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Assessing iPhone security

Despite this, “best” does not mean “impregnable”.  The FBI claims that iPhones are “bricks” containing no useful information and Apple claims that iMessage is “end-to-end” secure.  Neither is the case.

In iPhones, the FBI, and Going Dark, security researcher explains which threats an iPhone protects you from. As a device, it’s secure, but how you use it determines how much information you expose. In short, the iPhone is normally used as part of a system with many potentially leaky components.

Uber makes a disingenuous argument against regulation

The Daily Beast reports on Uber’s argument that it is exempt from disability laws, because it’s a tech company rather than a transportation company. The other day I wrote about Uber, and I still have complicated thoughts about the company. What I think is that the market is full of companies that seek to save money by evading regulation, and it’s up to us as voters to elect politicians who are serious about enforcing them.

Scott Rosenberg on Go and Swift

Code of Ages

Scott Rosenberg talks about Go, Swift, and how big companies bring new programming languages into the world. If nothing else, worth reading as an excellent example of how you write about software development for a non-technical audience.

How the sharing economy affects workers

The Case Against Sharing

Illustrated piece by Susie Cagle on the effect that the “sharing economy” (think Uber, Lyft, AirBnb, etc) is having on the overall economy. Here’s the bottom line:

The sharing economy has painfully noble goals. But a society and an economics that truly values civic engagement, the commons, and trust between people is one that invests in the protection of those people so they can really prosper, even when something goes wrong.

I would agree that in the presence of a strong social safety net, the sharing economy would look very different. As it is, it looks like a way for rich people to exchange the opportunity for workers to steal some crumbs from other workers in service of shrinking the overall pie.

Tim Bray’s Piketty roundup

On Piketty on Capital

Tim Bray reviews the book of the year, Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century, and more importantly, rounds up the key reactions from around the Web. I’m very interested on the book, and I’m sure it will be on my “to read” list for a long time.

The big net neutrality sellout

Goodbye Net Neutrality; Hello Net Discrimination

Solid piece on the big net neutrality sellout on the part of the FCC yesterday. Everyone is already writing about this, but I wanted to add my voice just in case decision makers are paying attention. Yes, we see what you are doing. Yes, we are mad about it. Yes there will be consequences in terms of votes, volunteerism, and campaign contributions.

How Mike Bostock uses Make

Why Use Make

Mike Bostock (the creator of D3.js) explains how he captures the steps to create a visualization using a Makefile. Amazing repurposing of an antiquated command. I might consider using something a bit more flexible, like fabricate, which enables you to write build scripts in Python, but the overall concept is fascinating and cool.

Mistakes they’ve made at Hacker School

Mistakes we've made

Nicholas Bergson-Shilcock from Hacker School writes about mistakes they’ve made along the way. This is a great example of increasing your credibility by admitting your mistakes.

James Governor’s Monki Gras wrap-up

Monki Gras 2014 – Craft Culture and Tech. A conference about Language and Making Stuff

James Governor’s wrap-up of Monki Gras. Monki Gras is the perfect size, and the collection of attendees and speakers has been excellent both of the past two years. After a conference, you should feel inspired to go forth and climb new hills, and after Monki Gras I always do.

The Pilots in the Basement

The Pilots in the Basement

Really interesting look at flight simulator subculture on the Internet.

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