Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds

Watching it all unravel from a calm and imperturbable still-point.

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

BTC and privacy mavens, Take note.
Apple @AppleSupport quit the absurdity and review this account for its obvious need for approval.

[Craig Raw 🐦 @craigraw]

My attempt to protect users from scam apps on the @AppStore has gotten my Apple Developer account flagged for termination - ironically, for "dishonest activity".

Unless it's reversed by June 30, all new installs of Sparrow Wallet will fail, and development on macOS will end.

The context: since 2023, more than a dozen fake "Sparrow" apps have appeared on the App Store, as recently as April this year. Users have contacted me after losing their savings, in some cases their life savings, to these impersonators.

I'm the developer of the real Sparrow Wallet, a desktop app, and I hold the registered US trademarks for the name and logo. I have publicly warned @Apple and the community about these fake apps from early 2024, but they keep appearing.

The app @Apple flagged was a placeholder that was never published. Its only purpose was to warn users that Sparrow is desktop-only and that other "Sparrow" apps aren't mine. This approach may have been misguided, but there was nothing dishonest about it.

I'm confident this is an automated misclassification that Apple would reverse on review - but I may be terminated before a human ever looks at my appeal. The cost would fall on @Apple's own users: blocked installs and no updates for a tool people rely on, which opens the door for more fakes.

If you value Sparrow, a repost would help. @AppleSupport

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

BTC and privacy mavens, take note:

[TFTC @TFTC21]

Apple is about to kill Sparrow Wallet on macOS. The deadline is June 30.

Since 2023, more than a dozen fake "Sparrow" apps have appeared on Apple's App Store. Users have lost their savings, in some cases their life savings, to these impersonators. Craig Raw, Sparrow's developer, holds the registered US trademarks for both the name and logo. He's been publicly warning Apple about the scam apps since early 2024. They keep showing up.

Craig created a placeholder app, never published, to warn users that Sparrow is desktop-only and the App Store copycats aren't real. Apple's response? They flagged his developer account for "dishonest activity" and scheduled it for termination.

The developer fighting scammers got flagged. The scammers who stole life savings kept operating on Apple's platform.

If Apple follows through, every new Sparrow install on macOS fails after June 30. macOS development ends entirely.

This matters because Sparrow is the best desktop Bitcoin wallet available, full stop. Multisig. Coin control. Hardware wallet integration. Tor support. UTXO management that most wallets don't even attempt. Free. Open source. Built by one developer who cares more about his users than his revenue.

And one automated decision by a trillion-dollar company could end it on an entire operating system.

This is why platform gatekeeping is a systemic risk for freedom tech. If your tools need a gatekeeper's blessing to exist, they aren't freedom tools. We have to build on open platforms.

Download Sparrow now from https://t.co/IXV1QMNKx6 before the deadline. And repost Craig's announcement to help get Apple's attention before it's too late.

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

The guy fighting scammers gets flagged. The scammers who have stolen life savings kept operating on Apple's platform. Apple, stop this nonsense

[Sparrow Wallet 🐦 @SparrowWallet]

Unless @Apple's decision to terminate @craigraw's Apple Developer account is reversed by June 30, all new installs of Sparrow will fail, and development on macOS will end. If you value Sparrow, a repost would help. @AppleSupport

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

@ThomasSowell Take total responsibility for your thoughts, actions, and life.

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

@SwipeWright be(lie)f
and yes, available in a t-shirt:
https://t.co/u4S1pElhPF

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

Excellent pod for anyone in the AI space looking to understand the broader issues at stake. @amasad has a well considered, 30'000 foot view.

[Tucker Carlson @TuckerCarlson]

Tech CEO Amjad Masad on the cults of Silicon Valley. This is the deepest and most interesting explanation of AI you’ll ever see.

(0:00) Artificial Intelligence
(10:01) Bitcoin
(22:30) The Extropians Cult
(29:15) Transhumanism
(34:04) Longtermism
(40:24) Are Machines Capable of Thinking?
(43:11) The Two Conflicting Theories of Physics
(49:46) The Difference Between Mind and Computer
(1:04:24) The Abuse of Technology
(1:12:36) Virtual Companionship
(1:15:12) Do Silicon Valley Elites Acknowledge the Existence of God?
(1:26:37) Silicon Valley Turning to Donald Trump
(1:40:20) Elon Musk and Free Speech

Includes paid partnerships.

[Tucker Carlson @TuckerCarlson]

Tech CEO Amjad Masad on the cults of Silicon Valley. This is the deepest and most interesting explanation of AI you’ll ever see.

(0:00) Artificial Intelligence
(10:01) Bitcoin
(22:30) The Extropians Cult
(29:15) Transhumanism
(34:04) Longtermism
(40:24) Are Machines Capable of Thinking?
(43:11) The Two Conflicting Theories of Physics
(49:46) The Difference Between Mind and Computer
(1:04:24) The Abuse of Technology
(1:12:36) Virtual Companionship
(1:15:12) Do Silicon Valley Elites Acknowledge the Existence of God?
(1:26:37) Silicon Valley Turning to Donald Trump
(1:40:20) Elon Musk and Free Speech

Includes paid partnerships.

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

@amasad @TuckerCarlson @Replit Thoroughly enjoyed your pod w/ @TuckerCarlson and parallel many of your views re: state of AI.
Will be reaching out direct with request for assist in dev'ing a specific app. Delighted to be connected 🤝

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

@JessicaVaugn Walk out my back door. (Last evening)

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

@Ka_tastrophy They'll eat their own, won't they?

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

@SharonSalzberg Your mind is not an enemy.
You cannot fuck this up.

[Thomas Sowell Quotes @ThomasSowell]

Envy was once considered to be one of the seven deadly sins before it became one of the most admired virtues under its new name, “social justice."

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

@ericweinstein N of 1: Meditation, psychedelics with longtime friends, good food + calm and open dialog with said friends all seem to ameliorate the cortisol overdrive. We’re all positively planning toward the next wave of human flourishing.

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

Avoid an elite university education.

[Aaron Sibarium @aaronsibarium]

Classics majors at Princeton—yes, classics majors—will no longer be required to learn Greek or Latin, because racism.

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

@GardnerBank I've been waiting for 6 days for a callback on the online login debacle. Unable to use mobile app or desktop. Biz funds frozen. Many others with same experience. What can be done to escalate this issue?

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

@GardnerBank since your system “upgrade”, I’ve had no access to my account for 5 days. Multiple messages left for support are unanswered. When can I expect access to my account?!

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

"The quickest to be offended are the easiest to manipulate."

— @shaneparrish

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

@Cernovich Move to cryptocurrency - a deflationary medium of exchange ond store of value.

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

@PeterAttiaMD Better question: Why do we have ANY coin change anymore? Its all debased (No longer made from precious metals). But especially the penny - now more expensive to make than it is worth, even as zinc plated token. Answer: Cryptocurrency.

[Mark Talbot: edges are frayed, the center holds @XploreDesign]

@TheAnnaGat The Apostle Paul, his own words:
"I know what is right, but do it not."