mastodon - Link to source

Rachel Gilmore has found 9 Canadian companies profiting off ICE contracts, -- all but one of whom also have contracts with the Canadian government ... so our taxes at work for ICE. #cdnpoli

For those who decline to visit substack:
Garda, Hootsuite, JSI Telecom, Roshel, Thomson Reuters, Jim Pattison, Magnet Forensics, Icor Technology, and CGI Inc.
Only Roshel doesn't have a Canada gov contract.
Note ATCO Frontec is not one of them.
rachelgilmore.substack.com/p/a…


A list of Canadian companies profiting off of ICE and Trump's violent mass deportation regime

Watch now | Several Canadian companies appear to be pocketing profits as this horrific agenda rolls out.
Rachel Gilmore (Bubble Pop with Rachel Gilmore)
#cdnpoli
This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to bassistance

mastodon - Link to source

bassistance

My much more negative stance makes me not want to interact with any AI, not so much because it has its flaws, but because the whole ideology and practical effects are fundamentally bad. For once, I don’t want my freedom as a programmer to be enclosed by Microsoft and Google, becoming completely dependent on subscriptions to their tools. That’s a direction they’re going for. I think we need to actively fight this and not just wait for it to fail in some way.

2/n

mastodon - Link to source

#XMPP Summit

After a break with many interesting discussions we are now at "Pinned messages".

The XMPP Summit:
xmpp.org/2025/11/xmpp-summit-2…

Meet us at #FOSDEM 2026, too!

#jabber #chat #opensource #messaging #federation #Brussels, #Belgium #opensource #rtc

The XMPP Logo

XMPP Summit 28 | XMPP - The universal messaging standard

The XMPP Standards Foundation (XSF) is exited to announce the 28th XMPP Summit taking place in Brussels, Belgium next year - just before FOSDEM 2026. The XSF invites everyone interested in development of the XMPP protocol to attend, and discuss all …
xmpp.org
#xmpp #opensource #Jabber #federation #fosdem #chat #messaging #belgium #brussels #rtc

mastodon - Link to source

Indonesia’s Communications and Digital Ministry opened a job vacancy and invited the public to apply by dropping their resumes and other required documents into a publicly accessible Google Drive. Turns out you can access and download all of the documents submitted by everyone who applied.

Someone pointed it out in an Instagram video which went viral and soon after he’s had multiple and sustained phishing and hacking attempts of his social media and email accounts.

reshared this

in reply to SuspiciousDuck

mastodon - Link to source

Daniel Tóth⚡

Určite nejaké obmedzenia pri ADHD či iných diagnózach sú, veď sám mám isté obmedzenia kvôli môjmu autizmu. Treba ale rozlišovať, či to je pre daného človeka naozaj obmedzenie alebo sa iba skrýva za diagnózu. To však zainteresovaná osoba iba z pozorovania nemôže veľmi vedieť, pretože nikto nevie čo ten človek prežíva, okrem neho samotného.

Každopádne si myslím, že ľudia by mali byť najprv tolerantní a chápaví, a nie hneď na prvú zľahčovať/spochybňovať diagnózu (a tým nemyslím nikoho konkrétneho, píšem vo všeobecnosti, keďže aj pri autizme ľudia veľmi radi hovoria vetu "nevyzeráš ako autista").

This entry was edited (18 hours ago)
in reply to SuspiciousDuck

mastodon - Link to source

Daniel Tóth⚡

@Ralfeek A s tou "neschopnosťou vychovávať deti>deti majú ADHD" by som bol opatrný. Veľa autistických detí vyzerá ako keby boli nevychované, rovnako to je určite aj pri ADHD, ale o nevychovanosť tam vôbec nejde.

Je úplne normálne a prirodzené, že takýchto diagnóz pribúda čoraz viac, keďže v minulosti sa to neriešilo, kvôli čomu to teraz vyzerá, že je toho veľa, keď sa ľudia v dospelosti diagnostikujú, a taktiež sa ľudia množia, a keďže ADHD a aj autizmus je dedičný, tak je tiež logické, že ľudí s takýmito diagnózami bude každý rok viac a viac.

Určite to ale nie je móda, a ak to má niekto oficiálne diagnostikované, tak by som to určite nespochybňoval, pretože takáto diagnóza sa nedá získať len tak, a neviem kto normálny by vyhodil peniaze na diagnostiku iba preto, aby sa potom na to mohol vyhovárať.

@Ralfeek

mastodon - Link to source

Learn about all the cool projects #GNOME contributors have been working on by watching some talks at #FOSDEM!

