Christine Hall
BrideOfLinux@mastodon.opencloud.lu
<p>Writer about all things open source, as well as music and politics. Once upon a time host of The Sixties in 60 on TheBarrelofRock.com. I have a podcast coming up, so watch this space for the news!</p><p>Publisher, editor, & writer at FOSS Force, Alternative Approaches, and If This Be Treason.</p><p><a href="https://mastodon.opencloud.lu/tags/T2Pub" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>T2Pub</span></a></p>
Posts
-
Post #4449084
Well, it looks like investigators better go back to doing actual investigations in the Fifth Circuit, rather than just assuming a little paperwork and a whole lot of assistance from service providers is going to do their work for them: Another Federal Judge Says Cell Tower Dumps Are Unconstitutional https://www.techdirt.com/2026/08/07/another-federal-judge-says-cell-tower-dumps-are-unconstitutional/
-
Post #4400481
This post is going to come with something of a warning label. RFK Jr. went on CNN this past weekend for an interview with Dana Bash. I’m going to post the entirety of that interview immediately below. Before you watch it, get yourself a bib, or some paper towels, or wrap yourself in one of those plastic ponchos they hand out to keep the rain off of you: RFK Jr. Just Embarrassed Himself Publicly On CNN https://www.techdirt.com/2026/08/04/rfk-jr-just-embarrassed-himself-publicly-on-cnn/
-
Post #4390601
Just published on FOSS Force: At 45-Years-Old, C-Kermit Gets Its First New Release in 15 Years https://fossforce.com/2026/08/at-45-years-old-c-kermit-gets-its-first-new-release-in-15-years/
-
Post #4380577
Given the "onslaught" of kernel patches produced by large language models and the intent for the Linux kernel's staging area to be an area for newcomers to get involved, moving forward, he's now rejecting AI/LLM-generated staging patches. But there is one exception, and that is for genuinely valid security fixes: Linux's Staging Area To Now Reject LLM-Generated Patches, Except For Real Security Fixes - Phoronix https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-Staging-Reject-LLMs
-
Post #4378654
Cables are tricky to access and repair, much less install. But alternatives aren’t easy to find: Radio transmissions don’t have the bandwidth, which rules out most wireless approaches on the ground or in orbit. But now, maybe lasers could do the job: EON wants to move the data superhighway from ocean fiber to space lasers | TechCrunch https://buff.ly/cD7r6rU
-
Post #4378638
The LVFS is the Linux Vendor Firmware Service: NVIDIA is now supporting the LVFS https://blogs.gnome.org/hughsie/2026/08/04/nvidia-is-now-supporting-the-lvfs/
-
Post #4377329
It's far easier to find security holes than to fix them, and leaving it to AI can introduce 9 times as many new vulnerabilities as developers do: AI is finding bugs faster than humans can fix them: How enterprise security teams must adapt https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-is-finding-bugs-faster-than-humans-can-fix-them-how-enterprise-security-teams-must-adapt/
-
Post #4366518
Humoring the boss all the way into bankruptcy: Why businesses lie about AI (01 Aug 2026) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow https://pluralistic.net/2026/08/01/dare-snot/#i-will-fucking-piledrive-you-if-you-mention-ai-again
-
Post #4358749
Ideally, I think it makes sense to open up the U.S. market to Chinese goods (AI, EVs, robots), but have functional and well-funded regulators that police all labor, competition, environmental, privacy, and consumer rights abuses. But big companies don’t much like that because it would boost competition and accountability, eroding quarterly revenues: Trump’s Sloppy, Incompetent Chinese Protectionism Expanded To Robot Vacuums, Lawnmowers https://www.techdirt.com/2026/08/03/trumps-sloppy-incompeten...
-
Post #4358685
These apps contain software that funnels outsiders’ web traffic through ordinary home and office internet connections, known as residential proxy networks (or “resproxies”), which are increasingly being linked to cybercrime: Samsung bans smart TV apps that share users' internet connections with strangers | TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/03/samsung-bans-smart-tv-apps-that-share-users-internet-connections-with-strangers/
-
Post #4355044
This isn’t the end of xAI’s lawsuit against the ban; it only means that the law can take effect while the lawsuit proceeds. In the suit, xAI argued that the ban — the first of its kind in the United States — is “overinclusive” and that “there are far less restrictive alternatives that function to achieve the same ends": Judge denies xAI’s request to block Minnesota ban on ‘nudify’ apps | TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/01/judge-denies-xais-request-to-block-minnesota-ban-on-nudify-...
-
Post #4259774
Current laws (remember those?) prohibit any single local broadcast news company from serving more than 39 percent of all TV households in the US. The original (good) idea was that this helped protect opinion diversity and competition in the local broadcast news space. Republicans don’t like that, because they want to replace all journalism with right-wing and oligarch friendly propaganda: Brendan Carr Is Illegally Dismantling U.S. Media Consolidation Law https://www.techdirt.com/2026/07/20/brend...
