Everything Will Change
— @takebackourtech 👨‍💻

Hey my nodes, I have been quiet for a bit working on several new projects! A few of which I will share:

#TBOT BYTES: A new shortform video-series for Take Back Our Tech, the goal with this one is simply to get more people watching it and taking action to improve their individual privacy workflows. I've found it is difficult (at least for myself) to sit through full length content and then act upon it. This new series was designed to be 5 minutes or less, with the viewer able to follow along & act immediately.

Our first video will be published this week and will be about protecting yourself against web tracking.

#TBOT @ The Greater Reset III: We are preparing a new piece of media for this third Greater Reset that extends past just being educational, but illustrates an important story.

The story of an individual and collective struggle to disconnect from abusive systems and exercise our inherent freedom, mirroring what is happening in today's society.

This main character of the story is of course, our mascot Tee (TBOT) and we'll get to see their origin and struggle to reprogram an increasingly restricted universe.

I would very much appreciate your support in promoting these projects far and wide when they launch. Much love ❤️

Follow our Telegram: @takebackourtech_chat
Join us on XMPP: tbot@group.chat.above.im

~ Our connection is sacred

We are excited to announce the Beechat Network will be speaking at The Greater Reset 3: Integration for Day 4: Take Back Our Tech! Nicholas Quinn & Robert Raduta of Beechat will be presenting online.

Founded in 2020, Beechat creates Agorist tools and services to help people help themselves. Community-driven open-source solutions for a free future.

Find their work here: https://beechat.network/

Find more speakers: https://thegreaterreset.org/speakers

#TheGreaterReset

#TBOT BYTES 1: REJECT WEB TRACKING WITH uBlock & uMatrix

In our first #TBOT Bytes video, we'll make your web browsing experience faster & safer, all within 5 minutes. 💨

📓 Read the in-depth article tutorial
📺 Watch on Flote | Odysee

If you follow today's guide and use it, you will have a much better understanding of the way the web works and how abusive software services have weaseled their way into every corner of the web.

TBOT Challenge 💪

EASY: Get uBlock origin installed, use it normally!
MEDIUM: Get uMatrix installed after reading the article. Browse your favorite websites and see what breaks. Take a look at the requests and allow the requests that restore functionality. Save these rules for that website or globally.
EXERCISE: Looking at the web requests for your favorite sites, what did you learn? Did anything surprise you? What might you ask of the developers of your favorite sites?

Enjoy a faster & more private web browsing experience!

Happy Solstice! Tis the Season

Dear #TBOT Family,

Wherever you are in the world, I am thankful to be able to exchange energy with you all in these important times.

Let's close out this year with rest, relaxation, and an appreciation for how far we've come!

It only gets better from here.

~ Our connection is sacred

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadas-public-health-agency-admits-it-tracked-33-million-mobile-devices-during-lockdown

This is why we should advocate for communication off of cellular networks.

There is no telling how many of these programs are being run and how deep they go.

Luckily we have projects like Beechat Network and JMP.chat that are taking steps to regain cellular privacy.

Gensole

Make custom 3d foot insoles

http://gensole.com

#gensole #insoles #feet #3d

Should Children Be Allowed To Work? Are Video Games Preparing Kids for ‘The Metaverse’? Do I Support Digital Child Slavery?

The answers to these questions might seem unimportant in the grand scheme of all that we are currently facing as we approach 2022. However, they are related to the impending danger of the involuntary tokenization of everything and the push towards the all encompassing digital prison known as The Metaverse. With that in mind, this essay is both a response to a recent attack on my work, AND an exploration of these important issues, as well as my own philosophical beliefs regarding all of the above.

First, since this is not about names or personalities, I won’t name my accusers. Instead, I will focus on outlining their claims and debunking them. I will also share my views on technology, the sovereignty of children, work, and video games in general.

https://theconsciousresistance.com/on-luddites-child-labor-and-the-metaverse/

We're Giving Away a FREE Above.Phone! (UPDATED)

Derrick Broze announces the winner of the Above.Phone raffle giveaway!

Above.Phone
https://abovephone.com/

Learn more about the Above.Phone:
https://takebackourtech.org/above-phone-tech-demo/

2021: Where Everything Changed For The Better
➡️ Official Community | Telegram Channel |Telegram Chat Odysee | Hive | Minds ⬅️

Hello my dear people! Its the last day of the year, a year in which each day seemed shorter than the last, each injustice greater than before, and the call to action echoing louder with each day.

