Sad but true.
Can't speak for the show but Haunted Cosmos has a few episodes on the place. I haven't had the chance to listen to them but they might be worth a go. Haunted Cosmos is a fantastic podcast in general.
The biggest attack on internet privacy and free speech that I've ever seen. It won't stop with the UK and not enough people are paying attention to take action.
Something tells me that decentralized social systems like Nostr and the Fediverse are going to be absolutely crucial in the coming days. #privacy #socialmedia #nostr #uk
This was basically me with MeWe (pro-privacy and pro-data ownership alternative to Facebook). I decided to phase out my usage of Meta's services gradually and at this point, my account sits deactivated and I haven't messed with it in months.
The main difference from your note is that unlike Bitcoin and Nostr, MeWe is a lot easier for someone to sign up for and use, yet nobody followed me over there. It kinda sucks to know that I'm not important enough for them to even TRY a new social network but meh, my life is much more peaceful since then.
No, because I see Web3 as real (not a maxi at all), I just think it has gotten a bad rap because of rugpulls and gimmicks. The concepts themselves aren't bad in the least.
Won't turn down some zaps 😎
I'll gladly take them off your hands if you don't want them 👀😂
Love Japan and would love to live there one day. Having them supporting and utilizing something like Bitcoin would be a nice cherry on top!
I'm still firmly against the idea of not being able to delete, at the very least. On a platform where you're supposedly the sole owner of your data, you should have the right to delete that data. Editing can be argued against (still in favor) but I don't believe there's an argument that can strongly support no-delete.
As a Protestant who leans Orthodox, I'm still not keen on a few concepts. Confession is one of those. I see the value of coming to a priest and telling them about sins weighing on your heart so he can offer advice and pray for you, but I also still believe that we are only absolved through Christ and confessing to Him is the only sort of confession we absolutely MUST do as Christians.
I didn't have the issue of receiving, oddly, but I'm using Amethyst on mobile, and I go between Snort and Coracle on my PC. I'm not sure how to fix the issue you're referring to, at least not in Amethyst.
Oh, something's going wrong on your end? I received your zap and I appreciate it! 🙌
Literally tried everything I can, it just doesn't work for me sadly. No meetups anywhere near me either, which is unfortunate.
These past three days have been MEGA productive for me with my first novel. I've written over 5200 words, which may not be the peak of what I could potentially write in that time, but it's a huge leap up from the off-and-on writer's block I had for close to a year. 🤓
This is why I encourage men to research the passport bros movement. Lots of traditional women overseas in Asia and Eastern Europe. The Philippines is a fantastic place to start looking.
I totally get it. I'd say in a case like yours, the best thing to do would be to be in somewhat of a state of constant motion. In other words, keep trying privacy tools (both new ones and ones you've tried before) and see if you're able to gradually work them more into your workflow.
As for apps, tools and suggestions, I have loads but the easiest is definitely just to switch browsers & search engines. These days, I personally find Brave Search to be way better than any of the other alternatives, especially if you keep their AI summarizer enabled. You can also start using tools like Freetube on PC and Newpipe (or Grayjay) on Android whenever you want to watch Youtube. There are also great alternatives to YT such as Odysee, which are great to watch if any of the creators you follow are uploading there.
I'd also say that when it comes to less private options (stock Android, Windows, that sort of thing), there are ways you can at least reduce the surface that the companies have to harvest data from you. For example, in Windows, you can use tools like O&O ShutUp10 to forcefully disable a lot of telemetry. You can block MS telemetry domains via hosts.txt and even the default Windows firewall. There are also tools such as Safing's Portmaster, which is effectively an advanced firewall dedicated to increasing security and locking down as much data harvesting as possible.
And in terms of Android, my biggest suggestion is to side-load F-Droid (or Droid-ify, which is a better version of F-Droid) and then install two apps: Shizuku, and then Canta. Shizuku allows you to effectively simulate root access without having to root your phone; it's not perfect but it does give you a lot more control over installing/uninstalling stuff. Then, as for Canta, that app functions as a means of forcefully uninstalling any bloatware or spyware that you don't want to be on there. It does so safely, so that you're less likely to brick your phone (especially if you restrict it to recommended and safe uninstalls) and even if you mess something up, a factory reset will always work fine, unlike rooted options.
Other tips: install Aurora Store via F-Droid, which allows you to install apps from the Play Store without having to be signed in. Speaking of accounts, keep yourself signed out of your Google account whenever possible (and Samsung as well, if you use Samsung phones); only log into those accounts when you absolutely need to, and then immediately log back out. Double-check app permissions every time there's an update to your phone OR system apps; make sure that apps have the absolute bare minimum permissions they require. If you use system apps such as the default phone/SMS tools, look into alternatives such as Fossify Phone and QUIK (an SMS alternative). Oh, and if I can recommend a phenomenal gallery app, try Aves Libre
The list goes on, but those are some basic suggestions. As for iPhone, there's not as much that you can do due to Apple's walled garden, but there are still some solid open source alternatives to system apps that can help you reduce some of Apple's telemetry.
I appreciate you sharing your story and I respect your choice. Thanks!
That said, one thing I could suggest is to use a privacy browser for the majority of your usage, and just switch to Chrome any time you need that AI feature? Same could be said about private email vs. Gmail: you could always have a Gmail for cases where you're concerned about emails being sent to spam, but use something like Proton for everything else.
I, myself, don't use any non-privacy browsers but I do still use multiple browsers, I still have a couple Gmails for legacy purposes, and while I use Brave Search for 99% of my searches, I do still use StartPage and DDG for cross references and image search (because Brave's image searches kinda suck).
My point is that maybe you don't have to go all the way. Perhaps you can use the privacy tools for most purposes and then just switch when you need features they don't have, then switch back when you're done? Its actually also great to do that for organization purposes, at least in my experience.
I'm genuinely curious why you ditched other Google alternatives. Gmail and Google Search are, by far, the easiest to replace because neither are particularly best-in-class anymore. I can understand your argument with Chrome, though.
Gotcha. For me, privacy is significantly more important than AI productivity tools, but to each their own. Hopefully Brave can move towards creating something like that in the near future so you would be able to fully ditch Chrome!
Nice! If you like it, definitely check out the rest of Widek's work, as well as Altrucent and Distant Dream. Distant Dream makes me feel ways I can't explain!
Open Shell and Flow Launcher may just be the two most insanely underrated Windows programs ever created. The latter gives you a customizable search launcher and the former gives you extreme control over your start menu/taskbar.
Better still, both are free and open source.
Genuinely one of the prettiest albums you'll ever hear. Perfect music to inspire you to dream of distant worlds and voyages among the stars.
#music #ambient #progressivemetal
Can't lie, the text extractor tool in Microsoft PowerToys kinda sucks. Doesn't matter what I try to extract, there are always at least a few really stupid errors, such as reading a string with "mm" as "rnm" 🤨