Reality 2.0 Newsletter - December 3, 2021: Doc's Open Tabs

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A Quick Plug

Episode 92: DIY

Doc Searls, Katherine Druckman, Shawn Powers, and Kyle Rankin talk right to repair Apple devices, cocktails, and our nerdy hobbies.

Please remember to subscribe via the podcast player of your choice.


We’re back with a new episode this week, which you can check out on the website, but if you didn’t get a chance to listen to our previous episode, Episode 92: The DIY Episode, it’s worth a listen. We talked all about DIY, Apple and right to repair, and even “hacking” cocktails. You’ll find all the episode links in the reading list below, and as a bonus, we’ve added a bunch of interesting links from Doc’s more extensive reading list, including quite a few relevant to Episode 91: The Metaverse, and some about the work he’s been involved in lately. Enjoy!

We’ll have another episode or two before the end of year, and then we’ll take a break and see you again in January with some great episodes we have lined up for 2022. In the meantime, you can find us on any of our social outlets, or via our contact form.

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Doc’s Links

Report of the Commission on the Geopolitical Impacts of New Technologies and data — by the Atlantic Council

How NFTs Create Value — by Steve Kaczynski and Scott Duke Kominers

Investing in Friends With Benefits (a DAO) — by Carra Wu and Chris Dixon

The Singularity Is Here
Artificially intelligent advertising technology is poisoning our societies. — by Ayad Akhtar

You Are the Object of a Secret Extraction Operation — by Shoshana Zuboff

Facebook is blocking access to data about how much misinformation it spreads and who is affected: Simply counting instances of misinformation found on a social media platform leaves two key questions unanswered. — by Ethan Zuckerman

Vizio makes nearly as much money from ads and data as it does from TVs — by Richard Lawler

Earlier on that:

Vizio Admits Modern TV Sets Are Cheaper Because They're Spying On You — by Karl Bode

Software Freedom Conservancy files right-to-repair lawsuit against California TV manufacturer Vizio Inc. for alleged GPL violations — by the Software Freedom Conservancy

Litigation is historic in nature due to its focus on consumer rights, filing as third-party beneficiary

An Ethics Bounty System Could Help Clean Up the Web: Tech companies just need to adapt the bug bounty system they already use to detect vulnerabilities in code. — by Jonathan Cohn

Unfreezing the ice age: the truth about humanity’s deep past: Archaeological discoveries are shattering scholars’ long-held beliefs about how the earliest humans organised their societies – and hint at possibilities for our own — by David Graeber and David Wengrow

Sci-Fi Icon Neal Stephenson Finally Takes on Global Warming: The renowned author says his genre should inspire solutions. In his new novel, Termination Shock, he tackles our most existential crisis. — by Adam Rogers

Good video by After Skool, whatever that is:

‘We Need To Have This Knife Fight.’ Inside Facebook’s Strategy To Bring the War to Apple: An internal Facebook plan reveals the machinations of a company determined to fend off Apple’s new privacy controls — by Alex Kantrowitz

Studying the Internet: A course in designing the future of the net — by Jeff Jarvis

“IT MIGHT WELL BE UNSOLVABLE”: NILAY PATEL ON FACEBOOK’S RECKONING WITH REALITY—AND THE METAVERSE-SIZE PROBLEMS YET TO COME: After a decade covering the Zucks, Googles, and Ubers of the scene, the Verge editor in chief reflects on tech’s troublesome relationship with the rest of the world. — by Delia Cai

[As a separate matter, Nilay (@reckless) and I got into it on Twitter: 

http://pagexray.fouanalytics.com/q/theverge.com","title":"FouAnalytics - Ads By Domain","description":null,"domain":"pagexray.fouanalytics.com"},"video_url":null}">
Twitter avatar for @dsearlsDoc Searls @dsearls
Yo @rjcc, @reckless, @verge: good piece on how @VIZIO, @Roku, et. al. make money:
theverge.com/2018/7/20/1759… Now explain to @acfou and the rest of us how The Verge doesn't do the same kind of thing with trackers on websites. See here: FouAnalytics - Ads By Domainpagexray.fouanalytics.com

 Clearly they're not going to own, or care about, the tracking they do. They'll just keep picking on Facebook.]

