@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org cover
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

GadgeteerZA

@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org

I blog about (ZS1OSS) - see gadgeteer.co.za/blog. I also blog to various other social networks which I list at gadgeteer.co.za/social-networks-i-post-to.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

They say it is less complex than Mastodon as well as lighter weight requirements. A Docker install is usually also easiest. So I'd say it is a better option to try for friends and family.

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Yes not "new" per se, but it is still in early Alpha release and mostly unknown to everyone. Nextcloud and most of the others have been around many years and have had iterative stable releases. I was actually on Mastodon since 2016 so GoToSocial is a lot newer at around 3 years. But yes point taken, "new" is not the best description.

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Yes, as there is full control over what is exposed or mapped for the app including network ports, and future updates don't get broken by inconsistent dependencies. I suppose if you run only one service on a machine and stick to standard ports for reverse proxying then maybe a binary install can be simpler. But if you want to install multiple apps ona server containers does become easier to manage and update.

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Let's agree on newer. It is not even in stable release yet, and until this week I'd not even heard about it anywhere else.

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

From their site: "It is already deployable and useable, and it federates cleanly with many other Fediverse servers (not yet all). However, many things are not yet implemented, and there are plenty of bugs! We foresee entering beta around the beginning of 2024.". I would say it should be described more as beta by now from that description.

Gmail was in beta for many years whilst it was in production, and Meshtastic only has alpha and beta releases, with no "stable" release. I think some projects feel if they are still adding features it says in beta and never reall is in stable until they stop adding features. But yes they should actually iterate through alpha, beta, RC, stable. Not everyone does, though.

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Yes I think they're meaning they're still adding lots of new features possibly, but it is a bit confusing as I think of Alpha as raw and not production ready. Beta can be ready for testing with brand new features, and stable is usually production ready and all features already passed beta testing. I get it is for home use but still. Maybe they're covering themselves legally, but then you can just say "use at your own risk". It's possible too they don't have separate branches at all, and just add/update/fix the "alpha" version.

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Yes, but it is a bit unusual for a "beta" to be the stable version, when there is a such a thing as "stable". Beta is normally taken to be a testing version, between alpha and stable releases. But it shows we can't just go on our own assumptions about what alpha and beta mean.

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

No they don't have a central managed hosting, and that is the point they are making. It is intended for someone to host for their family and friends. There may be some hosting it at various places but no central list you can find them on. Those sites, of course, will federate with other Fediverse networks, but no-one will necessarily even know they are GoToSocial nodes.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

We've not actually seen for sure that TikTok data is being passed to the Chinese government - supposedly the USA data is being kept separately. But we have certainly seen US data brokers gathering data from all over in the US and selling that on to any 3rd party (domestic government, as well as anyone else). Facebook has been caught more than once being in the business of leaking private data. I'm just surprised that the US gov did not leave this choice up to its citizens to choose on - the ideas of freedom of choice and speech seem to be rather dictated here now.

I'm just wondering if it is not more a case of the US gov has no control itself over TikTok (think US CLOUD Act) and this is what is irking them. I'm not in the US so one way or the other I don't really mind. What I do mind about though is that TikTok does not sell out to a US company. We really don't need one single country controlling all the mainstream social media platforms. US laws after all do not represent all of mankind, so some diversity is a good thing.

So I guess I'm rather for a "ban" than a "sell out".

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

I use Sleep as Android for:

  1. Great softer sounds that can be adjusted to gently increase alarm audio. I use bird sounds.
  2. It can control lighting too.
  3. It's smartwake looks at my sleep stage to choose the best time to wake on the window of time I allow. It uses my watch to measure sleep stages, but works with numerous other watches, chest straps, etc. or also has its own Sonar function using ultrasonic to detect stages from movement.

But chiefly it also has other stuff I use apart from the waking alarms such as sleep stats, warning for bedtime, lullabies when going to sleep, anti-snoring measures, noise recordings, 30 min power nap management, etc.

This Asus PC case monitors your dust filter so you don't have to ( www.xda-developers.com )

Traditionally, one would have to periodically check the status of the dust filtering on a PC case, but that's not the case (pun intended!) with the Asus ProArt PA602. This chassis has a fancy infrared (IR) sensor behind the front-facing dust filter. Should this detect a set layer of dust covering the filter material, a small LED...

Magnets are switching up the keyboard game with an additional keystroke setting ( techcrunch.com )

These keyboards rely on magnets and springs and activate by sensing changes in the magnetic field. Popularized by Dutch keyboard startup Wooting, these switches rely on the Hall Effect and have actually been around since the 1960s....

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Bot, why would you summarise something that I already summarised as a human?

