Nick @internic@social.cleverlibre.org

US FCC reaffirms decision to reject the long-form application of Elon Musk's Starlink internet satellite system to receive public support through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program, based on the applicant’s failure to meet the program requirements.

The numbers are in: X made $2.5 billion in revenue this year, compared to roughly $5 billion in 2021 and $4.4 billion in 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-12/musk-s-x-2023-ad-sales-projected-to-slump-to-about-2-5-billion?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTcwMjQxNjQ0NywiZXhwIjoxNzAzMDIxMjQ3LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTNTdSS0dEV1gyUFMwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJDRTY1NERDODFGN0E0RTA4QjUyOTBEQTRFMjhFOTQ0RiJ9.v7liD0ZngdncaYFPf3w35Mf0NiE0VEHzfWMbUiHhmlk

Broadcom ends VMware perpetual license sales, testing customers and partners

Already-purchased licenses can still be used but will eventually lose support.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/12/broadcom-ends-vmware-perpetual-license-sales-testing-customers-and-partners/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Tesla again threatens to sue Cybertruck buyers who try to resell the cars

Clause deleted from public version of terms is in the contract sent to buyers.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/12/tesla-again-threatens-to-sue-cybertruck-buyers-who-try-to-resell-the-cars/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Elon Musk reverses Twitter ban of Sandy Hook shooting-denier Alex Jones

Musk asked Jones to address "the whole Sandy Hook thing" in interview on X.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/12/elon-musk-reverses-twitter-ban-of-sandy-hook-shooting-denier-alex-jones/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Apple’s biggest open source projects, Swift and WebKit, continue to regularly post on Twitter, and have no active presence on Mastodon.

it took a really long time to get here but I finally have a proper Atari 2600 Myst cartridge...

Why are so many American pedestrians being killed by car-drivers at night?

Fascinating piece in the New York Times (free link here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/11/upshot/nighttime-deaths.html?unlocked_article_code=1.FE0.uEMf.FuV3jZhYzZHu&hpgrp=k-abar&smid=url-share) on this question

After years of decline, the number of pedestrians killed by drivers began to rise in 2008

No-one's quite sure why

Embiggified vehicles don't seem to be the cause ..

Thouhg distracted driving does seem to be part of it

Also: more people living alongside massive highway-eseque suburban roads

Super multi-factorial

SCOTUS refuses to take up a case about whether state and local governments can enforce laws banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children. https://apnews.com/article/af3539f21f8618218b5029236182395d

‘Tis the season to remember that all of Santa’s reindeer are female.

You see, males drop their antlers after the Autumn mating season, so since the world’s most celebrated reindeer are always depicted with spectacular antlers, we must assume that Ol’ Saint Nick’s entire intrepid team - including Rudolph - are female. #science #Christmas

If you're up before the sun tomorrow you can catch Venus and the Moon in the East. The bright star Arcturus is actually the 4th brightest in the whole sky.

On the locked Polish trains story:

'CERT Poland confirmed to The Register that the team had disclosed their findings and that the cyber security agency had alerted relevant authorities. That was more than a year ago, and The Register understands that the ongoing lack of action is partly what motivated the researchers to go public with their findings.

'Janusz Cieszyński, Poland’s former minister of digital affairs, has since explained on social media that the president of Newag contacted him to say that the firm had been victimized by cyber criminals. Cieszyński added that the analysis he saw suggested otherwise'.
https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/08/polish_trains_geofenced_allegation/

The need for meaningful inheritance taxes -- steep ones above some heirs-are-still-absurdly-rich threshold -- has never been more clear.

Banker-for-the-rich UBS data shows that family dynasties are becoming the primary system by which the ultra-rich come about their money.

It is completely unearned income but they pay minuscule relative taxes.

https://www.ubs.com/global/en/media/display-page-ndp/en-20231130-the-great-wealth-transfer.html

Security expert Bruce Schneier looks at "AI and Trust" and digs into the nuances. You should read this. https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/ai-and-trust

Super mad at Apple again tonight as I realize that you cannot have the Music app without Radio, the TV app without trailers for TV+, the or the Podcasts app without an un-hideable screen full of hideous murder-related content or the app store without exploitative IAP gambling-for-kids garbage. I can lock down a device so that a child can't listen to songs with the F-word in them but there is *no* way to say DO NOT SHOW THEM ENCOURAGEMENTS TO GAMBLING ADDICTION.

W3C has posted that we are no longer active on X/Twitter and have directed all our followers here to Mastodon.

We are encouraging all W3C-related accounts to do the same.

Encourage your friends to follow us here!

Due to an issue in ext4 with data corruption in kernel 6.1.64-1, we are a pausing the 12.3 image release for today while we attend to fixes. Please do not update any systems at this time, we urge caution for users with UnattendeUpgrades configured. Please see bug# 1057843: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1057843 https://micronews.debian.org/2023/1702150551.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

These two things are simultaneously true:
• The richest Americans are the richest in the world
• Food poverty is more severe in America than in any other developed country

@Wolven
Universal Basic Income proponents have had some major wins recently.

In Kenya a UBI program has been very successful in lifting villages out of poverty.
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/12/07/1217478771/its-one-of-the-biggest-experiments-in-fighting-global-poverty-now-the-results-ar

Denver's UBI program has been shown successful in reducing homelessness after 6 months
https://denverite.com/2023/10/03/denver-basic-income-project-six-month-results/

In Seattle a nonprofit has managed to set up direct cash payments for native pregnant people for 3 years
https://www.hcn.org/articles/social-justice-first-direct-cash-assistance-program-exclusively-for-indigenous-parents-launched

I just got done DMing an adventure for our first family tabletop RPG night! My wife and our 4YO tried to spring the 8YO out of jail, and convinced the captain of the guard to set him free when TWIST! The lieutenant and some of the guards mutinied! Our heroes were forced to battle their way out of town, dropping the loot as they legged it away from a huge explosion.

Thanks to @pluralistic for his excellent article DMing for your toddler - (archive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20170425062227/https://gygaxmagazine.com/selected-content/dming-for-your-toddler/)