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Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

NotableLinks

FCC Moves Slowly To Update Definition Of Broadband To Something Still Pathetic

Upgrading the broadband standard is good, although I agree that the new, improved speed benchmarks are still really substandard. Almost all US households have broadband, although in reality, for many of them the internet is very slow. I wonder if this is one of the reasons that most internet traffic

28 Nov 2023

NotableLinks

‘Doctor Who’ Writer Residuals Shaken Up After Disney+ Boards BBC Show

The most frustrating thing about this is that it's some of the exact same stuff that writers were striking for in the US. While that industrial action seems to have come to a satisfactory conclusion, it looks like American companies are creating similarly exploitative arrangements in areas not

28 Nov 2023

NotableLinks

The legal framework for AI is being built in real time, and a ruling in the Sarah Silverman case should give publishers pause

"Silverman et al. have two weeks to attempt to refile most of the dismissed claims with any explicit evidence they have of LLM outputs “substantially similar” to The Bedwetter. But that’s a much higher bar than simply noting its inclusion in Books3." This case looks like it&

27 Nov 2023

NotableLinks

How independent media outlets are covering the shootings in Vermont

An instructive look at what independent local news outlets are doing in the face of a tragedy that is part of a rapidly-rising trend. Upshot: their journalism is far more accessible than the local "big" paper. Independent local news is undergoing a renaissance, but to do it well

27 Nov 2023

I made myself a home office when all I really needed was a cup of tea

I’ve been trying to create a productive home office that fulfills the following criteria: * I can concentrate and do great heads-down work * I can take video calls with impunity * It’s a relaxing space for me * The background when I take calls conveys some sense of professionalism After some

27 Nov 2023

NotableLinks

Secretive White House Surveillance Program Gives Cops Access to Trillions of US Phone Records

"A surveillance program now known as Data Analytical Services (DAS) has for more than a decade allowed federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to mine the details of Americans’ calls, analyzing the phone records of countless people who are not suspected of any crime, including victims." No

27 Nov 2023

NotableLinks

"We pulled off an SEO heist that stole 3.6M total traffic from a competitor."

"We pulled off an SEO heist that stole 3.6M total traffic from a competitor. Here's how we did it." What this single spammer pulled off - 1800 articles written by technology in order to scrape traffic from a competitor's legitimate site - is

27 Nov 2023

Nonfiction

Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World, by Naomi Klein

A riveting analysis of our moment in history, using the parallel paths of Naomis Klein and Wolf as a device to examine the multiple realities we've constructed for ourselves. Incisive and pointed, I particularly agree with a conclusion that pulls no punches about how to correct our paths

26 Nov 2023

NotableLinks

Effective obfuscation

Molly White explores why effective altruism and effective accelerationism are such dangerous ideologies - selfishness disguised as higher-minded philosophies. "Both ideologies embrace as a given the idea of a super-powerful artificial general intelligence being just around the corner, an assumption that leaves little room for discussion of the many

26 Nov 2023

NotableLinks

Support Indigenous People This Weekend

"Every year I invite people who are celebrating the colonial holiday to do something in support of Native people. Amid an overdose crisis and high rates of poverty, illness, and unemployment, Indigenous organizers are doing incredible work to reduce harm and help our peoples thrive. Through mutual aid, cultural

22 Nov 2023

NotableLinks

Nations must go further than current Paris pledges or face global warming of 2.5-2.9°C

"“We know it is still possible to make the 1.5 degree limit a reality. It requires tearing out the poisoned root of the climate crisis: fossil fuels. And it demands a just, equitable renewables transition,” said Antònio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations." How realistic is that

21 Nov 2023

There's no money in free software

Thomas Stringer on compensation in open source: And then finally, there’s my uninteresting (to me) OSS project. What once resembled passion project is now unrecognizable from a motivation perspective. But the demand is high. There are lots of users, many in a corporate sense using my software to further

21 Nov 2023
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Werd I/O explores the intersection of technology, democracy, and society. It's independently published by Ben Werdmuller, reader-supported, and always free to read.