iot – Cubicgarden.com…

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Nov 2026)

Scene from the film gravity - Astronaut blown into space high above the earth — Scene from the film gravity – Astronaut blown into space high above the earth

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed seeing the AI reskins, hearing how AlJazeera was hacked with a zero click attack and reading about cognitive atrophy

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

You are seeing aspects of this with Norway fining Microsoft’s adfirm for using Grindr data, Proton making clear where those flock camera are and thank you Ondřej Surý and many more for their time working on PHP

Does AI make closed source, open?

Ian thinks: There has been a lot of talk about Photocraft which is allegedly a whole recreation of adobe’s suite of tools written in Rust. However the important part is the ethical aspects and could this mean all closed source could become exist? Also worth watching the 404 media video about this all and a related keynote from Anil Dash, which mentions proprietary platforms are like ice cubes..

Services without servers

Ian thinks: The freenet project is one of those projects you heard about decades ago and forget about. In the background they have been working hard using modern technology to build out decentralised systems which suit modern times. I am interested how this interop’s with open social networks. Love to see bridges on to Matrix and other networks.

The environmental impact of data centres in the UK

Ian thinks: It’s so good to hear Matha Dark from Foxglove talking about the state of data centres in the UK and the ramifications for future data centres in other countries in the Europe and who knows where next? I was truly open mouthed that data centrers can make claims and are never held accountable to them. Unbelievable. I would also recommend Paris Marx talking on better offline, as he’s book Hyperscale just hit the shelves.

What are AT proto spaces?

Ian thinks: This is a keynote via the Fediforum, which explains the new feature a lot of people have been asking for in the AT/skies ecosystem. Private social spaces which isn’t readable in the AT fire-hose of conversations. Its going to be very useful for many people, and answers some of the questions of companies and scrapers using conversations. It doesn’t quite go as far as I would have liked but its good to see progress.

Team human is done?

Ian thinks: When I heard about Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon on stage at the pro-human AI event calling for team human. I wanted to understand how Rushkoff thought about this movement, which he coined and shepherded. Rushkoff reflects back on many years of this and where things sit now. Its worth listening

Trust me, this is not your muse

Ian thinks: Meta’s Muse AI IOT device is unlikely to make it to the UK or Europe, thankfully. The muse is aimed at adults but looks like something for kids, I honestly think this is highly and morally irresponsible. But its not like Meta are not known for this type of behavior. Good reminder to check out the social reckoning before it disappears.

Drinks made for the internet only?

Ian thinks: I have been following the culture of things made to share online for a long while. However this video shows the real impact of private/venturer capital on the culture of sharing online, this is well worth focusing on. But even the idea of a drink which has enough sugar and calories for the average human is insane.

Are you human or a bot?

Ian thinks: I found the identity part very interesting as there is mention of community identity. The idea of using this to combat the onslaught of AI bots is a interesting one because it can help create a verifiable proof of humanity alongside privacy preserving verification,

Could Starlink be beaten in Europe?

Ian thinks: Deep down I said no but this video shows a more positive view that it can be done due to the strong legal framework of Europe. I wonder how long it may take and will the Kessier syndrome will come into effect sooner?

Why do they do it? Profit!

Ian thinks: Jess Asato’s story and courtcase against X/AI’s Grok is incredible and a reminder of how deeply troubling for everyone but mainly women; how AI systems can be used to weaponise harm against people.

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Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (May 2026)

Beach with a oil like container on its side written on the side is Facebook, where it would usually say toxic. The sea in the background

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed hearing how Tesla robotaxis being remotely driven, seeing Linkedin spying and fingerprinting job hunters and the absolute madding thoughts of Palantir CEO Alex Karp, translated for us lay people?

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.“

You are seeing aspects of this with few people posting on social media, a new plan to bring plugin solar to the UK and the EFF leaving X because its just too much!

On being a glasshole?

Ian thinks: What’s it like to walk the streets and live your life with the Meta smartglasses? Well you don’t need to put down the money yourself because Ella has described in a lot of detail her experiences. I find the privacy recommendations at the end useful but will meta learn and act? Not likely…

AI is a insecurity wonderland

Ian thinks: When are we going to take the well established practice of the separations of concerns seriously. It seems most people have forgotten, never run commands you don’t understand and certainly don’t provide access to sensitive data. This is why Google’s AI will never have explicit consent to my drives and data.

Imagine consumer technology had recall warnings?

