Meta:
\n\n\n\n\nOnce complete, our Sturgeon County data center will represent an investment of more than CAD $13 billion. We anticipate approximately 3,000 construction workers will be onsite at the peak of construction, and the data center will support more than 300 operational jobs.
\n \n[\u2026]
\n \nAs with all of our data centers, this data center\u2019s electricity use will be matched with 100% clean and renewable energy.
\n
As for the data centre itself, however\u2026
\n\nChris Varcoe, Calgary Herald:
\n\n\n\n\nLast week, Calgary-based Pembina Pipelines, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Kineticor announced they will build a new 932-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power generation facility in Sturgeon County to power the data centre, although they didn\u2019t identify a customer at the time.
\n
Chalk up another questionable outcome for the environmental record. Meta makes a lot of big promises in this news release and in an interview for Varcoe’s column, but I question whether the company can be adequately monitored, particularly by this provincial government.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-08T22:31:01-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-08T22:31:01-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/flock-ring-surveillance-state/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/flock-ring-surveillance-state/", "external_url": "https://www.engadget.com/2203000/flock-cameras-recording-license-plate/", "title": "Flock and Ring Are Champions of the Privatized Surveillance State", "content_html": "Tim Cushing, Techdirt:
\n\n\n\n\nEven if you truly believe the company you work for is capable of doing this, perhaps read the room a bit before offering up this sort of insane assertion to a journalist:
\n \n\n\n \nLangley offers a prediction: In less than 10 years, Flock\u2019s cameras, airborne and fixed, will eradicate almost all crime in the U.S.\u00a0
\nThat would be Flock Safety CEO (and co-founder) Garrett Langley speaking to Thomas Brewster of Forbes. Flock Safety has grown a lot over the past few years, following paths paved by Amazon\u2019s doorbell surveillance camera acquisition, Ring, and other upstarts in the public/private surveillance mesh network field.
\n
Ring founder Jamie Siminoff made a similarly unsubstantiated claim to Jennifer Pattison Tuohy of the Verge. The reality, however, is that cameras from companies like Flock and Ring are giving a sheen of authority to false accusations made by law enforcement.
\n\nIn September, for example, Chrisanna Elser of Colorado was falsely accused of theft by a police officer using Flock’s cameras. The entire exchange was recorded on her doorbell camera. 404 Media obtained body camera footage which showed the officer refused to see exonerating evidence, in the form of cameras on her Rivian truck and a Ring camera at her tailor’s house. This is just a mass surveillance race to the bottom. The officer in question was required to complete additional training for politeness as a result.
\n\nJoel Feder, the Drive:
\n\n\n\n\nOn an otherwise normal Sunday afternoon in late June, I\u2019d decided to take the $155,000 Range Rover I was testing that week out to run some errands with my wife. Little did I know that choice would complete a technological chain linking surveillance cameras, AI, and law enforcement that led to me and my wife being surrounded by police, hands on their guns, in a Kohl\u2019s parking lot in suburban Minnesota.
\n
Without spoiling this story too much, this was the result of a typo that affected several more vehicles than the one Feder was driving.
\n\nMax Miller, Engadget:
\n\n\n\n\nAlthough Flock cameras are often referred to as license plate readers, that’s reductive. Reading license plates is their primary task, but they can be used to track just about anyone or anything. Even without a license plate, law enforcement officers can search for things such as, hypothetically, “green sedan with American flag bumper sticker,” or, “pickup truck with paint scratches on left side and dirt bike in truck bed.” Reducing Flock ALPRs to license plate readers is a bit like calling your own eyes “Engadget article readers” simply because that’s what you’re using them for at this particular moment. The company also offers AI surveillance cameras which do track individuals.
\n
I keep thinking about Elser’s story. The way she was implicated was thanks to a network of cameras surveilling her every public move, and the way she was exonerated was because of documentary evidence from a bunch of cameras surveilling her every public move. It was not very long ago that U.S. media was freaking out about the number of CCTV cameras in the U.K., but the U.S. has quickly caught up. There are hundreds across Canada, too.
