Tootfinder

Investors have grown accustomed to buying into major selloffs because stocks recover quickly
— not this time so far.

"This is a little bit of a more protracted, longer duration selloff than what investors have become used to,"
"Ironically, I think that's keeping people from feeling that they can buy the dip."
Big Tech firm's are spending at such a record rate to fund their AI ambitions, their capital expenditure is a bigger driver…

I really like Genoa! A big city, industrial and with an enormous port. But also a lovely city center very dense with tiny pedestrian streets. And of course lots of monumental Italian architecture.

If your stated goal is to make computing into a “utility” (aka subscription) you can only obtain from Big Tech and if your entire industry is comprised of rentiers, it makes perfect sense to also make actually owning a general computing device as expensive as possible.
As far as Big Tech is concerned, this is a feature, not a bug.
It’s capitalists acquiring capital and pricing it out of the reach of those they want to make dependent on them.
Also: fuck these people.

“Big Tech’s AI hype is distracting users from the rapid and dangerous expansion of giant, energy and water-intensive data centres […].
There is simply no evidence that AI will help the climate more than it will harm it.
Rather than relying on credible and substantiated data, Big Tech companies are writing themselves a blank cheque to pollute on the empty promise of future salvation. We cannot bet the climate on these baseless claims.”

Wow. Finally a truly good article about moving away from big tech in the national news here in Denmark. And yes, Mastodon is in it. It’s not a perfect list, but it’s the first good one I’ve seen outside of personal blogs. https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/viden/teknolo…

heise | Tschüss, Big Tech: Acht sichere E-Mail-Alternativen aus Europa im Vergleich
Gmail, iCloud, Outlook – die größten E-Mail-Anbieter sitzen in den USA. Mit diesen europäischen Alternativen erklären Sie Ihre digitale Unabhängigkeit.

Leave big tech behind! How to replace Amazon, Google, X, Meta, Apple – and more;
A handful of companies monopolize the web, with unprecedented access to our data. But there are many more ethical – and often distinctively European – alternatives
https://www.theg…

Leave big tech behind! How to replace Amazon, Google, X, Meta, Apple – and more
A handful of companies monopolise the web, with unprecedented access to our data. But there are many more ethical – and often distinctively European – alternatives

“A jury in LA has delivered a damning verdict for two of the world's most popular digital platforms, Instagram and YouTube.
It ruled those apps are addictive, and deliberately engineered that way – and that its owners have been negligent in their safeguarding of the children who have used them.
…
Some experts have described the verdict as big tech's "big tobacco" moment, and we know how that worked out - although it didn't stop people smoking altogether…

What next for big tech after landmark social media addiction verdict?
The ruling could be the beginning of the end of social media as we know it, writes the BBC's technology editor Zoe Kleinman.

Just saw how various websites are using 50 GB total in Chrome. A big culprit is every site with an embedded YouTube video seems to have its own copy of 313MB of YouTube crap. It's partitioned for privacy purposes and I'm guessing nothing is de-duping that storage. I wonder if every site has to download it too?

Comments by heads of Amazon, Microsoft, Anthropic, OpenAI and others, many delivered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, reveal a shift of narrative from optimistic inevitability towards recognition of geopolitical tensions, energy scarcity, economic bubbles and the race to make AI truly useful.
https://www.

Big tech leaders opine on the future of AI
Big tech leaders have been opining this week, on the future of AI, taking on the bubble talk, resource constraints and opportunities.

7️⃣ Nachdem Elon Musk Twitter übernommen, das Team entliess, dass Hassrede etc. moderieren sollte und sogar gebannte Personen wieder auf die Plattform einlud, begannen Werber sich zurückzuziehen, aus Angst um ihren Ruf. Eine Richterin hat nun entschieden, dass dieser gemeinsame Schritt nicht gegen das Kartellrecht verstosse. Im Übrigen sähe es so aus, dass Musk mittels der Discovery-Phase vor den Verhandlungen vor allem an Geschäftsinterna der Firmen gelangen wollte.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/elon-musk-loses-big-in-court-x-boycott-perfectly-legal/?utm_social-type=owned

Det var på tide med en god artikel om alternativerne hos DR! https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/viden/teknologi/kan-man-klare-sig-uden-amerikansk-big-tech-her-er-nogle-af-alternativerne

"Van het ministerie mag big tech de gesprekken over digitale autonomie zelf leiden"
https://www.

Van het ministerie mag big tech de gesprekken over digitale autonomie zelf leiden
Nederland wil minder afhankelijk worden van big tech, maar Binnenlandse Zaken laat de gesprekken daarover leiden door een branchevereniging die de belangen van big tech uitdraagt. De Nederlandse cloudaanbieders zijn bij de start buitenspel gezet. ‘Dit is als de tabakslobby laten meeschrijven aan anti-rookwetgeving.’

