Stephen Usher
@srusher.bsky.social
Retro-computers, model railways, playing Elite: Dangerous...
What else do you need to know? :-)
What else do you need to know? :-)
Four and a half hours to drive from Oxford to Cambridge today, when it usually takes two.
I couldn’t go my usual route due to the Black Cat junction and Caxton Gibbit works.
Was not helped by the Škoda satnav insisting to try to use a B road rather than the A14 and that road was closed.
I couldn’t go my usual route due to the Black Cat junction and Caxton Gibbit works.
Was not helped by the Škoda satnav insisting to try to use a B road rather than the A14 and that road was closed.
November 14, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Four and a half hours to drive from Oxford to Cambridge today, when it usually takes two.
I couldn’t go my usual route due to the Black Cat junction and Caxton Gibbit works.
Was not helped by the Škoda satnav insisting to try to use a B road rather than the A14 and that road was closed.
I couldn’t go my usual route due to the Black Cat junction and Caxton Gibbit works.
Was not helped by the Škoda satnav insisting to try to use a B road rather than the A14 and that road was closed.
Reposted by Stephen Usher
IP blocking the UK is not enough to comply with the Online Safety Act | Hacker News
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119703
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #PrestonByrne #censorship #ofcom #surveillance #vpns
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119703
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #PrestonByrne #censorship #ofcom #surveillance #vpns
IP blocking the UK is not enough to comply with the Online Safety Act | Hacker News
Hackernews comment amongst themselves regarding Ofcom’s chasing foreign websites rather than pursuing domestic censorship:
alecmuffett.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:05 AM
IP blocking the UK is not enough to comply with the Online Safety Act | Hacker News
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119703
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #PrestonByrne #censorship #ofcom #surveillance #vpns
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119703
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #PrestonByrne #censorship #ofcom #surveillance #vpns
What did science PhD students get up to when they weren't doing science on their UNIX workstations in the 1990s?
Well, gaming of course!
Come and play some networked (and non-networked) games on a couple of old Sun Microsystems gaming rigs!
(Gaming rigs need lights inside, right?)
Well, gaming of course!
Come and play some networked (and non-networked) games on a couple of old Sun Microsystems gaming rigs!
(Gaming rigs need lights inside, right?)
November 5, 2025 at 6:56 PM
What did science PhD students get up to when they weren't doing science on their UNIX workstations in the 1990s?
Well, gaming of course!
Come and play some networked (and non-networked) games on a couple of old Sun Microsystems gaming rigs!
(Gaming rigs need lights inside, right?)
Well, gaming of course!
Come and play some networked (and non-networked) games on a couple of old Sun Microsystems gaming rigs!
(Gaming rigs need lights inside, right?)
Reposted by Stephen Usher
Analysis: The Online Safety Act is still on a faltering upswing, it will take 5…10 years to mitigate (and 10…30 to undo) the damage being caused
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119268
#OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119268
#OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns
Analysis: The Online Safety Act is still on a faltering upswing, it will take 5…10 years to mitigate (and 10…30 to undo) the damage being caused
A small clique of UK peers, activists, academics & journalists, see “The Internet” as a monster from which they must protect “The People”. Frustrated by disobedience & general lack of progr…
alecmuffett.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Analysis: The Online Safety Act is still on a faltering upswing, it will take 5…10 years to mitigate (and 10…30 to undo) the damage being caused
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119268
#OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119268
#OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns
Seeing as the Sun Ultra 45 is going to the games themed Retro Computing Festival in Cambridge next month to play 1990s UNIX games and it has a transparent side, it needed to be pimped out with some coloured lights inside... Had to, right?
Well, £5 for five sets of battery LED strings was cheap. :-)
Well, £5 for five sets of battery LED strings was cheap. :-)
October 30, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Seeing as the Sun Ultra 45 is going to the games themed Retro Computing Festival in Cambridge next month to play 1990s UNIX games and it has a transparent side, it needed to be pimped out with some coloured lights inside... Had to, right?
Well, £5 for five sets of battery LED strings was cheap. :-)
Well, £5 for five sets of battery LED strings was cheap. :-)
Working on the 5th(?) replacement display for the games themed RetroFest in Cambridge next month.
So my last best hope for a display, my Babylon 5 as it were, is a couple of Sun workstations with xpilot, netrek & maybe Quake & Quake II on them.
Much installing & upgrading today. Just like work.
So my last best hope for a display, my Babylon 5 as it were, is a couple of Sun workstations with xpilot, netrek & maybe Quake & Quake II on them.
