This is so awesome to see! Not sure if it's my work or the growing realization that nation-states are using EOL devices to launch attacks that is causing change, but I'll take it.

Two Cows@twocowsgames.bsky.social · last wk.

Hey @gigastacey.bsky.social! Your work is having a tangible effect! Take a look at this email I just got. I returned my Orbi and went with a different router shortly after getting it but I'm happy to see a company actually tell me about end of life before it occurs. It also includes a 20% coupon!

"Never in my life have I felt more disposable, or more like a name on a schedule... I’ve understood this all along, but Covid-19 was a flashbulb anyway, illuminating our hierarchies and divisions in stark relief."

Lit Hub@literaryhub.bsky.social · 2w ago

How Covid exposed wealth inequality and birthed a novel among the superyachts in Monaco.

For the third year, @consumerreports.org has investigated how smart home companies handle security vulnerabilities and those who report them. The good news—84% of 80 manufacturers provide security researchers with an easy-to-find method to contact them to report security vulnerabilities.

Some smart home companies still lag on security basics - Innovation at Consumer Reports

some smart home companies still lag on security basics, Consumer Reports has investigated how smart home companies handle security vulnerabilities and those who report them.

innovation.consumerreports.org

Sometimes you get up to get coffee only to realize that someone has Taken Your Chair.

Y'all connected devices are not a good solution to any problem if you don't really own it. He're my effort to encapsulate years of work and harms on on this issue and part of a solution. innovation.consumerreports.org/11663-2/

I've been working on this report for the most of the summer. It has been depressing to see how many Americans are encountering scams in all walks of life and how little power consumers have to fix the situation.

Consumer Reports@consumerreports.org · last mo.

Hot off the press 🔥 We’ve teamed up with @aspendigital.bsky.social and @gca.bsky.social to drop our 5th annual Consumer Cyber Readiness Report to kick off #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth. This year, we’ve taken a deeper look into frauds and scams. innovation.consumerreports.org/scams-are-pa...

I need the Minions version of Can Can on a digital button that I can press whenever I feel sad.

Paul Ford@ftrain.com · 2mo ago

if I had this I could finish so many songs www.roland.com/global/produ...

The baby rabbit is horrible but most of us would be fired in a heartbeat if we threatened to tase a coworker. Police departments are so corrupt.

T. Greg Doucette@gregdoucette.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Cops are great www.grantcountybeat.com/home/news-ar...

Kind of an awesome gift idea for your PNW friends.

Ryan J Hollister@phaneritic.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Fair warning! The listings for my latest batch of 3D-Printed scale model volcano tissue box covers will go live tomorrow morning (Thursday) around 8am PDT. I think I counted 27 are available this time. A decent variety from which to choose! Will pack this weekend and ship Mon. phaneritic.etsy.com

We apparently all need to watch Black Mirror again.

Zack Whittaker@zackwhittaker.com · 2mo ago

Watching this Apple event tout how iPhones will soon be able to record ambient audio/conversations and transcribe "high level notes" for you. It's billed as private and end-to-end encrypted, but I think the bigger harm is the normalization of always-listening devices. It's creepy and not normal.

I can't help seeing the latest Apple news and thinking about today's FTC decision to rescind its policy statement telling health apps and devices that handle sensitive health data (but aren't covered by HIPAA) that they need to disclose any breach of that data.

New Podcast Episode: This Week in Tech: Yoloville Data Centers, Climate Change, and the True Cost of "Innovation" with @leolaporte.me, @gigastacey.bsky.social, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, Owen JJ Stone

This Week in Tech: Yoloville | TWiT.TV

When politicians, parents, and platforms collide, who protects kids from tech’s dark side? Dive into real stories of digital parenting, policy-making headaches, and the

twit.tv

I am so delighted I dumped my Echo. Instead of spending ad dollars on advertising a new book, a publisher just sends an update to Alexa. And you get nudged to buy it while puttering around your home. techcrunch.com/2026/09/01/a...

Amazon Alexa can now alert you when something new might tempt you to shop | TechCrunch

Amazon is adding a new Alexa-powered feature called “Update Me When” that can send personalized alerts about product launches, tours, books, shows, and other events that could trigger a purchase.

techcrunch.com

Whytf would you connect your freezer to the internet?? signalandsilence.substack.com/p/i-think-so...

I Think the Military Commissary Freezers Were Hacked

The frozen pizza aisle has become the national security risk du jour

signalandsilence.substack.com

This did not work out well.

