Want to support the work of The Lunduke Journal?

Want to help make truly independent Tech Journalism possible?

Now's your chance.  Through this weekend (Nov 8th - Nov 10th), we're running "The Great Lunduke Journal November Fundraiser" to make everything we do here possible.

There's a bunch of different ways you can contribute -- Donations, BitCoin, and yes... even the coveted "Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscription" is making a temporary return.

All the details are below!

The Lunduke Journal is... a bit different

Most publications (podcasts, articles, or videos) keep their lights on through paid advertising.

Companies pay a publication's bills and, in exchange, their podcasts are filled with advertisements (sometimes with more advertisements than actual show) -- their articles littered with animated ads and pop-over videos -- and, even more importantly, the creators refrain from ever criticizing the advertisers.  After all, you don't bite the hand that feeds you.

In other words: Those podcasters, YouTubers, and Tech Journalists are held hostage by their corporate overlords.  Forced to do the bidding of Big Tech while providing an annoying, ad-filled experience for their audiences.  It really, really sucks.

At The Lunduke Journal, things are different.

1. No taking money from companies.  Ever.
2. No paid advertising.  Not even a little.
3. 100% audience funded.  No exceptions.
4. Shows and articles get right into the content.  With extremely limited self-promotion.  No talking about ways to support The Lunduke Journal until the last 30 seconds of a show.

The end result is a publication which speaks the truth (no matter how much it annoys Big Tech), and is not littered with a pile of advertisements.

In order to keep all of this possible, The Lunduke Journal is reliant entirely on the generosity of nerds like you.

If you appreciate the coverage from The Lunduke Journal (keep scrolling for a list of shows from the last month alone) consider pitching in to help us continue this work.  We can't do it without you.

There are several ways you can contribute to The Lunduke Journal.  Big and small.  Monthly, Yearly, and even Lifetime Subscriptions.  One time donations.  Whatever makes the most sense for you.

The Famous Lifetime Subscription

The "World Famous Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscription" is exactly what it sounds like.  Pay once and get full access to The Lunduke Journal.  For life.

We had retired the "Lifetime Subscription"... but so many people have been asking for it, we're bringing it "out of the vault" just for this weekend.  New Lifetime Subscriptions are available, for $200, from now until Sunday, November 10th.  Then this option goes "back into the vault".

Here's how to grab one of these coveted bad boys for yourself:

• Go to Lunduke.Locals.com/support.

• Select "Give Once".

• Enter "200" into the amount field.

• After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status.  (This usually happens within a few hours.)

The Famous Lifetime Subscription (with Bitcoin)

You can also obtain a Lifetime Subscription via Bitcoin.

• Make sure you have a Lunduke.Locals.com account (a free account works just fine).

• Send $200 worth of Bitcoin (or more) to the following address:

bc1qyjakve8fywm8pz2v99v57yhjj0vzr2vjze6fcq

• Email "bryan at lunduke.com" with the following information: What time you made the transaction, how much was sent (in Bitcoin), and the email address you use (or plan to use) on Locals.com.

Here's a handy-dandy QR code you can scan that also has a Bitcoin Wallet Address for The Lunduke Journal:

 

Standard Subscriptions

You can also grab a standard subscription (Monthly or Yearly) at Lunduke.Locals.com/Support.

Every subscription -- big or small -- goes directly towards keeping The Lunduke Journal free from all Big Tech influence and is greatly appreciated.

One-Time Donations

Looking to donate to The Lunduke Journal but not looking for anything in return?

You are awesome.  Here are a few options.

Donate Via Locals

• Go to Lunduke.Locals.com/support.
• Select "Give Once".
• Enter any amount into the amount field.

Donate Via Fountain.fm

The Lunduke Journal Pocast is available on Fountain.fm, which allows donations via crypto.

Donate Via BitCoin

If you're looking for a way to support The Lunduke Journal with Crypto -- this is a great option.

• Send any amount of Bitcoin to the following address:

bc1qyjakve8fywm8pz2v99v57yhjj0vzr2vjze6fcq

• Email "[email protected]" if you would like The Lunduke Journal to know who you are.

Here's a handy-dandy QR code you can scan that also has a Bitcoin Wallet Address for The Lunduke Journal:

Last Month at The Lunduke Journal

To give you an idea of what you're making possible, here is a simple list of the shows and articles published by The Lunduke Journal during the last month (October) alone.

It's... a lot.

The Shows

• Godot Game Engine Enacts Mass "Cleansing" of Non-Woke Supporters
• Godot Responds to Mass Banning - No Apology, Blames Banned Users
• DOOM Now Runs on a Quantum Computer (Which Doesn't Even Exist)
• A Code of Conduct... That's GOOD?!
• The Redot (Godot Fork) Launch X Space -- with Q & A
• Yes. Mozilla is an Advertising Company Now.
• Framework Laptop LEGO Expansion Card?!
• Firefox & Thunderbird Collect User Data by Default (in Violation of European Law)
• GNOME Foundation Broke, Lays Off 33% of Staff
• No, You Don't Need Telemetry Data to Make Software
• Best Alternatives to Woke Software
• Top Level Domain .io Will Die in 5 Years
• Google May be Broken Up as a Result of Lost Lawsuit
• Facebook Developed Custom Portal to Help Biden Administration Censor Americans
• Internet Archive Got Hacked... and Did Nothing When Told About It
• Debian Linux Doesn't Want Straight White Men
• The Road to Skynet: Nuclear Powered, CAPTCHA Solving AI
• The Stallman Report - A Hit Piece on the Free Software Founder
• Drew DeVault Behind Stallman-Report.org Hit Piece
• Winamp Source Code Repo Deleted
• Lunduke's Nerdy Q & A - Oct 17, 2024
• Police Reports Written by AI... Seriously.
• Sanctions Hit Linux Kernel, Russian Programmers Banned
• Why Were Russian Programmers Banned From Linux, But Not Huawei Employees?
• Will Russia Hard Fork Linux?
• Long Term Linux Maintainer Banned After Protesting Removal of Russian Programmers
• Remembering When Obama Declared Linux Users "Extremists"
• Wikipedia's War on Israel, USA, & Truth
• No, Microsoft Did Not Fire Employees for Holding "Vigil for Palestinians"
• The Lunduke Journal Does NOT Endorse Kamala Harris
• Author of "Stallman Report" Hit Piece Collects and Publishes Child Porn?
• Open Source RISC OS Now Has WiFi and Modern Web Browser on Raspberry Pi
• 25% of Google Code is AI Generated
• Did The Internet Archive Hack Themselves?
• Like the Library of Alexandria, the Internet Archive Will Burn.
• Wayback Machine & Google Website Cache Go Offline Weeks Before 2024 Election
• Twitch Bans All of Israel, Un-Bans Anti-Jewish Terrorists
• Apple Removes Ability to Run Unsigned Apps in macOS 15.1