Much installing & upgrading today. Just like work.
October 27, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Working on the 5th(?) replacement display for the games themed RetroFest in Cambridge next month.
So my last best hope for a display, my Babylon 5 as it were, is a couple of Sun workstations with xpilot, netrek & maybe Quake & Quake II on them.
Much installing & upgrading today. Just like work.
So my last best hope for a display, my Babylon 5 as it were, is a couple of Sun workstations with xpilot, netrek & maybe Quake & Quake II on them.
Much installing & upgrading today. Just like work.
Reposted by Stephen Usher
UK MPs demand Home Secretary call on Apple to make iPhone more resistant to data exfiltration, backdoors, hacking, and third-party repair…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118602
#HomeOffice #PhoneTheft #RightToRepair #backdoor #censorship #encryption #surveillance
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118602
#HomeOffice #PhoneTheft #RightToRepair #backdoor #censorship #encryption #surveillance
UK MPs demand Home Secretary call on Apple to make iPhone more resistant to data exfiltration, backdoors, hacking, and third-party repair…
“Oh, Wait, No, Not like that.” MPs urge UK government to stop phone theft wave through tech | The Register
alecmuffett.com
October 27, 2025 at 8:05 AM
UK MPs demand Home Secretary call on Apple to make iPhone more resistant to data exfiltration, backdoors, hacking, and third-party repair…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118602
#HomeOffice #PhoneTheft #RightToRepair #backdoor #censorship #encryption #surveillance
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118602
#HomeOffice #PhoneTheft #RightToRepair #backdoor #censorship #encryption #surveillance
Reposted by Stephen Usher
UK Expands Online Safety Act, Forcing Preemptive Censorship
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118629
#AgeVerification #ChildSafety #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118629
#AgeVerification #ChildSafety #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns
UK Expands Online Safety Act, Forcing Preemptive Censorship
Who would ever have expected? Britain’s push for online “safety” drifts into a realm of digital pre-crime, where algorithms decide guilt before anything gets seen.
alecmuffett.com
October 27, 2025 at 10:05 AM
UK Expands Online Safety Act, Forcing Preemptive Censorship
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118629
#AgeVerification #ChildSafety #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns
https://alecmuffett.com/article/118629
#AgeVerification #ChildSafety #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns
Reposted by Stephen Usher
Ofcom have just clothed themselves not as an independent regulator, but as part of the sovereign British Government.
This means that the British Government is attempting to prosecute/enforce UK state censorship in the USA.
This will not land well in first-amendment America.
This means that the British Government is attempting to prosecute/enforce UK state censorship in the USA.
This will not land well in first-amendment America.
Grab lots of popcorn: What’s just happened in Ofcom-vs-4Chan will be fun to watch…
https://alecmuffett.com/article/117326
#4chan #AgeAppropriateDesignCode #AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #ofcom #surveillance #vpns
https://alecmuffett.com/article/117326
#4chan #AgeAppropriateDesignCode #AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #ofcom #surveillance #vpns
Grab lots of popcorn: What’s just happened in Ofcom-vs-4Chan will be fun to watch…
Various UK pro-censorship interests of the past 10+ years have painted the Web as a “Wild West” that must be tamed for civility’s sake… and arguably “4Chan” is and alw…
alecmuffett.com
October 14, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Ofcom have just clothed themselves not as an independent regulator, but as part of the sovereign British Government.
This means that the British Government is attempting to prosecute/enforce UK state censorship in the USA.
This will not land well in first-amendment America.
This means that the British Government is attempting to prosecute/enforce UK state censorship in the USA.
This will not land well in first-amendment America.
Reposted by Stephen Usher
🌍 | Natural hydrogen, long overlooked as a viable energy resource, is emerging as one of the most exciting frontiers in sustainable energy.
Discover how Oxford research is positioned firmly at the forefront of this global pursuit. ⬇️
@oxuniearthsci.bsky.social | #OxfordClimate
Discover how Oxford research is positioned firmly at the forefront of this global pursuit. ⬇️
@oxuniearthsci.bsky.social | #OxfordClimate
Natural Hydrogen - the untapped solution to decarbonisation?
YouTube video by University of Oxford
www.youtube.com
October 10, 2025 at 9:16 AM
🌍 | Natural hydrogen, long overlooked as a viable energy resource, is emerging as one of the most exciting frontiers in sustainable energy.
Discover how Oxford research is positioned firmly at the forefront of this global pursuit. ⬇️
@oxuniearthsci.bsky.social | #OxfordClimate
Discover how Oxford research is positioned firmly at the forefront of this global pursuit. ⬇️
@oxuniearthsci.bsky.social | #OxfordClimate
Getting things ready for this weekend’s Cyber Legends 2025.
