pluralistic

24d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: LLMs are slot-machines; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/16/jackpot/

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316d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: The US Copyright Office frees the McFlurry; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/28/mcbroken/

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A McDonald's McFlurry cup. Under its transparent lid is a poop emoji whose eyes have been replaced with the glowing red eyes of HAL 9000 from Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey.' The cup is spattered with dirt. Behind it is a 'code waterfall' effect as seen in the credit reels of the Wachowskis' 'Matrix' movies.

Image: Cryteria (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

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15d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Enshittification, the audiobook (the Kickstarter); and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/25/disenshittified-audiobooks/

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An oil painting of Balthazzar's feast. Collaged onto the feast tables are the Enshittification book as an ebook, audiobook, hardcover and film cel, as well as the Canny Valley art book.

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6d

O artigo destaca a fatia de 30% que o Google abocanha dos apps da Play Store. O dev paga um aluguel perpétuo pelo "box" dentro da "galeria". OBS: Uber não paga essa taxa e a Epic Games ganhou (na justiça) o direito de seu jogo (Fortnite) ser instalado fora da Play Store.

Pelo que entendi, a tese é a de que essa certificação seria uma forma de arrecadar nas duas pontas (li na documentação que o dev paga 25 dólares para se cadastrar).

No blog de desenvolvedores do Android, temos um "Brazil mentioned":

"In early discussions about this initiative, we've been encouraged by the supportive initial feedback we've received. In Brazil, the Brazilian Federation of Banks (FEBRABAN) sees it as a “significant advancement in protecting users and encouraging accountability.”

Engraçado: regular redes sociais, não querem... Já aquilo que lhes convém...

Já estava bem insatisfeito com o Sistema Android antes do anúncio sobre a "certificação" de apps fora da Play Store. E como acho que o esforço + risco de instalar uma custom ROM não compensam, passei a usar um dumbphone como aparelho primário. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/01/fulu/#i-am-altering-the-deal

#DarthAndroid #Pluralistic #CoryDoctorow #DeGoogle

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10d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: A weekend's worth of links; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/30/merely-clever/

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A photo of an early 20th century 'auto polo' match in which drivers of open-air cars wielding polo mallets attempt to move a ball down a playing field. One driver is in the act of being flung clear of his car; upside-down in midair, with his mallet flying over him.

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14d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: By all means, tread on those people; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/26/sole-and-despotic-dominion/

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The Gadsen 'DONT TREAD ON ME' flag; the text has been replaced with 'THERE MUST BE IN-GROUPS WHOM THE LAW PROTECTS BUT DOES NOT BIND ALONGSIDE OUT-GROUPS WHOM THE LAW BINDS BUT DOES NOT PROTECT.'

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8d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Darth Android; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/01/fulu/

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An Android robot standing atop a cracked mobile phone, wearing Darth Vader armor.

Image:
Ashwin Kumar (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Samsung_Galaxy_S2_shattered_screen.jpg

CC BY-SA 2.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

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1d

Today's threads (a thread).

Inside: Fingerspitzengefühl; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/08/process-knowledge/

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An organ grinder with a monkey. The organ grinder's head has been replaced with a Gilded Age caricature of a sneering millionaire. The monkey's head has been replaced with the head of a miserable child coal miner. The background is a blurred, halftoned view of a vast square in Beijing with a giant official building in the background, and a Chinese flag on a flagpole. On the organ is a blurred portrait of John Philip Sousa.

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1y

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Meatspace twiddling; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/26/glitchbread/

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comic-book panel illustrating the final stage of the shell game, in which the con artist lifts the shell to reveal nothing beneath it. I have inserted a banana, making it appear as though that was what was hidden under the shell. The background of the panel has been altered to insert the 'code waterfall' effect from the Wachowskis' Matrix movies. The code waterfall fades out halfway down the image.

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1y

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Antitrust is a labor issue; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/25/capri-v-tapestry/

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An ominous long institutional corridor. At the far end of it is a collection of workers with their upraised fists merging into a single giant fist. In the foreground is a guillotine manned by a pair of revolutionary French executioners who labor over a prone, doomed aristocrat.

