Tommi 🤯
Tommi 🤯 boosted

I had been wondering for some time if I was going about things the wrong way by doing #OpenStreetMap workshops (where I teach people to use iD) at #FOSS meetups and conferences.

While I’d also try to cover why #OSM is important and how to use it, most of the time was taken up in learning to edit…which seemed backward. Why would someone continue editing afterwards if they weren’t convinced of the importance of the project?

There was also another thought stewing in my head…most of the people who have attended our mapping parties, and all the people who are regular participants, are all big on #SoftwareFreedom and #privacy. Maybe we should try focusing more on software freedom, and promote OSM in that context?

With these ideas in mind and after discussions with @ravi, I decided to prepare a new talk - one focused on getting people to use some #Libre map apps (CoMaps, OsmAnd, and OsmApp). If we can convince people to do that, they’ll probably also start contributing data, and participating in mapping parties…

This time, I added a lot more screenshots in the hope of providing a more engaging experience. I’ve also been burned by conference WiFi all too often, so this time I made many screen capture videos instead of demonstrating websites or applications live.

I gave the talk at today’s FOSS Meetup Delhi. It was far from perfect, but at least I got a clear path towards improving it - I need to cut down the run time and some irrelevant content, so I can present it in 15 to 30 minutes depending on the situation. And of course, there are still more screenshots and video demos to be added.

https://codeberg.org/contrapunctus/osm-presentations/src/branch/production/foss-maps-and-why-you-should-use-them

(All presentations made with #Emacs , #OrgMode , and #RevealJS )

This time I also made sure to arrive early so I could understand how to extend the display using the projector, and use RevealJS’s speaker view. That way, I was able to use the slides to guide me without giving away what I was about to say, and I could speak first and let the slide summarize it afterwards.

Relying on the laptop to act as a teleprompter has its drawbacks, though…you want to be focused on the audience, not the screen. And you want to be free to move around…

#contraMaps#Delhi#India#FreeSoftware

Freeing Apple Devices from Apple

Over the past year I’ve often come across folks talking about de-Googling which largely comes down to disconnecting from Google services by finding alternatives. When I began my transition away from Apple a few months back I wasn’t sure what I would do with my various Apple devices. I knew I wanted to switch to GNU/Linux on my 2012 Mac, but I would still have several devices that would be stuck with an #Apple OS...

#Privacy#Computing
https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2025-08-29.html

Bijna een jaar geleden gaf @helma een presentatie over 'Chat Control' met de stand van zaken op dat moment @nluug najaarsconferentie:

https://nluug.nl/evenementen/nluug/najaarsconferentie-2024/talks/helma-de-boer-zwartboek-chatcontrol/

Helaas is het Chat Controle voorstel net een zombie 🧟 & weer opgestaan. Ik ben me weer aan t inlezen via:

https://chatcontrole.nl
https://fightchatcontrol.eu

Informeer jezelf & anderen over dit ingrijpende & slechte voorstel.

CC @waag @marleenstikker @publicspaces

#Surveillance#Bigtech#Tech#EU#ChatControl#Privacy#TechPolicy

Tuta
Tuta boosted

🔐 Tuta Mail introduces key verification to strengthen end-to-end encryption and defend against MITM attacks 👥
Users can now verify contacts’ public keys via QR code or manual comparison.
If skipped, Tuta defaults to TOFU (Trust On First Use) for seamless encryption 🧩

@Tutanota
🔗 https://tuta.com/blog/key-verification

#Encryption#CyberSecurity#Privacy#Tuta#Tutanota#TutaMail#EmailSecurity#OpenSource#FOSS#E2EE#PGP#Email#Mail#TechNews#DataProtection#Crypto#DigitalRights#OnlinePrivacy

🔐 Tuta Mail introduces key verification to strengthen end-to-end encryption and defend against MITM attacks 👥
Users can now verify contacts’ public keys via QR code or manual comparison.
If skipped, Tuta defaults to TOFU (Trust On First Use) for seamless encryption 🧩

@Tutanota
🔗 https://tuta.com/blog/key-verification

#Encryption#CyberSecurity#Privacy#Tuta#Tutanota#TutaMail#EmailSecurity#OpenSource#FOSS#E2EE#PGP#Email#Mail#TechNews#DataProtection#Crypto#DigitalRights#OnlinePrivacy

@evacide
> Are big tech companies embracing surveillance over privacy?

Is this a stupid question? It's been the whole point for twenty-something years. And they still manage to make it worse.

#surveillance #bigtech #privacy

Bijna een jaar geleden gaf @helma een presentatie over 'Chat Control' met de stand van zaken op dat moment @nluug najaarsconferentie:

https://nluug.nl/evenementen/nluug/najaarsconferentie-2024/talks/helma-de-boer-zwartboek-chatcontrol/

Helaas is het Chat Controle voorstel net een zombie 🧟 & weer opgestaan. Ik ben me weer aan t inlezen via:

https://chatcontrole.nl
https://fightchatcontrol.eu

Informeer jezelf & anderen over dit ingrijpende & slechte voorstel.

CC @waag @marleenstikker @publicspaces

#Surveillance#Bigtech#Tech#EU#ChatControl#Privacy#TechPolicy

monamona
monamona liked this activity

Crime app Citizen is now using AI to auto-generate alerts with no human review. Result: false info, license plates, even names published to 10M users. Errors risk safety and privacy, but “more dots on the map” won out over accuracy.

https://www.404media.co/citizen-is-using-ai-to-generate-crime-alerts-with-no-human-review-its-making-a-lot-of-mistakes/

#privacy #ai #surveillance

monamona
monamona liked this activity

Five years ago, I joined what would become @privacyguides. Since then, the project has grown massively - to the point where we have even been featured in the New York Times! This has only been possible thanks to the wonderful team of volunteers and contributors, of which I am just a small part of. From our translators and GitHub contributors to our staff members, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped! I am proud to be a part of the best privacy website there is, and look forward for what is to come 💛

https://www.privacyguides.org/

#PrivacyGuides #privacy

alcinnz
alcinnz boosted

DOGE uploaded live copy of Social Security database to 'vulnerable' cloud server, says whistleblower

「 The database, known as the Numerical Identification System, contains more than 450 million records containing all of the data submitted as part of a Social Security application, including the applicant’s name, place of birth, citizenship, and the Social Security numbers of their family members, as well as other sensitive personal and financial information 」

https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/26/doge-uploaded-live-copy-of-social-security-database-to-vulnerable-cloud-server-says-whistleblower/

#privacy

The UK Online Safety Act is a badly designed, overblown piece of legislation that's laying waste to content online.

Ofcom must take stock of these threats to freedom of expression in their guidance and Parliament must reform the Act.

Write to your MP ⬇️

https://action.openrightsgroup.org/tell-your-mp-online-safety-act-isn%E2%80%99t-working

#OnlineSafetyAct#OnlineSafety #osa #censorship #freespeech #ukpolitics #ukpol #privacy

Scientists are moving from Twitter/X to Bluesky, drawn by its simpler design and less aggressive algorithms. 🧬

Still, Mastodon offers stronger privacy and open-source values, making it a better alternative for many. 🔒

Why not choose Mastodon? 🤔
Healthy, respectful science communication needs better social platforms. 🌐

@Mastodon

https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/08/more-scientists-choose-bluesky-over-twitter/

#Science#Scientist#Scientists#SocialMedia#Privacy#Twitter#BlueSky#OpenSource#Mastodon#DigitalFreedom#Freedom#Communication#Tech