Testing the projector… Maybe a retro enough video source?
Testing the projector… Maybe a retro enough video source?
October 8, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Getting things ready for this weekend’s Cyber Legends 2025.
Testing the projector… Maybe a retro enough video source?
Testing the projector… Maybe a retro enough video source?
Reposted by Stephen Usher
#OTD 45 years ago (7 Oct 1980) according to my diary, I drew these images for the Hitchhiker's Guide BBC TV series. Douglas Adams as both the ad exec and as Paula, the worst poet in the universe. I was 19 years old and having fun.
October 7, 2025 at 12:16 PM
#OTD 45 years ago (7 Oct 1980) according to my diary, I drew these images for the Hitchhiker's Guide BBC TV series. Douglas Adams as both the ad exec and as Paula, the worst poet in the universe. I was 19 years old and having fun.
Reposted by Stephen Usher
Discord Age Verification Data Hack: ‘The unauthorized party also accessed a “small number” of images of government IDs from “users who had appealed an age determination.”’
https://alecmuffett.com/article/115973
https://alecmuffett.com/article/115973
Discord Age Verification Data Hack: ‘The unauthorized party also accessed a “small number” of images of government IDs from “users who had appealed an age determination.”’
If you require platforms to age verify it means the user is giving up more data to somebody, which means there is more data to be hacked: Discord customer service data breach leaks user info and sc…
alecmuffett.com
October 6, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Discord Age Verification Data Hack: ‘The unauthorized party also accessed a “small number” of images of government IDs from “users who had appealed an age determination.”’
https://alecmuffett.com/article/115973
https://alecmuffett.com/article/115973
Reposted by Stephen Usher
China threatened to retaliate against UK over foreign influence rules
China threatened to retaliate against UK over foreign influence rules
Exclusive: Chinese officials warned that targeting its security apparatus would have negative consequences for relations
China threatened to retaliate against the UK government if ministers targeted parts of its security apparatus under foreign influence rules, the Guardian can disclose.
Chinese officials warned the Foreign Office that the move would have negative consequences for relations soon after the Guardian reported it was under consideration, according to two government sources with knowledge of the discussions. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
October 5, 2025 at 6:04 PM
China threatened to retaliate against UK over foreign influence rules
Reposted by Stephen Usher
This article manages to name her husband before it names… her.
October 3, 2025 at 11:15 AM
This article manages to name her husband before it names… her.
Reposted by Stephen Usher
And yet this staggeringly incompetent govt has severely damaged its own case for digital ID.
First by framing it as just a means to stop illegal migrants working.
And now by (again) demanding Apple provides a “digital backdoor” to our data - destroying trust in how secure our ID data might be.
First by framing it as just a means to stop illegal migrants working.
And now by (again) demanding Apple provides a “digital backdoor” to our data - destroying trust in how secure our ID data might be.
October 2, 2025 at 6:53 AM
And yet this staggeringly incompetent govt has severely damaged its own case for digital ID.
First by framing it as just a means to stop illegal migrants working.
And now by (again) demanding Apple provides a “digital backdoor” to our data - destroying trust in how secure our ID data might be.
First by framing it as just a means to stop illegal migrants working.
And now by (again) demanding Apple provides a “digital backdoor” to our data - destroying trust in how secure our ID data might be.
Reposted by Stephen Usher
October 2, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Reposted by Stephen Usher
And some text regarding how easy it is to fake a utility bill, how hard it is supposed to be to fake a digital ID, and where that all falls down
October 2, 2025 at 9:36 AM
And some text regarding how easy it is to fake a utility bill, how hard it is supposed to be to fake a digital ID, and where that all falls down
Reposted by Stephen Usher
Amongst the many things I don't like are the government lying about how #DigitalID will make people's lives "easier" - when they are not empowered to deliver that, and make no mention of their underwriting the cost of weakening authentication - as well as the lies about "stopping illegal migration".
October 2, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Amongst the many things I don't like are the government lying about how #DigitalID will make people's lives "easier" - when they are not empowered to deliver that, and make no mention of their underwriting the cost of weakening authentication - as well as the lies about "stopping illegal migration".
