Mark Zuckerberg Is Right to Tape His Webcam. But He Shouldn’t Have To.
Will Oremus, Slate
It’s not that weird that someone as high profile as Mark Zuckerberg considers basic cyber security. After all, as we mentioned a few weeks ago, even the CEO of Facebook is not immune to hacking.
A good point is made though that maybe he shouldn’t have to think of this in the first place, as none of us should have to. Webcam hacking is more commonplace than you may think, and an easy hack to pull off. While covering the camera with tape won’t stop audio recording (his microphones were also covered), it does protect against folks that may seek to exploit the cameras and serve as a reminder of common security practices that we have to endure until laptops include physical toggles on their sensors.
How Sonic the Hedgehog Explains the Internet
Brian Feldman, NYMag
Sonic the Hedgehog turned 25 years old this week. The character has been around almost as long as the world wide web, and certainly longer than it has been in general use. The entire franchise has in some ways mirrored the growth of the commercial internet, from genuine infatuation to ironic self-referential meme-ing.
Do yourself a favor and follow the official Sonic Twitter account. The leeway that’s been given to the team to be authentically internet is a welcome departure from corporate straight-lacedness.
Taking the headphone jack off phones is user-hostile and stupid
Nilay Patel, The Verge
I have no idea if the next iPhone will truly have no headphone jack, but I can’t really see wanting that right now. We’ve got fewer wired accessories needed for a laptop, but I’m still not ready to ditch it all for USB-C yet. Similarly, there’s an entire ecosystem of products (including for people who have them more as needs than luxuries) that rely on headphone ports. Getting rid of the port after it’s been so ingrained without a universal-ish replacement is a bad idea.
How “Silicon Valley” Nails Silicon Valley
Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker
The third season finale of ‘Silicon Valley’ is this weekend, and I’m excited to see what cliffhanger we’re left with. In the meantime, let’s take a look at how much the show is really like the real world, and why that made it such a success for HBO. As much as the real Silicon Valley produces much of the technological wonder in the world, it’s a place of heavy contradiction and tight-knit circles.
It’s nice to see that the elite who are being skewered can take a joke enough to provide background research for the show, or even appear on it. You know, unless they’ve got as thin of skin as Peter Thiel clearly has.
How Peter Thiel’s Gawker Battle Could Open a War Against the Press
Nicholas Lemann, The New Yorker
Speaking of Mr. Thiel, the outcome of his case against Gawker, and the amount of involvement that he’s been revealed to have had, makes a scary case for the future of freedom of speech protections for the press. With more news organizations starting out by single founders in the way of Nick Denton’s media empire, more individuals without billions of dollars and teams of lawyers are in danger of retribution for writing something that powerful people don’t want to hear. Is repeating negative stories going to be an issue for my own newsletter?
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