Tech blogger on topics such as technology, open source, privacy, green tech, health tech, South Africa, and Cape Town
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2023-06-02T13:43:04+02:00 Event JSON
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Last Notes npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie SSDs have a secret way to protect your data when they fail Many SSDs will use SMART to keep track of how close they are to failure, and when they cross a threshold that indicates failure is imminent, they will lock down and enter a read-only state. This means that you can't write anything to them, but it's also a clear sign to the user to get everything off of the drive while it still works. You can tell if your SSD has entered that state if you can't unlock it to write to it. This will be reassuring to many who think if an SSD fails, it is basically not usable and the data is gone. So, if you've used an SDD for quite a while (a good many years) and it suddenly no longer boots, check on another computer (it's SMART stats should show if it failed). You should be able to clone it to a new SDD drive and carry on working with your data intact. See https://www.xda-developers.com/ssds-protect-data-when-fail #technology #SSD https://image.nostr.build/b1e9087fee7788c935fd037135426b071dc9af588fc758b963d02b349b1513eb.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Review: South Africa's Clicks branded Double Edge Razor Blades for R13 for 5 Blades Really impressed with these blades! I did my review on my blog along with a few photos, so it is best read there at the link below. See https://gadgeteer.co.za/review-south-africas-clicks-branded-double-edge-razor-blades-for-r13-for-5-blades/ #SouthAfrica #razorblades #traditionalwetshaving #shaving #Clicks https://image.nostr.build/bac510d90c6d3bcc5a2aa95fed1e42004a3e6228d4bc92d79eff2268c7e0e4c0.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Putting a Raspberry Pi inside a Docker Container The Pi container emulates an entire Raspberry Pi from the ground up, allowing anyone that wants to deploy software on one to test it out without needing to do so on actual hardware. All of the configuration can be done from inside the container. When all the setup is completed and the desired software installed in the container, the container can be converted to an .img file that can be put on a microSD card and installed on real hardware, with support for the Pi models 3, 4, and 5. This would be pretty useful if you want to distribute an application all ready to run on a Pi. Others may find it useful to just test out how a Pi works, or even for testing something dicey out without messing up your running Pi. See https://hackaday.com/2024/08/30/putting-a-pi-in-a-container/ #technology #RaspberryPi #docker https://image.nostr.build/514ea78f2c34c9bf8bc9acb31a10a5e63c10d88b4c20f46eeca75470cb60bf55.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Starlink by SpaceX to offer free emergency SOS on ALL phones worldwide While Emergency SOS via satellite is literally life-saving, the implementation by smartphone companies is not going to be free, at least not for long. This defeats the purpose of the feature and could even be seen as a way to capitalize on someone’s desperation. Its efficacy also depends on satellite availability and coverage. SpaceX’s Starlink is about to solve all of these problems, as per a new claim by Musk on X. Starlink is a subsidiary of SpaceX that offers global broadband connectivity via satellites, enabling users in even the most remote areas to have access to high-speed internet. As of today, it has more than 6,000 satellites in orbit — much higher than its rivals. Earlier this year, Starlink by SpaceX launched Direct to Cell service with T-Mobile, enabling texting, calling, and data across the globe on existing smartphones. But there is one major snag (especially, for example, in South Africa): To offer global emergency services access via satellites, Starlink will need approvals from every country individually. With such a potentially vital and life-saving service, it's also going to be interesting to see if non-participating governments are going to be held civilly liable for any deaths of their citizens where such a call could have saved lives. See https://www.androidpolice.com/spacex-starlink-free-emergency-sos-worldwide-elon-musk/ #technology #SOS #Starlink https://image.nostr.build/a36dbd5bcceab64257ad8c3a63878e6b5386b66d04dd7616c4fb51c9c32a0d4b.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Always Pin An App Before Handing Your Android Phone to Someone When a stranger, acquaintance, or even a friend borrows your phone to make a call, you want to make sure that they don’t go opening other apps (accidentally or on purpose). Android lets you do exactly that with "App Pinning". It's also perfect if you want a small child to maybe play a puzzle game etc on your phone. On my Samsung Galaxy phone it was disabled by default, but the linked article's advice worked to activate it and to use it. See https://www.howtogeek.com/always-do-this-before-handing-your-android-phone-to-someone/ #technology #privacy https://image.nostr.build/260ec968d82d2ee655d3fde09485411e8825346efea08d687847a8e8cb8bd4cd.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Now Microsoft is bringing Start menu ads to Windows 10, too As Windows 11 slowly becomes inundated with ads, people on Windows 10 have been watching on in horror. Unfortunately, it seems that they, too, will begin seeing ads. Someone has spotted Start menu ads making their way onto Windows 10, and they look very similar to the kind that's currently rolling out onto Windows 11. As spotted by Neowin, This new "feature" was spotted by PhantomOfEarth on X. If that name sounds familiar, it's because PhantomOfEarth has had a long track record of sniffing out features hidden within Beta, Dev, and Canary builds. So, the good news is Windows 10 users will be enjoying back ported Win 11 Start Menu in the future, and also the ads are still disabled by default, but the bad news is the capability is all built-in. Microsoft probably has no interest at all in home users, but hopefully users will find hacks to keep this disabled (it can be disabled in Win 11, or not?). See https://www.xda-developers.com/microsoft-start-menu-ads-windows-10/ #technology #MIcrosoft #Windows https://image.nostr.build/0e06c4d04f62ec390434743ca5ea1ca013a455540d698cbd66799674476ea7f8.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie iOS 18 Notes App: All the New Features: Google Must do Better I only have an iPad left now from the Apple ecosystem, but after testing some of these features out, I must say that Google really needs to just try and catch up with their Notes app. Apple is definitely out-innovating Google here by a mile. Google has really neglected their Notes app quite badly. Some of the new features I like most with the iOS Notes app are: * Notes integrates with the Calculator app in iOS 18 for a new feature called Maths Notes. Maths Notes is designed to let you solve equations, so you can do things like add up your monthly budget, calculate what people owe for a group trip, or split a restaurant bill. * Maths Notes with the Apple Pencil. Just write out equations by hand. * All audio recordings that you capture with the Notes app are automatically transcribed in real-time. * Transcription Summaries. * If you have long notes with multiple headings, you can now collapse those headings. * Highlight Colours (Google did release this, but it has not become usable across all my notes yet). * Smart Script — The feature uses machine learning to recreate your own handwriting style to refine what you've written, making messy writing look neater. See https://www.macrumors.com/guide/ios-18-notes-app/ #technology #iOS #notes https://image.nostr.build/8715e765e5f11084acaf6639084ac60726de63348c0cd4010395b93f1f864761.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Your 'Max Heart Rate' Is Probably Wrong f you’ve ever worried about your heart rate during exercise being too high or too low, you’ll want to read this. Your "heart rate zones" might be completely wrong. Not only are zones defined differently in different apps, they are also usually calculated based on your maximum heart rate. And that maximum heart rate calculation? It’s incorrect for huge swaths of the population. Your maximum heart rate is, by definition, the fastest your heart can possibly beat. If a watch tells you that your max is 180 beats per minute, and then you go for a run and your heart is beating at 190 beats per minute, you haven’t gone “over” your max. You have simply found out that 180 isn’t your max at all. Your actual max must be at least 190. The only way to truly know your max heart rate is to test it with intense exercise. I’ll give you some ways to do that below. Fitness gadgets and apps (and, in the olden days, books and other sources of fitness advice), meanwhile, try to skip that step by using a formula that estimates your maximum heart rate based on your age. The most popular formula simply subtracts your age from 220. But there are problems with that formula, and even with the alternative equations that have been proposed to replace it. There is no formula that can tell you what your own personal max heart rate actually is. Quite interesting, as I always went with that 220-age formula (I suppose it is a good rule of thumb), but it is true that I don't shop for shoes base don my body height either. I had always wondering too why I could easily exceed my "max heart rate" by quite a bit for exercises. But in the end I also decided I did not want to be exercising at such a high rate as it is probably better to pace myself rather at 80% to 90% anyway. See https://lifehacker.com/how-to-calculate-your-max-heart-rate-youre-probably-d-1683716934 #technology #health #heartrate https://image.nostr.build/8bf2b0b9b2a62f1d77f0f969562a40161a2d7d380607bc0cd2be6f71ea5116cd.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie What is Wireguard, and What Makes It a Worthy VPN Protocol? Wireguard is less than half as old as OpenVPN's 22 years, though it's still proving to be fairly reliable. It's also much leaner, at only 4,000 lines of code. That's much easier to audit, incorporate, or build with than OpenVPN's 70,000, and that can be critical for certain sensitive applications. Wireguard's protocol itself also has less overhead than others, which means it uses more bandwidth on your actual data and there's less of a tax on the system. OpenVPN operates in user-space, which means privilege-escalation attacks aren't likely from the program itself, but it hurts your overall throughput. Wireguard has a user-space application that's very fast, but it also has kernel support. It's significantly faster overall, both in theory and in practice, making it ideal for transferring large files quickly or streaming video from a personal media server. Wireguard's security philosophy is also different. OpenVPN is flexible, so if there's a mismatch between the client and server, there are options and the connection can still be established. However, the cost of this approach is that there are more potential security holes, and there's much more upkeep required by system administrators to mitigate that risk. Wireguard is built to be less flexible—each version is based around specific algorithms and processes. If there's a mismatch between two devices in the network, they will not connect. This means that system administrators mainly just need to make sure things are updated regularly. There's a variety of other differences between Wireguard's implementation and traditional VPNs as well. There's a lot of depth once you start to get more technical. The linked article goes on to say what Wireguard can be used for, as well as some specific disadvantages with using it. I see Proton VPN also has an experimental implementation of Wireguard, but it is a pity they don't offer its split tunnelling in their Linux client app. See https://www.howtogeek.com/what-is-wireguard/ #technology #VPN #privacy https://image.nostr.build/0f2d375b2160ac30236155588c167ae07c64f1959e99427707bb7e609a9a0113.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie DuckDuckGo AI chat offers privacy, no user data used to train models, and a bare-bones text-only experience The chat boasts many standard features, such as answering questions when searching on DuckDuckGo, and an interactive chat window. It offers a bare-bones, text-only experience with no multimedia support. The AI chat also includes a "burn" mode, allowing users to erase conversations at any time quickly. Unlike Meta's AI, OpenAI's ChatGPT, or Google's Gemini, the DuckDuckGo AI chat offers users access to a multitude of large language models, including both closed-source and open-source options. Currently, users can engage with ChatGPT 3.5, ChatGPT 4.0-mini, Llama 3, Claude, and Mixtral. Obviously being more private means no "memory" or history of chats. It also has no image generation, and the choices of different models may confuse some users. But for the privacy conscious, DDG Chat is a big plus. You can access it's Chat from any browser by just doing a DDG search, so no need to specifically install the DDG browser etc. See https://www.howtogeek.com/duckduckgos-new-ai-chat-is-the-best-way-to-use-chatgpt/ #technology #privacy #AI https://image.nostr.build/b6ddbf9590689e819edb76aba4201c5a242bf4c2b99825eeb4ab47eed25df416.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie The best free password managers: Expert tested by ZDNET We use passwords every day to access everything from our social media profiles to our bank accounts -- and if you are following good password hygiene rules, you have a lot of complex, unique logins that are impossible to remember. A password manager can help you organize and store this information securely, while giving you quick access when you need it. You don't even need to pay a premium for this service, as there are several great free password managers to choose from. There are some excellent password managers today which provide an abundance of required features free of charge. This leaves really no excuse for anyone still using the same password across different sites. ZDNET has listed Bitwarden, NordPass, Proton Pass and LogMeOnce as worthy of their recommendation. All these services provide full synchronisation across all your mobile and computer/laptop devices. So, by using them, you are also not locked into a specific OS or OEM. Today, one also wants to be sure your password manager can handle TOTP and passkeys (also synced across all your devices). Some now also offer hide your e-mail functionality. The linked article also adds a few worthy mentions at the end such as KeePass, RoboForm and Dashlane. See https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-free-password-manager/ #technology #passwords #security https://image.nostr.build/ba66cb5e1074bf5a20a8b886e99662856c0be503a8bbc8b0f5dbf7a90b285e37.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Cal.com is an open-source alternative to Calendy for scheduling meetings Cal.com works by everyone sharing their calendars to it, and it then suggests times when everyone should be available. It is great for doctors, dentists, teachers, companies meeting candidates, etc who need to set up meetings and want the process as automated as possible. It can be self-hosted for complete privacy, or they also offer a hosted service which is free for individuals. Not only that, but it can connect to many types of calendaring services, and also has support for CalDav. See https://cal.com/ #technology #opensource #selfhosting #meetings https://image.nostr.build/4ace351f94f29494ef4d27843fddf127c34f1f9496ed8faf7fb0c009517c14af.