The Articles

• DOOM Now Runs on a Quantum Computer (Which Doesn’t Exist)
• Godot Game Engine Enacts Mass "Cleansing" of Non-Woke Supporters
• Godot Responds to Mass Banning -- No Apology, Blames Banned Users
• Funny Programming Pictures Part LVIII
• Funny Programming Pictures Part LIX
• Funny Programming Pictures Part LX
• Funny Programming Pictures Part LXI
• Funny Programming Pictures Part LXII
• Apple Removes Ability to Run Unsigned Apps in macOS 15.1

Crazy, right?  Some of these news stories you won't find covered anywhere else.  If it weren't for The Lunduke Journal... so many stories simply would never be told.

A huge thank you to each and every supporter of The Lunduke Journal -- both new subscribers... and those of you who have been with us since the beginning.  Absolutely could not do it without you.

On Monday, October 28th, Apple released the macOS 15.1 update.  And, with that update, Apple has ratcheted up their war on "sideloading" by completely disabling the ability to run unsigned macOS software.

And signing software, of course, requires an Apple Developer Connection subscription.  Which, for most people, is a costly thing.

Every Few Months, A Little Less Freedom

Just a little over one month ago (September of 2024), the initial release of macOS 15.0 brought with it a new round of restrictions on running non-signed (also called "non-notarized") applications.  With 15.0, users could still run non-signed software... but they needed to jump through a few extra hoops by openning the System Settings and manually enabling each application they wanted to run.

This change made running unsigned software on macOS a bit more annoying -- additional steps to do something that used to be a simple "double click on the darned icon" process.  Annoying, to be sure.  But, luckily, all software could still be run.

That all changed -- less than 45 days later -- as Apple released the 15.1 update to macOS, which included the removal of the "Click around in System Settings" option to allow unsigned apps to run.

Now, in 15.1, when you attempt to run a non-notarized piece of Mac software, you will be greeted by a simple error message: "The application 'Finder' does not have permission to open '(null)'."

No option to run the software whatsoever.  Effectively banning all non-signed software (such as those developed by a hobbyist).

The War on Sideloading Continues

This isn't exactly a surprising move by Apple.  Over the last few years, all of the Big Tech operating system companies (Microsoft, Apple, and Google) have pushed -- with increasing intensity -- to lock down what software users are allowed to run on their computers.

Increasingly restrictive "application signing" systems, and the removal of "features" which allowed non-signed applications to run, have been a stated goal of all three corporations.

All in the name of a war on, what Big Tech has termed, "Sideloading".

What is "Sideloading", you ask?

"Sideloading" is most simply defined as "The act of installing software on a real computer."  And Apple, Google, & Microsoft are determined to stop people from doing that.

These companies haven't exactly been quiet about their goal to stop people from installing software on their computers (outside of approved, heavily restrictive mechanisms).  Back in 2021, Apple published a whitepaper entitled "Building a Trusted Ecosystem for Millions of Apps - A threat analysis of sideloading".

That's right.  Apple considers you having the freedom to install whatever software you want on the computer you own -- something every real computer (including those made by Apple) have done since the dawn of Personal Computing -- to be a "threat".

With macOS 15.1, Apple is taking significant steps to neutralize that "threat".

No software freedom for you.

The Last Workaround

As of now -- with macOS 15.1 -- there remains one final way to work around these draconian and artificial restrictions.

To do so requires the complete disabling of "Gatekeeper", the system which verifies downloads and restricts the running of non-signed applications.

This can be done via a fairly simple terminal command run as root:

sudo spctl --master-disable

However, it should be noted that with Apple's ever increasing requirements of application "notarization" -- and increasing reliance on the Mac App Store for software distribution (which ties into Gatekeeper) -- the full disabling of "Gatekeeper" seems likely to cause issues going forward with "Apple approved" methods of installing software.

Likewise, at Apple's current rate of attacks against "sideloading", the ability to turn off Gatekeeper may not be long for this world at all.

Don't Laugh, Google & Microsoft Users

While the news, today, is focused on Apple (their fight against the most basic freedoms of computing -- the ability to run software)... both Microsoft and Google have made it clear that they are all in on the war against sideloading.

Case in point: Google is migrating Android software away from "APK" application packages... to the far more restrictive "AAB" application bundles.  Microsoft, likewise, is pushing for a reliance on their online store.

So users of Android, ChromeOS, & Windows shouldn't laugh.  You're next.

Users of a variety of open source, alternative operating systems (such as Linux, BSDs, and many others), however, can laugh all they want.