Facebook Is Bad. Fixing It Rashly Could Make It Much Worse. — by Farhad Manjoo

Missing the Point
When AI manipulates free speech, censorship is not the solution. Better code is.
— by Lessig

The Imminent Collapse of Digital Advertising: Digital ad fraud could be a $150 billion business by 2025, which would make it the largest criminal enterprise after the drug trade — by Scott Galloway

The Seven Rules of the Metaverse: A framework for the coming immersive reality — by Tony Parisi

AI home-buying and how it could change real estate — by Dorey Scheimer and Meghna Chakrabarti

Your Herbs and Spices Might Contain Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead:
CR tested 126 products from McCormick, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and other popular brands. Almost a third had heavy metal levels high enough to raise health concerns.
— by Lisa L. Gill

Beyond the Web: Making a platform-free online marketplace for goods, ideas and everything else — Doc and Joyce Searls, plus (upcoming) David P. Reed, Ethan Zuckerman, Robin Chase and Shoshana Zuboff

Tracking-industry body IAB Europe told that it has infringed the GDPR, and its “consent” pop-ups used by Google and other tech firms are unlawful:
Google and the entire tracking industry relies on IAB Europe’s consent system, which has now been found to be illegal.'
— by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties

Joyce and I starred in this

https://www.idsnews.com/article/2021/11/ostrom-workshop-partner-visiting-scholars-to-lead-e-commerce-event-the-byway

—but it's already gone by, and the recording of it sucked.


This Week’s Reading List

  • Everyone Is a Genius: Apple Will Offer Parts and Tools for DIY Repairs | iFixit News — Early next year, a previously impossible repair will be possible: you can buy an iPhone screen directly from Apple, use Apple’s repair guide (and tools, if you want) to install it, and have it fully work as intended, using Apple’s diagnostic software. And you won’t have to own an authorized repair shop to do it.

  • Apple Self Service Repair Program | Right to Repair - Consumer Reports — In a major win for advocates, device owners and independent repair shops will soon have access to dozens of Apple parts, tools, and manuals—at the same price as authorized shops

  • Apple (AAPL) Aims for Fully Autonomous Car - Bloomberg — Apple Inc. is pushing to accelerate development of its electric car and is refocusing the project around full self-driving capabilities, according to people familiar with the matter, aiming to solve a technical challenge that has bedeviled the auto industry. 

  • DIY Cocktails: A Simple Guide to Creating Your Own Signature Drinks: Marcia Simmons, Jonas Halpren: Amazon.com: Books — Black Rose, Blood Orange Tequila & Soda, Kentucky Apple Sour: the newest trend in cocktails is creating your own! Now, the editors of DrinkoftheWeek.com have concocted the only guide that teaches you to create your own infallible thirst-quenchers. Using a simple system of basic ratios, you will learn to: Mix new flavor combinations for the perfect new blend using the Flavor Profile Chart as a guide Master advanced mixology techniques from infusing liquors at home to creating custom-flavored syrups Serve the perfect drink every time, whether it kicks off a rowdy party or winds down a romantic evening! With only nine ratios to master, you'll shake, stir, roll, and build literally thousands of unique and exceptional cocktails. All you need is a good thirst, an active imagination--and this guide!

  • Amazon.com: Mixology Dice® (tumbler) // Laser Engraved Wood Dice for Craft cocktail inspiration - Christmas gift, boyfriend gift, gift for him, gift for guys : Handmade Products — Whether you’re a newbie or a pro behind the bar, Mixology Dice will take your cocktail game to the next level. Along with providing seemingly endless inspiration (over 1.5 million combos!), this set of dice is actually a clever system for actually learning the art of mixology.

  • Redwood Empire Whiskey - Our Whiskeys — The Northern California Coast is a unique place, one of the few in the world where giant redwood trees grow. A place of inspiration and renewal. This same cool climate makes it a perfect place to produce sublime whiskey. Aging barrels here allows for a slow and even extraction of flavor, producing a whiskey of exceptional balance and complexity. Taste what our Redwood Empire inspires.

  • Gulden Draak, tremendous beer for titans | Gulden Draak — With its Gulden Draak, the Van Steenberge Brewery has brewed a beer that is as robust as the symbol of the dragon itself. It is a specialty beer with a fiery colour and unparalleled flavour and aroma. Gulden Draak has devoted fans throughout the world.

  • xkcd: Sandwich


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