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Sort of in a way, yes, if you count there is some increasing pressure from the spring. But in reality, no, it is really based on the travel distance that can be adjusted. But you raise an interesting point for a future innovation, being more around actual pressure/resistance per key setting.

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Yes it is an excellent idea. I'd be interested to see tests done around how this travel distance maybe actually increases or decreases any key pressure at all.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Hope I don't have to pay for audiobooks I don't listen to because that's a waste. Spotify should just stick to what they do OK which is music. I'll stick to music only.

Overview of Memories Advanced Photo Management Suite that installs inside Nextcloud ( youtu.be )

Memories is a fast, modern and advanced photo management suite, that installs quickly and easily inside Nextcloud. My video contrasts it with the Photos app that comes with Nextcloud, and highlights some reasons why you may want to use it instead of Photos. This app has face, object, landmark, place, and human action recognition...

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Thanks, yes, I especially like the use of the titles and description from inside the photo's EXIF data. Just makes it easier to import from a source that already has that info in.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

It's often not the cost of the software, but the hosting costs, especially on a growing platform.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

I think it's why many decentralised platforms don't want very big instances, and prefer them to split off into smaller federated sites.

‘We definitely messed up’: why did Google AI tool make offensive historical images? ( www.theguardian.com )

Brin’s “We definitely messed up.”, at an AI “hackathon” event on 2 March, followed a slew of social media posts showing Gemini’s image generation tool depicting a variety of historical figures – including popes, founding fathers of the US and, most excruciatingly, German second world war soldiers – as people of...

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

It's not just historical. I'm a white male and I prompted Gemini to create images for me if a middle aged white man building a Lego set etc. Only one image was a white male and two of the others wrecan Indian and a Black male. Why when I asked for a white male. It was an image I wanted to share to my family. Why would Gemini go off the prompt? I did not ask for diversity, nor was it expected for that purpose, and I got no other options for images which I could consider so it was a fail.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Yes, but it does not really matter what the rest of the prompt detail was? The point was, it was supposed to me an image of me doing an activity. I'd clearly prompted for a white man, but it gave me two other images that were completely not that. Why was Gemini deviating from specific prompts like that? Seems the identical issue to the case with the Nazis, just introducing variations completely of its own.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Sometimes you do want something specific. I can understand if someone just asked for a person x, y, z and then gets a broader selection of men, women, young, old, black or white. But if one asks for a middle-aged white man, I would not expect it to respond with a young, Black women, just to have variety. I'd expect other non-stated variables to be varied. It's like asking for a scene of specifically leafy green trees, then I would not expect to see a whole lot of leafless trees.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

That is really just not relevant at all to the discussion here, but to satisfy your curiosity, I'm busy building a Lego model that a family member sent me, so the generated AI photo was supposed to depict someone that looked vaguely like me building such a Lego model. I used Bing in the past, and it has usually delivered 4 usable choices. Fact that Google gave me something that was distinctly NOT what I asked for, means it is messing with the specifics that are asked for.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Yes, it could be that, and may explain why the Nazi images came out like they did. But it sounded more like to me, Google was forcing diversity into the images deliberately. But sometimes that does not make sense. For general requests, yes. Otherwise they can just as well decide that grass should not always be green or brown, but sometimes also just make it blue or purple for variety.

Question about using default router and modem

Is using the router and modem my cable company provided for my internet putting my privacy at risk? And if so, I have heard of openWRT routers but it seems like there's quite a bit of a learning curve with that but even if I got one would I need a non cable company branded modem as well? Any specifically that anyone here would...

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Apart from just privacy, 3rd party routers offer way more features and customisation especially if they can also run 3rd party router software.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

I'd be interested to hear too as I've been using Canva for a while now as it's pretty slick and quick for what I do. I really wish Gimp would get a bit slicker with its UI. When I struggle to find a tool I want to use something else.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Manjaro KDE for me - it's not Arch per se, otherwise Ubuntu would also be eliminated for being a derivative of Debian...

Atuin is an open-source shell command history app for Linux with syncing, unlimited history, and with contextual search ( beehaw.org )

Atuin replaces your existing shell history with a SQLite database, and records additional context for your commands. With this context, Atuin gives you faster and better search of your shell history!...

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Yes spot on!

Mbin is a fork of kbin: a decentralized content aggregator running on the Fediverse network ( beehaw.org )

Mbin is a decentralized content aggregator, voting, discussion and microblogging platform running on the fediverse network. It can communicate with many other ActivityPub services, including Kbin, Mastodon, Lemmy, Pleroma, Peertube. It is an open source alternative to other link aggregator services like Reddit. The initiative...

