Gokul Das

Rocket engineer, electronics and programming enthusiast, amateur astronomer, free software enthusiast. I like everything STEM

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Free Software: https://sr.ht/~gokuldas/free-software/

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Last Notes

2026-06-16 16:25:56 GMT

An upcoming release of the #Chrome #browser (ver. 150 or 151) will either disable all #adblockers, or render them ineffective. Those who gifted Chrome and its derivatives an overwhelming market dominance have two options:
1. Switch to a non-Chrome based browser. That's limited to #Firefox and its derivatives for now. Hopefully more in the future.
2. Surrender your online #privacy, #security and #agency forever to #bigtech companies like #Google.
https://cybernews.com/security/chrome-update-disables-adblockers-manifest-v3/

2026-05-27 03:51:54 GMT

So much for '#SystemD is not a monolith' guilt tripping. It's modular in theory alone. #Flatpak is the next critical software to introduce a hard dependency on systemd, after #Gnome. Those of us using #Runit, #OpenRC, #GNUShepherd etc are looking at a situation similar to #elogind.
What's common among them? A corporate #OpenSource ecosystem that only they can maintain. Meanwhile, those who question this are treated with contempt!
https://www.osnews.com/story/145071/flatpak-will-depend-on-systemd/
#gentoo #void #guix #alpine #linux

2025-12-06 05:00:59 GMT

Looks like we're all in for a #memory crunch that will scuttle everything from smartphones and SBCs to custom PCs. So what is it this time? Fab on fire? Under water? According to @npub1zsz…4f77, memory manufacturers have collectively decided that the #AI datacenter market is large and lucrative enough to serve exclusively! After decades of your patronage, they deem you unworthy of their service.
[1/5]

2025-12-04 19:37:53 GMT

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This is so depressing! Voting is the most basic duty that the constitution asks of you in return for a voice in the nation building process. They throw away even that most basic expression of power, ironically citing the lack of jobs and living standards!
Political illiteracy is the worst form of illiteracy and the biggest curse to a democracy. Yet, our educational system failed us entirely in it and even actively dissuaded the youth from it.

2025-12-04 10:08:00 GMT

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I'm thinking beyond social media. I was about to do something outside the social media when they repealed one order due to fear of offending Apple. But the SIM binding issue remains.
These issues hit so close to my heart, that I wasn't going to let them carry on without a serious challenge - as much as one person can. This is well beyond what they can justify.

2025-12-04 10:01:50 GMT

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This isn't a permanent decision either. I'm not ruling out involvement in other topics in the future. I'm also following a lot of other topics comprehensively - as far as my cognitive abilities permit me. This is a temporary restriction on activities based on my spare energy. And even this is a big departure from my past stance. I was never interested in politics to start with. But I finally learned that political ignorance is not a luxury you're afforded.

2025-12-04 09:54:23 GMT

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Taking SIM binding to court is the next logical step. But regardless of its results, I don't foresee a good outcome from the measure. It's the antithesis of cyber security practices. It's not as bad as Sanchar Saathi, since it can't be imposed on citizens without their knowledge and consent. But there ends the good news. I don't see it as an acceptable risk. Allowing the regime to weasel their way around questions with half truths will land us in another mess like the Aadhar.

2025-12-04 09:51:21 GMT

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As I see it, the judiciary has repeatedly demonstrated that even they aren't immune to the sway of politics. They aren't infallible and their words aren't gospel. There are plenty of judgments that conspicuously violate the spirit of the constitution. Ultimately, it's the fundamental duty of the citizens to hold these institutions accountable and force them to restore the constitutional rule.

2025-12-04 09:37:47 GMT

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The choice to focus on professional politics is purely a personal one and is not my suggestion for anyone else. I chose it because my energy is barely enough to cover it, much less on topics that I'm not familiar with. That is not to say that the other topics are not important.
However, one matter that does apply to everyone is that domain experts must speak up about politics in their own fields. That's the only way we can collectively combat misinformation and deceptions.

2025-12-03 21:37:29 GMT

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I have a strong hunch that their intentions with SIM-binding is to make nonbinding alternatives impossible. As soon as they get enough high-profile apps to implement it, they'll probably ask for all nonbinding apps to be blocked or banned. And since both Google and Apple are also trying to consolidate app authorization on their respective platforms, it might be easier for the authorities to piggyback their control on top of their systems.

2025-12-03 21:30:18 GMT

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Honestly, this never escaped my mind. I've been tracking various developments since the introduction of Jio. (Jio always triggers my gut instincts for some reason.) And I've been fighting anti-consumer tech and propaganda on several online forums for a while now. Some with significant outcomes. It even feels like people are getting more and more disillusioned with them. I've accepted that politics is an inescapable reality in my profession.

