diafygi

Has anyone written a blog post about OAuth authorization server UI design?

Next, if you have a good password manager that can auto-fill logins, set Firefox to delete all cookies (and everything else) when you close the browser. That way, every time you open your browser you're starting from a clean slate. I promise you'll quickly get used to logging in every time, and it won't be that hard.

Next, enable Firefox's Multi-Account Containers add-on. This basically allows you to isolate sites you commonly use into their own cookie realms. Create containers for the sites you want to isolate (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) and set those domains to always open in that domain's container. That way, when you click on a link to Facebook it will auto open a new tab in that Facebook container.

Next, install uBlock Origin. I don't think there's a need to install Privacy Badger since you're already blocking third party cookies, but others please correct me.

Next, for websites that don't work with uBlock Origin, create a dedicated container for that domain and set to always open in that container. Then, whitelist in uBlock Origin whatever tracker on that site you need to run things properly. That way, the tracker is isolated to just that domain's container.

Overall, Firefox's Multi-Account Containers are extremely powerful for isolating site cookies and trackers. I wish they would allow you to set different cookie settings per container, so you could by default clear cookies when you close Firefox and add exceptions for specific containers, but even given that deficiency, is still the most powerful browser feature that's come out since tabs.

"Don't use your fingerprint to lock/unlock devices."

"Use a long passphrase to lock your devices."

Seems touch id and face id is exactly what security experts tell you not to do.

What about putting buttons along the sides of your phone and using chorded combinations as your passcode? Seems squeezing those buttons would be much harder to observe or record (intentionally or unintentionally).

What's the best way of meeting that checkbox for Mac and Linux laptops?

It seems we are on the path to repeat history with software engineering, what with how software and the internet is being developed with such little regard for public safety and long term consequences.

Unfortunately, it appears that the "free love" phase of software engineering is coming to an end, as society now relies more and more on software and major tech players for life and safety. It's starting to get real for software engineering.

Luckily, other engineering fields have been here before, so this sort of transition shouldn't be anything new.

Relevant Tom Scott video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZM9YdO_QKk

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/xcel-solicitation-returns-i...

Up until now, the typical pre-approved business model was where the utility would go to the commission and say they needed to build something (e.g. a new substation), the commission would approve it, and the utility could then charge their customers for the cost to build plus a fixed rate of return (e.g. $300m + 7%).

However, that business model breaks down when you start moving away from a centralized grid, since customers are able to start using alternatives to your infrastructure (e.g. solar on their roof and batteries in their garage).

So, commissions are trying to figure out new business models that will ensure the continued operation of utilities while still imcentivizing reduction of carbon emissions. One way being explored in Hawaii is called "performance-based ratemaking" but is still being figured out. However, the interesting going (to my company, at least) is the increasing need for software and communication in these new business models. For performance-based returns to happen, you need to measure performance, which means software.

Anyway, it's a very interesting time in the utility sector, and I think there's a lot of opportunity for the tech sector to come in and have a big part of it. Unfortunately, most tech entrepreneurs are allergic to regulated sectors.

I think this part is particularly relevant to the HN community. As we reach higher and higher penetration of renewables on the grid, we will need to dead with the intermittency more and more. A common phrase I hear at utility conferences nowadays is, "We used to forecast load and deploy generation, but in the future, we will be forecasting generation and deploying load."

I think this area will be the next wave of innovation that needs to happen in the energy transition, and it's going to be primarily software driven. Smart load management will be key to avoiding huge storage and infrastructure capital expenses. For example, in Hawaii, they are starting to explore new utility business models that don't just rely on a fixed rate of return for capital spent.

Anyway, as we cross 50%+ penetration of renewables, I think software is going to take a leading roll in connecting and managing everything so we can have the flexibility we need on the grid.

Anyone know and marketing firms that are privacy aware/friendly?

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/record-low-sola...

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/xcel-retire-coa...

http://ieefa.org/ieefa-u-s-solar-plus-storage-is-undermining...

First, oil-based energy doesn't compete with solar to a large extent. That will change as EVs get more popular, but outside of islands like Hawaii, oil isn't used much for electricity generation (where solar competes).