GadgeteerZA OP , (edited )
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Not sure what you mean by management, or which aspect of management? The issue was more about acceptance of community enhancements through the open source code project. Some contributors felt they could move faster with more diverse enhancements. It may be something like the LibreOffice fork from OpenOffice, where some wanted to just move faster with changes.

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Exactly, most forks are considered a healthy thing

Polycentric is an Open-source distributed social network - Similar in some ways to Nostr ( beehaw.org )

I’ve not done an in-depth look at this network but reading through their documentation shows it has a lot of similarity to the basics of the Nostr protocol and network. There is just not as much information available on the Polycentric site as there is already for Nostr. Nostr is also censorship resistant, with distributed...

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Thanks for that extra info - yes not much of that detail was on their site. Nostr has been around a bit longer I use it daily (amongst other networks) and it seemed the most similar network to Polycentric that I’ve seen (the philosophy). I did a video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mSyMCJlSwA about Nostr, but right now there is not that much to get me excited enough about Polycentric yet.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Problem is if social media is being used to stay in contact with friends / family then you are stuck with where they are, as they generally don’t move to a new network with you. If it is for news etc, I actually prefer a good selection of RSS feeds that I follow in my RSS reader.

I’m on lots of different social networks for blogging and although MeWe has my far biggest followings, it is centralised and non-FOSS - it’s the site I’ve also had the most troll issues on. The Fediverse (numerous site services to choose from) has the most potential, being open and federated widely.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

A broader context given at cleantechnica.com/…/adding-context-to-that-consum…

Consumer Reports also grouped powertrains together when discussing reliability, which is where some issues start to appear. Apparently, EVs suffered 79% more problems than gas-powered vehicles. That will undoubtedly lead to shock headlines, but it’s also misleading, Autoblog says. Most EVs are new to the market, which goes back to the cliché mentioned earlier. There are also a lot fewer make/models availability, meaning that simply averaging all models together will result in a few bad apples skewing the results.

Big Ass Data Broker Opt-Out List that can Guide Opting out from Data Broker Databases ( github.com )

This list, also known as BADBOOL, was started on September 29, 2017 and was most recently updated in October 2023 to add PimEyes and to remove TruePeopleSearch and Cyber Background Checks, since those sites will automatically remove your data if you successfully opt out of Intelius and BeenVerified....

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Depends on the country as most of these resources are US I’m not sure. It’s a good question though to ask on that Github project as those guys have been involved with this a long time.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Default Signal is better although Telegram has Secret Chat. I love thar Telegram let’s you use a username to connect to others without exposing your mobile number to contacts.

But I have way more friends who actually use Telegram than Signal. No idea why although for many the massive community groups are used by a lot communities for staying in touch, as well as safety/security groups in communities.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Still Snowrunner

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

I love the idea of Wayland, but it only finally actually booted for me onto the desktop earlier this year (on Manjaro KDE). But it still randomly freezes for about a full minute, quite a bit. I am keen to move to it as my compositor hangs on X11 for some odd reason on KDE every time I try to do a rectangular area screenshot with Spectacle (mmm just realised it is also for around a minute - maybe I do have some other underlying issue), or when accessing the Compositor menu option. But X11 is still otherwise rock solid for me.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Was already posted about in this group just a few hours before - beehaw.org/post/7621751. Always worth doing a quick search before posting.

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

There’s no mention though in the linked article that Richard actually thinks this? Both XMPP and Nostr are extensible. Nostr saw accounts linked to a server as weakness, and therefore went with many relays (any of which can be used).

But as also mentioned, Richard is actually very active on Mastodon today. ActivityPub is not the best protocol around, but it is now a W3C standard and seems to have more popular uptake than both XMPP and Nostr (Nostr having the excuse that it is very new still).

BTW I’m active daily on XMPP, Nostr, Mastodon, IRC, and many more, so have no particular stake in any one.

Any rss reader which aggregates feeds

On Thunderbird for example, there’s no way to aggregate feeds from different places, into just one common view. I’m looking for aggregating all feeds from different places into a common view, where I can globally just keep what I want to read from everywhere and remove what I’m not interested on....

GadgeteerZA ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

I second Fluent Reader. I even did a video about it as I was pretty impressed with it for its full text retrieval. It has an articles view, as well as lots of good display options.

Keyoxide is a privacy-friendly open source tool to create and verify decentralized online identities using a cryptography-based approach to bidirectional linking ( keyoxide.org )

Just like passports for real life identities, Keyoxide can be used to verify the online identity of people to make sure one is interacting with whom they are supposed to be and not imposters. Unlike real life passports, Keyoxide works with online identities or “personas”, meaning these identities can be anonymous and one can...

GadgeteerZA OP ,
@GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org avatar

Thanks for letting me know - makes it worth posting here.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • random
  • All magazines
    •