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Proton VPN adds ‘Discreet Icons’ to hide app on Android devices and adds more servers for countries with lack of freedoms One of the stand-out features is 'Discreet Icon,' a new setting allowing users to disguise the Proton VPN app icon and make it appear as a weather, notes, or calculator app. In countries governed by oppressive authoritarian regimes where many VPN tools, including Proton VPN, are banned, random physical checks performed by law enforcement on people's devices could get them into trouble if a VPN app is found on their apps list. The second highlighted feature is the addition of the 'Stealth' anti-censorship protocol to Proton VPN's Windows client. This protocol allows users to disguise VPN traffic as regular internet traffic. Previously, the protocol was available on iOS, macOS, and Android. Proton VPN will start providing new servers in the twelve countries at the bottom of the Freedom House Index and Democracy Index lists, where people need a trustworthy VPN more urgently. These countries are Afghanistan, Bahrain, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Yemen. Interestingly, the servers are not situated inside these countries, but in neighbouring countries, and simulates an IP address of the target country. It's clear that Proton's philosophy is quite divergent from Google's philosophy. Google may provide services for "free" but it is using its users' information to serve adverts and working with advertisers. Proton takes the opposite path by charging users for the services, but then providing them with privacy and not working with advertisers. It is good to see, though, that Proton is still providing a pretty robust free VPN service to users (whilst I think Google just recently discontinued their VPN service). The thing to remember is that privacy does not go hand in hand with free services, as someone has to pay the bills or donate the time/resources. See https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/proton-vpn-adds-discreet-icons-to-hide-app-on-android-devices/ #technology #privacy #VPN https://image.nostr.build/079f2ec7b960dbfd82c5c297797cc24bc8fa4ffb1ea2e308f7c557b84dd31b7c.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie WordStar 7, the last ever DOS version, is re-released for free Before WordPerfect, the most popular work processor was WordStar. Now, the last ever DOS version has been bundled and set free by one of its biggest fans. One forgets today how massive WordPerfect and WordStar were in their days. In fact, anyone younger than around 35 or 40 years old won't know anything except for Microsoft Word. WordStar is probably also "well" known for its odd shortcut keys. Back in its day, we did not have a mouse, so everything revolved around keyboard shortcuts. Yes, Microsoft really did make everyone a bit lazy, as it's no secret that if you know your common keyboard shortcuts in any app, you can work a lot faster than the person that also uses their mouse or the menu to do everything. Which is why those, who really know their command line, are going to work must faster than their counterparts using a GUI app. But that's the world we live in today So, this old WordStar app will actually run in Windows, macOS and even Linux (with the suitable DOS emulator). See https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/06/wordstar_7_the_last_ever/ #technology #retro #WordStar https://image.nostr.build/25895d0530d65b337e9ce1cc0b10ebf7951bc9fa4920407a4879e07840611919.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie The status in 2024 of Linux distros with an undo function for updates The big names mostly can't yet, but some lesser-known Linux distributions offer the ability to undo updates and recover from damage, even automatically. With a new version of Linux Mint available, a lot of people – especially less-technical types – are about to upgrade their PCs. As with almost all major upgrades, inevitably some stuff won't work with the new version. Going back is difficult, although Mint does have a solution, and so do some smaller distros. Linux Mint includes the Timeshift utility, originally developed by Teejeetech, but that doesn't make it invulnerable. No operating system is, as amply demonstrated recently by CrowdStrike. If installed on a file system that supports copy-on-write (COW) snapshots, Timeshift can use that, but if you chose some other disk format, it can also back up your system files using rsync to another drive. I reverted to ext4 from Btrfs a year or so ago after discovering it was the issue behind my much longer boot times. I've been using Timeshift with it rsyncing to a second drive, and this has served me well, when I did once or twice have to do a restore to undo an update. The only thing I found quite promising in the linked article, is two Linux distros that actually have dual-root-volumes which sounds most interesting (I suppose a bit like Android phones have those A and B partitions?). See https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/01/linux_rollback_options/ #technology #Linux https://image.nostr.build/ff93af540316ba20bfdbcb6205cfec0b59ac06164931d557c840da8ca38d6b20.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie 3 reasons magnetic switches are shaking up the keyboard scene Mechanical keyboards have been responsible for a huge shift in user behaviour, owing to the superior typing experience they offer over traditional or membrane keyboards. Mechanical switches are at the core of that experience, offering a satisfying tactile and auditory response to users, which can't be replicated on conventional keyboards. We are now witnessing what could be another radical shift in switch technology — magnetic switches. To be clear, magnetic switches didn't come up yesterday. The tech has existed since the 60s, and we've seen it in popular keyboards from brands like Wooting since late 2022. However, what's new is the bubbling interest in magnetic switches from consumers and manufacturers, with brands like Wooting and Razer fighting hard to come out on top. What is interesting to me about this, is that I think of magnets as losing power over time and having imprecise points at when they trigger. It seems that I was very wrong on this. The key thing here is these are permanent magnets and they use the Hall effect switches (like we use Hall effect sensors for measuring electrical current travelling through a wire). So this also means being able to have dynamic actuation and reset points. Also, there is no physical contact switch, so they could last a lot longer (and be silent). See https://www.xda-developers.com/magnetic-switches-shaking-up-keyboards/ #technology #keyboards https://image.nostr.build/d31e9f2fb70deb21bc1e4880e8cd16e89933e1f7bc529b69120457e262e3a0ca.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Paperless-ngx is a privacy respecting open-source self-hosted document management solution This is a great solution for scanning or uploading any documents, images, e-mails, etc into your own self-hosted solution for home or business use. Nothing is shared out to other services, and being self-hosted, it's not going to get hacked in someone's cloud either. All documents are OCR'd for full text searching, and separately saved into PDF/A format. It's a great way to organise all your family, or business, receipts, contracts, images, equipment manuals, e-mails, etc so that anyone with the permissions in the family or team can find them later. If being organised is not your thing, I also do a quick demo at the end of a good full-text desktop indexer/searcher, as an alternative, that will find your documents scattered across your drive. Watch https://youtu.be/urwuTnrYEWE #technology #opensource #documentmanagement #paperlessngx #selfhosting https://image.nostr.build/6faf3617a08a48680dacf18360781602eee9d07ef1cce75fca18081d804d785a.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie The Continent is a free (of cost, ads and trackers) news publication for Africans by Africans The Continent is a weekly newspaper produced by African reporters, photographers, illustrators and editors. It is designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp, Telegram channel, Signal or e-mail, and has become the continent's most widely distributed newspaper. It is designed to be read on a mobile screen, with mostly short news pieces of 250 to 400 words, and a few longer pieces of about 900 words. Editions are sent out as a PDF on Fridays. Led by a small team of nine (all working remotely) and having published contributions from nearly 200 journalists, writers, photographers and illustrators from across Africa in the past year, The Continent has covered numerous important and urgent stories, starting with reliable information from African researchers and public health experts on the Covid-19 pandemic, and on to other ground-breaking reporting: the injustice of “vaccine apartheid” with rich countries hoarding Covid-19 vaccines; the impact of Nigeria’s sudden and dramatic Twitter ban (applauded by none other than Donald Trump); a tender photo essay on being queer in Uganda, in a country where it is dangerous to be LGBTQ. The Continent is published by the All Protocol Observed, a registered non-profit based in South Africa. It was initially funded by the editorial team, but has since attracted donor and commercial funding. So a refreshing difference is no adverts and also no tracking. You receive the PDF weekly via your channel of choice (or you can just download it from their website), and you can reshare this with anyone you wish to. Credit to Jan Wildeboer @[email protected] for sharing this on the Fediverse. See https://www.thecontinent.org/ #news #Africa #TheContinent #journalism https://image.nostr.build/959fd45dc1aeaa2b380c565ffd7fa4369528cfbffa3cebe36704c6304c246e81.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie How to test if your VPN is working Keeping your online activities and data private is a top priority nowadays. VPNs, or virtual private networks, are one of the best ways to do this. Not only do they encrypt your internet connection, but they reroute all of your traffic through a private tunnel to keep it safe from prying eyes. Even the best VPNs can have problems, though. Maybe you’re not sure if your VPN is working properly. Or maybe you just want to test out the service for yourself to better understand how it safeguards your privacy. I especially liked that the ipleak site also does a torrent address detection test. Happy to see my ProtonVPN service passed all the test with zero leaking of my actual IP address. See https://www.pcworld.com/article/2406999/how-to-test-if-your-vpn-is-working.html #technology #VPN #privacy https://image.nostr.build/bca4d19fa2ed04f2034e8718fafdf94acc509430b9c30f25d11cef30d7574fe6.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie 6 myths about mechanical keyboards that are no longer true For better or worse, the "mech keeb" community is still a niche one, so there are many more people outside of it than the ones in the know. So, a regular PC user might still have some misconceptions about mechanical keyboards that are far from the truth. These myths range across all aspects of mechanical keyboards, from the look and feel to the sound and price. Perhaps the only silver lining we have is that most of these myths are super easy to debunk, so people don't have an excuse to stay uninformed any longer. It's always interesting to me, no matter what the technology, so many people tend to get hung up about issues that existed when it launched, and those perceptions stubbornly persist. Yes you can buy really cheap membrane keyboards, but the experience is not the same, and a better keyboard is going to last you a long time. Both a keyboard and mouse are intensively used with a computer, so you may as well be a bit more discerning when choosing them. I've realised over time too that RGB colour lights are not the biggest thing (unless you want to set certain shortcut keys in their own colours) but I really do value backlit keys to see them clearer (I do visual typing not touch typing). See https://www.xda-developers.com/mechanical-keyboards-myths-not-true/ #technology #keyboards https://image.nostr.build/79ea8d869de3d222a614ec793753e2953eb4dfb7f611204b91267c785cd62bce.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Yes, maybe not, but I think Julia's point was where something is going to be more CPU or GPU intensive, Julia would better utilise available processing with its parallel processing. But yes, I think in many cases Python is going to be just fine. npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie 7 password rules to live by in 2024, according to security experts - No, frequent changes not one of the rules If you really want to get deep into the details of digital security, read the four-volume Digital Identity Guidelines from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It's a massive document, and much of it is aimed at Federal agencies that need extremely robust security. There's plenty of practical, easy-to-read information there as well, such as the discussion of how long and complex passwords really need to be. You'll find those details in the short appendix titled "Strength of Memorized Secrets." The folks at NIST have created a simple Cybersecurity Basics page that boils all that technical information down to a set of crisp guidelines for small business owners and managers. Experts agree that changing passwords regularly isn't necessary, and that organizations requiring users to change their password for no reason are actually making their networks less secure. Why? Because people who are forced to change passwords regularly are likely to choose a weak, easy-to-guess password. If you've done a solid job of choosing a strong and unique password, there's no need to change it under normal circumstances. They're all very sensible rules, and changing a well-chosen unique password every month, is not one of the recommendations. I recall making a post about this a year or two back, where the originator of that idea of monthly changes had explained where he came up with that idea, and it had no basis on any fact at all. And yet to this day most IT departments still require such changes, and of course users just tack on a number they keep changing (defeating the whole objective of that idea anyway). See https://www.zdnet.com/article/7-password-rules-to-live-by-in-2024-according-to-security-experts #technology #passwords #security https://image.nostr.build/288f7d1c7980915d3c02c00c80571d76e557ce3fcb6445f3bc3eb1aac1d3f751.