#WireCutter

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Skinnamarinkstump Linkdump

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me TODAY (Feb 15) for a virtual event with YANIS VAROUFAKIS, and on MONDAY (Feb 17) for an event at KEPLER'S in MENLO PARK with CHARLIE JANE ANDERS. More tour dates here.

It's Saturday and I'm on a book tour, and the world is in chaos, and there are more links to write about than I could fit in to this week's newsletter, so time for a cubic linkdump, the 27th such:

https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/

Let's start with the best thing I saw all week: a 3D-printed, spring-loaded, clockwork chess pawn that uses a magnet to sense when it has reached the end of the board and SPROING! turns into a queen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSOnnle3zbA

The whole video is a fascinating account of the design process, from idea to prototype to finished item, but if you're impatient and want to skip right to the eyeball kick, it's at 12:27-12:35. And if you want to print your own, the files are $12 (cheap!):

https://www.patreon.com/WorksByDesign/shop/queen-pawn-3d-printing-files-614491?source=storefront

Regrettably, not every tech project is a good one. This week, Google abandoned its AI ethics pledge. Unlike most AI ethics pledge, which are full of nonsense about not accidentally creating a vengeful god that turns the human race into paperclips, Google's AI pledge was actually very important, in that the company promised not to make AI that violates human rights, international law, or privacy. There comes a point where harping on Google's abandoned "don't be evil" motto can feel a little hacky, but in this case, I'll make an exception. My EFF colleague Matthew Guariglia tears Google a much-deserved new AIhole over this latest heel turn:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/02/google-wrong-side-history

Not all bad technology is evil. Some of it is merely very, very stupid. How stupid? Check out Thom Dunn's Wirecutter review of The Heatbit Trio, a space-heater that uses Bitcoin-mining GPUs to generate some of its heat, very slightly offsetting the cost of warming your room – but at a rate that would take decades to recoup the $700 price-tag. Thom got some spicy quotes from Molly White for this one – possibly the first time she's been cited in a home appliance review:

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/heatbit-space-heater-review/

Staying with crypto freaks for a moment here, Adam Levitin dissects the cryptocurrency "industry"'s latest chorus of aggrieved whining over "debanking":

https://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2025/02/debanked-by-the-market.html

As Levitin writes, banks aren't kicking cryptocurrency "companies" off their books because the government wants to punish them. Banks have a very good reason to want to avoid doing business with high-dollar scams that have highly correlated implosions, which is to say, times when everyone wants their money back from the cryptocurrency "company" the bank is handling charges for. For a longer explanation that gets into the nitty gritty of bank supervision, check out Patio11's excellent, detailed explainer:

https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/debanking-and-debunking/

As all the real heads know, "crypto means cryptography," and cryptographers continue to contrive privacy marvels. This week, Kagi – the best search engine, a million times better than Google – released a Privacy Pass authentication plugin, which lets you login to Kagi and run searches without Kagi being able to connect any of the searches you make with your account:

https://blog.kagi.com/kagi-privacy-pass

As an sf/crime writer who sometimes (often) searches for information on committing ghastly crimes and 'orrible murders, the fact that my favorite search engine will be technically incapable of tying those searches to my identity is quite a relief. Read my review of Kagi here:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/04/teach-me-how-to-shruggie/#kagi

If you're one of those marvel-contriving hackers, cryptographers, security researchers or tinkerers, you should really consider attending this summer's Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE), 2600 Magazine's (now) annual (formerly biennial) hacker con. They've just posted their CFP – get those submission in!

https://www.hope.net/cfp-talks.html

Well, I have to post this and get ready for this morning's virtual book tour event with Yanis Varoufakis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkIDep7Z4LM

But before I go, one more link: Kevin Steele's 2005 essay on Hypercard, "When Multimedia Was Black & White," an absolute classic, and a beautiful meditation on the art and promise of early hypertext:

https://web.archive.org/web/20240213190609/http://www.kevinsteele.com/smackerel/black_white_00.html

I've known Kevin for most of my life, long before he helped found Mackerel, the pioneering Toronto multimedia company. Long after Mackerel, Kevin went on making wonderful things. In 2023, he published a monumental act of portraiture – a "sequential art" time-series of panoramas of Toronto's hip, ever-changing Queen Street West strip:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/13/spadina-to-bathurst/#dukes-cycle

Comparing Kevin's more recent work with that lovely old essay reveals deep correspondences and the progress of a unique and creative soul.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/15/intermixture/#debunking-debanking

[contract-crawdad]

Look Outside Pacifism Concepts: Part 3

It's time for the taxidermy menagerie!

