Back in 2006, AOL tried something incredibly bold and even more incredibly *stupid*: they dumped a data-set of 20,000,000 "anonymized" search queries from 650,000 users (yes, AOL had a search engine - there used to be *lots* of search engines!):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOL_search_log_release

--

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/06/19/privacy-breach-by-design#bringing-home-the-beacon

1/

"It feels like I'm attending a funeral. But the funeral isn't just for Geocities... It was more than just another lousy webpage from the 1990s. It was who I was 12 years ago. The places I linked...the places that linked to me"

No, the 16 billion credentials leak is not a new #DataBreach

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/no-the-16-billion-credentials-leak-is-not-a-new-data-breach/

#cybersecurity #privacy

Windows 11 user has 30 years of 'irreplaceable photos and work' locked away in OneDrive - and Microsoft's silence is deafening | TechRadar https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/windows-11-user-has-30-years-of-irreplaceable-photos-and-work-locked-away-in-onedrive-and-microsofts-silence-is-deafening

YouTubers Surprised That Google Uses Their Videos to Train AI Models https://petapixel.com/2025/06/20/youtubers-surprised-that-google-uses-their-videos-to-train-its-ai-models-veo-3/ #artificialintelligence #aivideogenerator #Technology #youtuber #youtube #gemini #google #News #veo3 #Law

I am so happy that even though it's the current design trend we have people in KDE that aren't just accepting the degradation of readable interfaces in the pursuit of "modern UI design", I've never understood the "KDE looks old" idea, it's not old it's timeless.

Nate Graham lays out the state of Plasma's X11 session, the short term plans, and how things will go in the future.

https://pointieststick.com/2025/06/21/about-plasmas-x11-session/

#Plasma6 #X11

Many companies and individuals are trying to mislead people about the future of GrapheneOS to promote their insecure products and services. GrapheneOS is not going anywhere. We've made it clear we're shipping Android 16 soon and that the supported devices will remain supported.

Il caloroso benvenuto dei veneziani a Bezos! ❤️

Per chi è ancora su Amazon, Twitch, Prime & Co., contribuendo ad arricchire gli oligarchi del web e a finanziare (indirettamente) le politiche di Trump, non fate i servi di un tecno-feudatario.

Le alternative esistono, sono molte e funzionano.

👉 Una vita senza Amazon: perché è ora di dire basta https://noblogo.org/filippodb/una-vita-senza-amazon-perche-e-ora-di-dire-basta

@internet

#jeffbezos #Bezos #Amazon #Twitch #Prime #Alternative

This is a mindset that is way too common, no one is ennoscriptd to your money but I think you should donate to projects you like and being open source doesn't mean you have to be poor

WE HAVE ALMOST SAVED GAMING.

Or have we? Can we still save it?

All it would have taken was a million signatures from EU citizens.

Don't we have a million gamers in the EU who are eligible to vote?

Here's probably the last update from #StopKillingGames :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIfRLujXtUo

https://StopKillingGames.com

Have you signed yet?

-unfa

#Gaming #Game #Games #Gamers #LinuxGaming #GamePreservation #GameEmulators #Lutris #Proton #Wine #Steam #Freedom #EU #Law #GameDev #GameDevelopment #Help #Activism

@liblast@mastodon.gamedev.place it's sad how one streamer/YouTuber with apparently bad intentions can gaslight people with blatant misinformation to tamper with a campaign that's for the good of people. People should think more with their head rather than being filtered by people they look up to on a website, kinda like TV.

3/3

Keep politics out of your project. I'll try to do the same from now on. I act the way my mother taught me: be nice to other people (and demand that they be nice too). Be respectful; stop and think, don't just mouth off like a knob end.

The whole point of open source is that we're supposed to work together. It doesn't matter who you are.

I don't care if you're from the planet Mars. Anyone can send patches to Libreboot. Perhaps I might visit you, if you give me a ride in your space ship.

Just saw this scrolling through Facebook. I don't know anything about the matter, but my point remains valid: using other people's platforms does not and never will guarantee the safety of your data.

@_elena@mastodon.social 's video is extremely relevant: https://tube.bsd.cafe/w/64VuNCccZNrP4u9MfgbhkN

#OwnYourData

#PNG Returns with Major Spec Update After Two-Decade Hiatus https://medium.com/p/png-returns-with-major-spec-update-after-two-decade-hiatus-e98ef855cfa4

The smaller Fairphone 6 introduces swappable accessories https://www.theverge.com/news/692248/fairphone-6-smartphone-repairable-modular-accessories-murena

The end is near for Windows 10. If you can't upgrade and a new PC isn't in your budget, this collective has a suggestion for you.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/end-of-10-offers-hope-and-support-to-windows-10-users-who-cant-upgrade-their-pcs/ #Win10 #Windows #Tech #Technology #Computers #OS #Linux

If you are an EU resident, please sign the Stop Killing Games petition! They need all the help they can get, and if this passes it'll go a long way toward ensuring the game library you've paid for is playable in perpetuity.

Stop Killing Games

There is also a UK petition

https://www.stopkillinggames.com/countries/united_kingdom

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/didknvmwd76pmxugptr6cpka4tc/post/3lscukktfoc2m

Stop Killing Games

I put together a tiny userstyle which moves Steam's content note box up near the purchase options so you know upfront if it uses genAI https://gist.github.com/ticky/a86d1749da142ea7b6dd5582748b461e

@rin