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie The Julia programming language: a missed opportunity for AI Admittedly, it was the headline that caught my attention, and I've only briefly looked a bit into Julia. Of course, there is also more to a language than just speed, such as wealth of libraries, wealth of documentation and tutorials, cross-platform compatibility, etc. Its creators, in a 2012 blog post, stated they aimed to combine the speed of C with the ease of use of Python, while adopting additional positive qualities from various other leading programming languages. On the face of it, Julia is pretty easy to pick up if you know any high-level language well. Python users could quite easily adapt to using it once you know some of the minor differences such as indexing of arrays starting at 1 instead of 0, concatenation of strings is with a "*" and not a "+", etc. Julia’s syntax is straightforward and intuitive, similar to that of Python, meaning it can be used extensively for exploratory programming and data analysis. They have a good FAQ itemising the differences to many other common languages such as Python, Common Lisp, C/C++, MATLAB, and R. A FAQ is often why they did not just plug a Matlab or Python front-end into a Julia back-end (or “transpile” code to Julia) in order to get all the performance benefits of Julia without requiring programmers to learn a new language. Julia's performance advantage derives almost entirely from its front-end: its language semantics allow a well-written Julia program to give more opportunities to the compiler to generate efficient code and memory layouts. If you tried to compile Matlab or Python code to Julia, the compiler would be limited by the semantics of Matlab or Python to producing code no better than that of existing compilers for those languages (and probably worse). There is also a build_executable function, but it is noted that this compatible across Windows and macOS, but not on Linux. To increase the portability, they suggest you use an older "cpu_target" target as "core2" instead of "native". Importantly, too, the language is open-source and not affiliated to any company. That said, one programmer who no longer recommends Julia, state it was because the community swept some problems under the rug. It is already used in many areas, for example NASA has deployed Julia to calculate the courses of spacecraft. It excels is financial analysis, weather forecasting and car crash simulations, etc. Its creators, in a 2012 blog post, stated they aimed to combine the speed of C with the ease of use of Python, while adopting additional positive qualities from various other leading programming languages. Given that Julia's big advantage over Python is where speed, becomes a primary factor, it would be well suited you'd think for AI. If you need to scale your workload, Julia should offer a strong basis to keep growing. But Python has a mass adoption and people don't change languages just for the sake of it, especially when there is such a wealth of documentation and assistance out there for Python. Still, if speed is a primary factor, then it may well be worth considering Julia, especially given that is also quite easy to learn. See https://www.techzine.eu/blogs/devops/118517/the-julia-programming-language-a-missed-opportunity-for-ai/ #technology #Julia #programming #Python #opensource https://image.nostr.build/e7ddb8f2f47f9f860db128ff8bf3a2921c0200ff6c80bfb8a905341f4a028ca6.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Video comparison of a Gillette Fusion Proglide Power vs a Gillette King C DE Razor Way too many people only know about the razor they currently use because of advertising they see. There are 60 years old technologies (well, actually older than that) that work even better actually, at a fraction of the cost. Even Gillette themselves restarted to remake their double-edged razor, although you won't see them advertising it, as their massive profits are made off selling their cartridge blades, which can't easily be recycled. And seeing a DE blade is an open standard, and DE blade will fit any DE razor (try buying a competitor cartridge blade to fit a Gillette Fusion razor). This video shows both razors in action. Just remember with DE blades there is a massive choice out there and many shave differently depending on your beard type and the aggressiveness of the razor head itself. So you can choose from super sharp, to mild, etc depending on which works best for you. So it is always advisable to buy a sample pack of different blades to test out with any new DE razor. It's a razor you may well be using for the next 60 years! See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_YcbtPh3nY and a similar one also at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_1H1uGmMtM #shaving #wetshaving #Gillette https://image.nostr.build/b5fd50cc863807e7f6a8fe6a3cf564116aef8cf29ee129da71060cef178d4dd6.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie How you can play the old classics on your PC or other devices with ScummVM ScummVM, short for Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion Virtual Machine, is an open-source software project that serves as a way for nostalgic gamers and retro enthusiasts alike to enjoy some older classic games. Originally developed to run classic LucasArts adventure games that utilized the SCUMM scripting language, ScummVM has since evolved into a versatile piece of software supporting a wide range of point-and-click adventure games from various developers. At its core, ScummVM acts as an interpreter, replacing the game’s original executable with its own, while keeping the game data intact. This unique approach not only allows these games to run on modern hardware and operating systems, such as Windows 11, Linux, and even Android, but also enhances their performance and compatibility. Thanks to ScummVM, titles like Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, and Grim Fandango can be enjoyed with improved graphics, sound, and additional features such as widescreen support and customizable controls. ScummVM will install on Windows, Linux (Snap and Flatpak), macOS, Playstation, Android, ARM64, Nintendo, Wii, AmigaOS, and more devices (not iOS, yet I see). They also provide about 11 freeware games to play. See https://www.xda-developers.com/how-play-old-classics-pc-scummvm/ #technology #gaming #retro https://image.nostr.build/39daf2100e85e36f28d73ce46721cdb61535ad98e1364cbc00734b15cb0032da.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Communia bets social media can be good for you Olivia DeRamus is flipping the script: “What if scrolling through social media didn’t make us miserable? What if, especially for women, social media could actually make us feel more supported?”. “It’s certainly not what mainstream social platforms have been built for,” DeRamus told TechCrunch. But with her social platform Communia, DeRamus is daring to try something that seems counterintuitive. Communia is both a social platform and a mental health tool; you can post updates in a community feed, or you can privately journal and track your emotions over time. But for users to get vulnerable, they need to feel safe. So, the platform is taking an approach that could polarize some, but could reassure others: People must verify their identity before they can fully use the app. “It’s a safety feature, but it also kind of sets the tone that this is an intimate space and that you’re safe here,” she said. “So people feel more empowered to talk about their PMDD, or to talk about the difficult life experience they’re going through.” I've always suspected that anonymous pseudonyms have often led to online abuses, bullying and trolling. So by identifying people, we would probably see more accountability and respect online. I get that many don't want to be identified online, and that is a perfectly good choice, but for those who want a safer place online the choice to choose a network that verifies identity may be their perfect choice. And I believe it is very good that there is this choice to be had. But to survive, it will need to be economically viable. With verified identities, you really do not want to have your metadata being shared elsewhere. So let's hope the economic model is sustainable and also respects rights to privacy. See https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/18/communia-bets-social-media-can-be-good-for-you/ #technology #socialnetworks #Communia #mentalhealth https://image.nostr.build/b4b2bcb0f69be8a6905e734326289fc511a496d975e7448bd0871f3bb4fe6823.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie This is why I bought the Logitech G502 X mouse for my Linux desktop instead of the MX Master 3S I wanted to move off the Redragon Mammoth mouse, mainly because I started to want a free-scrolling mode scroll wheel. I often read long posts, or I am editing long webpages, and find myself having to hit the scroll wheel 5 or 10 times to scroll up or down. With a free spinning wheel, it is a single flick, and it goes up or down the page. It is a longish post, so I have produced it in full as a blog post at the link below. See https://gadgeteer.co.za/this-is-why-i-bought-the-logitech-g502-x-mouse-for-my-linux-desktop-instead-of-the-mx-master-3s #technology #Logitech #mouse #Linux https://image.nostr.build/cd1381657997ff4a7d7d98f7945d01daa81ee44c45bc6b5d2036e6032dc535a4.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie How the Stream Deck rose from the ashes of a legendary keyboard The keyboard was just a concept, dreamed up by Art Lebedev, a Russian design firm, and it was an ambitious idea at that: called the Optimus Maximus, it would require over 100 built-in screens using display technology that wasn’t readily available at the time. With all the excitement, the firm decided to make it real. “You’re on a sinking ship, you’ve got to figure out what you’re going to do,” recalls Elgato’s Julian Fest, whose parents originally founded the company in 1999. A very interesting read, and also a lesson in how imminently bankrupt companies can turn their whole game around by doing something different (think also of Netflix). See https://www.theverge.com/c/features/24191410/elgato-stream-deck-art-lebedev-optimus-maximus-keyboard-retrospective #technology #StreamDeck #change https://image.nostr.build/55807e7e2dd81cc787f2ddfc5a48212a8d7ea5fcc5f48ed7f76deb1eb090afb9.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie 11 Obsidian tips and tricks for boosting productivity with this Markdown editor and notes app Obsidian is quite popular among writers, researchers, and students. When you create a long blog post, research paper, or project overview in Obsidian, navigating it using a keyboard and mouse can be cumbersome at times. Obsidian has a built-in feature to glance over page outlines and jump to relevant headings with a single click. This is the 3rd article I've seen in two days about Obsidian tips and tricks. I have no idea why, but I have to admit even as a long time Obsidian user (I've done a video about it as well), I've actually picked up some new tips (because things change) so I suppose it is worth resharing something again about Obsidian. New is a feature-rich Editing Toolbar at the top because the cMenu plugin I was using has not been updated for quite a while. This toolbar is more like the traditional toolbars you find on most word processors, and will be especially useful for new users. I'd picked up on the Canvas plugin in an article yesterday, and it is quite a useful tool for mapping out thoughts and ideas for brainstorming, a bit like a mind map. For me, apart from the rich ecosystem of plugins for Obsidian and the fact it saves in Markdown format, I make a lot of use of tagging and linking notes in Obsidian. I have hundreds of notes over the years, many of which were imported from when I used other Markdown editors. See https://www.xda-developers.com/obsidian-tips-and-tricks-for-boosting-productivity/ #technology #notes #Obsidian https://image.nostr.build/10e853b6d936a156a4ff014df29b3f37514deecdd8e41253393e0706efd43229.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie How to fake the GPS location on your iPhone or Android phone Perhaps you're trying out an app that searches for nearby stores or restaurants in another city, wanting to access services that are only available within a specific country or region, or playing a location-based game. Whatever the reason, sometimes it's useful to be somewhere else as far as your smartphone is concerned. The good news is that with the right tools, it's not difficult to spoof your GPS location. But of course that process is a LOT easier when using an Android phone. It's important to keep in mind that this process isn't foolproof, and can have unintended side effects. For example, while you're running an app that fakes your GPS location, it will affect built-in services like Find My iPhone and Find My Android because the location of any nearby AirTags will be misreported, and your phone will possibly even supply an incorrect location to emergency services like 911. See https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-fake-the-gps-location-on-your-iphone-or-android-phone/ #technology #location https://image.nostr.build/2868ea7cb39a58fa27d99493a96d4e2b1d8adb7fff45c504ecceaac9335b664c.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Samsung's Latest Galaxy Buds Might Be Android's Answer to AirPods One cool feature for the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro is Auto Noise Adjustment, which can automatically adjust the ANC for you. For example, if your earbuds detect an ambulance siren, they'll turn the ANC to Ambient mode so you can stay aware of what's going on around you. If there's construction noise, they'll turn up the ANC to full to block any external noise. For sound, the Galaxy Buds 3 (the non-Pro model) has a 1-way single amp and dynamic driver along with Adaptive ANC (an odd choice for buds without a seal). With the standard Buds 3, you lose out on the Auto Noise Adjustment feature that the Buds 3 Pro have. I do like that adaptive ANC as my own Anker Soundcore's do have adaptive ANC, but it is more for levels of noise, and don't automatically let a speaking voice or a siren through. But that is purely software, and there is no reason why Anker should not be offering that. That said, I still have a fear of paying so much for any of these devices if the non-replaceable batteries are only going to last 2 or 3 years max. I never bought another pair of AirPods after mine's batteries dies just after 2 years. Samsung's Ring also sounds interesting (I have the Oura right now) but I'm really waiting to first see what the reviews have to say, and see what functions are actually available (and how well they work). See https://lifehacker.com/tech/samsung-latest-galaxy-buds-might-be-androids-answer-to-airpods #technology #earbuds https://image.nostr.build/bccc6f4a134f5cbe168bc3acd17a027e5430dd2c4c68d2a153001f8d1dfdd4ea.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Well it's been externally audited (the other existing services) and passed, and is not selling information. It does not have a government that invasively spies. So as far as any service goes, it probably rates quite well. The only service you can trust is the one where you write all the software from scratch without 3rd party libraries, and host it yourself. Very few go that far. npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie OMG!! R300 million stolen in massive cyber-heist in South African gov dept over 10 year period Cybercriminals have stolen at least R300 million from South African taxpayers over the past ten years thanks to security flaws at the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. I am just dumbstruck over this, and can only quote the Minister's own words here: "The minister said it was unthinkable that this had gone on for so long without being noticed". When is South Africa going to take cybersecurity seriously with government? Despite the Cybersecurity Hub , a National Cybersecurity Policy Framework (NCPF), etc, we see posts and a website, but very little in the way of actual preventative actions. The country has been embarrassed by more than one department denying they've been hacked at all, only to find out a week later after the data is leaked, that the department had no clue what they were talking about. I've actually tried contacting the Cybersecurity Hub using their PGP encrypted e-mail to get suggestions on bolstering a government website I assisted in maintaining, but never got any response from them at all. I think at one stage their mailbox was also full. Cybersecurity is not just about financial loss, or exposing citizen's private data, but also about protecting the very sovereignty of the country. Intrusions today can also expose backend systems and even state or military secrets. I'm really not sure these types of expertise actually exist within the departments themselves, as they are firstly highly specialised, but are also evolving daily. See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/security/543863-r300-million-stolen-in-massive-cyber-heist.html #technology #SouthAfrica #cybersecurity https://image.nostr.build/b96f507fde9e15f46d3dea7efb377ab6ab431fc705a6191216156459f2c937e3.