Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links - Copyright Maximalists turn on Libraries, Other Horrors. Will Yang Return to Yahoo?

Reader's Picks



  • Security



    • Another Nugget from M$
      Days ahead of the patch folks all around the world have been able to take over almost any PC on a LAN running that other OS just by placing a malicious .dll on some networked storage device. The mind boggles. I can see SANs intended to share files among the group to be used to own the whole LAN.


    • Google sheds some light on Iran's involvement with the Diginotar cert incident.
      It means that somebody in Iran had gone to great lengths to intercept supposedly secure Internet traffic, including Gmail messages. ... [Iran] remains one of the few nations that would have a need to defraud Western companies in order to conduct such surveillance. Many governments, including countries with a poor reputation for defending freedom of expression or privacy, are able to generate any number of fake digital certificates on their own authority. The current dependence of secure Internet traffic on a few, potentially insecure commercial companies is a profound flaw.

      Richard Stallman notes, "I am sad to report that the Chrome browser that this was done with is nonfree software."



  • Defence/Police/Aggression





  • Finance



  • Anti-Trust



    • Yahoo co-founder urged to help oust chairman
      A major Yahoo Inc. shareholder is recruiting company co-founder Jerry Yang to join a crusade to oust Chairman Roy Bostock amid the upheaval triggered by the recent firing of CEO Carol Bartz. The shareholder, hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, sought Yang's help in a letter sent Wednesday.


    • MICROSOFT DONATES $8 MILLION GRANT TO THURGOOD MARSHALL COLLEGE FUND[sic]
      Microsoft Corporation has recently announced that it will be renewing its partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund through an additional $8 million software grant. This recent grant brings the total donation amount given by the Microsoft Corporation to $29 million, and will provide software for TMCF’s 47-member network of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. ...

      There may be a hardware component to this dumping/indoctrination, but the value is a tax avoidance fiction and the hardware will be a liability using the software that comes with it.





  • Censorship



    • Child Pornography Bill Makes Privacy Experts Skittish
      The bill requires all Internet service providers to save their customers' IP addresses — or online identity numbers — for a year. The bill's stated purpose is to help police find child pornographers, but critics say that's just an excuse for another step toward Big Brother.




  • Privacy

    • Massachusetts track car location by automatically scanning license plates from police cars.
      Civil libertarians are raising the alarm over the state’s plans to create a Big Brother database that could map drivers’ whereabouts with police cruiser-mounted scanners that capture thousands of license plates per hour.

      I'm not sure why the system would have to be in police cars and could not be operated from other cameras like the red light cameras at every major intersection. People should be concerned about those too.





  • Civil Rights



  • Intellectual Monopolies

    • WIPO Broadcasting Treaty Returns From The Grave
      The current draft Treaty would grant exclusive, 50-year intellectual property rights to distributors of information that apply in parallel with copyright protections, even when transmitters have had no role in creating the content being transmitted.

      The treaty and article use the propaganda term Intellectual Property, and the treaty is more than an extension of copyright.



    • Copyrights



      • PJ Notes a lawsuit to prevent universities from making digital libraries, which objects even to digitization of orphaned works.
        Well, the more they try to assert their Most Holy rights, and the rights of people no one can find, the more certain I am that copyright law will end up reformed. It's like Righthaven. Or patent trolls. When people get disgusted by excessive use of the law, they decide to do something about it. Maybe it's time to go back to the prior copyright system, where you had to register your copyright to have one?

        Guardian source article intentionally not linked.







  • Comments

    Recent Techrights' Posts

    If You Value Privacy, Follow the Likes of Eben Moglen, Phil Zimmermann, and Richard Stallman, Not Back Doors' Boosters Who Mislabel Themselves as Security Experts
    Signal is not really secure
    Writer's Block is Not a Problem to Us, Only a Lack of Time
    Or timewasting by aggressive militants who try to silence us [...] People who experience writer's block very often find it depressing (it feels unproductive) and sometimes come to the conclusion that perhaps writing isn't for them
    March Plans for Techrights
    next month we plan to start the series about how the SRA failed
     
    [Video] "New RMS [Richard Stallman] Positive Media" Reaches Millions of Viewers This Week
    Assuming 5+ million people will watch this on the first week, that's good publicity for the Free software movement
    Another Quiet Slop Day Passes By
    the number of slopfarms we can locate/track is fast decreasing
    Gemini Links 26/02/2026: Sending a Thesis and Lupa/Onion ("Lupa now lists Gemini .onion addresses")
    Links for the day
    Links 26/02/2026: Bcachefs Man Bonkers, "Seven Journalists Convicted for Taking Photos at Courtroom"
    Links for the day
    Links 26/02/2026: "Peak Mental Sharpness" and "The Whole Economy Pays the Amazon Tax"
    Links for the day
    "Community" Site Deleted by Jeffrey Epstein-Connected 'Linux' Foundation Had Interview Where Eben Moglen Spoke of GPLv3 and of DRM, Back Doors Etc.
    Deleting what happened or what was said two decades ago
    Richard Stallman (Free Software Foundation) and Eben Moglen (Columbia Law School) Explained 25 Years Ago That Proprietary Software (and Proprietary Firmware) Would Lead to Back Doors
    a fortnight after the 9/11 terror attacks in the US
    Giving to the Community Versus Taking From the Community (or Worse, Attacking the Community)
    some people bring no contributions, only harm
    LLM Slop Will Try to 'Rewrite' History of UNIX and GNU/Linux
    We occasionally see slopfarms spreading misinformation about UNIX, GNU, and Linux
    Where Does the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Stand on Machine-Generated Legal Documents and Copy-pasting One Client's Lawsuit to Start Another (for American Serial Strangler)?
    Now that many law firms cheat (copypasta, paper DOoS, LLM slop, breaches of rules, even defaming the other side) the SRA cannot keep up
    Of Course Android is Not Free Software
    That Android is not about freedom should not be so shocking
    Talking About Blackboxes
    Having just reposted a couple of articles from Alex Oliva
    Microsoft Slop is Already Killing XBox
    Microsoft will fail at alleviating such concerns
    Two Weeks Have Passed and It Looks Like Conde Nast's Ars Sloppica Sacked "Senior" "AI" "Reporter" Benj Edwards But Did Not Remove All His LLM-Produced 'Articles'
    the editorial standards at Conde Nast's Ars Sloppica are a joke
    Alex Oliva (GNU Linux-Libre): Stricter is Less Popular
    Reprinted with permission from Alex Oliva
    Fraud and Crimes at Microsoft
    A lot of these American companies simply cheat and even bribe
    Over at Tux Machines...
    GNU/Linux news for the past day
    IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, February 25, 2026
    IRC logs for Wednesday, February 25, 2026
    FSF's Alex Oliva on Hardware Black Boxes
    Reprinted with permission from Alex Oliva
    What Microsoft Hides Underneath
    In recent years a lot of this shell game was played via "Open" "AI" [sic]
    A Lot of Slopfarms Died, Google News Feeds the Few Which Survived and Still Target "Linux"
    Many just simply died
    Links 25/02/2026: Fifth Year of War in Ukraine, Dihydroxyacetone Man Looking to Start More Wars
    Links for the day
    Gemini Links 25/02/2026: Retired a Year, Illness, Losing a Lung, and "Back to Gemini"
    Links for the day
    The Register MS Published a Ponzi Scheme-Boosting Fake Article This Morning. It Mentions "AI" 30 Times.
    Will credibility be left after the bubble pops entirely?
    They Try to Ruin Linux, Too ("Attestation" in GNU/Linux)
    In the context of Web browsers, this isn't unprecedented and we wrote a lot about it
    Mozzarella Company: All Our Cheese Comes With Mold Now, But You Can Ask the Seller to Remove the Mold
    If you reject and oppose slop, do not download/use Firefox
    Stallman Was Right About Back Doors
    I had some conversations with Dr. Stallman about security and back doors
    Australian Signals Directorate ex-employee sold back doors to Russia
    Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
    IBM Debt-Loading and Liability (Toxic Asset) Offloading
    One can hope that IBM will be subjected to the same attention Kyndryl received, but this boils down to politics
    Links 25/02/2026: 'Hybrid Warfare' and "Boycott the State of the Union"
    Links for the day
    IBM (and Red Hat) Can Disappear in the Coming Years, Along With Kyndryl (Debt Twice as Big as Its 'Worth')
    No wonder Red Hat workers tell us they hate IBM
    Software Freedom is Science, But It Also Sustains Life
    In some sense, Software Freedom can be explained in the context of nourishing people
    “Xbox, like a lot of businesses that aren’t the core AI business, is being sunsetted."
    There has been a lot of narrative control lately, including at 9PM on a Friday
    3,300 Capsules Known to Lupa and Currently Accessible
    Gemini Protocol turns 7 this summer
    When it Comes to Firmware, the FSF and Its Founder RMS Won the Argument (But Not the Fight, Yet)
    The "whataboutism" tactics are physiological manipulation means of discouraging those who move in the correct direction
    Austria Tackles Digital Weapon Disguised as "Social" and/or "Media"
    Are we seeing the end days of Social Control Media?
