tech

Edit: Thanks to @GeopJr for pointing this out: this AI assistant is a third-party project and not directly affiliated with the GNOME desktop. I was tripped up by the wording of the Phoronix post I shared, which could have made this point clearer. I'll leave the original post below for the sake of transparency and also in case it helps anyone else who was similarly confused.

I am very twitchy about what's happening with AI polluting every corner of Microsoft Windows and am worried the same will happen to at least some Linux distributions. I think the worry is warranted, but in this case I misfired--sorry about that.


I guess I won't be using GNOME ever again

https://www.phoronix.com/news/GNOME-AI-Assistant-1.0

#tech #dev #FOSS #OpenSource #linux #software #GNOME #NoAI #AI

Little Bits: Issue #27 For July 2025

Fresh little bits are here for the month of July along with a hopeful and motivational message about life achievements and the progression of life.

https://www.adamsdesk.com/posts/little-bits-issue-27/

#blog #OpenSource #FreeSoftware #tech #news #LinkDump

***infosec specialists are needed in the resistance ***

The world needs tech security specialists to run workshops at public libraries for all ages & abilities to remove spyware, AI, reduce surveillance, understand the issues, & for more advanced, move to Linux, degooglefy, etc.

Libraries will pay good wages for these workshops.
If you have these skills, please consider offering them.

#libraries #library #tech #infosec #privacy #security #activism #antifa #resistance

Last month, job boards for actors were flooded with ads looking for people to record “conversations, character voices, and natural speech to help train AI systems," for a project by Microsoft. Payment was orders of magnitude more than a normal acting gig — up to $80,000, where a national ad campaign for a big brand might ordinarily pay $6,000. @404mediaco's Rosie Thomas spoke to voice actors about the "Faustian bargain" of accepting such roles. "You're still taking away tomorrow's meal because they're offering you a little bit more,” says Katie Clark Gray.

https://flip.it/XFIH26

#Movies #Cinema #Film #Acting #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Technology #Tech

If you take the stance that technical debt is code nobody understands, then current LLM-based code generators are technical debt generators until somebody reads and understands their output.

If you take the stance that writing is thinking--that writing is among other things a process by which we order our thoughts--then understanding code generator output will require substantial rewriting of the code by whomever is tasked with converting it from technical debt to technical asset.

#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLM #CodeAssistant #AgenticAI #tech #dev #coding #TechnicalDebt

Not a single mask in sight. Very disappointing to see this, especially as we're in a COVID uptick. The number of people in photo 1 who have their hands up is probably roughly equal to how many will leave this conference with COVID or some other respiratory illness.

https://fosstodon.org/users/scala_lang/statuses/115056704676502452

#dev #tech #coding #conference #scala #ScalaDays #CovidIsNotOver #CovidIsAirborne #LongCovid #MaskUp #accessibility

Microsoft is required to regularly provide U.S. officials with its plan for keeping government data safe from hacking. Yet a copy of the tech giant’s security plan obtained by ProPublica makes no reference to the company’s China-based operations.

https://www.propublica.org/article/microsoft-china-defense-department-cloud-computing-security?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

#News #Microsoft #Tech #Data #China #Cybersecurity #Government #Technology

Today's Poll 👇

How often do you use AI tools in your daily life?

#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Poll #Tech #FutureOfWork

Here's a curriculum developed around the TV series "Halt and Catch Fire" for discussion groups for talking about working in tech during the 1980s-1990s when the industry was not destroying the world

https://bits.ashleyblewer.com/halt-and-catch-fire-syllabus/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark

#stem #tech #cool

Newest #Substack: READ THE REST & DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE! https://blueamp.substack.com/p/dems-search-for-identity-psst-sherrod - "As #Democrats search for identity, #culture & policies to reinforce the values the first 2 communicate to voters, they must lean into the roadmap Sherrod provided for yrs to win handily in OH.

Even ignoring the dingos of the rw echoes-phere & corporate #media click bait ladies of the night, doesn't mean there’s not a problem. B/c there is, it’s a major & it’s one some of us have been screaming about for yrs"

#news #politics #trump #russia #usa #ukraine #us #unitedstates #eu #ai #writing #tech #senate #tariffs #ICE #economy #nato #donaldtrump

Is It Really Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)?

Protect your software rights by gaining clarity and transparency of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) by using the project Is It Really FOSS?

https://www.adamsdesk.com/posts/is-it-really-free-open-source-software-project-review/

#blog #review #FreeSoftware #OpenSource #FOSS #tech

Pentagon Warns Microsoft: Company’s Use of China-Based Engineers Was a “Breach of Trust”
---

The Defense Department is opening an investigation to determine if the tech giant’s use of overseas engineers to maintain sensitive U.S. government computer systems compromised national security.
https://www.propublica.org/article/microsoft-china-defense-department-digital-escorts-investigation-warning?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

#News #Microsoft #Tech #Pentagon #Defense #Technology #Cybersecurity

I received another phishing email along the lines of "such and such service needs to be reset; contact your administrator by clicking the following link".

I opted not to click the link and instead contacted the administrator directly. The administrator, who is me, confirmed there was nothing amiss and that I should consider the email spam.

#tech #SelfHosting #phishing #scams

Is it just me, or has the number of captcha challenges significantly increased over the past few months? Nowadays I feel like I'm being hit with captchas all day every day, where before it was relatively rare. It is especially noticeable on sites I visit frequently, have accounts with, and presumably have cookies for.

