Post ART7EmowtT6jc4EU52 by loy@fosstodon.org
(DIR) More posts by loy@fosstodon.org
(DIR) Post #ARSfajfcUSHDUpXxvU by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2023-01-09T08:45:27Z
8 likes, 13 repeats
Today, you can choose not to drive a Tesla if you don’t want Elon Musk, Inc. knowing everywhere you go.Tomorrow, you might have to limit where you live because you won’t live in a Google Home and reconsider having 20/20 vision again in exchange for the artificial lens company seeing everything you see.Privacy is not something you can “vote with your wallet” on. We either protect it as a human right or we lose it altogether.#privacy #humanRights #BigTech #peopleFarming #capitalism
(DIR) Post #ARShlmiHiUUy1mBp2m by fristi@akkos.fritu.re
2023-01-09T09:11:50.805185Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@aral >Privacy is not something you can “vote with your wallet” on. We either protect it as a human right or we lose it altogether.To a limited and unconventional extend, you can (but only so much). You can invest in companies, organizations, services and people who provide something in a transparent and open way, that can be easily audited to see if they at any given moment still have people's privacy at heart. For instance, in the Netherlands, if you value your online privacy, you could opt to get your internet from an ISP known as Freedom. It's the only ISP that is very open and transparent about their business and actively tries to go out of its way to ensure your privacy online. They cost a bit more for the trouble, but it's a worthwhile investment. Similarly you could opt for paid-for services online that are similarly open and do not rely on selling your data as a business model.Of course, awareness is still the best tool. The biggest problem is that people just don't know how deep the rabbit hole goes. Explaining it to people and making them aware of any applicable safe alternatives remains a must. Sacrificing your privacy for mere convenience is not okay, it's a security hazard that will come back to bite us in the ass.
(DIR) Post #ARSkJgoUMIVXU2O0uG by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2023-01-09T08:51:11Z
2 likes, 2 repeats
By the way, if you think the artificial lens bit is hyperbole, think again. Quite a few years ago now I was sitting at dinner with some CEO of some startup that had developed a free tool they said helped people with dyslexia read more easily.So, as I do, I asked him my favourite question: “how will you make money with this?”He looked at me like I was rather daft before answering, matter of factly, “well, we know what you’re reading.”Say no more, my friend. Say no more.#PeopleFarming
(DIR) Post #ARSkJhGqerC0tzef6u by kittylyst@mastodon.social
2023-01-09T09:04:01Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@aral An older UK person I am close to needs to use a heart monitor. The doctors advised us that the best-available tech is the Apple watch and the ecosystem associated with it.The alternative, non-BigTech solution was obviously inferior and had a horrible UX that even relatively tech-savvy seniors were clearly going to struggle with."Give up your data to BigTech or have worsened healthcare outcomes" is already here - even on what's left of the NHS.
(DIR) Post #ARSkJhnogHZ2YF4zUu by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2023-01-09T09:08:29Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@kittylyst And, to be fair, Apple are by no means perfect (and no trillion-dollar company is your friend) but they do design their tech differently so your health data stays on your own device. In the West, at least, they’ve made it their differentiating factor. (If you’re in China, though, that’s a different market and they have a different set of principles they apply there. Surprise, surprise.)
(DIR) Post #ARSkJiNcXACiLHpaIy by Suiseiseki@freesoftwareextremist.com
2023-01-09T09:40:18.408778Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@aral >developed a free tool they said helped people with dyslexiaSo a gratis tool that was nonfree?>they do design their tech differently so your health data stays on your own device.Sure it does.Of course they offer it for sale, just not in a way that is easy to notice.
(DIR) Post #ARSpaNBV5hUHIcvNjc by SuperDicq@minidisc.tokyo
2023-01-09T10:39:24.711Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@aral@mastodon.ar.al >Privacy is not something you can “vote with your wallet” on.Yet you give only examples of things you vote with your wallet on done by commercial companies.Wouldn't spying done by government agencies be a better example?
(DIR) Post #ARSrI3PC5fWaeRipiy by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2023-01-09T10:42:43Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@SuperDicq My point is that when the technologies are essential, you’re no longer voting with your wallet. You’re voting with your quality of life, with self-isolation, with disconnecting yourself from the benefits because of artificial externalities introduced by Silicon Valley psychopaths chasing unicorns on a venture-capital high.
