Shira Ovide

Such a smart article by @drewharwell@mastodon.social tracking how states copied one another on TikTok "bans," including identical garbled text in executive orders.

And when Pa. banned TikTok from state-issued devices, one agency found zero phones had TikTok. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/01/20/tiktok-bans-states-colleges/

Once again I ask, what should Americans and U.S. policy officials do about TikTok or other popular apps from China?

There's no easy answer!

Symbolic bans or shaming individual companies that work with TikTok don't address the bigger question. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/18/businesses-schools-are-facing-pressure-drop-tiktok-too/

Apple just introduced two updated products WITHOUT holding a breathless 90 minute event about them.

I AM STUNNED.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/17/23553739/apple-macbook-pro-14-16-inch-m2-pro-max-price

@dheadshot@mastodon.social I get your point! But most people have phone notifications for email. It pings us. It distracts us when it arrives. And there is an expectation of rapid response.

No, YOU were just weirdly terrified by the mourning dove landing on the window sill.

Just me on Team Absolutely Correct About This.

Use the schedule send features in email, text and chat apps.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/01/13/schedule-send-features-email/

Look, if companies are going to ask for kids' birthdays, they need to explain WHY they're asking in plain language.

They are inviting suspicion by being mysterious. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/01/12/kid-birth-date-share-tech/

In-N-Out is meh. (Sorry.) https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2023/01/11/in-n-outs-eastern-expansion-gets-farther-its-california-roots

@Verifex@mastodon.lol this. All day this.

Outlook's "tone" check feature makes me irrationally angry.

And I won't turn it off because I love to see how annoyed I get by it.

When NFL games air on Amazon Prime, viewership has been consistently lower than comparable games on TV networks.

I'm not sure I get why. Prime has as many or more subscribers as U.S. cable TV. https://www.nexttv.com/news/streaming-off-a-cliff-thursday-night-football-audience-dropped-whopping-41-for-the-season-on-amazon

@capnhoppy@infosec.exchange Thank you!

@waltcamp45@cupoftea.social It's a fair point! We definitely have less than ideal power in this.

You know everything we're supposed to do with passwords.

Most people don't do it. It's not your fault. The system is broken.

Kill passwords. New "passkeys" tech can help. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/01/10/lastpass-breach-kill-passwords/

What's the point of Apple's draconian power over the App Store if it lets in obvious bogus apps?

(See also: All the Wordle clones from awhile ago.) https://www.macrumors.com/2023/01/09/chatgpt-app-store-apps/

There's no perfect answer for what America should do about TikTok.

But the status quo of the app being wildly used but treated (mostly symbolically) as a pariah by policy officials...is this productive? https://www.semafor.com/article/01/09/2023/lawmakers-tell-espn-to-quit-letting-tiktok-sponsor-football-games

If you're pitching a data-collecting toilet or TV in 2023 and NOT talking about customer privacy and security, FAIL.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/01/08/ces-worst-products-safety-privacy/

@geoffreyfowler@federated.press @bobmcmillan@infosec.exchange @washingtonpost@mstdn.social sorry, Bob said I'm right. That's all I'm hearing.

I don't know if people in authoritarian countries like Iran trust Meta to keep them safe from their government but...this is fascinating. https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/5/23540307/whatsapp-official-proxy-support-internet-blocks-bans