#captcha #SecurityTheater #infosec #CyberSecurity #security #tech #dev #internet #web

Use Multiple Matrix Accounts with Element Desktop Application

Uncover the hidden profile feature that unlocks the ability to use multiple Matrix accounts concurrently with the Element Desktop application.

https://www.adamsdesk.com/posts/matrix-multiple-accounts-element-desktop/

#blog #Matrix #linux #tech #technology

There's some really gross hypocricy on Fedi regarding AI by computer scientists/ tech enthusiasts who are vocally critical of some aspects of generative AI for appearances, but who are actively benefiting from the AI bubble professionally, and talking out of both sides of their mouth.

There is also some gross classism in the decrying of people's intelligence who are using it to take shortcuts (as if they are the problem, not the wealth-class or hypercompetitive neo-liberalism).

I think we are making a mistake listening to half-assed criticisms from uncredible sources while focusing on the users of generative AI, instead of directing our ire at the tech industry itself.

There is a complete lack of accountability from the tech world to begin with about all the decisions that led us to the AI bubble.

It is just one of a long string of disastrous failures (#enshittification) and framing it as an AI-only issue, or an issue of degrees ("I know how to use it ethically!"), evades responsibility for the decades long growth of tech-surveillance capitalism.

AI is the logical endpoint of early 21st century tech, and criticisms of it need to be grounded in criticisms of the tech industry in general. #AI #Tech

Is your team bouncing between Confluence, shared drives, and chat apps? Imagine your docs, projects, and file sync all under one open-source roof you control.

On 17 September see @xwiki + @nextcloud in action: We’ll show how to migrate Confluence pages, macros and permissions, then run a wiki inside Nextcloud with unified search and live editing.

No lock‑in. One stack you own.

Save your seat 👉https://go.nextcloud.com/r/20it

#OpenSource #XWiki #Nextcloud #Webinar #tech #technology #news

Fill in the blank without using a search engine to find the original source!

Like other addictive technologies, I have a love/hate relationship with ____________, and the more I despise it, the more I use it, and the more I use it, the more disgusted I am at how addicted I’ve gotten, and the more addicted I get, the more I wish it had never been invented.

#dev #tech

What if you could pay for everything with just your palm?

It's not science fiction. A new technology called Palm Vein Recognition is making it a reality in China!

Read the full story on Factovate.

https://factovate.com/payment-with-palm-lines-the-secret-of-chinas-new-technology

#TechFacts #ScienceFacts #Innovation #FutureIsNow #Tech #DidYouKnow #China #Factovate

Pentagon Bans Tech Vendors From Using China-Based Personnel After ProPublica Investigation
---

The Defense Department has tightened cybersecurity requirements for its cloud services providers. The changes come after ProPublica revealed how Microsoft’s use of China-based engineers left sensitive government data vulnerable to hacking.
https://www.propublica.org/article/pentagon-dod-microsoft-digital-escorts-china-ban-cybersecurity?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

#News #DOD #Tech #Microsoft #Pentagon #Cybersecurity #Technology #China

If current-generation LLM-based chatbots can drive people to commit crimes or even take their own lives, what do you suppose Neuralink would do to people?

The first thing I said to the person who suggested to me that human brains might be directly hooked to a computer, whenever that was, was "everyone will go insane immediately". I still believe that, but now we're beginning to see evidence.

#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLM #Neuralink #tech #dev #HCI #BrainImplants

✨ new on #TheFutureIsFederated 🚀

"My Fediverse Starter Guide" for newbies, based on my video and articles about Fediverse software and culture.

🔗 : https://news.elenarossini.com/my-fediverse-starter-guide/

mentioning @Mastodon @news @gotosocial @pfefferle @pixelfed @peertube

If you share it with friends/family, let me know how it goes and if this guide is helpful to them 🙏

#digitalliteracy #BigTech #tech #SocialMedia #FOSS #blog

Stand Up and Celebrate Software Freedom Day

Join in the celebration of Software Freedom Day and learn about Free Software and its virtues along with how to host or attend this worldwide event.

https://www.adamsdesk.com/posts/celebrate-software-freedom-day/

#blog #FreeSoftware #FOSS #tech #technology @dff

Atlassian is sunsetting its Data Center products. For Confluence users, the question is no longer whether to migrate, but how.

Together with @nextcloud ,we ran a webinar, “Break free from Confluence”, covering:
✔ Live migration demo
✔ Preserving hierarchies, macros & permissions
✔ Migration strategies with minimal disruption

Recap 👉 https://xwiki.com/en/Blog/Webinar-overview-break-free-from-Confluence/

#XWiki #OpenSource #DigitalSovereignty #Confluence #DataCenter #Atlassian #Tech #Technology #News #Technews

Once again blocked from using a website I've used regularly for years because of "unusual activity" from "your IP". After passing a captcha, no less.

Somehow bot-detecting algorithms have been degrading over time.

This is a troubling trend because people who aren't using the anointed access points of the internet struggle more and more to connect and interact. Large entities like CloudFlare choke off more and more avenues of access in the name of "security", enforcing digital checkpoints without any accountability to anyone.

#dev #tech #web #bot #DarkPattern #security #infosec #cybersecurity #checkpoint