\n\nTo state the obvious, this ubiquitous surveillance has not eradicated crime. What it has done is give police the false confidence to accuse random people of crimes they did not commit. It has also allowed police to stalk people for personal reasons, despite major investors Andreessen Horowitz claiming critics “overlook the vigilant protections in place to ensure that Flock cannot be used for surveillance or to violate privacy”. That is nonsense \u2014 perhaps a lie, similar to those told by Flock. But it is not a lie any greater than the idea that we can eradicate crime if we just have more cameras with A.I. features.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-08T21:30:11-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-08T21:57:43-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/google-earth-pro-sunset/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/google-earth-pro-sunset/", "external_url": "https://support.google.com/earth/thread/448773864/update-on-google-earth-pro-desktop-app-downloads?hl=en", "title": "Google Discontinues Google Earth Pro for Desktop", "content_html": "\u201cAamir F.\u201d, on behalf of the Google Earth Team:
\n\n\n\n\nWe\u2019re continuing to make Google Earth on web and mobile (Android | iOS) the best place for people to get helpful geospatial insights. While you can continue using the legacy Google Earth Pro desktop app, it will no longer be available for new downloads beginning on June 25, 2027. We encourage using web and mobile for the best Google Earth experience.
\n
This is a two-factor loss: the MacOS app is Intel-based and, thus, will no longer be supported by the system come next year.
\n\nChristoph Gr\u00fctzner, researcher at the University of Jena:
\n\n\n\n\nDiscontinuing Google Earth desktop does not come unexpected, but it’s terrible news. The web tool is utterly useless for me and many geo folk.
\n \nThere’ll be workarounds for most features, but not for easy 3D view of historical imagery and for sharing placemarks.
\n
Carlos Moffat, faculty at the University of Delaware:
\n\n\n\n\nStill one of the most approachable and efficient tools for planning fieldwork. I used GEarth in our latest Antarctic cruise just a few months ago.
\n
On the Google Earth community thread, you will find comments from people with all sorts of interesting use cases for the desktop app. I opened the web version today to see if it supports my limited use cases \u2014 it does \u2014 and I was greeted by a dialog advertising Gemini features, of course.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-08T17:05:21-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-08T17:05:21-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/ball-admission-of-defeat/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/ball-admission-of-defeat/", "external_url": "https://www.jamesrball.com/p/a-teen-social-media-ban-is-an-admission", "title": "An Age-Gated Internet Is an Admission of Defeat", "content_html": "I am a tiny bit sorry for all the links I am posting regarding age gating. As I have written before, it is something I am still trying to work out for myself. After all, it seems straightforward why age verification is an easy way to reduce the risks to children of today’s platforms, the operators of which marketed their products directly to kids. But the trade-offs are numerous, whether from a predominantly U.S.-centric view of individual freedoms, or from the way such restrictions fail to address product safety concerns.
\n\nJames Ball, Techtris:
\n\n\n\n\nIn practice, of course, a social media ban would be widely circumvented. If we think the internet is bad for teenagers now, imagine a world in which all online access is illicit. Social platforms would have a new defence against online harms against that group: they\u2019re just not meant to be there.
\n \nProvided Facebook, X, TikTok or whoever could show it had some legally compliant age verification system, harm befalling a teenager wouldn\u2019t be their fault. They weren\u2019t supposed to be there, after all. Instead of being the negligent owners of a space marketed to teens, they\u2019re the blameless victims of trespass.
\n
Age gates are such a procedural and mediocre response. Instead of reining in whatever broader risks may be invented or exacerbated by these companies’ products — and, in particular, the unique problems of each — we are throwing up our hands and pretending it is all too complicated.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-07T14:13:10-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-07T14:13:10-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/meta-layoffs-agentic-coding/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/meta-layoffs-agentic-coding/", "external_url": "https://www.reuters.com/business/zuckerberg-says-ai-agent-development-going-slower-than-expected-2026-07-02/", "title": "Meta Laid Off Staff in Favour of Agentic Coding, and It Is Not Going Well", "content_html": "Katie Paul and Courtney Rozen, Reuters:
\n\n\n\n\nMeta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged shortcomings in the company’s sweeping restructuring at an internal town hall on Thursday, saying the systems known as AI agents had not progressed as quickly as he had expected, according to a recording heard by Reuters.
