John Gruber (Mastodon) has a great post with new details about exactly what’s happening with sharing iPhone Wi-Fi network information in iOS 16.2. In brief, I think this turns the story on its head. The way this has been reported and discussed since November 4 seems to be wrong and almost backwards. First, I want […]

Dave Winer:

The new Amazon Alexa with AI has the same basic problem of all AI bots, it acts as if it’s human, with a level of intimacy that you really don’t want to think about, because Alexa is in your house, with you, listening, all the time. Calling attention to an idea that there’s a pseudo-human spying on you is bad. Alexa depends on the opposite impression, that it’s just a computer. I think AI’s should give up the pretense that they’re human, and this one should be first.

Amen.

Meet our new Holiday Gift Bundles, curated sets of our most loved coffees designed for effortless gifting.

Nine single origins. Six signature blends. Four Mizudashi cold brews. All micro-lot and top-rated coffees shipped within 24 hours of roasting. No shortcuts. No crash. This is coffee at its most refined, just without the caffeine.

DF readers get 20% off with code DF at dekaf.com/s/df.

We’re betting you’ll never look at decaf the same way again. But that’s kind of the point.

Charlie Warzel, writing for The Atlantic:

X’s decision to show where accounts are based is, theoretically, a positive step in the direction of transparency for the platform, which has let troll and spam accounts proliferate since Musk’s purchase, in late 2022. And yet the scale of the deception — as revealed by the “About” feature — suggests that in his haste to turn X into a political weapon for the far right, Musk may have revealed that the platform he’s long called “the number 1 source of news on Earth” is really just a worthless, poisoned hall of mirrors.

Max Berger, on Bluesky:

If I’m understanding this correctly, X is owned by a white nationalist who pays poor people of color in developing countries to pretend to be working class white Americans to scare other white Americans into being afraid poor people of color from developing countries are going to ruin America?

Pretty much.

The New York Times:

Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, began a new campaign on Wednesday that he called “The Golden Age of Travel Starts With You,” complete with a 1960s-style public service announcement that spliced together scenes of the country’s first air travelers, dressed in suits and hats, with present-day clips of in-flight brawls and airport meltdowns. In the background, Frank Sinatra sings “Come Fly With Me.”.

From the Department of Transportation website:

Secretary Duffy posed a few key questions every flyer should ask themselves this holiday season to help Americans reach their destinations as quickly, efficiently and comfortably as possible:

1. Are you helping a pregnant woman or the elderly with placing their bags in the overhead bin?
2. Are you dressing with respect?
3. Are you keeping control of your children and helping them through the airport?
4. Are you saying thank you to your flight attendants?
5. Are you saying please and thank you in general?

“Quiet, piggy.”