jackson's recent activity

  1. Comment on Epic's new game strategy for mobile stores in ~games

    jackson
    Link Parent
    I think Google Play has a lot more market share than the Galaxy store.

    I think Google Play has a lot more market share than the Galaxy store.

    13 votes

  2. Comment on Google now only search engine allowed to provide results from Reddit in ~tech

    jackson
    Link Parent
    Net neutrality is about your ISP's relationship with web resources (like Netflix, Reddit, etc.). Your ISP cannot charge web resources for access to a "fast lane" to reach consumers. I could see...

    Net neutrality is about your ISP's relationship with web resources (like Netflix, Reddit, etc.). Your ISP cannot charge web resources for access to a "fast lane" to reach consumers.

    I could see this being part of a case against Google for monopolizing search though.

    82 votes

  3. Comment on Cheap phone plan with international service? in ~tech

    jackson
    Link Parent
    I think that'll be true of any US carrier. If you're just looking for voice/sms (which from your post seems like what you're principally interested in) it doesn't look like they cut that off....

    I think that'll be true of any US carrier. If you're just looking for voice/sms (which from your post seems like what you're principally interested in) it doesn't look like they cut that off.

    Overall I think your best bet is Google Voice. Yes, it's Google, but that's the "price" of it being free. Companies that respect your data privacy are naturally going to charge more because they don't make money without you giving it to them.

    2 votes

  4. Comment on Donald Trump whisked off stage in Pennsylvania after apparent gunshots rang through the crowd in ~news

  6. Comment on A handful of US grocery stores now have ammo vending machines in ~news

    jackson
    Link Parent
    Since this is in Texas, I’ll direct you to their laws on when and where you’re allowed to buy alcohol: https://www.tabc.texas.gov/faqs/ Lets also throw in their regulations on when, where, and how...

    Since this is in Texas, I’ll direct you to their laws on when and where you’re allowed to buy alcohol: https://www.tabc.texas.gov/faqs/

    Lets also throw in their regulations on when, where, and how you can vote for good measure because it’s also a right guaranteed by the constitution: https://guides.sll.texas.gov/voting-in-texas

    There are many ways a product (or right) can be limited, even if legal.

    10 votes

  7. Comment on Has anyone stopped caring about politics? in ~humanities

    jackson
    Link
    I wish I could stop caring about politics, but too many people I care about are adversely affected by it. The least I can do is be engaged.

    I wish I could stop caring about politics, but too many people I care about are adversely affected by it. The least I can do is be engaged.

    21 votes

  8. Comment on Shopping app Temu is “dangerous malware,” spying on your texts, lawsuit claims in ~tech

    jackson
    Link Parent
    While many things they mentioned in the report are suspicious, I'm not a fan of how overly-sensationalized the report is. The risk matrix they use is completely non-standard. They claim that Temu...

    While many things they mentioned in the report are suspicious, I'm not a fan of how overly-sensationalized the report is.

    Comparison of Security Issues appearing in TEMU and competitive landscape apps. *
    Note TEMU shows all 18 threats Red, TikTok ( 10 Green ) and SHEIN ( 9 Green ) are among the least dangerous.

    The risk matrix they use is completely non-standard. They claim that Temu is more dangerous than any other app they compare it to, but conveniently don't include anything that Temu doesn't do.

    Many of the concerns raised (location data, MAC address, detecting root) are table stakes for apps these days. While obviously not good, the article implies that this is Never Before Seen behavior. In the risk matrix, one of the line items is "Putting MAC address into a JSON to send the information to server." I'd hazard a guess that most of the other apps listed as collecting MAC addresses are still sending them off to a server, but are maybe using protobuf or XML to send it back. It's classic user fingerprinting.

    TEMU seemingly reads the user’s system logs.

    This is concerning behavior. I'm surprised Android allows this access. All they prove is that the log string is present though, not that the app actually obtains the logs.

    TEMU calls getWindow().getDecorView().getRootView(), to make screenshots and it stores those results in a file.

    Again, does Android allow apps to screenshot other apps? If so, concerning and should be fixed at the Android level. If not, there are many ways to record user sessions without literally screenshotting your own app. Here's one such product: https://www.fullstory.com/

    The rigged spinner always performs the same little script. It always stops on “One More Chance”, then even if you tried to browse away, it stops on the bright orange wedge with the biggest discount…every time.

    This is a classic dark pattern, and should not be allowed.

    Their discussion of network security is... weird. There are tools available that allow you to inspect traffic from a phone, even if it's TLS traffic. It seems like they chose not to do that and instead just speculate.

    Weakening network transit security is an odd choice for Temu, but to me suggests more incompetence than malicious intent. They're already sending the traffic wherever they want: there's no need to decrease the level of encryption in transit for them to siphon data off of your phone. If anything, this actually makes it easier to inspect what Temu is sending off of your device.

    I don't think Temu is doing anything good here, for what it's worth. It does seem to go beyond your standard free app data mining, and the privilege escalation issues noted are highly concerning. A lot of the access it takes advantage of shouldn't be allowed by Android without serious user involvement (like following a process to enable privileged intents for a particular app).

    I don't think the report is particularly good at conveying this, and reads more like a passionate hit piece than serious reporting.

    22 votes

  9. Comment on Barcelona plans to ban all short-term rentals for tourists from 2029 in ~travel

    jackson
    Link Parent
    hostels often have a private room offering in addition to the shared quarters. it'll (obviously) be more expensive than a shared bedroom but is typically cheaper than staying at a Hilton or similar.

    hostels often have a private room offering in addition to the shared quarters. it'll (obviously) be more expensive than a shared bedroom but is typically cheaper than staying at a Hilton or similar.