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Openvibe combines Mastodon, Bluesky and Nostr into one social app See https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/09/openvibe-combines-mastodon-bluesky-and-nostr-into-one-social-app/ npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Cross-Platform ONLYOFFICE 8.1 office suite has an excellent PDF editor and forms creator With this update, the PDF editor also supports page deletion, rotation (left or right), and insertion (blank page before or after), all easily accessible from the "Home" tab (remember to enable "Edit PDF"). Moreover, you can now insert and adjust existing objects, including images, tables, hyperlinks, and equations. On the "Home" tab, click "Edit PDF," then go to the "Insert" tab to add an object (some options are directly accessible on the "Home" tab). To adjust an existing object like an image, select it and edit (rotate, resize, etc.). ONLYOFFICE 8.1 has eliminated the DOCXF format and now uses PDF forms, allowing you to easily create complex forms entirely in PDF. This change ensures that users with various devices and software can fill out your forms more easily, unlike DOCXF forms, which require compatible software to open and edit. Not so funny how Microsoft always end up locking you into using their products (mainly because they do not support truly open standards). So good to see a proper open PDF format being supported here. It is fully compatible with Office Open XML formats: .docx, .xlsx, .pptx. ONLYOFFICE is released under the GNU Affero General Public License, so it ensures that anyone who modifies the code, must also release the modified code. It works without a cloud account. It will install on Windows, macOS, and Linux (including AppImage, Flatpak, or Snap versions). See https://www.linuxtechmore.com/2024/07/onlyoffice-8-1-unveiled-with-supercharged-pdf-editor-and-more.html #technology #officesuite #opensource #PDF https://image.nostr.build/0e2191860c1d314c74909c9faa0b90a79a2d0d767783c60a7963ea429a5ec2a4.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie StreamController Application on Linux for the Elgato Stream Deck StreamController is an elegant Linux application designed for the Elgato Stream Deck, offering advanced features like plug-ins and automatic page switching to enhance your streaming and productivity setup. It can support multiple Stream Decks together. A very useful feature is automatic page switching which means you do not always need an available button on the deck's main page to switch to other pages, as those pages can be activated automatically when the app becomes active. I'm using StreamController to view and manage my Home Assistant application, Kdenlive, spreadsheet, Snowrunner and OpenBVE games, OBS Studio, and more. I demo this in the video and also show how buttons can be configured and used. If you are a Windows user you may still find some of the use cases interesting to try out on the Elgato Windows software, and even if you don't yet own a Stream Deck, the video may help motivate why you could find one very useful. For Linux users, this also inspires the confidence to buy an Elgato Stream Deck, as you can see the level and type of support available right now for Linux users. Watch https://youtu.be/kIJOj_6Jimk #technology #opensource #streamdeck #homeassistant #streamcontroller https://image.nostr.build/5d72310717fef5b6a033aaf204fd12b5419cf287ad8f0b35c2d00f4fc6cd7e79.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie You mean versus China, Russia or the USA? npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie We saw similar but through smaller and newer parties splitting the existing votes. Then the largest party in one Province lost because the other parties firmed a coalition. But at the end of the day, the most voters are still represented so I suppose it works out... npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Proton Just Launched a More Private Version of Google Docs with End-To-End Encryption Apart from China and Russia, the USA also has some pretty invasive mass surveillance laws, some of which operate in secret. So seeing countries outside the Five-Eyes nations launching more privacy respecting services is always very welcome to see. As with all Proton services, Docs put you back in control of your data. Thanks to our open-source end-to-end encryption, you are the only one with the key to read and share your documents. Not even Proton can access your docs content or metadata (such as file names). Instead of storing your data in the US, where it can be subject to government surveillance, Proton is protected by strict Swiss privacy laws (new window). Docs in Proton Drive will also support the option to embed images and invite various collaborators, though they will need at least a free Proton account, so the company can ensure the secure environment remains intact. Further, you’ll be able to see who is viewing the document, as well as where they are working, using similar collaborative cursors to what's in Google Docs. With Proton Drive and Docs, you now have a secure, privacy-first cloud storage and productivity alternative. If you’re working in law firms or healthcare, you can draft contracts and manage patient data in compliance with privacy laws. Journalists, content creators, and entrepreneurs can keep their projects protected from data leaks and Big Tech surveillance (no AI snooping on your work). Of course, there are also self-hosted alternatives such as CryptPad, and some providers also host these services online. They provide a nearly identical service, also with E2EE, so it is also worth considering. See https://proton.me/blog/docs-proton-drive #technology #privacy https://image.nostr.build/4c6fd50c7ce82ca2f77cf738a171ee5e3068cff8f4318adf8ef61e35e6c22f06.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie The Youth should know there are WAY CHEAPER, and better, alternatives to expensive Gillette razor blades In hindsight now, I wish my father would have told me about safety razor shaving with universal standard double edge razor blades, when I started to shave! I was probably taken in by all the Gillette advertising, and of course, I'd never experienced any other option, so I ended up just using those twin-blade cartridges many years ago. I often had to endure the odd ingrown hair or two for months on end (more about this further on). To start with, cost, which you'd really have thought would have put Gillette's multi-blade razors out of business long ago (but not, largely because many people do NOT KNOW about suitable alternatives. Just do a search online for Astra Superior Platinum DE blades. They are not half the cost, nor a quarter of the cost cheaper... they're on average about 400% cheaper. This is why after buying a good safety razor that lasts longer than a single lifetime, it ends up paying for itself after a year just through using DE razor blades. There is no vendor lock-in so you are free to try any DE blades as each has different characteristics. So how do they shave? Well pretty similar to cartridge razors, as safety razors are not cut-throat / straight razors where any slip could be a disaster (hence the name safety razors). What they do not do, because of the single blade, is to lift the hair out from below the skin and cut it. They instead cut the hair level with the skin. This actually helps prevent ingrown hairs for many. I discovered this merely week or so after migrating to safety razors. Many say this level of cutting is easier on the skin, as there is also only one blade being used. Another difference, although not needed, is using proper shaving soap that is lathered up using a brush. Apart from the glide it provides, most soaps are made from natural products that may include coconut oil, lamb fat, etc and actually help condition the skin (many also being vegan products including the brushes). The brushing also helps stimulate the hairs before shaving. Soaps and creams come with some amazing fragrances, but many are also fragrance-free. Traditional shaving is also more environment friendly: Apart from natural soaps, these do not use aerosol cans at all either. Unlike cartridge razor blades made from mixed plastics and metals that can't easily be separated, DE blades are pure metal. I store my used blades in a money tin and these can be sent for recycling once the tin is full (after about 5 years my tin is not even a quarter full). So where does one start then? I'd recommend starting with a reasonably good razor, something like a Merkur 34C or an Edwin Jagger DE89. For blades, I've settled on the Astra's, but I'd highly recommend getting a DE sample pack to try out different blades to find something that matches your razor, skin, and beard type. Starting out with a very cheap razor and blades is often not going to be a good experience. I have tons more tips and advice on my webpage at the link below. I just wish more people knew about the benefits and alternatives of traditional wet shaving, but unfortunately the Big Pharma and similar companies prefer the exceptional profits of selling Gillette type blades. See https://gadgeteer.co.za/myotherinterests/traditional-wet-shaving/ #shaving #environment #Gillette #cheaper https://image.nostr.build/93a1446ece257c4ea235c8fb47c4652c66922c42c54a0a7ac70329b2479e0e50.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Canonical's 'distroless' Linux images are a game-changer for enterprises Canonical has announced plans to offer customized Docker container Long Term Support (LTS) Linux images via its Everything LTS service. These custom "distroless" Linux images are set to come with 12 years of security support for Linux, and any included open-source application or dependency within the container. With these new Open Container Initiative images, Canonical is embracing the "distroless" container paradigm in which images contain just enough of the operating system and software to run a specific application. These hardened, minimal containers have a reduced attack surface, making them much more secure than conventional Linux VMs or containers. Distros that use this approach include Alpine Linux, Fedora CoreOS, and Wolfi. Quite interesting as for example Microsoft takes the opposite route, with tons of bloatware and complexity included in their OS. This Canonical approach suggests better stability and ease of support, and probably also implies that older hardware can also be used (again, not a trait of Microsoft). See https://www.zdnet.com/article/canonicals-distroless-linux-images-are-a-game-changer-for-enterprises/ #technology #Linux #opensource https://image.nostr.build/55d44f2a9f33b24c462200086d2d81c6ef0d6547c4e9b62fa678208a3570515b.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie New payment ring launched by VezoPay requiring no charging or unlocking – built by South Africans A standout features of VezoPay’s technology is its passive nature: unlike other payment methods that require regular charging, screen interaction or additional authentication steps, VezoPay’s wearable devices, including the payment ring, are designed to be low maintenance. The ring is shockproof, dustproof and waterproof – and never needs to be charged The ring is shockproof, dustproof and waterproof – and never needs to be charged. Users can make payments simply by placing their hand near a payment terminal. “The tokenisation process we use ensures that no actual card data is stored on the device,” said Pinkus. “This means that even if the ring is lost or stolen, your financial information is safe.” This is not a fitness device though and is purely aimed at making payments as easy as possible, not requiring any wallet or phone to be carried. I'd imagine this idea could also be adapted to even unlocking access to doors or computers via NFC. It works very much like a tap-to-pay card does, as far as I can see, so no 2FA to secure it. See https://techcentral.co.za/vezopay-payment-ring-built-south-africans/247144/ #technology #SouthAfrica #payments https://image.nostr.build/564f37ab1d62bcf55852c37d80fb877eb3f489dd89def3c718209dd5f7c3ca45.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Google Translate has added South African languages Ndebele, Swati, Tswana, and Venda Google Translate can come in handy when you're travelling or communicating with someone who speaks another language, and thanks to a new update, you can now connect with some 614 million more people. Google is adding 110 new languages to its Translate tool using its AI PaLM 2 large language model (LLM), which brings the total of supported languages to nearly 250. This follows the 24 languages added in 2022, including Indigenous languages of the Americas as well as those spoken across Africa and central Asia. The Google Translate app is available in the Apple App Store and the Google Play store. It can translate text you paste in, as well as text appearing in photos. It can also translate voice input as well as handwritten characters. Not only does this help travellers visiting areas where these languages are spoken, but more important, is it can assist these speakers (some of whom do not understand English) to now be able to translate English webpages or other English text into their languages. See https://lifehacker.com/tech/google-translate-adds-110-new-languages #technology #SouthAfrica #translation https://image.nostr.build/144ff869afdc709fd42ff17191d92ba8322b17662d2c7f6ab31d7f36051897d9.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Oops "something else" but too late to edit ;-) npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Is it worth buying a SBC Raspberry Pi 5 or rather something elsIe? Of course, this will be an "it depends on what you want to do" answer. Usually for some low intensity task a standalone Pi may well be best, but if you have something more intensive to process, or you end up like I did, having 5 Raspberry Pi's running which all do something different, it may also be time to consider other options. In my own case, I migrated to a Core i5 mini-PC which was better at multitasking, and I'm running 19 Docker containers on that device (Home Assistant, Nginx Proxy Manager, DuckDNS, Jellyfin, FreshRSS, Glances, Heimdall, AdGuard Home, Quassel, Syncthing, etc). It is just easier to manage the updates and the backups, and although it draws more power, it is still less than running 5 or 9 separate Pis. I'm pretty sure, too, that 9 Raspberry Pi's would also cost more. But to come back to SBC's yes, the Armsom Sige7 is an interesting option. It is higher end with everything included and has a Pi compatible GPIO 40-pin connector that allows the use of Raspberry Pi add-on modules for your projects. There is no easy answer really, and it does mean nowadays that you really do want to some detailed analysis of what you want to achieve, and what options could work for you. It does usually mean spending a week or so to do all this analysis, but for many this is also the fun part of the process. The decision is going to be lived with for a good 5+ years, so it is worth spending some time on. We've heard the saying "measure twice, cut once" and it holds true for this too. Quality Assurance and Project Management both have the same advice around more time spent on planning will reduce effort and cost later on. See https://itsfoss.com/arosom-sige7-review/ #technology #RaspberryPi https://image.nostr.build/4bedfb7b637518b707985a67c369544f5e0470ceb004146005272b8593d4b6fb.