\n \n[\u2026]
\n \nIn retrospect, he said, the “trajectory of the agentic development over at least the last four months hasn’t really accelerated in the way that we expected,” and \u200bthat the company’s bets on the new structure “haven’t come to fruition yet.” Zuckerberg was referring to AI agents, automated systems that can \u200bexecute tasks on behalf of a user.
\n
A quintessentially Zuckerbergian premise: he pivots the whole company around whatever is the new thing, says oops, then reminds himself that nothing really matters as long as people keep looking at ads on Instagram.
\n\nFor all Meta’s power and its massive base of users and ad buyers, the company’s YouTube channels are fascinating places. The main channel has a bunch of promo videos for the headlining products Meta wants people to associate with a world-changing company. There are corporate presentations hosted by Zuckerberg, ads for A.I. and glasses products, and little behind-the-scenes things, and all of them have hundreds-of-thousands to millions of views. That is what you would expect for an account with 456,000 subscribers and a household name. It really wants you to believe its leadership is made of visionary stuff.
\n\nBut the way it actually makes its money \u2014 advertising \u2014 is nowhere to be found on that channel. For that, you need to go to the Meta for Business channel, which has a respectable 181,000 subscribers and lots of tips for how to use the company’s ad tools more effectively. But the view counts on those videos are, frankly, terrible. Most are in the dozens-to-hundreds; again, this is a channel with enough subscribers to get a famous silver plaque.
\n\nMeta can tell the world it is a revolutionary company while being internally honest about what it actually does. Many companies do that. But it is fairly troubling that Meta seemingly tricked itself into believing the external picture it paints.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-06T22:55:48-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-06T22:55:48-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/indonesia-age-gating/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/indonesia-age-gating/", "external_url": "https://asia.nikkei.com/life-arts/life/indonesia-s-social-media-ban-tests-families-digital-reality", "title": "Indonesia Is Also Facing Problems With Age-Gated Social Media", "content_html": "Marcel Thee, Nikkei Asia:
\n\n\n\n\nFollowing Australia’s move in late 2025, Indonesia became the first non-Western country to announce restrictions on social media access for users under 16. Rules unveiled on March 6 require platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Roblox to introduce age verification checks and remove underage accounts. The restrictions were supposed to take effect on March 28, but enforcement has been patchy, with tech companies largely ignoring the requirements and underage users continuing to access social media simply by lying about their ages.
\n
As Michael Geist put it recently, “the better the privacy protection, the less effective the ban”.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-06T21:47:47-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-06T21:47:47-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/maestral-archived/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/maestral-archived/", "external_url": "https://github.com/samschott/maestral", "title": "Maestral, My Favourite Dropbox Client for MacOS, Is No Longer Being Maintained", "content_html": "\n\n\n\n\nAs of 2026-07-28, this project is archived. It’s been a fun challenge to develop a syncing client, but unfortunately, I find too little time to invest in Maestral these days. I’ve also moved away from using Dropbox myself.
\n \nMaestral will still remain usable in the medium term, but will no longer be actively maintained or receive updates.
\n
This is a bummer \u2014 understandable, but a bummer nevertheless. The official Dropbox app is hundreds of megabytes because, of course, it is a website masquerading as a native application with the help of Electron. Maestral is comparatively svelte, has a low memory footprint, and does not use Apple’s questionable File Provider API.
\n\nI use Dropbox only for some relatively basic but necessary things, like hosting PDFs for this very website, which is why Maestral has been the perfect client for me. It is a testament to the effect of a good third-party app that I have stuck with Dropbox despite its corporate-focused strategy pivot.
\n\nAnyway, many thanks to Schott for creating such a good little utility. Maestral is open source so I have hope somebody will take the baton.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-06T17:57:48-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-06T17:57:48-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/ai-and-liability/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/ai-and-liability/", "external_url": "https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/06/ai-and-liability.html", "title": "A.I. and Liability", "content_html": "\n\n\n\n\nAI agents are agents of the person or organization that deploys them\u2014and should be treated by the law as such. If a company hired human writers to write its summaries, that company would be liable for inaccuracies in those summaries. If a company\u2019s human agent signed contracts in the company\u2019s name, that company would be bound by those contracts. And if a doctor gave dangerously wrong medical advice, they would be liable for malpractice.
