Monthly Archives: May 2019

Article note: This is an excellent "I was wrong" piece about data collection vs. privacy protection. I'd like it if the stance were a little more "Because the collected data will not be used to optimize for things that benefit anyone other than parasites."

Article note: Feeling good that I already switched [back] to Firefox. Chrom[e|ium] has a slightly more capable engine, but the inability to run extensions on mobile, chatter about reducing content blocking extension power on desktop, and IE-in-the-early-2000s idiosyncratic behavior and market penetration have made its trajectory as a coercive problem clear.

Article note: Those are attractive parts. I'm surprised and slightly disappointed there isn't an integrated graphics part announced in the initial lineup, but the mid-range parts (especially the 3700X) are very appealing.

Article note: Assange is a shitweasel, as people who discover their unjust victimization in one aspect allows them to get away with all kinds of bad behavior tend to be, but this shit sticking would be _real bad_ for the free press.

Enlarge / Supporters of Julian Assange protest outside the Ecuadorian embassy as the WikiLeaks founder awaits a High Court hearing to determine whether he will be extradited to Sweden on sexual charges. Now, new US charges have been added to a previous indictment: 17 counts of espionage. (credit: Amer Ghazzal / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Today, the Department of Justice filed a new indictment of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with the US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia—adding 17 more charges atop the original hacking charge used to file for Assange's extradition from the United Kingdom. The new charges are all espionage-focused: conspiracy to receive, obtaining, and disclosure of "national defense information. Each of the 17 counts carries a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years.

In a statement announcing the filing, a Justice Department spokesperson said, "The superseding indictment alleges that Assange was complicit with Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the US Army, in unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defense." The new counts allege, among other things, that Assange conspired with Manning to steal "national defense information," obtained that information from Manning, and "aided and abetted her in obtaining classified information with reason to believe that the information was to be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation."

In a Twitter post, a WikiLeaks spokesperson wrote, "This is madness. It is the end of national security journalism and the First Amendment."

Article note: From the platform who lemming-removed "Tactile" and "Consistent" from interfaces comes "our competitor removed Discoverability, so we feel compelled to do the same."

Google I/O 2019 wrapped up on May 9th, but we're still picking through the incredible flood of information that came out of the show. In addition to the slew of announcements on keynote day, there are dozens of hours of sessions and documentation, plus a whole new Android release to pick though. Here are a few highlights from the show.

Android’s gesture navigation is actually good now

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  The new gesture navigation settings. On the right is what each navigation bar looks like. The "Full gesture nav" option actually saves space! [credit: Ron Amadeo ]

Every Google I/O presents a new release of Android, and paired with Google I/O 2019 is Android Q Beta 3. There really aren't a ton of changes in this beta release, but there is a new navigation system. There are three versions of system navigation in Android Q Beta 3, actually. The traditional three-button navigation is an option, even on devices like the Pixel 3, which originally did not ship with it. Apparently, the three-button mode will be returning to all phones for accessibility considerations, since the gesture system requires a significant amount of fine motor control. The existing Android Pie gesture system has been renamed "two-button navigation." The third option, called "Fully gestural navigation, "is new for Android Q Beta 3, and it's the best version of Android gesture navigation yet.

In Android P, the "two-button" gesture navigation was a bit of a mess. Google only replaced the Recent Apps button with a gesture, and Home and Back were still buttons. The bar didn't save any space, so there wasn't a huge benefit to using it. Beta three solves a lot of these problems. Every button is now a gesture. The navigation bar has been minimized to a slim strip about a third of the height of the usual bar. Some apps will even give you a fully transparent gesture navigation area. The new setup is very reminiscent of iOS, and that's what everyone has been asking for since the launch of gesture navigation with Android P.

Article note: Voter guide is up. Go get informed. I haven't been following much on this cycle so it's taking some reading, and in several of the down-ticket primaries there seems to be a lot of same positions different face.

Article note: 0. Most of computing's complexity has become a security risk 1. Bluetooth has always been a disaster

Article note: I knew it was bad, and I knew it was especially bad for virtualized workloads, but _damn_. AMD needs to get their Zen2/7nm production up to volume so they can steal some large customers.