10 thoughts for November 20, 2013

I have a lot of thoughts going through my head, all the time.  Here's my way of getting a bunch of them out of my head, without taking the whole day to write long form.

1. The EFF has updated its Who Has Your Back list with issues of encryption.  Dropbox, Google, SpiderOak and Sonic.net come out on top.  No surprise that ATT, Comcast and Verizon are at the bottom, but then again you didn't expect them to take web encryption seriously, since they don't have much of a presence on the internet as others do.  Microsoft, Amazon, Yahoo and Apple, on the other hand, do have major presence and interactions on the internet, but offer limited encryption.
2. Speaking of Microsoft's limited support for encrypting data and protecting you -- not just from questionable government snooping but also from hackers -- they're not selling wares highlighting what irony is.  (Via The Verge)
3. WinAmp is shutting down.  Boo.  Hurry up and download the last version of WinAmp before it goes dark!  A part of me believes that an open source version of WinAmp will eventually find its way into the world -- either that or VLC will have to step up and become even more than what it already is.
4. Here's one issue that has widespread bipartisan support: Ignore Israel.  People are tired of the perpetual red lines drawn by Bibi against Iran, and no one in the US -- except for a few, isolated hawks -- wants to get involved in yet another military intervention.
5. The SF DA tells us that US mobile phone carriers rejected a plan by Samsung to build a kill switch into smart phones and other devices...because they make too much money off of handset insurance.  This is usually about the time that the DOJ steps in with allegations of monopolistic practices to harm the consumer, right?
6. Google mashed Play Magazines and Currents to create... Play Newsstand.  Meh.  It's nice and all, but they wiped out all of my magazines that I had temporarily stored on my tablet, so I have to go back and save them back onto my tablet.  That wasn't very nice.
7. Google's Wallet (prepaid debit) Card is now available.  If you link it to your bank, you get free transfers; if you link it to your credit card / other debit card, transfers cost you 2.9% -- in other words, Google isn't going to be on the hook for your credit / debit card's fees.  In practice, it's an extension of having a Starbucks account, then either using your phone app or SB card to pay for drinks / food / gifts, then reloading it.
8. Have you heard of the LG G Flex?  It's a phone with a back surface material that "heals" from cuts and nicks.  What also makes it different, is that it is flexible enough that you can push down on its back to flatten the otherwise curved phone, and it won't break.  I don't really see the benefits of being just modestly flexible, but it's obviously a step towards much greater flexible electronics.
9. Big supporter of the ACA and its finer points, but I've never understood Cover Oregon's advertising tactic.  We've seen hundreds of ads with a catchy tune, but not a single ad explaining why people should sign up.  The first several times they aired their ads, I had no clue what the ad was about.  
10. Speaking of Cover Oregon's questionable advertising tactic, I can't believe that they've had a website available for months -- remember this post from May? -- ahead of the Oct. 1 exchange opening, but that they haven't been able to turn HTTPS on, at the very least, let alone giving people the ability to sign up online.