How Hackers Are Fighting Back Against ICE
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/42272628
ICE has been invading U.S. cities, targeting, surveilling, harassing, assaulting, detaining, and torturing people who are undocumented immigrants. They also have targeted people with work permits, asylum seekers, permanent residents (people holding “green cards”), naturalized citizens, and even citizens by birth. ICE has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on surveillance technology to spy on anyone—and potentially everyone—in the United States. It can be hard to imagine how to defend oneself against such an overwhelming force. But a few enterprising hackers have started projects to do counter surveillance against ICE, and hopefully protect their communities through clever use of technology. ....
How Hackers Are Fighting Back Against ICE
ICE has been invading U.S. cities, targeting, surveilling, harassing, assaulting, detaining, and torturing people who are undocumented immigrants. They also have …Techdirt
TikTok claimed bugs blocked anti-ICE videos, Epstein mentions; experts call BS
cross-posted from: lemmy.ca/post/59392382
TikTok wants users to believe that errors blocking uploads of anti-ICE videos or direct messages mentioning Jeffrey Epstein are due to technical errors—not the platform seemingly shifting to censor content critical of Donald Trump after he hand-picked the US owners who took over the app last week.However, experts say that TikTok users’ censorship fears are justified, whether the bugs are to blame or not.
Ioana Literat, an associate professor of technology, media, and learning at Teachers College, Columbia University, has studied TikTok’s politics since the app first shot to popularity in the US in 2018. She told Ars that “users’ fears are absolutely justified” and explained why the “bugs” explanation is “insufficient.”
TikTok users “absolutely justified” for fearing MAGA makeover, experts say
TikTok’s tech issues abound as censorship fears drive users to delete app.Ashley Belanger (Ars Technica)
Engineers set efficiency world record for emerging solar cell material
Engineers set efficiency world record for emerging solar cell material
Photovoltaic researchers at UNSW demonstrate best-ever results for emerging solar cell material antimony chalcogenide.UNSW Sites
can you share tha booster code?
here is my attempt: github.com/pfefferle/wordpress…
GitHub - pfefferle/wordpress-crossbooster: An experimental plugin that Cross-Boosts ActivityPub enabled Posts on Mastodon
An experimental plugin that Cross-Boosts ActivityPub enabled Posts on Mastodon - pfefferle/wordpress-crossboosterGitHub
Release Initial Public Alpha · kraftbj/fediboost
Automatically boost WordPress posts on connected Mastodon accounts when published via ActivityPub. - Release Initial Public Alpha · kraftbj/fediboostGitHub
B.C. attorney general warns business leaders on doing deals with ICE | Globalnews.ca
B.C. attorney general warns business leaders on doing deals with ICE
Attorney General Niki Sharma said at a press conference on Tuesday that British Columbians, Canadians and people around the world are concerned about what is happening in the U.S.Amy Judd (Global News)
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“We watch in horror about what is happening there,” Sharma said.
Wow, you hardly ever see that kind of talk from people in power. Good for her!
Source? There's an Australian Global that was purchased by NEP Group but I can find anything about Global Canada.
98% of everything should Just Work, although some software may drag in heavyweight dependencies. I've used TDE's versions of konqueror and konsole from inside fluxbox and other lightweight setups, called up thunar from within TDE, etc. At most, you might have some theming issues. The only thing that would be 100% incompatible would be trying to run a wayland-only program from inside an X environment.
Most display managers should be able to handle different window management sessions without issue. If you're looking at an X environment and really want to start from the WM level, I'd recommend sticking with something like fluxbox, fvwm-crystal, or even enlightenment (which is somewhere between a WM and a very lightweight DE). Avoid anything described as "minimalist", unless you like the idea of running around adding other software like dmenu and feh to get basic functionality (and like reading documentation).
When Comfort Comes From Code: Understanding AI Chatbots And Relevant Regulations
Volvo invented the three-point seat belt 67 years ago; now it has improved it
Volvo invented the seat belt 67 years ago; now it has improved it
The EX60 senses a passenger's size and weight, determining how much force to use.Ars Contributors (Ars Technica)
Do You Suddenly Need to Stop Using WhatsApp?