Ian thinks: Its quite a serious question and In this podcast, about a Android streaming box, which is pretty much a Trojan horse. The question becomes a lot more serious, especially when thinking about national security and the endless IOT junk found and shipped from many shopping sites. Does your coffee cup really need to be connected and what is it up to on your network?

How can age verification actually work and be private?

Ian thinks: Age verification and stopping harms from young people is always in the news I found Proton’s summary of the alternatives quite useful for anyone being told this is a binary choice. The CEO’s blog is also worth reading too.

We have to talk about prediction markets

Ian thinks: At the start of April I gave a talk to European broadcasters about the future of social. At the very end I mentioned prediction markets, and the impact of a number of trends; being crypto, gamestop and economic reality of today. It was a surprise for many but a reality worth understanding. I was pleased to see Last week tonight’s John Oliver’s segment about the exact thing a week ago too.

Ian thinks: This report from OFCOM, highlights how less people are posting on traditional social media. There are many reasons for this but when I saw the report, it was a clear call back to the future of social report where we described people migrating to smaller private networks. Like it or not, companies like Meta did this to themselves with their emphasis on algorithms, enshitification and so much more.

Goodbye Sora and thank goodness

Ian thinks: Good reddens, it was a machine pumping out so much AI slop and misinformation. Of course we know the real reason of Sora closure; the huge costs to Open AI and there already over inflated stock price.

True stories affected by incentives

Ian thinks: We have all heard the stories about AI use, but I found this podcast with Oprah Winfrey and Tristan Harris, quite captivating and a clear reminder of the problem of incentives. This is also a big part of the newly released AI Doc, which I do recommend watching.

The Facebook museum?

Ian thinks: Does Facebook need its own museum, I wonder? But like the recently compiled geocities archive, there was moments of creativity and personal joy we all had. Is this worth celebrating and archiving, is another question?

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Smart rings turns your thoughts into text?

I had to share how different the approaches of both Sandbar Stream ($249) and the RePebble’s Index 01 ($75) are.

Sandbar’s stream ring is closed, propriety, beautiful, add day battery and uses AI.

RePebble’s index 01 ring is open source, funky/fuggy looking, battery which lasts years? and avoids AI

For me the Index 01 calls me (although I do worry about the battery as smart rings don’t have a good rep in this space) , because it has a vision of openness. I expect Index 02, 03 and others who build on top of it will do things which will be super interesting and useful. This is what made the Pebble super interesting and why I find Eric Migicovsky, such a fantastic designer/developer/creator. His values are infused through each project he’s started.

Drift Zero DJ, alpha testing

The Drift DJ Zero on top of a box with Ian written on it

I have been using the Pacemaker device for I believe 17 years now but I have been looking around for the next generation of DJ tools. It was Si who first sent me the Drift DJ zero and I was sold pretty much straight away.

Under a year later, I have have signed up as a alpha tester and today it came in the post from Chicago.

Its quite an incredible device, with the level of quality I expect will last even the most crazy DJ performances. Its small (its just a bit bigger a profile than my Pixel 9 pro, likely same size as the XL one) and its lighter than I expected, not pacemaker device light but easy to carry or host on a tray table on a train or plane. (Can’t wait to see the faces of KLM staff in the near future). All the buttons and nobs are solid and tactile in a way only another DJ would understand. The weighting and feedback is just right, while the screen is just delightful to see. Navigation is pretty intuitive as I haven’t looked at any documentation at all to date.

Drift DJ in the dark on a desk

As this is the alpha, its not got a lot of the features like DJing or library control but the testers have access to a git repo to upload updates via USB. Not played enough yet but I have been told I can SSH into the device for extreme levels of control. When the official build becomes available, I will also receive one for the testing my feedback; which I feel is a fantastic deal.

One thing is for clear, I really need to sort out my music library, because the Pacemaker editor was prehistoric and I never managed it.

Expect updates and who knows a mix or two in the near future…

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Dec 2021)

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed how Google & Deepmind used patients data without permission, how aesthetics has dominated technology reviews and comparing social media’s effects to alcohol.

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

You are seeing aspects of this with seeing the EU’s first steps in creating a Interoperable Market, the open source approach to solar power and the understanding technology won’t solve the coming climate collapse.

