Listener comments!

🤖 ♥ 5:55pm
: Mark! Techtobstainers! 🤖 ♥ 6:01pm
Bas NL: Hi Mark! Hi all! 🤖 ♥ 6:01pm
David (in Paris): Evening Mark and all Technoids. 🤖 ♥ 6:01pm
regina j: Hi Mark and all! I've been really looking forward to this evening's episode. ♥ 6:03pm
Greg from ZONE 5: Evening all! 🤖 ♥ 6:04pm
Michael G from Windsor Terrace: My tech has gone from turntable, to cassette player, to radio tonight! (aside from my laptop to type this). Looking forward to the show tonight! ♥ 6:06pm
Mark Hurst: Hi ultra, Bas, DiL, regina, Greg, Michael G - welcome & thanks for joining!   6:08pm
Hugo (NL): Hi Mark, techies!   6:10pm
Bea: Hi Mark + friends! 🤖 ♥ 6:10pm
Will thee SG OCNY: Good evening Mark Hurst, Janet, and all!!! ♥ 6:10pm
Mark Hurst: Hi Hugo, Bea, WtSG! ♥ 6:13pm
Folsom: Back in the day I would put in alternate ROMs on my phone, they were the ones that came up with some of the drop down items like flashlight, etc.   6:14pm
yippie: I remember when I was a kid Universal Studios they programmed ET to say everybody’s name 🤖 ♥ 6:15pm
Webhamster Henry: haha face paint obfuscation! 🤖 ♥ 6:16pm
Ken From Hyde Park: Hi, Mark and avoiders. Mickey Mouse is evil! ♥ 6:16pm
Mark Hurst: Hi Folsom, yippie, webham, KfHP ♥ 6:17pm
Greg from ZONE 5:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:15

The Juggalos were right all along!! 🤖 ♥ 6:18pm
DjLorraine: Hello ♥ 6:18pm
Mark Hurst:

↳ DjLorraine @6:18

Welcome, DjL!   6:19pm
Fredericks: Mark, are you using a different mic? Your voice sounds great. 🤖 ♥ 6:20pm
Will thee SG OCNY: 💯 agree with that. It's difficult yo opt out from everything tho 🤖 ♥ 6:20pm
ViolaChica: Wow! How it is affecting being able to track others 🤯 🤯   6:20pm
FleetwoodMacbeth: Thanks for hosting these really vital conversations. Remember people, the purpose of a system is what it does.   6:21pm
Marie de Chicago: Hey, this is so great. I keep trying to block mic access on my google-suystem android but they have so many ways to wiggle out of it ♥ 6:21pm
Mark Hurst:

↳ Fredericks @6:19

Heh - actually it was the same mic. The difference was that when we recorded the interview, I had a bad cold. Gave lots of extra bass to my range. I briefly had a deep radio voice! 🤖 ♥ 6:22pm
ultradamno:

↳ Greg from ZONE 5 @6:17

Juggalos were right about everything would make a good t-shirt 🤖 ♥ 6:22pm
ultradamno: (I mean, they never said water makes magnets not work...) 🤖 ♥ 6:23pm
Webhamster Henry: Help Janet to get on Creative Good! 🤖 ♥ 6:24pm
Will thee SG OCNY: I like 🦆🦆 go or brave 🤖 ♥ 6:25pm
Noir Lover: I think Duck Duck Go is straight up a better overall search engine   6:25pm
Marie de Chicago: I never use Chrome except to use an app at work 🤖 ♥ 6:26pm
Will thee SG OCNY: I use firefox on some devices 🤖 ♥ 6:27pm
Will thee SG OCNY: Rin it in a sandbox 🤖 ♥ 6:27pm
Noir Lover: Firefox is layering in AI garbage   6:27pm
Sam: I’ve never used Chrome. It’s always recommending Chrome and I always refuse.   6:27pm
Marie de Chicago: Love DDG for my phone and personal computer 🤖 ♥ 6:28pm
Will thee SG OCNY: I keep WFMU fireproofed on 🦆🦆 go 🤖 ♥ 6:28pm
ultradamno:

↳ Noir Lover @6:27

DDG has an AI assistant widget now too ♥ 6:28pm
TheDerek:

↳ Song: "Interview with Janet Vertesi"

As a Veteran who uses VA Video appointments, I have no choice but to use Google Chrome. I'm Firefox all the way   6:28pm
yippie: Do you know a good alternative to google translate for “drawing” Chinese and Japanese characters on iPhone? And the app can convert your drawing to the correct text? Other apps I’ve tried require you to draw the lines in the exactly correct order which I don’t always know how to do   6:28pm
Sam: Next, stop paying your internet bill.   6:28pm
FleetwoodMacbeth: Firefox for 10+ years and am happy they’ve offered an option to shut off AI tools as an option in browser but I didn’t like the CEO threatening to get rid of Adblock briefly a few months back. 🤖 ♥ 6:29pm
Webhamster Henry: I have about 5 browsers too! it helps separate the cookies out if some site is mad at you for your cookies. if you must use Google, search for something really weird and other sites will pick up on it and you can have a laugh at their misguided idea of who you are. ♥ 6:29pm
Jason 敦:

↳ yippie @6:28

I don't use iPhone, but Pleco or Hanping are popular (I prefer Pleco) 🤖 ♥ 6:29pm
Noir Lover: I love this conversation ♥ 6:30pm
Mark Hurst:

↳ Noir Lover @6:29

Thanks! 🤖 ♥ 6:30pm
ultradamno: Upcoming AI doc www.imdb.com... 🤖 ♥ 6:30pm
Webhamster Henry: I wish DDG would eat godawful embedded ads in done by podcast hosts. You can just skip ahead though. ♥ 6:30pm
Jason 敦:

↳ Jason 敦 @6:29

(meaning I use them on android, so can't vouch for them on IOS) 🤖 ♥ 6:31pm
Will thee SG OCNY:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:29

I use a bunch too. When I used to code more I kept a bunch of browsers installed to check for compatibility ♥ 6:31pm
Mark Hurst:

↳ yippie @6:28

As for the second request, converting a drawing to a character, the iPhone has that capability built in - just set the keyboard for hand-drawn characters (simplified Mandarin, traditional Mandarin, or Japanese). As for the first request, I'd go with Pleco as Jason brought up.   6:32pm
Bob in DC and/or Virginia: Is Chromium an acceptable browser if it doesn't include any of the Google telemetry?   6:32pm
stevej: Fantastic interview on an important weekly show. But as a somewhat technical user, I wish that some of this info could be made available to a broader audience, but I don't know how :/ ♥ 6:32pm
TheDerek: Googling absurd searches is the most fun for us curmudgeons from the 1900's is the new black for phone pranks 🤖 ♥ 6:32pm
ultradamno:

↳ ultradamno @6:30

(trailer is linked along the right sidebar under videos) 🤖 ♥ 6:32pm
Will thee SG OCNY: It's important to have different emails for different things 🤖 ♥ 6:33pm
Webhamster Henry: I have >750 email addresses, thanks to owning my own domain. ♥ 6:33pm
Mark Hurst:

↳ Bob in DC and/or Virginia @6:32

Yes, if it's a deGoogled build. For awhile there was a browser called "deGoogled Chromium" but I'm not sure if that codebase has been kept up. 🤖 ♥ 6:33pm
ViolaChica: Geesh - I need an overhaul. 🤖 ♥ 6:33pm
ViolaChica:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:33

OMG 🤖 ♥ 6:34pm
Will thee SG OCNY:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:33

I enjoy that benefit as well 🤖 ♥ 6:34pm
Noir Lover: When I volunteered at WFMU to answer phones and used the laptop there...Firefox with AdBlock. 🤖 ♥ 6:34pm
Webhamster Henry:

↳ ViolaChica @6:33

The password manager is very helpful there! ♥ 6:34pm
Kat in the chat: I just discovered the DuckDuckGo viewer for YouTube video viewing. LOVE it. ♥ 6:34pm
Folsom: I think it is pretty easy to get off Amazon, just buy from the manufacturer's website or local.   6:34pm
yippie: Thanks I’ll check those options out soon 🤖 ♥ 6:34pm
Noir Lover: Protonmail let's f go   6:34pm
Leenie: DeGoogling has taken me YEARS - Gmail, GPhotos, Drive etc.. still in progress 🤖 ♥ 6:35pm
Webhamster Henry:

↳ Kat in the chat @6:34

Yeah its fun, and it wont let you like or subscribe 😜 🤖 ♥ 6:35pm
Will thee SG OCNY:

↳ Noir Lover @6:34

My friend uses that, he's a big fan ♥ 6:35pm
Mark Hurst:

↳ Leenie @6:34

Impressive. It's a long process for sure - and maybe never 100% done - but well worth taking the first step, then the next, and the next...   6:35pm
Hugo (NL): Protonmail had some bad press recently, right? ♥ 6:36pm
Kat in the chat: I don't care so much about that but I'm sure the creators do :/   6:36pm
Bob in DC and/or Virginia: ProtonMail has been turning over people's identities to the US government, though 🤖 ♥ 6:36pm
Webhamster Henry: I'm on Bluesky and mastodon which are lots less add and content pushy than Meta's social media ♥ 6:37pm
Mark Hurst:

↳ Hugo (NL) @6:35

Proton recently identified an (otherwise anonymous) activist to law enforcement. Caveat emptor! 🤖 ♥ 6:37pm
Noir Lover:

↳ Bob in DC and/or Virginia @6:36

damn 6:37pm
MarciB: Part of the issue I have with "getting off" big tech platforms is that so many of the communities I use rely on use them. I can suggest alternatives but ppl think I'm a crank or paranoid...sigh. ♥ 6:37pm
TheDerek:

↳ Bob in DC and/or Virginia @6:36

evidence please. I use Proton 🤖 ♥ 6:37pm
Bob in DC and/or Virginia:

↳ Mark Hurst @6:33

I've been using the build that is bundled with Debian Linux. ♥ 6:38pm
Folsom:

↳ Hugo (NL) @6:35

Yes they gave out email data due to a court request, they have to abide by Swiss laws. ♥ 6:38pm
Kat in the chat: forwarder, hmm... ♥ 6:38pm
Mark Hurst:

↳ TheDerek @6:37

privacyradar.com... 🤖 ♥ 6:38pm
Bob in DC and/or Virginia: www.404media.co...   6:40pm
Leenie: Is Protonmail not worth using? ♥ 6:40pm
Mark Hurst:

↳ Leenie @6:40

I agree with Janet - Proton, Fastmail, and Tutamail are all good options. Main thing is to get off Gmail. 🤖 ♥ 6:41pm
Webhamster Henry: I made my own Accu-Wedding Forecaster in perl. It kept track of wedding invites, probability of actual attendance, responses and presents and thank-yous sent 🤖 ♥ 6:41pm
Will thee SG OCNY: The first thing I do with a computer is put a flavor of Linux on it to suit my needs 🤖 ♥ 6:42pm
Will thee SG OCNY:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:41

That's awesome 🤖 ♥ 6:42pm
Webhamster Henry: There are Linus distros you can stick on a thumb drive and plug into , say, any Intel computer's USB-A port and voila!   6:43pm
Hugo (NL): Linux mint cinnamon looks a lot like windows 🤖 ♥ 6:43pm
Webhamster Henry:

↳ Will thee SG OCNY @6:42

1996 style! 🤖 ♥ 6:43pm
Will thee SG OCNY:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:42

