GadgeteerZA

@GadgeteerZA@lemmy.ml
33 Post – 141 Comments
Joined 3 years ago

I blog about #technology #gadgets #opensource #FOSS #greentech #traditionalwetshaving #LCHF #health #alternativeto #hamradio (ZS1OSS) #southafrica - see https://gadgeteer.co.za/blog. I also blog to various other social networks which I list at https://gadgeteer.co.za/social-networks-i-post-to.

I've filed at least three reports to X about incitement of violence and racial issues, and each came back as "the did not contravene our policies". So that was the last time I opened X to read anything. It's one thing to have a differencing point of view and debate it, but it's another thing to stir up hatred without any reason or logic. It has got super toxic. I think more, and more brands are going to start realising this. No-one really needs all that negativity and hate, and there are better options on the Internet.

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Partly my fault - I have that page set to auto open on my browser every week

Which is why I sat for hours this morning, manually deleting all the posts in my subreddit. He is welcome to now hand it to someone else...

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I immediately think of butter, fat, dairy, and eggs. We were all told around the 1980's to avoid them as they will make you obese, raise blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Until pretty recently the American FA was still saying are all bad, then it went to "in moderation" etc. In fact it was all enjoyed and quite healthy up to the late 1970's and now again it is basically back in most people's diets.

Actually, we're discovering, other foods are often the cause of those symptoms, but don't let me knock the advertising industry for fast and processed foods ;-)

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And yet I missed their announcement about their passkeys. In today's competitive world, I think any company that does not advertise in some way, is really not going to survive (as much as I don't like ads either). Maybe I don't see that much as I am paying.

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I actually use Obsidian on my Linux desktop, synced with Syncthing to my Android phone, iPad, home server, etc (have version control also active to keep older copies of notes). Mainly because the volume of notes I do is on the desktop, and I need them for reference everywhere. But I'm not sure Obsidian is best as a phone app (bit busy), but you could test it with a simple UI.

Remember, RCS is replacing text SMS and Text SMS has not only absolutely zero encryption of any sort, it also has copies retained by every mobile service provider in terms of their license T&C's. You need to see RCS as an upgrade of text SMS, and not really a replacement for WhatsApp (yet).

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The dial-up tone. I used to be able to gauge how good the connection was going to be by the tones, as it would fall back to slower speeds if it could not connect at the highest speed. That tone meant connecting to the "world at large" for me.

Saw somewhere it was said the kbin side was going too slowly and not accepting some commits that their community gave. Some wanted to move quicker with newer features and enhancements.

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Well firstly your senses do start dulling (eyesight, hearing), and secondly you have way more context on the world itself (the mortgage bond, climate change, pollution, family responsibilities, social media trolls, the fragility of bones and life, etc). So I suppose your brain is less focussed on the moment, and you've got a bit cynical about life ;-)

I accept that the way I looked at life and moments at 15, 25 and 50 are fairly different. Decisions I took at 25 were right for me then, but today I would have decided differently, but then I would not be where I am today either.

The "better" though is over plain text SMS message which we have to pay per message. I use Signal but less than a handful of friends use it so it does not help me much on that front.

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Yes Linux Mint. You CAN migrate later to other distros without losing your data so feel free to test others out later when you feel ready and know more about them.

I certainly notice it as I post a lot across networks. I always have a title with my content explaining what's what. There are so many times I have to reply to a commenter, saying "yes, that was what I mentioned in the post". Clearly, way too many just dive in and comment on a title without even bothering to read the post content. It's not that the content is pages long, it is usually maybe 3 or 4 paragraphs.

It's no wonder so much misinformation takes hold, as few take the time to critically comprehend what they're reading.

I think it is partly just fast scrolling and laziness to actually read the point being made. But then you may ask, why bother commenting at all then...

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Especially when any individual can decide themselves to block Threads or Lemmy.

Well, at least say WHY? We know we can't trust Apple (because of the recent backdoor that had to be closed down), Facebook because of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Microsoft because the NSA were given first access to vulnerabilities before patching), the NSA because of the CLOUD Act), etc as these are all documented, analysed and reported on. Your comment really adds zero value to the debate. Proton is under Swiss law for a start, which has a way higher barrier to entry for law enhancement to get any access to metadata. In the USA the law enforcement just buys that data from data brokers. Proton is not in the business of advertising.

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I agree 100%. I don't need someone else overriding my existing right to decide whether I want to block or not (where is that going to stop). Anyway, I connect and follow individuals, not their whole instance. I'm not going to see anything from Threads unless I choose to follow someone. And if any friend reboosts stuff I don't like (from Threads or anywhere else) I block that "friend".

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Not as simple as that as many did ditch WahtsApp for Meta's documented privacy violations, and their ongoing T&C which passes the WhatsApp metadata upstream to Meta and others. A lot of people also only use one messenger, and right now nothing connects them together yet. So I have masses of family and friends that only use WhatsApp, and I now only have SMS contact with them. About 8% to 10% do have multiple messengers so I see some on Signal and Telegram.

The last thing the world needs, is for WhatsApp to become the default dominant standard. That is a company that can be least trusted out of everyone worldwide, based on their history. With the app installed, the metadata includes constant location, usage, contacts, messages to who, etc.