2025-12-03 13:35:08 GMT

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BURN THE PHONES! If they won't repeal this, I WILL burn my phone and send its ashes to DoT in protest. I don't care about a phone more than my fundamental rights.
But if you're asking about public protest, you have to attract maximum attention. Something symbolic, nonviolent and profoundly noteworthy. That's what Gandhi's salt march, the Boston tea party and the current Home Depot ice-scraper protests were all about.
It's not like we don't have enough dead phones to burn!
@npub1kx0…hnqj

2025-12-03 13:04:58 GMT

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Calling them out is just the first step in a series of escalating measures. I was exploring other options, but this case seems to have reached a stalemate- for now.
While this might seem like an outburst of outrage, its public expression is a deliberate decision. Silence against despotism felt like failing the nation and its constitution. It's against everything I learned and relied on. This time however, it was also the corruption of technology - something I'm very passionate about.

2025-12-02 20:24:41 GMT

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My prior expectations don't mean that I have to just submit to such despotism when they resort to it. They aren't the ultimate authority of the nation. The constitution is. And whenever they violate the latter, they deserve to be called out for TREASON. There are no holy cows.

2025-12-02 17:50:58 GMT

The makers of #SancharPeep present: #SIMBinding! SM apps like FB, WhatsApp & Telegram must check the Ph.num every few mins and MUST NOT WORK if it's not the number linked to the account!
All that after what it took to get some of them delinked for privacy? At this point, I don't care who came up with this idea. Be it a Mantri or a Babu - you're a complete UTTER MORON! You MUST RESIGN or be THROWN OUT, since you clearly can't be trusted with interests and the safety of the citizens!
[1/3]

2025-05-30 19:05:26 GMT

https://youtu.be/1IzKS5vFfHY
This isn't an avalanche. It's not an ordinary landslide either. It's a rare and cataclysmic event called a 'Glacier Collapse'. Frozen soil loses strength as ice melts, leading to the entire thing tumbling down the slopes of a mountain.
This collapse of the Birch glacier in Switzerland wiped out an entire alpine village named Blatten.
This is expected to become more frequent as the atmosphere heats up. #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming

2025-02-26 16:54:11 GMT

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Yay! The only thing missing in my last PC was a few more ads! Now I can buy a brand new PC to enjoy more ads, while my old PC with the same spec will be a great addition to some landfill in an undeveloped country. Lovely!

2025-01-26 14:10:18 GMT

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Does it say: "(C) Copyright NCERT. not to be republished"?
Anyway, how many of those fancy words still survive on the 75th anniversary of this great book?

2025-01-12 07:13:08 GMT

I believe I'm suffering from #YouTube #Anxiety Disorder (YAD). Every time I comment somewhere (even on mastodon), I feel like I'm walking on eggshells, careful not to offend the AI overlords. I also feel the urge to comeback later and ensure that the comment hasn't been censored randomly.
The interesting part is that despite the snowflake #censorship #algorithms, inflammatory speech on YouTube is growing faster than ever. What exactly are they trying to achieve anyway? More #Enshittification?

2024-12-17 04:23:35 GMT

OK, I'm officially tired of this! A senile billionaire wants Indians to #work 70 hrs/week to make India no.1.
FYI, the way to grow a country is by injecting more cash into its economy. How? Employ more people and pay a better salary. Meanwhile, this man wants people to work 75% extra on a salary that hasn't grown since 2005 and denying jobs to the unemployed. The only thing growing is his own bank account.
Peddling their greed in a veil of #patriotism to overworked people is just #monstrous!

2024-10-25 11:45:42 GMT

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At least use a term that properly indicates the true intent - like 'software enforced rent seeking'. Or even better - treat the greedy exactly like how they treat us (though it's actually appropriate for them). Call it 'Cyber-mugging'. It's a shame that we don't already have a lexicon of terms like this.
[3/3]

2024-10-25 11:44:39 GMT

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No! It isn't a real term - yet. And Yes! I just made it up!
When normal people do natural things that upset the profits of ultra-capitalists, you get hit with nasty, incriminating and demeaning terms like #jaywalking and #piracy. But when those same uber-rich use tech to squeeze every penny out of you without providing any extra value by locking down devices with tech, those draconian measures get downplayed under innocuous sounding terms like #SoftwareTethering?
[2/3]

2024-10-25 11:43:36 GMT

Have you heard of the term #CyberMugging? It denotes the strategy used by companies to force you to pay a #subscription by locking out the devices you bought from them (printer, heated seats, etc) using software and the internet and thus creating an artificial scarcity. In other words, digital #RentSeeking on steroids.
[1/3]

2024-09-25 12:37:58 GMT

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Agree with the 'not being an asshole' part. But remember that some NT people - especially autistic ones, have no clue about social norms. They just talk in facts w/o thinking about the consequences of others' interpretation. Meanwhile, NT people misinterpret it as rudeness or arrogance. In fact, this disconnect b/w NT and ND people even has a name - double empathy problem. It may be wise to consider this too while judging.
PS: This isn't about RMS. It's personal experience

2024-08-31 15:04:07 GMT

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I'm also one among the Rust community. I do the best I can, to popularize Rust in my community.
So, I'm saying this as a Rust fan - neglect the trolls and their unproductive opinion. They wouldn't be making so much noise if you weren't so well known. And there are plenty of Rust fans who are not so toxic and are silent right now.
I'm also saying that as someone who opposed your dislike of Rust in the past, but never felt that was a good reason to engage in personal attacks.