Why getting voting right is hard, Part V: DREs (spoiler: they’re bad)

This is the fifth post in my series on voting systems (catch up on parts I, II, III and IV), focusing on computerized voting machines. The technical term for these is Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting systems, but in practice what this means is that you vote on some kind of computer, typically using a touch screen interface. As with precinct-count optical scan, the machine produces a total count, typically recorded on a memory card, printed out on a paper receipt-like tape, or both. These can be sent back to election headquarters, togeth...[More]

Why getting voting right is hard, Part V: DREs (spoiler: they’re bad)

This is the fifth post in my series on voting systems (catch up on parts I, II, III and IV), focusing on computerized voting machines. The technical term for these is Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting systems, but in practice what this means is that you vote on some kind of computer, typically using a touch screen interface. As with precinct-count optical scan, the machine produces a total count, typically recorded on a memory card, printed out on a paper receipt-like tape, or both. These can be sent back to election headquarters, togeth...[More]

Mozilla’s Climate Commitments

Assuming responsibility for our emissions “In these disruptive, crises-ridden times, our attention is often captured by the immediate political and technical challenges right in front of us. Facing the climate crisis and ensuring that there is a habitable planet for us and future generations to continue fighting these fights is not something that can be pushed to the back seat. I, and Mozilla, are committed to protecting the environment.” — Mitchell Baker, CEO   We can’t save the planet without people, and we understand that the intern...[More]

Mozilla’s Climate Commitments

Assuming responsibility for our emissions “In these disruptive, crises-ridden times, our attention is often captured by the immediate political and technical challenges right in front of us. Facing the climate crisis and ensuring that there is a habitable planet for us and future generations to continue fighting these fights is not something that can be pushed to the back seat. I, and Mozilla, are committed to protecting the environment.” — Mitchell Baker, CEO   We can’t save the planet without people, and we understand that the intern...[More]

Reimagine Open: Building a Healthier Internet

Does the “openness” that made the internet so successful also inevitably lead to harms online? Is an open internet inherently a haven for illegal speech, for eroding privacy and security, or for inequitable access? Is “open” still a useful concept as we chart a future path for the internet? A new paper from Mozilla seeks to answer these questions. Reimagine Open: Building Better Internet Experiences explores the evolution of the open internet and the challenges it faces today. The report catalogs findings from a year-long project of out...[More]

Reimagine Open: Building a Healthier Internet

Does the “openness” that made the internet so successful also inevitably lead to harms online? Is an open internet inherently a haven for illegal speech, for eroding privacy and security, or for inequitable access? Is “open” still a useful concept as we chart a future path for the internet? A new paper from Mozilla seeks to answer these questions. Reimagine Open: Building Better Internet Experiences explores the evolution of the open internet and the challenges it faces today. The report catalogs findings from a year-long project of out...[More]

Why getting voting right is hard, Part IV: Absentee Voting and Vote By Mail

This is the fourth post in my series on voting systems. Part I covered requirements and then Part II and Part III covered in-person voting using paper ballots. However, paper ballots don’t need to be voted in person; it’s also possible to have people mail in their ballots, in which case they can be counted the same way as if they had been voted in person. Mail-in ballots get used in two main ways: Absentee Ballots: Inevitably, some voters will be unavailable on election day. Even with early voting, some voters (e.g., students, people livin...[More]

Why getting voting right is hard, Part IV: Absentee Voting and Vote By Mail

This is the fourth post in my series on voting systems. Part I covered requirements and then Part II and Part III covered in-person voting using paper ballots. However, paper ballots don’t need to be voted in person; it’s also possible to have people mail in their ballots, in which case they can be counted the same way as if they had been voted in person. Mail-in ballots get used in two main ways: Absentee Ballots: Inevitably, some voters will be unavailable on election day. Even with early voting, some voters (e.g., students, people livin...[More]

We need more than deplatforming

There is no question that social media played a role in the siege and take-over of the US Capitol on January 6. Since then there has been significant focus on the deplatforming of President Donald Trump. By all means the question of when to deplatform a head of state is a critical one, among many that must be addressed. When should platforms make these decisions? Is that decision-making power theirs alone? But as reprehensible as the actions of Donald Trump are, the rampant use of the internet to foment violence and hate, and reinforce white su...[More]

We need more than deplatforming

There is no question that social media played a role in the siege and take-over of the US Capitol on January 6. Since then there has been significant focus on the deplatforming of President Donald Trump. By all means the question of when to deplatform a head of state is a critical one, among many that must be addressed. When should platforms make these decisions? Is that decision-making power theirs alone? But as reprehensible as the actions of Donald Trump are, the rampant use of the internet to foment violence and hate, and reinforce white su...[More]