With persistence. It's pretty rad. 🤖 ♥ 6:44pm
Noir Lover: I can in late...were any AdBlockers discussed? ♥ 6:44pm
Mark Hurst:

↳ Noir Lover @6:44

No but uBlock Origin is a good option 🤖 ♥ 6:45pm
Webhamster Henry: You can run Linux on a Chromebook, but they don't like you to do it. 🤖 ♥ 6:45pm
Ken From Hyde Park: In Soviet Russia, Max apps you. 🤖 ♥ 6:45pm
Will thee SG OCNY: Lately I have been more Ubuntu, lubuntu, ubuntu studio ... ♥ 6:45pm
Jason 敦: LInux has never been more user friendly than it is right now, I've not had a issue on my current mint setup that a non-technical user couldn't have fixed if needed. 🤖 ♥ 6:46pm
chris in the redwoods:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:45

any hardware level spyware in a chromebook, tho? 🤖 ♥ 6:47pm
Bob in DC and/or Virginia: I had no idea Sailfish was still around.

LineageOS is very cool to use.

🤖 ♥ 6:47pm
Will thee SG OCNY:

↳ chris in the redwoods @6:46

I'm sure there are 🤖 ♥ 6:47pm
chris in the redwoods: and also hello, Mark and everyone. very much enjoying this tutorial-ish show. i need to hear this until i plan action! :) ♥ 6:47pm
Mark Hurst:

↳ chris in the redwoods @6:47

thanks, Chris! 🤖 ♥ 6:48pm
Michael G from Windsor Terrace: Great show Mark and Janet. Giving me hope! ♥ 6:48pm
Mark Hurst:

↳ Michael G from Windsor Terrace @6:48

Me too, thanks, Michael   6:49pm
billylondon: Preach! 🤖 ♥ 6:49pm
Webhamster Henry:

↳ chris in the redwoods @6:46

That might depend on which kind of Chromebook, but the Linux on it is also kind of basic. My Chromebook is reallly sloooow. There's another thing I need to try, which is running web proxies to suppress mysterious site accesses. 🤖 ♥ 6:49pm
chresti: Hi Mark and markers!   6:49pm
Leenie: Seen as a crazy man for wanting to maintain privacy, I got sent link about proton and told my efforts were futile 🤖 ♥ 6:49pm
Noir Lover: I love this point she's making...we are not helpless here. We have agency. ♥ 6:49pm
Mark Hurst:

↳ chresti @6:49

welcome, chresti 🤖 ♥ 6:50pm
chris in the redwoods:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:49

great point. would be fun/important to watch its network traffic. ♥ 6:50pm
mespr: All the devices we have can produce an unassailable proof that it is the same thing. We don't need any networks. We don't need to sell our data   6:50pm
billylondon: Building social networks offline and locally are a fantastic way of resisting and creating resilience ♥ 6:50pm
Amygdala: Linux and the weening off of Excel - an essential, a daily-use program for me...

is that like tuna fish flavored ice cream, using the Linux/Ice Cream metaphor?

  6:50pm
sensisio: What's the recommendation for maps? 🤖 ♥ 6:51pm
Will thee SG OCNY: My router died recently, I've been working on getting a cube pc ready for replacing my temporary router. It has 2, 2.5Gb lan ports on it.   6:52pm
Hugo (NL): I saw https://yunohost.org/ and that looks great 🤖 ♥ 6:53pm
DjLorraine:

↳ sensisio @6:50

I know of 1 person that uses CoMaps. You can not search by address tho   6:53pm
Bea: Great interview! Thanks, Mark and Janet! 🤖 ♥ 6:53pm
Noir Lover:

↳ sensisio @6:50

Location only while using, only for apps that require gps 🤖 ♥ 6:53pm
ultradamno:

