dev_null
@dev_null@lemmy.ml
- Comment on Meta illegally collected data from Flo period and pregnancy app, jury finds 4 days ago:
English is not my first language, so had to look “diatribes” up. “a forceful and bitter verbal attack against someone or something”? That was not my intention, I’m trying to have a polite conversation, maybe I’m failing at it if that’s how it’s received!
- Comment on Meta illegally collected data from Flo period and pregnancy app, jury finds 4 days ago:
To be clear, I’m not saying secretly recording conversations with a mic never happens, just that it didn’t happen in this case.
To the other story you linked, what we know happened is that some company had a slide deck claiming they have that capability. It could be that they really did and that it’s used everywhere. It could also be that they were judging interest and didn’t even look into the feasibility of building it. It could be that they wanted publicity by manufacturing some controversial news and never even wanted to build it. Or, again, it could be true. But all we know for a fact, in that case, is that a slide deck existed. Not that any product existed, let alone that it was deployed anywhere.
Again, I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, it probably does, but that story doesn’t prove it either.
- Comment on Meta illegally collected data from Flo period and pregnancy app, jury finds 4 days ago:
I feel this comment lacks some nuance. Someone who didn’t read the article might think microphones were involved, or that Meta recorded any conversations, which they didn’t.
What has actually happened: The Flo app, as part of onboarding, asks the user about their goal for using the app, with possible choices being “I am pregnant” and similar sensitive info. They are using Meta’s analytics SDK for tracking what users do in the app, and they included an event for when a user selects the goal. All these events go to their analytics dashboard, which lives on Meta’s servers. Flo promised they are not sharing this information with third parties, but they clearly do. So in the end, information about someone being pregnant ended up on Meta’s servers. Meta later learned that this data is sent their way, and incorporanted it for their own use for advertising.
Both Flo and Meta are clearly guilty here. But no eavesdropping occured here, “just” the usual event tracking of which radio button a user selected when installing the app. I.e. no conversation was recorded by anyone, which is what someone may picture seeing the word “eavesdropping”. Which doesn’t make this any better of course.
What I’m trying to get to is this:
they were found guilty of fucking eavesdropping. I can’t wait to see people defending this as not being true for advertising.
This story is once again an example showing that your devices don’t need to listen to your conversations, and aren’t eavesdropping on you. Because all the apps you use are already tracking everything you do, and eavesdropping is not necessary.
- Comment on robot slurs 1 week ago:
The original bug was a moth in computer-relays.
No, it wasn’t, but it’s a commonly repeated mistake.
- Comment on "Pilot had to dive aggressively to avoid midair collision over Burbank airport." 2 weeks ago:
Of course, but it should be the 2-4 people who are actively going somewhere / in the bathroom, everyone else should have their seatbelt on.
- Comment on Reminder that you do not own digital games 1 month ago:
Lots of game still have that, Satisfactory, Minecraft, Valheim
- Comment on Dune game 1 month ago:
It’s called “Regis Missile Launcher” and is in the last tier.
- Comment on Dune game 1 month ago:
There are lasguns, and the same missile launcher the NPC has is also craftable.
- Comment on Dune game 1 month ago:
You can craft that same missile launcher, it’s not even a unique weapon, but a normal tech tree unlock. You can also use a lasgun against vehicles (which you need to find a schematic for or gain from a mission).
- Comment on Don't Look Up 2 months ago:
That’s reasonable I think, if people are messing with infrastructure, it’s good it’s being verified they are doing legitimate work. Though don’t call them on a hunch terrorists obviously…
- Comment on Anon can't go on a field trip 2 months ago:
By an author who is also crazy and problematic, though in a very different way than Rowling.
- Comment on Microsoft finally solve the Linux dual-boot issue after 9 months 2 months ago:
Grub did not detect your VM, it detected a bootable operating system on the drive because you passed it through to your VM
Yeah, the bootable drive that contained my VM install, that’s what I’m saying.
But i prefer using a raw disk file image
I started that way, but I had a disk with a single partition that contained a single file - the raw disk image file, and eventually decided this is silly, the filesystem on that disk is useless.