\n \nTo allow businesses to hide behind the excuse of faulty AI in those same circumstances would be a massive handout to companies, and would introduce disastrous incentives for corporate misbehavior. Why hire human writers, lawyers or doctors when AIs are not only cheaper, but also absolve employers whenever they make a mistake?
\n
In his video essay nominally about artificial intelligence, economist Cahal Moran repeatedly references the book \u201cThe Unaccountability Machine\u201d by Dan Davies. I am only a couple of chapters in, but I think I am going to get a lot out of it, and I feel confident you should check it out from your local library.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-03T22:57:39-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-03T22:57:39-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/tiny-awards-nominations/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/tiny-awards-nominations/", "external_url": "https://tinyawards.net/nominations/?2026", "title": "Tiny Awards Nominations for 2026 Are Closing Soon", "content_html": "The Tiny Awards are returning for a fourth year. The past three winners have been remarkably diverse \u2014 rotating sandwiches, a one minute park experience, and a memorial to the fifty thousand names of those killed in Gaza.
\n\nIf you know of a cool, weird, eye-opening, or simply interesting web-based thing launched between July 2025 and this month, consider nominating it for the award.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-03T22:15:33-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-03T22:15:49-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/ai-environment-2026/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/ai-environment-2026/", "external_url": "https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-data-centers-water-use-901e2902", "title": "An Updated Look at the Environmental Impact of A.I. Data Centres", "content_html": "Satya Nadella at Microsoft’s Build conference this year:
\n\n\n\n\nPerhaps the most important design criteria for us is: ‘how do we earn the permission from the communities in which we are building these data centres?’
\n \nThat’s where these principles ground us and focus us. How do we ensure that the D.C.s do not increase the electricity prices? Making sure that we are replenishing all our water use. Creating jobs in the local communities for the local residents. Adding to the tax base. [\u2026]
\n
Kate Brandt, chief sustainability officer at Google:
\n\n\n\n\nWhile we remain deeply committed to sustainability, reaching our climate moonshots is getting harder. It takes energy and resources to support the growing demand for AI that powers businesses and the tools we use every day. Like everyone in our industry, we experienced a surge in electricity demand last year. Our AI infrastructure buildout is accelerating faster than the grid is decarbonizing, and long waits to connect to the grid, fragmented markets, supply chain delays, and regulatory bottlenecks continue to slow down new carbon-free energy from coming online. We\u2019re working within energy systems that simply aren’t clean enough or flexible enough yet.
\n
Christopher Mims, Wall Street Journal:
\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMicrosoft, Google and Amazon are among the tech companies spending an estimated $1 trillion on AI infrastructure this year and last. In some regions, they are using far more water than they report, depending on how data centers are powered. And their water consumption is projected to grow rapidly in coming years.
\n \nThese companies produce annual sustainability reports that include water use at their data centers. But among this group of titans, only Meta tallies water used at the power stations that feed them electricity, in addition to the water used on-site.
\n
\n\n\nGoogle\u2019s power consumption rose by 7 TWh between 2023 and 2024. That was bad. But it rose by a whopping 12 TWh between 2024 and 2025, almost double last year\u2019s increase. Google\u2019s power consumption isn\u2019t just growing \u2014 the rate at which it is growing is growing. We have a word for this: exponential growth.
\n \nEvery time I look at this chart I have to go and double check every single Google number, because it just looks so ridiculous.
\n
Google’s power consumption is now greater than the amount of electricity generated by New Zealand.
\n\nIn their environmental reports (all PDF links), Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft all mention carbon capture or direct air capture as one strategy for minimizing the impact of their emissions. Reporters for Heated and ProPublica jointly published a look at carbon capture technologies. They found that carbon capture remains a basically theoretical technology despite decades of promotion. Meanwhile, solar energy installations have dramatically outpaced even the most optimistic projections.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-03T18:29:38-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-03T18:29:38-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/canada-1870s/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/canada-1870s/", "external_url": "https://petapixel.com/2026/07/01/fascinating-photos-show-how-canada-looked-when-it-was-created-159-years-ago/", "title": "Canada in the 1870s", "content_html": "Matt Growcoot, PetaPixel:
\n\n\n\n\nDespite the technical difficulties, there are photographs of Canada in the 1860s \u2014 including one taken of the historic moment the proclamation of Confederation was read out at Market Square, Kingston, Ontario.
