gotosocial - Link to source

Today's crazy idea:

I've always wanted to play Elite, the old procedurally-generated spaceflight sim for the BBC Micro. It, of course, is not and will never be accessible.

However the source code is available, very small, and highly annotated. There's a whole nerdy website with bunches and bunches of details, right down to guesses on and commentaries about the relative sizes of celestial objects, ships, etc.

Tempted to hand all of that to an LLM and have it try modernizing the game in Godot, adding audio cues, speech feedback, and whatever else would be needed to make it accessible.

May not be fully faithful to the original, least of all because of 3-D audio, but I almost don't care if it captures the feel.

We'll see if I actually do this, but now the bug is lodged in my brain.

Peter Vágner reshared this.

mastodon - Link to source

I just received the following email from Vispero

From: marketing@vispero.com <marketingus@vispero.com>

We’re excited to share an upcoming update designed to make choosing Vispero assistive technology even easier 😊

Based on your feedback, we heard that some of our existing product names created confusion during the buying process. To help simplify decisions and better reflect how our products are used today, we’re updating the names of several offerings—while keeping everything you know and trust exactly the same.

What’s changing
Over the coming weeks, you’ll begin to see these product name updates:
• Professional Edition → Work Edition
• Home Edition → Access Edition
• Home Annual Edition → Personal Edition
What’s not changing
Nothing about the products themselves is changing. The software, features, pricing, licensing, and support you rely on will remain exactly the same—only the names are being updated.

When you’ll see it
Customers and dealers will start to notice the new names appearing gradually across materials, systems, and communications between now and the end of February.

What’s coming in the February 11th release
We’re excited to share a preview of upcoming enhancements across JAWS, Fusion, and ZoomText—all designed to help customers stay productive, work more efficiently, and collaborate with confidence as technology continues to evolve.
Here’s a quick look at what’s coming and why it matters:
• Stay productive as apps evolve – As WhatsApp rolls out major updates, JAWS and Fusion are keeping customers confidently connected, reducing disruption and ensuring continued access to critical conversations.
• Work faster with less effort – Enhanced Split Braille support in Outlook lets users scan email lists and previews more efficiently, helping you manage inboxes with greater speed and independence.
• Share and collaborate with confidence – New ZoomText screen-sharing controls give customers the flexibility to present clearly or collaborate effectively, improving communication in meetings, trainings, and remote work.
These updates reflect our ongoing commitment to delivering accessible solutions that keep pace with modern workflows and real-world customer needs. More details will be shared as these enhancements become available.

If you have any questions or need support during this transition, your Vispero representative is always happy to help. Thank you for your continued partnership and for helping us improve the Vispero experience.

Warm regards,
The Vispero Team

Vispero. All rights reserved., 17757 US 19 North, Suite 200, Clearwater, FL 33764, USA, (877) 775-9474

mastodon - Link to source

This is a great piece on how SpaceX's rockets and their Starlink satelites put passenger planes at risk. It's yet another example on why #SpaceX is cancer and needs to die already.

propublica.org/article/spacex-…

#satelites #planes #rockets


“We’re Too Close to the Debris”

The FAA predicted Elon Musk’s Starship would cause “minor or minimal” disruption. Then the rockets exploded twice in three months over busy airspace. Flight data reveals how many planes scrambled to protect passengers and avoid burning debris.
lucas.waldron@propublica.org (ProPublica)
#spacex #planes #satelites #rockets
This entry was edited (5 days ago)

mastodon - Link to source

Americký prezident ve švýcarském Davosu vystoupil před světovými byznysovými i politickými lídry. V hodinovém projevu ale při několika příležitostech poměrně laxně pracoval s fakty.