Legal action and renewed public criticism are once again raising questions about WhatsApp’s privacy and end-to-end encryption claims. Recent developments suggest that the way encrypted messaging platforms operate at massive scale may not be as straightforward as many users assume.
The debate gained wider attention after high-profile commentary pushed the issue into the mainstream, highlighting ongoing concerns about transparency, metadata collection, and user trust in closed messaging ecosystems.
🔗 digital-escape-tools-phi.verce…
Do You Suddenly Need To Stop Using WhatsApp On Your Phone?
A new lawsuit and sharp criticism from security figures are raising fresh questions about WhatsApp’s encryption.Digital Escape Tools
Beware: Government Using Image Manipulation for Propaganda
Beware: Government Using Image Manipulation for Propaganda
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week posted a photo of the arrest of Nekima Levy Armstrong, one of three activists who had entered a St. Paul, Minn.Electronic Frontier Foundation
Do You Suddenly Need to Stop Using WhatsApp?
Legal action and renewed public criticism are once again raising questions about WhatsApp’s privacy and end-to-end encryption claims. Recent developments suggest that the way encrypted messaging platforms operate at massive scale may not be as straightforward as many users assume.
The debate gained wider attention after high-profile commentary pushed the issue into the mainstream, highlighting ongoing concerns about transparency, metadata collection, and user trust in closed messaging ecosystems.
Do You Suddenly Need To Stop Using WhatsApp On Your Phone?
A new lawsuit and sharp criticism from security figures are raising fresh questions about WhatsApp’s encryption.Digital Escape Tools
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Debian's FreedomBox Blend promises an easier home cloud
Debian's FreedomBox Blend promises an easier home cloud
Hands On: There are other home server, NAS, and media-streaming distros, but this aspires to much moreLiam Proven (The Register)
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That's interesting. I didn't know about blends at all.
I like the home server idea, but it looks like it would install software I wouldn't use, plus my home server is general purpose - file server, web server, database server, etc. I do need to look more into nextcloud though.
Emmabuntüs DE 6: A Linux to help those in need
Emmabuntüs DE 6: A newbie-friendly Linux to help those in need
: A distro aimed at helping people, reducing e-waste – and helping a charity, tooLiam Proven (The Register)
like this
“IG is a drug”: Internal messages may doom Meta at social media addiction trial
“IG is a drug”: Internal messages may doom Meta at social media addiction trial
A loss could cost social media companies billions and force changes on platforms.Ashley Belanger (Ars Technica)
MotoAsh
in reply to weirdo_from_space • • •Concord... rofl
Though as you say, it's not a genre problem but a capitalist piece of shit problem.
Games USED to be able to be hosted locally. You USED to be able to spin up a server and play with your friends without paying the capitalist tax. Not so more.
The entire ~~industry~~ world is rotting in wait for these fucking morons to realize profit above all else is cancer.
Jeffool
in reply to weirdo_from_space • • •I may be wrong as I don't really play the genre, but I think Marvel Rivals is kinda the king of the hero shooter genre right now.
But that said I generally do agree that "another live service game that doesn't clear a very high bar" is the issue. The recent success of ARC Raiders despite social media telling me people "don't want extraction shooters and to give it up" really drives home the point of "if it's good enough... It'll probably do well."
(And I realize those two are third person games, so not "first person shooters", but I'd still consider them competition for them.)
And with the economy the way it is, yeah, money matters a lot more. People are more likely to dedicate their time to one big game, and sometimes a couple of smaller ones. It makes things an "all or nothing" proposition. And most games don't look like "all".
Gonzako
in reply to weirdo_from_space • • •like this
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missingno
in reply to Gonzako • • •I feel like hero shooters, and many other genres, have players swearing allegiance to one game and hating on all the rest. The FGC is a unique anomaly for having this shared space where the only way we can make our offline events sustainable is to put them all under one roof and encourage players to support as many games as possible.
