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The rise of user-hostile software
On the trend of consumer software designed around developer convenience instead of user needs, from forced accounts to telemetry to privilege creep.
Most cited
Posts that commenters keep linking to, ranked by how many different people have cited them in Hacker News comments. 188 posts.
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German state planning to switch 25,000 PCs to LibreOffice
The north-German state of Schleswig-Holstein plans to switch to open source software, including LibreOffice, in its administration and schools. In doing so, the state wants to reduce its dependence on proprietary software, and eventually end it altogether. By the end of 2026, Microsoft Office is to be replaced by…
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Changes to sharing and viewing news on Facebook in Australia
In response to Australia’s proposed new Media Bargaining law, we'll restrict publishers and people in Australia from sharing or viewing news on Facebook.
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Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (2010)
Well I'm in the working world again. I've found myself a well-paying gig in the engineering industry, and life finally feels like it's returning to normal after my nine months of traveling. Beca...
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NYTimes Peru N-Word: My side of the story, in four parts
On February 5 this year, one week after an article about me appeared in the Daily Beast, The New York Times announced that I would be…
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A deep dive on a Facebook reseller of bikes stolen in Colorado
Bike Index tracks a Colorado-to-Mexico stolen bike pipeline - and learns things along the way
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Private censorship is not the best way to fight hate or defend democracy (2018)
From Cloudflare’s headline-making takedown of the Daily Stormer last autumn to YouTube’s summer restrictions on LGBTQ content, there's been a surge in “voluntary” platform censorship. Companies—under pressure from lawmakers, shareholders, and the public alike—have ramped up restrictions on speech,...
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I quit – Peak indifference, big tobacco
Peak indifference, big tobacco, disinformation and death
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Tech journalism is less diverse than tech (2020)
982 People. 14 Outlets. 80% White. 2% Black. 18% Other. After I published my post pointing out the hypocrisy of Big Tech Media in the diversity in tech debate, I got a few grunts of acknowledgement from a couple of the publications covered. Afterwards, these journalists sat on what was
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This Can’t Go On
The long view of economic history says we're in the midst of a huge, unsustainable acceleration. What happens next?
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Facebook's GDPR consent bypass reaches Austrian Supreme Court
Austrian Supreme Court may refer case to Court of Justice, questioning the basis of Facebook's business model in Europe.
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You can no longer bypass microsoft-edge:// links using apps like EdgeDeflector
Microsoft doubles-down on its user-choice hostile web browser behavior; blocks competitors from opening links from many Windows apps and web experiences.
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The Paywalled Garden: iOS is Adware (2020)
Over the years, Apple has built up a portfolio of services and add-ons that you pay for. Starting with AppleCare extended warranties and…
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The New York Times uses the dark patterns it derides
New York Times op-ed recently decried tricks websites use to manipulate users… but have you ever tried to cancel your NY Times subscription?
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A critique of Safari's influence on the web
There's been a lot of discussion recently about how "Safari is the new IE" (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). I don't want to rehash the basics of that, but I have seen some...
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WhatsApp and the Domestication of Users
WhatsApp's rise and recent PR efforts highlight a class of business models that I call "user domestication".
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We Keep Telling the Myth of a Renaissance Golden Age and Bad Middle Ages (2020)
“If the Black Death caused the Renaissance, will COVID also create a golden age?”
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The pandemic has deepened an epidemic of loneliness
The global pandemic has deepened an epidemic of loneliness in America. This report from Making Caring Common, a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, explores who is lonely, the many causes of loneliness, and ways to alleviate it.
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The code that controls our money
COBOL is a coding language older than Weird Al Yankovic. The people who know how to use it are often just as old. It underpins the entire financial system. And it can’t be removed. How a computer language controls the financial life of the world.
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Internet 3.0 and the Beginning of (Tech) History
The actions taken by Big Tech have a resonance that goes beyond the context of domestic U.S. politics. Even if they were right, they will still push the world to Internet 3.0.
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An open letter to Jason and David
Dear Jason and David, aka the founder-owners of Basecamp who up until 2021 earned 100% of the company’s profits along with Jeff Bezos, As you know, I am writing this while on medical leave fr…