re:BASED Lunchtime
Let’s stay connected! Join us for a lunchtime zoom call where we chat about technology and liberty. Wednesday, May 10th, at noon MT. Join us on Zoom.
Daring Bits
PRISM Break - The PRISM Break project hopes to fight the surveillance state through the widespread use of encryption, which would ostensibly increase the cost of conducting surveillance. Here you’ll find a list of privacy-focused alternatives to popular proprietary software, if you want to help make surveillance uneconomical.
Internet-in-a-Box - Internet-in-a-box works without internet, wirelessly serving any nearby devices. These “learning hotspots” are used by schools, clinics, and remote villages, in dozens of countries, to give everyone a chance to freely share information, even where internet access is unavailable. And, you can get one. Careful, Jen!
SEC Targets Crypto - The SEC is considering proposed changes to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that would redefine “exchanges” to include decentralized financial systems. If DeFi systems fit the definition - and the SEC believes they already do - they will have to register as a “national securities exchange” or “alternative trading system” (“ATS”). This will bring crypto on these platforms under the regulatory thumb of the SEC, and lead to enforcement action against crypto firms. At what point does the SEC decide on the whole security vs commodity issue? Although that gets hard with BRC-20… speaking of which:
Bitcoin BRC-20 Explodes - “The BRC-20 token standard was created early in March by an anonymous on-chain analyst called Domo. The objective was to make it possible for fungible tokens to be issued and transferred on the Bitcoin blockchain.” “The BRC-20 token market cap has seen a 600% rise in the past week, with its transaction volume overtaking standard BTC transactions on the network.”
Accurate Project Estimates - Software development estimations are hard. Vadim Kravcenko explains why they’re also crucial, and goes through the approaches that get software developers in trouble, as well as the approaches that result in accurate estimates.
Need a software MVP on a fixed-timeline and within a fixed-budget? Check out Impulse, DBA’s answer to bloated bids and oft-delayed projects.
Qualcomm Leaking Your Data? - German security company Nitrokey has discovered an unreported feature of Qualcomm chips, where user information is transmitted via the insecure HTTP protocol. A unique device signature can be created based on the collected data, which can be accessed by third parties.
Linen - Linen is a Google-searchable open-source Slack/Discord alternative for communities, with a client bundle size of just 500KB gzipped. This page explains how these optimizations were achieved.
Teardown Frame Teardown - Indie game “Teardown” from Tuxedo Labs has a fully destructible, voxel-driven environment. Steven Wittens thoroughly pokes around to figure out how it all works.
Cameron’s World - In an age where we interact primarily with branded and marketed web content, Cameron’s World is a tribute to the lost days of unrefined self-expression on the Internet. Here you’ll find a web-collage of text and images excavated from an era when it was expected that personal spaces would always be under construction.
