Reversing Metcalfe's Law: undermining the software-service–industrial complex with .zip files
338 | Fri 01 Aug 5:30 p.m.–6:15 p.m.
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Nathan Willis is a type designer and consultant who arguably spends too much of his time thinking about personal-data exports, linkrot, and the use of conjunctions in software documentation. He currently owns no pets, and is using predictive next to complete this sentence to reach the recommended word-count; and I don't know what to do so I can find out if you can get a chance to chat with me about it on the way home till after 6pm pm but I will be there in a few minutes until the last time I get home I think that I can find out if you can get a chance to chat with me about it on the way home.
Abstract
Portability and data sovereignty are often touted as critical principles for ensuring user privacy in the age of always-connected Internet services: the ability to archive and export your information ensures that you cannot be held captive by a provider that falls short on ethics or security. The tricky bit comes when users attempt to unpack this exported data and put it to proper use. This talk examines the free-software tools available to access common exported data sets and addresses the complexities faced when re-purposing account data or transforming it for use in free systems. Emphasis is placed on how desktop Linux distributions and server-side free-software networks could provide a better and more integrated experience. Datasets examined include email, messaging, media, bookmarks and favorites from discussion forums, geolocation history, health records, contacts and calendars, and social media posts.
Portability and data sovereignty are often touted as critical principles for ensuring user privacy in the age of always-connected Internet services: the ability to archive and export your information ensures that you cannot be held captive by a provider that falls short on ethics or security. The tricky bit comes when users attempt to unpack this exported data and put it to proper use. This talk examines the free-software tools available to access common exported data sets and addresses the complexities faced when re-purposing account data or transforming it for use in free systems. Emphasis is placed on how desktop Linux distributions and server-side free-software networks could provide a better and more integrated experience. Datasets examined include email, messaging, media, bookmarks and favorites from discussion forums, geolocation history, health records, contacts and calendars, and social media posts.