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Following word that Stallman – who resigned from the FSF amid an outcry over his offensive remarks, past behavior, and warped opinions – had returned to the fold, open source organizations and members of the technical community responded with disbelief and dismay.

What drama, just yikes…

One of such more subtle methods involves CNAME. A CNAME record, which is short for 'Canonical Name record', is a type of DNS record that maps one domain name (an alias) to another (the canonical name), instead of mapping this domain directly to an IP address. It's a basic function used by millions of websites to create unique subdomains for different services, such as mail, search, etc. To allow for seamless interaction, the subdomains are trusted just like the primary domain.

CNAME-cloaked tracking abuses this fundamental mechanic and creates many more problems than just unwelcome data collection.

Wait, actually, we did just that. Thanks to our own DNS server, plus a set of standalone and browser-based content blocking tools, we've been able to hunt the hunters (or rather track the trackers), list them, and block them. Now we're making the full list of all known CNAME-cloaked trackers publicly available as a part of the AdGuard Tracking Protection Filter. We've also published it on GitHub so that other content blockers could use it. This is the most complete auto-updating repository of actively used hidden trackers by now, consisting of more than 6000 entries. The list is to be updated on a regular basis to add new hidden trackers as they're being detected.

Be sure to add this repo to your DNS service folks whether is a PiHole or NextDNS. Adguard already has this.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the Texas-based theater chain that has become a favorite with cinephiles for its dine-in service and fan-forward approach to exhibition, has filed for Chapter 11. The bankruptcy filing comes as part of an asset purchase agreement with Altamont Capital Partners, a previous investor in the company, as well as affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, a new backer. The company says that operations will continue as normal and the Chapter 11 process and sale will give it the capital it needs to continue operating as it emerges from a public health crisis that left many of its locations closed for months. The agreement involves “the sale of substantially all its assets.”

Private equity is going to kill its soul and that makes me so bummed since its a small driving distance from where I live. I have a friend that used to work at Alamo as a intern and I have been to the Yonkers, NY location several times over the years so this does hurt. Things will change and not for the better.

Yet another pandemic casualty in a long line. :(

As of Aug. 31, 2021, the PlayStation Store will stop offering movie and TV show purchases and rentals. Sony said it is exiting the transactional VOD business — after more than a decade — because it sees more PlayStation users adopting free and subscription streaming-video services.

“At SIE, we strive to provide the best entertainment experience for PlayStation fans, and that means evolving our offerings as customer needs change,” Vanessa Lee, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s head of video business, wrote in a blog post Tuesday. “We’ve seen tremendous growth from PlayStation fans using subscription-based and ad-based entertainment streaming services on our consoles.”

But it’s a crowded space, with rivals including Apple’s iTunes, Amazon Video, Comcast-owned Fandango and Vudu, Google Play and Roku. Sony evidently concluded that incremental TVOD revenue generated via the PlayStation Store wouldn’t be worth the ongoing investment required to keep it going.

Sony exiting the PlayStation video buying and renting business is just another reminder to invest more on physical media.

He uploaded the photo to a stock photo agency he helped co-found, and then two years later his stock photo agency was acquired by another stock photo agency that was regularly used by Microsoft. Microsoft found O’Rear’s hill shot, paid an undisclosed-but-exorbitant sum for all rights to it in perpetuity (reportedly in the low six figures) and then proceeded to make it Windows XP’s default desktop wallpaper.

That wallpaper was also ultimately a central figure in an extraordinary $1 billion marketing campaign for the operating system.

More than 400 million copies of Windows XP were sold in its first five years, and the operating system wasn't retired until 2014, meaning more than a billion people have very likely seen O’Rear’s photo without ever realizing it was from the Bay Area.

A great and cool interview about a piece of tech history.

The eight-minute clip begins with a scene from the duo’s 2006 film “Electroma” that features the pair, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo — who for many years have concealed their features behind a robot concept — walking around the desert, wearing in their familiar space helmets and leather jackets. After a few moments, one of the members looks at the other, removes his jacket and reveals an energy pack on the back. The other touches a button on the pack. The first member walks away quickly, and then explodes.

