It's less about politics than the business mind set. When these platforms started, they were the best thing since TV was invented, but as always it became about the bottom line and profit/loss statements and attracting investors.
I remember when YouTube, to cite one example, was truly subversive to the ossified media environment dominated by a few well established corporations. Now it's a well established corporation (or at least owned by one) and just another provider. It IS the ossified media environment. We really knew it was over when they started putting in commercials. The reaction to YouTube has already started. DuckDuckGo has its own player which blocks a lot of their shit. You didn't hear that from me.
One can see the same story for other companies like Amazon. It started at a feminist bookshop in Seattle. Now the owner is shaking hands with Donald Trump at his inaugural ball.
The revolution will come, but we can't predict when, and the media will be the last to know.
Its Technical
Re: Its Technical
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
Re: Its Technical
There's a channel on YouTube that's making headlines called Jubilee it's a channel where they have 20 conservatives debating & taking turns against 1 individual in any topic i'm curious to know what you all think.
Re: Its Technical
I think I won't be watching that channel. I can barely stomach YouTube as it is.
Everything corporations touch dies. Broadcasting had an FCC, but Ray Gun fixed that impediment to the rich getting richer. Nobody had to "fix" the Internet, it just became part of the problem because the users liked it that way.
Someone just wrote a nooz story about the early Internet. It reads like an undergrad paper in an anthropology class. "People started web sites ALL BY THEMSELVES, discussing WHATEVER INTERESTED THEM." Yes, and natives in equatorial regions didn't used to wear clothes.
Everything corporations touch dies. Broadcasting had an FCC, but Ray Gun fixed that impediment to the rich getting richer. Nobody had to "fix" the Internet, it just became part of the problem because the users liked it that way.
Someone just wrote a nooz story about the early Internet. It reads like an undergrad paper in an anthropology class. "People started web sites ALL BY THEMSELVES, discussing WHATEVER INTERESTED THEM." Yes, and natives in equatorial regions didn't used to wear clothes.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
Re: Its Technical
HBO Max is setting a trap for password sharers
Anyone borrowing a password for HBO Max should start binge-watching now.
Warner Bros. Discovery, the media company behind HBO Max and its many rebrands, just warned its streaming subscribers that its password-sharing crackdown is about to get serious.
https://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-max ... ort-2025-8
Anyone borrowing a password for HBO Max should start binge-watching now.
Warner Bros. Discovery, the media company behind HBO Max and its many rebrands, just warned its streaming subscribers that its password-sharing crackdown is about to get serious.
https://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-max ... ort-2025-8
Re: Its Technical
AOL dial-up service to end next month
Internet pioneer AOL is shuttering its dial-up service at the end of September after 30 years of providing its landline-based online connectivity.
“AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet,” the company said in announcing the move Monday.
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5 ... ol-dialup/
Internet pioneer AOL is shuttering its dial-up service at the end of September after 30 years of providing its landline-based online connectivity.
“AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet,” the company said in announcing the move Monday.
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5 ... ol-dialup/
Re: Its Technical
This morning, I left from Coronado driving to Las Vegas. On the I15 in Riverside I couldn’t get any sound from the SiriusXM radio. It wasn’t loss of signal and it would display the channel number and program name. So I went “Old School” and switched to my CD function. My radio has SiriusXM, two FM with six, programable channels, one AM , six programable channels, and a six-CD changer. I stopped at Victorville Costco for gas and to stretch my legs. As I exited Costco I Googled if SiriumXM was down and it wasn’t. When I got into my car all of a suddenSiriusXM was workin again. I was able to continue on to Las Vegas listening to the 60s, 70s, and Beatles’ channels all the way.
Sometimes it good to have something outdated as CDs as a backup.
Sometimes it good to have something outdated as CDs as a backup.
When you vote left, you vote right.
Re: Its Technical
My wife's car sends us texts.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
Re: Its Technical
i cant believe how fuked yahoo mail is now.
i wont be using it. ive pretty well lost all the pictures i saved in those files.
this is the shit AI brings...crap. it is not an improvement.
i wont be using it. ive pretty well lost all the pictures i saved in those files.
this is the shit AI brings...crap. it is not an improvement.
Who are these..flag-sucking halfwits fleeced fooled by stupid little rich kids They speak for all that is cruel stupid They are racists hate mongers I piss down the throats of these Nazis Im too old to worry whether they like it. Fuck them.
HST.
HST.