(DIR) Post #ARSrI417odrkY5T7qa by SuperDicq@minidisc.tokyo
2023-01-09T10:58:29.915Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
@aral@mastodon.ar.al Ah, then they were just bad examples because I didn't get that point at all.If you have Google Home connected equipment in your home you can easily replace it with local network only Home Assistant or something like that. No need to limit where you live, it's a vote with your wallet situation.Also lenses work the same way. A future where regular glasses or lenses no longer exist as an alternative to digital lenses that spy on you seems very unlikely, especially considering how relatively simple it is to manufacture regular prescription glasses. I actually think the automotive example you mentioned is actually the best one you mentioned. Literally all modern cars have spying features that are similar to Tesla today, the only alternative right is now is to buy an older vehicle, which are of course only in limited supply as they are no longer being made.
(DIR) Post #ARSrI5KIwonmbrRxNg by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2023-01-09T10:46:07Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@SuperDicq (Furthermore, government surveillance and corporate surveillance aren’t mutually exclusive. To quote Bruce Schneier, “The NSA didn't wake up and say, ‘Let's just spy on everybody.’ They looked up and said, ‘Wow, corporations are spying on everybody. Let's get ourselves a copy.’”)
(DIR) Post #ARSrgMCXrJq7tcOVjU by SuperDicq@minidisc.tokyo
2023-01-09T11:02:54.267Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@aral@mastodon.ar.al That I indeed agree with, some government spying is indeed being allowed by and not prevented by the tech industry.But some horrific government surveillance is done without the help of big tech. Look at Dutch programs such as SyRI or the entire "Toeslagenaffaire".
(DIR) Post #ARSs4LmR4n69XXcfce by SuperDicq@minidisc.tokyo
2023-01-09T11:07:14.328Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@roboneko@bae.st @aral@mastodon.ar.al Replacing these electronics is illegal because certain spying technologies such as eCall or "driver attention monitoring systems" have become mandatory.The only way around these systems is to buy an older vehicle which is exempt from these requirements.
(DIR) Post #ARStdB3L3IUqMKhQtU by syss@masto.nobigtech.es
2023-01-09T10:50:15Z
1 likes, 2 repeats
@aral where I live, government uses Aws to host citizens info.
(DIR) Post #ARSuDnmsW1iauvSr20 by SuperDicq@minidisc.tokyo
2023-01-09T11:31:21.404Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@roboneko@bae.st @aral@mastodon.ar.alwell that's depressing. afaik stuff like that isn't mandatory for the owner here, only for the car to be sold when it's new.Good point, I haven't checked if you need to have these systems in place to pass inspection.what do people there who custom build cars do?They work on older cars mostly...
(DIR) Post #ART3Pc0B3hdTQZOJW4 by feld@bikeshed.party
2023-01-09T13:13:58.607569Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Can I drive a Chevy without Chevy knowing everywhere I go? No, because even if I'm not paying for OnStar it's still in the car and they can track you.
(DIR) Post #ART4yTDFpPA6G4h36O by AIaYYAle4i1uKmKpqy.gme@bofh.social
2023-01-09T13:15:26.144505Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
You can disable onstar by pulling its fuse.
(DIR) Post #ART4yTldlYfRyimVhQ by feld@bikeshed.party
2023-01-09T13:31:33.371406Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Sure and you can do the same on a Tesla but I doubt people are going to 🙃
(DIR) Post #ART7EmowtT6jc4EU52 by loy@fosstodon.org
2023-01-09T08:49:17Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@aral It's such a fricking shame: I'd marvel at a AI home assistant type thing, ie. what Google Home and Amazon Echo claim to be. But I won't use them because they won't really work for me but for those companies.
(DIR) Post #ART7EnREb7jTWo93ku by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2023-01-09T09:02:37Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@loy Exactly. The question to ask whenever someone pitches you a “smart” thing is: “Who’s getting smarter about whom?”If it’s you (and just you) getting smarter about yourself, that’s perfectly fine.If it’s some corporation getting smarter about you, then “smart” is just a euphemism for “surveilled.”#smart #tech #privacy #surveillance #capitalism #BigTech #peopleFarming #SiliconValley
(DIR) Post #ART88Clu6uHc1dEZN2 by marcink@stolat.town
2023-01-09T13:15:13Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@aral Even today you can't choose not to be recorded by someone else's tesla, and it's a bit like Gmail: it doesn't matter whether you own one if enough people around you do.
