Hacker News Reader

notinmykernelon MicroPython on Flipper Zero

you can execute a suite of BLE, wifi, and IR attacks. You can target NFC and RFID. You can add scripts and boards to boost signal and functionality. You know, fun stuff.

notinmykernelon FTC: Vast Surveillance of Users by Social Media and Video Streaming Companies

See also: "How advertisers became NSA's best friend"[1].

[1]https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/12/5204196/how-advertisers-...

notinmykernelon Amazon tells employees to return to office five days a week

For many, many people, (majority of programmers, really) morals don't have a price tag. That number could be anything. When you make a programmer choose between some number and customer damage, it becomes increasingly harder to damage the end-customer. This is known as "prioritizing customer obsession" over business function (which is what we're supposed to do).

Please, everyone, if there has to be a choice, save us (civilization) not them (the CEOs). Please. Think critically.

notinmykernelon Amazon tells employees to return to office five days a week

Well, if you are R&D, you may be working on a ~~missile~~ drone project for Amazon. So, one and the same.

notinmykernelon Amazon tells employees to return to office five days a week

100% NOT worth it. Don't be fooled by any stories to the contrary. Amazon is a very abusive workplace.

notinmykernelon The US Military Is Not Ready for the New Era of Warfare

Is this the lobbyists for military industrial complex putting out propaganda in hopes of increasing the US military budget? I think so.

notinmykernelon Interview Learnings from Former CIA Intelligence Officer

Missing is the repeated attempts to describe algorithms, and how social media platforms like Tiktok "actually" work. It's one thing to talk from experience, it's another to talk about experience.

On second thought, maybe it was inferred from the section Detecting Lies.

notinmykernelon FTC Pushed to Crack Down on Companies That Ruin Hardware via Software Updates

Amazon teams pushed bloatware that bricked older Firesticks, resulting in a boost in the sale of new Firesticks. People were promoted for it.

notinmykernelon FTC Pushed to Crack Down on Companies That Ruin Hardware via Software Updates

Can't wait for Amazon to be held responsible for force-bricking Firesticks in order to drive new sales, alongside their paywalling of Ring devices, after not disclosing the multiple data breaches that occurred.

notinmykernelon FBI recommends using an ad blocker (2022)

FBI has also warned against placement of smart home assistants (e.g. Alexa) in bathroom and bedroom.

notinmykernelon Amazon's Remarkable Alexa will reportedly run on Claude AI, cost $5-10 per month

but we can already use Claude AI for free...

notinmykernelon Amazon says Alexa responses on voting for Trump vs. Harris was error, now fixed

Because it was trained on facts.

notinmykernelon Companies Lobby Against Giving the Military the Right to Repair

How is this legal in the USA today? With a debt of $34 trillion, and military being the primary financial burden?

Get all the way out of here with this. Any company that is lobbying against right to repair should have to pay a fine per item that breaks. After a certain breakage percentage, their ability to obtain future government contracts is revoked for a period of 1 year, and for repeated infractions revocation is 5 years.

notinmykernelon Reddit Is Down

... you mean AWS?

https://downdetector.com/status/aws-amazon-web-services/

notinmykernelon Telegram repeatedly refuses to join child protection schemes

I think a more valid comparison is WhatsApp, where Zuckerberg allows many governments ability to "peek" into user metadata at-will.

notinmykernelon Amazon aims to launch delayed AI Alexa subscription in October

The comment thread does not disappoint: https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1f2x5cc/after_a...

notinmykernelon Telegram repeatedly refuses to join child protection schemes

Backdooring a social media platform to undermine encryption "in the name of children"... It's for child safety alone. Sure. ::insert eye roll::

notinmykernelon Tattoo ink sold on Amazon has high levels of weird and rare bacteria

Agree with this sentiment.

notinmykernelon Amazon is bricking primary feature on $160 Echo device after 1 year

Amazon management is very aware. They just do not care. Legal has even instructed teams in this regard. I hope FTC will drop the hammer on Amazon.

notinmykernelon Amazon is bricking primary feature on $160 Echo device after 1 year

It was, until Alexa decided to charge for every "built-in" feature. It's similar to the "perks" of Amazon Prime.

Both products (Alexa and Prime) are subpar, predatory offerings. I've moved on from both. I encourage everyone to do the same.

notinmykernelon Jasse claims Amazon Q saved 4500 years of dev work

When Amazon executives like CEO Andy Jassy continue to make baseless and arguably fraudulent claims such as this, what is the legal recourse?

notinmykernelon Exxon still expects fossil fuels to make up the majority of energy in 25 years

Because they lobby against advancement of renewable energy?

notinmykernelon Windows 0-day was exploited by North Korea to install advanced rootkit

I'm assuming the executives will be receiving a pay decrease and reduced stock options due to their poor performance[1].

[1]https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/05/micro...

notinmykernelon Microsoft launches an AI-powered copy-and-paste tool

Didn't realize copy-paste required AI. Microsoft == Malware.

notinmykernelon US Gov Sues Georgia Institute of Technology for Cybersecurity Violations

More like UC Merced, not UC Berkeley. UC Berkeley has Lawrence Berkeley Lab.

It's quite common for universities to acquire government contracts. It's not so common to fail to meet the NOC, SOC, and/or Endpoint Protection requirements entailed in those contracts. It's even less common to lie to DoD about it.

If you want the money and the prestige, maintain compliance. It's not that difficult.

notinmykernelon In a leaked recording, AWS CEO tells most developers could stop coding soon

Agreed. It's this kind of delusion that gets promoted to the top. Meanwhile talented persons capable of building SOTA solutions are let go in droves.

Amazon ain't it. "Democratizing AI" is a cover for the fact that Amazon has no models worthy of contention, so they have to save face by funding and serving up other company's models.

One could argue, "oh they have that guy from AllenAI." But where are AllenAI's code generation models? Where are AllenAI's LLMs? Nowhere.

Amazon leadership is horribly incompetent.

notinmykernelon Ask HN: Alternatives to Google

- Microsoft Outlook as a replacement for Gmail is wild.

- Amazon Photos is just as bad as Google Photos.

notinmykernelon Are there any positive uses of our online data beyond targeted advertising?

Human behaviors are commodities. For every "good" there is a "bad" under active exploitation.

For instance, health information can be used to recommend relevant product, and it can be sold to insurance companies who will dynamically adjust your rates based on your "health profile." All from an invasive tracking pixel. Thanks, Meta.

The only positive outcome is increased data privacy standards.