Přinášíme ověření jeho klíčových výroků 👇 irozhlas.cz/zpravy-svet/gronsk…


Grónsko, války a větrné turbíny. Šest Trumpových nepravd z hodinového projevu v Davosu

Přinášíme výběr ověřených výroků z projevu amerického prezidenta v Davosu. Trump například chválil své úspěchy na domácí půdě a mylně naznačil, že USA v minulosti vlastnily Grónsko.
Vojtěch Dvořáček (iROZHLAS.cz)

mastodon - Link to source

RE: mamot.fr/@ploum/11593879477897…

I agree with this wholeheartedly. We shouldn't create European versions of Google, Amazon or Microsoft, oligopols that benefit from vendor lock-in. Instead, we should have a commons based on open-source technology and standards, which can then be used to develop solutions for customers. And let the competition flourish. In my opinion, that is in our European DNA.

ploum (@ploum@mamot.fr)

Why there’s no European Google? And why it is a good thing! My answer to the European Commission "call for evidence on Open Source." https://ploum.net/2026-01-22-why-no-european-google.html #geminiprotocol link: gemini://ploum.
ploum (Mamot - Le Mastodon de La Quadrature du Net)

Štěpán Škorpil reshared this.

mastodon - Link to source
I don't send many emails anymore. I receive emails but I don't send many. Even at work, most of our communication is done via other means. But I do generate at least one email a day to send to a group of external testers. I don't send this from a traditional mail client. Instead it is a shell script that gathers some information and opens a text editor to add further comments. After that the file is sent with #cURL, via smtp. That means that curl is my main mail client (at least for sending). 🤔
#curl
This entry was edited (5 days ago)

mastodon - Link to source
I do appreciate all the work the EU has done with regulatory work around data sovereignty and the DMA. But they would still be gigafucked if the US ordered Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to cut them off. They may not even have the encryption keys accessible entirely in the EU. The fact that their data physically resides in Europe don't mean shit if a US corp can kill their whole infrastructure with a single command to lock their accounts.

mastodon - Link to source

Some answers to FAQ from a life long Oklahoman

-why is everyone freaking out over the forecasted snow storm?

Our state has very little of the infrastructure needed to deal with a large amount of snow or extended cold weather.

-why are the grocery stores empty?

Everyone is scared they will be stuck at home with no power, no water, and no hope that the government will be willing to help.

-why all the milk and bread?

I honestly do not know. Me and mine have 2 weeks of shelf stable things to munch on but we have the privilege to be prepared, most of the state are unable to afford their basic needs day to day and cannot adequately prepare for things like this.

- why does your government suck?

"Rugged individualim for some, gut wrenching poverty for most." Is the motto of the GOP whom have a super majority in our legislature. They are currently actively campaigning to defund libraries, public schools, and county services because "it's not nice to make rich people pay taxes" or something.

- you seem angry.

That's not a question.

#Oklahoma #Snow

#snow #oklahoma

mastodon - Link to source

As stupid shit posts of a repo goes this might be the best I've made in a long time.

Presenting the Self Deleting Repo.

When opened in vs code or zed it immediately deletes its self. (at least if you have the rust plug in installed)

I've also added agent instructions that might make the agent delete it but I don't have any of the ai tools installed to see if that part actually works.

github.com/emilyselwood/self_d…


GitHub - emilyselwood/self_deleting_repo: A repo that deletes it self when it opens in an editor.

A repo that deletes it self when it opens in an editor. - emilyselwood/self_deleting_repo
GitHub

mastodon - Link to source

Your brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of cognitive debt when using an AI assistant media.mit.edu/publications/you…

New brain rot successfully unlocked by using ChatGPT and other similar AI tools. Over many millennia evolution helped you develop critical thinking skills and you are giving that all away chasing some fools' dreams who think you can do better things in life without money or work. At the end of the day, you will have neither.

Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task – MIT Media Lab

This study explores the neural and behavioral consequences of LLM-assisted essay writing. Participants were divided into three groups: LLM, Search Engine, and …
MIT Media Lab
This entry was edited (5 days ago)

mastodon - Link to source
iMessage on Windows, Android, or Linux? BlueBubbles on a Mac makes it possible. And it might not be as tricky as you think, if you use Tailscale to hook everything up securely. tailscale.com/blog/bluebubbles…