Second, solar is already attractive for most new generation scenarios in many locations, including dispactchable situations where you also need storage. It's getting so cheap that it's starting to compete with existing generation.

http://ieefa.org/ieefa-u-s-solar-plus-storage-is-undermining...

That will never happen, unless you intentionally jump through several hoops to shoot yourself in the foot.

For example, there's a company called OhmConnect that does aggregated demand response. You can sign up for it, optionally connect your smart thermostat/plugs, and bank account. When there's going to be a high load period, OhmConnect notifies you asking if you want to participate in an upcoming "Ohm Hour". If you do, they will pay you $5-10 for your trouble. So, if you had a vacation the next day, of course you wouldn't opt-in to the demand response event.

Disclosure: I am on a nonprofit board with OhmConnect.

So you won't ever actually have a scenario you describe where a private EV will have it's battery depleted.

However, I wouldn't be surprised if the electrification of transportation ends up making batteries be the default "long term" storage option by using EVs as flexible grid storage. There's going to be 100x more batteries rolling around than what you'd need to stabilize the grid (e.g. peakers), so I wouldn't be surprised if the grid asks more from EVs than just stability so it doesn't have to spend the additional capital for seasonal storage.

All we want is a place to host a bug bounty page and allow us to pay rewards through it. The only reason I'd prefer hosting that on a platform rather than just making a bug bounty page on our own site is that I feel bounty hunters would trust it more, since it's not just some random page on a company website they've never heard of before.

If you (or another teammate) have to write a use-case snippet of code similar to how you want your thing to be used, based on your docs, you often find friction points and inconsistencies that should be streamlined and simplified.

It allows you to start iterating much faster than having to wait until you have a functioning product. It also often lets you avoid sunk cost fallacies where you run into that friction point later but don't want to go back and rewrite/redesign code to streamline the friction point.

For example, I set my Mom up with a Firefox configuration that doesn't remember anything when you close the window (basically incognito by default). She has used that configuration for years and never complained. In fact, she always compliments me for how safe and reliable I've made her browser. When she sees other people on other computers just load their logged-in websites without having to log in, she thinks they're totally unsafe and exposed.

She associates closing the window == back to safety, so whenever she ends up on a scary website or sees a scary popup, she just closes firefox and opens it back up again. It's wonderful. I didn't have to teach her about cookies or sessions or anything. All I had to teach her was that if she ever got into a situation where she didn't know what to do, just close the window and you're safe again.

Anyway, I feel pretty strongly that if browsers were incognito by default and you had to opt-in to persist sessions (e.g. whitelist cookies), general users would get used to it pretty quickly and end up thinking the time back before was a very unsafe place (like the free love era before the AIDS epidemic).

It seems like everyone is trying to find a way to make a global trust network (keybase, LinkedIn, etc.), when all you need most of the time are small circles of trust (dev groups, activism organizations, etc.).

I think the decentralized nature of WoT is actually a better way of structuring things, since it makes mass surveillance much more difficult.

In my experience (the energy sector), most of the people I interact with on Zoom would definitely fall for joining some random meeting that popped up. They are incredibly good at their field of expertise, but certainly doofuses when it comes to knowing how to click on things in zoom.

* Get a job in cleantech.

I got into the climate-change fighting industry 6 years ago when I became a project engineer for a commercial solar company, then eventually I started my own cleantech software company. By working in the industry, I have had orders of magnitude more impact on fighting climate change than adjusting my lifestyle to be more carbon neutral.

Luckily for the HN crowd, there's a huge need for software and other tech skills (data science, sysadmin, etc.) needed for the energy transition. With the deployment of so much "intermittent" generation like solar and wind, we need tons of software and communications infrastructure to run a new "flexible" grid.

So if you're thinking what can you to help fight climate change, the best thing you can do is get a job in the climate change fighting industry. Start googling around for jobs with climate change keywords ("solar", "wind", "clean energy", etc.). Start showing up to clean energy events (if you live in the bay area, check out my bayareaenergyevents.com). There's so many people in this space who came from other sectors, and it's incredibly easy to move up or start your own company doing some specific thing you think is needed for the fight.