James Mullarkey @jamesmullarkey@w3c.social

“The European Commission's statement of objections against Amazon is centered on the firm's "dual role" in e-commerce, where it is both a retailer and also a platform for third-party retailers. As a platform, Amazon has access to proprietary data about all those other merchants' online business, which it then gathers and uses anticompetitively to get a leg up in its own retail operations, the EU alleges.”

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/11/eu-launches-second-amazon-probe-finds-company-distorts-competition/

#amazon

Just updated: Best web browsers, as recommended by my Good Reports.

h/t @jamesmullarkey

https://goodreports.com/post/browser.html

FreeTube - free (as in freedom) YouTube client. It is something as NewPipe for desktops. You don't need to Google account to subscribe your favourite channels (FreeTube can import subscriptions from NewPipe).There are no ads and all data is store locally.

Read more: https://freetubeapp.io

#YouTube #FreeTube #Privacy #FreeSoftware

Killed by Mozilla
https://killedbymozilla.com/

A list of discontinued Mozilla products and services.

This feels gross on so many levels. First, Spotify already severely underpays artists. Second, they are taking an even bigger cut in exchange for maybe some extra reach. Third, they are effectively injecting ads/sponsored songs into personalized playlists. https://thenextweb.com/apps/2020/11/03/spotifys-song-booster-service-offers-better-exposure-for-slashed-royalties/

I feel sorry for those who browse the web without an ad/tracker blocker. What an unmitigated mess.

I'm super excited to officially announce: I have just launched https://goodreports.com - a new review site for non-toxic online tools, fully supported by users.

Please share - we need to give more exposure to teams creating good tools.

And yes, @Mastodon itself gets a mention!

https://creativegood.com/blog/20/announcing-good-reports.html

@alcinnz discusses his web browser with @jamesmullarkey

We don't stream: Rediscovering the web browser with Adrian Cochrane https://www.jamesmullarkey.com/2020/10/rediscovering-the-web-browser-with-adrian-cochrane/

International Day Against DRM is scheduled for December 4th: https://www.defectivebydesign.org/blog/streaming_services_beware_international_day_against_drm_idad_coming_dec_4

Seems I ran my tournament very early!

One good you could celebrate is by checking out https://adrian.geek.nz/movies !

...and there is probably one thing even more evil than gluing/soldering the cells into devices: battery controllers with DRM built in. Yes, just like how printer makers were putting electronics in their ink cartridges preventing refills. Some devices and battery packs have self destructing charge controllers that stop working when the input voltage goes too low to prevent 3rd party cell replacement.

I know. Liability blah blah blah. That is the excuse. The real reason is planned obsolescence.