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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 11th, 2023

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  • You know captchas? They’re there because bot activity can be really hard to moderate. So those are there to test if there’s an actual human talking to the website: They try to give a test that only a human can do. The problem is, now that machine learning models can actually do some of those things, like read handwritten words and identify cars vs bikes, we need a new test that only humans can pass. Also, these captchas are annoying to users, and if you’re a website that runs off of clicks and ads, a captcha might piss off a user and they leave, and you get to show fewer ads.

    So, the people running a website have a need to stave off bot traffic, but also not piss off real, legitimate human traffic. One solution is “attestation”, which basically means getting someone else to attest, or plead on your behalf, that you are running on an unmodified device. In a perfect world, Apple would like their phones to be so incredibly locked down that you can only do things that they allow. One of those things would be using an iPhone to do bot stuff. So, since Apple controls what software runs on your iPhone, they can (in theory) prevent you from running bot software. This means that iPhone users would be (in theory) guaranteed safe human traffic. But if you’re a website owner, how do you know that the request is actually coming from an iPhone? Simple. Request the device ID from the iPhone, and ask a question that only an iPhone would know the answer to. This is essentially what web attestation is. From the article: “a way that web servers can demand your device prove it is a sufficiently ‘legitimate’ device before browsing the web” and “your treatment on the web depends on whether Apple says your device, OS & browser configuration are legitimate & acceptable.”

    This has significant implications for the openness of the device you use, as well as the control that you as a user have over how you use the web. The primary example would be adblockers. Apple and Google get to say whether you’re human or not, so if you have an adblocker, Google can just say “no, I won’t attest that this user is human” and you’ll get treated differently. It’s not difficult to imagine a world in which Youtube would just refuse to serve users who aren’t 100% trustworthy, given their recent adblocker experiment. And this is the case for every link in the chain, from the device, to the OS, to the browser (and other stuff you might have on your system), and browser extensions. There are concerns that this will hurt competition in all of these spaces. Built your own computer? Well now you might be considered non-legitimate. Developed your own browser? Haha, definitely can’t get attested.

    tl;dr: Instead of captchas, ask the device if it’s real and unmodified. See above for why this is bad.

    Also see #why-is-attestation-bad-generally from the article. In summary, be especially concerned if you:

    • Use an adblocker or extensions that Google or Apple might not like
    • Built, repaired, or modified your computer/laptop/phone/smart fridge
    • Use an older, less-supported computer/laptop/phone, or one from a smaller brand/manufacturer
    • Like open-source software
    • Like competition & free market for the hardware/software of computers and phones and browsers
    • Don’t like the monopoly of Chrome
    • Don’t like Cloudflare or similar services

    Worth noting that if all this comes to pass, these people aren’t stupid. They will toe the line to make sure not too many people are pissed off. But if you are pissed off, better make noise now, as they almost certainly won’t change their minds later.




    • Best insertion: Displayport Locking
      • Runner-up: Ethernet (RJ45), Apple 30-Pin (Locking)
    • Best removal: Magsafe 3
      • Runner-ups: USB-C, USB-B 3.0
    • Best differential pair connector: Lightning (because it’s so consistent feeling)
      • Runner-up: USB-C
    • Best residential AC plug: British BS1363 (Type G)
    • Best lightbulb base: Bayonet B15s
      • Runner-ups: GU10, GU24, Fluorescent Bi-pin
    • Best audio port: 6.35mm TRRS (1/4")
      • Runner-ups: Banana Jacks, Neutrik SpeakON
    • Best video port: HDMI
      • Runner-ups: RCA Composite/Component, DVI, BNC, USB-C
    • Best device-internal connector: JST GH series
      • Runner-up: any miniature mezzanine connector

    • Worst differential connectors: USB micro B 3.0, any ethernet cable with a bubble boot or broken latch, mini-HDMI, micro-HDMI
    • Worst HF connectors: Coaxial, all miniature HF wire to board connectors (holy crap the naming is inconsistent) i.e. UFL, IPEX
    • Worst audio connectors: cheap 3.5mm, spring clip terminal, binding posts (especially plastic knob ones)
    • Worst residential AC plug: Europlug
    • worst device-internal connectors: wire soldered through-hole, any Molex connector or power connector inside a computer




  • Plex does alright at suggesting music from your own library, and also has some really nice DJ-like song transitions that are legitimately way better than any other track fades. However, Plex users have been frustrated with the company’s slow response to fixing long-standing bugs, and some of the features are paid. It’s also not open-source.

    No idea if it can suggest music that isn’t in your library; I know that they integrate with Tidal though, so maybe if you have that it’ll also suggest stuff from Tidal?