Today's threads (a thread)

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Tue, 21 Apr 2026 22:24:32 GMT

woodenmachines@mastodon.social — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 22:24:32 GMT

@HolgerPieta @marcel @tris @dinandmentink @pluralistic @TechConnectify you could say the same thing about any product made by any manufacturer who has more MBAs than engineers

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Tue, 21 Apr 2026 20:46:00 GMT

holgerpieta@digitalcourage.social — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 20:46:00 GMT

@marcel @tris @dinandmentink @pluralistic @TechConnectify I'm afraid this won't hold true for a lot panels produced in the last years. There are videos on YouTube of whole solar parks where the backing foil of the panels turned to dust after just a couple of years.

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:47:28 GMT

marcel@waldvogel.family — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:47:28 GMT

@tris
And those 25 years are just the start. A 3 decades long study shows that all but the first few years of solar panel production will last 25 years while keeping most of their efficiency.

(Manufacturers changed the encapsulant shortly after introduction to one which degrades less, quickly learning from the initial deployment years.)
@dinandmentink @pluralistic @TechConnectify
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/el/d4el00040d

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:28:19 GMT

woodenmachines@mastodon.social — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:28:19 GMT

@tris @dinandmentink @pluralistic @TechConnectify same with the elements and “rare earths” in batteries, they aren’t consumed. Even after the batteries are repurposed into second life the elements can be separated and reused to make more batteries. An endless cycle of extraction is not necessary #ev #electrifyeverything #electrostate

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:21:16 GMT

adrian@libretooth.gr — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:21:16 GMT

@dinandmentink @pluralistic @TechConnectify these are the types of crossover episodes I crave for

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:07:23 GMT

tris@namtao.com — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:07:23 GMT

@dinandmentink @pluralistic @TechConnectify the branding of renewables as "reusable power sources" is so great in that video:

A tank of diesel, you buy once and destroy in order to use it.
A solar panel, you buy once and reuse for 25 years.

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Tue, 21 Apr 2026 15:46:37 GMT

dinandmentink@mastodon.online — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 15:46:37 GMT

@pluralistic @TechConnectify please note that none of his videos, apart from this one, is so Political. It's really one of those "you made a gentle man angry" cases, which makes it so strong.

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Tue, 21 Apr 2026 15:45:08 GMT

dinandmentink@mastodon.online — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 15:45:08 GMT

@pluralistic Your article reminds me so much of a recent @TechConnectify video. Are you aware of Technology Connections (aka angry dishwasher man). Alex explains a lot of Technology, old and new. If not, whoo boy are you going to learn a thing or two about dishwashers.

Their recent video discusses, I think, electrification (mainly of cars) just so darn well that I hartily recommend sending it to all those who are still somewhat on the fence.

- YouTube

Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.

(www.youtube.com)

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:30:15 GMT

chertridge@beige.party — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:30:15 GMT

@pluralistic Worth reading overall but additionally for the clever neologisms, "Gretacene" and "Manchin-Synematic Universe"

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 22:51:03 GMT

juzalt@toot.garden — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 22:51:03 GMT

@benjaminwoodyatt @pluralistic so did I

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 19:54:57 GMT

benjaminwoodyatt@mastodon.social — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 19:54:57 GMT

I needed this one today from @pluralistic Makes all the chaos seem a bit more manageable for a minute.

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:30:17 GMT

pluralistic@mamot.fr — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:30:17 GMT

I'm also on Bluesky. Read today's thread there at:

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) (@doctorow.pluralistic.net)

There aren't a lot of things I agree with Mark Carney about, but there's one area where he and I are in *total* accord: the old, US-dominated, "rules-based international order" was total bullshit: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/davos-2026-special-address-by-mark-carney-prime-minister-of-canada/ 1/

Bluesky Social (bsky.app)

eof/

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:30:06 GMT

pluralistic@mamot.fr — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:30:06 GMT

You can follow these posts as a daily blog at pluralistic.net: no ads, trackers, or data-collection!

Here's today's edition: https://pluralistic.net/2026/04/20/praxis/

If you prefer a newsletter, subscribe to the plura-list, which is ad-/tracker-free, and is utterly unadorned save a single daily emoji. Today's is "". Suggestions solicited for future emojis!

You can also get a fulltext RSS feed, licensed CC BY 4.0:

https://pluralistic.net/feed/

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Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:29:53 GMT

pluralistic@mamot.fr — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:29:53 GMT

Recent appearances:

* When Do Platforms Stop Innovating and Start Extracting? (InnovEU)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cccDR0YaMt8

* Pete "Mayor" Buttigieg (No Gods No Mayors)
https://www.patreon.com/posts/pete-mayor-with-155614612

* The internet is getting worse (CBC The National)
https://youtu.be/dCVUCdg3Uqc?si=FMcA0EI_Mi13Lw-P

* Do you feel screwed over by big tech? (Ontario Today)
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-45-ontario-today/clip/16203024-do-feel-screwed-big-tech

* Launch for Cindy's Cohn's "Privacy's Defender" (City Lights)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuVCm2PUalU

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Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:29:37 GMT

pluralistic@mamot.fr — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:29:37 GMT

Upcoming appearances (cont'd):

* SXSW #London, Jun 2
https://www.sxswlondon.com/session/how-big-tech-broke-the-internet-b3c4a901

* #NYC: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI (The Strand), Jun 24
https://www.strandbooks.com/cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaur-s-guide-to-life-after-ai.html

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Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:29:15 GMT

pluralistic@mamot.fr — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:29:15 GMT

Upcoming appearances (cont'd):

