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Fedware: Government apps that spy harder than the apps they ban

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Re: Fedware: Government apps that spy harder than the apps they ban

#51

Post by john_strinlai »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #44
john_strinlai wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do we have any actual evidence of this? to be fair, the original comment by malfist started with " makes you wonder ", so i dont think they are asserting this as fact. > I know plenty of exorbitantly wealthy people who aren’t hoarding anything, some people would see this sentence as contradictory, and they would suggest that the thing those exorbitantly wealthy people are hoarding is money.

> they would suggest that the thing those exorbitantly wealthy people are hoarding is money And I’d say they’re literally wrong. They may be hoarding capital . And yes, some wealthy people do hoard money per se . But outside the Epstein class there are lots of people we just don’t hear about because they aren’t on social media talking about how rich they are. Because while it’s fun to postulate that the rich have men…

>They may be hoarding capital.

while this distinction may be important to you, i dont think it really changes anything about malfists question/point.

>Because while it’s fun to postulate that the rich have mental illnesses, it’s documented that social-media addiction causes them.

and cigarettes cause cancer. not sure what this has to do with the conversation, but yeah, social media is bad (smoking, too).

(please note: i am not arguing for or against what you or malfist have said, just thought there was a little something lost in translation re: you asking for evidence after a conversation that started with "makes you wonder")

Re: Fedware: Government apps that spy harder than the apps they ban

#52

Post by th0raway »

malfist wrote: post #6
john_strinlai wrote: post #5

> This thing also has a "Text the President" button that auto-fills your message with "Greatest President Ever!" and then collects your name and phone number. when is the onion going to go bankrupt? it has to be soon, i imagine. no way it can compete with reality at this point. (the rest of the article is a bit too depressing for me to comment on at the moment, other than saying "wow, gross")

It's ming boggling just how....cringe... these billionaires that want to run the world are. Makes you wonder if the personas that seek billions are correlated strongly with mental illnesses.

It comes down to two things. One is the well documented issue of how, when you are that rich, you are treated differently, and how that will ultimately modify your behavior. The other is the prerequisites to get to the job. Chances are you aren't fully self-made, receiving no investment. From convincing investors, to having immense faith in a project that cannot be obviously good, as otherwise you'd be building what already exists, to the personality to handle the road upward.

This second effect happens in all kinds of places where you have to jumps througha lot of hoops to just get to get there. Every hoop discards candidates, and promotes different things. Sometimes in ways that make sure that nobody capable of attaining the job is fit to actually do it well. You can see the issue all over the place, once you track people's careers. Sometimes things that should be disqualifying for a role are actually requirements in practice.

Re: Fedware: Government apps that spy harder than the apps they ban

#54

Post by surgical_fire »

psadauskas wrote: post #32
malfist wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's ming boggling just how....cringe... these billionaires that want to run the world are. Makes you wonder if the personas that seek billions are correlated strongly with mental illnesses.

Right? If I had enough money that I could make a serious dent in local or even global poverty without noticing the change in my lifestyle, and I just... chose not to, I have no idea how I could sleep at night.

If you had that amount of money you would also be a sociopath. It's a precondition.

Good news is that you would sleep fine at night. No matter how destructive your existence was, and how much of a net negative you were to the world, you would still think very highly of yourself.

Re: Fedware: Government apps that spy harder than the apps they ban

#55

Post by JumpCrisscross »

john_strinlai wrote: post #51
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they would suggest that the thing those exorbitantly wealthy people are hoarding is money And I’d say they’re literally wrong. They may be hoarding capital . And yes, some wealthy people do hoard money per se . But outside the Epstein class there are lots of people we just don’t hear about because they aren’t on social media talking about how rich they are. Because while it’s fun to postulate that the rich have men…

> They may be hoarding capital. while this distinction may be important to you, i dont think it really changes anything about malfists question/point. > Because while it’s fun to postulate that the rich have mental illnesses, it’s documented that social-media addiction causes them. and cigarettes cause cancer. not sure what this has to do with the conversation, but yeah, social media is bad (smoking, too). (please no…

> i dont think it really changes anything about what malfist question/point

Of course it does. Turning capital into spendable or transferable wealth takes work. Plenty of rich people are just enjoying their lives in the same way retirees do.