The metaverse is a zoo and a silicon valley surveillance dream

Ian thinks: I have many thoughts about the metaverse, but there is so much about the matrix which is apt for Silicon Valley’s metaverse, Agent Smith says “I hate this place, this zoo, this prison, this reality, whatever you want to call it.” While Morpheus says “What is the Matrix? Control.” Both fitting.

The absolute importance of trust and accountability

Ian thinks: As more and more of public services go online, the absolute importance of trust and accountability needs to be established. We can’t leave it to private enterprises as you see with meta, to provide trusted services

Rushkoff & Javis’s invite to redesign the internet

Ian thinks: I like the idea of the course, the reading list is very good. With such heavy weights I’m keen to see what may come from it?

Ian thinks: Its good to see some early positive public research about aspects of social we all take for granted. Look forward to further development.

The goldmine of data on our phones

Ian thinks: The EFF’s latest podcast on what the police and malicious actors do with the data on our phones once they have it for a short while is quite something to hear and think about.

Is Venture Capital as harmful as we suspect?

Ian thinks: The Freakonomics give a balanced view on venture capital. I’m less positive but also hopefully with some of the details in the podcast.

Can crypto provide wealth to black communities or is it all a trap?

Ian thinks: I’m personally deeply conflicted about crypto but very concerned at how its being pushed as a way to rebuild generational wealth within the black community. Especially by the community its self. Crypto and the Neo-liberalism narrative doesn’t seem to fit neatly.

Whats the difference between Sky, Whatsapp, Anom, Signal, etc?

Ian thinks: Sky suing the US Government is a interesting point of reference, but also begs the question of whats ok and not in the encrypted messaging future.

The enemy in the home breaking relationships?

Ian thinks: The amount of IOT device in our home and their impact on our homes and human relationships is a ongoing concern, with no little good outcome on the horizon. On a similar branch Stacey outlines her problems with her IOT home.

Find the archive here

Fixing the pebble buttons by leaning on the community

I am still holding on to my pebble 2 smartwatches, although I have said in my new years resolutions. I was going to find an alternative to the pebble watch.

I still haven’t found anything. I had hoped the new Android Wear 3.0 and the Fitbit buy might have done something positive in this space. However its not happening.

There was a study I took part in recently from Dr. Susan Lechelt of Edinburgh University about IOT & connected devices after they become non-supported, unusable, broken, etc. Of course I won’t go into details but through-out the study it made me revisit my ongoing task to fix the pebble smartwatch.

Broken pebble 2 smart watches

The pebble community is incredible, you only have to look at rebble to see how amazing. iFix it came up with guides to fix most of the most common problems including my pebble 2 button failures. So with this, I finally decided to skip the 3D print your own buttons which I had planned once I get back into work and bought them at Shapeways.

Pebble 2 and new buttons

After ordering 2 buttons and identifying two of my pebble 2 watches really just need new buttons, I’m ready to go this weekend – or maybe one of these weekends in summer.

Looking forward to extending the life of the pebble smartwatch like how I have extended the life of my Pacemaker device way beyond its limitations.

The ActivityPub Ecosystem talk, some quick thoughts

I was watching Evan Prodromou giving a talk at the ActivityPub conference and jotted down a few rough thoughts along the way.

Slide 3 – We don’t need to do things the way commercial social networks do.
He’s right theres an opportunity for different types of business models but everybody keeps comparing it to the commercial business models. Heck even myself, I have been writing a presentation and have a slide with number of users.

Slide 5 – What kind of experience would you have with the provider of the software if it was trusted?
This is a good question, my experience with different software and systems is quite different because its under my control or is more trusted. It does change the way you use and what kind of data I’m willing to share?

Slide 8 – What kind of client apps? Evan talks a lot about the fun type of client events which would benefit from a good client API. Reminds me what ever happened to the poking or the old twitter nudge

Slide 9 – More free accounts.
Evan talks about many different local and small groups which could do with something more smaller and local. For example churches, neighbourhoods, cities, families, schools and universities. I would add teams, leagues, local committees, residents committees.. This is something which drives me bananas that we have to use facebook groups for a local residents group. Then have to protect it from external others. Most of the residents are sitting on high speed fiber. It should be super easy to run a local system. Slide 10 – Talking of running a local system, Evan is right, there is something good and powerful about simple self contained devices. I would happily buy a raspberry pi like system where I plug it into my network and I get a activitypub/fediverse server. Add the ability for zeroconf and zero-maintenance and you got something which could have a great user experience and that would be very welcomed. Its why I use Xbian for Kodi on my raspberry pi. Right now I’d happily install Funkwhale on a Raspberry Pi because trying to use docker has been a endless battle.

