Miscellaneous Tech News
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UK virus-tracing app switches to Apple-Google model
In a major U-turn, the UK is ditching the way its current coronavirus-tracing app works and shifting to a model based on technology provided by Apple and Google.
The Apple-Google design has been promoted as being more privacy-focused. However, it means epidemiologists will have access to less data. The government now intends to launch an app in the autumn, however it says the product may not involve contact tracing at that point. Instead the software may be limited to enabling users to report their symptoms and order a test. Baroness Dido Harding - who heads up the wider Test and Trace programme - will only give the green light to actually deploying the Apple-Google technology if she decides it has been made fit for purpose, which is not the case at present. Germany, Italy and Denmark are among other countries to have switched from a so-called "centralised" approach to a "decentralised" one. -
@mlnews said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
UK virus-tracing app switches to Apple-Google model
In a major U-turn, the UK is ditching the way its current coronavirus-tracing app works and shifting to a model based on technology provided by Apple and Google.
The Apple-Google design has been promoted as being more privacy-focused. However, it means epidemiologists will have access to less data. The government now intends to launch an app in the autumn, however it says the product may not involve contact tracing at that point. Instead the software may be limited to enabling users to report their symptoms and order a test. Baroness Dido Harding - who heads up the wider Test and Trace programme - will only give the green light to actually deploying the Apple-Google technology if she decides it has been made fit for purpose, which is not the case at present. Germany, Italy and Denmark are among other countries to have switched from a so-called "centralised" approach to a "decentralised" one.None of that crap matters - you'll never get enough people to voluntarily install it.
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Apple 'not told' about UK's latest app plans
Apple says it did not know the UK was working on a "hybrid" version of the NHS coronavirus contact-tracing app using tech it developed with Google.
The firm took the unusual step of saying it was also unaware of an issue regarding distance-measuring, which was flagged by Health Secretary Matt Hancock in Thursday's daily briefing. Apple said it was "difficult to understand" the claims. Downing Street said the government had "worked closely with Apple and Google". In tests carried out in the UK, there were occasions when software tools developed by Apple and Google could not differentiate between a phone in a user's pocket 1m (3.3ft) away and a phone in a user's hand 3m (9.8ft) away. During the briefing, Mr Hancock said: "Measuring distance is clearly mission critical to any contact-tracing app." -
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@black3dynamite said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
https://fedoramagazine.org/protect-your-system-with-fail2ban-and-firewalld-blacklists/
Read that earlier this morning, was good. I didn't know you could use firewalld to block by country. I guess I never noticed that before but that is going to be very helpful!
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@jmoore said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@black3dynamite said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
https://fedoramagazine.org/protect-your-system-with-fail2ban-and-firewalld-blacklists/
Read that earlier this morning, was good. I didn't know you could use firewalld to block by country. I guess I never noticed that before but that is going to be very helpful!
A firewall by definition can block by region, because regions are assigned by ranges. It's not accurate, but mostly works.
There are lots of problems with it. The range FiOS uses in Dallas is assigned to Ontario, CA so every IP detection here comes up as Toronto. Few people block Canada, but once in a while it causes issues.
It's rare that you'd get a wildly different region in your IPs for now. Once SpaceX style ISPs are live, all bets are off.
But just be aware it's range blocking, not actually country blocking. It's just that ranges typically have a country association.
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Twitch: Streamers call for a blackout to recognise victims of sexual and racial abuses
#Twitchblackout is trending today as streamers across the world ask people to avoid the site for a day.
They're calling for a blackout because they think the streaming site can do more to recognise victims of sexual and racial abuse. Dozens of women have recently claimed they have been sexually assaulted by people in the gaming industry. Twitch says it takes accusations of sexual harassment seriously. Streamers are arguing Twitch has not acted quickly enough when there have been sexual assault claims made against some of its content creators. Some also think the site has been too lenient when others have been accused of using racist or homophobic language. Encouraging people to stay off the platform for a day could deprive Twitch of viewers and income. -
@jmoore said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@black3dynamite said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
https://fedoramagazine.org/protect-your-system-with-fail2ban-and-firewalld-blacklists/
Read that earlier this morning, was good. I didn't know you could use firewalld to block by country. I guess I never noticed that before but that is going to be very helpful!
Read that yesterday when it was posted. That article is lazy. I really need to up my writing game and get active posting stuff.
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@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@jmoore said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@black3dynamite said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
https://fedoramagazine.org/protect-your-system-with-fail2ban-and-firewalld-blacklists/
Read that earlier this morning, was good. I didn't know you could use firewalld to block by country. I guess I never noticed that before but that is going to be very helpful!
A firewall by definition can block by region, because regions are assigned by ranges. It's not accurate, but mostly works.
There are lots of problems with it. The range FiOS uses in Dallas is assigned to Ontario, CA so every IP detection here comes up as Toronto. Few people block Canada, but once in a while it causes issues.
