The Web has come a long way since the days of AOL and Netscape in the late ’90s. We now have websites that can responsively adapt their design to suit the device they’re being viewed on, collect metrics, and more. And yet, there’s the dark side of the advancements–ads that can circumvent ad-blockers, fingerprinting, and …
On digital privacy, Part 3: Making the Web usable in 2022 and beyond Read More »
This brief post will talk about how to quickly set up a VM for deep learning on Google Cloud. Google Cloud makes things like driver installation trivial, so this whole process should take maybe 5 minutes. Go to Google Cloud Console. If this is your first time, you may have some setup to do, but …
Simple: just uninstall everything Google, Facebook (including Instagram and WhatsApp), Microsoft, and move away from iOS/Android/Windows. Compile your own software, and live off the grid. At least, that’s what some privacy advocates seem to tell you. The reality is that a lot of services, while being terrible for privacy, do provide value and convenience. Yes, …
On digital privacy, Part 2: How to improve your online privacy Read More »
A summary of the privacy risks of using TikTok were compiled in a comment by u/nightauthor. TikTok censors Tiananmen and Tibet references. TikTok Admits It Suppressed Videos by Disabled, Queer, and Fat Creators. TikTok has been accused of secretly gathering “vast quantities” of user data and sending it to servers in China. TikTok is paying …
This is the first part on a series I’m calling, “On digital privacy”, which goes into why digital privacy matters, how you can improve yours, and how to support ongoing movements in this front. What is digital privacy? You’re already familiar with privacy in the non-digital world: you probably close your curtains at night, and …
On digital privacy, Part 1: Why your privacy matters Read More »
I recently had to set up a VM on Google Cloud, but have a GUI access to it. It took me longer than it should have to set it up between reading multiple articles online, so here’s how I ended up succeeding. Create a VM with a display device. We’ll start by creating a VM. …
How to set up a Linux VM with GUI on Google Cloud Read More »
Raleigh has a surprising number of specialty coffee shops. This is my opinion of them. Jubala Coffee: 5/5. Jubala has the best coffee in Raleigh, period. Having gone here many times, I’ve never had anything short of excellent espresso or pour overs. The staff are helpful, and they have multiple offerings for pour over and …
How much is the data on your computer worth to you? If that’s a difficult question to answer, let me rephrase it: how long would it take to obtain the data on your computer if you lost it suddenly, and what is that time worth to you? It’s worth investing at least that much in …
Let me set the scene for you: you’re a recruiter going through several hundred resumes. Each candidate has listed the usual stuff: where they went to school, where they previously worked, and their projects. How do you filter? You might filter by their experience (more experience, especially at bigger companies, is better), but you still …
Here’s the problem: a lot of people have one, maybe more, tech friends in their life. Unbeknownst to you, that person is likely the tech person for others as well. In any case, they get tech support requests from friends and family. Most of those tech people are happy to help–but without the right information, …