Coming To A State Near You

Just yesterday our governor here in Mississippi, Tater Twat Reeves, made the announcement that he was bringing broadband to the state…..actually that is BS he did nothing…the whole country will be getting money to expand across the nation.

They are the outliers in a modern age, and not by choice: More than 8 million homes and businesses in the US do not have broadband service that meets bare-minimum standards, reports Engadget. But a major push to remedy that was unveiled at the White House on Monday—a $42 billion initiative to bring high-speed internet to pretty much anyone who wants it, even if they live in far-flung rural locales deemed unprofitable by major providers. Some highlights:

Money: Every state will get at least $107 million, and 18 will get more than $1 billion, including Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Virginia. Those getting the most are Texas ($3.3 billion) and California ($1.8 billion). CNN has the complete list. Territories also get money, starting with the Virgin Islands at $27 million.

Examples: The Washington Post has a graphic listing the number of people “unserved” by the internet in various states, starting with Texas at 779,000. Other examples include North Carolina (376,000), Michigan (368,000), Virginia (364,000), Missouri (337,000), and California (306,000).

Now what? States will start submitting their plans to deliver internet later this year and unlock 20% of their allotment, per Reuters. The full amount likely won’t be released until plans are finalized in 2025. The White House goal is to have everyone in the US connected by 2030 under what’s known as the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

The pitch: “It’s the biggest investment in high-speed internet ever,” said President Biden on Monday. “Because for today’s economy to work for everyone, internet access is just as important as electricity, or water, or other basic services.” The money is part of the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.

Personally I like the idea….this world today one needs access to be successful in whatever they attempt….plus it would be good for education as long as the idiots keep their hands out of the pie.

Will this make a difference?

Do you have an opinion?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Trolls Under The Cyber Bridge

Recently my friend John wrote a piece about his experience with a cyber troll….instead of trying to explain his experience I had rather have you read his thoughts for yourself……

https://limingslynkz8.blog/2023/05/12/more-blog-changes-may-be-coming/

His experience got me to thinking about trolls and those people that come to comment on my blog and others….

First of all we need to ask…..what is a troll?

An internet troll, or online bully, deliberately tries to offend, cause trouble or directly attack people by posting derogatory comments on Facebook posts, blogs, under YouTube videos, on forums and other social media, such as Twitter and Instagram. Not every argument can be considered as trolling; a difference of opinion can lead to healthy discussion which can be invaluable on forums.

So when does acceptable banter turn into trolling? The Oxford Dictionary describes trolling as making “a deliberately offensive or provocative online posting with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them”. There are many different types of troll, such as:

The insult troll, who posts pure hateful comments just for the sake of it. They don’t need to know the person or have a reason for posting spiteful comments.

The forever offended trolls are experts in taking a humorous piece of content and turning it into something sour and offensive.

The show off troll doesn’t particularly like to take part in discussions, but prefers to share their opinion without having any particular knowledge of the subject being discussed.

The “look at me” troll isn’t interested in anything you have to say – they’re on a mission to get you to look at their page, buy something from them, download their content or follow them.

For me it is those ‘snipers’….the people that have only one opinion and interject it into whatever the post is about…..or those that have to read the title of posts and fly off into some rant that has little to do with the subject matter of the posts.

Personally, I give everyone a chance to read and comment…..and if they veer off I try to bring them back to the subject….if that does not work then I remove them.

I try to give anyone reading a chance to read the information I am writing about for I think we all should be working from the same page….whether we agree or not…..the problem is few read the included information but go off on some random BS and that is also a troll in my book.

Then there are those trolls that insult people who have commented….that is intolerable for here everyone’s opinion is valid whether we agree or disagree.

I try to keep IST civil….but there are times it is very difficult.

I hope this has been a bit helpful…..just keep on keeping on….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

iPhones….iPads….Mac–Oh My!

This is one of those times when I try to be an FYI blogger.

Are you a user of Apple products?

If so then this news may well effect you and your devices…..

Apple disclosed serious security vulnerabilities for iPhones, iPads and Macs that could potentially allow attackers to take complete control of these devices, the AP reports. Apple released two security reports about the issue on Wednesday, although they didn’t receive wide attention outside of tech publications. Apple’s explanation of the vulnerability means a hacker could get “full admin access” to the device. That would allow intruders to impersonate the device’s owner and subsequently run any software in their name, said Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security.