> not sure what this has to do with the conversation, but yeah, social media is bad

I’m saying the folks we tend to get upset about being rich at are also the rich who are prominently on social media. The problem isn’t that they’re rich. It’s that they’re on social media so much. I think there is a genuine argument to be made that even Elon Musk would have been a better-liked person, maybe even a better person, if he never got on Twitter.

> thought there was a little something lost in translation re: "makes you wonder"

Perhaps. And appreciate your clarifying for them. In 2026 I’m just sceptical of the “just asking questions” bit, particularly when it comes to cultural tropes. (And for what it’s worth, my query for a source was genuine. I’m always down to change my mind on a loosely-held belief.)

Re: Fedware: Government apps that spy harder than the apps they ban

#56

Post by kmeisthax »

saadn92 wrote: post #16

The closing point is the one that should get more attention — every single one of these apps could be replaced by a web page. And from a product standpoint, there's really only one reason to ship a native app when your content is just press releases and weather alerts: you want access to APIs the browser won't give you. Background location, biometrics, device identity, boot triggers — none of that is available throug…

Quoth the Doctorow: "An app is just a website wrapped up in enough IP to make it a felony to modify it."

Re: Fedware: Government apps that spy harder than the apps they ban

#57

Post by kevincox »

th0raway wrote: post #52
malfist wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's ming boggling just how....cringe... these billionaires that want to run the world are. Makes you wonder if the personas that seek billions are correlated strongly with mental illnesses.

It comes down to two things. One is the well documented issue of how, when you are that rich, you are treated differently, and how that will ultimately modify your behavior. The other is the prerequisites to get to the job. Chances are you aren't fully self-made, receiving no investment. From convincing investors, to having immense faith in a project that cannot be obviously good, as otherwise you'd be building what…

> To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.

> - Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Re: Fedware: Government apps that spy harder than the apps they ban

#58

Post by yoyohello13 »

bigyabai wrote: post #10
malfist wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's ming boggling just how....cringe... these billionaires that want to run the world are. Makes you wonder if the personas that seek billions are correlated strongly with mental illnesses.

They are perfectly aware of their own optics and do it because you can't escape it. See Elon with his cringeworthy Twitter takeover that still hasn't collapsed, Larry Ellison buying up the media or Tim Cook gifting the gold trophy to Trump. Nobody has the guts to boycott them anymore. Billionaires know that you depend on them for news, social media and smartphones too.

I think that's what bothers me the most about the last couple years. These ultra rich people are just brazenly being scumbags and there is nothing anybody can really do about it. I imagine this is what people felt like in the middle ages when their King was going senile.

Re: Fedware: Government apps that spy harder than the apps they ban

#59

Post by fhdkweig »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #46
maest wrote: post #41

FYI, regardless of election outcome, the next government is highly unlikely to roll this back

> regardless of election outcome, the next government is highly unlikely to roll this back Well yes, it’s not a high priority. I’m not going to bring it up with my electeds. Are you? If everyone who thinks this is a huge deal is too lazy and nihilistic to do anything about it, it won’t be prioritized.

As long as it isn't mandatory like the Russian Max app, I wouldn't worry. The only reason to dislike it (other than privacy issues) is the money spent to develop it (which has already been spent).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_(app)

Re: Fedware: Government apps that spy harder than the apps they ban

#60

Post by varispeed »

saadn92 wrote: post #16

The closing point is the one that should get more attention — every single one of these apps could be replaced by a web page. And from a product standpoint, there's really only one reason to ship a native app when your content is just press releases and weather alerts: you want access to APIs the browser won't give you. Background location, biometrics, device identity, boot triggers — none of that is available throug…

Not sure if this is still a thing, but some apps used to embed libraries very much tracking everything you do on the phone, including your live location and that was then sold to third parties.
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