-
Post #4241249
Just published on FOSS Force: “Oopsies!” FreeBSD Devs Say There’s Still GPL in the Kernel https://fossforce.com/2026/07/oopsies-freebsd-devs-say-theres-still-gpl-in-the-kernel/
-
Post #4208330
GOG built its whole brand around selling DRM-free games and providing offline installers that work without requiring an internet connection or any kind of verification from their side: Good News Gamers! GOG is Officially Coming to Linux https://itsfoss.com/news/gog-galaxy-is-coming-to-linux/
-
Post #4090947
The opening story in this article is great -- like a good streaming TV episode. After that, it gets seriously scary: Talking smack about a doctor got him access to private medical files https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/07/23/talking-smack-about-a-doctor-got-him-access-to-private-medical-files/5276604
-
Post #4056788
Data brokers are a cancer. There's a direct line from the unrestricted collection, retention and processing of our data to a host of evils, from deepfake porn to phishing scams; from racial discrimination in hiring to ICE roundups of migrants; from targeted election interference to identity theft: California’s privacy obstacle course (23 Jul 2026) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow https://pluralistic.net/2026/07/23/drop-a-dime/#privacy-theater
-
Post #4019305
The final patent, active in Brazil, expired on July 19, 2026: Siemens AG Was The Last Holdout in MPEG-4 Visual's Road to Being Patent-Free https://itsfoss.com/news/mpeg-4-visual-patent-expiry/
-
Post #4015838
Aren't you glad you use Flatpaks? Don't you wish that everybody did?: Three New Ubuntu Snap Vulnerabilities Made Public - One Dates Back To Ubuntu 16.04 LTS - Phoronix https://www.phoronix.com/news/Ubuntu-Snap-Three-More-Vulns
-
Post #3966975
"I’ve never seen a technology advancing so rapidly [that’s been] so completely rejected by the public. Everybody’s suspicion of it is so extreme, particularly young people": ‘Odyssey’ director Christopher Nolan calls AI an obvious ‘Trojan horse’ | TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/19/odyssey-director-christopher-nolan-calls-ai-an-obvious-trojan-horse/
-
Post #3962934
Hugging Face blamed the breach on an external AI agent, which executed “many thousands of individual actions across a swarm of short-lived sandboxes, with self-migrating command-and-control staged on public services”: Hugging Face confirms breach affected internal datasets and credentials, urges users to take action | TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/20/hugging-face-confirms-breach-affected-internal-datasets-and-credentials-urges-users-to-take-action/
-
Post #3840327
Cerf left Google after 20 years last week, but he’s not done thinking about the digital future. Starting today, he’s advising Innovation Labs, an organization trying to create the open architecture for AI agents to identify themselves: Vint Cerf is working on a plan to unleash AI agents on the open internet | TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/15/vint-cerf-is-working-on-a-plan-to-unleash-ai-agents-on-the-open-internet/
-
Post #3816397
The concern is that, as startups and enterprises use AI models from labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, the labs gain ever-increasing access to those companies’ most sensitive business information. The model makers can then use that knowledge for themselves, potentially becoming competitors to their own customers: Satya Nadella has issued a shocking warning to companies using AI | TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/13/satya-nadella-has-issued-a-shocking-warning-to-companies-using-ai/
-
Post #3810511
We use Kanri: 7 Open Source Trello Alternatives For Your Kanban Boards https://itsfoss.com/open-source-trello-alternatives/
-
Post #3792429
I've spent about six years of my life in LA, and if your product gives the LAPD of all people concerns about civil liberties and privacy, you've really done something awlful: LAPD lets contract with surveillance giant Flock expire, citing 'serious concerns' over civil liberties and privacy | TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/13/lapd-lets-contract-with-surveillance-giant-flock-expire-citing-serious-concerns-over-civil-liberties-and-privacy/
-
Post #3741694
If you’re visiting or traveling around host cities, then you and your face, behavior, movement and devices are being monitored by governments and private companies: World Cup Propels Surveillance To New Heights https://www.techdirt.com/2026/07/09/world-cup-propels-surveillance-to-new-heights/
-
Post #3701193
Software that allows a variety of open source large language models to run on a variety of chips — including Nvidia’s, AMD’s, Google’s TPU, Apple Metal, and Intel Arc: Hot French startup ZML releases free product to speed inference across lots of AI chips | TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/08/hot-french-startup-zml-releases-free-product-to-speed-inference-across-lots-of-ai-chips/
-
Post #3664106
Most people assume their cloud files are private. The reality is more complicated, and understanding it is the first step to protecting your data: Your cloud storage can read your files. Here's why that matters. | We Love Open Source • All Things Open https://allthingsopen.org/articles/cloud-storage-end-to-end-encryption-e2ee-open-source
-
Post #3652499
The authoritarianism has been out in the open pretty much since day one with this presidency: DOJ Using Gang, Terrorist Prosecutors To Ensure People Opposed To Trump Are Treated Like Gang Members, Terrorists https://www.techdirt.com/2026/07/06/doj-using-gang-terrorist-prosecutors-to-ensure-people-opposed-to-trump-are-treated-like-gang-members-terrorists/
-
Post #3609825
Just for kicks, I took a look at Jersey Mike’s IPO documents to see how far this compulsion may go. Surely a sandwich shop would have no need to mention AI in its S-1. But lo and behold!: Jersey Mike's IPO illustrates how bad the AI hype has become | TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/02/jersey-mikes-ipo-illustrates-how-bad-the-ai-hype-has-become/
-
Post #3589115
I just changed the name on this to "AI Glossary" and put it on my browser's bookmark bar: The only AI glossary you'll need this year | TechCrunch https://buff.ly/7zLGASW