Cowboys Interested in Explosive 6-foot-3 WR Ahead of 2026 NFL Draft https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/onsi/draft/dallas-cowboys-interested-explosive-6-foot-3-wr-2026-nfl-draft

Exclusive: Big Tech companies band together to fight global scams
https://www.axios.com/2026/03/16/tech-companies-scam-accord-google-meta-amazon

Exclusive: Tech, retail companies band together to fight global scams
Scammers have only become more organized and impactful in recent years, forcing tech companies to rethink their strategies for protecting their users.

Let's stop calling them "big tech" and start calling them "tech oligarchs".
"Big tech" is too ambiguous. E.g. Linux could be called "big tech" too.
Also the problematic aspect is immediately revealed: the individuals at the top, their corruption and misuse of the power.

Frankreich nimmt die digitale Souveränität selbst in die Hand. Mit der flächendeckenden Einführung der Videokonferenzplattform Visio verabschiedet sich der Staat von US-Diensten wie Microsoft Teams und Zoom.
Zum Artikel: https://heise.de/-11155120?wt_mc=sm.re<…

Der "Big Tech Tobacco Moment", analysiert von @… :
"Es geht um viel mehr. Das Urteil könnte die Big-Tech-Konzerne in ihrem Innersten treffen, weil es nicht auf die Inhalte, sondern die Plattformlogik zielt: Infinite Scroll, Autoplay, Benachrichtigungen, Filter Bubble und Echokammer."
und:
"Wenn die Plattform bei den Teenag…

Gemeinsam mit vielen anderen habe ich den Offenen Brief von @… gegen die "Chat-Kontrolle 1.0" an das Europäische Parliament unterschrieben.
Auch in der #ePrivacy Verordnung darf die Überwachung der Messenger nicht umgesetzt werden.

Big Tech – ZDFinfo zeichnet das beunruhigende Porträt von Google, Meta, Amazon & Co: Aus einst idealistischen Start-ups wurden Datenkraken, deren Algorithmen entscheiden, was wir sehen, denken und wählen. Eine Warnung vor Datenmacht, Manipulation und demokratischer Fragilität. Pflichtsendung! #BigTech #Datenschutz

Vom AI-Hype zur AI-Angst: Warum Tech-Aktien 2026 so stark verlieren
Backlash: Big-Tech-Aktien notieren seit Jahresbeginn im Minus. Die Wall Street ist über das Disruptionspotenzial besorgt.
https://www.…

Bonusaflevering: Big Tech in de cockpit | NPO Start
#Argos #CCA

I'm going to stop writing to my Labour MP. The last one was about digital sovereignty (i.e. need for government to use open source, not big tech firms where possible).
I got back a vindication of the government's plans for data centres and AI.

Hey @…, you want to incentivise small sustainable online organisations in the EU (e.g., small not-for-profits like Small Technology Foundation) as an alternative to Big Tech?
Raise the EU's €10,000 cross-border OSS threshold to €1M (or even €10M).
You’ll still stop Big Tech corporations from jurisdiction shopping and you’ll r…

Da wir ja jetzt alle Big Tech verlassen wollen, so #DIDay und so, und vielleicht gilt das ja auch für Medium Tech: Kennt jemand eine gute, freie Alternative zu #Komoot? Es gibt ja tolle freie Kartenanwendungen wie @…

What will people do when AI can handle most current white-collar tasks?
I don't know.
And that's the whole point.
Nobody knew what displaced agricultural workers would do, either,
-- until they did it.
The absence of a visible next chapter isn't evidence that there won't be one.
It's evidence that we're bad at predicting what humans will invent when constraints shift.

Everything is awesome (why I'm an optimist)
February is the month the internet decided we're all going to die. In the span of about two weeks, Matt Shumer's Something Big is Happening racked up over 80 million views on X with its breathless comparison of AI to the early days of COVID, telling his non-tech friends and

Is this the disturbed view of AI / BigTech optimists, or does he have a point?
"Something Big Is Happening"
#ai

Something Big Is Happening
A personal note for non-tech friends and family on what AI is starting to change.

Digital Networks Act: EU verzichtet angeblich auf Milliardenstrafen für Big Tech
Der Digital Networks Act sollte Big Tech zur Kasse bitten. Doch statt harter Regulierung erwarten Netflix, Google und Meta nun Dialog und Handreichungen.

RE: https://tech.lgbt/@somebitslinks/116058348297956373
I was suspicious of the etymology of molly-guard because it only dates to 1982, and the devices are much older. But Ed Krol from UIUC tells the story about his daughter Molly on page 14 of this PDF.
The only thing about it was that on one side was a big red switch—kid-sized, about 2 inches wide. ... I took my daughter Molly in to work with me. I said, ‘You play with your trucks on the floor while I work,’ and she saw this amazing big red thing and gave it a yank and turned it off.
/cc @…

If I have one more fucking techbro explain to me that actually, I’m the problem for criticising Big Tech (and, yes, fucking Linux distributions and components tied to trillion-dollar corporations is also Big Tech) I am going to scream.
(Actually, I’m just going to block and move on and not give you another thought this lifetime. And maybe also scream.)

