Notices by Ernie Smith (ernie@writing.exchange), page 2

Online ads. You hate them, they track you, yet they’re still with us. What’s their deal?

A new book out this week, targeted at Google’s dominant, monopolistic role in adtech, proves surprisingly revealing. My review:

https://tedium.co/2025/08/07/ari-paparo-yield-google-antitrust-review/

new @tedium

Wrote something on a notable leaker who Apple just sued. I’m not going to take Apple’s word alone for it, but the suit suggests questionable journalistic practices at best.

https://tedium.co/2025/07/18/apple-jon-prosser-ios-leaks-lawsuit/

a rare second @tedium in a day

I titled the piece “Prosser-Gate,” and rather than being annoying and just using it because, I actually compared the situation to Watergate.

https://tedium.co/2025/07/18/apple-jon-prosser-ios-leaks-lawsuit/

@mattl total, I'm basing it off of inventory totals in the shop.

Up to over 750 sales.

https://writing.exchange/@ernie/114840420377631103

Just learned there was a new Google udm code discovered. So you know what I had to do.

https://udm56.com/

Still kicking in on the DNS front, but it’s already up.

Edit: https://udm14.com still works too, this is just an alternative view.

@mattl Libre Gumroad

In honor of udm14.com celebrating its one-year anniversary, I wrote a little thing on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn🇱🇮activity:7331316159515926528/

The power of small experiments is that they can sometimes become big ideas.

@mattl Yeah. You still have that G4 I sent you a while ago?

@mattl I still have my G4 Mac Mini. I could easily set it up as a Photoshop machine if I’m desperate.

Tomorrow is an important day for me. It’s the day my Adobe subscription shuts off for good. If I need to bring them back for client work I will only do it on a one-time monthly basis.

A friend from high school recently learned that they are losing easy access to epilepsy medication they need.

If you have a moment and feel compelled to speak out in support of epilepsy patients, please check out this link & send a message to your reps.

https://epilepsyallianceamerica.org/take-action-cdc-epilepsy-program-is-in-jeopardy/

OK, after thinking this over, I’ve decided to give it a shot. I will be accepting a limited number of research tasks every month. I think 15 is a better balance, as it will give me more time to dive in to a given topic.

I am using Ko-Fi’s commissions feature for this new offering. And if you don’t want to share the result in social media, you can opt out for $2 more.

https://ko-fi.com/c/caf0972c99

OK, we have our first question, courtesy of @anildash!

Here’s what I found … (thread)

Why are Severance’s film editors working in a remote desktop setup, rather than directly on their Macs? And what does that mean for Apple’s rep as the video editor’s fave?

I ponder a small discovery in a promotional video for Apple TV+’s biggest hit:

https://tedium.co/2025/03/29/severance-apple-remote-editing-weirdness/

new @tedium

You do not want your genetic data to end up in a bankruptcy court, where it ends up in the hands of the highest bidder. If you ever used 23andMe, do this now.

The state of California is warning 23andMe customers to delete their data because odds are good that the company is going to go bankrupt.

If I were you I would prioritize doing this.

https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-urgently-issues-consumer-alert-23andme-customers

@mattl @vkc They never sell it as a Photoshop alternative, but I always feel like they sell a good software package really short.

@mattl @vkc I think the problem with it, if nailed down is that the name reflects bigger issues with the rest of the application, which is that the devs ignore end-user concerns. The name would have been changed years ago if they took those concerns seriously.

@mattl @vkc I’m not saying that their work isn’t worth respecting, but I look at the Krita community and it’s leaps and bounds more welcoming. Also, its frame-based animation tools are basically the only good ones I’ve found outside of Photoshop.