Re: Its Technical
This is the normal functioning of the oligarchy. Everything's obsolete soon as you buy it. They're already working on its replacement. I quit the game when huge fancy component stereos became obsolete and they wanted me to outfit my whole house with shiny new net connected crap that sounded like shit. Now I have a vinyl collection worth at least a grand at today's prices, and I can't even bear to sell it even though I have nothing left to play it on.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
Re: Its Technical
Exclusive: Meta created flirty chatbots of Taylor Swift, other celebrities without permission
Aug 29 (Reuters) - Meta has appropriated the names and likenesses of celebrities – including Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez – to create dozens of flirty social-media chatbots without their permission, Reuters has found.
While many were created by users with a Meta tool for building chatbots, Reuters discovered that a Meta employee had produced at least three, including two Taylor Swift “parody” bots.
https://www.reuters.com/business/meta-c ... 025-08-29/
Aug 29 (Reuters) - Meta has appropriated the names and likenesses of celebrities – including Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez – to create dozens of flirty social-media chatbots without their permission, Reuters has found.
While many were created by users with a Meta tool for building chatbots, Reuters discovered that a Meta employee had produced at least three, including two Taylor Swift “parody” bots.
https://www.reuters.com/business/meta-c ... 025-08-29/
Re: Its Technical
My wife's getting a share in the big suit that one of these companies just settled after being sued for using copyrighted materials to train AI without permission/compensation. It's chicken feed, but it sets a precedent. They can't just raid the net and pass it off as public domain.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
Re: Its Technical
Meta Launches Native Instagram App for iPad After 15-Year Wait
After years of persistent user demands and makeshift workarounds, Meta Platforms Inc. has finally unveiled a dedicated Instagram app for the iPad, marking a significant shift in how the social media giant approaches tablet users. The launch, announced on Wednesday, ends a 15-year wait since the iPad’s debut in 2010, during which Instagram stubbornly resisted developing a native version, forcing users to rely on stretched iPhone apps or web browsers. This move comes amid growing competition in the social media space, where platforms like TikTok have long optimized for larger screens to enhance video consumption and user engagement.
Industry analysts suggest this development could boost Instagram’s appeal among creative professionals and casual users who prefer the iPad’s expansive display for editing photos, scrolling feeds, and interacting with Stories and Reels. According to reports from TechCrunch, the app is designed to take full advantage of the tablet’s form factor, offering a more immersive experience without the awkward scaling issues of the past. Meta’s decision aligns with broader trends in app development, where cross-device compatibility is increasingly seen as essential for retaining user loyalty in a fragmented ecosystem.
https://www.webpronews.com/meta-launche ... year-wait/
After years of persistent user demands and makeshift workarounds, Meta Platforms Inc. has finally unveiled a dedicated Instagram app for the iPad, marking a significant shift in how the social media giant approaches tablet users. The launch, announced on Wednesday, ends a 15-year wait since the iPad’s debut in 2010, during which Instagram stubbornly resisted developing a native version, forcing users to rely on stretched iPhone apps or web browsers. This move comes amid growing competition in the social media space, where platforms like TikTok have long optimized for larger screens to enhance video consumption and user engagement.
Industry analysts suggest this development could boost Instagram’s appeal among creative professionals and casual users who prefer the iPad’s expansive display for editing photos, scrolling feeds, and interacting with Stories and Reels. According to reports from TechCrunch, the app is designed to take full advantage of the tablet’s form factor, offering a more immersive experience without the awkward scaling issues of the past. Meta’s decision aligns with broader trends in app development, where cross-device compatibility is increasingly seen as essential for retaining user loyalty in a fragmented ecosystem.
https://www.webpronews.com/meta-launche ... year-wait/
Re: Its Technical
Google gets to keep Chrome, judge rules in search antitrust case
Google will not have to sell its Chrome browser in order to address its illegal monopoly in online search, DC District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled on Tuesday. Over a year ago, Judge Mehta found that the search giant had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act; his ruling now determines what Google must do in response.
Mehta declined to grant some of the more ambitious proposals from the Justice Department to remedy Google’s behavior and restore competition to the market. Besides letting Google keep Chrome, he’ll also let the company continue to pay distribution partners for preloading or placement of its search or AI products. But he did order Google to share some valuable search information with rivals that could help jumpstart their ability to compete, and bar the search giant from making exclusive deals to distribute its search or AI assistant products in ways that might cut off distribution for rivals.
https://www.theverge.com/policy/717087/ ... ing-chrome
Google will not have to sell its Chrome browser in order to address its illegal monopoly in online search, DC District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled on Tuesday. Over a year ago, Judge Mehta found that the search giant had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act; his ruling now determines what Google must do in response.