Here is a list for Saturday:

WebRTC support in #WebKitGTK and WPEWebKit with #GStreamer: Current status and plans fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event…

Funding Lessons Learned Panel fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event…

Machine Learning in GStreamer: Frameworks, Tensors, and Analytics fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event…

Running #GNOMEOS on mobile phones fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event…


FOSDEM 2026 - Running GNOME OS on mobile phones

fosdem.org
#gnome #fosdem #gnomeos #gstreamer #WebKitGTK

mastodon - Link to source
• Negative tilt (bright) → fades toward derivative (has the highs to boost)
• Zero/positive tilt (warm/dark) → stays on flow (warm body)
Cleaner gain structure:
• srcDeriv = dFlow * radiationDerivGain (derivative gets gain)
• Flow stays as-is (no extra gain needed)
Simpler mixing: Just (1.0 - radiationMix) * flow + (radiationMix * srcDeriv)
This makes more sense because:
• At Tilt 0: Pure flow = warm, full body ✓
• At Tilt -10 (bright): Mix toward derivative, then high-shelf boost = sparkly highs ✓
• At Tilt +10 (dark): Pure flow + low-pass = warm darkening without mud ✓

wordpress - Link to source

Are there any open APIs left?

shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/01/are-t…
One of the dreams of Web 2.0 was that website would speak unto website. An "Application Programming Interface" (API) would give programmatic access to structured data, allowing services to seamlessly integrate content from each other. Users would be able to quickly grab data from multiple sources and use them for their own purposes. No registration or API keys, no tedious EULAs or meetings. Just pure synergy!

Is that dream dead? If so, what killed it?

A decade ago, I posted a plea looking for Easy APIs Without Authentication with a follow up post two years later. I wanted some resources that students could use with minimal fuss. Are any of the APIs from 10 years ago still alive?

Alive


These ones are still around:


Dead


These have shuffled off this mortal coil:

  • BBC Radio 1 - No.
  • Twitter URL statistics - LOLSOB No.
  • Star Wars API - No.
  • British National Bibliography - No. Dead due, I think to the British Library's cyber attack.
  • Football Data - gone.


API Key Required


These are still alive, but you either need to pay or register to use them:


What Happened?


Something something … enshittification … blah blah … zero interest rate phenomenon … yadda yadda our incredible journey …

But back in the land of rationality, I've had a lots of experiences running APIs and helping people who run them. The closure and lockdown of APIs usually comes down to one or more of the following.

APIs cost money to run. Yes, even the static ones have a non-zero cost. That's fine if you're prepared to endless subsidise them - but it is hard to justify if there's no return on investment. Anyway, who is using all this bandwidth? Which leads on to:

Lack of analytics. Yes, I know tracking is the devil, but it is hard to build a service if you don't know who is using it. Sure, you can see traffic, but you can't tell if it is useful to the end consumer, or what value you can share. There's no way to communicate with an anonymous consumer. Which, of course, takes us to the next barrier:

Communication is key. If you need to change your API, there's no way to tell users that a change is coming. That might be the announcement of a deprecation, an outage, or an enhancement. You can try smuggling error messages into your responses and hoping someone notices a failing service somewhere - but it's much easier to email everyone who has an API key. And you know what else keys are good for?

Stopping abuse. It'd be nice if everyone played nice online; but some people are raging arseholes. Being able to throttle bad actors (figuratively or literally) is a desirable feature. On a resource constrained service, you sometimes have to put rules in place.

Still, if you know of any good open APIs which don't require registration, and that you think will survive until 2036, please drop a link in the comments.
#api #coding


PokéAPI

An open RESTful API for Pokémon data
pokeapi.co
#coding #API

mastodon - Link to source

#XMPP Summit

Continuing after the lunch break with #XEP-0503: #Server-side #spaces. xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0503.h…

The XMPP Summit:
xmpp.org/2025/11/xmpp-summit-2…

Meet us at #FOSDEM 2026, too!

#jabber #chat #opensource #messaging #federation #Brussels, #Belgium #opensource

The XMPP Logo

XMPP Summit 28 | XMPP - The universal messaging standard

The XMPP Standards Foundation (XSF) is exited to announce the 28th XMPP Summit taking place in Brussels, Belgium next year - just before FOSDEM 2026. The XSF invites everyone interested in development of the XMPP protocol to attend, and discuss all …
xmpp.org
#xmpp #opensource #Jabber #federation #server #fosdem #chat #xep #messaging #belgium #brussels #spaces

mastodon - Link to source

#Reading
Apparently, in the wider bookish community, there is this idea that listening to audiobooks doesn't count as reading. This idea is ableist af.
I mean, what about blind people?

And besides, what about people who can focus better and longer when listening (audio), instead of reading (visual)?

What about people who can better focus on listening to stories while doing something, for instance going for a walk, doing sports, crocheting, knitting, or arts and crafts?