Slide 11 – Federation of things not internet of things.
Its something I’ve been thinking about a lot, in a recent project with Lancaster and Edinburgh University, I described a system which sucks up your personal data and just makes a copy of it but under your control.. That device (we ended up calling the pebble) is pretty much what Evan is talking about but at a larger scale and static within the home.
The pebble device was meant to copy your personal area network (PAN) communication like your phone, headphones, smartwatch, smart ring, steps, etc.

Slide 12 – Quantified Self
Perfectly timed Evan describes the project for the pebble system I just mentioned. Capturing, runs, food, heartbeats, etc.. But what for? Slide 13 – Lifestreaming! One of the reasons for is because of lifestreaming. If you haven’t heard this term for a long while, its something I and others use to talk about a lot. Iys lost its meaning a bit but also fell out of favour.I do collect a lot of data and maybe for the same reasons as Evan, some kind of digital legacy? The last 3 slides make this much more possible than currently requesting data or scraping it.

Slide 14 – We don’t have to get people hooked!
This goes without saying right?

Slide 15 – Optimize for happy
I like where this is going, always thought there is something in the long time de-funked happiest network. The network seemed to fail because of the weight of investors and the need for a business model. but if we take some examples from slide 16, like helping people, making things, getting enough sleep and wrap them up in a network which doesn’t need business model as such. Now that could be something.

Seeing feel gratitude, also got me thinking about a simple gratitude client which posts in activitypub. Feels like something I could write but surprised no one hasn’t already done it? Been also thinking about a mashup of happiest, gratitude status, google’s defunked schemer and the BBC R&D human values.

Slide 17 – Optimize for connection.
Yes indeed, right on the human values train. The deepening of friendships and relationships can be massively powerful. And likewise…

Slide 18 – Optimize for meaning
Love the idea of Awesomescrolling oppose to doomscrolling! Not like Tiktok but something with substance which isn’t about entertaining you or being popular (what ever else the tiktok algorithm is optimised for).
Something which aids you in finding purpose and finding out whats really important to you, not just what advertisers want to put in front of you. Also love the idea of walking away with a sense of accomplishment not just happiness (not that this alone wouldn’t be enough of course).

Lastly Evan makes a good point about scaring people into the network. Important point made well…

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Sept 2020)

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed seeing the 2020’s worst security breaches so far and asking what changed in the EU?.

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

You are seeing aspects of this happening with challenges to app stores and seeing people take action over their social data.

My browser never ever consents

Ian thinks: One thing I like is browser extensions. This one is part of a movement to never consent to anything sites want to push us. Try it out and disable it if you don’t like it

More emerging tech from open hardware world

Ian thinks: NODE features a lot here but look out for the Edge of tomorrow exoskelton and the open cardboard robot which turns a smartphone into a low-cost remote telepresence robot.

The Underestimated Threat Vector: Homogeneity

Ian thinks: Right in the middle of the Defcon hacking virtual conference, a well thought-out talk about the threat of homogeneity. Remember not to read the comments. I could have done a whole month of recommendations for Defcon talks. I highly recommend browsing through the Defcon talks by starting at the playlists.

Thank goodness for the Max Schrems of this world

Ian thinks: I have been moving my data into EU servers when Brexit happened and its very difficult. Thanks goodness for the Max Schrems of this world, willing to go to court over this.

Build the resilient future using indigenous wisdom

Ian thinks: Julia Watson’s short TED video is deeply impressive and shows the answers are all out there, in places and communities we tend to ignore.

Paying for privacy, not ideal but interesting

Would you really abandon Google for a paid ad-free search engine? Neeva might be for you? Although I’m happy with Duckduckgo’s non-tracking ad system.

Deepfakes solution needs critical mass

Ian thinks: Its a reasonable idea but relies on people/systems creating and looking for the CAI metadata. I also checked if it was opensource and it is. I look forward to the Gimp plugin very soon.

Fawke your face for protection against facial recognition

Ian thinks: Finally a reasonable way to cloak your face from facial recognition systems like clearview AI. Nice open source which you can run without visually distorting your beautiful face.

Facebook ads under close scrutiny

Ian thinks: We all know how facebook adverts and editorial weighting works but everyonce in a while a experiment really brings it into sharp view. This Vox video is that, although they also point at the little known Facebook Ad Library.