Tailscale + BlueBubbles puts iMessage on Windows, Android, or anywhere

BlueBubbles is a clever way to bring iMessage to almost any device. Tailscale makes it far more simple to hook it all up.
Kevin Purdy (tailscale.com)
in reply to Tech Singer

mastodon - Link to source

Jonathan

@techsinger Yeah it's mainly about remote control from a pretty restricted Laptop. I let NVDA provide/run the server to connect to atm, and then just connect through tailscale, and additionally, I have my Mullvad VPN exit nodes. Honestly the router is a very good idea. I already have a gl router which was like 100€, that one would be too big though. i have to look into whether there exists something small. I would just do Hotspot over USB C but I'm not sure if the computer would complain about connected devices and what not, I mean you literally have to approve new keyboards. Stupid work Laptop can't do anything. Anyway worst case I just run the NVDA Remote server on my proxi vps or something. Also the only problem I can think of with the router is powering it portably. For instance I used a separate Laptop for school before and am now switching to my work Laptop for that as well, and therefore am looking into suitable options to keep current functionality.
@Tech Singer
in reply to Jonathan

mastodon - Link to source

Tech Singer

I get it. Is the Mt3000 too big? What about the SFT1200? Both are from gl.inet, I'm not sure how returns work in Amazon.de but they may be worth looking at. Two suggestions, though, if I may make them. First, is tailscale funnel too big a risk, or will it not work for you? It gets rid of all the hardware, and you don't have to run a remote server for it, right? I used to want to run a remote server, but decided not to bother anymore, and that decision has been strengthened by the companion which lets me do three and four connections at a time without a server. Secondly, I'm a bit confused about powering it portably. You already have a laptop. If you already have one, you can power the router through a free USB port on the laptop, can't you? You can even do it through a hub. I'm seeing consumption of less than 10W on many of these. I powered one from a phone's USB port once when I needed to, and was surprised it didn't make life too hard. My usual setup, until about three months ago, was powering an MT3000 from a cheap Lenovo which I was using. The reason I stopped was that the lenovo broke in hardware and I got a much smaller unit and started using a USB wifi adapter. Basically, there was no power issue, and I did that for a few years without trouble.
in reply to Tech Singer

mastodon - Link to source

Jonathan

@techsinger I mean I don't need a tunnel really. I could also have that with my reverse proxy setup already, for example any service like miniflux.jonathan859.com runs on my Raspberry Pi from home through Tailscale to a VPS that exposes it with a reverse proxy, so over all it's already a bigger tunnel, I was just wondering whether theoretically I could get tailscale to work so I wouldn't have to alter the setup that much, but over all it'll probably just be the simplest solution, yeah.
@Tech Singer
in reply to Jonathan

mastodon - Link to source

Tech Singer

Yes, that makes sense. My view is the fewer parts the better, just because it avoids complications. There's another argument to be made that it's such a small amount of data that it doesn't matter. How much noticeable latency does a tailscale intermediate server, or your VPS, or a nvdaremote server running on the public internet really produce? I mean I'm not going to communicate with another part of my city through a center in Christchurch, but if you're even in the same province/state on everything, does the movement really matter that much?
in reply to Jonathan

mastodon - Link to source

Jonathan

@techsinger The thing is that I sometimes will need sometthing ilike kill NVDA Remotely should NVDA just decide to hang or have a stroke, and that will be basically impossible without Tailscale or any VPN solution, so I'm probably going to look into some cheap router option anyway. Think there was recently released a quite cheap one, though I'm not quite sure yet how to get Tailscale on there. I know it's possible with the GL things but haven't played around with my other one much tbh.
@Tech Singer
in reply to Jonathan

mastodon - Link to source

Jonathan

@techsinger Hmm, a quick research and the ones that actually support Tailscale are a bit to expensive for my taste, and not very portable in the way that you could just throw it into your pocket or something. I know that my expectations are probably a bit much. Maybe I'll just risk it, throw Tailscale on this Laptop and just not use it at work and start it up manually, I'm still undecided how careful I need to be on this work Laptop. Like I have a bunch of portable software on here and nothing or noone complained, but over all, if one complains I'm screwed.
@Tech Singer
in reply to Jonathan

mastodon - Link to source

Jonathan

@techsinger Danm, I explained my problem to Claude and it actually came up with a very interesting solution I'm going to look into:
gist.github.com/kdmukai/ab7b2b…
TLDR: A small Raspberry Pi doing basically the same as a travel router would do, just with more setup effort, though way cheaper.