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Steam’s new native gameplay recording tool also works on the Steam Deck Valve has added a native gameplay recording tool to Steam (Beta version) so that you can more easily capture and share clips. The game recording feature is available now in beta — including on Steam Deck. You’ll be able to both continuously record clips with background recording or manually turn on recording with a hotkey, according to Valve’s website about the updates. When you’re recording, you’ll see the “Steam Timeline,” and you can add markers to note interesting moments you might want to come back to later. The tool won’t record your desktop, and you can pick which audio channels are included in the recording. It uses the GPU without impacting too much on game performance, so this can be a lot better than running say OBS Studio separately. See https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/26/24186716/valve-steam-native-game-recording-tool-deck #technology #gaming #Steam https://image.nostr.build/a21b75ef6659e9e6c2c6118e7ca81520a7f9091862b7e501ce9a2ffb3658c873.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Switzerland mandates software source code disclosure for public sector: A legal milestone The EMBAG law stipulates that all public bodies must disclose the source code of software developed by or for them, unless precluded by third-party rights or security concerns. This mandate aims to ensure greater transparency, security, and efficiency in government operations by promoting the use of OSS, which allows for public scrutiny and contribution to the software code. One of the critical aspects of this law is encapsulated in Article 9, which not only mandates the disclosure of source code but also allows public bodies to offer additional services related to support, integration, or IT security, provided these services align with public tasks and are offered at a cost-covering remuneration. This provision ensures that while fostering OSS, the government can also maintain a competitive balance and avoid market distortion. The crux of it really comes down to public money being used for these services. An added benefit of course is that the software could be supported if the supplier goes out of business. Vendor lock-in is a major risk in public sector IT and this helps break that perception / reality. As for security it must be remembered that this is the operational code, and not user data, encryption keys, API keys, etc which always remain private. See https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/open-source-observatory-osor/news/new-open-source-law-switzerland #technology #opensource #Switzerland https://image.nostr.build/4c833e4b3c294993693858193c46333fabcb0beb504fb2d9d05f21f2d5b1b5de.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Blackmagic’s free camera app is now available on Android, but only for newer Pixels and Galaxy models After launching on the iPhone last September, the robust Blackmagic Camera app is available on Android devices today, with the same professional-grade shooting features and compatibility with Blackmagic Design’s other video production pipeline tools. The native camera apps in iOS and Android focus on simplifying photography with streamlined interfaces and a heavy reliance on automation, and while more capable camera apps that cater to professional photographers and videographers often come with premium pricing, the Blackmagic Camera app will remain completely free on Android. The app's claim to fame seems to be some advanced HUD-based controls over the video settings, as well as showing histogram, Zebra display, focus peaking indicators, audio levels, frame guides and more while shooting video. It's good to see the UI is the same as the iOS version as well. On the Apple App Store, the app has a rating of 4.8 averaged over 3.7k ratings. See https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/24/24184789/blackmagic-design-free-camera-app-android-samsung-galaxy-google-pixel #technology #photography #camera https://image.nostr.build/2eab119c5b6bb127c368abbe0f3a16973df45772522d91cda9ef63803dfe0e12.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie How do Video Game Graphics Work? This is likely why GPUs costs so much! The link below is to a video that explains quite well, with illustrations, how realistic and responsive 3D scenery and objects are generated. Yes, the bulk of the work performed today is done by 3rd party gaming engines like the Unreal Engine and others. So from a developer point of view, they don't really have to get their hands dirty any more with the nitty-gritty mathematics. But if you consider the number and complexity of calculations made for each pixel (as the video explains) and then multiply that by the number of pixels on the screen, and the number of screen refreshes every second, it becomes quite mind-blowing. It is no wonder that GPUs are so powerful and cost more than the rest of the PC all combined. Watch https://youtu.be/C8YtdC8mxTU?si=6iNQX3Hm6tDaUL0F #technology #gaming #GPU https://image.nostr.build/1d09d6b68b7bf7c312325e718127df0fa4a1a2329b84d00f9364434d1109cca0.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie The StepWell Saga: first South African cellphone game for mental health aimed at youngsters Mental health among South African youngsters is a serious concern. As part of a wider project to improve mental health policy and services in South Africa generally, the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) has launched an innovative attempt to reach youth where they are at – playing games on their phones. FPD secured a pioneering grant from Grand Challenges Canada (funded by the government of Canada) to develop Africa’s first serious game dedicated to mental health, entitled The StepWell Saga – Stronger Together. As per edutainment theory, the game is not explicit about its mental health messages. These come through in the character dialogue and gameplay activities that teach skills like problem-solving, strategy and teamwork, and develop mental resilience — while also being fun to do. It challenges the player to think critically and promotes the importance of relationships in facing life’s challenges. I really like the idea behind this game, and it looks like the reviews are pretty good. It is just sad that I see it is geo-restricted for South African accounts only (I personally really detest geofencing). It is however available for both Android and iOS, as well as in the Huawei store. See https://techcentral.co.za/the-stepwell-saga-game-mental-health/246683/ #technology #mentalhealth #SouthAfrica #gaming https://image.nostr.build/1834e8c868c44f4199961720c2c68a5376dbe77470e8a3b30f6139090a53003a.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie AMD won Computex by extending AM5 support and launching new AM4 CPUs Intel typically uses the same motherboard CPU socket for two generations, but we've seen the company support the same socket for an additional series. AMD has been more consistent through the Ryzen CPU family, since releasing the Ryzen 1000 series in 2016. AM4 launched alongside the new Ryzen processors and AMD released its successor, AM5 in 2022. That's six years of support before a new platform rolled out, but AMD hasn't finished supporting older motherboards yet. This is quite interesting as this is the first time I've bought AMD. With all my previous Intel based CPUs I had to discard the motherboard and RAM and fully replace it all when I bought a new CPU. Now it seems my AM4 based motherboard can still be used, and I could buy a brand-new CPU for it. Less wastage and expense. I have never been able to upgrade my CPU before on its own. I'm pretty tempted to try it. But OK, the newer CPU is about 11% faster on benchmarking, but with 60% extra power consumption/heat... See https://www.xda-developers.com/amd-won-computex-am5-support-extension-new-am4-cpu/ #technology #CPU #AMD https://image.nostr.build/51ffdb3bb75446046721579a943f0f81fdee558fa4a50f3e403f7551967a19ad.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Linux-based postmarketOS v24.06 supports over 250 devices, taking on Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS The appeal of running Linux on personal devices lies in the freedom it offers. postmarketOS does not require account setups, does not push cloud storage, avoids pre-installed bloatware, and does not follow privacy-invasive AI trends. Instead, it focuses on free software, user control, and extending device usability beyond the original vendor's support. This release includes many device ports previously accessible only in the bleeding-edge version, now available in the stable release. While some devices may only boot Linux, they offer unique use cases, such as running a web server on an old phone powered by a portable solar charger. Many supported devices are still in test, but they include many "ancient" phones as well as many Chromebook devices. It appears to have a choice between GNOME or KDE. The only challenge I foresee, really, is going to be app support. Most users are used to millions of available Android or iOS apps to access gaming, banking, media streaming, etc. Whilst most of this will probably work fine, I foresee some challenges with some banks which still insist that you use their banking app on a non-rooted phone. For example, one of my banks will insist that I use biometric authentication on their Android app even if I want to log in with my desktop browser. Also, if you're a smartwatch user who wants to track their exercising say with the Strava app, this may not be for you. But there are very many users who may not have these requirements where this OS could work really well, especially from a privacy perspective, and providing support for older phones that no longer get any app updates. postmarketOS is based on Alpine Linux, which is so tiny (less than 10 MB in size) that development of pmOS can be done quickly on any Linux distribution. Writing packages is easy, by the way: as long as you know how to write shell scripts, you are good to go. The linked article brought this OS to my attention, and they do also provide a link to the OS' main website. See https://betanews.com/2024/06/16/linux-postmarketos-v2406-google-android-apple-ios/ #technology #Linux #opensource #pocketmarketOS #privacy https://image.nostr.build/f238d99106eadf6514587a671e274a0b4477a66ca373fd294ed0d4ca0836cdb6.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie FUTO Keyboard is an open-source mobile keyboard for Android that stays private and offline If your computer keyboard doesn't ask for internet access, neither should your mobile keyboard. FUTO Keyboard is a modern keyboard app with voice input and autocorrect, that is completely offline and never connects to the internet, in order to ensure your privacy and security. FUTO Keyboard contains modern features such as autocorrect, voice input and swipe typing. It is also configurable to suit your personal taste. No data is collected, nor shared anywhere. It is still in alpha version but can be downloaded either from the Google Play Store, from F-Droid, or using Obtanium to update directly from the APK releases on GitHub. See https://keyboard.futo.org/ #technology #privacy #Android #FUTOkeyboard https://image.nostr.build/aaeebfcf1cf95822d34ce5ce3dc9f709b08763a373ed6e7b8e64a8262ee2c788.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Trust the VPN provider vs trust the 3rd party encrypted DNS provider? That DNS traffic can't be read, even by the VPN provider, and ideally it should be going out via the DNS tunnel. It could then be better to logically separate these two providers? npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Or the "other" DNS available. But if it is encrypted DNS through a 3rd party (like a VPN is) I'm wondering if is actual DNS leaking? npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie How to change your Android phone's DNS to Google, Cloudflare or Other DNS Provider You should know the risks when you use your phone to browse the internet on a public network. Turning on Private DNS ensures your queries are encrypted and protected from malicious actors. This guide shows you how to change your phone’s DNS to Google or Cloudflare (or other) for a faster and more secure browsing experience. Besides the speed and performance, these DNS services offer additional security, like DNS-over-HTTPS and DNSSEC. And they don't keep a log of user activity, which could pose a security risk. And since your browsing activity is encrypted, your ISP or a hacker cannot determine the websites you visit. Although the linked article mentions Google and Cloudflare, there is also an option to set a private DNS hostname as well, such as Quad9. You just need to type the actual DNS address in to use it. The iPhone can do the same thing (but Wi-Fi only as far as I recall), so it is worth exploring these settings under Wi-Fi settings. See https://www.androidpolice.com/how-to-change-your-phones-dns-to-google-or-cloudflare/ #technology #privacy https://image.nostr.build/779c7d6a99241be2718edfaead0c017c0bf7fcc0d0095757c86681d5b621f401.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Use 'Bridgy Fed' to Connect Fediverse accounts (inc Mastodon) and Bluesky It is as simple as just following the relevant bridge account, and your posts will appear on the other side with the same address you are currently using. So you are not creating a new profile on the destination network. The profile name is not identical to the one you currently use, as I see "ap.brid.gy" is appended, but the name is easily searched for and found. Once you've determined what your profile's account name is on the destination network, you can share that with any friends there, who will be able to follow it and interact with you. Unfortunately, if you have an actual account already on the destination network, you can't yet bridge with that account. And, of course, some admins may choose to block the bridge. But, as is the custom on the Fediverse and Bluesky, you won't see these bridged accounts unless you decide to follow them. There is no algorithm pushing or promoting such feeds into your feed. It is your choice. See https://lifehacker.com/tech/bridgy-fed-connect-mastodon-and-bluesky #technology #socialnetworks #bluesky #mastodon https://image.nostr.build/7f927678f32042ffefbd609f82b2b8845244f7d96a57a3b05d332932ccc7e0e3.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Your Galaxy phone will now automatically get locked if someone steals it At Google I/O last month, Google announced many features for Android that prevent thieves from accessing a stolen device and data in it. The company said that it would roll out these features to devices running Android 10 and newer versions of the OS later this year. The two features we are talking about are called Theft Detection Lock and Offline Device Lock. When these features become available on your Galaxy phone or tablet, they will automatically lock your device when someone steals it or tries to take it off the grid by switching off the cellular network, internet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. Why this actually needs "AI", I don't know, though. Is machine learning not good enough, or plain old trained algorithms (or 4th Industrial Revolution tech). Seems everything that processes anything in 2024 is AI-powered. I really can't wait for the buzzword of 2025 to kick in. It's amazing how the old words then quickly disappear from the PR slogans. Still, having "automated" detection and locking for theft is a good thing to prevent the loss of phones. I just hope it does not lead to escalated levels of theft, where like with vehicle theft, it moved to kidnapping or hijacking because vehicles became too difficult to target on their own without the owner. See https://www.sammobile.com/news/galaxy-phone-now-automatically-get-locked-someone-steals/ #technology #antitheft #Android https://image.nostr.build/9b59184e664c151ccb14ac2a3a7e91bc90762e34ef67ca0a85b9a5683772ccba.