones on website where video with sound starts automatically and continues to play when pressing pause (but jumps to right corner, just like hoaxes for Windows 95 where "start" button evaded mouse) — we're living in adtechpunk world.
I've been "training" my Adblock+ and my NoScript for soooo long that by now most of the metrics/trackers/beacons/crap don't even load.
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You don't have to put up with that. Protect yourself. Install uBlock Origin and NoScript.
Or another option: uBlock Origin + uMatrix. Playing embedded videos will need such an amount of configuration that you'll really want to watch it before bothering. This could be a positive or a negative, depending on the person :)
It's a Procrustean approach but it works.