Little Helpers (Wirecutter, Needles, and Scissors)

During battle, tossing any kind of animal product to one of Taxidermy’s little helpers will cause them to snatch it up in delight, immediately ending combat. This includes obvious things like hamburger or raw pork but also extends to anything made out of leather or wool.

It seems hard at work performing taxidermy on your gift, working its viciously sharp parts in a blur of determined motion. If it notices your continued presence, it gives no indication.

Giving all of them an offering and then returning on day 14 will show the results of their work: a vaguely humanoid taxidermy figure made entirely out of the cobbled together bits you gave them.

Crow

Using pretty much any healing food in Crow’s room will cause the birds to be whipped up into a frenzy once you start the battle.

“Ah for da love a- look whatcha did! With your gotdamn snacks! Ya got em all woiked up… ahhh fuggetaboutit. Dey don’t fight woith a crap when dey’re like dis.”

You can either continue to fight Crow, who will have a heavy accuracy debuff for the rest of the battle or flee from the fight with a guaranteed success rate. At which point, Crow will not re-engage and can be spoken to.

“Dis handsome mug o’ mine? It’s all thanks to da boss! He’s great. On da one hand, he did murderize me, and I gotta say dat dat wasn’t fun. But on da otha hand, he patched me up afterwoids. Even gave me all dese boids for free. Dat’s da boss for ya… all considerate-like!”

Crow will then peacefully wander the room and is willing to trade you a Bundle of Feathers in exchange for food items to appease his birds (can only be done once per day).

Bundle of Feathers: a clump of molted bird parts. The wings still flap and the beaks still open and close. Can be used in battle to draw an enemy's attack but is too flimsy to stand up to more than one instance of damage. Inflicts disease on the enemy that breaks it.

Crocodile

If you begin the battle with Joel in your party, Crocodile will exclaim:

“Hey, little guy, the one with the teeth! Can I borrow some? Just a few molars.”

Using any of Joel's offensive teeth skills at this this point immediately ends the combat. Croc wanders about the room aimlessly and can be spoken to.

“Thanks pal. You’re a lifesaver, my reptile side loses teeth faster than I can grow them back. I’ll have my roomie stitch these onto me later. He's not a bad guy, really. Just devoted to his craft, you know?”

He then gives you an IOU note. It serves no purpose.

Limbs

If you’re missing either arm when you fight Limbs, the combat music quickly dies down and goes silent before either party can attack.

“…Oh! My mistake, it looks like dad already took the parts he wanted from you, so... ah... I guess we're cool? I’m, uhhh, not really used to having guests… want some gum? I’ve got gum.”

If you respond with ‘yes’, they will give you one stick of gum for each member of your party, causing combat to end.

“Don’t tell the others, it’d make me feel so weird if they knew, but… I don’t think I was ever a person. I’m just the spare parts dad had laying around, you know? Ah, that’s better. I had to tell somebody, just to get it off chest…s.”

Tiger

It seems the tiger is the one in control. Literally just a confused and scared animal that will not pursue you so long as you don’t get within two tile’s worth of distance and don't smell too badly.

Taxidermy

If you equip a single character with EVERY piece of the ‘leather’ set, instead of roaming hostilely, Taxidermy will be stationary and blocking the exit when you attempt to leave.

“Could it be…? Could you be another connoisseur of the leather arts? You recognize quality craftsmanship. You wear it well.”

At this point, they will allow you to ask a few questions.

> Who did you used to be?

"An amateur. A blind pedant. An insect, unaware of even my own ignorance."

> What did you do to all these people?

"Yes! Yes!! That is exactly the question I want my work to evoke in an observer! Oh, that is very validating to hear. Thank you."

> Can I help you or them in any way?

"An artist wants for naught but two things: recognition, and... materials."

> ...Are you going to make me into 'art' too?

"Excited by the possibility, eh? I must admit, I'm thinking about it."

Once you attempt to say goodbye, Taxidermy cuts you off. There’s only one way to really tell whether you're a fan or just a thief: a quiz, of course! About their various creations.

Each question has one correct answer accompanied by two wrong answers, as well as one blatantly incorrect and very rude answer. The exception is the final question, which has no wrong answer (aside from 'Your mother.').

“What did you use to unlock my private display? I hope you appreciated the detail work; it took hours stitching actual hairs into the scalp, and even longer to find a brain that fit inside…”

> A jar.

> A taxidermy dog.

> A beautiful recreation of a human head.

> A cheap Halloween decoration.

“Which creation lacks a brain? I was as surprised as they were when they came to life.”

