February 2020 - Free-software-melb - lists.softwarefreedom.com.au

Mastodon
by Ben Sturmfels 13 Mar '22

13 Mar '22

Hi Folks, I'm getting into this Mastodon thing, but it'd be much more interesting if I could follow a few more people I know. Anyone care to reply with their Mastodon address? I'm @bensturmfels@mastodon.social. Cheers! Ben

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Update on browser standards
by Michael Verrenkamp 07 Sep '20

07 Sep '20

https://freesoftware.org.au/blog/update-on-browser-standards/ Update on browser standards An update on Googles browser standards About a year ago we warned about the issues of the Chromium/Blink web rendering engine and how Google is essentially dictating the direction of web technology to their advantage. https://freesoftware.org.au/blog/on-microsoft-edge-and-the-chromium-engine/ It now appears via multiple sources that this is becoming that case at least for their direct web services. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/google/google-now-bans-some-linux-web… The short take on the story is that a lot of free software browsers, some of which happen to have provided the technology base of Chrome, are now being denied access under the guise of 'security'. While these browsers combined usage makes up less than 0.1% of Internet traffic, that Google has gone out of the way to deny the users access is a dangerous precident. To make matters worse, if you make these browsers report to Google that they are 'Google Chrome' - Googles own proprietary browser, then these sites work as intended making the whole idea look more preposterous. While this warning has not been seen universally by users and it appears to be in the trail stage, this is a very worrying for the free and open internet and the software that we use on it. Essentially the software maker, being Google, is able to dictate what people can use online using their software platform and online websites. Google has now made a few actions that are determined to control how the internet is used for their own gain. Chrome is designed to dictate the technology base that people have to use, by having technology that can only be rendered properly by their browser, this sets the standards by which most web developers will aim to hit. This is to the detriment of anyone using non-google technology. It may be small user base browsers today, in future it might be things like Firefox and eventually all non-Chrome browsers - even ones that use the same 'open-source' code base. This is the situation we found the internet in at the end of the last decade with Microsoft's Internet Explorer dominating how internet technology would be shaped. It took the efforts of Mozilla and the Firefox project to finally break free from this situation. Google is also directly dictating to web content providers to use their systems such as AMP technology so that run websites on their servers, making them load faster than they typically would and this is enhanced when using their browsers so that any competition looks bad by comparison. Google uses many other techniques but these main ones are used to direct you into Googles profit machine at the expense of your choice of software and thus your privacy. Over the last few years it has become apparent that more web browser technology is being dictated down from Google and less about letting technology find its own place via dis-census. That is, it is being designed rather than evolving. Technology is being used to squeeze out competition and free software based browsers are clearly being targeted. Google has misused API's to make performance run slowly on other browsers, dictated how DRM should be implemented online so that others cannot support the same standards and in general just made a technology target that favors it over other agreed standards. The best solution to a problem is to prevent the problem in the first place. That means having to avoid using these controlling technologies and to support those that have your back covered. By supporting free software and open standards that is what you are doing. Every time you use a Free-software browser and a website doesn't work properly, let the sites admin know about it. If they don't want to fix it - don't use it. You are better off not being forced into a compromised position. In the coming decade this will only get worse. With the increasing profit needs of Google, increasing operations costs, decline in return on computer hardware improvements, ever increasing demand so of users and the apathy of those same users that makes them accept these changes with little questioning, we are slowly walking down a road that is very difficult to recover from. It took almost a decade to turn it around last time with Firefox and that was through the arrogance of Microsoft not keeping their eye on the ball and assuming that they could never fall. This time it may not be possible as it is a very deliberate and targeted attack on users choices. If we don't try to fight this then we have lost already. If we wait until it is unbearable, it will be near impossible to overcome in any meaningful way. Michael Verrenkamp -- Committee Member Free Software Australia/Melbourne Advocating for freedom in computer software. www.freesoftware.org.au

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Digital Rights Watch campaign addressing facial recognition technologies
by PuZZleDucK 22 Feb '20

22 Feb '20

Hi everyone, Someone got in touch to let me know about a crowdfunding campaign by Digital Rights Watch about automated surveillance using facial recognition technologies. It also mentions a global declaration to protect, promote and monitor residents’ and visitors’ digital rights. I've included the core of the message below for your consideration. ~~ Ben --- I'm deeply concerned about the spread of mass surveillance by facial recognition technology (facial recognition surveillance) in Australia and around the world. I hope to raise awareness and encourage action to put a stop on such mass surveillance. Most notably perhaps, facial recognition surveillance is being routinely and overtly used in China for societal control, but we need no longer look abroad to find its use. In Australia it is already being rolled out in several cities including Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne and Perth; at schools, sports stadiums and other public places. Concerns about facial recognition surveillance include: - It automatically and arbitrarily identifies and tracks innocent people. - It enables conformity, societal control and relentless crackdowns. - It is a serious threat to our dignity, privacy, freedoms and democracy. - It is often being used without our knowledge, or its use is kept secret. - It is being rolled out undemocratically and used without our consent. - It has great potential to be ubiquitous or practically unavoidable. - It exposes people's sensitive data to risks of being hacked or stolen. - It is inaccurate, particularly for women, children and people of colour. - It has no oversight and lacks a legal framework. - It may be abused for nefarious purposes other than its stated purposes. We can still stop this! Some US cities starting with San Francisco have already banned facial recognition, and the European Union is considering a moratorium of up to 5 years. However, it's up to us to build a movement in Australia to stop facial recognition surveillance. Digital Rights Watch is calling for donations to fund a campaign to build a movement in Australia. Any money that you can put towards this campaign would be highly appreciated. If you wish to donate, relevant links are right below: Digital Rights Watch campaign information: https://digitalrightswatch.org.au/stop-the-surveillance/ fundraising: https://chuffed.org/project/stop-facial-recognition Also, I encourage everyone to please take whatever action you can: - Tell people around you about this issue and your concerns. - Demand your parliamentarians, councillors and ministers to ban it. - Social media: #BanFacialRecognition #FacialRecognition #Surveillance - Anything else you can come up with: gatherings, petitions, writings, ... More about this issue: (US) https://www.banfacialrecognition.com/ ---

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FSM Feb 20th - Favourite Free Android Games Night and DEFANG Preparations
by Les Kitchen 11 Feb '20

11 Feb '20

Title: FSM Feb 20th - Favourite Free Android Games Night and DEFANG Preparations Hey freedom lovers, Almost all of us are guilty of playing games on our phones at some time (even if it was just snake), so this month at Free Software Melbourne we're going to be talking about the state of mobile gaming in free software. Over the past few years there have been some amazing advances in the quality of free software games available and there is even a new open source app store where you can get your games which we'll take a look at. We will also have a talk about preparations for a DEFANG campaign. What is DEFANG you ask? It is the act of extracting oneself from the massive influence and surveillance of large corporate entities like Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google.What can we do about it as a group? What alternatives can we suggest for people? With who and should we be talking? and How can we best frame the message? So come along to discuss DEFANGing and mobile games. After the meeting we will continue our discussions over dinner in North Melbourne a short walk away and all are welcome to join us. Thanks to Electron Workshop for hosting FreeSoftware Melbourne. Details Thursday 20th Febuary, 6:30-8:00pm Electron Workshop: 31 Arden St, North Melbourne, Victoria, 3051 Map: http://osm.org/go/uG4HWyqEz?m=&node=2556615434 Travel Tips: http://www.electronworkshop.com.au/map/

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