#audiobooks #books

#books #reading #audiobooks

mastodon - Link to source
An interview with my friend, Erich Manser who is a blind runner.
I think I was able to ask about aspects of his running career that he didn't discuss in other interviews or podcasts.
evengrounds.com/erich-manser-o…

Erich Manser on the Resilience and Logistics of Blind Running - Even Grounds

I would like to introduce you to my friend, and previous colleague from IBM, Erich Manser who is a competitive blind runner. Over the years I enjoyed hearing about his adventures, and when it comes to sports, I got much inspiration from him.
Tom (Even Grounds)
in reply to Jonathan

mastodon - Link to source

Schabe

@jonathan859 #Alttext ist #komplex?!

Screenshot Tagesschauartikel "Ministerium will flexible Arbeitszeiten durchsetzen"

Darüber ausm HG überbelichtetes Bild mit Meer&Skiline hinter Fensterfront von der sich zentral perspektivisch eine lange Tafel mit Weingläsern in VG zieht; alles in harten Schatten unterbelichtet nur noch Konturen erkennbar; Person beugt sich beim Eindecken vornüber sodass Umriss (vermut. Zopf) und gerade Nase Batman ähneln.

media.troet.cafe/troet.cafe/me…

#AltText #komplex @Jonathan

mastodon - Link to source

A warm thank you to our sponsors Element and Famedly for enabling us to set up Hackathon tomorrow, in Brussels! Can't make it? We will livestream the results at 17:00 CET!

Element is sponsoring the video stream, and the dinner, while Famedly sponsors the lunch and drinks. Thanks to them both we can keep our community fed and refreshed to tackle the important challenges ahead of them!

matrix.org/blog/2025/12/fosdem…


Find us at FOSDEM

Matrix, the open protocol for secure decentralised communications
Thib (matrix.org)
in reply to The Matrix.org Foundation

mastodon - Link to source

The Matrix.org Foundation

@element provides secure, sovereign communication tools built on Matrix. Because of their commitment to open source and the commercial support Element provides, their solutions are widely deployed in the European public sector.

element.io


Element | Secure collaboration and messaging

Element is a Matrix-based end-to-end encrypted messenger and secure collaboration app. It’s decentralised for digital sovereign self-hosting, or through a hosting service such as Element Matrix Services.
element.io
@Element
in reply to The Matrix.org Foundation

mastodon - Link to source

The Matrix.org Foundation

Famedly was the first approved TI Messenger. Built on Matrix, it enables faster and secure communication for healthcare professionals, with a delightful user experience.

famedly.de


Famedly » TI-Messenger im Gesundheitswesen

Famedly Messenger ► 100 % DSGVO-konform ✓ sichere & schnelle Kommunikation im Gesundheitswesen ✓ Jetzt informieren!
famedly.de

mastodon - Link to source
And this. I asked it if it could put a heading above its responses:
Output
Yes, I've just set that up for you. I used the messages.responsePrefix configuration to automatically prepend ## Output\n\n to all of my future responses.
The Gateway is restarting now to apply that change. From now on, every message I send should lead with that H2 header.

mastodon - Link to source

Digital Independence Day is coming up this Sunday - and we at Tuta are proud to be part of it!

Never heard about #DIDay? It comes from Germany 🇩🇪 🥨 but it's time to go global!

🎉➡️ tuta.com/blog/digital-independ…

DI.DAY poster: Cartoon of Jeff Bezos on a boat in a wedding suit with the text, 'Your data pays for weddings in Venice?'

For a free internet: Tuta Mail is a partner of Digital Independence Day | Tuta

Save Social, Tuta, and lots of other organizations are building a better web – and you can be part of the journey! The next Digital Independence Day is Sunday, February 1st.
Tuta
#diday

mastodon - Link to source

Tonight's the night to remember - let's honour and celebrate the individuals and communities that re-defined open source in Europe!

Who will be taking home the Special Recognition Awards, and the prestigious Prize for Excellence in Open Source?

@Amandine @nightrose @bagder @astornc
#EOSA26 #EOSAcademy

#eosacademy #eosa26 @daniel:// stenberg:// @Amandine @Lydia Pintscher @Astor Nummelin Carlberg

mastodon - Link to source

#XMPP Summit

Being an unconference, every participant will raise agenda points and then those will be prioritized by interest. The first topic is "XMPP 2.0".
xmpp.org/2025/11/xmpp-summit-2…

Meet us at #FOSDEM 2026, too!