It's rare that you'd get a wildly different region in your IPs for now. Once SpaceX style ISPs are live, all bets are off.
But just be aware it's range blocking, not actually country blocking. It's just that ranges typically have a country association.
Good to know, thanks
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@JaredBusch said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@jmoore said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@black3dynamite said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
https://fedoramagazine.org/protect-your-system-with-fail2ban-and-firewalld-blacklists/
Read that earlier this morning, was good. I didn't know you could use firewalld to block by country. I guess I never noticed that before but that is going to be very helpful!
Read that yesterday when it was posted. That article is lazy. I really need to up my writing game and get active posting stuff.
I love hearing different viewpoints on information so I'll read it
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Google to pay for 'high quality' news in three countries
Google says it will pay some news outlets for "high-quality" stories that it uses amid pressure from publishers.
Part of the initiative will require Google to pay for its users to access news stories otherwise locked behind a so-called paywall on certain websites. The first sites to join are in Australia, Brazil, and Germany, with a product launch set for later this year. It comes as authorities in some countries investigate how tech firms use news content without paying for it. Australia has put forward plans to force Google and Facebook to pay news publishers under competition rules. France has already issued Google with an order to do so. It is the latest development in a long-standing row with news publishers over whether tech giants should pay them to include "snippets" of news articles in search results or on social media. -
@mlnews said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
Google to pay for 'high quality' news in three countries
Google says it will pay some news outlets for "high-quality" stories that it uses amid pressure from publishers.
Part of the initiative will require Google to pay for its users to access news stories otherwise locked behind a so-called paywall on certain websites. The first sites to join are in Australia, Brazil, and Germany, with a product launch set for later this year. It comes as authorities in some countries investigate how tech firms use news content without paying for it. Australia has put forward plans to force Google and Facebook to pay news publishers under competition rules. France has already issued Google with an order to do so. It is the latest development in a long-standing row with news publishers over whether tech giants should pay them to include "snippets" of news articles in search results or on social media.So the question is - will Google choose to just stop with snippets to those news sites like they did in the past.
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Northern Ireland to launch separate contact-tracing app
Northern Ireland is planning to release its own coronavirus contact-tracing app within weeks, the BBC has learned.
It follows the failure of the NHS app in England, which was trialled on the Isle of Wight. The NI app will be based on the Google/Apple model. It is designed to be compatible with an app due to be released soon in the Republic of Ireland. That app is also based on the toolkit provided by Apple and Google. The Apple and Google model is more privacy-focused, but provides less data to epidemiologists than the centralised version that England was trialling. "The Health Minister has commissioned work to develop a proximity app, based on the de-centralised Google/ Apple model, for use in Northern Ireland," said the Northern Ireland Department of Health in a statement. "This work includes examining the interoperability of apps and the sharing of information across the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic," it said. -
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@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-kills-one-of-its-best-windows-10-update-looph-1844180993
That's a good thing.
If we can test and keep many thousands of Windows PCs in many countries around the world that use many diverse apps current and updated, then I know anyone can. There's no excuse.
If you want to run a PC out of date for years just install Linux.
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@Obsolesce said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
If you want to run a PC out of date for years just install Linux.
You mean distros like CentOS, Ubuntu LTS? Just saying Linux makes it sound like you are saying Linux in general.
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@black3dynamite said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@Obsolesce said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
If you want to run a PC out of date for years just install Linux.
You mean distros like CentOS, Ubuntu LTS? Just saying Linux makes it sound like you are saying Linux in general.
Yes, Linux in general. It will never update on its own unless you tell it to. You can choose to never update. With windows and Mac, and Android I think, you are pretty much forced to stay mostly current.
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@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@Grey said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
From the company that brought you "data loss" and "holy shit this screwed me" moments....
When is the last time you used it?
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@Obsolesce said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@black3dynamite said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@Obsolesce said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
If you want to run a PC out of date for years just install Linux.
You mean distros like CentOS, Ubuntu LTS? Just saying Linux makes it sound like you are saying Linux in general.
Yes, Linux in general. It will never update on its own unless you tell it to. You can choose to never update. With windows and Mac, and Android I think, you are pretty much forced to stay mostly current.
Thats determined by distro and has no connection to Linux one way or the other.
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@VoIP_n00b said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@scottalanmiller said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
@Grey said in Miscellaneous Tech News:
From the company that brought you "data loss" and "holy shit this screwed me" moments....
When is the last time you used it?
I have no reason to run unsafe valueless hobby systems. I get to use it when I am brought in to save foolish companies who thought they could skip having IT skills or enterprise vendors for storage.
You are implying by this question that a fundamentally bad and unsafe idea and process without value has to be constantly tried to be understood- but that is not the case.
You dont have to stub your toe on each new piece of furniture once you understand that stubbing it itself hurts.