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie 10 of the most useful apps available on Steam Whether you’re a casual gamer or a hardcore PC enthusiast, you must have heard of Steam. As one of the biggest digital game distribution platforms, Steam has a huge library of games spanning several genres. For those who like gaming on the move, you may also be familiar with the Steam Deck, a highly-capable gaming handheld designed by Valve, Steam’s parent company. However, there’s a lot more to Steam than games and handhelds. If you’ve ever ventured into the unending list of apps available on Steam, you may have noticed an odd software or two among the thousands of action, RPG, and other titles. Many of these apps are incredible for gamers, and in the linked article below, they cover some of the most useful software on Steam to improve your gaming experience. Unfortunately, many of the apps are Windows/macOS only, even though OBS Studio for example does install on Linux. But nevertheless, there are some useful apps to be found within Steam. See https://www.xda-developers.com/useful-steam-apps/ #technology #steam #gaming https://image.nostr.build/2f1b943d9a52f31f4b2ec261742b04259b31edc8acbc8bd5168051843d70acd1.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Disenchanted Windows user? Pop open a fresh can of Linux Lite Linux Lite 7.0 "Galena" is out, the new release of this simplified and Snap-free distro based on Ubuntu 24.04, aka "Noble Numbat." Linux Lite is deservedly one of the higher-profile third-party Ubuntu remixes. It resolves many of the issues first-time migrants from Windows might face, while avoiding some of the complexities that other Ubuntu downstream distros, such as Linux Mint and Zorin OS, introduce. Linux Lite cuts through this: it offers just one desktop, Xfce, which in this vulture's opinion is the most solid choice available. Xfce has been configured with a sensible desktop layout to resemble Windows XP, with the optional Whisker menu rearranged to match. I've not actually heard of Linux Lite (that I can recall). But this article does touch on something I've come to realise: Why so many users stick with Windows and Mac, and with centralised social media platforms like X or Facebook. They don't like making changes where there are lots of choices to make. Many do just want "the one thing" to just install and use, and ideally it looks the same as others experience it. I suppose then that this Linux Lite distro does offer that. One gotcha is that Linux Lite does not support major-version upgrades: you will have to reinstall from scratch, and this is not something I'd like at all. Because of that gotcha I'd probably still recommend a new Linux user sticks with Linux Mint Xfce or similar platform. See https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/10/linux_lite_70_arrives/ #technology #Linux https://image.nostr.build/2352c03ef160c7e3778f23bb22ee4843b0878f83b3744623c3fb28e8d61e698a.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie 6 Really Good Docker Containers to use on your NAS Docker containers are a great way to add functionality to your NAS outside the available app store. Whether you're running a Synology enclosure or a DIY server, it's possible to download and manage container images. There are thousands of container images available for various services and apps. I'd suggest searching for frequently used services and see if there's a container. Load it up on your NAS and have fun! Those covered in the linked article are: * Portainer * Watchtower * Flame Dashboard * Jellyfin * IT Tools * Vaultwarden See https://www.xda-developers.com/these-are-the-best-docker-containers-i-use-on-my-nas/ #technology #selfhosting #docker https://image.nostr.build/83dc980c06e41dfc6e36e8712353568c763bd6dbd36a3eb8f3d03dee27e8e7aa.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Space warfare: how the military could be forced to give up GPS and return to navigating by the stars The military relies on space for communications, for position, navigation and timing (PNT) information, meteorology, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Australia now recognises space as an operational domain, alongside air, sea, land and cyber, and has established a Defence space command. The Australian defence force already offers celestial navigation training and is working on a range of alternative navigation technologies. It has a “navigate using celestial aids” training unit that includes learning how to construct a sun compass to establish north, south, east and west; identify celestial bodies to determine south and north; and other methods to estimate direction, time, distance and position. So true though that the more we rely on vulnerable digital technology, we could be quite paralysed if it is neutralised. We rely on GPS for so many types of navigation, guidance, and even timing. Even technologies like cloud computing are no longer under local and decentralised control - such computing is not only exposed in the cloud but required long distance 24/7 connectivity to use. Satellites are going to be great for phone calls in the wilderness, but such satellites too are very exposed in future warfare. It is good to know some of the older tried and tested analogue skills are not yet lost. We do still have technologies such as ham radio that can establish communications over 10,000+ km without any Internet, and the newer Meshtastic license-free radio does a similar thing over shorter ranges. It seems too that "older" tech low frequency navigation signals from ground stations may be coming back into use (a bit like short wave radio made a comeback for the war in Ukraine), and which are far more difficult to jam. See https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/jun/01/space-warfare-military-defence-gps-satellites-navigating-by-the-stars #technology #jamming #GPS https://image.nostr.build/204433aabca8a89ec89dc51b0560ec13526cad4bdf155d983cea03a709890b46.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie The Verge tested Aptoide, the first free iPhone app store alternative The popular alternative Android marketplace Aptoide just launched as a challenger to the Apple App Store in Europe. We’ve seen a trickle of stores launch since March when the Digital Markets Act (DMA) forced Apple to support third-party iOS app marketplaces — but nothing has so far managed to upset the balance of power and change the status quo. I really don't think, or expect, alternative app stores to overtake the Google or Apple app stores. But they should offer some niche alternatives for many devs as well as users. So I'd think of them more as complimentary offerings. So, what’s the key selling point? What’s Aptoide offering users that they can’t find on the App Store? Besides a currently stark list of “curated” games, one element Trezentos points to is the way Aptoide combines a freemium model with a rewards structure. See https://www.theverge.com/24172642/aptoide-ios-game-marketplace-hands-on-europe #technology #iOS #appstore npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie South African Military Vehicles in War Thunder War Thunder is a highly realistic battle game where players can choose from a number of armoured vehicles, tanks, ships, helicopters and planes represented for different countries. The player chooses a country and vehicle type, and works their way up from tier 1, progressing to higher tier vehicles as they gain battle experience. The vehicles are incredibly detailed and have characteristics that are closely resemble their real-world counterparts. An exception is often the premium vehicles that can be bought as they can have some enhanced features e.g. slightly faster turret rotation speed than the real-world vehicle. But each online battle tries to match players and similar vehicle tiers to ensure good game play. I mentioned briefly in the video about World of Tanks which is another very popular tank battle game. Whilst World of Tanks focuses more on a faster-paced arcade type game with numerous points needed before knocking out an enemy vehicle, War Thunder can eliminate an enemy tank with just a single shot if it is very well placed. War Thunder has larger maps, more vehicle types, and plays at a slightly slower pace. What to me is very interesting is it is the only online game I'm aware of that has a variety of South African military vehicles in it including the Eland, Ratel, Rooikat, Olifant tank, and even the Rooivalk attack helicoptor. The Ratel, for example, is considered to be the very first true wheeled ICV (Infantry Combat Vehicle) top enter military service anywhere in the world, and for its time was one of the best ICVs anywhere. It is regarded by most military analysts as the grandfather of all subsequent ICV designs. The Ratel became the backbone of the then SADF (now SANDF) mechanised battalions and served with distinction during 12 of the 26 years of the South African Border War. Note though what War Thunder shows as the G6/Eland, is actually the G6 Rhino Self-Propelled Howitzer-Vehicle with 155mm artillery gun. The real Eland is a 4-wheel drive armoured car with a 60mm or 90mm quick-firing gun. See https://youtu.be/SqWPcCSt7BE #technology #gaming #southafrica #warthunder https://image.nostr.build/e7a8312db0716e2117ca0e7b9e09850f59f63566980eed42f57c6726bb293503.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Take Control Of MS Flight Sim With Your Smartphone And This Open-Source App Anyone with more than a passing interest in flight simulators will eventually want to upgrade their experience with a HOTAS (Hands On Throttle-And-Stick) setup that has buttons and switches for controlling your virtual aircraft’s assorted systems, which are well supported by games such as Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS). But a traditional HOTAS system can be a bit of an investment, so you might want to thank Vaibhav Sharma for the virtualHOTAS project that brings a configurable HOTAS interface to your phone — just in time to try out that Dune expansion for MSFS. The phone’s orientation sensors are used as a joystick, and on the screen, there’s both sliders and buttons you can use as in-game controls. What's interesting with this is that there is no app installed on the phone, so it should work with Android and iOS. The app is an open-source Python app running on the computer, and the computer accesses it via a browser URL. Also, as it is a general interface, it will likely work as a general-purpose interface for other projects as well. See https://hackaday.com/2024/06/01/take-control-of-ms-flight-sim-with-your-smartphone/ #technology #opensource #gaming https://image.nostr.build/a343db457f33e0507278713a6df538e4a5f0ea16636ebd66b311d052bb462c49.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie 5 Tips to Secure Your GPG Key in Linux GPG keys are a vital part of verifying your online identity. As such, securing it from bad actors ensures that no one can impersonate you in your communications with other people. Most of us are probably guilty of just setting our GPG key up once and then just using it, but here are some tips if you want to lock it down a bit further. If you have not yet set one up, there is also a link at the start of the article for how to do that. See https://www.maketecheasier.com/secure-gpg-key-in-linux/ #technology #security #GPG https://image.nostr.build/d01a8b75a05c11aa7b3b76d90e8667dfa2d2b6846fe7b0dec8071643814839d7.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Turning An ATX PSU Into A Variable Bench Supply Bench power supplies can sometimes be frustratingly expensive and also kind of limited. If you’re enterprising and creative, though, you can create your own bench supply with tons of features, and it doesn’t have to break the bank either. ATX power supplies work as a great basis for a bench power supply. They have 12 volt, 3.3 volt, and 5 volt rails, and they can supply a ton of current for whatever you might need. It is usually true that many devices get more fully unlocked regarding features, when open source firmware is applied to them, for example, true for most network routers. This project likewise does unlock some additional functions for an ATX power supply unit. One caveat here, of course, is you'd be working with voltages so you'd want to be very careful and ensure too that fuses are correctly applied. There is also quite a debate in the comments about whether this is a good idea or not, but that said, I had actually bought an ATX adaptor plug a while ago for a computer power supply to supply 12V for my radios. See https://hackaday.com/2024/05/23/turning-an-atx-psu-into-a-variable-bench-supply/ #technology #PSU https://image.nostr.build/61f8f92187a61da377c80db396be8364bb8644d87acaa6ef70a2755b4b481ac9.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie How to Change Docker’s Default Data Directory I'm getting ready to do this on my home server as it's main boot drive is a 128 GB SSD, and it is always around 80% full. This article will guide you through the steps to relocate Docker’s storage path for images, volumes, containers, etc., ensuring that your projects continue smoothly without the hassle of disk space limitations. See https://linuxiac.com/how-to-change-docker-data-directory/ #technology #docker #selfhosting https://image.nostr.build/8783486e433b17394a66a98d540b8a8109368b6df8ceb444b9938af60f255142.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie LibreOffice has some really excellent getting-started Guides for their open-source Office Suite There are some good reasons why Microsoft Office gets used widely, and that is often because it comes pre-installed as trialware on Windows PC's, it is pushed into schools and universities with educational discounts, it has massive funding for lobbying governments and sponsoring "digital villages", etc. But it does create vendor lock-in, stifles innovation through being closed-source, pushes many into being locked into a cloud service with ever-increasing costs, does not use a fully open-standard format (provides limited support for ODF as well, and there was good reason why many governments chose ODF over Docx), makes it difficult to export one's documents cleanly between different applications, and of course has numerous license limitation son how it can be used. It is certainly not to say that LibreOffice is better in terms of features than MS Office, but I've yet to find something I could not do with LibreOffice that I needed to get done. It is fully open-source, free to use and free to modify and examine, free of restrictions on its use, and is fully cross-platform (not only for the application itself, but also for its documents that can move between platforms and even to other applications using the open ODF format). But one potential drawback with many open-source projects (including GIMP) is their lack of really good documentation. Good documentation needs to be clear and easy to understand. LibreOffice actually does have very good documentation at the link below. The guides are well-designed and many are over 500 pages each. They cover a Getting Started Guide, Writer Guide (word processing), Calc Guide (spreadsheets), Draw Guide (vector graphics drawing and illustrations), Impress Guide (presentations), and the Math Guide (formula equation editor). The guides are also available in some other languages and can be downloaded as PDFs to be printed, or even in ODF source format for editing or adapting to one's needs. See https://documentation.libreoffice.org/en/english-documentation/ #technology #opensource #LibreOffice https://image.nostr.build/eb616f2201e0a2c9f69726d40ccc554dbdf5876296e56624016b5ed24d0dda35.