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1y

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: AI is a WMD; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/09/shitting-in-the-well/

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A lonely mud-brick well in a brown desert. It has been modified to add a 'caganar' - a traditional Spanish figure of a man crouching down and defecating - perched on the edge of the well. The caganar's head has been replaced with the menacing red eye of HAL9000 from Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey.' The sky behind this scene has been blended with a 'code waterfall' effect as seen in the credit sequences of the Wachowskis' 'Matrix' movies.

Image:
Cryteria (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

--

Catherine Poh Huay Tan (modified)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/68166820@N08/49729911222/

Laia Balagueró (modified)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lbalaguero/6551235503/

CC BY 2.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Edited 1y ago

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1y

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Copyright takedowns are a cautionary tale that few are heeding; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/27/nuke-first/

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1y

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: "Disenshittify or Die"; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/17/hack-the-planet/

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A photo of me at a podium at Defcon 32, giving my speech.

Image:
https://twitter.com/igama/status/1822347578094043435/ (cropped)

CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.pt

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1y

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Foxx Nolte's "Hidden History of Walt Disney World"; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/15/disnefried/

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The Arcadia Press cover of Foxx Nolte's 'Hidden History of Walt Disney World.'

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1y

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: The paradox of choice screens; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/12/defaults-matter/

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1y

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Nalo Hopkinson's "Blackheart Man"; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/20/piche/

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The Simon and Schuster cover for Nalo Hopkinson's 'Blackheart Man.'

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351d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: What the fuck is a PBM? and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/09/23/shield-of-boringness/

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A Rube Goldberg machine for feeding a man soup. It has been placed against a background of scattered, assorted pills. In the foreground, along the bottom of the frame, are loosely stacked, bundled US one hundred dollar bills. Beside them stands a miniature caricature of a capitalist, holding a bulging, dollar-sign-emblazoned sack.

Image:
Flying Logos (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Over_$1,000,000_dollars_in_USD_$100_bill_stacks.png

CC BY-SA 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

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363d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Matt Bors's "Justice Warriors: Vote Harder"; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/09/11/uninhabited-zone/

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The cover for 'Justice Warriors: Vote Harder.'

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337d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: China hacked Verizon, AT&T and Lumen using the FBI's backdoor; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/07/foreseeable-outcomes/

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Edited 337d ago

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330d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Dirty words are politically potent; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/14/pearl-clutching/

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A poop emoji standing on an infinitely receding tiled floor against a 'Code Waterfall' background as seen in the credits of the Wachowskis' 'Matrix' movie. It has a red, angular, steam-snorting speech bubble coming out of its mouth, full of 'grawlix' (nonsense punctuation meant to indicate swearing).

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323d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Retiring the US debt would retire the US dollar; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/21/we-can-have-nice-things/

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A 19th century Puck editorial cartoon of Uncle Sam standing between two funhouse mirrors, one of which depicts him as an emaciated, terrified figure; the other depicts him as a fat and happy fellow. The background is a highly magnified US $100 bill. Over the 'fat' mirror the text from US banknotes: 'This note is legal tender for all debts private and public.'

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295d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Harpercollins wants authors to sign away AI training rights; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/18/rights-without-power/

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A bookcase. Rupert Murdoch's grinning head rests between a gap in the books. Centered in his forehead is the glaring red eye of HAL 9000 from Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey.'

Image:
Cryteria (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

--

Eva Rinaldi (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rupert_Murdoch_-_Flickr_-_Eva_Rinaldi_Celebrity_and_Live_Music_Photographer.jpg

CC BY-SA 2.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

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281d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: All the books I reviewed in 2024; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/12/02/booklish/

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Samuel Hollyer's 1875 engraving of Charles Dickens in his study, sitting at a desk, staring out a window, surrounded by bookcases.

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262d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Proud to be a blockhead; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/12/21/blockheads-r-us/

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A writer, bundled in furs, sitting on a block of ice and writing with a quill pen. His head has been replaced with that of a skeleton. His inkpot is suspended over a camp stove. He has written, 'No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.' Surrounding him in a semicircle are nine angry, wealthy men in old fashioned suits, shouting and gesticulating. The background is a faded US$100 bill.

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218d

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Petard, Part IV and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/03/rot-fungus-r-us/

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The cover of MIT Tech Review's 12 Tomorrows anthology, an oil painting from one of Herbert's *Dune* novels.

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