From the father of Pinboard comes this terrific piece about privacy and the Internet:
There are a few guiding principles we should follow in any attempt at regulating the Internet.
The goal of our laws should be to reduce the number of irrevocable decisions we make, and enforce the same kind of natural forgetfulness that we enjoy offline.
After reading this I am simultaneously seething with frustration and weighed down by hopelessness.
Brian Krebs reporting on the internal Target investigations after the chain was compromised in 2013:
In one instance, they were able to communicate directly with cash registers in checkout lanes after compromising a deli meat scale located in a different store.
It’s pretty damning. I can’t even remember the last time I used a debit card. I prefer to risk my bank’s money at most stores. I wonder how much input Target has on the Apple Pay competitor CurrentC (another thing I’ll never use).
Import a folder of plaintext files into Apple’s Notes application on El Capitan. Early days, but stuff like this is promising.
Here’s shell script by Arthur Lockman that does something similar.
From Murphy Apps (makers of the Crystal ad blocker):
Honestly? As a single developer, it would be impossible for me to manage the workload required to make sure publishers conform to any strict standard. Eyeo however has the experience & infrastructure in place, the data of acceptable ads that meet a criteria, the support staff to assist with reviews (all done through open forum) and the necessary business relationships within the industry.
From Softpedia:
The second algorithm took this data, and analyzing the pauses between smartwatch (left hand) keystrokes, it was able to detect how many letters were pressed with the right hand, based on the user’s regular keystroke frequency.
Based on a simple dictionary lookup, the algorithm then managed to reliably reproduce what words were typed on the keyboard.
There’s always going to be a tug-of-war between the personal benefits and the nefarious purposes of technology.
My partner for the Nerds on Draft podcast makes his illustreous return in Episode 46. Not only do we talk about a Stickee Monkee but we chat about music services. More importantly, Jeff relays his literal near-death experience that put him in intensive care. Were it not for his iPhone, this episode could have been much more depressing. He’s recovering as quickly as can be expected and this episode was a relief to get out.
If you use Workflow for iOS (if you’re reading this site, you probably are) then you definitely need to checkout this new site by Jordan Merrick: Workflow Directory. It matches the Workflow aesthetic perfectly and even has an RSS feed.
You know an app is great when this kind of stuff crops up around it.
A fascinating article from Timothy Snyder:
Hitler’s alternative to science and politics was known as Lebensraum, which meant “habitat” or “ecological niche”. Races needed ever more Lebensraum, “room to live”, in order to feed themselves and propagate their kind. Nature demanded that the higher races overmaster and starve the lower. Since the innate desire of each race was to reproduce and conquer, the struggle was indefinite and eternal. At the same time, Lebensraum also meant “living room”, with the connotations of comfort and plenty in family life.
This is an incredible deal if you like Neil Gaiman. If you don’t, then you need to read more Neil Gaiman anyway. It’s a Humble Bundle of 18 or so rare Gaiman books and comics and pay what you like. You can also designate how much of your payment goes to charity, which is very cool. Totally worth it.
This demo of IPython notebooks by Nicholas Krutchten is one of my favorite things today.
I’m overly excited about spreadsheets this week.
By way of @alexchabotl