Security experts have advised users to update affected devices—the iPhone6S and later models; several models of the iPad, including the 5th generation and later, all iPad Pro models and the iPad Air 2; and Mac computers running MacOS Monterey. The flaw also affects some iPod models. Apple did not say in the reports how, where or by whom the vulnerabilities were discovered. In all cases, it cited an anonymous researcher. Commercial spyware companies such as Israel’s NSO Group are known for identifying and taking advantage of such flaws, exploiting them in malware that surreptitiously infects targets’ smartphones, siphons their contents and surveils the targets in real time.

NSO Group has been blacklisted by the US Commerce Department. Its spyware is known to have been used in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America against journalists, dissidents and human rights activists. Security researcher Will Strafach said he had seen no technical analysis of the vulnerabilities that Apple has just patched. The company has previously acknowledged similarly serious flaws and, in what Strafach estimated to be perhaps a dozen occasions, has noted that it was aware of reports that such security holes had being exploited.

Please if you use Apple devices check into the meat of this announcement….better safe than sorry.

This concludes my Public Safety Announcement (PSA)…..I retrun you to my regular posts…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Beware Of Your ‘Smart’ Devices

It is Sunday and time for a little FYI…..

These day it seems that devices will do everything you use to do for yourself short of wiping your butt.

I am an old fart so I prefer to turn the TV on myself….make my own coffee and answer the door bell…..but the generation now has come to depend on their smart devices for everything short of impregnating their partners.

But please beware…..

Have you ever felt a creeping sensation that someone’s watching you? Then you turn around and you don’t see anything out of the ordinary. Depending on where you were, though, you might not have been completely imagining it. There are billions of things sensing you every day. They are everywhere, hidden in plain sight – inside your TV, fridge, car and office. These things know more about you than you might imagine, and many of them communicate that information over the internet.

Back in 2007, it would have been hard to imagine the revolution of useful apps and services that smartphones ushered in. But they came with a cost in terms of intrusiveness and loss of privacy. As computer scientists who study data management and privacy, we find that with internet connectivity extended to devices in homes, offices and cities, privacy is in more danger than ever.

Your appliances, car and home are designed to make your life easier and automate tasks you perform daily: switch lights on and off when you enter and exit a room, remind you that your tomatoes are about to go bad, personalize the temperature of the house depending on the weather and preferences of each person in the household.

To do their magic, they need the internet to reach out for help and correlate data. Without internet access, your smart thermostat can collect data about you, but it doesn’t know what the weather forecast is, and it isn’t powerful enough to process all of the information to decide what to do.

https://theconversation.com/smart-devices-spy-on-you-2-computer-scientists-explain-how-the-internet-of-things-can-violate-your-privacy-174579

Damn! I am lazy but I still had rather to do things for myself. I will not allow any of these devices in my home….I may have a smart phone but that is the extent of it for me.

BEWARE!

Guard your life carefully.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Social Media Is The Mind Killer

For Paul Atreides of “Dune” fame, it was fear that was the mind killer….but we have gone further…..and in my opinion is far more dangerous than simple fear.

I have never been a fan of what is called “social media”……I think it is the most mind numbing activity a human can delve into….me I use Twitter as a news feed with very little interaction other than a few friends…..social media is being used to feed the wild thoughts and hopes of insane morons and lazy d/bags…..and then there is the so-called “influencers”…..A social media influencer is someone who wields that influence through social media. The form of influence can vary and no two influencers are the same. The right influencer can reach your target audience, build trust, and drive engagement. They create original, engaging content.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt suggested Wednesday that social networks are “amplifiers for idiots” and that the U.S. government’s new antitrust lawsuit targeting the search engine giant is baseless.

Schmidt’s remarks came during an interview at a technology conference hosted by the Wall Street Journal just a day after the Justice Department announced the landmark case.

…

Social network platforms, said Schmidt, are deserving of regulatory scrutiny.

“The most obvious candidate for regulation are the excesses in the social-networking space,” said Schmidt.

“The concept of social networks, broadly speaking, as amplifiers for idiots and crazy people is not what we intended,” he said, adding, “Unless the industry gets its act together in a really clever way, there will be regulation.”

The former executive’s comments came amid growing questions about efforts social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter have made to promote or censor news stories and hate speech and to control misinformation.

(Common Dreams)

These so-called “influencers” are slowly destroying the system that took 200+ years of work….and they are NOT all that….some spread lies and conspiracies that have NO foot in reality.