Why getting voting right is hard, Part III: Optical Scan

This is the third post in my series on voting systems. For background see part I. As described in part II, hand-counted paper ballots have a number of attractive security and privacy properties but scale badly to large elections. Fortunately, we can count paper ballots efficiently using optical scanners (opscan). This will be familiar to anyone who has taken paper-based standardized tests: instead of just checking a box, next to each choice there is a region (typically an oval) to fill in, as shown in the examples below These ballots can then b...[More]

Why getting voting right is hard, Part III: Optical Scan

This is the third post in my series on voting systems. For background see part I. As described in part II, hand-counted paper ballots have a number of attractive security and privacy properties but scale badly to large elections. Fortunately, we can count paper ballots efficiently using optical scanners (opscan). This will be familiar to anyone who has taken paper-based standardized tests: instead of just checking a box, next to each choice there is a region (typically an oval) to fill in, as shown in the examples below These ballots can then b...[More]

5 Powerful Ways To Grow Your Web Design Business

Whether you’re just starting in web design, work for an agency but have ambitions to go solo, or wish to expand your existing business, knowing where to start is the biggest hurdle. Thankfully plenty of accessible and cost-effective (yay) ways to grow your web design business are available — no matter what stage you are at in your journey. Join us as we share five powerful ways to expand your web design business.Set an Example With Your WebsiteWhere bricks-and-mortar shops have window displays to showcase their wares in the best possible li...[More]

5 Powerful Ways To Grow Your Web Design Business

Whether you’re just starting in web design, work for an agency but have ambitions to go solo, or wish to expand your existing business, knowing where to start is the biggest hurdle. Thankfully plenty of accessible and cost-effective (yay) ways to grow your web design business are available — no matter what stage you are at in your journey. Join us as we share five powerful ways to expand your web design business.Set an Example With Your WebsiteWhere bricks-and-mortar shops have window displays to showcase their wares in the best possible li...[More]

Sunday Talks, House Leader McCarthy Expands on Intel Briefing Around Eric Swalwell’s Control by Ch

House Leader Kevin McCarthy appears with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the issues surrounding democrat House Intel Committee member Eric Swalwell.  As noted within the timeline Swalwell was groomed and influenced by Chinese spies to rise from local San Francisco politics … Continue reading → The post Sunday Talks, House Leader McCarthy Expands on Intel Briefing Around Eric Swalwell’s Control by China appeared first on The Last Refuge. Re Posted From: Sunday Talks, House Leader McCarthy Expands on Intel Briefing Around Eric Swalwell’s Cont...[More]

Sunday Talks, House Leader McCarthy Expands on Intel Briefing Around Eric Swalwell’s Control by Ch

House Leader Kevin McCarthy appears with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the issues surrounding democrat House Intel Committee member Eric Swalwell.  As noted within the timeline Swalwell was groomed and influenced by Chinese spies to rise from local San Francisco politics … Continue reading → The post Sunday Talks, House Leader McCarthy Expands on Intel Briefing Around Eric Swalwell’s Control by China appeared first on The Last Refuge. Re Posted From: Sunday Talks, House Leader McCarthy Expands on Intel Briefing Around Eric Swalwell’s Cont...[More]

Mozilla’s Vision for Trustworthy AI

Mozilla is publishing its white paper, “Creating Trustworthy AI.” A little over two years ago, Mozilla started an ambitious project: deciding where we should focus our efforts to grow the movement of people committed to building a healthier digital world. We landed on the idea of trustworthy AI. When Mozilla started in 1998, the growth of the web was defining where computing was going. So Mozilla focused on web standards and building a browser. Today, the computing — and the digital society that we all live in — is defined by vast trov...[More]

Mozilla’s Vision for Trustworthy AI

Mozilla is publishing its white paper, “Creating Trustworthy AI.” A little over two years ago, Mozilla started an ambitious project: deciding where we should focus our efforts to grow the movement of people committed to building a healthier digital world. We landed on the idea of trustworthy AI. When Mozilla started in 1998, the growth of the web was defining where computing was going. So Mozilla focused on web standards and building a browser. Today, the computing — and the digital society that we all live in — is defined by vast trov...[More]

Our Year in Review: How we’ve kept Firefox working for you in 2020

This year began like any other year, with our best intentions and resolutions to carry out. Then by March, the world changed and everyone’s lives — personally and professionally — turned upside down. Despite that, we kept to our schedule to release a new Firefox every month and we were determined to keep Firefox working for you during challenging times. We shifted our focus to work on features aimed at helping people adjust to the new way of life, and we made Firefox faster so that you could get more things done. It’s all part of fulfil...[More]

Our Year in Review: How we’ve kept Firefox working for you in 2020

This year began like any other year, with our best intentions and resolutions to carry out. Then by March, the world changed and everyone’s lives — personally and professionally — turned upside down. Despite that, we kept to our schedule to release a new Firefox every month and we were determined to keep Firefox working for you during challenging times. We shifted our focus to work on features aimed at helping people adjust to the new way of life, and we made Firefox faster so that you could get more things done. It’s all part of fulfil...[More]