\n
I had no idea there was a photo taken when this proclamation was read.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-02T18:01:02-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-02T18:02:34-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/trusted-system-agent-concept/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/trusted-system-agent-concept/", "external_url": "https://www.ft.com/content/807d25c3-f4ac-4402-b815-3aa91018237d", "title": "Apple’s ‘Trusted System Agent’ Proposal Has Not Actually Been Built", "content_html": "When Apple announced Siri A.I. would not be available on E.U. iPhones or iPads at launch, it said:
\n\n\n\n\nGiven the serious risks to users, Apple designed a solution called Trusted System Agent \u2014 an intermediary that would allow virtual assistants to safely access the same features and capabilities as Siri AI for devices in the EU. Apple also shared a plan to launch Siri AI in the EU while gradually rolling out this new solution over an 18-month period. The European Commission said no. In fact, the European Commission did not agree to any of Apple\u2019s proposals.
\n
I noted the curious mix between this pitch and Apple’s claim that \u2014 translated from French \u2014 “none of its engineers are currently working on solutions to open Siri A.I. to the competition”. I interpreted this to mean Apple was no longer working on the Agent idea for giving third-party A.I. systems comparable access. On reflection, I am more confused: is Apple throwing a red herring into the mix by claiming it is not giving competitors access to Siri A.I., something which I do not think the E.U. was asking for?
\n\nIn that same post, I also reflected on how it was “refreshing to see Apple and the European Commission arguing in public and on the record instead of by leaking information to the Financial Times“.
\n\nAnyway, here are Michael Acton and Barbara Moens, reporting for the Financial Times:
\n\n\n\n\nA commission official said its contact with Apple on the idea was limited, and that it lacked a concrete proposal or details on how such an agent would work beyond the general concept. They said Apple \u201cfocused on obtaining a green light to delay the compliance\u201d.
\n \nBy contrast, the official said the commission\u2019s process with Google after changes it made to its Android operating system led to a formal consultation on how the company could comply with the DMA and avoid massive fines.
\n
To the extent Apple is not getting sufficient information about the validity of its proposals, the Commission is saying that is entirely Apple’s fault \u2014 obviously. I bet Apple thinks it is all the Commission’s fault, too. The DMA has been in effect for nearly four years and there is no reason why either party should be having so much difficulty with this proposal stage. Either the Commission is mischaracterizing Apple’s engagement, or Apple’s representatives need to be far better prepared.
\n\nOne more thing I wrote last month:
\n\n\n\n\nGiven Apple\u2019s self-imposed problems with Apple Intelligence since WWDC 2024, I question whether many people in Europe will find this particularly disruptive or upsetting, however.
\n
Well, according to Acton and Moens, I was quite wrong:
\n\n\n\n\nThe dispute triggered a fierce public backlash against the commission, with European officials reporting hundreds of emails from consumers accusing Brussels of depriving Europeans of a new technology.
\n \nOne EU official said that a commission spokesperson had received a stream of abusive messages, including several death threats.
\n
A.I. really is breaking brains. Shameful behaviour.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-02T16:02:29-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-02T16:02:29-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/playstation-digital-distribution/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/playstation-digital-distribution/", "external_url": "https://blog.playstation.com/2026/07/01/physical-disc-production-ending-in-january-2028-for-new-games-releasing-on-playstation-consoles/", "title": "Sony Announces Closure of PlayStation Store for PS3, Says Digital Distribution Is the Future", "content_html": "Sony’s Sid Shuman:
\n\n\n\n\nAs consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift away from physical discs to digital, physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be\u00a0discontinued starting January 2028.\u00a0 Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. [\u2026]
\n
Also Sony’s Sid Shuman:
\n\n\n\n\nAfter nearly two decades of supporting the PS3 console generation, we wanted to let you know we will be closing the PlayStation Store on PS3, as well as on PS Vita. [\u2026]
\n
Incredibly, these announcements were made on the very same day, as if to illustrate the fragility and centralized control of the digital-only distribution Sony says is the new standard. At least physical versions of PS3 and Vita games will continue to function. Remember how, in 2023, Sony said it would yank access to media purchased by users because Sony did not renew its license with Discovery? If we cannot actually own something, I find it difficult to believe an unpaid reproduction of that thing is actually tantamount to theft.
