Ben Werdmuller
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Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

Inclusive American Girl book faces anti-LGBTQ+ backlash from right-wing outlets

“In an effort to be factual and make the kids reading [American Girl] books feel good and informed, we think it’s an incredibly logical and important step for the brand to include these new sections, and we’re not shocked that they thought to add them in. We’d

14 Dec 2022

Funding open source

I strongly agree with Isaac Schlueter’s thoughts on funding open source software: There are a few pitfalls that I see many of these ideas fall into, all of which seem reasonable, but lead to failure: 1. A focus on "donations" and "community" as the ideological

14 Dec 2022

The future of TV depends on democratized access to the internet

The Guardian on the future of TV: The plan, after years of rumour, is for all TV output to be available online only within the next 10 years or so. Broadcast channels, with their daily line-up of shows, are doomed. Programmes (originally so-called because they were “programmed”) will come into

14 Dec 2022

Coding

Tabs

“I’ve long been on the “spaces” side of the tabs vs. spaces preference debate. I think there is just something that feels sturdy and reliable about spaces. I’m wrong though. Despite not having swapped over most of my projects, I think that, objectively, tabs are the better choice.

14 Dec 2022

Elon Über Alles

“As someone who has had entire branches of my family tree cut off and burned by the nazis, I believe that if you are willingly consorting with nazis, you approve of what they're saying. It really is just that easy. If you resent being called a nazi, or

13 Dec 2022

Will Apple Allow Users to Install Third-Party App Stores, Sideload in Europe?

“As part of the changes, customers could ultimately download third-party software to their iPhones and iPads without using the company’s App Store, sidestepping Apple’s restrictions and the up-to-30% commission it imposes on payments.” This is why competition rules matter.  #Technology [Link]

13 Dec 2022

We need the return of the state

“The biggest lie that neoliberalism promotes is that all value is created by private sector business, which claim is contrasted with a claim that government destroys value. So, apparently, a teacher working for a private school adds value. The same teacher in front of the same children in a state

13 Dec 2022

Why colds and flu viruses are more common in winter

“In fact, reducing the temperature inside the nose by as little as 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) kills nearly 50% of the billions of virus and bacteria-fighting cells in the nostrils.” Aside from blocking droplets, masks make you healthier because they’re like “a sweater for your nose”. #Health

13 Dec 2022

Goodbye, Twitter

“Just as Twitter’s former leaders exercised their free speech and free association rights to brand Twitter one way, Twitter’s new boss is exercising his rights to brand it another way. That new branding is ugly and despicable and I don’t want to contribute content to it.”  #Twitter

12 Dec 2022

IEA: Renewables to overtake coal as world’s biggest energy source by 2025

“Led by solar energy, renewables are poised to overtake coal as the largest source of electricity generation worldwide by early 2025, helping to keep alive the global goal of limiting Earth’s warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit).”  #Climate [Link]

12 Dec 2022

The woke mind virus

This guy: Musk’s tweet was published just after he was booed off stage at a Dave Chappelle gig. Chappelle’s transphobic material is hardly on the social justice end of the rhetorical spectrum, so it’s more about hurt feelings than substance. Anyway. “Woke” was originally about being aware

12 Dec 2022

Building an open share button for the distributed social web

Thinking through a “share with Mastodon” button that anyone could embed on a website. It’s a harder problem than a “share with Twitter” button, because there’s no one central host, and it would be ideal to avoid creating a central location to handle these requests. (Mastodon is decentralized,

12 Dec 2022
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Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

Writing at the intersection of technology, journalism, and community.

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Ben Werdmuller explores the intersection of technology, democracy, and society. Always independently published, reader-supported, and free to read.