Mehta declined to grant some of the more ambitious proposals from the Justice Department to remedy Google’s behavior and restore competition to the market. Besides letting Google keep Chrome, he’ll also let the company continue to pay distribution partners for preloading or placement of its search or AI products. But he did order Google to share some valuable search information with rivals that could help jumpstart their ability to compete, and bar the search giant from making exclusive deals to distribute its search or AI assistant products in ways that might cut off distribution for rivals.
https://www.theverge.com/policy/717087/ ... ing-chrome
Re: Its Technical
Cox: ‘Social media is a cancer on our society right now’
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) on Friday urged people to turn away from social media, calling it a “cancer on our society” after announcing that the suspected gunman in the killing of Charlie Kirk is in custody.
At the end of his press conference announcing 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspected gunman in the shooting at Utah Valley University, Cox urged people to log off of social media, citing the violent imagery that proliferates through the medium.
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watc ... ial-media/
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) on Friday urged people to turn away from social media, calling it a “cancer on our society” after announcing that the suspected gunman in the killing of Charlie Kirk is in custody.
At the end of his press conference announcing 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspected gunman in the shooting at Utah Valley University, Cox urged people to log off of social media, citing the violent imagery that proliferates through the medium.
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watc ... ial-media/
Re: Its Technical
That may be why C-SPAN ran an obscure Congressional hearing where several House members agree with two witnesses who quit the Farcebook empire over VR abuse of young users. This is apparently rampant, and absent effective parental controls, pretty much unstoppable. You have to wonder what fun and games the generations ruined by this stuff will commit when they are old enough to be dangerous.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
Re: Its Technical
TikTok’s algorithm will be overseen by Oracle in the US after the sale is completed
New York — The White House has answered what had been one of the major outstanding questions regarding its pending deal to transfer TikTok’s US operations to a majority American ownership group: Under the agreement, the app’s algorithm will be operated in the United States and overseen by Oracle.
The detail was confirmed by a senior White House official in a call with reporters on Monday. If completed, the deal will transfer control of TikTok’s US operations, along with a copy of the algorithm, to a new joint venture based in the United States. That ownership group will have majority American investors and run by a majority American board of directors, the official said.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/22/tech/tik ... -algorithm
New York — The White House has answered what had been one of the major outstanding questions regarding its pending deal to transfer TikTok’s US operations to a majority American ownership group: Under the agreement, the app’s algorithm will be operated in the United States and overseen by Oracle.
The detail was confirmed by a senior White House official in a call with reporters on Monday. If completed, the deal will transfer control of TikTok’s US operations, along with a copy of the algorithm, to a new joint venture based in the United States. That ownership group will have majority American investors and run by a majority American board of directors, the official said.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/22/tech/tik ... -algorithm
Re: Its Technical
Secret Service traced swatting threats against officials. They found 300 servers capable of crippling New York’s cell system
On Christmas Day 2023, a man called the suicide prevention hotline claiming he had shot his girlfriend and threatening to kill himself. Police barreled toward the address but turned around before they arrived.
It was a hoax – a swatting call at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Georgia residence.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/23/us/swatt ... discovered
On Christmas Day 2023, a man called the suicide prevention hotline claiming he had shot his girlfriend and threatening to kill himself. Police barreled toward the address but turned around before they arrived.
It was a hoax – a swatting call at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Georgia residence.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/23/us/swatt ... discovered
Re: Its Technical
Swatting and cell system vulnerability are two separate issues. One is a currently fashionable form of anonymously stirring up trouble, the other is a threat to the proper functioning of civilization.
I will once again remind you that a typical urban burglary gang disabled half of the LA cell phone system in an attempt to disable alarms that instead cut a fiber backbone. They just went down a manhole and snip snip snip. No protection whatsoever.
I will once again remind you that a typical urban burglary gang disabled half of the LA cell phone system in an attempt to disable alarms that instead cut a fiber backbone. They just went down a manhole and snip snip snip. No protection whatsoever.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22
Re: Its Technical
RIP TikTok
Trump will sign TikTok executive order on Thursday, source says
WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Thursday that declares a deal being negotiated by the White House to sell TikTok's U.S. operations will meet requirements set out in a 2024 law, a White House source with knowledge of the matter said.