I think that the rise of social media has plunged us into age of darkness……and propaganda…..as you might imagine I have given my thoughts of this as well….in essence social media is killing the mind and the processes needed for rational thought.

https://lobotero.com/2018/04/10/the-sins-of-social-media/

https://lobotero.com/2018/10/05/propaganda-and-social-media/

Yes I am an old fart….and this is basically my social networking scheme….

Be well….be safe……

“lego ergo scribo”

Internet Kill Switch

Closing Thought–05Oct20

Most of us bloggers have made it known that we are part of the defense of a open internet…..but did you know that there is the possibility that Trump or a future president being able to turn off the internet on a whim?

Ever hear of the Communications Act or 1934? How about Section 706 of that Act?

Do not run for the Google button….I can help…..

The Act is here…..

Click to access 1934new.pdf

Section 706 is the most telling….if you are allergic to reading then here is the pertinent section…

SEC. 706. [47 U.S.C. 606] WAR EMERGENCY–POWERS OFPRESIDENT.(a) During the continuance of a war in which the United States is engaged,the President is authorized, if he finds it necessary for the national defense andsecurity, to direct that such communications as in his judgment may be essential tothe national defense and security shall have preference or priority with any carriersubject to this Act. He may give these directions at and for such times as he maydetermine, and may modify, change, suspend, or annul them and for any suchpurpose he is hereby authorized to issue orders directly, or through such person orpersons as he designates for the purpose, or through the Commission. Any carriercomplying with any such order or direction or preference or priority hereinauthorized shall be exempt from any and all provisions in existing law imposingcivil or criminal penalties, obligations, or liabilities upon carriers by reason ofgiving preference or priority in compliance with such order or direction.

I bring all this up because there are a couple of repres that are trying to prevent any interruptions…..

Civil libertarians on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers of Congress have joined forces to call for canceling a little-known executive power.

Sens. Rand Paul (R–Ky.), Ron Wyden (D–Ore), and Gary Peters (D–Mich.), along with Reps. Tulsi Gabbard (D–Hawaii) and Thomas Massie (R–Ky.), introduced bills this week to abolish the so-called “internet kill switch”—a sweeping emergency executive authority over communications technology that predates World War II.

“No president from either party should have the sole power to shut down or take control of the internet or any other of our communication channels during an emergency,” Paul argued in a statement announcing the Unplug the Internet Kill Switch Act.

Rand Paul, Tulsi Gabbard, Thomas Massie, Ron Wyden Join Forces To Unplug the President’s ‘Internet Kill Switch’

I am not a big fan of Rand Paul but I will applaud his attempt here…as well as the candidate that I was supporting until she dropped out Tulsi Gabbard.

Learn Stuff!

“lego ergo scribo”

That Internet!

I try to help my readers understand a wide array of subjects…..FYI if you will……today let’s look at the internet.

Looks like today is gonna be history day…..Learn Stuff!

Do you know where the internet idea came from?

Was it from the US military of the 1960s? Or maybe it was 1991 and from Tim Berners-Lee? Some think it was Al Gore…..well all those guesses would be mistaken.

The internet as we know it was started in 1991 when Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. The idea, first developed by the US military in the 1960s, had been around forever, and not just because of science fiction, but rather a prediction made by a witch in the 15th century.

Ursula Southeil, better known as Mother Shipton, lived during the 15th century but her predictions had consequences even to the 19th century. According to The Vintage News, Ursula was born in a cave in 1488. Her mother, reports The Yorkshire Post, was a 15-year old orphan named Agatha. People at the time treated the small family horribly, especially because young Ursula supposedly had a large crooked nose, a hunched back, and twisted legs. Ursula studied the forest and discovered she could tell the future.

After she married a builder named Toby Shipton, Ursula, now called Mother Shipton, began going around towns telling futures and making prophecies. Her prediction “around the world, men’s thoughts will fly. Quick as the twinkling of an eye” is widely believed to be about the internet. Her other predictions included the Black Plague, the Great Fire of London, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and the end of the world.

https://www.grunge.com/233562/the-truth-about-the-english-witch-who-predicted-the-internet/

Now the record has been corrected.

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

In Saner Thought

"It is the duty of every man, as far as his ability extends, to detect and expose delusion and error"..Thomas Paine

Tag: Internet

Coming To A State Near You

Trolls Under The Cyber Bridge

iPhones….iPads….Mac–Oh My!

Internet Kill Switch

That Internet!