(DIR) Post #ARTABrSPUye0zDzGMa by aral@mastodon.ar.al
2023-01-09T11:02:41Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@SuperDicq I meant live in a “Google Home” – a home built with Google integrated. And perhaps without a way to turn it off (without increasing your insurance premiums, for example). A few years ago a company in Sweden was looking in manufacturing such “Smart Homes.”What do you do when your street comes with Google (or X or Y) integrated.When your pacemaker does?These aren’t that far fetched.But yes, the car example works today. There’s a reason I’d never buy a Volvo, for example.
(DIR) Post #ARTABrxbczb8XyaAzI by niclas@angrytoday.com
2023-01-09T14:30:18Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@aral On a slight positive note; We did manage to send the "Google Glass" back to the dystopian idea factory. Not necessarily by "voting with the wallet", but shaming everyone having it to be "Glassholes"...No wonder shaming is under attack, it's a powerful tool.@SuperDicq
(DIR) Post #ARTAPaEKLU1pbywX3o by SuperDicq@minidisc.tokyo
2023-01-09T14:32:45.310Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@niclas@angrytoday.com @aral@mastodon.ar.al Did we really put Google Glass back into the can? It seems other companies are definitely trying to make augmented reality glasses a thing, see Microsoft Lens for example. Also I'd like to add that the actual technology isn't bad per se, if augmented reality glasses existed that didn't require the user to run proprietary software that they can't control I would not be opposed.
(DIR) Post #ARTBTgwJRSAlX72WZ6 by niclas@angrytoday.com
2023-01-09T14:44:44Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@SuperDicqI do oppose it, because most people will not alter the software and it collects far to information about third-party, who never signed up for it or any say in what is collected.@aral
(DIR) Post #ARTIZUrrw6mpVgg0O0 by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
2023-01-09T13:56:34Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@feld @aral @gme The other thing is, even if you cut the power, you’ve still already financially supported the surveillance. Voting w/your wallet means you can remove the spybox and get a refund for it. When that’s impossible, it means rejecting the whole car.
(DIR) Post #ARTIZVM084tD18m4Lw by AIaYYAle4i1uKmKpqy.gme@bofh.social
2023-01-09T14:11:40.020771Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@koherecoWatchdog @feld @aral What people don't like to acknowledge though is that customers want and appreciate a service that automatically notifies 9-1-1 and other emergency services when the car's airbag goes off.Has OnStar/ GM been forced to turn over location data to the Police when presented with a subpoena?Of course.But has OnStar/ GM turned over location data to the Police when they haven't been required to do so (and without a Court Order)?If you or anyone has any links to stories of that happening I'd love to read them.Finally, how many people, who are concerned about OnStar tracking your location, have cell phones?Everyone is walking around with a tracking device that we gladly pay for and even buy a new device every 2-3 years just so we can keep up with our peers.Let's have some perspective.
(DIR) Post #ARTIZVkodojsG6Nt20 by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
2023-01-09T14:18:04Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@gme @aral @feld If the airbag is the trigger for dialing 911, then it could just as well be a trigger for powering on the device that does the dialing. I’m one of the few who do not subscribe to mobile phone service. My phone stays in airplane mode. In an emergency, I can turn airplane mode off and dial 911 without having a subscription. So it is feasible.
(DIR) Post #ARTIZWHQgYpJtFdvrk by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
2023-01-09T14:18:19Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@feld @aral @gme Another option would be for the car to have only bluetooth. In an emergency, the car could connect to the driver’s phone and dial.
(DIR) Post #ARTIZWumKGInrI3MCO by feld@bikeshed.party
2023-01-09T16:03:48.086269Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
cars with bluetooth are tracked across every highway in the country. There are multiple companies doing this, but I'm mostly familiar with TrafficCast which was acquired by Iteris.
(DIR) Post #ARTIpXALA0BBGoxnBA by feld@bikeshed.party
2023-01-09T16:06:47.321736Z
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it's not even just cars, obviously -- it's any bluetooth enabled device.And they sell this data to the state and federal government. Probably other private companies too. So with very little effort you cross reference other databases and you identify people.Bluetooth physical address randomizers like they have for WiFi would help eliminate this, but I've never seen any device vendors implement it.
(DIR) Post #ARTIxzHYVZIomwMxAu by AIaYYAle4i1uKmKpqy.gme@bofh.social
2023-01-09T16:06:15.631691Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Not to mention most highways also have readers for TPMS transmitters in tires.If it transmits it’s being tracked.
(DIR) Post #ARTIxzjCqlQ8AhJ2H2 by feld@bikeshed.party
2023-01-09T16:08:23.004454Z
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yes TPMS is also used as alternative to Bluetooth. There still are enough cars on the road without TPMS that you can do better traffic analysis with bluetooth though. (who doesn't carry a bluetooth enabled device everywhere they go?)