The scene cuts to a sunset, or possibly a sunrise, as a choral version of the group’s song “Touch” plays.

End of an era. At least Daft Punk went out with a bang.

We’re making changes to how Free users access LastPass across device types. LastPass offers access across two device types – computers (including all browsers running on desktops and laptops) or mobile devices (including mobile phones, smart watches, and tablets). Starting March 16th, 2021, LastPass Free will only include access on unlimited devices of one type.

In addition to this change, as of May 17th, 2021, email support will only be available for Premium and Families customers. LastPass Free users will always have access to our Support Center which has a robust library of self-help resources available 24/7 plus access to our LastPass Community, which is actively monitored by LastPass specialists. Free users will continue to receive email support for technical issues until May 16th to assist through the transition of selecting an active device type. Learn more about our customer support offerings in our Support Center.

Not good here. Best to switch to Bitwarden, 1Password, KeePass, or Enpass. Better yet, self-host or go local storage!

One can say that the writing was always on the wall for Blue Sky, especially after Disney acquired 20th Century Studios and its assets in March 2019. However, the past year has been challenging for Disney on many fronts, of course due to the pandemic — not just on the studio side but also with theme park closures and cruise line dockings. Sustaining a third feature animation studio was no longer viable for Disney given the current economic realities caused by Covid.

The last day for Blue Sky will be in April. The number of Blue Sky employees being impacted numbers 450. Disney will be working with the employees at the Greenwich, CT-based studio to explore open positions at the other internal studios.

Damn, we'll likely never get that Nimona film…

Basically, this bill takes nearly every single idea that people who want there to be less speech online have had, and dumped it all into one bill. There's a lot in there, and nearly all of it is bad. Last week I wrote about a draft bill in the House that suggested carving out civil rights law from Section 230. In my analysis of that bill, I noted that it appeared to come from a well meaning place, but was simply misguided. This bill, which also includes a carveout for civil rights law, does not come from a well meaning place. The drafters of the bill are either malicious or ignorant. It's not a good look for Senators Warner, Hirono, and Klobuchar.

A key thing to recognize is that it's obvious that the drafters of this bill believe the myth that 230 protects "big" tech companies. The bill is written as if it is only talking about Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Warner handwaves away the idea that the bill would destroy smaller companies in his announcement by ridiculously (and against all evidence to the contrary) saying that startups are too small to sue, so it would only be used against larger companies.

The most devious and nefarious part of this is that the bill effectively wipes out Section 230 protections for the entire internet while pretending it's just a minor change. This bill is about as close to a full repeal of Section 230 as you can get realistically. In the press release about the bill, Warner claims that it's just a tweak to 230 because "these changes to Section 230 do not guarantee that platforms will be held liable in all, or even most, cases," but that would also be true with repeal. Because most things that people want to blame on internet websites are not actually violations of the law. And, assuming a form of distributor liability is what the courts decide on, that would mean websites wouldn't be liable for most things on their site anyway -- but would result in long and costly legal battles before they could prove that.

And this bill guarantees the same exact thing. The biggest, most consequential change, is that it takes the famous "26 words," which are Section (c)(1) of the current law, removes the protections entirely if money exchanges hands, and then changes it from an immunity to merely "an affirmative defense." That may not seem like much, but it basically wipes out all of the actual benefits of 230.

This would kill a LOT of smaller US-based websites should this goes into law, including Techdirt and it would cause non-US sites to block access to US users like 10C. You talk about killing an open web and internet? This would be it.

“The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson,” Wood wrote. “He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”

In a show of solidarity, at least four other women posted their own allegations against Manson, detailing harrowing experiences that they claim included sexual assault, psychological abuse, and/or various forms of coercion, violence, and intimidation. Manson has denied similar allegations in the past. His representatives were not immediately available for a comment, but his team has “categorically denied” similar accusations in the past.

I knew this for years that it was indeed him, now she finally names him. This California Senate testimony Evan gave in 2019 broke me into tears when it was read.