Of Visions, Dents and A Score and Five Years

Twenty-five years ago today, the lights turned on here at OFB. We were going to help the Linux Desktop revolution happen. We’re not there yet, but it has been an interesting ride.

Don’t Be Evil Won’t Avoid Evil

“Don’t Be Evil.” If you’ve followed the tech industry long enough, you know that used to be Google’s motto. Whatever happened to that Google? We could ask that of our attempts at mere avoidance of evil, too.

No Actors Were Harmed in the Making of this Video

My congregation got a preview of a new show set in Biblical times. By the look of the clips, it could be a spinoff of The Chosen. There’s just one peculiar difference that makes all the difference, for good or ill.

Chrome is the Antitrust Problem, Selling It is Not the Solution

Google is worse than Microsoft ever was. With a stranglehold on search and online advertising, backed with an Orwellian surveillance of users, dominating the browser market is too much. The solution cannot be to sell Chrome to OpenAI, however.

AI Meets Every Day Life

Bing's Chatbot and Quora's Poe are Contrasting, but Useful Tools

Some level of mainstream machine learning has been present in the lives of ordinary folks like you and me since iPhoto first did facial recognition well over a decade ago. Other AI or AI-like tech has become increasingly pervasive, but quite limited. Now, a flood of “experience this now” machine learning is drowning out past years’ “imagine if this were just a bit better” tech. Two tools to utilize such tech are worth your attention right now.

Sometimes the Least Bad is the Best

My good friend and fellow OFB writer Dennis E. Powell and I met years ago on a group that championed Free/Open Source software, much for the same sorts of reasons he advocates for his new phone configuration over Apple’s offerings. OFB itself was founded, in fact, to promote such open software, especially Linux, so why would I defend locked down systems from Apple? That’s a story that started 19 years ago, before the iPhone even existed.

Zippy: Big Courts, Big Tech and Big Questions

Are you ready to Zip? This episode the Faithful Snail of Speed, Tim Butler​ and Jason Kettinger​ turn to further consideration of the recent #SCOTUS religious freedom ruling, attempts to regulate #BigTech and comfort in #Job. #ZippyTheWonderSnail 🏁🐌🏁

Jason and I are having an awful lot of fun talking about news and culture on the podcast. Love to have you join us!

The Ending Platform Monopolies Act is Dangerously Misinformed

How Politicos' Low Tech Understanding Threatens High Tech Harm

I see folks on both sides of the aisle getting way to excited about a massive interference in Big Tech by Big Government. In this piece, I discuss some of the issues that are inevitable with it while also noting the real Big Tech problems we need to deal with:

Probably all of us have some frustration with one or more of the Tech Giants who are being targeted by Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s “Ending Platform Monopolies Act.” It is tempting to cheer on efforts to offer a cure to common Big Tech disease, checking their power over us. But, like a layperson coming up with the wrong treatment for a serious illness, this and other similar proposals, dangerously operate on oversimplification that threatens to make our technology much worse while ignoring the genuine Big Tech problems staring us down.