Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Mike McCue @mmccue.bsky.social · 1d

The AltStore is federating to Bluesky and the rest of the social web. Now developers and users can connect with each other on an open platform while drastically improving app discovery. I believe so much in this mission that I joined their board to help.

rileytestut.com/blog/2025/10...

Evolving AltStore PAL

In April of last year, we launched AltStore PAL in the European Union as one of the first official alternative app marketplaces on iOS thanks to the Digital Markets Act. We launched with just 2 apps —...

rileytestut.com

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Mike McCue @mmccue.bsky.social · 1d

The comparison to Facebook's OpenGraph phase is a good one. During that brief moment Pinterest, Spotify, and Zynga happened. Flipboard too. But Facebook got worried about losing control and CA was perfect excuse to rug pull.

Interested to see how this plays out w ChatGPT, especially w startups.

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Casey Newton @caseynewton.bsky.social · 1d

I wrote about OpenAI's ambitious platform play and the Cambridge Analytica flashbacks it inspired. Plus, Sam Altman takes my question about enshittification risk www.platformer.news/openai-dev-d...

At launch, OpenAI is promising a more rigorous approach to data privacy. OpenAI will share only what it needs to with developers, executives said. (They essentially hand-waved through the details, though, so the actual mechanics will bear scrutiny.) Unlike Facebook, though, OpenAI has no friend graph to worry about — whatever might go wrong between you, ChatGPT, and a developer, it will likely not involve giving away the contact information of all of your friends.

At the same time, the AI graph may prove even riskier. ChatGPT stores many users’ most private conversations. Leaky data permissions, either intentional or accidental, could prove disastrous for users and the company. It only took one real privacy disaster to end Facebook’s platform ambitions; I can’t imagine it would take much more to end OpenAI’s.

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George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 1d

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Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 2d

I agree with Josh but with one caveat: Words can demoralize people. I have political science-y disagreements with people who say "America is now fascist," but more to the point, I don't want people to internalize the idea that it's all done and dusted. Trump is far weaker than may people realize.

Josh Busby @busbyj2.bsky.social · 2d

Fighting with each other whether the Trump administration is/is not fascist/totalitarian seems kind of pointless. Labels aside, it is not a fully consolidated dictatorshp, whatever we want to call it and we need to work together to get them out.

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 5d

What the generals, admirals and their senior enlisted face when they return from Quantico. My latest in @thebulwark.com

www.thebulwark.com/p/questions-...

Questions After Quantico

U.S. military commanders around the world will be working to provide steady leadership after Hegseth’s bravado and Trump’s bluster.

www.thebulwark.com

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Governor Gavin Newsom @governor.ca.gov · 2d

BREAKING: We just won in court — again.

A federal judge BLOCKED Donald Trump’s unlawful attempt to DEPLOY 300 OF OUR NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS TO PORTLAND.

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Lora Kolodny @lorak.bsky.social · 3d

i personally prefer not to marinate in bot driven hate speech & science denial journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... and i hope bsky does not succumb to the forces that degraded most maybe all other social networks

X under Musk’s leadership: Substantial hate and no reduction in inauthentic activity

Numerous studies have reported an increase in hate speech on X (formerly Twitter) in the months immediately following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform on October 27th, 2022; relatedly, despite ...

journals.plos.org

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Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 4d

Apple must continue to refuse the demand to create a backdoor into iCloud. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

The UK Is Still Trying to Backdoor Encryption for Apple Users

The Financial Times reports that the U.K. is once again demanding that Apple create a backdoor into its encrypted backup services. The only change since the last time they demanded this is that the

www.eff.org

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Kara Swisher @karaswisher.bsky.social · 3d

Read: www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | Elon Musk’s latest power grab points in a clear direction

His SpaceX deal could fundamentally alter the relationship between a state and its citizens.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Marco Secchi 📷 @marcosecchi.com · 4d

Dolomites and Venice Photography Workshop
marcchi.com

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Mike McCue @mmccue.bsky.social · 3d

Beautiful. Thank you for continuously sharing such inspiring photography. One day I will join you for this workshop.