* #Barcelona: Internet no tiene que ser un vertedero (Global Digital Rights Forum), May 13
https://encuentroderechosdigitales.com/en/

* #Berlin: Re:publica, May 18-20
https://re-publica.com/de/news/rp26-sprecher-cory-doctorow

* #Berlin: Enshittification at Otherland Books, May 19
https://www.otherland-berlin.de/de/event-details/cory-doctorow.html

* #HayOnWye: HowTheLightGetsIn, May 22-25
https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/hay/big-ideas-2

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Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:29:04 GMT

pluralistic@mamot.fr — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:29:04 GMT

Upcoming appearances:

* #SanFrancisco: 2026 Berkeley Spring Forum on M&A and the Boardroom, Apr 23
https://www.theberkeleyforum.com/#agenda

* #London: Resisting Big Tech Empires (LSBU), Apr 25
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/globaljusticenow/2042691

* #NYC: Enshittification at Commonweal Ventures, Apr 29
https://luma.com/ssgfvqz8

* #NYC: Techidemic with Sarah Jeong, Tochi Onyibuchi and Alia Dastagir (PEN World Voices), Apr 30
https://worldvoices.pen.org/event/techidemic/

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Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:28:51 GMT

pluralistic@mamot.fr — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:28:51 GMT

My ebooks and audiobooks (from FSGxMCD, Tor Books, Head of Zeus, McSweeneys, Beacon, Verso and others) are for sale all over the net, but I sell 'em too, and when you buy 'em from me, I earn twice as much and you get books with no DRM and no license "agreements."

https://craphound.com/shop/

13/

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:28:31 GMT

pluralistic@mamot.fr — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:28:31 GMT

My latest novel is "Picks and Shovels," a historical technothriller set in the Weird Era of the PC, about Ponzi schemes, techbros, and the dawn of enshittification:

Just a moment...

(us.macmillan.com)

My latest nonfiction book is the internationally bestselling "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," from MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux:

Just a moment...

(us.macmillan.com)

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Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:28:25 GMT

pluralistic@mamot.fr — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:28:25 GMT

Saturday's threads: Georgia's voting technology blunder; and more!

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) (@doctorow.pluralistic.net)

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: Georgia's voting technology blunder; and more! Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/04/18/dominion-sucks-actually/ #Pluralistic 1/

Bluesky Social (bsky.app)

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Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:28:08 GMT

pluralistic@mamot.fr — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:28:08 GMT

#10yrsago High profits mean capitalism is cooked https://www.promarket.org/2016/04/16/are-we-all-rent-seeking-investors/

#10yrsago A look back at the D&D moral panic https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/18/us/when-dungeons-dragons-set-off-a-moral-panic.html

#10yrsago Petition to reassign head of Canada Post to deliver letters at $500k/year https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/help-canada-post-ceo-deepak-chopra-keep-his-job

#1yrago Mark Zuckerberg personally lost the Facebook antitrust case https://pluralistic.net/2025/04/18/chatty-zucky/#is-you-taking-notes-on-a-criminal-fucking-conspiracy

10/

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:27:38 GMT

pluralistic@mamot.fr — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:27:38 GMT

#10yrsago John Oliver and the cast of Sesame Street on lead poisoning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUizvEjR-0U

#10yrsago Supreme Court sends Authors Guild packing, won’t hear Google Books case https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/04/fair-use-prevails-as-supreme-court-rejects-google-books-copyright-case/

#10yrsago Four years later, Popehat’s favorite con-artist is indicted https://web.archive.org/web/20160419031946/https://popehat.com/2016/04/18/anatomy-of-a-scam-investigation-chapter-14-the-indictment/

#10yrsago Hacking Team supplied cyber-weapons to corrupt Latin American governments for human rights abuses https://www.derechosdigitales.org/wp-content/uploads/malware-para-la-vigilancia.pdf

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:27:08 GMT

pluralistic@mamot.fr — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:27:08 GMT

#10yrsago The saga of Ian Bogost’s pressure-washer https://bogostpressurewasherstatus.tumblr.com/

#10yrsago Heads of UK’s tax havens to Her Majesty’s Government: go fuck yourself https://web.archive.org/web/20160411112631/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tax-haven-corporate-tax-avoidance-uk-ministers-humiliated-after-cayman-bvi-british-virgin-islands-a6974956.html

#10yrsago George Clooney’s neighbor threw a $27/plate Sanders fundraiser to counter Clooney’s $33K/head Hillary event https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/sanders-supporters-shower-clinton-motorcade-1-bills-n557191

#10yrsago What is neoliberalism? https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot?CMP=twt_books_b-gdnbooks

#10yrsago No, tax-havens aren’t good for society (duh) https://web.archive.org/web/20160602053124/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-tax-havens/2016/04/15/76d001d2-0255-11e6-b823-707c79ce3504_story.html

Reply to Today's threads (a thread) on Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:26:54 GMT

pluralistic@mamot.fr — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:26:54 GMT

#15yrsago Privacy, Facebook, politics and kids https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2011/apr/18/cory-doctorow-networking-technologies-video?CMP=twt_fd

#15yrsago NZ MP votes for anti-piracy law hours after tweeting about her love of pirated music https://torrentfreak.com/kiwi-mp-called-out-as-pirate-after-passing-anti-piracy-law-110415/

#15yrsago Righthaven copyright trolls never had the right to sue, have their asses handed to them by the EFF https://web.archive.org/web/20110418001051/http://paidcontent.org/article/419-righthavens-secret-contract-is-revealedwill-its-strategy-collapse/

#15yrsago TSA considers being upset at screening procedures to be an indicator of terrorist intentions https://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/15/tsa.screeners.complain/