Pluralistic: 21 Nov 2020

Today's links

A machine learning wrecking ball: Even if you fix training data, you still have to reckon with underspecification.
Nintendo vs Nintendees: Super Smash Bros Melee is a case study in spiteful corporate fuckery.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

RIAA's war on youtube-dl: The rise of the resistance.
Trump abandons supporters to freeze: More death cult shit.
This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Podcasting chapter one of Attack Surface: A three hour preview of the audio, currently up on Kickstarter!
Crad Kilodney documentary: Kickstarting "Putrid Scum."
DRM versus human rights: Helping Mexico learn from 22 years of bitter US experience.
Germany's amazing new competition proposal: Putting interop front and center.
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Sterilizer company vs Right to Repair: Steris wants Ifixit to stop distributing repair manuals.
Intro to cybersecurity: The Open University's MOOC.
This is the EU's interoperability moment: The Digital Services Act could challenge Big Tech — but will it?
This day in history: 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Covid apps and false positives: The real killer app is public confidence.
Casio censors calculator modder's Github project: The modder says it's copyfraud.
Penguin poop turns into laughing gas: Researchers figured it out when they started getting buzzed.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

I'm teaching a teen writing class: "Stories are Super Weird. Here’s Why They Work."
Trump will deliver killing blow to the USPS: The murder's been underway since 2006.
Fighting the EU Copyright Directive in court: Former MEP Julia Reda has a new gig doing impact litigation.
Virginia's election-day holiday: They also eliminated Lee-Jackson Day.
Quantifying Boris Johnson's body-count: Ireland makes for a natural experiment.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

The Public Domain Review Coloring Book: Hokusai, Albrecht Dürer, Harry Clarke, Virginia Frances Sterrett, etc.
Amazon's leaked anti-worker smear plan: They put it in writing.
Wikipedia vs patent troll: No, you didn't invent autocomplete.
Bug bounty programs as catch-and-kills: Companies are not good stewards of their own bad news.
The Tea Party killed pandemic preparedness: "No one warned us" -Congressman who was warned repeatedly.
This day in history: 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Lax antitrust killed ventilator stockpiles : The USG procured <$3k ventilators from a startup, so an incumbent bought them and shuttered them.
Koch network demands an end to lockdown: While sending its staff home for their safety.
Private equity firms scooping up pandemic bargains: It's not the wound that gets ya, it's the opportunistic parasitic infections.
Digital rights are human rights: Why broadband should be a public utility.
ACLU vanquishes the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act: Terms of Service violations are not felonies.
Munching Squares and Munching Tunes: The music and visuals of slow-decay phosphors.
This day in history: 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading