Bonum Certa Men Certa

2023 Will be a Pivotal Year for Techrights

Summary: As we quickly approach the last month of the year, here's a look back at a wonderful year for Techrights (but not for the world in general) and a look at the year ahead

WE recently published the 35,000th blog post and celebrated 16 years.

This long weekend (owing to Thanksgiving) has given plenty of time for reflection and planning. It's not a secret that there are many changes afoot, but overall those are positive changes and they will make this site better. Not just a Web site, but so much more...

In-Depth Investigations



Site migrations are already underway, but it takes time as we still focus on publication of material too (we don't want to halt that). The GitHub/Microsoft series will go on next year; there's plenty of material we're eager to publish. There are several other "big stories" (or series) in the making, but they take time to properly prepare and fact-check. Stay tuned.

Tor, GNUnet, and More



If all goes according to plan, Tor/Onion will be supported next year. IPFS and Gemini have good resilience already and are robust to downtime (with spare nodes and hardware). GNUnet is still being considered. It's a promising project. It seems like Mumble too is gaining adoption (it's mentioned a lot online this year) and at the time of writing there are "514 known IRC networks" of significant size with a third of a million people online (counted across those networks).

Personal Life



As a researcher by training (and profession too; I was a postdoc for a few years) I like to examine the facts for myself and properly assess the evidence rather than blindly rely on what corporate press keeps saying. The media gets a lot of things wrong, but it tends to get away with it.

The way things are looking right now, this post-Brexit economy in a state of pandemic (that many are already in denial of) won't recover any time soon. Maybe there will be an upswing -- however small -- rather than ongoing downturn some time in the next 5 years. Maybe. In the meantime, for a lot of people there's a daily fight over necessities; it's about survival. The national health service (NHS) is under perpetual attacks (aside from privatisation), the press is rapidly collapsing (not many people are still willing to pay for news; some cannot afford such a "luxury"), so we're left with tabloids and oligarchs-owned "news" (sometimes the same as those tabloids).

Then there's the health crisis, aside from mental health crisis.

How Deaths Have Soared This Year (Compared to Pre-COVID-19 Levels)



A topic I typically write about in my personal site is worth echoing here, at least in passing. There's a mortality and morbidity crisis, which many are aware of while the media is suppressing or stonewalling or vainly gaslighting.

The relevant data is available from official (government) sources:

ONS data download

Recent weeks' total deaths in England and Wales:

Recent weeks

These numbers are very high, especially so in recent months.

This affects ALL age groups and has come to the point where some weeks have have more than 2,000 additional deaths compared to the 2015-2019 average (in week 20 it was more than 2,500 higher).

Here's 2022 (the unit in the X grid is week number):

Difference in deaths in 2022: 2022 deaths (England & Wales):  Above 2015-2019 average; Below 2015-2019 average

The high numbers (or very tall vertical bars) are number of deaths higher than pre-COVID-19 average number of deaths (for any given week).

Data: All deaths by week 45 versus pre-COVID-19 average (ODF)

That's just based on the data. No need to argue with the data, unlike interpretations of it. Stay cautious regardless.

With more time spent indoors, and with more time available in general, Techrights will grow and thrive.

Recent Techrights' Posts

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: Games and More
Links for the day
Why We're Reporting Brett Wilson LLP for Apparently Misusing Their Licence to Protect American Microsofters Who Attack Women
For those who have not been keeping abreast
Stefano Maffulli and His Microsoft-Funded OSI Staff Are Killing the OSI and Killing "Open Source" (All for Money!)
This is far from over
Techrights Headlines as Semaphore
"If you are hearing this, thank you"
 
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
Links 01/04/2025: Apple Fined $162M for Privacy Abuses, Disinformation Online a Growing Concern
Links for the day
Newer Press Reports Confirm That Microsoft Shuts Down 'Hey Hi' (AI) Labs Despite All the Hype
The "hey hi" (AI) bubble is not sustainable
Links 01/04/2025: Mass Layoffs at Eidos and "Microsoft Pulls Back on Data Centers" (Demand Lacking); "Racist and Sexist" Slop From Microsoft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: XKCDpunk and worldclock.py
Links for the day
50 Years of Sabotage and a Gut Punch to Computer Science (and Science in General)
Will we get back to science-based computing rather than cult-like following?
3 Months in 2025, 4 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Now Offices Shut Down Permanently
"A recent visit by the South China Morning Post confirmed that the office was dark, unoccupied, and had its logo removed."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 31, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 31, 2025
Links 31/03/2025: China Tensions, Bombs Falling in Myanmar After Earthquake
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: Falling Out of Love With Tech, Sunsetting openSNP
Links for the day
R.T.O. at IBM in Texas and Atlanta (State of Georgia) Expected as "Soft Layoffs" Catalyst This Coming Year
It also sounds like more IBM layoffs are in the making
Law Firms Can Also Lose Their Licence for Clearly Misusing It
The bottom line is, never made the false assumption that because you can pile up SLAPPs in a docket you will not suffer from bad reputation or even get disbarred
Link between institutional abuse, Swiss jurists, Debianism and FSFE
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
LLM Slop Piggybacking News About GNU/Linux and Distorting It
new examples
Links 31/03/2025: Press and Democracy Under Further Attacks in the US, Attitudes Towards Slop Sour
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: The OSI Does Not Respect Anybody's Privacy
The surveillance mafia that bans dissent or key people (even co-founders) with dissenting views
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: More X-Filesposting and Dreaming in Emacs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 30, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, March 30, 2025