(DIR) Post #ARTK2HstO5G5avRnyy by zleap@qoto.org
2023-01-09T16:20:37Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@aral You can get reading rulers, which partly consist of thin plastic, but the set has different colours, you put these over the text to make the text easier to read.
(DIR) Post #ARTL5zoUcIRGf2iojo by AIaYYAle4i1uKmKpqy.gme@bofh.social
2023-01-09T16:15:14.098052Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Bottom line is if you are someone that is hell-bent on not being tracked while you’re driving well….. good luck. 😎
(DIR) Post #ARTL60aLkMih3T72Ke by mark@social.cool110.xyz
2023-01-09T16:21:33Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Really you need the old DB5 with the revolving number plates for that.
(DIR) Post #ARTQb4kQotMqiGSfqa by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
2023-01-09T14:05:12Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@SuperDicq @aral Not sure it’s accurate to say old cars are not an option. Most of the oldest cars get exported Africa, where the average age of a car at the time of purchase is 21 years old. This was pointed out in a report which was telling buyers of new EVs that it’s wrong to assume their old car was taken off the road. I’m sure you could buy a car that would otherwise be exported to Africa
(DIR) Post #ARTQb5GKuGt8JDO9Zo by SuperDicq@minidisc.tokyo
2023-01-09T17:34:07.274Z
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@koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone @aral@mastodon.ar.al Old cars are an option for now. But eventually the world will run out of old cars.Or worse, they could be outlawed from the roads in western countries. For example a lot of major cities already have "emission zones" where you're not allowed to drive cars made before certain years, I'm sure these zones will be extended in the future.
(DIR) Post #ARTQmqBwlVXJ2hwRRg by SuperDicq@minidisc.tokyo
2023-01-09T17:36:15.127Z
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@koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone @aral@mastodon.ar.al Like would you be able to buy a 1990s Toyota Corolla in the year 2050, be allowed to drive it on the same roads and maintain it? What about the year 2080?
(DIR) Post #ARTSagp1yWrSPtYZ2u by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
2023-01-09T17:52:11Z
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@SuperDicq @aral If I were to buy a car, I would like it to be something that I can maintain myself w/out some costly proprietary diagnostic computer, so I could be independant & in control (if you don’t control it, you don’t own it). I guess that’d be an old VW, probably a beetle. I’ve heard those engines can be rebuilt w/somewhat minimal knowledge of mechanics.
(DIR) Post #ARTSahSNcEKwNvxzNY by SuperDicq@minidisc.tokyo
2023-01-09T17:56:27.933Z
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@koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone @aral@mastodon.ar.al A VW Beetle is indeed ridiculously easy to maintain, not a bad choice for a car for you want to run forever.But up until the 1990s you can totally independently maintain your car without a proprietary diagnostic computer, with some exceptions. Most Japanese cars from the 90s are generally fine.There's also projects that replace the ECU of older cars with a less proprietary one such as Speeduino or MegaSquirt.
(DIR) Post #ARTXCPBAQ3uuWE9Mrw by AIaYYAle4i1uKmKpqy.gme@bofh.social
2023-01-09T14:20:29.364121Z
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@koherecoWatchdog @aral @feld > My phone stays in airplane mode. In an emergency, I can turn airplane mode off and dial 911 without having a subscription. So it is feasible.Not if you're unconscious.
(DIR) Post #ARTXCPn692G4PrtezY by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
2023-01-09T14:25:39Z
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@gme @aral @feld There’s an app that dials 911 if the phone’s accelerometer measures a collision.
(DIR) Post #ARTXCQF6Suexoj01dw by inference@plr.inferencium.net
2023-01-09T18:47:10.157686Z
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@koherecoWatchdog @gme @aral @feld How do you guarantee that app isn't killed (supposing it's an Android device)? It's suspended or killed depending on memory usage and priority. Unless it's running as part of the OS, you can't guarantee that.
(DIR) Post #ARTXCQQnlQ18P0TMsS by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
2023-01-09T14:28:32Z
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@feld @aral @gme Also, you can turn on airplane mode then turn on bluetooth, if you wanted an airbag trigger to use your phone.
(DIR) Post #ARYAdws5vwIRg3C3hw by m0th@husk.site
2023-01-12T00:23:28.414849Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@aral Do you carry a cellphone?