\n\nUpdate: Just this week, Sony said it would remove hundreds more titles from users’ accounts in the U.K. due to its licensing with StudioCanal expiring. (Also, Sony and Discovery struck a new agreement in 2023.)
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-01T15:43:55-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-01T16:00:01-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/microsoft-new-majorana-criticism/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/microsoft-new-majorana-criticism/", "external_url": "https://mathewingram.com/work/2026/07/01/is-there-a-new-quantum-processor-or-is-microsoft-lying/", "title": "Is There a New Quantum Processor or Is Microsoft Lying?", "content_html": "\n\n\n\n\nSo what, I can hear you thinking. I don\u2019t know or care what anyons are, or how gallium arsenide works. Me neither! The interesting part of this story for me is that Microsoft \u2014 a company that has a market value of $2.7 trillion and almost single-handedly created the personal computing industry \u2014 has repeatedly claimed that its Majorana processor uses these particles, and that its new version is a thousand times more reliable, and yet some other theoretical physicists have called BS on these claims, not once but several times. In other words, Microsoft keeps putting out press releases saying it has done this, and that it will build a working quantum computer using said particles within the next three years, and a number of prominent members of the industry keep saying that the company and its research scientists are full of you-know-what.
\n
It is fascinating to see academics call out one of the world’s most valuable companies for making claims that are \u201cperhaps even ‘fraudulent’\u201d.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-01T15:28:27-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-01T15:28:45-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/hide-my-email-vulnerability/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/hide-my-email-vulnerability/", "external_url": "https://easyoptouts.com/guides/apple-hide-my-email-is-leaking-email-addresses", "title": "Apple Has Known About a Hide My Email Vulnerability for Over a Year", "content_html": "Tyler Murphy and Ben, co-founders of EasyOptOuts:
\n\n\n\n\nWe’ve discovered vulnerabilities in Hide My Email that allow attackers to discover the meant-to-be-hidden address behind a Hide My Email address. We reported the issue to Apple over a year ago, and as of June 30, 2026, it still hasn’t been fixed. About a month ago, we realized that the vulnerabilities’ severity and scope are greater than we initially thought. [\u2026]
\n
Apple replied \u2014 twice \u2014 that it had fixed these vulnerabilities, but Joseph Cox of 404 Media was able to reproduce the problem as recently as earlier this week. Very few details are available right now. I have seen speculation that the original email address is revealed when someone replies using their hidden email address, but the impression I get from Cox’s reporting is that no user interaction is necessary:
\n\n\n\n\nTo test the issue I generated a new Hide My Email address and provided it to Murphy. Around five minutes later, he replied with my real email address linked to my Apple account which was supposed to be hidden.
\n
I am also unclear about how, as of May, the EasyOptOuts guys found the “vulnerability may have greater severity and scope” than initially reported. Ominous, though.
\n\nAlso, it is pretty shameful Apple has known about this for a year and has not actually fixed it. This seems to be a common occurrence when reporting bugs of any kind. There are plenty of times I have received responses to years-old bug reports claiming a fix was delivered recently, despite the issue still being easily reproducible. And those are little things; this is a bug that, if you believe this EasyOptOuts write-up and Cox’s reporting, fundamentally undermines a privacy feature that costs money.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-07-01T14:54:42-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-01T14:54:42-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/login-walls-old-reddit/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/login-walls-old-reddit/", "external_url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/modnews/comments/1ujtebf/logging_in_to_use_old_reddit/", "title": "Reddit Login-Walls ‘Old Reddit’", "content_html": "\u201cboat-botany\u201d:
\n\n\n\n\nOld Reddit\u2019s logged-out experience is a significant source of abusive scraping and automated traffic on the platform. It\u2019s also an important interface for many long-time mods and redditors. To strike the right balance between preserving your access to Old Reddit while preventing abusive scraping and automated traffic, over the next month we will start requiring everyone to log in. All logged-in users will continue to have access to Old Reddit, and this change will not impact logged-out browsing on reddit.com.