Although the danger is present and growing, I have found solace in the new structures we have been building, and I wanted to take a moment to record all the momentous occasions I experienced with y'all.

- Organizing The Greater Reset, holding two groundbreaking events with over 60 speakers and a 100K viewers each in January and May - learning an absolute ton along the way

- Working non-stop for the first half of the year on the prototype for above.market, which was showcased at TGRII in May.

- Founding #TakeBackOurTech, calling out abusive software companies and spreading the ideas of community computing at the D3 Conference in April.

- Launching the Take Back Our Tech website and educational initiative, releasing free 18 technical guides and 10 videos.

- Watching the biggest hits of #TBOT spread over the internet:
👉 How You Can Stop The Cyber-Pandemic and Your Computer From Spying On You
👉 How Our Phones Are Tracked By Big Tech, Telecom, and Government
👉 XMPP, A Comeback Story: A 20 Year Old Messaging Protocol For Robust, Private and Decentralized Communications

- Helping countless people move to Linux and watching them start to enjoy it!

- Reaching spot #3 on Hacker News with our article on XMPP, getting over 20K views and being mentioned in XMPP's November newsletter

- Launching my first real company - Above Agency back in April alongside the most talented people I know, creating meaningful technology, brand, and stories together - that are still being written.

- Launching the above.phone - going from concept to almost 200 customers in less than half a year and watching people from all walks of life utilize cutting edge technology and mobile privacy.

- Taking a 12 city roadtrip around the Eastern United States on the Activation Tour, and speaking at every stop along with my friends! More importantly meeting amazing people every night and coming to the realization that we are not alone - not one bit!

- Being interviewed by some amazing people:
🎥 #TBOT with Derrick Broze
🎥 Ryan Cristian of The Last American Vagabond
🎥 Declare Your Independence With Earnest Hancock
🎥 Jason Bermas

I am thankful to be a part of your journey, and especially thankful for the amazing people that have astounded me with their knowledge and creativity. Although this year has not been much for taking breaks, that's to be expected if we are going to save the world - which I know we are.

—
I want to hear from you - what made this year great? What did you experience and how did it help you grow?

ACTIVATION HUBS ARE OFFICIALLY LIVE 🌅

23 DAYS LEFT TILL THE GREATER RESET - ARE YOU PLANNING YOUR LOCAL HUBS?

SHARE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY

Hey everyone - Ramiro here. We've just finished the Activation Hubs feature on the site. Now you can register your local hub or you can find local hubs near you!

Check out this video announcement for more information, and let us know how your Hub is coming along. ❤️

Main Page: https://thegreaterreset.org/hubs
Find Hubs: https://thegreaterreset.org/find-a-hub/
Promote Your Hubs Locally With Media: https://thegreaterreset.org/media/

What Is a Freedom Cell?

Find out in under 2 minutes with this short explainer video. Share with your friends and invite them to join the movement at: https://www.freedomcells.org

Any of you peeps want to attend/help with the #TBOT workshop in Morelia?

Anyone in our network work with crypto-currency ATMs, or know someone that does?

I am looking to launch a few ATMs in parts of the world that need it!

Why disroot.org shutdown their Matrix server:
@takebackourtech | https://takebackourtech.org

Earlier in 2021, I started seeing red flags surrounding the recently popularized Matrix protocol, thanks to a series of papers done by LibreMonde. Although I shared the research, many Matrix users saw it as an unfounded attack. This lead me to find and champion alternatives like XMPP.

Now disroot, an organization who ran a Matrix server for quite some time has shut down their Matrix instance due to privacy concerns.

— translated from Spanish

the reasons we decided to close our matrix instance were two:

1. the amount of enormous information that data from the users that we were forced to store (initiation and closing of session, interactions, publications and addresses exposed of users in public rooms, etc.) indefinitely and with the aggravation that the information also remains in the participating servers. and also the growing number of bots that polished mapping the network.

2. the ridiculously large amount of resources it required and increased with its use. about closing the instance, less than 100 users were costing us 5 gb of ram (not counting the branch that consumed the database) and 170 gb of space on the users information disk.

summarizing, it seemed to us that the amount of data accumulated was dangerously large and the resources dismedied for what is basically a text chat software.

We never thought that these problems were deliberately planned, but inherent in the matrix structure. And for us, they became unacceptable above all in relation to the commitment we have to the care of the information of the users.