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Token2 sent this clarification after posting: only the management software is open-source for the time being. The firmware (Java applet) is planned to be made available as open source for public security audit purposes, but the timeline is not yet clear. npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Token2 is an open-source Swiss FIDO2 security key that brings innovative features at a cheaper price Token2 is a cybersecurity company specialized in the area of multifactor authentication. Founded by a team of researchers from the University of Geneva with years of experience in the field of strong security and multifactor authentication. Token2 has invented, designed and developed various hardware and software solutions for user-friendly and secure authentication. Token2 is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Don't believe what AI tells you, as they tend to generalise around past statements. Token2 is a good example of how newer challengers to the incumbents, like YubiKey, bring lots of innovation. For example, Token2 has the ability to store up to 300 passkeys, dual port USB-A and USB-C on a single device, FIDO2.1 with additional PIN, opens-source, etc. I also like the fact the device's firmware and management is in Switzerland and not within one of the Five Eyes countries. There are quite a few options, but their FIDO2 Keys page also has a selection wizard to help out. Whilst prices may be cheaper, depending on your country, shipping may cost a bit more. See https://www.token2.ch/ #technology #security #Token2 #authentication https://image.nostr.build/a1c77ca1a7997295048a581ed2be8ef5bc074599a249221e50e6261a3e1b09dd.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Stop using Social Media for News, RSS is Much Better! RSS is one place for you to quickly sift through numerous sources of news quickly and efficiently. It's up to you to decide what feeds to add - as many or as few as you want. Depending on which RSS app/service you use, you can get all your news without adverts, see a quick excerpt or full text articles, not be distracted by other information, keep track of where you have read up to, change the order that the articles appear in your feed, and much more. All RSS readers improve the quality and focus of your news as you control what sources are shown, and nothing is applying algorithms to insert or remove articles. There are RSS feeds for most news sites and websites, as well as even for many social network services. A site that does not offer any RSS feeds is usually one that wants to force you to visit it, to apply tracking of your habits, to show adverts, apply their algorithms, or control how you see their information. If in doubt, there are also RSS browser extensions that will detect available RSS feeds on any site. WordPress sites, by default, have RSS feeds activated for any blog posts made on that site. I have been using RSS feeds for decades to get my daily news and updates. In this time I have seamlessly switched between using different RSS apps as it is easily to move between them by exporting and importing the OPML file of your feeds between readers. See https://youtu.be/_7LTwnAaQ3k?si=A4UQMIv_3B_FKiRA #technology #news #RSS https://image.nostr.build/a0cd6f74c295c9ed245876b510ab8dd9a3daa7c8a16d10481f510723554ac67b.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Google Search’s “udm=14” trick lets you kill AI search for good If you're tired of Google's AI Overview extracting all value from the web while also telling people to eat glue or run with scissors, you can turn it off—sort of. Google has been telling people its AI box at the top of search results is the future, and you can't turn it off, but that ignores how Google search works: A lot of options are powered by URL parameters. That means you can turn off AI search with this one simple trick! This method for killing AI search is defaulting to the new "web" search filter, which Google recently launched as a way to search the web without Google's alpha-quality AI junk. It's actually pretty nice, showing only the traditional 10 blue links, giving you a clean (well, other than the ads), uncluttered results page that looks like it's from 2011. Sadly, Google's UI doesn't have a way to make "web" search the default, and switching to it means digging through the "more" options drop-down after you do a search, so it's a few clicks deep. See https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/05/google-searchs-udm14-trick-lets-you-kill-ai-search-for-good/ #technology #googlesearch npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Of course if one had unlimited cash that would always be an option, but many can barely afford to put together a NAS (so many also don't even backup to an external device). npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie And of course plenty of others such as https://lifehacker.com/entertainment/best-wordle-alternatives npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Jumblie is a challenging browser-based open-source puzzle game to guess the four words of the day The game has a theme word for each day, so keep that in mind when guessing the words. It is more challenging than Wordle because there are no hints apart from the theme word. So, if one of the words is 'landing' and you guessed 'land' there is no confirmation you're getting warm at all. How to play it: There are exactly four words hidden amongst the letters, and all letters are used exactly once. The words will always be between 4 and 9 letters long. Click on the letters (or type them on your keyboard) to spell a word. When you have a word you want to submit, click the "Submit" button. If the word is one of the daily words, it will be added to your found list of words. Find all four words as fast as you can! Each successful word is assigned a colour, so a red word will mean the shortest word is taken, so don't try to guess more words with that same length of letters. You can also click the Reshuffle button to rearrange the letters, which can help spark some ideas. If you're struggling, you can give up after at least 5 incorrect guesses. It also has an option to share your results by copying them to the clipboard to paste into whatever social network service you use. See https://jumblie.com/ #technology #gaming #puzzle #jumblie https://image.nostr.build/4f69c18140f2ad0258c9dbce1c519f985a6ec25729e58552bdcd33a912f227f9.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Earbuds for more restful sleep: Anker's Soundcore Sleep A20 now officially available With their air-filled Air-Win design with Twin-Seal ear tips, the new generation is said to offer up to 1.8 times better noise reduction than its predecessor, the Sleep A10, according to the manufacturer. Among other things, they are equipped with a 4-layer noise masking system and are designed to better suppress bothersome ambient noise such as snoring, city noise and the like. Anker promises that the special design means there is no annoying pressure on the ear and auricle and that they are also suitable for side sleepers. The earbuds also enable automatic sleep monitoring, including sleep position tracking, via the Soundcore app. Wearing earbuds for sleeping is very different from during the day. I'd be interested to hear what others think about the "pressure on the ear" when sleeping with these earbuds. That is one of the biggest issues for most when sleeping. I've been very happy with my own Soundcores for afternoon naps - great noise-cancelling, but you can't sleep on your side with them. See https://www.notebookcheck.net/Earbuds-for-more-restful-sleep-Anker-s-Soundcore-Sleep-A20-now-officially-available.840114.0.html #technology #sleep #earbuds npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Should you build your own NAS or buy a pre-built? An interesting read, and I have to say I do lean more towards building your own. I did buy a bare-bones NAS by D-Link many years ago because you could add your own hard drives, but what I discovered after a few years was there were no more software updates, and it is not easy to upgrade later on either. Today I'm running a bare-bones Intel NUC box with two external laptop hard drives (powered through USB), and Open Media Vault NAS software on it. I get ongoing software updates and can upgrade RAM and drives etc. That said, its throughput is not that great as the drives are connected via USB cables. It boots from a SATA connected SSD drive. It also has Docker running on it with a few applications hosted in Docker containers, so it is quite versatile. Knowing what I know now, I would rather have bought something that would allow proper SATA connectors to the hard drives for way better throughput speed. See https://www.xda-developers.com/building-vs-pre-built-nas/ #technology #NAS #backups npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Netris is an open-source and self-hosted alternative to GeForce NOW, inspired by Stadia It's a cloud gaming platform where the latest titles and your beloved classics are always just a click away, ready to be played on any device you own. Imagine the freedom to dive into your favourite gaming worlds on a lazy sofa Sunday with just your tablet, or firing up a quick session on your phone during your commute. That's the kind of seamless, barrier-free gaming experience Netris offers. They're about bringing gamers together. Netris is a community, a place where you can share epic gaming moments with friends and family, thanks to our social-first features. Netris is pioneering the use of QUIC technology for content delivery, which means Netris games appear better and run more smoothly, even if your internet connection isn't top-notch. Think of it as streaming your favourite HD movie effortlessly on a modest Wi-Fi connection – that's the power of QUIC making every pixel count without gobbling up your data. Their platform is designed from the ground up to be socially orientated, allowing users to easily share their gaming experiences, victories, and memorable moments. It's like having a virtual game night, every night, where the distance doesn't dampen the fun and camaraderie. They have Reddit as well as Discord communities online. There's no need to buy your favourite games all over again. Simply connect your Steam account to their service, and voilà – your personal gaming library is ready to stream. Using their platform means you don't need your own Nvidia GPU. You're free to switch between self-hosting and using their cloud service whenever you like, without losing your game progress. To use their cloud hosting there is a free tier which is limited to 720p 30fps with stereo sound, and public only parties. The paid tiers get you a lot more. It is accessible from any Chrome-based browser, including Edge, Chrome, Brave, and Arc. See https://github.com/netrisdotme/netris #technology #gaming #opensource #Netris npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie This could of course result in our bridges being blocked? https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/21/the-vote-trump-spam-that-hit-bluesky-in-may-came-from-decentralized-rival-nostr/ npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Apple needs to explain that bug that resurfaced deleted photos: Can we trust Apple's PR? It’s understandable that people freaked out last week when photos deleted years ago had suddenly reappeared in their iPhone photo library. While we wait to hear the reason, it does seem to appear that deleted photos are still not deleted after 30 days. Apple makes a lot of noise about trusting them (much like Google used to claim to not do any evil - and then they dropped that slogan), and whilst I don't think they are deliberately malicious, the fact is no Big-Tech companies are truly private or secure. Many Microsoft cloud service users are still reeling after the US government report came out about how much of a security threat Microsoft is to the USD government. Apple's iPhone have also repeatedly been exploited over the years including Operation Triangulation in Dec 2022, MFA Bombing flood attacks, zero-day exploits that were exploited in the wild (CVE-2023-41064 and CVE-2023-41061), and of course the various phishing attacks (which have included spoofing Apple Support), and the infamous zero-click exploit in iMessage in 2023. The more worrying one was one that I posted about on 6 Jan 2024 (CVE-2023-38606), where it appeared that Apple may have deliberately had a security backdoor embedded in the iPhone. Apple also claimed that opening iMessages (or Apple Messages more correctly) to RCS would lower their privacy and security standards, whilst Apple Messages anyway supported zero-security SMS messaging. The fact is, no-one can guarantee security or privacy. Apple's PR gives users a false sense of security. As consumers, we too often just believe what a company advertises and accept that at face value. Maybe Google was being more honest by dropping their slogan about not doing any evil. All smartphones are complex devices, and complexity is the enemy of security. No-one can claim their smartphones are fully secure, and the same goes for privacy. If anything is connected to the Internet and the data is online in a cloud service, it can never be guaranteed as 100% private. So be careful of whatever you store in a connected device or in a cloud service if you really want it to remain fully secure or private. Responsible disclosure and transparency are the hallmarks of a company that truly believes in protecting your privacy. Brushing things under the rug? Not so much. See https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/20/24161152/apple-ios-17-photo-bug #technology #Apple #security #privacy npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Victim proves how to easily steal someone’s FNB bank payment card details and buy a tank of petrol in South Africa This is actually not a very difficult hack, but what is really critical is to NEVER click on links that arrive by e-mail or SMS. Rather, note any reference/tracking number and go independently to the website via your browser and check it out if you think it may be genuine. The SA Post Office parcel attack is an old one, and as far I know the post office does not do payments online as the payment is made at the desk when receiving the parcel. The phishing attack may appear to be something genuine, especially if you are waiting for a parcel, but that is exactly how people are being caught out (even those who are pretty tech-savvy - it catches people in those few seconds before their guard is up). I got a phishing attack attempt just today from a courier company and when I checked the tracking number on their website, it says the shipment has not yet been created. On their website is also a warning notice about phishing attempt scams. If you do use virtual bank cards, you should set the daily and monthly limits to just what is needed, and often you can deactivate/activate them just when needed. See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/security/537453-hacker-shows-how-to-steal-someones-payment-card-details-and-buy-a-tank-of-petrol.html #technology #SouthAfrica #phishing https://image.nostr.build/643f3698a649cbfd1e237c5f428def85fc10b4b27f81126dd513e5f9a7fef210.