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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: August 5th, 2023

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  • It’s the tracking vs utility conundrum. At the start people kind of knew that Google was gathering their information in return for free services like Gmail etc. And those services were useful/didn’t show significant drawbacks etc.

    But with Microsoft (who historically have allowed local accounts since the start and have comparatively only recently required or pushed for a linked account), the detriments are evident to people who use their computers for more than just surfing the web and watching Netflix or Tik Tok. It rubs them the wrong way when they have to connect a computer to the Internet to even set it up.

    Some people don’t live in a place where internet is a standard. Others don’t necessarily want to set up a computer for themselves but for their small business or their aging grandma or for their kid (who can’t legally sign up for anything but a child’s account and that’s significantly locked down in ways that maybe the adult doesn’t want to deal with).

    Some people work in fields where they have a different threat model and don’t want Microsoft or other companies siphoning up their private data. Some of them are still forced to use Microsoft products because of work etc.

    The thing is though, people should have the choice when they are buying a product that will belong to them about what that product does and how it functions. And the vast majority of people who do want that choice are against this measure and measures like it.





  • At the end of the tax year you generally receive tax documentation forms (a W2 or 1099 etc). These tax forms detail your taxable income and possibly any tax credits or exemptions you might be eligible for.

    You fill out I9 forms detailing your status (single married etc) and what dependants you have when you start at your place of work and then update those forms as that status changes over time. This information is used by your employer to withhold taxes on your earnings from your pay checks and send that money along to the federal and state governments as necessary.

    When you receive your end of year tax forms you enter that tax information into a tax preparation service or paper form, sign it and send it off with what you owe in check form to the IRS, unless you have made accurate tax withholding in which case you have already paid. If you are owed money by the government for overpayment of taxes they will then mail you a check or direct deposit the amount owed to you into an account of your choosing.

    There are exceptions if you own a business or have other forms of income for the tax year which you may have to submit a more detailed filing to the IRS with documentation that can absolutely include receipts. But for the most part you use the tax forms you receive to submit your taxable income calculations to the federal or state government and pay or get paid accordingly depending on if you owe them money, or if you are owed money by them for overpayment.








  • The law stipulates that the POTUS is the person who determines that a platform or app is in violation. Once that happens, an investigation is launched through the AG’s office and applicable agencies. After that the AG’s office makes a determination about whether or not the app/platform is in violation of the law. Once that happens, the platform or app can appeal. But if they lose that appeal then they have a limited time to divest to another entity before their platform is banned and the POTUS can pause not revoke this process for a period of time (to give the app time to divest as is required). So basically Trump now has given Tik Tok a stay of execution so to speak but that doesn’t mean they won’t be forced to shut down or divest.

    This was a direct politically planned and intended effect of this push so close to the inauguration, so far as I can tell. It’s politicians doing political stuff.

    Right now he looks like the savior (and that’s intentional, both Tik Tok and Trump get something out of that). But in the long term I don’t know that most Tik Tok users are going to remember that Trump bought the app back and to actually remove the law requires an act of Congress. That will take more time than the limited amount that Trump can essentially delay the removal of the app from app stores and American servers.

    I honestly think this was a fuck you to Trump from Biden because essentially Biden’s political career is over. Trump is going to do a lot of damage over the next 4 years and do as much as he can to undo any of the progress that has been made. It’s kind of a petty move on Biden’s part, but Trump started this colossal movement against Tik Tok in the first place.