Earlier this week, the White House said Trump will declare that a deal to divest TikTok's U.S. operations from its Chinese owner ByteDance will meet requirements set out in a law passed by Congress that bans the short video app unless its Chinese owner is ended.
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/ ... 025-09-24/
Trump will sign TikTok executive order on Thursday, source says
WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Thursday that declares a deal being negotiated by the White House to sell TikTok's U.S. operations will meet requirements set out in a 2024 law, a White House source with knowledge of the matter said.
Earlier this week, the White House said Trump will declare that a deal to divest TikTok's U.S. operations from its Chinese owner ByteDance will meet requirements set out in a law passed by Congress that bans the short video app unless its Chinese owner is ended.
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/ ... 025-09-24/
Re: Its Technical
King Orange Criminal gets his way again
YouTube to pay $24.5 million to settle Trump lawsuit
New York — YouTube agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump after he was suspended by social media platforms following the January 6, 2021, insurrection.
This makes Alphabet-owned YouTube the last of the three Big Tech social media companies sued by Trump — which included Meta and then Twitter, now called X — to settle over his removal from their platforms.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/29/business ... nweb-convo
YouTube to pay $24.5 million to settle Trump lawsuit
New York — YouTube agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump after he was suspended by social media platforms following the January 6, 2021, insurrection.
This makes Alphabet-owned YouTube the last of the three Big Tech social media companies sued by Trump — which included Meta and then Twitter, now called X — to settle over his removal from their platforms.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/29/business ... nweb-convo
Re: Its Technical
Apple removes ICEBlock from its App Store
Apple has removed ICEBlock, which allows users to track and report the location of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, from its App Store.
“We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps,” Apple said in a statement to NewsNation, The Hill’s sister company. “Based on information we’ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store.”
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5 ... block-app/
https://www.iceblock.app/
Apple has removed ICEBlock, which allows users to track and report the location of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, from its App Store.
“We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps,” Apple said in a statement to NewsNation, The Hill’s sister company. “Based on information we’ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store.”
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5 ... block-app/
https://www.iceblock.app/
Re: Its Technical
Snapchat to charge users to store 'Memories.' Here's how to download them for free.
Some Snapchatters will have to pay up to keep their thousands of Snaps stored on the app.
On Friday, Sept. 26, Snapchat announced plans to start charging users who have more than 5 gigabytes (GB) of "Memories," photos and videos taken and stored on the app.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/new ... 476441007/
Some Snapchatters will have to pay up to keep their thousands of Snaps stored on the app.
On Friday, Sept. 26, Snapchat announced plans to start charging users who have more than 5 gigabytes (GB) of "Memories," photos and videos taken and stored on the app.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/new ... 476441007/
Re: Its Technical
Hearing on Government Social Media Censorship
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hears testimony from witnesses on social media censorship by the federal government.
https://www.c-span.org/program/senate-c ... hip/666821
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hears testimony from witnesses on social media censorship by the federal government.
https://www.c-span.org/program/senate-c ... hip/666821
Re: Its Technical
3 Free Ways to Upgrade to Windows 11 (And 1 Option for Incompatible PCs)
Whether you're trying to eke out a few more years on an aging PC or have been dragging your feet on a Windows 11 upgrade, there are a few ways to upgrade without paying for it.
If your Windows 10 computer meets all the necessary requirements for an upgrade to Windows 11, there are a number of ways you can get the newer operating system for free. If your PC doesn't officially support Windows 11, Microsoft recommends that you consider purchasing a new PC. Before you rush to Best Buy, however, check out how to sneak past the update requirements with a third-party utility. (You can also eke out an extra year on Windows 10 with these workarounds.)
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/3-free-way ... atible-pcs
Whether you're trying to eke out a few more years on an aging PC or have been dragging your feet on a Windows 11 upgrade, there are a few ways to upgrade without paying for it.
If your Windows 10 computer meets all the necessary requirements for an upgrade to Windows 11, there are a number of ways you can get the newer operating system for free. If your PC doesn't officially support Windows 11, Microsoft recommends that you consider purchasing a new PC. Before you rush to Best Buy, however, check out how to sneak past the update requirements with a third-party utility. (You can also eke out an extra year on Windows 10 with these workarounds.)
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/3-free-way ... atible-pcs
Re: Its Technical
Microsoft really did advise Windows 10 users to buy a new computer. So it goes in the New World Order.
"We must remember that we cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation." --Liz Cheney, Republican, 7/21/22