Webtagr - Technology News Summarizer

RFC 9839: Navigating the Perils of Problematic Unicode Characters

2025-08-23

This Tech article discusses the dangers lurking within the Unicode character set, focusing on RFC 9839. This RFC identifies problematic Unicode characters that can cause issues in software and network protocols, proposing three safer subsets. A JSON username example illustrates the potential problems these characters create. The author compares RFC 9839 to the more comprehensive PRECIS standard and recommends a Go library for validation.

(www.tbray.org)

Development Character Safety

C2PA Content Credentials Validators Arrive: A Step Towards Combating Disinformation

2025-06-19

The Content Authenticity Initiative's C2PA technology is making strides. New Chrome extensions now validate image provenance, verifying signatures from trusted issuers like Adobe and tracing back to creators via LinkedIn, Clear, etc. This is crucial for combating disinformation, especially on social media. However, challenges remain: broader browser support, decentralized identity verification, and integration with social media platforms are needed for widespread effectiveness.

(www.tbray.org)

Tech Content Credentials

The Trillion-Dollar Gamble: Generative AI's Costly Uncertainty

2025-06-09

This article challenges the viability of generative AI's business model, starting with its astronomical costs. Hundreds of billions in venture capital and massive capital expenditures by tech giants raise concerns about future returns. The author analyzes generative AI's application in coding, education, and professional communication, highlighting both potential benefits and significant drawbacks. While acknowledging some productivity gains in coding, the author finds AI detrimental to education and expresses skepticism about its role in professional communication. The overall outlook is pessimistic, further emphasizing the significant carbon footprint of generative AI.

(www.tbray.org)

Tech Cost

Decentralized Social Media vs. Censorship: Bluesky and the Fediverse

2025-05-05

This essay examines how decentralized social media platforms, like Bluesky and the Fediverse, handle government censorship. Bluesky's composable moderation services allow clients to choose which services to subscribe to, but its centralized architecture makes it vulnerable to government pressure. The Fediverse, with its interconnected network of independent instances, presents a far greater challenge to censors, requiring attacks on numerous nodes for effective blockage. The author argues that decentralized architecture without single points of failure is key to censorship resistance, but ongoing improvements are needed to withstand more powerful censorship mechanisms.

(www.tbray.org)

Tech

Solving Decentralized Social Media's URI Problem

2025-04-21

This essay explores user experience issues stemming from URI schemes in decentralized social media platforms like the Fediverse and Bluesky. Sharing links across instances often leads to problems like inability to comment or like posts. The author proposes a solution: new URI schemes (e.g., `fedi:` or `at:`). These would allow operating systems or browsers to directly invoke relevant apps based on the scheme, resolving link sharing, client compatibility, and post migration issues. While browser support for custom schemes is limited, this approach promises to greatly improve user experience in decentralized social media and warrants further investigation.

(www.tbray.org)

Tech URI schemes

Bye-Bye Prime: A Canadian's Rational Choice

2025-03-07

A Canadian user canceled their Amazon Prime subscription. The reason wasn't to boycott Amazon, but rather a combination of commercial and emotional factors. Commercially, the need for next-day delivery decreased after a recent move, and other online stores offer comparable products and prices. Emotionally, dissatisfaction with the current US stance towards Canada, coupled with a decline in Amazon's shopping experience (poor search results, ugly interface), led to a shift in spending towards Canadian suppliers. While Prime Video was once a benefit, the poor quality of shows like 'Rings of Power' diminished its appeal. Ultimately, canceling the subscription was a smooth process.

(www.tbray.org)

Misc Amazon Prime