Configuring a Raspberry Pi to relay an ethernet-connected device over wifi to a Tailscale exit node

Configuring a Raspberry Pi to relay an ethernet-connected device over wifi to a Tailscale exit node - README.md
Gist
@Tech Singer
in reply to Jonathan

mastodon - Link to source

Tech Singer

The Rpi solution is a good one, I used it for a while on a 3, though not for tailscale but as a normal relay, and it worked. The difficulty I found, and this may well have been an issue with my hardware, was because I wanted something which I could power off and on repeatedly. The MicroSD just didn't handle that well. Yes, I could and did reimage, but it got annoying to wonder, whenever I plugged in the USB, whether the unit was going to come up or not. I got sick of it and used a router, which at least doesn't have issues when it loses power suddenly. As I said, this was probably an SD card problem, though it was a Sandisk unit which was quite good at the time. I didn't bother buying another one just because it was too much work and I had a small router which was actually a bit smaller than the pi. That router didn't and doesn't support TS, but I didn't need TS at the time.
in reply to Jonathan

mastodon - Link to source

Tech Singer

Keep in mind that refirbished laptops are fairly cheap these days. If it were me, which I know it's not, I wouldn't use my work laptop for any sort of personal stuff outside of work, I like full control over my own software environment and everything from the UEFI up might have been modified by the company. At least with my own machine, I manage the install of Windows and can go after even the AMT hardware and drivers if they're there. Again, just one guy's opinion, take it for what it's worth.
in reply to Jonathan

mastodon - Link to source

Tech Singer

This makes excellent sense. I perfectly understand, and I'm sure you know that everything on the laptop could be monitored. I love German privacy law, but no law enforces itself. Anyhow, my thinking is that you're right, NVDARemote is probably your best option. If It were me, which it isn't, I'd just do it through open ports/reverse proxy/tunnel, everything else is too much work, though perhaps only for lazy people like me. That, of course, is if I want nothing else. If you want to use taildrop, for example, the port thing is not going to work.
in reply to Tech Singer

mastodon - Link to source

Jonathan

@techsinger IDK; just tried it and the Beryl AX would actually fit into my pocket, while big it would probably do, since I'm only at school for 2 weeks each, so I guess I'll just try it out next week. Maybe I could even power it from a powerbank inside my bag, we'll see. Better than just letting it collect dust in its box until I travel once or twice a year lol. Have actually never properly set this up except for stuff that's possible through the app, so need to figure out how to get to the web interface and configure tailscale and such.
@Tech Singer
in reply to Jonathan

mastodon - Link to source

Tech Singer

That makes sense, but with respect, I must disagree about it being impossible. Keep in mind that the KillNVDA system, just for example,
github.com/trypsynth/kill-nvda…
only requires one port, of your choice, to be open. You can use a tunnel or the tailscale funnel to manage that if you like and will not need a tailscale client.Having said that, two ports is yet more security risk, though, and if you do have a tailscale client, you can use the file transfer functions and anything else you want.

GitHub - trypsynth/kill-nvda-remotely: Simple set of programs to restart NVDA running on a remote machine.

Simple set of programs to restart NVDA running on a remote machine. - trypsynth/kill-nvda-remotely
GitHub

mastodon - Link to source

Sometimes the job interview just wants to gain code exec on your machine:

runjak.codes/posts/2026-01-21-…

Local girl failed the coding interview:
I don't think they've got a job for me anymore now that I got their repos deleted⁉️

GitHub 404 page for github.com/solvolab - an organisation removed from GitHub after being reported for distributing malware to developers.

runjak.codes: An adversarial coding test

Sometimes the job interview just wants to gain code exec on your machine.
runjak.codes

reshared this

in reply to Martin Rundkvist

mastodon - Link to source

miki

Most of these subsidies go to the traditional (and expensive) air carriers. Ryanair, which is the low cost king, is very famously anti-subsidy. Sure, there's some subsidization for airports and specific routes that governments care a lot about, but it's not like rail isn't subsidized either.

Rail is so inefficient that even cars are often cheaper. If you have 2 or more people in a group, especially if they're on a normal ticket, it's often cheaper to go by car than by train. A car can seat five, a train can seat hundreds and runs on efficient tracks instead of inefficient roads. It's all just utterly ridiculous.

mastodon - Link to source

What instant communication, thread-based platform do you use at least once a month?
Just trying to get an idea of the popularity of different options - multiple choices possible, please boost around!

