Jonathan Corbet
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
@linuxandyarn Welcome to the world of AI scraper bots ... https://lwn.net/Articles/1008897/
Looking at the web page of a company called "Bright Data" is informative too.
Looking at the web page of a company called "Bright Data" is informative too.
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
20 Years ago: the BitKeeper license changed, making it unavailable for kernel development.
https://lwn.net/Articles/130746/
It drove home the perils of relying on proprietary software and spurred the creation of Git - a significant event, overall.
https://lwn.net/Articles/130746/
It drove home the perils of relying on proprietary software and spurred the creation of Git - a significant event, overall.
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
@LWN See also: Vint Cerf's comments on Dave's passing: "I could not say better than Frank already has how much Dave's work has helped to improve our experience of the Internet. I can't think of anyone more dedicated to the proposition that performance counts and should be pursued with determination and vigor. I've known Dave for many years and greatly valued his counsel and technical skills - to say nothing of his healthy sense of humor. I will miss him but will be always grateful to have known him."
https://lwn.net/ml/all/CAHxHggemafY9UP6Zm3oXVWWX5Wd+ffauot5MCN-6Gv-pOx3=Sg@mail.gmail.com
https://lwn.net/ml/all/CAHxHggemafY9UP6Zm3oXVWWX5Wd+ffauot5MCN-6Gv-pOx3=Sg@mail.gmail.com
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
@fenruspdx He actually had the gall to write back to me and, after some sanctimonious bullshit about keeping publicly available data available, offered: "If you can have both visibility and control about any bot coming to your domain, and the option to set sensitive end points,
wouldn't that be something worth exploring?"
So yes, you were right. They are selling protection schemes as a side gig.
wouldn't that be something worth exploring?"
So yes, you were right. They are selling protection schemes as a side gig.
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
Today I got a cheery email from somebody who claims to be the "ethics and compliance" officer for a company called Bright Data. He wanted to have a "no pressure" conversation about the whole AI scraperbot problem. Looking at their web site, this company offers an API that, and I quote, "Bypasses anti-scraping mechanisms and solves CAPTCHAs, ensuring uninterrupted access to the most protected web sites".
After careful consideration for several milliseconds, I have concluded that I really don't have anything to discuss with this person.
But at least their claimed "100M+" of residential IP addresses that they use for their DDOS attacks are "ethically sourced".
After careful consideration for several milliseconds, I have concluded that I really don't have anything to discuss with this person.
But at least their claimed "100M+" of residential IP addresses that they use for their DDOS attacks are "ethically sourced".
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
@impermanen_ @stefan_hessbrueggen The experience I can add is that we are using GnuCash exclusively for our business accounting. All is not perfect, but it is far better than its proprietary predecessor, and hasn't been a problem with the accountant at all.
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
So my phone (a Pixel 7) has picked up the habit of randomly rebooting for unknown reasons. It seems to be getting worse.
Once upon a time, I used to look forward, at least a little bit, to getting a new phone. Shinier better hardware, a software update, there was something I got out of the deal, even when I wasn't really feeling that I wanted to buy another hunk of electronic stuff.
When I think of a new phone now, I think of fending of a bunch of new AI crap, of trying to track down and fix a hundred different privacy settings that, mysteriously, don't get copied from the old device, and generally just trying to get back to where I am now.
In other words, it's not that I'm not excited about getting a new phone; I actively don't want that new phone.
Maybe I'll just go back to the land line.
Once upon a time, I used to look forward, at least a little bit, to getting a new phone. Shinier better hardware, a software update, there was something I got out of the deal, even when I wasn't really feeling that I wanted to buy another hunk of electronic stuff.
When I think of a new phone now, I think of fending of a bunch of new AI crap, of trying to track down and fix a hundred different privacy settings that, mysteriously, don't get copied from the old device, and generally just trying to get back to where I am now.
In other words, it's not that I'm not excited about getting a new phone; I actively don't want that new phone.
Maybe I'll just go back to the land line.
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
@bkuhn @mxmehl That wasn't me who wrote that — credit goes to @jzb, who had been working on it for a while before anybody waved their wand :)
I will confess that I'd been slow to come around to the topic at least partly because it has been a decade or two since I felt I understood why the OSI still exists.
I will confess that I'd been slow to come around to the topic at least partly because it has been a decade or two since I felt I understood why the OSI still exists.
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
The current OSI fun reminds me of an article I wrote just under 20 years ago... https://lwn.net/Articles/148792/
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
@ljs @axboe @jani @brauner *All* of this is something new. Everybody involved is still trying to figure this out.
As far as the other thread: you gave some characteristics that you think the process should have, which is fine. But I have not seen a lot of specifics on how such a response could be implemented within our community. I'll say again: suggestions welcome. Nobody feels that they have a real handle on all of this.
(Just to be clear: I'm not involved in the implementation, but I can do my best to ensure that useful ideas are considered.)
As far as the other thread: you gave some characteristics that you think the process should have, which is fine. But I have not seen a lot of specifics on how such a response could be implemented within our community. I'll say again: suggestions welcome. Nobody feels that they have a real handle on all of this.
(Just to be clear: I'm not involved in the implementation, but I can do my best to ensure that useful ideas are considered.)
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Jonathan Corbet
corbet
@adapalmer Got my copy yesterday, started reading it last night. Now I'm curious about Darth Vader, but it will take me a while to get to that point. I shall resist the temptation to peek ahead.
So far I'm thinking that this is going to be a lot of fun.
So far I'm thinking that this is going to be a lot of fun.
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