Interesting reads, 16 April 2018

Interesting things I read on the Internet this week

• World After Capital — Fascinating glimpse of the future. I need to get past the introduction…

• Mythology about security… — Debunking the myth that early Internet pioneers didn’t consider security.

• Do What You Love and Starve? — Very desirable jobs tend to be poorly paid due to people willing to do them for cheap or free.

• The smart security behind the GB Smart Metering System — Excellent semi-technical read from GCHQ about the crypto design behind the new smart meters.

• Don’t Give Away Historic Details About Yourself — Seemingly harmless quizzes find out the name of your first pet, street, whatever, and use them to defeat those silly security questions some sites still use.

• Google Analytics with Do Not Track — (I wrote) how to disable Google Analytics (and others) for people using Do Not Track.

• World’s first electrified road for charging vehicles opens in Sweden — I love that Sweden is just getting on with it.

• Cooperative Technologists — I heard about this collective (?) of tech co-operatives at the enlightening Liverpool Anarchist Book Fair.

• How To Decide What To Work On — Some good thoughts about building products.

• Chinese man caught by facial recognition at pop concert — Once you wire up all those CCTV cameras to facial recognition, you’ve got the ultimate tool for population control.

• Russia: Move to block Telegram the latest blow in government assault on freedom of expression online — Russia’s working hard to prevent their population avoiding surveillance.

• A Sleeping Alexa Can Listen for More Than Just Her Name — What else might Alexa wake up to? Would we ever know? I’m steering clear.

• The Internet Apologizes … — Inteview snippets with mostly Silicon Valley product people plus Richard Stallman.