\n
“New” Reddit is a janky, slow, bloated mess of a website that mostly displays text, images, and videos. “Old” Reddit is ugly but functional. The site admins are not promising the superior version will be available forever, and they are specifically calling attention to its lack of a “modern security tech stack”. I do not think “old” Reddit is long for this world \u2014 especially since Reddit is aggressively promoting its mobile app.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-06-30T20:50:16-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-06-30T20:50:16-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/uk-cma-anti-steering/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/uk-cma-anti-steering/", "external_url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-consults-on-new-requirements-for-apple-and-googles-mobile-platforms", "title": "U.K. Competition Authority Proposes Restrictions on Apple’s Anti-Steering Rules", "content_html": "The U.K.\u2019s Competition and Markets Authority:
\n\n\n\n\n\u2018Steering\u2019 \u2013 the ability for developers to engage with customers about off\u2011platform options \u2013 is currently banned by Apple and restricted by Google in the UK. Lifting these constraints would allow developers to bypass mandatory fees set by platforms.
\n \nThe CMA\u2019s consultation includes principles to ensure that the fees Apple and Google charge for steering are fair and reasonable. Using an evidence-based framework, the CMA would expect steering fees to be lower than current app store charges, with savings passed onto UK customers or invested back into the developers\u2019 businesses to support future innovation.
\n
You will note the CMA is not saying that a smaller fee actually will result in lower prices for customers, because corporations \u2014 including developers \u2014 tend to be profit-seeking endeavours. They may increase prices when costs grow but that does not mean they do the opposite. But who cares? Lower costs permit more flexibility on pricing and, even if that money ends up in the pockets of developers instead of Apple, is that supposed to be a bad thing? Is there a reason why someone should be upset that they might pay the same amount but an indie developer gets to keep more of it?
\n\nThe proposed policies are pretty straightforward from what I can see. Among other obligations, Apple is not allowed to use or require scare tactics when users are routed to an external payment mechanism and, while it is allowed to charge a steering fee, it is not allowed to count services not used by developers offering third-payments nor double-count for services already accounted for by other developer fees. Also, the CMA calls bullshit on Apple’s claim that third-party payments are particularly risky (page 32):
\n\n\n\n\nWe note that Apple already requires the use of alternative in-app payment methods, including steering of users through a link-out, within apps offering physical goods and services. We understand that Apple has distinguished between the approach it takes to digital and physical goods and services for operational reasons, and not because of a different magnitude of risks to user security and privacy.
\n
If this CMA proposal becomes law, it would be yet another country \u2014 I believe the seventh region, counting the E.U. as one \u2014 in which Apple’s anticompetitive App Store practices have been made illegal.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-06-30T17:19:39-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-06-30T17:29:25-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/accc-amazon-contracts/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/accc-amazon-contracts/", "external_url": "https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/amazon-in-court-for-introducing-ads-to-prime-video-using-allegedly-unfair-contract-terms", "title": "Australian Competition Authority Accuses Amazon of Avaricious Contracts", "content_html": "The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission:
\n\n\n\n\nBetween November 2023 and August 2025, Amazon AU\u2019s Prime contracts with more than one million annual subscribers contained what the ACCC alleges were five unfair contract terms that allowed it to unilaterally make negative changes during the contract period without offering subscribers a remedy.
\n \nIt is also alleged that Amazon AU later relied on one or more of these unfair terms when it introduced ads to Prime Video in Australia in July 2024. Prior to that, Amazon Prime Video was almost entirely ad-free.