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Senator Sheldon Whitehouse @whitehouse.senate.gov · 5d

Trump is moving ratepayers to high-cost, polluting power units to pay off his big polluter contributors. Electric bills will go up.

Energy Bills Are Soaring in America’s Coal Capital

www.nytimes.com

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daniel 🫠 @dholms.xyz · 7d

independent plc org, ietf, migrating back to bsky, patent pledge

BROTHER WE ARE JUST GETTING STARTED

Bluesky @bsky.app · 7d

Bluesky runs on open protocols with open source code. Today we’re taking an additional step and making a patent non-aggression pledge to ensure that everyone can build confidently on our work.

Learn more and read the pledge in our blog post: bsky.social/about/blog/1...

Bluesky's Patent Non-Aggression Pledge - Bluesky

Bluesky develops open protocols. We're taking a short and simple patent non-aggression pledge to ensure that everybody feels confident building on them.

bsky.social

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Bluesky @bsky.app · 7d

Bluesky runs on open protocols with open source code. Today we’re taking an additional step and making a patent non-aggression pledge to ensure that everyone can build confidently on our work.

Learn more and read the pledge in our blog post: bsky.social/about/blog/1...

Bluesky's Patent Non-Aggression Pledge - Bluesky

Bluesky develops open protocols. We're taking a short and simple patent non-aggression pledge to ensure that everybody feels confident building on them.

bsky.social

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Jim Balsitis Photography @jimbalsitis.bsky.social · 5d

First Light
Eastern Sierra Nevada and Owens River, California

#photography #blackandwhite #art #leica #california

A photo during sunrise showing the Owens River in the foreground, the Sierra Nevada in the middle ground and on the horizon, and a sky with scattered clounds.

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 5d

Here’s @tinanguyen.bsky.social detailing the results of the incredible settlement YouTube paid to Trump for no reason except cowardice www.theverge.com/policy/79135...

Trump rolled YouTube into paying $22 million for his ballroom

“This is a political payoff, pure and simple.”

www.theverge.com

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Molly White @molly.wiki · Sep 5

This long read in The Verge does a remarkable job of describing how Wikipedia's editing community works, the project's strengths and weaknesses, and the threats it faces.

www.theverge.com/cs/features/...

Wikipedia is under attack — and how it can survive

The site’s volunteers face threats from Trump, billionaires, and AI.

www.theverge.com

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Data & Society @datasociety.bsky.social · 7d

“If the social platforms and language models that increasingly shape our understanding of the world are inscrutable black boxes, Wikipedia is the opposite, maybe the most legible, endlessly explainable information management system ever made." www.theverge.com/cs/features/...

Wikipedia is under attack — and how it can survive

The site’s volunteers face threats from Trump, billionaires, and AI.

www.theverge.com

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Emanuel Maiberg @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social · 8d

you have to read this. A collection of "the dog ate my homework" excuses www.404media.co/18-lawyers-c...

18 Lawyers Caught Using AI Explain Why They Did It

Lawyers blame IT, family emergencies, their own poor judgment, their assistants, illness, and more.

www.404media.co

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Adam Kinzinger @adamkinzinger.substack.com · 8d

I will say, watching the behavior of the Generals today, respectful but reserved and apolitical in the face of Trump was heartening.

Hopefully the next generation of officers, the young ones, see that and take it to heart.

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Jake Tapper, long-suffering Philly sports fan @jaketapper.bsky.social · 9d

Trump shares apparent AI video promoting ‘medbed’ conspiracy theory

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Cory Booker @corybooker.com · 9d

This isn’t right. Masked individuals raiding small businesses are endangering our communities, not making them safer.

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Mike McCue @mmccue.bsky.social · 9d

One of the things I remember most about Steve Jobs is when he said that the iPhone would be replaced within just a few years as the tech grew old but Toy Story and Finding Nemo would last for generations because great stories live forever.

GAGE @g-age.bsky.social · 17d

Steve Jobs and John Lasseter interview on Pixar (1996)

YouTube video by Manufacturing Intellect

youtu.be

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GAGE @g-age.bsky.social · 17d

Steve Jobs and John Lasseter interview on Pixar (1996)

YouTube video by Manufacturing Intellect

youtu.be

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