The legality (not wisdom) of putting European private data on US clouds hinges on the availability of the US Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. Trump neutered this board, and the European parliament has taken notice & asked the European Commission what they think:

TIL that on #Meta platforms now one can write terrible, offensive slurs against LGBTQIA+ folks and immigrants… with zero repercussions. But the second one mentions a #Fediverse project like #Pixelfed, the post is automatically removed.
Meta “moderation” policies in 2025: racism, xenophobia, transphobia, homophobia and sexism are allowed; mention of competition is strictly forbidden.
Almost as alarming to find the number of Universities - who should know better - running their email on MS Exchange.
@Nickiquote @alwirtes @sk76 @futurebird at University (a long time ago!) some of the halls of residence were fitted with 2 amp sockets an students bought 13A extension socket blocks and fitted them with 2A plugs. You could trace the wiring in the room by the warmer patch in the wall when a kettle was in use!
@mansr @lampsofgold @futurebird I worked on an oil rig which had both 110V and 240v sockets available, and plugged a US VT220 computer terminal into a 240V socket. The device ends of the cables were IEC 60320 C13/C14 connectors, with different mains plugs, and there were plenty of both types available. It ran for several days 😀
re: Olimex order arrived, safely and quickly 😃
Olimex order arrived, safely and quickly 😃
My order of two Pioneer Freedombox systems, one for home, and one to lend to friends so they can try it, arrived. The order was put in yesterday, and I am in the UK, and we are in the Christmas period. Excellent service from @olimex and DHL (who don’t have a Fediverse presence.)
@mike @rwg @jdp23 I see Flipboard and similar as being able to add value as content aggregators, similar to the way the BBC has ‘The Papers‘ articles on its website. Flipboard, by working with publishers, hence filtering out unreliable sources, could give access to a spectrum of views on, say Electric cars.
@cwebber I have been an XMPP fan for ages, and find it really frustrating that due to networking effects (of the social kind) everyone non technical is hooked on WhatsApp and how good and useful it is (and it is, I use it, but reluctantly), when the concept of Instant Messaging is good and useful. I am very concerned about Who pays for WhatsApp . People assume the WhatsApp fairy.
re: The problem of proving 'real' identity
I have written more on The Proof of Identity Problem on my blog
The problem of proving 'real' identity
As the world becomes more digital increasing numbers of organisations want us to “prove” that we are who we claim to be. There is a fundamental problem there, in that, in a digital world, if I give organisation X the proof that I am some particular person, there exists the possibility that someone will use this same information to “prove” to organisation Y that they are me.
@lcamtuf I was looking for steganographic software within Debian, and came across snowdrop, and although it did not meet my needs I appreciated the diversion into vacuum tubes and banknotes