If you think we should add some choices, please cite them in comment and I'll do a 2nd poll. They would have to be similarly thread / themes / channel - based, with a phone app but also available in the browser (e.g. maybe Matrix? But website-only platforms like Discourse would not work).

#Discord #Teams #MSTeams #Slack #Zulip #AcademicChatter (but not only)

  • Discord (11%, 1 vote)
  • Teams (44%, 4 votes)
  • Slack (0%, 0 votes)
  • Zulip (11%, 1 vote)
  • Other / None / see results (33%, 3 votes)
9 voters. Poll end: 2 days ago

#discord #slack #msteams #teams #zulip #academicchatter

mastodon - Link to source

I thought I was going crazy since #Today I can't find any obvious mention of #Dovecot and #ChatMail servers.

BUT, here it is: github.com/chatmail/relay/tree…

Based on the kinda snippy text there in the readme, I guess the #DeltaChat folks decided they want to down-play the dovecot dependency in case they decided to do something else in future.

Also, "custom builds" might make some folks ... itchy.


relay/scripts/dovecot at main · chatmail/relay

chatmail service deployment scripts and docs . Contribute to chatmail/relay development by creating an account on GitHub.
GitHub
#deltachat #dovecot #Today #chatmail
in reply to DeManiak 🇿🇦

pleroma - Link to source

feld

it is a custom build because of this one patch that upstream for some reason hasn't merged. Dovecot sleeps for 500ms before actually delivering a mail to the client because of some ancient race condition they couldn't figure out, it's really dumb

github.com/dovecot/core/pull/2…


storage: remove 500 ms debounce on IMAP IDLE notifications by link2xt · Pull Request #216 · dovecot/core

This commit removes hardcoded 500 ms debounce from storage that delays all storage notification subscribers such as IDLE and NOTIFY commands. 500 ms debounce constant NOTIFY_DELAY_MSECS was added i...
GitHub

mastodon - Link to source

I've been using the new Microsoft Outlook for a while, and although it was usable and had some nice features, it was never quite as accessible as I was hearing it was from other blind users. I went back and reviewed chapter 4 of David Kingsbury's book, Windows Screenreader Primer from the Carroll Center for the Blind, and changing the following setting made all of the difference! 😎

In the view group, I went into the Reading pane menu and checked the Popout only item.

#Accessibility #A11y

#a11y #Accessibility

mastodon - Link to source

Chystá se nová evropská sociální síť W - viz tenhle článek:

cybernews.com/tech/social-plat…

Jelikož si ještě nepořídili všechny domény, tak na překlepové doméně w-social.eu už vznikla reklama na Mastodon, tak jsem dneska přes oběd něco podobného udělala taky 😄

Mrkněte na wsocial.cz 🐱

Zkuste Fediverse 😉

Zkuste Fediverse - komunitní decentralizovanou sociální síť.
wsocial.cz
in reply to Štěpán Škorpil

mastodon - Link to source

Chao-c'

tak ten vysoký počet sledujících mají často z toho důvodu, že je díky mastodexu sledují další a další lidé.

V úplně prvních momentech Twitter exodu to bylo lepší než nic, ale po těch 2 letech to už nedává moc smysl. Zvlášť proto, že některé ty účty jsou v podstatě neaktivní a ty sledující jim naskakují právě jen kvůli tomu uvedení na seznamu... taková sociální renta ze sociálního kapitálu :-))

@kayla_eilhart

@Kayla Eilhart (cz)
This entry was edited (4 days ago)

mastodon - Link to source

I'm happy to announce ChapterPod, an app for adding chapters to podcast files, is now available to download!

I've been using this for about 6 months behind the scenes to do all the chapters for Comfort Zone, and it's easily the best tool for the job (for me, at least).

Available for Mac, iPad, and iPhone

apps.apple.com/us/app/chapterp…

ChapterPod App - App Store

Download ChapterPod by Matt Birchler on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips, and more games like ChapterPod.
App Store
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