KDE Plasma on Manjaro Linux

  • Desktop folder pinned to left screen for working stuff
  • Conky on my 3rd screen for monitoring resources
  • Plasma Activity folder on 3rd screen for general folders used often (On Gaming and Video Recording activities this folder differs for those activities)
  • Golobonotes pinned notes on 3rd screen fore commonly accessed references

Interesting, I see Orgzly uses Org mode formatting in plain text - https://orgmode.org/features.html

They know little about open source. Microsoft is exclusively in schools and government, and that is what they grow up with. They probably know more about pirating Windows, than using Linux legally. There is also a good kick-back in terms of MS license mark-ups for middle-men businesses. One would hope there is some mandatory education around different OSs as I'm sure kids would love to explore and modify software.

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Yes certainly as they have great hardware specs. They see very well in South Africa still.

We'd probably need to qualify this with "bad compared to what". I can't complain, as it does its job, and I've been able to tweak what I needed to. As I don't tinker with it every week, I keep a sticky note rolled up on my desktop, or I quickly use 'cheat systemd' to remember some key examples.

I was getting really long start up time earlier this year (like 19 mins before the desktop was fully responding) and after trying everything else I tried ditching BTRFS and reverting my /home drive back to ext4. Turns out BTRFS start and checks was killing my boot times. Now, as fast as anything.

The following have been my saviours though in identifying boot times: journalctl -b -p err systemd-analyze blame --user systemd-analyze blame

RCS should not really be a proprietary app in the sense of a 3rd part installable app. It is normally carrier provided just like SMS works. On Apple the default SMS/Messenger is Apple's Messages app. On Pixel that is Google Messages and on Samsung phones they have their own one. It has a carrier hook and is apparently tied to the number.

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kbin had not been accepting some commits and apparently were moving quite slowly with newer features. So, this is more like a dev version type implementation. It is more "open" to changes and commits apparently. Not more "open" as in open-source.

True, just hope they eventually get passkeys for mobile.

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No, the pull requests are to do with submissions of source code to the core project. The project owner has to review and accept those changes for them to happen (or not).

Each quirky hobby mentioned here, deserves its own Lemmy community!

Linux and FLOSS unfortunately don't have budgets, and rely on logic and common sense. Microsoft has a big lobbying budget, gets in to see senior politicians and decision-makers, and then sponsors training, digital villages, etc. Yes, it costs a country overall much more than Linux, but it is easier for schools/gov depts and middle-men make some actual money in their pockets. That's what Linux and FLOSS end up against. What would turn it around is having strong local businesses driving training and making tender bids to install and support Linux and FLOSS. A government or school wants to have it done for them. That's the reality, unfortunately.

Thanks, yes that is actually a slightly more comprehensive backup, looking at their GitHub project at https://github.com/vikdevelop/SaveDesktop, and they have a Flatpak installation as well.

They're mostly using WhatsApp and I deleted all Meta-owned apps. So, yes if they want to reach me they need to send a text message as most apart from 5 or 10 have never bothered to install Signal, Telegram, SimpleX, Threema, Briar, Jami, etc that I am on.

Which looks very different if you choose any of the other themes. We have tons of choices, and each of us decides. Some may even want theirs to look like Windows.

"be careful of what you wish for, as you may just get it"

Good points. Yes, I do prefer to give an instance at least the benefit of the doubt. Difference tho really with Fediverse is you have to search and follow stuff to see it. It does not get inserted into your feed through ads or people playing the algorithms. So generally I'm only seeing what I follow. I suppose we do need to choose our instances wisely. Certainly, if an instance (not just a user on it) is really spamming or impacting on other instances, I suppose there can be grounds to block it. But we have not all been spammed yet by Threads. I don't like Threads (cancelled all my accounts years ago) but I left a few good friends and family there that I would like to reconnect with, and follow them. I also like that my metadata stays on the Fediverse side, so I don't need a Threads account or their app tracking me.

I just would not like to be denied the option to even reconnect with my family and friends. Same goes for WhatsApp interoperating on Signal protocol - I have many friends and colleagues I left behind on WhatsApp, and would like to reconnect again with them.

$66pm for uncapped fibre 300/150 Mbps in South Africa

About 3 months back I cancelled Netflix (after being in it for many years) and moved to free Tubi.

Manjaro Linux, also for my gaming. Booted up my secondary Windows drive yesterday on my main computer, just to update it.

Not so, it was true for my 86-year-old mom. I installed Linux Mint and put the Chrome browser icon on her desktop, and that was all she used. She only checked e-mails and browsed like Facebook, etc. Every month or so when I went to visit, I'd just run the updater. Never broke and I never really had to do anything. The reason why I put it on, was her PC was getting old, and Windows was getting super slow. So it was win-win. She did not even know it was Linux.

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Credit card everywhere in South Africa for me - firstly safer, but I also settle it in full monthly so avoid bank costs and interest, and I get a lot of benefits back like 35% off fruit & veg, 75% off fitness devices annually, etc.

It can be self-hosted as well so that server is not essential to the service...

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That was the instance I signed up at, about 10 mins before I posted this link. Lemmy also went down in the last day, so nothing is bulletproof. But the site is working as I'm browsing and commenting right now.

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