#jabber #chat #opensource #messaging #federation #Brussels, #Belgium #opensource

The XMPP Logo

XMPP Summit 28 | XMPP - The universal messaging standard

The XMPP Standards Foundation (XSF) is exited to announce the 28th XMPP Summit taking place in Brussels, Belgium next year - just before FOSDEM 2026. The XSF invites everyone interested in development of the XMPP protocol to attend, and discuss all …
xmpp.org
#xmpp #opensource #Jabber #federation #fosdem #chat #messaging #belgium #brussels

mastodon - Link to source
From Politico, @bartgroothuis @barbarakathmann and me on how the Netherlands is about to see its national government service login infrastructure move to US spying/sanction regulation: politico.eu/article/netherland…

The Netherlands rethinks its US tech addiction

Dutch society is built on US digital services. That’s now seen as a glaring security issue.
Pieter Haeck (POLITICO)
@Bart Groothuis @Barbara Kathmann

mastodon - Link to source

Save the date: Our FOSDEM social event takes place on Saturday 31st

1. Pizza🍕: pommodorobxl.be/fr
7.30-9.30pm

2. Drinks🍻 at garden bar: deliriumvillage.com/bar/floris…
9.30pm onwards

Pommodoro — Restaurant italien à Saint-Josse-ten-Noode

Pommodoro est l’endroit idéal pour un lunch dans le centre de Bruxelles. Nous vous proposons de délicieuses spécialités italiennes: Pâtes, Pizza, Antipasti, Viandes, …
Pommodoro
in reply to Andre Louis

glitchsoc - Link to source

Ra (Freya) (it/its)𒀭𒈹𒍠𒊩

many many many many many servers. actually if you're curious here's what it sounds like to boot up all the bastards at once. It's a delightful sound

This entry was edited (1 day ago)

reshared this

in reply to Andre Louis

glitchsoc - Link to source

Ra (Freya) (it/its)𒀭𒈹𒍠𒊩

@FreakyFwoof used to need that here. then I built a server stack that puts out more BTUs than a big box of BTUs with a big sign out front saying "free BTUs, come take some". I measured a minimum 10 degrees C difference between my bedroom and my living room, the latter being where all the servers are and is at least 10 degrees warmer than the bedroom at all times, even in the middle of the night
@Andre Louis

mastodon - Link to source
Einige haben seit dem 39c3 nach unserem Schildergenerator für die taktilen Beschriftungen gefragt. Wir haben den unter editor.c3tactile.org/ weiterhin zur beliebigen Nutzung online. Er ist nicht ganz fehlerfrei, aber für grundlegende Beschilderung ausreichend.
Wir arbeiten daran auch den Code zu veröffentlichen, das wird aber noch ein bisschen dauern.
Eine ausgezeichnete, verfügbare Open Source Lösung ist der OpenSCAD Generator von @oskar_mbr unter codeberg.org/oskars/define-bes…
#accessibility #a11y

define-beschriftung

3D print lettering with Braille and profiled lettering; 3D-Druck-Beschriftung mit Braille- und Profilschrift [www.oskars.org](https://www.oskars.org)
Codeberg.org
#a11y #Accessibility @Oskar

mastodon - Link to source

Twice Google Gemini tried to tell me that I was wrong regarding a tennis result from 2004 but I kept telling it it wasn’t correct and eventually, it got it right.

In the 2004 Australian Open men's doubles semi-finals, Bob and Mike Bryan did indeed defeat Todd Woodbridge and Jonas Björkman with a score of 6–1, 6–2.
Sometimes you just have to keep guiding the AI models particularly if you know that something is incorrect.
It's almost like you're teaching something.
This is where I can see a problem with these AI models because if you don't know that something is incorrect, you can go away with the wrong information.
I'm seeing this a lot with supposed history posts about events from the Second World War.

mastodon - Link to source
Finally a functional NVDA add-on for the new WhatsApp Desktop.
WhatsApp Desktop Enhancer is a specialized accessibility bridge for the modern WhatsApp Desktop application (available from the Microsoft Store). It enhances navigation efficiency and fixes interaction issues caused by the application's underlying technology.
github.com/starkrush123/WhatsA…

GitHub - starkrush123/WhatsApp-Enhancer: Accessibility enhancements for new WhatsApp Desktop (WebView2)

Accessibility enhancements for new WhatsApp Desktop (WebView2) - starkrush123/WhatsApp-Enhancer
GitHub

mastodon - Link to source

#XSF Announcement

The 28th #XMPP #Summit starts today at 09:00 am (UTC+1)!

If you come in person, reach out before (almost full). Else join remotely:
xmpp.org/2025/11/xmpp-summit-2…

Meet us at #FOSDEM 2026, too!

#jabber #chat #opensource #messaging #federation #Brussels, #Belgium #opensource

The XMPP Logo

XMPP Summit 28 | XMPP - The universal messaging standard

The XMPP Standards Foundation (XSF) is exited to announce the 28th XMPP Summit taking place in Brussels, Belgium next year - just before FOSDEM 2026. The XSF invites everyone interested in development of the XMPP protocol to attend, and discuss all …
xmpp.org
#xmpp #opensource #Jabber #federation #fosdem #chat #messaging #belgium #xsf #brussels #summit
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