> Limbs

> Crocodile

> Crow

> You

“How many eyes does Crocodile have? Surely you counted each masterfully preserved eyeball.”

> One

> Three

> None

> Those were supposed to be eyes?

“How many beautiful animals decorate my foyer? minus, of course, the ones you took.”

> Seven

> Two

> (Correct answer, varies)

> Just one, and that's only if you count me.

“…Which of my creations is your favorite?”

> Crow

> Crocodile

> Limbs

> Tiger

> Your mother.

Answering incorrectly twice chases Taxidermy to fight you as normal. But choosing the purposely rude option even once causes them to immediately attack you out of fury. They’re crying, enraged, and blinded for the first three turns of combat. Additionally, they're backed up by two random creations.

Answering correctly at least three times causes Taxidermy to relent.

“As certain as I am that you would make a superb pair of jeans, it would not be right to turn my biggest fan into art.”

They will then move aside, freeing up the exit and offering to create an 'even better' version of any non-leather piece of leather gear... but only one, and it takes an entire day to complete. The resulting equipment has +5 defense, +5 ballistic defense, and +5% bonus to max HP on top of its original stats.

------------------------------------------------------------------

And that concludes the residents of apartment 30! I wanted to get to the frozen folks in apartment 34 in this post as well, but things just went too long, both lengthwise and timewise! They'll be the next one, and they're even mostly finished (I swear)!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 4

[debutart]

Photoreal imagery by Chris Labrooy for The Wirecutter Show.

[porterdavis]

And people are fighting over them...

[mlobsters]

there are bluetooth transmitters that plug into the aux/headphone jack, i've never used one so i can't recommend anything specific but the gadget does exist

wirecutter reviews/recommends a few in here

(wirecutter is free to access with independent reviews. but fyi they are owned by the nytimes)

just for fun, might as well share my old ipod situation. spouse rebuilt my 2005 5th generation ipod and replaced the hard drive. we have it plugged into this old sony stereo dock and it has music the kids want to play occasionally on it

I hate when I say things like "oh I want an ipod classic but with bluetooth so I can use wireless headphones" and some peanut comes in and replies with "so a smartphone with spotify?" No. I want a 160GB+ rectangular monstrosity where I can download every version of every song I want to it and it does nothing except play music and I don't need a data connection and don't have to pay a subscription to not have ads and don't have popups suggesting terrible AI playlists all over the menus.

Gimme the clicky wheel and song titles like "My Chemical Romance- The Black Parade- Blood (Bonus Track)- secret track- album rip- high quality"

[robpegoraro]

This phone call could have been a form on a site

CRM FYI: Do not make the customer feel like they may need to saw their own leg off to extract themselves from a service.

My research for the latest update to Wirecutter’s guide to WiFi hotspots technically concluded in December, but this week treated me to an annoying but useful sequel to that work: canceling service on the AT&T hotspot I’d bought (with later reimbursement) after my editors and I got tired of trying to pry a loaner hotspot out of the PR departments of that carrier or the hotspot vendor Franklin…

[pathologicallypedantic]

Alright, fuck, I’m trying just give me some more time please God

[vamprisms]

every time i painstakingly render a painting over many hours i am always tempted to tag it as #ai generated just for sillies

[witchblade]

why on earth are flashlights like encased in the worlds most powerful defensive plastics this thing is locked the fuck down it's one step away from being in one of those cases target locks video games in

[diamondnokouzai]

bored. out. of. my. skull.

[pseudonymtumbler]

This is why MLM house parties work for most products with a quality of anything more than outright shit

I used to sell pampered chef and the fact that

the Salesperson character did something mildly outrageous

The Host (or someone who’s used the product before) gave a gentle correction when the product wasn’t immediately intuitive

The Guest was astounded at the efficacy of the purpose-built device, which rippled excitement out to the other guests

Makes me pretty confident this group could have been sold a pan or two each and a handful of specialized kitchen gadgets.

And frankly, no shade on them! “You are not immune to MLM kitchenware parties” Garfield poster and all. I would just caution most people to stop and ask if they also have engineered hardwood floors that are more naturally liquid repellent, or if their particular house has some older, grooved hardwood, or maybe some tile with grout, and that maybe this one particular demonstration should be the start of a research journey rather than a "must-buy"

[blackwaxidol]

What do I call my shiny Yungoos...

[porterdavis]

Trusted recommendations from an ethical retailer.

[xtruss]

23andMe Just Filed For Bankruptcy. You Should Delete Your Data Now.