Find the archive here

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Aug 2020)

Dark estonia — Photo by Kevin Lehtla on Unsplash

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed watching the twitter hack fall out and the cult like increase in conspiracies theories.

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

You are seeing aspects of this happening with the new Estonian digital nomad visa and a steady drive of transparency questions levelled at Facebook.

Protocols, Not Platforms

Ian thinks: This paper really sets out the problems of the current mainstream internet. Platform building opposed to open protocols which everybody can use. Its well thought out and substantial in its arguments.

The growing changes in robot technology, iot and 3D printing

Ian thinks: I am impressed with the bio-mimicry in some of the robots. Its certainly the way to go, learning from nature. If only we could save it too.

Estonia launches a new type of visa for digital nomads

Ian thinks: Estonia was the first country with e-residency and they have flatten the world one more time with a new type of visa, allowing people to work for a remote company for up to 90 days.

If I earn a bitcoin everytime some asked me about the darkweb…

Ian thinks: Although the speaker doesn’t do himself any favours with a blurred out face, he crushes a lot of the typical questions I have been asked about the darkweb

Insight into the dark world of shadow brokers

Ian thinks: Its fascinating to hear about the unsolved puzzle of shadow brokers who sold NSA surveillance tools on the open market. Another reason why government encryption back-doors are such a bad idea.

What are the applications using blockchain technology right now?

Ian thinks: There is a lot of scepticism about crypto technology but I found this video from Crypto startup school, useful looking at the direction and focus of the actual applications which currently exist. The questions are pretty intruding too.

An atlas of surveillance

Ian thinks: Ok this is mainly American but its quite a unique database of different types of surveillance, how they are used and for what purpose. Good work by the EFF.

Emerging tech overview with Node

Ian thinks: Starting with drone delivery and ending with human assisted tech. Node is a great place for summaries on emerging open tech advancements.

Mozilla wants your advice on how to make the internet healther

Ian thinks: If you had only one question for Mozilla, what would it be? Well here is your chance to think and submit that one question.

Find the archive here

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (April 2020)

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed by looking at the amount of infected people with Covid19 or the huge amount of scams cashing in on our Covid19 fears.

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

You are seeing aspects of this happening with people rising to the challenge of 3D printing valves and open-sourcing the results.

Your living room has an agenda

Ian thinks: Christopher Wylie covers the natural progress of linked data, surveillance, iot, smart cities, data ethics and echo bubbles in a short diatribe. Taken from ANTIDOTE 2019

Doughnut Economics explained by Kate Raworth

Ian thinks: Kate made the link between human needs and the environmental demands to support life on earth, in such a engaging and simple to understand way. This is the kind of connected thinking which will drive forward much needed changes.

Hacktivists: From Anonymous to Luzsac to Occupy

Ian thinks: Great documentary about hacks, hackers, hacktivists and their political interests. Free to watch in full on youtube

Throwing out data ethics with the bath water in the age of Covid-19?

Ian thinks: Great examples of where data ethics has been squeezed or sidelined during a more immediate threat. Something we should all be aware of.

Summary of Open hardware fighting Covid-19

Ian thinks: There is so much about open hardware hackers doing incredible things to battle Covid-19. This short video sums up so many great projects in one go and gives some great advice for those wanting to help.

The local global revolution which was waiting for its moment

Ian thinks: Helena and Douglas discuss the importance of localism or decentralised, can serve and solve the problems of people. Douglas’s monologue about Covid-19 and how our current media is warping our perception is so apt.

The status-quo is over, the world after Covid-19

Ian thinks: I started to do a similar post but Vice beat me to the punch with this vast (USA focused) post highlighting the opportunities and questions we should have post Covid-19.

Stealing card details in a flash

Ian thinks: As our contact-less cards limits raise to 45 pounds per transaction. Fascinating to see with great convenience comes great opportunity for those who want to prosper quickly.

Nothing spreads faster than disinformation on the internet

Ian thinks: There is a formula for mis/disinformation (fake news if you must) and its been exploited to the max. This documentary highlights the problem stopping on news we all have heard including #pizzagate. Don’t have HBO, here is a Guardian review

Staying safe and staying humanly connected

Ian thinks: I couldn’t help but end this Covid-19 heavy newsletter with a positive video from Vox showing how we are staying safe and connected during this world wide pandemic. Very touching…