↳ Leenie @6:49

That sounds like it came from a super-villain ♥ 6:53pm
mespr: Earlier in this interview trust in google was mentioned. That is the essence. We can use the internet if we can trust ourselves, skip the meidators. ♥ 6:53pm
Kat in the chat: Clicky-starred episode for reference   ♥ 6:54pm
New Dave: Enjoyed this, thanks! 🤖 ♥ 6:54pm
chris in the redwoods:

↳ Kat in the chat @6:53

thank you! me too, now. :D   6:54pm
GC in Bmore: Wow one of the best interviews!! Gonna be sharing this one with friends and family.   6:54pm
BriJet: Really great interview! I have been looking for tech alternatives. :P 🤖 ♥ 6:54pm
Bas NL: Thanks Mark! Thanks Janet 🤖 ♥ 6:55pm
Will thee SG OCNY: Thank you Mark, Janet, and the Accu Peeps! ♥ 6:55pm
Jason 敦: Thanks Mark and Janet, great stuff. 🤖 ♥ 6:56pm
Ken From Hyde Park: Thanks, Mark & Janet. Leave the phone at home when venturing out for No Kings Day (Saturday). ♥ 6:56pm
Kat in the chat: I got off Chrome when I replaced my PC, it was easy. A lot of this other stuff is less easy to get rid of, but also more and more annoying to continue to use.   6:56pm
billylondon: Awesome show Mark!   6:56pm
Hugo (NL): Great show, Mark. 🤖 ♥ 6:56pm
Will thee SG OCNY: My friend uses Magic Earth for maps 🤖 ♥ 6:57pm
regina j: Thank you, Mark and Janet. I just removed Chrome from my phone and intalled Duck Duck Go. I need to read up on how to dump gmail, though I am required to use Google for work. I feel inspired and need to figure out how to start making these changes.   6:57pm
stevej: I'm very pessimistic about getting the broader audience to change their tech. It's tough to get someone to even try DDG. Still, I'm hopeful.. Thanks for this and all of your shows. ♥ 6:57pm
Kat in the chat: Thank you, Mark and Janet!   6:57pm
Hugo (NL): You can always smash the puck 🤖 ♥ 6:57pm
ViolaChica: Thank you Mark! 🤖 ♥ 6:58pm
Noir Lover: Great guest. Thanks Mark   6:58pm
dano59: i just started seeing notifications for DuckDuckGo browste. i’ve used the search page & no Google fie several years.
Chrome has more pop-up ads than i can stay ahead of; and now i’m getting fake virus scams ♥ 6:58pm
Folsom: Thanks Mark! 🤖 ♥ 6:58pm
ultradamno: Some Moody Blues today bsky.app... ♥ 6:58pm
Amygdala: May I please trouble any Excel and Linux users out there for their insights? I wouldn't mind bailing from Windows, but need Excel....
Many thanks! 🤖 ♥ 6:59pm
Will thee SG OCNY:

↳ Amygdala @6:58

I use OpenOffice or libreoffice 🤖 ♥ 6:59pm
Jeff Moore:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:33

Sure! Every damn vendor or mailing list or whatever gets its own distinct address! It's fun to see when those do or don't leak to another organization. 🤖 ♥ 7:00pm
ultradamno: I'm interested in Linux, being very uninterested in getting a new computer just for new Window I don't want 🤖 ♥ 7:00pm
chresti: Thanks Mark! ♥ 7:00pm
Mark Hurst: Thanks, everyone! Good comments today. 🤖 ♥ 7:00pm
Will thee SG OCNY:

↳ ultradamno @7:00

Linux wakes up old and new computers 🤖 ♥ 7:01pm
Webhamster Henry:

↳ Jeff Moore @6:59

I totally know who's selling my addresses! ♥ 7:02pm
Amygdala:

↳ Will thee SG OCNY @6:59

Thank you Will. I'll check them again, but I'm concerned about fewer essential features/functions and compatabilty w/ the Excel spreadsheets.... Many thanks for replying@   7:55am
Fredericks:

↳ yippie @6:14

Mark, are you using a different mic? Your voice sounds great.