  10. Comment on MacBook Air gets hosed, other models hold steady in macOS 15 as Intel support fades in ~tech

    jackson
    Link Parent
    Worth noting- security updates do continue being released for prior OS versions. endoflife.date says this applies to the prior 3 releases (so around 3 years past initial release). So looks like...

    Worth noting- security updates do continue being released for prior OS versions. endoflife.date says this applies to the prior 3 releases (so around 3 years past initial release).

    So looks like that chalks up to 8 years for the 2019 Air. Not the worst, but I think we should strive for at least 10 years for computers. At least intel devices aren’t too hard to flash with Linux.

    https://endoflife.date/macos

    4 votes

  11. Comment on Powerful climate change deniers knowingly committed heinous crimes, and they should be put on Nuremberg style trials in ~enviro

    jackson
    Link Parent
    Following this line of thinking, should patients who were prescribed opioids that later got addicted to them be prosecuted for their 'crime' of driving demand for opioids and furthering the opioid...

    Following this line of thinking, should patients who were prescribed opioids that later got addicted to them be prosecuted for their 'crime' of driving demand for opioids and furthering the opioid epidemic? Even though the producers of these drugs lied about their safety?

    It's not dissimilar from what's happening here. Fossil fuel companies are constantly lying about the environmental impacts of their product. "Natural Gas" is constantly touted as "clean" energy when it isn't. When the electorate tries to reduce fossil fuel production and consumption, these companies spend massive amounts of money to lobby against it.

    We've spent frankly absurd amounts of money trying to reverse the impacts of fossil fuel consumption through carbon capture rather than transition to green energy and energy storage.

    We can maintain a very similar standard of living with significantly lower emissions and environmental destruction. Corporations–especially those dependent on our consumption of fossil fuels–will fight this at every level because it will cut into their profit margins.

    9 votes

  12. Comment on Introducing the Light Phone III in ~tech

    jackson
    Link Parent
    Does the phone allow you to install third-party apps at all? The marketing materials make it seem like it only supports the pre-loaded apps.

    Does the phone allow you to install third-party apps at all? The marketing materials make it seem like it only supports the pre-loaded apps.

    5 votes

  13. Comment on NY Governor Kathy Hochul’s decision to suspend congestion pricing is absurd in ~transport

    jackson
    Link Parent
    What proportion of NYC commuters drive to/thru the congestion zone in lower manhattan?

    What proportion of NYC commuters drive to/thru the congestion zone in lower manhattan?

    2 votes

  14. Comment on Elon Musk threatens to ban iPhones and MacBooks at his companies after Apple announces OpenAI partnership in ~tech

    jackson
    Link Parent
    Agreed, it's pretty interesting. Here's the preliminary writeup, but there's something more detailed coming when it enters beta: https://security.apple.com/blog/private-cloud-compute/

    Agreed, it's pretty interesting. Here's the preliminary writeup, but there's something more detailed coming when it enters beta: https://security.apple.com/blog/private-cloud-compute/

    5 votes

  15. Comment on AMD officially confirms no more Windows 10 chipset driver and support for next gen Ryzen in ~tech

    jackson
    Link Parent
    When did that happen? I feel like i just learned about ifconfig->ip last week and don’t think any of my devices have renamed it yet. Can’t say I’m too surprised I haven’t noticed though since my...

    When did that happen? I feel like i just learned about ifconfig->ip last week and don’t think any of my devices have renamed it yet.

    Can’t say I’m too surprised I haven’t noticed though since my work vm is running an older LTS release.

    2 votes

  16. Comment on Jet Lag: AU$TRALIA | Trailer in ~hobbies

    jackson
    Link Parent
    They’re currently offering lifetime for $300. I wouldn’t expect to see it go on sale for less, but it originally sold for $250.

    They’re currently offering lifetime for $300. I wouldn’t expect to see it go on sale for less, but it originally sold for $250.

    4 votes

  17. Comment on What's next for Kagi? in ~tech

    jackson
    Link Parent
    You can also disable the question mark feature in Settings -> Search -> General. The setting is called "Auto Quick Answer" and is the last item on the page.

    You can also disable the question mark feature in Settings -> Search -> General. The setting is called "Auto Quick Answer" and is the last item on the page.

    11 votes

  18. Comment on NYT misses what’s true and important about an anti-trans school resolution in ~lgbt

    jackson
    Link Parent
    Are you located in EU? I think some sites just throw 403 if they didn’t feel like implementing GDPR protections. Here’s an archive link though: https://archive.is/Uc9JR

    Are you located in EU? I think some sites just throw 403 if they didn’t feel like implementing GDPR protections.

    Here’s an archive link though: https://archive.is/Uc9JR

    1 vote

  19. Comment on Atlanta police surveil people opposing ‘Cop City’ in ~news

  20. Comment on Would you walk further to a bus stop that had faster service? in ~transport

    jackson
    Link Parent
    Yeah my city replaced their RFID readers with new devices in 2022 with the plan to accept "transit passes in mobile wallets" (but not credit cards). For whatever reason, they still haven't enabled...

    Yeah my city replaced their RFID readers with new devices in 2022 with the plan to accept "transit passes in mobile wallets" (but not credit cards). For whatever reason, they still haven't enabled that feature yet so everyone still has to have the physical transit card.

    The longest part of boarding the bus is waiting for people to get their transit cards out of their wallets/etc. The tap itself is pretty fast.