Kevin Karhan :verified:
@kkarhan@infosec.space  ·  activity timestamp 2 days ago

One thing that really pisses me off personally is the #regression in terms of #Messenger#Apps.

My personal distaste and dislike for #proprietary, #SingleVendor & #SingleProvider #services like #Signal¹, #Telegram, #Discord², #WhatsApp, #Slack, #MicrosoftTeams, etc. aside:

  • WHY is there no #CrossProvider#Messenger to handle that shite?

  • WHY does everyone of these shitty providers think people want to download their #bloated#WebApp that takes up triple digit Megabytes if not entire Gigabytes and will gobble up all the #RAM and #CPU they can??

This problem ain't new and already got solved for corporate social media ages ago! (Not to mention actually good messengers!)

So yeah, consider this a call for a @gajim / #Gajim or @pidgin / #Pidginfor garbage platforms!

  • Cuz back in the day we had way worse messengers yet people actually made #AIM, #ICQ, #MSN, #QQ, #IRC & #XMPP work just fine from one single "phat" client!

  • Can we please get that back?

#api0#Enshittification
jefframnani
@jefframnani@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp yesterday

Housefresh is at it again with some journalism on Google’s AI answers.

https://housefresh.com/beware-of-the-google-ai-salesman/

@pluralistic did a good job contextualizing the broader context here: https://pluralistic.net/2025/07/15/inhuman-gigapede/

I am left remembering the late 90’s / early 00’s when people mocked Excite and other “portal plays”. The received wisdom was that Google won by being useful even if that meant sending users away.

Joke’s on us. Google is a Portal now. They work hard to get us to stay on platform.

#enshittification
Ian Forrester | @cubicgarden
@cubicgarden@mas.to  ·  activity timestamp yesterday

!!!! !

Cory Doctorow (@pluralistic ) and Maria Farrell (@mariafarrell )

For Open Rights Group (@openrightsgroup) at 20!

youtube.com/live/M9H2An_D6io?s

Both in conversation looking at surveillance capitalism, the ‘’ of digital platforms and so much more!...
Alberto Cottica
@alberto_cottica@mastodon.green  ·  activity timestamp 2 days ago

Everybody, do yourselves a favour and read this post from @pluralistic .

AI is not about the tech. Neither were blockchains and the metaverse. It's always about the economics.

Pluralistic: When Google’s slop meets webslop, search stops (15 Jul 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
https://pluralistic.net/2025/07/15/inhuman-gigapede/#coprophagic-ai

#AI
#enshittification
Strypey
@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz  ·  activity timestamp 4 days ago

But what is TPM and why do you need to avoid it?

TPM stands for Trusted Computing Module. Counterintuitively, this does not mean that your computer can be trusted to faithfully carry out instructions given by you, the person who owns and operates it. But rather by the vendors who made it and sold it to you.

Cory Doctorow ( @pluralistic) warned us about this more than a decade ago, as a major offensive in a "coming war on general-purpose computing";

https://boingboing.net/2012/01/10/lockdown.html

(3/?)
Jo
@jomangee@toot.io  ·  activity timestamp 3 days ago
@pluralistic @strypey really enjoyed the recent book from Cory Doctorow that highlighted that journey of #enshittification that many hardware and software vendors end up on. TPM bricked my laptop boot recently thanks to Windows. Some my friends are installing ArchLinux in response.

