When I was in computer science in college back in the 1900s, they told us that the USSR was responsible for some of the best algorithms still in use at the time (both for RAM and CPU usage) because they just had less to work with.

Guess we’re all in that boat now.

Current phone is just shy of 4 years old. I have no intention of changing it. I’ve been looking after the battery, trying to keep it in the 80% to 20% range with the occasional full charge so it’s still going strong.

Last one I got 5 years out of.

Article says:

It can reach a maximum operating altitude of 4,000 meters

Still very impressive.

Ah I’m no connoisseur but was lucky enough to visit many years ago and loved Havana Club.

Cuban rum is 🔥

Well done. Second one will be easier. :)

I love the creativity but does it not destroy sound isolation?

My own earpads go to shit about every three years. I wear glasses and I’m convinced that contributes to it. Cheap 60 second job to replace them though and always feels so good.

Deluxe Paint-esque vibe.

I feel very old but this is nail on the head.

Oh I got a good hearty laugh from this. Thank you!

I only recently discovered the power of the thumbs down in the car. It is magical.

Your ma wears high heels with tracksuit bottoms.

Because I didn’t make any LLM errors. I didn’t use an LLM and every post I’ve made in this thread fits my posting style exactly.

Ah…I didn’t say that something bad happens. I said see what happens. It’s an important difference…

I wouldn’t be comfortable using PGP encrypted messages sent through WeChat if I were there and communicating with a local (and I have been, many times). I would be very, very concerned about getting them in trouble. End to end encryption is not tolerated in China and using PGP would essentially bring that so I would consider it a significant risk. It’s speculative, I’ll admit that no problem but as I say I wouldn’t do it.

That’s my threat model. The fact that end to end doesn’t exist in China should tell you everything you need to know about deep rooted state level surveillance there. It does to me but if you think that in general all messaging providers should be able to see your text messages for some reason and think that combined with that, all those blocked phrases are not because the state wants control and oversight then your threat model and view of government surveillance (not just in China) is… different.

I’m glad I live somewhere that I feel free to text my wife on signal and I’m confident it’s not being read by anyone. If the day ever comes that stops being the case I’ll fight for it because privacy is important to me. Everyone can fuck off out of private conversations between me and my loved ones. They’re boring as shite but they’re mine and mine alone.

Yeah I’m not aware of the Vance thing but I’ll have a search. If you have a link handy I’d appreciate it as it might be hard to find without more context. (Edit: yeah I’m not finding it.)

That block list makes for interesting reading. Worth a look.

WeChat uses transport encryption but not end to end. This is well known. If you’re unwilling to search here’s an article.

However WeChat doesn’t use end-to-end encryption (E2EE).

Here’s another.

WeChat encrypts data, but it’s not E2EE, which means WeChat can access the content of your messages

And another (this one’s from citizen lab and a reasonably technical dive).

On a technical level, WeChat’s encryption protocol protects the communication between user devices and WeChat’s servers. It is not an end-to-end encryption system, which would encrypt data sent between two user devices.

There’s no end to them tbh.

If you can find me anything that says WeChat uses E2E anywhere I’ll read it but they don’t even claim that themselves so I think you’ll be hard pressed.

Here’s a list of blocked phrases on WeChat.

I honestly have no idea what you’re banging on about with the Vance thing. I’m not from the USA which I assumed was your assertion.

Wrong, but you keep on keeping on.

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I hate to break it to you but if the government want to see that titty pic if it’s on either of your phones or any other device they can and likely have.

If we work off the assumption that signal is secure then not without a court order where I live.

Not quite the same in China.

Edit: Awwww. The mods are removing my posts now. Bless their fragile hearts.

Since that’s happening I’m out now. It’s been an interesting discussion though I fundamentally disagree that surveillance there is the same as everywhere else. I’ve made my points. Catch you again o/

LLM? No, continuously was a deliberate choice. I don’t see what’s wrong with it.

I’m using the example of end to end encryption to show how online surveillance there is measurably worse.

Your assertion was that online surveillance there is the same as elsewhere. That’s ridiculous. That’s the starting point and it’s what I’m sticking to. Lack of E2E is just such an obvious example of how it’s worse.

You’re making assumptions about back doors in all Western tech. China has them.

I can use any E2E encrypted platform I choose. You can’t use any. That’s worse.