More Perfect Union@moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 2y ago

BREAKING: The FDA is planning to end most of its routine food safety inspections, according to CBS News. www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-foo...

"Consumers deserve a marketplace where prices are based on competition — not on how much companies know about their personal information and buying habits." Phil Radford, president and CEO of Consumer Reports, breaks down surveillance pricing and why CR supports #AB2564 in San Francisco Chronicle:

How companies are using AI ‘personalization’ to rip you off

OPINION: Companies are using your personal data, including your income, your location and your search history, to determine what price to charge you, Phil Radford writes.

sfchronicle.com

Migraines are crushing because after taking an $800 pill, I'm able to lay quietly in the dark on a bed as opposed to vomiting for hours and laying on the floor of a bathroom. It's an improvement, but I feel like $800 would buy me more.

After reading the stories of people who are scammed, it seems like your best chance for recovery and help is getting scammed during business hours.

Worryingly, this shift is impacting visibility - companies are finding it more difficult to be sure they were attacked, because of the style of attack. Ransomware sucks, but at least you know when you’ve been hit.

Very interesting research shows German businesses are increasingly being targeted by state intelligence-linked cyberattacks - and no surprise, Russia and China loom large www.bankinfosecurity.com/german-indus...

German Industry Reports Escalating Nation-State Cyberattacks

German businesses are increasingly under attack from hackers with links to foreign intelligence services, according to a major new study from digital industry

bankinfosecurity.com

In addition to wildfires, look what else climate change has wrought...

Basically Musk hijacked billions of taxpayer dollars that was supposed to go to affordable fiber optic broadband, and instead gave it to himself for slower, more congested satellite broadband he had ALREADY PLANNED TO DEPLOY anyway My June piece in The Verge, if you missed it:

Elon Musk and the plot to hijack America’s broadband

“We’re fed up … The BEAD program has failed us.”

theverge.com

Y'all I loved these spy novels! And an endorsement from SA Crosby is not too shabby either! Blacktop Wasteland was a stellar heist book.

SACosby@blacktopkid.bsky.social · 2mo ago

@almakatsu.bsky.social writes incredibly tense, realistic espionage thrillers for our modern times. You should check them out if you like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the like ...

Last year's shirt!

gigastacey@gigastacey.bsky.social · last yr.

Y'all! I have obtained my summer reading T shirt! It is shrimply glorious!

New library summer reading T-shirt dropped! I'm not sure if it's better than last year's slogan; "Reading is shrimply awesome" , but "I need space to read" is certainly accurate. If you're in Kitsap and have read 100 hours this summer, the T-shirt could be yours.

Admin 🧵 Chatbots and AI are not human and shouldn't be given human names or job titles, but the practice is widespread and 💯 deceptive. When I ask if the "support staff" I'm working with on copyright is human, "Daniel" doesn't answer a direct question because it is programmed to deceive users. 1/3

The new round of "Unlock 3D printers so you can use third party materials to print without violating copyright law" US Copyright Office petitions starts today: michaelweinberg.org/blog/2026/08... #Hashtag1201

Keep 3D Printers Unlocked (2026)

I put things here so they are on the internet

michaelweinberg.org

Kirkus calls it "very strange and strangely satisfying." Publishers Weekly says it is "as bizarre as it is meticulous." They're talking about my new novel, A WALL IS ALSO A ROAD. It's coming 10/6/26. Pre-order it: us.macmillan.com/books/978125... Plus: a teaser trailer! youtu.be/gHLnJQuyQQo?...

Teaser: "A Wall Is Also a Road," by Annalee Newitz, from Tor Books

YouTube video by Annalee Newitz

youtu.be

New Podcast Episode: TWiT+ Club Shows: Stacey's Book Club #23: Slow Gods Tech, Morality, and the Trolley Problem in Space with @mikahsargent.com, @gigastacey.bsky.social, @ozoneartfoundry.com This episode is exclusive to Club TWiT. Join at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

TWiT+ Club Shows: Stacey's Book Club #23: Slow Gods | TWiT.TV

Join Stacey Higginbotham, Mikah Sargent, Joe Esposito, and Club TWiT members as they explore Claire North’s 'Slow Gods' in an insightful, wide-ranging book club discussion

twit.tv

I propose an extension of the term *enshittification*, coined by @doctorow.pluralistic.net, to cover features added to products we don’t want: *crapabilities*.