I was thinking about this and imagined the federated servers handling the index db, search algorithms, and search requests, but instead leverage each users browser/compute to do the actual web crawling/scraping/indexing; the server simply performing CRUD operations on the processed data from clients to index db. This approach would target the core reason why search engines fail (cost of scraping and processing billions of sites), reduce the costs to host a search server, and spread the expense across the user base.

It also may have the added benefit of hindering surveillance capitalism due to a sea of junk queries from every client, especially if it were making crawler requests from the same browser (obviously needs to be isolated from the users own data, extensions, queries, etc). The federated servers would also probably need to operate as lighthouses that orchestrate the domains and IP ranges to crawl, and efficiently distribute the workload to client machines.

a) why the fuck would they go to that effort for a filthy commoner like yourself, and b) what are the chances that 0.01% of recoverable data contains anything useful!?!

Nobody is gonna bother doing advanced forensics on 2nd hand storage, digging into megabytes of reallocated sectors on the off chance they to find something financially exploitable. That’s a level of paranoia no data supports.

My example applies to storage devices which don’t default to encryption (most non-OS external storage). It’s analogous to changing your existing encrypted disks password to a random-ass unrecoverable throwaway.

Most SSD/flash secure erase methods involve the storage having full disk encryption enabled, and simply destroying the encryption key. Without the encryption key the data can’t be deciphered even with the correct password, as the password was only used to encrypt the encryption key itself. This is why you can “factory reset” an iPhone or Android in seconds.

For all average user requirements that just involve backups, PII docs, your sex vids, etc (e.g. not someone who could be persecuted, prosecuted, or murdered for their data) your best bet (other than physical destruction) is to encrypt every usable bit in the drive.

1. Download veracrypt
2. Format the SSD as exFAT
3. Create a new veracrypt volume on the mounted exFat partition that uses 100% of available space (any format).
4. open up a notepad and type out a long random ass throwaway password e.g. $-963,;@82??/@;!3?$.&$-,fysnvefeianbsTak62064$@/lsjgegelwidvwggagabanskhbwugVg, copy it, and close/delete without saving.
5. paste that password for the new veracrypt volume, and follow the prompts until it starts encrypting your SSD. It’ll take a while as it encrypts every available bit one-by-one.

Even if veracrypt hits a free space error at the end of the task, the job is done. Maybe not 100%, but 99.99+% of space on the SSD is overwritten with indecipherable gibberish. Maybe advanced forensics could recover some bits, but a) why the fuck would they go to that effort for a filthy commoner like yourself, and b) what are the chances that 0.01% of recoverable data contains anything useful!?! You don’t really need to bother destroying the header encryption key (as apple and android products do when you wipe a device) as you don’t know the password and there isn’t a chance in hell you or anyone else is gonna guess, nor brute force, it.

More specifically — by matching all of your purchases with every data point about you, and the people you associate with, they can build out statistical models to determine the data points that most strongly correlate to people like you and what motivates or persuades them to GENERATE MORE PROFIT — direct purchases, attention, clicks, discussion, word of mouth, lead generation, etc, etc…

Or… You know… What motivates/persuades you to support a dictator or vote for a specific political candidate or party, as well as what demotivates/dissuades you from the opposition — including what types of psychological warfare, disinformation, deepfakes, “fake news”, and lies are most successful in achieving these goals — all of which benefits the most horrifically immoral and unethical criminals, corporations, and individuals the most (the “good guys” aren’t the ones using deception and lies to profit and win).

The moment of divergence is instantaneous between the clone and original. The only way it could not be instantaneous, is if both were just a brain connected to the exact same simulation, experiencing the exact same inputs. If they didn’t respond the same, then they aren’t an exact clone. Even then, the brains would be sustained with different blood, made up of trillions of slightly different atoms — although similar, not 100% identical due to quantum mechanics — with a slightly different fluid dynamics. Actually the only way they could be identical is if they weren’t brains but identical code, running in an identical simulation, with the exact same boundaries, and no possibility of probability, chaos or divergence from that code… Oh no I’ve gone cross eyed.

So a bad time to be young

It’s also worth noting that much of the selective breeding applied to cats and dogs, is actually through the INBREEDING of parents and grandparents with children, and should be illegal. It’s frankly disgusting, and not much better than eugenics. We allow them to be inbred for visual traits we find cute, even though it causes a range of health issues that reduce their quality of life, and lifespan. Many pure breeds have 20-30% shorter average lifespans than mixed/mongrels.

Butter and soy sauce!?!

I am equally disgusted and intrigued. You sir, are a raging psychopath…

Edit: name checks out

Turns out the content holds the value, and the hosting platform is a mostly replaceable and interchangeable delivery mechanism. Who would’ve thunk?

Wait… Are you people doing a “brushing” action back and forth with your electric toothbrushes?

I just move it across each surface once in a slow kinda up and down zig zag — the way you would use an electric buffer or power washer to clean a long narrow surface with multiple sides… Upper set of teeth first; front, left side of mouth to right side of mouth. Repeat for top and back surfaces of teeth. Then repeat it all again for lower set of teeth.

I guess the front of teeth could be combined into one surface, but I’m a raging psychopath.

It’d be great if there were side kind of feedback, like the cursor quickly flashing a “C” or something… anything to let you know the operation occurred; better yet, was successful.

Various automations, conveniences, and efficiencies that can ultimately save a lot of time &/or money.

1 ) sleep hygiene = a) close the roller shutters or blackout blinds at night b) open them gradually at the same time every day, play the tron soundtrack, and start brewing my coffee. c) drop the temperature by x degrees 1 hour before bedtime.

2 ) house can start growing mould under certain conditions = run the dehumidifier after x amount of time above y average humidity.

3 ) energy efficiency = a) when weather is predicted to rise above 25c, close roller shutters on sunny side of house. b) when temperature is rises above x, or drops below y, turn on air con.

4 ) security = encrypt and upload security camera footage every 5 minutes.

Etc, etc, etc. None of the above should be difficult to set up, nor insecure… We shouldn’t need to go to great lengths to automate our lives for comfort and convenience without our privacy being invaded… but in the age of surveillance capitalism, where corporations are scrambling to monetise everything we say and do, and most hardware and software vendors are actively working against us, our only solution is to tinker, hack, and patch together a multitude of disparate software and systems. Problem solving can be fun, but I’d prefer home automation to be easy and effortless.

You just reminded me of the vanishing, which is also a fucked up movie OP would like.

“Sacrificing a whole other species is a chance I’m willing to take”

iOS WhatsApp backups can also be E2E encrypted, but I don’t believe it’s on by default.

This comment generally only applies if you are earlier in your career or don’t have much to spend (earning will result in more money than saving). If you’re already making a middle to above average income, you’re likely better off reducing spending and increasing investments — 99.99% of rich people (including the minority born poor) don’t get rich through their labor (wage); they get rich through assets, whether through owning and building a business, or buying and holding shares in them.

Most people like the concept of post-scarcity space socialism…

Who would’ve thought people don’t want to work until they die on a dying planet, huh?

I was gonna say penis but I like yours better

You suck!

Consider yourself critiqued! That’ll be $50.