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Web Witch Weekly: Issue 21

Web Witch Weekly: Issue 21

Google erases promise to not use AI for weapons, global privacy control specification, the interface is always there, purple only exists in our brain, could this be the natural cause of a legendary ghost haunting? and more!

February 06, 2025

Hi friends and welcome to issue 21 of Web Witch Weekly! The January vibes are extending into February, so let’s hop into this week’s links.

On the Web, About the Web

Google erases promise not to use AI technology for weapons or surveillance
The Internet Archive Wayback Machine captured the original principles in Google’s AI ethics policy, which have now been removed.

Global Privacy Control Spec
A way to convey a person's request to websites and services to not sell or share their personal information with third parties.

The Interface Is Always There
Everything has an interface.

How to gif (2025 edition)
The latest on gif alternatives for the web when you want that sweet looping image.

🔊 Hey, Listen!

Funding the Web Platform for the Future
I recently chatted with Bruce Lawson at Vivaldi about the web and open source and how our funding model for both is broken.

Tutorials & Tools

Fast & Smooth Third-Party Web Fonts
Scott Jehl gives us some tips on smoother font loading.

How to use ARIA alert effectively
Just like the title says, how to use ARIA alert effectively.

Book Highlight of the Week

Web Components in Action

Web Components in Action teaches you to build and use Web Components from the ground up. You’ll start with simple components and component-based applications, using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. Then, you’ll customize them and apply best design practices to maximize reusability.

Don’t miss the book sale! Receive 35% off your entire order over on Manning.com!

Outside the Web (Exploring Outside Our Bubble)

The Girl Who Acted Before Rosa Parks
Claudette Colvin was just 15 when she refused to give up her seat to a white man in Alabama, 9 months before Rosa Parks.

Purple exists only in our brain
A look at how our eyes, brain and light come together to create this color.

The ‘Ghost’ Haunting In This South Carolina Town Might Have an Earthly Explanation, Scientist Says
Are mysterious lights and floating orbs in Summerville, South Carolina the result of earthquakes?

Non-technical book recommendation of the week

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder

I read 8 years ago, and I’m due another read.

“With haunting links to history, this is a cautionary tale of where tyranny sprouts, as well as a how-to on resistance and resilience.”