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie I've also noticed that adding link embeds to Bluesky posts is a real pain via API - you need to specify the starting and ending character numbers for the link. This is pretty unbelievable. Most social networks will pick that up. So I have auto-posting setup, but without link embeds they really don't look usable. npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Try these Linux bash aliases for more efficient use of the command line For those who don't know, bash aliases allow you to create unique command shortcuts. So, a simple word can be used to run a more complex command which may have a lot of additional parameters, e.g. just type the word 'update' to execute an update command complete with a few extra parameters. You don't necessarily want aliases for absolutely everything that is possible, but certainly those commands or queries that you often run, can make your life a lot easier and quicker. The same goes for commands that aren't easy to recall, as a good alias makes them more meaningful. There are some interesting suggestions at the linked article below. See https://www.zdnet.com/article/try-these-linux-bash-aliases-for-more-efficient-use-of-the-command-line/ #technology #Linux #productivity npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie RealVNC is ending their free Home plan but here are some alternatives for remote GUI desktop management There is a RealVNC Lite alternative if you look carefully on their website, and that option may well still work for you after June. Unfortunately, RealVNC is pretty good and has excellent mobile clients, so it has long been a first option for many for remote GUI desktop management. The linked article has some popular alternatives that are cross-platform if RealVNC is no longer going to do the job for you. They do all have some trade-offs, but are free to use. I've already had TightVNC set up as a backup for some of the volunteer work I do, and it does work well from my Linux desktop to the remote Windows desktop (the server side). TigerVNC is another good option to use. See https://www.techradar.com/best/best-linux-remote-desktop-clients #technology #RealVNC #VNC #remotedesktop https://image.nostr.build/b2aac0a56096ea5994534e80aec9b563f71b2d879f6b9cd55d33c114d0ec0a30.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Wolf Grid is an OpenSim World With AI Integration and Other Innovations Seems this virtual world is only 3 years old, but it already has a landmass larger than Second Life's. The reason could also be that land is cheaper than Second Life and there is the assistance of AI for generating the landscapes versus Second Life which is more manually done. Its land parcels are also a lot larger, so there is a lot more to explore in each area you end up in. At first glance it really looks very similar and in fact you can use the same viewer. Just note, you cannot use the dedicated Second Life viewer for Phoenix Firestorm, you need to use the OpenSim version. I'd certainly say though that Second Life's destination guide is way more complete and interesting. Yet when I found Hobbiton I must say it was perfectly beautiful to be in. The Avatars are dressed in mesh objects so have lots of detail and movement. The speech-to-text (and vice versa) technology isn’t simply intended as cool tech, but to benefit the entire user community: “I have autism,” Lone explains, “and I find it easier to communicate in a virtual world than real because there are no facial expressions to get wrong. We have quite a few autistic people here, and one of the goals of this grid is to be as inclusive as possible. So that’s why we built the voice recognition and text to speech.” They are already profitable (from only 95 landowners) so this at least means they should be around for a while. They make their money from "renting out the land" and from merchants who sell goods. See https://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2024/05/wolf-grid-opensim-chatgpt-ai.html #technology #gaming #virtualworlds #autism https://image.nostr.build/46ac49d1d38a843a293196b14c53ecf5617c7738fa57048c85c2b47e5fd8e7b8.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Actually that is more of a reason to have auto posting as I don't spend most of my time there - I mostly just reply to comments. I'd prefer not to have to go there, especially to do manual posts, and posting from Nostr could mean full length posts (not seen yet how it comes out on the other side). npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Manjaro's Plasma 6 update has gone globally live today This was a major update from Plasma 5.27 to Plasma 6.0, but also along with just about everything else, and was a 6.8 GB download for me. It all went off flawlessly apart from one applet I use for transparent folders, which seems to still only be a Plasma 5 applet. But that is not a major issue really. My desktop is slightly more responsive now, and the compositor issue I had before has been sorted it (it used to create a 30 sec delay on some things like a rectangular screenshot) - so really happy about that. I also had to readjust some window rules that I had set for my Conky window for position, transparency, etc, but it was a minor issue where Plasma 5.x was not case-sensitive for Window names, so I just had to change 'conky' to 'Conky' with a capital C. Looking forward to retrying Wayland again soon as well, as I suspect its random freezes were also related to that older Nvidia driver, which is now updated. See https://forum.manjaro.org/t/stable-update-2024-05-13-kernels-plasma-6-gnome-46-lxqt-2-0-nvidia-pacman/161353 #technology #Manjaro #Linux npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Logged https://gitlab.com/soapbox-pub/mostr/-/issues/67 npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Yep I'm suspecting the latter - currently even the 10111 police emergency line is understaffed and not being responded to properly... npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie From what I see though it is generating a mirrored profile across the bridge, but there is no way to link it to an existing profile one has on the other side, to post into that profile? npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie They may be - but definitely best to test and check. By us, they are not going to be active for a year or three still. npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie 8 ways Android handles notifications better than iOS Android may have the wrong colour bubbles for messaging, but its users can at least pat themselves on the back for having better managed notifications (those things that can really irritate a person if not managed properly). Notification and spam management can drive one to leave a platform if it is not easily manageable. People don't believe me when I say I left iOS (a second time) for Android because the lack of spam caller management drove me mad on my iPhone. I've posted at length about it before, but it related to the Truecaller app not being allowed but iOS to take over managing the dialler function. But to get the best value out of managing notifications, you really want to get familiar with what all you can tweak. Reading the linked article will help give some insight into this. I've really cut down dramatically on those beeping alerts, but only allowing the most important/urgent ones top give audible alerts. For most, I'll just see a counter over the icon to indicate there are messages. It has made my day a lot more peaceful and prioritised. Also muting, permanently or even timed duration, for many group chats, makes your life a lot easier. You don't need to read every back and forth message as it happens between 300+ people in the community. This also means I catch up on some social sites when I want to see what is happening, not as it happens throughout the day. See https://www.androidpolice.com/android-handles-notifications-better-than-ios/ #technology #notifications #Android npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Garmin SOS fails South African biker after accident A South African biker’s post-accident medical treatment was delayed after the SOS feature on his Garmin satellite communicator failed to evoke a timely response from emergency services. Rapport reports that Johan Swarts only received a call from responders while in hospital on the day after he suffered a serious crash, despite paying a R574.99 (US$31) monthly subscription for the service. He told Rapport that a Garmin product manager only responded two months after his complaints and said the SOS was only received on 18 February, a day after the accident. So, yes testing is important as well as informing someone where you are going and when you expect to be back, but this is extremely concerning as such devices (along the expense they incur) are intended for use in the most dire emergencies. South Africa, as well as the rest of Africa, has some very isolated areas. As of 2024 there are yet no reliable satellite services in Africa for ordinary cellphones, so the only option is a full-blown satellite phone (of course with its associated cost that many cannot afford). Seems it did actually work if the message came through a day later. But where did it come through to a day later, and why? It's like a key piece of the puzzle is just missing here. Certainly a radio transmission is almost instantaneous, it does not transmit "slowly" over 24 hours. Seems to me, there was some human or system failure between the UK and SA? Due to the nature of this service, it warrants a really thorough investigation. See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/gadgets/536343-garmin-sos-fails-south-african-biker-after-accident.html #technology #SouthAfrica #Garmin #motorcycling https://image.nostr.build/34a52f82ac227aa0b57de34f82278ba613773b50928650e8fe922e1e7dbd59d4.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie GCam is a modded version of the Pixel Camera app that you can install on your Android phone This app unlocks the hidden potential of numerous Android smartphones. While hardware limitations exist, GCam bridges the gap by leveraging Google’s advanced image processing algorithms. This app finds particular favour among users of devices from brands like Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Realme, where the stock camera software often leaves room for improvement. The secret lies in Google’s masterful software engineering. GCam brings a slice of Pixel magic to non-Pixel devices, replicating features and functionalities that significantly enhance photos. Additionally, for seasoned mobile photographers, GCam offers a treasure trove of customizable options, allowing them to fine-tune settings and unlock their creative vision. The ability to import and export settings further empowers users to personalize their GCam experience and optimize it for their specific device. The true strength of GCam extends beyond its built-in features. A vibrant online community thrives around GCam, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing. Developers tinker with the app, creating customized versions optimized for specific smartphone models. This collaborative spirit allows users to access features and functionalities tailored to their unique device. Often exceeding the capabilities of the stock camera app. On the plus side this does not replace your stock camera app so you can still use that, but on the minus side this can be unstable for some, and it is a sideloaded app so not via the Play Store. But if you're an Android user, you probably have a bit of an adventurous side to you and do like to try out new things and just have other options. I'd suggest though that you do read through the linked article more thoroughly as they go into more details. See https://www.gizchina.com/2024/05/09/how-to-install-gcam-9-2-on-almost-all-android-smartphones/ #technology #Android #camera #Gcam npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie South African mobile network operators must zero-rate content from approved public benefit organisations PBOs include non-profit organisations, trusts, and government departments with .gov.za domain names. These PBOs will be required to apply to Icasa to assess whether they meet the requirements for having their content zero-rated. Once approved, the PBO’s content must be zero-rated within 14 business days. The successful bidders will have 36 months to fulfil the zero-rating obligation, starting 15 January 2024. Well, this is good news for citizens needing to access essential services. Quite interesting too that the PBOs will need to host their site inside of the country to be zero-rated (problem being it can often be cheaper to host your site outside the country). This will primarily benefit (although everyone should get this zero rating) less affluent customers, meaning these users won't find their data usage being consumed by using these services. The mobile providers need to monitor and manage these zero ratings. What I'm really confused about is, what will our mobile data counters on our phones know about this usage? If a user sets a limit of say 2 GB data for the month so that the phone warns when the usage is going high, that won't be excluding zero-rated sites and data. End users will also have no way at all to know whether their access in real-time is zero-rated or being counted (there is a 300 MB limit per day per user for zero-rated data). So all great, but the management of this by all parties is going to be quite hazy. See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/telecoms/536105-vodacom-and-mtn-must-make-non-profit-content-free.html #technology #SouthAfrica https://image.nostr.build/a28e16f0dbd1df2dcec0a0507f851df0686e6fbdad446048033b61c791692c32.jpg npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie You can automate much of your home and devices with a Raspberry Pi and open-source Home Assistant This article is a worthy reminder that are already many things in your home which you can automate from garage door openers, to your home router, to a solar system, to lights, to speakers, and so much more. Home Assistant has hundreds of ready to use integrations that just hook up with these devices, either directly or via their cloud services. This can provide a nice dashboard of what is on or off, what has warnings, to keep an eye on your Ring video doorbell or Reolink CCTV system, etc. I've even found a way to use this to show some statuses on my Stream Deck and have a quick button to reboot my router. It gets even more powerful when you set some basic automation rules like for sunsets or sunrises, when it starts to rain, when a battery level drops too low. I have various of these set up to announce over the home speakers. All it costs you is to use a spare Raspberry Pi or to buy one. See https://www.xda-developers.com/automate-home-with-raspberry-pi/ #technology #RaspberryPi #homeautomation #opensource npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Unintended consequences ;-) but I can see rental companies have quite a challenge retaining their cars npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie Yes I recall the Handspring Visor from the time. npub1g2jpj7x9rjcqd9dp3hnvja2tjr3q3hf362z3ulrfzpyfnsdw5qlqyayjj6 Danie 40 years later, Kontrabant 2 for ZX Spectrum is rebroadcast on FM in Slovenia Software is almost impossibly easy to download, distribute, and access compared to 40 years ago. Everything is bigger, faster, and more flexible, but there's a certain charm to the ways of diskettes and cassettes that is hard to recapture. That doesn't mean we can't try. By the time you read this, it's likely that Kontrabant 2 will have already hit the airwaves on Radio Študent in Slovenia. At 9:30 pm Slovenia time (UTC+2 in Daylight Savings Time), if you are tuned to 89.3 FM, hitting record on a cassette tape will capture a buzzing sound that will run until just over 50KB have been transmitted. If all went well, you can load the tape into your working ZX Spectrum or bring it to the Computer History Museum in Slovenia and use theirs to try it out. The game is in Serbian, as it was originally made for what was then Yugoslavia, for ZX Spectrums mostly smuggled in from Western Europe. My ZX81 also loaded programs from audio tape cassettes and I remember that some computer shows back then on TV also had a short audio broadcast to allow users to record the audio, and load it into the computers afterwards. But if you don't have the computer, missed the broadcast, and can speak Serbian, you can play Kontrabant 2 on the Internet Archive's emulator. See https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/05/1984s-kontrabant-2-for-zx-spectrum-is-broadcast-on-fm-radio-in-slovenia-today/ #technology #retro #Serbia #zxspectrum #gaming