— By Max Eddy | March 2025 | The New York Times | WireCutter

A 23andMe Saliva Collection Kit Box. Sarah Kobos/NYT Wirecutter

23andMe, maker of popular DNA Test Kits, announced Sunday that it has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and is looking for a buyer. Although the company has promised to continue protecting customer data amidst a possible sale, California’s Attorney General has advised 23andMe users to consider deleting their information.

The company’s decision to declare bankruptcy was not a surprising one. After a 2023 data breach in which attackers gained access to information from close to 7 million customer profiles, 23andMe’s stock price plummeted, and the company settled a class-action lawsuit for $30 million. Co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki on social media announced that she is stepping down in order to make a bid for the company, and thanked 23andMe’s 15 million customers.

Those customers should delete their information before it’s sold.

Why You Should Delete Your 23andMe Data

Users of the 23andMe test send the company samples of their saliva to learn about their ancestry and possible health risks. Wojcicki said that 85% of the company’s customers also consent to their Genetic Data being used to research diseases. Unlike with other forms of medical data, few guardrails protect genetic data stored by companies like 23andMe. According to Wirecutter’s guide to home DNA kits, “the vast majority of these companies are not subject to the HIPAA laws governing the privacy of your health and medical records.”

It’s unclear what would happen to that genetic data if 23andMe finds a buyer. Board Chair Mark Jensen issued a company statement saying that 23andMe is “committed to continuing to safeguard customer data and being transparent about the management of user data going forward, and data privacy will be an important consideration in any potential transaction.”

But we think you should delete your data now. California attorney general Rob Bonta issued an urgent consumer alert to remind consumers to consider requesting 23andMe delete their data, revoke access for future testing, and request that their genetic samples be destroyed.

Wirecutter has similarly updated its advice to 23andMe customers: “If you’ve been a customer of 23andMe and are worried, we recommend taking action to protect your genetic data.”

How To Delete Your Data

First, log in to your account and select Settings.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and select 23andMe Data, then View. From there, you can download a copy of your genetic information.

Select Delete Data and then Permanently Delete Data.

In Settings, you can also opt to have your genetic material destroyed.

Navigate to the Research and Product Consents section and revoke permission to allow your genetic material to be used in research projects. Doing so revokes that permission only for future research.

23andMe notes that you have to provide additional verification before your data-deletion request can be processed, and that you must follow instructions detailed in a 23andMe confirmation email for your request to be processed. The company recommends emailing customercare@23andme.com if you have issues submitting the data-deletion request.

The company also says that some “limited information” about customers, including their request to delete their data, will remain stored even after an account is deleted.

Why Your Privacy Is At Risk Even If You Never Used 23andMe

“Genetic data is immutable and can reveal very personal details about you and your family members,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation cautioned in a blog post about 23andMe’s potential sale last year. If your relatives have used 23andMe in the past, your data is also at risk.

Because some DNA is passed on from parent to child, there’s a strong correlation between the genetic material of people within the same family. If anyone in your family has provided a genetic sample to 23andMe (or another DNA test kit maker), the company already knows something about you—even if you’ve never personally given them your data. If you know that a relative has used 23andMe, consider reaching out to ask them to delete their data.

The privacy concerns of giving a company your genetic information are not theoretical and are not exclusive to 23andMe. Law enforcement officers have used genetic profiles from home DNA kit companies in the past. In a 2018 case, law enforcement used a combination of genetic profiles from GEDmatch along with carefully constructed family trees to identify a murderer after 40 years.

Both Wirecutter and the EFF noted that 23andMe does not voluntarily share data with law enforcement and requires a warrant before providing any data on its customers.

Many of 23andMe’s customers have used the service to discover long-lost relatives or piece together family history that might have otherwise remained unknown. It’s unfortunate that the company’s data-security practices and now-uncertain future may undermine those discoveries.

This article was edited by Caitlin McGarry and Erica Ogg.

— FYI: We've updated this story to clarify the California attorney general's advice for 23andMe users.

— Max Eddy is a Writer who has Covered Privacy and Security—Including Password Managers, VPNs, Security Keys, and More—For Over a Decade.

[robpegoraro]

Weekly output: phone plans (x2), net neutrality

I’m off to Lisbon tonight–my last booked business travel of the year–for Web Summit. It’s now been eight years since I started speaking at that event, and this year’s version of the conference will bring a painful parallel to 2016’s as I once again will have Europeans asking me to explain how my country just elected Donald Trump as president. Patreon readers got an extra post this week, a report…

[tomsturbotwinks]

Another tomsturbotwinks success! 🤩