Picks & Shovels: Marty Hench at the dawn of enshittification

Martin Hench 3 works, 3 primary works COrVE doctorow reciteam blues a main berch envel Red Team Blues (Martin Hench, #1) by Cory Doctorow 4,544 ratings Published 25 April 2023 Read corV doctorow the bezzle The Bezzle (Martin Hench, #2) by Cory Doctorow 2,258 ratings Published 20 February 2024 Read corv doctorow picks & shovels. Picks and Shovels (Martin Hench, #3) by Cory Doctorow 906 ratings Published 18 February 2025 ReadMartin Hench 3 works, 3 primary works COrVE doctorow reciteam blues a main berch envel Red Team Blues (Martin Hench, #1) by Cory Doctorow 4,544 ratings Published 25 April 2023 Read corV doctorow the bezzle The Bezzle (Martin Hench, #2) by Cory Doctorow 2,258 ratings Published 20 February 2024 Read corv doctorow picks & shovels. Picks and Shovels (Martin Hench, #3) by Cory Doctorow 906 ratings Published 18 February 2025 Read
Martin Hench 3 works, 3 primary works COrVE doctorow reciteam blues a main berch envel Red Team Blues (Martin Hench, #1) by Cory Doctorow 4,544 ratings Published 25 April 2023 Read corV doctorow the bezzle The Bezzle (Martin Hench, #2) by Cory Doctorow 2,258 ratings Published 20 February 2024 Read corv doctorow picks & shovels. Picks and Shovels (Martin Hench, #3) by Cory Doctorow 906 ratings Published 18 February 2025 ReadMartin Hench 3 works, 3 primary works COrVE doctorow reciteam blues a main berch envel Red Team Blues (Martin Hench, #1) by Cory Doctorow 4,544 ratings Published 25 April 2023 Read corV doctorow the bezzle The Bezzle (Martin Hench, #2) by Cory Doctorow 2,258 ratings Published 20 February 2024 Read corv doctorow picks & shovels. Picks and Shovels (Martin Hench, #3) by Cory Doctorow 906 ratings Published 18 February 2025 Read
Martin Hench 3 works, 3 primary works COrVE doctorow reciteam blues a main berch envel Red Team Blues (Martin Hench, #1) by Cory Doctorow 4,544 ratings Published 25 April 2023 Read corV doctorow the bezzle The Bezzle (Martin Hench, #2) by Cory Doctorow 2,258 ratings Published 20 February 2024 Read corv doctorow picks & shovels. Picks and Shovels (Martin Hench, #3) by Cory Doctorow 906 ratings Published 18 February 2025 ReadMartin Hench 3 works, 3 primary works COrVE doctorow reciteam blues a main berch envel Red Team Blues (Martin Hench, #1) by Cory Doctorow 4,544 ratings Published 25 April 2023 Read corV doctorow the bezzle The Bezzle (Martin Hench, #2) by Cory Doctorow 2,258 ratings Published 20 February 2024 Read corv doctorow picks & shovels. Picks and Shovels (Martin Hench, #3) by Cory Doctorow 906 ratings Published 18 February 2025 Read
Benjamin Parry
@benjaminparry@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 4 days ago
@pluralistic Here’s some next level #Enshittification for you.

Context: in-ear headphones not connecting, contact support, request proof of purchase, request *proof of disposal*. Absolutely disgusting behaviour! I’m livid!

#RightToRepair

Email response reading "Thank you for providing proof of purchase. Please now send proof of disposal. You do not need to mail us the physical product once you have sent us proof of disposal. We offer this as a one-time courtesy instead of requiring you to send us the product for inspection, which is our normal warranty process. We will need a video of the destroyed product, regardless of the actual issue. *PLEASE DO NOT THROW AWAY THE PRODUCT UNTIL THE CLAIM IS COMPLETE* Valid proof of disposal: Kindly send us a short video showing the damaged product being dipped/submerged in water. (Include the charging case for earbuds set.) Any other proof of disposal will result in the denial of your warranty claim or the requirement that you ship the product to us at your own expense. Once I receive proof of disposal, I will process your warranty claim. Thank you! Disclaimers: Code includes tax and shipping within your region. If the item is not available in your region, international shipping costs will not be covered. Store credit cannot be stacked or used with other discounts. With love from the Lab, Team JLab Customer Support"
Email response reading "Thank you for providing proof of purchase. Please now send proof of disposal. You do not need to mail us the physical product once you have sent us proof of disposal. We offer this as a one-time courtesy instead of requiring you to send us the product for inspection, which is our normal warranty process. We will need a video of the destroyed product, regardless of the actual issue. *PLEASE DO NOT THROW AWAY THE PRODUCT UNTIL THE CLAIM IS COMPLETE* Valid proof of disposal: Kindly send us a short video showing the damaged product being dipped/submerged in water. (Include the charging case for earbuds set.) Any other proof of disposal will result in the denial of your warranty claim or the requirement that you ship the product to us at your own expense. Once I receive proof of disposal, I will process your warranty claim. Thank you! Disclaimers: Code includes tax and shipping within your region. If the item is not available in your region, international shipping costs will not be covered. Store credit cannot be stacked or used with other discounts. With love from the Lab, Team JLab Customer Support"
Email response reading "Thank you for providing proof of purchase. Please now send proof of disposal. You do not need to mail us the physical product once you have sent us proof of disposal. We offer this as a one-time courtesy instead of requiring you to send us the product for inspection, which is our normal warranty process. We will need a video of the destroyed product, regardless of the actual issue. *PLEASE DO NOT THROW AWAY THE PRODUCT UNTIL THE CLAIM IS COMPLETE* Valid proof of disposal: Kindly send us a short video showing the damaged product being dipped/submerged in water. (Include the charging case for earbuds set.) Any other proof of disposal will result in the denial of your warranty claim or the requirement that you ship the product to us at your own expense. Once I receive proof of disposal, I will process your warranty claim. Thank you! Disclaimers: Code includes tax and shipping within your region. If the item is not available in your region, international shipping costs will not be covered. Store credit cannot be stacked or used with other discounts. With love from the Lab, Team JLab Customer Support"