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I, Jeremy Duffy, actually recommend and think is worth checking out.
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Today’s bad news: Microsoft Snip tool soon to launch with the PrintScreen Key

(Image used under: Creative Commons 2.0 [SRC])

Changes like this always make me wonder about Microsoft's motto: "Empower every person to do more…" How am I "doing more" when I spend my time fighting with changes no one asked for and no one needs?

Granted, we probably needed a faster and more convenient method of opening the Snip tool than WIN+SHIFT+S, but what's wrong with .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]

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What Golden Tree teaches us about listening

Golden Ginko Tree - Wikimedia commons cc3.0
Japan's second-largest tourist agency was mystified when it entered English-speaking markets and began receiving requests for unusual sex tours. Upon finding out why, the owners of Kinki Nippon Tourist Company changed its name.
(source)

The saga of the Golden Tree travel agency was a memorable lesson in my college marketing class. As was the Chevy "Nova"'s entry into .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]

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SIIG KVM and USB C hub – Managing remote work is so much easier now!

SIIG USB-C 2-Port KVM Switch MST Docking Station with PD 65W
(See online!)

So I put some effort into getting my home office put together. I have dual monitors nicely raised to the right eye height. I have a motorized standing desk, nice keyboard, mouse… the works! But the main issue was switching between my home computing and my work. I had one laptop for each .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]

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John Oliver’s Breakdown of Data Brokering – What it is, why you should care, and a small side-order of Congressional blackmail

Of course John didn't actually blackmail anyone, but he made a valid point that sometimes the only way for things to get done is for Congress to feel the problem actually affects them. To prove his point of how vile and dangerous unregulated data-brokering is, he used completely legal and commonly used techniques to get data about several members of .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]

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Razer Cynosa V2 Gaming Keyboard – A risky buy, a regretful return

Razer Cynosa V2 Gaming Keyboard: Customizable Chroma RGB Lighting - Individually Backlit Keys - Spill-Resistant Design - Programmable Macro Functionality - Dedicated Media Keys : Video Games
(See online!)

A few years back, I bought a Razer mouse and was floored to discover that it required an online account signup with Razer just to download the drivers to make it work. Their extortive practices weren't the .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]

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Asus ROG GM703 – Two year review

ASUS ROG Strix Scar Edition Gaming Laptop
(See online!)

At the time I bought this, ASUS and MSI were the two top contenders. Both were solid brands with good history and all the features I wanted, but MSI has a weird obsession with making the keyboard perfectly rectangular at the expense of shoving all the keys together. As soon as I noticed the ASUS had a .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]

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Netflix Misses the Easy Marks

Netflix! Bro! You can be SO much better than this.

One of the reasons that Google because THE Internet search engine (though DuckDuckGo is better because it protects privacy) is because they have clean, no frills interface and they WORK. They get the job done. Those two key features made it the juggernaut that it is. Netflix is basically on the same path except for a few .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]

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MeWe: Privacy based Facebook alternative – A Review

MeWe: A Facebook alternative based on protecting your right to privacy.

It's been great watching DuckDuckGo rise as a major Google competitor. I've been thrilled to see Firefox taking a more aggressive approach to protecting people as a way to combat the invasiveness of Chrome. Now we might finally have a solution to the Facebook problem. "Which problem", you might ask?

If you didn't already know, Facebook .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]

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Research Group Concludes that Coca-Cola Paid for Favorable Research To Evade Responsibility for Obesity

Tastes like disease
(Image used under: Creative Commons 2.0 [SRC])

According to a Cambridge study "Coca-Cola sought to obscure its relationship with researchers, minimise the public perception of its role and use these researchers to promote industry-friendly messaging."

Specifically, Coca-Cola has been found to be manipulating public information to minimize their part in the obesity crisis and instead blame exercise instead of sugary drinks. The paper mostly .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]

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Sony Camcorders – Once the King, Now the Jester

In the early 2000's I worked at Best Buy and was impressed how much better Sony camcorders were than the competition. Faster focus, better zoom, better durability, Nightvision, and so on. They were the only brand I've ever bought: a few 8mm ones, a miniDV, and finally an HDR thingy in 2013. That's where the problems started.

First, I was pretty annoyed that nightshot was no longer a feature on .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]

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If you want to learn more about my professional background, click here to learn more.

Check out one of my guides/tutorials:

Citizens Against Government Waste - CAGW
Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion And Numbering - CASPIAN
The Electronic Frontier Foundation - EFF
The American Civil Liberties Union - ACLU
Public Citizen
The Electronic Privacy Information Center - EPIC

... or check out any of my other guides and tutorials by clicking here!

DuckDuckGo - New Search Engine Choice or Dud?

DuckDuckGo.com
(Image is in the Public Domain)

Every now and then, there's a new search engine released that tries to play with the big boys, but they often fail. Usually its because of speed, maybe financial backing, sometimes user interface, but most often because they don't do the job well.

So here's one that may be worth some attention. Like Google, they focus on keeping very minimal and having a nice interface. But unlike Google, they make an effort to help you find what you are actually looking for:

They also include some summary information right in the search making it possible to skip visiting the site at all if you don't need to or at least getting a better feel for what the site is about before going. And according to their About page, they store NO personal information (which has long been a complaint of mine about Google).

So far, they're doing a lot right, but with Google having just released HTTPS for searches, the competition is even stiffer. I wish them luck.

Check them out yourself here.

Data Brokering

Data brokering is the practice of collecting as much data as possible about customers or visitors into profiles. Then the data is sold, shared, or lost in data breaches to be used in targeted marketing or ID Theft.

[Click for full description]

Citizens Against Government Waste - CAGW

Citizens Against Government Waste - CAGW

[Click for full description]

Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering - CASPIAN

Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion And Numbering - CASPIAN

[Click for full description]

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (a.k.a. the EFF) - a nonprofit group of passionate people — lawyers, technologists, volunteers, and visionaries — working to protect your digital rights.

[Click for full description]

The American Civil Liberties Union - ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union - ACLU

[Click for full description]

Public Citizen

Public Citizen - A group of non-profit lawyers specializing in freedom of speech and other basic American rights.

[Click for full description]

The Electronic Privacy Information Center - EPIC

The Electronic Privacy Information Center - EPIC

[Click for full description]