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My ebooks and audiobooks (from 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."
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@pluralistic
The entirety of the US economy in the 21st century has been a tech bubble, and AI is the thing that is finally going to cause it to burst. Its perfectly ironic and fitting that they created a technology that literally eats itself and its forebears.
The monopolists have finally run dry of easy shit to sell us junkies. Currently we are snorting baking soda and watching Bluey while they consolidate everything they can politically before we finally hit bottom. As painful as it is going to be, the only way out is through. Politically, its going to open a lot of doors. Sobriety can be both beautiful and deadly.
@pluralistic Such a great quote:
"AI is the asbestos we are shoveling into the walls of our society and our descendants will be digging it out for generations"
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:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels
--
My next nonfiction book is "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," out from MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux on October 7:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/
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Yesterday's threads: Apple threatens to stop selling iPhones in the EU; and more!
https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/115272268326693272
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#5yrsago Ransomware for coffee makers https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/27/junky-styling/#java-script
#5yrsago The joys of tailoring https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/27/junky-styling/#inseams
#1yrago Return to office and dying on the job https://pluralistic.net/2024/09/27/sharpen-your-blades-boys/#disciplinary-technology
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#20yrsago Financial Times: WIPO’s webcaster treaty is a disaster https://www.ft.com/content/441306be-2eb6-11da-9aed-00000e2511c8
#15yrsago Google’s autocomplete blacklist https://www.2600.com/googleblacklist/
#15yrsago FBI ignores DoJ report, raids activists, arrests Time Person of the Year https://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/27/fbi_raids_homes_of_anti_war
#15yrsago Meta-textual analysis of mainstream science reporting https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-lay-scientist/2010/sep/24/1
#15yrsago Lockheed Martin sign prohibits sketching and “gathering information” https://www.flickr.com/photos/jef/5028187145/
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#20yrsago Financial Times: WIPO’s webcaster treaty is a disaster https://www.ft.com/content/441306be-2eb6-11da-9aed-00000e2511c8
#15yrsago Google’s autocomplete blacklist https://www.2600.com/googleblacklist/
#15yrsago FBI ignores DoJ report, raids activists, arrests Time Person of the Year https://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/27/fbi_raids_homes_of_anti_war
#15yrsago Meta-textual analysis of mainstream science reporting https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-lay-scientist/2010/sep/24/1
#15yrsago Lockheed Martin sign prohibits sketching and “gathering information” https://www.flickr.com/photos/jef/5028187145/
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Hey look at this
* EU ministers reach 'compromise' on digital euro roadmap https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/eu-ministers-seek-agreement-digital-euro-be-independent-visa-mastercard-2025-09-19/
* Amazon will pay $2.5b to settle the FTC’s Prime lawsuit https://www.theverge.com/news/785744/amazon-ftc-prime-subscription-settlment
* Conservative Dem Compares Ad About Corporate Donations to ‘Political Violence’ https://prospect.org/politics/2025-09-25-conservative-dem-ad-corporate-donations-violence-bains-california/
* Monopoly Utilities Ousted America's Best Regulator https://economicpopulist.substack.com/p/monopoly-utilities-ousted-americas
* WNYC offers free programs to stations affected by funding cuts https://current.org/2025/09/wnyc-offers-free-programs-to-stations-affected-by-funding-cuts/ (h/t Today in Tabs)
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