    Nothing Over the Horizon for XBox
    XBox is not even being sold in many places anymore
    Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Contradicting Itself: You Can Use Slop to Cheat Clients, But You Can Also Face Disciplinary Actions Over Slop
    Where does the SRA stand on the matter?
    In Praise of Eben Moglen
    Hopefully Professor Moglen will be with us for many decades to come and become an active speaker on issues such as Software Freedom
    Sunsetting IBM (for the Benefit of Few Corrupt Officials and Wall Street Speculators)
    IBM will not (and cannot) survive for much longer [...] The issue is bad leadership, not any particular nationality/race
    Over at Tux Machines...
    GNU/Linux news for the past day
    IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, February 24, 2026
    IRC logs for Tuesday, February 24, 2026
    Gemini Links 25/02/2026: Rise of Solar in 2025 and Smallnet Protocols
    Links for the day
    HR Blunder at IBM or IBM Struggling With Money?
    Weird for such an allegedly rich company to be so stingy
    Gemini Links 24/02/2026: x86 Computer In-Browser and Administration
    Links for the day
    Envy is the #1 Enemy of Richard Stallman
    Whenever you see someone mocking Richard Stallman, ask yourself: does this person have a reason to be jealous of Richard Stallman?
    Life is Sweeter When Less Means More
    People need to think "small", not "big" (as in capital)
    Championing a Cause
    Probably over 100 million GNU/Linux users on laptops/desktops
    Balmoral rape cult & Debian suicide cluster indifference, community
    Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
    Father of XBox Says What Microsoft Does Not Want to Hear About XBox (They All Know It's Dead)
    Microsoft just worried shareholders will find out Sharma is "just a face" and an undertaker
    Can Much Longer Can the Financial 'Press' (Pump-n-Dump Megaphone) Cheer for IBM's Accounting Enigma?
    IBM has fallen almost 25%
    France Needs to Focus on Software Freedom, Not Flags
    We need more SIP advocacy!
    Combatting Censorship in the "Civilised World": The Media Blackout Surrounding EPO Strikes and Other Large-Scale Actions
    We - collectively speaking - cannot afford to keep the Office in the hands of a "Mafia"
    Religious or Not, Consider Quitting Social Control Networks (All of Them) This Season
    Lent is a good time to quit addiction such as social control media
    EPO Strike Actions and Other Industrial Actions Are Effective When Management Fears the Staff and Staff No Longer Fears Any Managers
    'António the unready' should get ready to be ousted
    Liberating the Self From the Invisible Prison of Plutocrats-Controlled Media and Social Control Media
    Can you always see the full picture or does something (someone powerful) obstruct it?
    Links 24/02/2026: Drug Cartel Decapitated, Jeffrey Epstein-Connected 'Linux' Foundation Promotes Slop and Buzzwords at MWC Barcelona 2026
    Links for the day
    2023: Layoffs Are Because of "AI". 2024: Shares Up Owing to "AI". 2025: Shares Recently Fell Due to "AI". 2026 Forbes (Paid by IBM): Shares Falling is Good!
    "AI" is smoke and mirrors
    Bitcoin: Code of Conduct stifled open source concerns
    Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
    Slop Boosters and 'Hype Agents' Render Themselves Irrelevant and the General Public Becomes Incredulous Due to "Bros Who Cry Wolf!"
    It won't age well
    "Half-baked Vibe Code Shipped Full of Errors"
    Seems timely after our latest article
    IBM Did Not Fall Because of COBOL Vapourware, IBM Still Collapses Because It's Worthless, Way Overvalued, and Very Likely Cooks the Books
    language-to-language conversion (in the context of programming) is nothing new
    Links 24/02/2026: Copyright Litigation Over Anne Frank’s Diary, "Arrogance of Developers"
    Links for the day
    Another New Low for Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA): Authorising Slop Disguised as "Legal Advice"
    SRA is a lapdog - not a watchdog - of the "litigation industry"
    EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part IV - "Many Jobs Were Given to Spanish Employees for No Related Skills At All"
    The EPO's fate might be similar to that of the XBox
    Gemini Links 24/02/2026: Hardware Tinkering and Slop Bots Attacking the "Small Web"
    Links for the day
    Quitting Reddit (Social Control Media Controlled by Conde Nast)
    There is a new post in Reddit
    IBM is the World Champion at Layoffs and There Are Reportedly More Layoffs in IBM This Month (EU)
    IBM fired 60,000 in 1993
    Free Software is for Everyone
    Young and old, rich and poor etc.
    Gemini Links 24/02/2026: Voltage Divider on Slide Rule and Many Raspberry Pi Projects
    Links for the day
    Links 24/02/2026: Telephone Turns 150, Political News Catchup, and Rearmament
    Links for the day
    Asha Sharma "a Palliative Care Doctor Who Slides Xbox Gently Into the Night"
    2026 will probably be the last year of XBox
    Over at Tux Machines...
    GNU/Linux news for the past day
    IRC Proceedings: Monday, February 23, 2026
    IRC logs for Monday, February 23, 2026