That's something you don't see in any other genre, even the idea of a HSC sounds laughable. I think that's why in other genres it's saturation, only in the FGC is a rising tide lifting all ships.
Abundance114
in reply to weirdo_from_space • • •Unless you're Skyrim you can't just reskin a thing and release it. I think the problem is there's either poor marketing, or nothing new here.
In order to oust a competitor, and take their audience you need to be a more than a little better than the previous game. You need to be A LOT better for people to leave behind the familiarity, the time invested, and the community.
SamuraiBeandog
in reply to Abundance114 • • •I mean, the mechanics of Highguard are unique, as far as I'm aware. They're a mashup of a lot of other games but done in an interesting and new way.
Like, I have no idea whether it's good or not, but they are trying to do something different.
SamuraiBeandog
in reply to weirdo_from_space • • •like this
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missingno
in reply to weirdo_from_space • • •People say they're sick of live services, but the successful ones are still doing hella numbers. Execs have seen how much money Marvel Rivals is making and they want a piece. I think the real problem is that they've become so saturated. Most gamers already have one or two live services they're hooked on, and these games demand so much of your time that they're not going to fit another into their rotation. Do people truly hate live services, or do they just hate the ones they're not currently playing?
Live services also come with an expectation that they have to be a massive megahit overnight or else they're dead on arrival. All or nothing. With the budgets that get poured into these games, the only way to get a return on investment is to hit it big big big. I have a lot of opinions the way gamers throw around the word 'dead' to describe any multiplayer game with a less than Fortnite-sized playerbase, argumentum ad SteamCharts has done irreparable damage to gaming discourse, but it is a sad truth that a lot of modern multiplayer games can't just find their niche and be comfor
... show morePeople say they're sick of live services, but the successful ones are still doing hella numbers. Execs have seen how much money Marvel Rivals is making and they want a piece. I think the real problem is that they've become so saturated. Most gamers already have one or two live services they're hooked on, and these games demand so much of your time that they're not going to fit another into their rotation. Do people truly hate live services, or do they just hate the ones they're not currently playing?
Live services also come with an expectation that they have to be a massive megahit overnight or else they're dead on arrival. All or nothing. With the budgets that get poured into these games, the only way to get a return on investment is to hit it big big big. I have a lot of opinions the way gamers throw around the word 'dead' to describe any multiplayer game with a less than Fortnite-sized playerbase, argumentum ad SteamCharts has done irreparable damage to gaming discourse, but it is a sad truth that a lot of modern multiplayer games can't just find their niche and be comfortable with that.
And I say all this as someone whose favorite multiplayer games have a matchmaking system that consists of just pitting you against whoever's available, or even a Discord server where you ping a matchmaking role and hope someone responds. A modest little indie game can sustain a tight-knit community that way, but it'll never fly for a big budget live service. I have games I love dearly that I can't actually recommend to people because getting matches can be a chore that I doubt most of you want to deal with.
This then leads to this self-fulfilling prophecy where a live service with this kind of anti-hype train is what seals its grave. Live services are an investment to get into, but it's already been pronounced dead, so don't sink any cost into it because no one else will. I have games that I've enjoyed but couldn't justify putting money into because the future looked too uncertain, which is exactly how they ended up dying.
Maybe there's even a bit of us vs. them, because market saturation has made the fight for an active playerbase so cutthroat, people don't want to see a competing title risk siphoning players away from their preferred game. I've even been there too, my favorite game of all time dropped off because another game came in and split its playerbase.
But mostly, I think a lot of people just like shitting on the new target of the day without even thinking too hard about why. Making fun of a flop has always been a popular gamer pastime. I've seen this sort of thing happen all time time, dating back before we even had the term 'live service'. TORtanic is the one that immediately comes to mind for me, the one people made such a big deal out of that they had to come up with a funny name for it. Anyone remember that?
SamuraiBeandog
in reply to missingno • • •This is a really good point, I've definitely felt this way over the years.