Warum weiter Big Tech folgen, wenn’s auch anders geht? Das Whitepaper „Reinvent Social Platforms“ vom SWR zeigt: Das Fediverse passt besser zu unabhängigen Medienwerten als kommerzielle Plattformen. Auf ~60 Seiten werden Chancen, echte Probleme und konkrete Lösungen skizziert. Journalismus braucht digitale Souveränität, nicht nur Klick-Optimierung. #SWR

Zo typerend dit,
"DNB laat na vragen in eerste instantie weten dat e-mail niet toegankelijk is voor Microsoft omdat de berichten ‘end-to-end beveiligd blijven’. Geconfronteerd met het oordeel van security-experts, erkent de bank vervolgens dat dit antwoord onjuist is en dat ‘technische toegang’ tot de data in ‘uitzonderlijke scenario’s’ mogelijk is."

De Nederlandsche Bank waarschuwt voor big tech, maar draait zelf op Microsoft
De Nederlandsche Bank maakt volop gebruik van systemen van Microsoft, waarin de Amerikanen kunnen meekijken. Bovendien schroefde DNB de beveiliging van e-mail verder terug. Terwijl de bank eerder waarschuwde voor afhankelijkheid van big tech en het ‘gure geopolitieke klimaat’.

RE: #Microsoft #MS

Over the past year, tech industry lobby groups have used their lavish budgets to aggressively push for the deregulation of the EU’s digital rulebook.
The intensity of this policy battle is also reflected in the fact that Big Tech companies have on average more than one lobby meeting per day with EU Commission officials.  
This lobbying offensive appears to be paying off.
Recently, a string of policy-makers have called for a pause of the Artificial Intelligence Act,
a…

Big Tech lobby budgets hit record levels | Corporate Europe Observatory
New figures show that the digital industry as a whole is now spending €151 million a year on lobbying the EU, a major increase to what was already considerable firepower.

Der "Big Tech Tobacco Moment", analysiert von @… :
"Es geht um viel mehr. Das Urteil könnte die Big-Tech-Konzerne in ihrem Innersten treffen, weil es nicht auf die Inhalte, sondern die Plattformlogik zielt: Infinite Scroll, Autoplay, Benachrichtigungen, Filter Bubble und Echokammer."
und:
"Wenn die Plattform bei den Teenag…

heise | Tschüss, Big Tech: Gmail-Postfach exportieren und E-Mails löschen
Sie haben Ihren E-Mail-Anbieter gewechselt? Dann müssen Sie jetzt noch Ihren Datenschatz aus dem alten Postfach heben. Wir erklären, wie das geht.

Big Tech ist Meister der Steuervermeidung. Die Politik reagiert mit einem „Plattform-Soli“. Doch laut Michael Kolain greift die Idee zu kurz: Sonderabgaben haben enge verfassungsrechtliche Grenzen – und selbst wenn sie kommen, bleibt die eigentliche Frage ungelöst: Wie besteuert man digitale Gewinne wirklich dort, wo sie entstehen?

A healthy (in body and mind),
active, frugal, sociable, mostly offline citizen
who is highly educated and informed, in full control of their data, avoiding Big Tech’s platforms and algorithms,
with a positive self-esteem and self-image,
is probably persona non grata for the tech billionaires.
But a small, insignificant nuisance, like a fly
– they don’t care about ONE.
But imagine having thousands,
then hundreds of thousands,
then millio…

A new way to describe the Fediverse and its opposition to Big Tech
I may have finally found a compelling, accessible way to describe the Fediverse - and make it appealing to people not familiar with it.

As US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents wreak havoc on American communities,
big tech companies have been making themselves indispensable to the increasingly tyrannical state.
Among them is Amazon subsidiary Ring,
the company behind those AI doorbell cameras that have exploded in popularity over the last few years.
Back in October, Ring announced that its devices would soon be looped into a network of Flock AI surveillance cameras.
That network, an inv…

Fury as Amazon Ring Cameras Are Hooked Up to ICE System
Online activists are telling owners of Ring Doorbell cameras that it's time to get rid of their devices, which can be used by ICE.

It was not so long ago that working with the military on potentially harmful technology was seen as a red line for many big tech workers.
In 2018, thousands of #Google employees launched a protest against a program to analyze drone footage for the DoD called #Project

Tech billionaires are leveraging tens of millions of dollars
to influence California politics
in a marked uptick from their previous participation in affairs at the state capitol.
Behemoths such as #Google and #Meta are getting involved in campaigns for November’s elections,
as are venture capitalist…