\n
Good. Do you know how much people would love it if governments gave adequate time and funding to competition and consumer protection authorities? Going after this bait-and-switch nonsense is something prized by just about everyone more sensible than your average libertarian. More of this, and where I live, please.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-06-29T22:05:46-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-06-29T22:05:46-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/australia-enforcement-social-media-ban/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/australia-enforcement-social-media-ban/", "external_url": "https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/australia-considers-tougher-enforcement-social-media-ban-teens-2026-06-26/", "title": "Australia Pledges Tougher Enforcement of Social Media Ban for Teens", "content_html": "Byron Kaye, Reuters:
\n\n\n\n\nAustralia’s prime minister vowed on Friday to bullet-proof laws supporting a social \u200bmedia ban for under-16s as the government prepares legal action against platforms amid a steady stream of evidence that the ban has had little impact on teen use.
\n \n[\u2026]
\n \nHe did not give further details about what steps the government would take and the regulator declined to comment.
\n
The details matter. In general, though, anything that makes age gating more effective must presumably make accessing age-gated websites more difficult for everyone. Proponents will argue that it is worth the collective sacrifice because it will add a layer of protection for children. I sympathize with that argument, but I think it over-simplifies a complex story and presents a solution with serious problems \u2014 for instance, the possibility of data leaks.
\n\nSean Hollister, the Verge:
\n\n\n\n\n\u201cWe have to do something about it as fast as possible, because people will find this and resell it. It will do damage,\u201d Sammy Azdoufal told me in May.
\n \nAzdoufal is the security researcher who used Claude Code to help discover that every DJI Romo robot vacuum cleaner and a million baby monitors and security cameras were embarrassingly easy to hack. This time, he says he discovered over 985,000 photo IDs sitting on the public internet for any half-decent hacker to steal.
\n
These I.D.s included passport scans and driver’s licenses because they have the kind of information you need to buy weed. And this is in-person purchasing at clubs in Spain. I am hopeful that age gating technology vendors are more competent, perhaps destroying their copy of a document and storing only a confirmation token. But without better oversight, we simply have no idea and should have no confidence.
\n\n(Via Bruce Schneier who, for whatever reason, links not to Hollister’s report but instead a presumably A.I.-assisted rewrite hosted at the domain previously associated with \u2014 no joke \u2014 Cambridge Analytica.)
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-06-29T21:59:01-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-06-29T21:59:01-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } }, { "id": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/claude-aesthetic/", "url": "https://pxlnv.com/linklog/claude-aesthetic/", "external_url": "https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-ai-design-aesthetic-thats-taking-over-the-internet", "title": "The Claude Aesthetic", "content_html": "Kyle Chayka, the New Yorker:
\n\n\n\n\nAs Claude Design catches on among Anthropic users, a generic-design aesthetic is emerging that\u2019s as noticeable as text-based A.I. tics such as overenthusiastic em-dash usage or \u201cnot X \u2026 but Y\u201d constructions. In slide decks and on website interfaces, there\u2019s a predominance of beige- and cream-colored backgrounds, rusty orange-hued accents, and large serif typefaces that are italicized and highlighted in zealous attempts to emphasize. Subheadings are often \u201ctracked out,\u201d in design parlance, with spaces between the letters, and there\u2019s an inexplicable prevalence of ticker-like text bars, as if the website were a cable-news show. [\u2026]
\n
An off-white background? Rusty orange accent colours? Well, darn.
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nI paused to think about what I found inspiring at this time, and what feels fundamentally me. The answer lay in a mix of blueprints, indigo dyes, and selvedge denim. Add in some mid-century Americana via compartmentalized typography, and here we are. In hindsight, I\u2019ve used shades of blue a number of times with Weightshift, but had left it behind. The blues are back.
\n
\n\n\nI am choosing to see myself as someone who is not competing with A.I. I can\u2019t anyway, on either price or so-called \u201cefficiency.\u201d I probably didn\u2019t want that kind of work anyway. I find myself being more deliberate in design decisions, and writing too, so my work resembles something made, not generated.
\n
Now that a method of mass production has reached the knowledge work sector, it is interesting to see a whole class of people try to find and eradicate any whiff of A.I. from their work, regardless of whether it was put there by human or machine.
\n\n", "date_published": "2026-06-29T20:35:47-06:00", "date_modified": "2026-06-29T20:36:12-06:00", "author": { "name": "Nick Heer" } } ] }