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Tar_Alcaran
in reply to weirdo_from_space • • •A big feature AND problem with the live-service market is that gamers STAY engaged with the games. The majority of players play your random RTS for a few weeks, maybe a month, and then move on. But these live service hero shooters keep pumping out content to keep players invested and build in a ton of engagement sinks so you won't leave.
As a result, you can't have "The next Marvel Rivals" like you had "The next Command and Conquer" or "The next Battlefield", because everyone is still playing the current Marvel Rivals. That results in a completely saturated market. If you want a player, you're going to have to drag them away from their current game, which they're comfortable with and have a massive investment in.
If you're releasing the next Assassin's Creed, you don't need to be amazing, you just need to wait for people to finish the last one and deliver something pretty nice. Maybe it's better, maybe it's worse, but the field is empty so who cares. For Live-Service, you don't just need to be better than the rest, you need to be sufficiently better that all the player
... show moreA big feature AND problem with the live-service market is that gamers STAY engaged with the games. The majority of players play your random RTS for a few weeks, maybe a month, and then move on. But these live service hero shooters keep pumping out content to keep players invested and build in a ton of engagement sinks so you won't leave.
As a result, you can't have "The next Marvel Rivals" like you had "The next Command and Conquer" or "The next Battlefield", because everyone is still playing the current Marvel Rivals. That results in a completely saturated market. If you want a player, you're going to have to drag them away from their current game, which they're comfortable with and have a massive investment in.
If you're releasing the next Assassin's Creed, you don't need to be amazing, you just need to wait for people to finish the last one and deliver something pretty nice. Maybe it's better, maybe it's worse, but the field is empty so who cares. For Live-Service, you don't just need to be better than the rest, you need to be sufficiently better that all the players are willing to abandon their huge investment in the other game and switch to you.
And well, your game might dissapear any second, while their game has been around for years and surely will stay around foreeeever.
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MrScottyTay
in reply to Tar_Alcaran • • •zecg
in reply to weirdo_from_space • • •And yet gacha liveservice shit reskins some fantasy into SF or the other way around every few weeks and makes good money.
Since almost 100k people tried it on Steam at launch and the next day it's a ghost town, I'd say it's very much whether the game is good or not. And 3 vs 3 on huge maps, with prefight busywork that feels like it could be skipped with no loss, on UE5 (which might be a good engine, but from high-end graphics games I learned to expect smeary upscaled shit with lumen painting everything grainy and blurry, input lag badly disguised with motion blur, etc.). Also, they lost a sizeable chunk of players to their TPM+secure boot requirements, even people who don't know computers realized it means ad-serving fucking corpos can trust your secure computer, not you yourself.
MrScottyTay
in reply to weirdo_from_space • • •Its over saturated because each of these games gate unlockables either under microtransactions or enough time that it effectively becomes the only game you play.
Boomer shooters welcome other boomer shooters, they only have a finite time worth of content before you're replaying them for the sake of replaying them.
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weirdo_from_space
in reply to MrScottyTay • • •I don't agree with that definition of "oversaturated". Yes, hero shooters demand way too much time investment from the player but at the end of the day there are seven of them at most.
And that leads to a problem I forgot to mention in the main post: Even if a hero shooter starts out as a good game, it can still be ruined down the line. Combine that with a lack of alternatives and you are effectively stuck with the game you have picked years ago. You don't like what Overwatch turned into? Too bad, take it or leave it.
Also the insane commitment demand isn't fundemental to the genre, it's a consequence of the blockbuster approach developers insist upon taking with this type of game.
missingno
in reply to weirdo_from_space • • •How would you define oversaturated then? Since you counted them up and said seven isn't a lot, is there a certain number that's a cutoff?
Oversaturation should be relative to what the market will bear. They're absolutely right that the time commitment is what really matters here. You might not think seven sounds like a lot, but no one's committing to grinding battle passes in seven live services at once.
If we were talking about something like visual novels, seven isn't a lot because you'll finish one and move on to the next. But seven live services is a lot of live services, because it's more than what people will play.