Reposted by Stephen Usher
Online Safety Act: A well-intentioned disaster? | Professional Security Magazine
https://alecmuffett.com/article/115334
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns
https://alecmuffett.com/article/115334
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns
Online Safety Act: A well-intentioned disaster? | Professional Security Magazine
As internet users become desensitised to handing over their confidential information to websites, we could see attackers spoofing age verification domains in a bid to steal confidential information…
alecmuffett.com
October 1, 2025 at 7:05 AM
Online Safety Act: A well-intentioned disaster? | Professional Security Magazine
https://alecmuffett.com/article/115334
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns
https://alecmuffett.com/article/115334
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns
Slip-sliding away...
On the fault line between two moons.
(Note how night vision on "current moon" is blue but on the sliding moon it's green?)
#EliteDangerous
On the fault line between two moons.
(Note how night vision on "current moon" is blue but on the sliding moon it's green?)
#EliteDangerous
September 30, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Slip-sliding away...
On the fault line between two moons.
(Note how night vision on "current moon" is blue but on the sliding moon it's green?)
#EliteDangerous
On the fault line between two moons.
(Note how night vision on "current moon" is blue but on the sliding moon it's green?)
#EliteDangerous
Reposted by Stephen Usher
I swear, having met some similar people in UK politics pursuing this particular agenda, for some of them it is either their way of undoing childhood trauma or alternately it is directly tied to some form of crusade on behalf of their faith.
bsky.app/profile/mmas...
bsky.app/profile/mmas...
Donald Trump basically announces that he is declaring war on anyone he deems a Democrat... and one of the leading Democratic Senators, @blumenthal.senate.gov thinks now is the best time for a bipartisan censorship bill that will let MAGA define what content is allowed on the internet.
WTF?
WTF?
Are you kidding me right now? This is the last thing we need. KOSA is back no thanks to Senator Blumenthal who is working with the GOP and bringing in Republican Senators to convince the House to support it.
Please, CALL GOP House leadership and tell them to keep opposing it!
Please, CALL GOP House leadership and tell them to keep opposing it!
September 30, 2025 at 7:07 PM
I swear, having met some similar people in UK politics pursuing this particular agenda, for some of them it is either their way of undoing childhood trauma or alternately it is directly tied to some form of crusade on behalf of their faith.
bsky.app/profile/mmas...
bsky.app/profile/mmas...
Reposted by Stephen Usher
A really good reason: not knowing where someone currently resides is a huge risk when it comes to legal redress if they nick the hire car or whatever. I love how the magic word 'digital' makes idiot ministers think chaotic humans will suddenly transform into compliant automata because of an app
If you have a driving licence then you use that and a utility bill
If you have a passport then you use that and a utility bill
If you have a digital ID then you will use that and a utility bill
This is and will be an invariant pattern in modern business for some reason.
Will law change that?
If you have a passport then you use that and a utility bill
If you have a digital ID then you will use that and a utility bill
This is and will be an invariant pattern in modern business for some reason.
Will law change that?
September 30, 2025 at 6:05 AM
A really good reason: not knowing where someone currently resides is a huge risk when it comes to legal redress if they nick the hire car or whatever. I love how the magic word 'digital' makes idiot ministers think chaotic humans will suddenly transform into compliant automata because of an app
Reposted by Stephen Usher
Is there a reason I ask that the Times are using a picture of asylum seekers in a boat to describe rules for migrants who came on legal routes such as skilled worker visas for doctors?
Tough new conditions to be imposed on migrants who want to settle in the UK will not apply to more than a million people who arrived in the UK under the post-Brexit immigration surge
Labour’s tough new rules will not apply to migrants already in UK
www.thetimes.com
September 30, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Is there a reason I ask that the Times are using a picture of asylum seekers in a boat to describe rules for migrants who came on legal routes such as skilled worker visas for doctors?
Reposted by Stephen Usher
Can someone confirm?
UK Police cannot force you to unlock your phone without a warrant.
The UK Government want you to install an app so you will need to unlock your phone to prove ID.
At which point the Police no longer need a warrant to search your phone.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
UK Police cannot force you to unlock your phone without a warrant.
The UK Government want you to install an app so you will need to unlock your phone to prove ID.
At which point the Police no longer need a warrant to search your phone.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards
We demand that the UK Government immediately commits to not introducing a digital ID cards. There are reports that this is being looked at.
petition.parliament.uk
September 29, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Can someone confirm?
UK Police cannot force you to unlock your phone without a warrant.
The UK Government want you to install an app so you will need to unlock your phone to prove ID.
At which point the Police no longer need a warrant to search your phone.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
UK Police cannot force you to unlock your phone without a warrant.
The UK Government want you to install an app so you will need to unlock your phone to prove ID.
At which point the Police no longer need a warrant to search your phone.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...