Bernhard E. Reiter

"human fracking

The use of information technology to exploit human attention in ways that are net counterproductive to the persons thus exploited
" https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/human_fracking

Just learned about the term, reading
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jan/18/how-can-we-defend-ourselves-from-the-new-plague-of-human-fracking

I like the idea. So maybe they deserve some "attention".

Will read more on https://friendsofattention.org/about/ (though their
animation is somehow like an annoying <blink> tag. ;-))

#humanfracking #friendsofattention #bigtech

"For years, longtime #Firefox users have hung on while #Mozilla has pursued random directions, added advertiser-friendly features, and tried repeatedly to jump onto the AI bandwagon. But all those users want is a reliable, standards-compliant browser that gives them control over their web experience and protects their privacy. The result is that Firefox's usage has been declining for years.

Mozilla now has a new CEO who has one last chance to turn things around. A refocused Firefox determined to protect its users from an increasingly hostile web environment could regain users. A Firefox that continues to chase buzzwords or appease advertisers will sink without a trace."

#FreeSoftware

@lwn@fedi.lwn.net 's predictions for the new year are always worth a read
https://lwn.net/Articles/1052269/ :)

RE: @lexelas@mstdn.io

From the announcement it seems that Bose publishes its API documentation, and even that does not allow you to use it fully looking at its licens.

Open Source (a newer term for #FreeSoftware) refers to https://opensource.org/osd. Where is the part of Bose that complies with that "open source definition"?

Maybe we have a case of "open source washing" in the announcement here.

It is a good step for Bose customers that they make a final release of their app and publish their API documentation. However if they really "open sourced" their speaker software, a third party could maintain the apps and do security updates. Even better for customers. ;-)