There are six documents confirming that it was the best decision. It is advisable to read them completely and you can find them here:

https://gitlab.com/libremonde-org/papers/research/privacy-matrix.org

in a part of them can be read:
"after a new research and analysis based on our first document, and despite the changes that have occurred since, we believe that new vector ltd and the Matrix.org foundation cic, which represent matrix.org and vector.im:

- they don't meet the gdpr of the eu
- do not follow the guidelines, best practices and explicit requirements described in the ico guide on gdpr for those who have daily responsibilities.
- fail to defend the fundamental principles of gdpr: legality, equity and transparency.
- are not able to process gdpr data requests correctly and in a timely manner.
- discriminate against non-tecnicxs in gdpr-related issues.
- they are trying to retain data and responses from individuals who are ennoscriptd to them, removing such data from their system before completing so requests for gdpr, being a lay crime of data protection for 2018.
- they are using misleading communications, capturing policies and terms of services hard to understand to limit the scope of data requests only to home server services, while providing several other independents.

This document includes disclosure of a personal data violation by Matrix.org.
if you currently have a matrix account on any server, not only in matrix.org, we strongly recommend that you consider whether you need to file a complaint with the English authority of rgpd, regarding the processing of Matrix.org of your data so far. "

In particular, it seems to me that after several years things have not improved too much in the most important aspects: the care and protection of the data of the users.

New Hampshire's Proposes Bill to Uphold Software Freedom

https://libreboot.org/news/usa-libre.html

In 3 days, New Hampshire will vote on requiring state run website to use Free Software:

- Specifically bans state-run websites from serving non-free javanoscript to clients
- Creates a commission to provide oversight, watching the use of Free Software by state agencies
- Bans state agencies from using proprietary software - maybe this could include schools, in the future!
- If a person is tried in a criminal case, they have the right to audit the source code of any proprietary software that collects evidence against them
- Encourages data portability (able to transfer data from one program to another)
- Bans certain non-compete clauses and NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) pertaining to Free Software projects
- Bans state/local law enforcement from assisting with the enforcement of copyright claims against Free Software projects
- Bans state agencies from purchasing non-free software if free software exists, for a given task

HOW TO HELP: TESTIFY IN SUPPORT OF THE BILL

The reading of the bill is happening on 11 January 2022. This is when you should go to New Hampshire.

Location of hearing: Legislative Office Building in Concord, New Hampshire:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire_Legislative_Office_Building

The organizer of the proposed bill, Eric Gallager, has left instructions on Twitter. The following is a nitter link, which lets you view the relevant Twitter thread without running non-free Javanoscript in your browser:
https://nitter.domain.glass/cooljeanius/status/1479663133207764992

#TBOT LIVE WORKSHOP AT THE GREATER RESET IN MORELIA: FREE YOUR LAPTOP, PHONE & SOFTWARE WITH RAMIRO ROMANI
—
Jan 28th, 2022 - 12 PM CST in Morelia, Mexico

RSVP HERE: https://thegreaterreset.org/workshops/tbot/

Its time for a digital purification. Join Ramiro Romani of Take Back Our Tech in a hands-on workshop where we cleanse abusive technologies from our lives in favor of friendly alternatives. This workshop is held for free, and we will provide materials to be used in the workshop such as USB drives. You will have the opportunity to purchase the USB drives, notebooks, degoogled above.phone's and #TBOT t-shirts/stickers.

In this workshop you will have the opportunity to:

- Choose, explore, and install a friendly operating system on your laptop
- Learn how to use your new machine
- Get setup with the best software
- Setup privacy tools
- Demo & buy a degoogled above.phone

Please come prepared with:
- The laptop you would like to get setup.
- Your data backed up on an external drive or organized
- Something to take notes on
- Payment methods for merchandise (cash/crypto/card accepted)

THIS WORKSHOP IS FREE, BUT YOU MUST RSVP!

Hello everyone!

We are looking for a voice actor to narrate a short trailer for our upcoming animation: #TBOT: Reprogram Your Destiny. This trailer will be showcased at TGR III in a matter of weeks (running late as usual)

Do you have a nice voice and microphone?

Give us a sample of your voice in a Telegram voice message. Read the following:

'The year is 20XX. On the planet of the robots, there is one network - and no more'

Before submitting, please do the following:
- Join the @takebackourtech channel
- Reply to this post there with your voice message

We will review everyone's beautiful voices and make the pick this upcoming week, the person who is selected will get a nice tip in crypto.

Thanks for all your help!

~ Our connection is sacred