- Comment on Microsoft finally solve the Linux dual-boot issue after 9 months 2 months ago:
I did that, and since I got a dedicated SSD drive for it, I used it for the VM as a block device. Later after a GRUB update I discovered Windows in my GRUB boot menu. Turns out GRUB detected my VM, and now I can physically boot into my VM. Which I didn’t even know was possible.
So yeah, I accidentally dual boot Windows without meaning to, even though it’s a VM. Except when I boot into it, then it’s not, apparently.
- Comment on Got any grapes? 2 months ago:
I was going to post, but my card only had one number on the back, 3 digits long. :(
- Comment on How I view others in social media 2 months ago:
I have no idea. Guess people like getting thumbs up.
- Comment on How I view others in social media 2 months ago:
I saw a top comment on a music video on YouTube with “Anyone watching on specifically today’s date”. Tons of engagement because of course everyone is watching today.
Dude just had a script setup to edit the comment every day, so for years it always asked about today’s date.
- Comment on 1994 white Kevin 3 months ago:
You don’t have to trust the security checks, but they had to submit their personal information and documents to Uber, and would be easy to find if they did anything. That’s much better than an anonymous stranger, and I doubt a predator would go through all that instead of just, you know, remaining an anonymous person on the street.
- Comment on Limited edition orange juice mint condition looking for trade 3 months ago:
Yeah I can see blocking text, but you are saying the new images are possibly to avoiding blocks. Which would require some image comparison / computer vision based detection, which I would be interested to read about if it existed.
- Comment on Limited edition orange juice mint condition looking for trade 3 months ago:
Do you have any source for any automatic blocks being implemented by anyone?
- Comment on Russian sensors trying to track nuclear submarines in UK waters found in a campaign of ‘greyzone’ warfare that also targets Britain's energy and internet. Even oligarchs’ superyachts are in on it. 3 months ago:
No, where did I do that? I said it’s not unreasonable that a politician has a journalist in their contact list. For example because a journalist tried to contact them, hence adding themselves to their conversation list.
- Comment on Russian sensors trying to track nuclear submarines in UK waters found in a campaign of ‘greyzone’ warfare that also targets Britain's energy and internet. Even oligarchs’ superyachts are in on it. 3 months ago:
Oh hey it’s the ICE supporter guy
- Comment on Are most people here left-wing? 4 months ago:
Because “crypto bros” care about making money, not any ideology, except in a performative sense. If you pitched the fediverse to the original researchers inventing cryptocurrency and the early adopters, they would likely be receptive. But these are no longer associated with the current crypto crowd.
- Comment on At this point I think I would 4 months ago:
Except building the concrete structure is the easiest and fastest part of building a house anyway. Not that concrete printing is not helpful, it is, but with a task that’s a minor part of building a house anyway.
- Comment on Warner Bros. Cancels Planned ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ Game Expansion 4 months ago:
You are driven by hate. Rowling is not going to get any more “enabled” than she already is with her bottomless pit of money. If you are truly an ally, suggest better media to support, rather than being combative and alienating everyone in the proces.
- Comment on Warner Bros. Cancels Planned ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ Game Expansion 4 months ago:
Again, she is not the creator and has nothing to do with the game other than the creators purchased the rights to the setting.
- Comment on Warner Bros. Cancels Planned ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ Game Expansion 4 months ago:
I am aware the motives behind it are profit driven. But that doesn’t make the message less valuable. People seeing themselves represented is helpful to them, and it normalizes them for other people.
- Comment on Warner Bros. Cancels Planned ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ Game Expansion 4 months ago:
Rowling having slightly more money makes no difference to her spewing her views, she is set for life anyway. Yes I’d like to avoid giving her money, but a much stronger signal I’d like to send is that a game with trans characters sells well.
- Comment on Warner Bros. Cancels Planned ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ Game Expansion 4 months ago:
It would be ridiculous to pretend so. Giving money to trans-supportive games absolutely does though.
- Comment on Warner Bros. Cancels Planned ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ Game Expansion 4 months ago:
Seeing how the game prominently features trans characters and that Rowling wasn’t involved in making it, it probably doesn’t bother many people.
- Comment on "You should probably just throw it away" 4 months ago:
I mean, one would hope that whenever there is a new version it’s more secure than the last one. Not that it’s true, but that’s how it should be, so bugging weird about the claim.