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With the 2024 marathon approaching, I'm seeking prize sponsors. If your company/organization offers products or services for the blind and you're interested in sponsoring, let's connect. This is a fantastic opportunity for advertising, as the marathon consistently attracts very large crowds. Feel free to fill out this form, and let's chat about how you can help me take this year's marathon to the next level. forms.gle/MnuauzyMD8zH1NLo7

2024 Marathon Sponsorship Application

Please complete this form if you are interested in sponsoring Liam's 2024 marathon. The contribution of a prize for distribution during the event is highly encouraged. For reference, visit https://lerven.
Google Docs
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)

Apple Pay has started to offer Klarna installment plans for online purchases, while a future update will bring PayPal balances to the Apple Wallet.
appleinsider.com/articles/24/1…

Apple Pay adds Klarna installments now, PayPal balances later

Malcolm Owen (AppleInsider)

"I can't believe its not butter, but the name gets more and more sinister as time goes on."

"Its probably butter"
"Some places consider this butter"
"Legally, its butter"
"Ants won't eat this butter"
"Butter that has been known to contain cancer-causing agents"
"the butter is not an object of remembrance or value, but rather a warning sign to future civilizations about dangerous synthetic butter material contained within"

The Society of Authors is helping to collect signatures opposing the use of generative AI across the creative industries — from actors, artists, authors, illustrators, musicians, performers, translators, and more.

I've just added my name. If you're a member, check for the SoA's email.

#writing

#writing

Declining a support call with a vendor today because I don't think I could make it through the call without telling the support rep what I really think of their product.

The more I tune into JS framework discussions the more I’m concerned at how few developers seem to be concerned with how their work is actually delivered. Browsers are optimized to receive websites as HTML first, yet frameworks taught a generation of developers to build blogs like they are executable files to load & boot. I was asked twice this week if I think server components are a good idea (?). Yes! Create react app was a poor fit for most sites. Stop building the Web like it’s an App Store.

Oh yeah, the previews of Absolute Superman make me think it definitely has something to say. I'm looking forward to it.

The ADHD experience of coming back in the morning to one's browser with a couple hundred open tabs: "did I already read this article, or did I just skim it and leave it for later?" 😓

From LinkedIn, Chrisopher Penn reminds us that "AI detectors" are confidently spewing the same bullshit as the generators, and likewise cannot be trusted at all.
A screenshot of an AI detection tool reporting, with 97.75% confidence, that the Declaration of Independence of the United States was automatically generated by AI/GPT.

Lawrence Lessig develops an interesting proposal and argument for reform of democratic institutions in this recent lectue at the LSE.
www2.lse.ac.uk/lse-player?id=4…
#democracy #AI #SocialMedia #constitutionalism

What AI is doing to America's democracy

In this lecture, Lawrence Lessig will discuss the impact of artificial intelligence on the 2024 American election, and the implications that this will have for democracy in the future.
London School of Economics and Political Science
#AI #socialmedia #democracy #constitutionalism

If you read anything today, read this from @pluralistic - "You Should be Using an RSS Reader".

Cause you really should. Really.

Speaking of which, anyone knows of a tool somewhere that can analyze sites that don't have RSS feeds in search for changes and puts those changes on a RSS feed of its own?

'Cause that'd be really useful, you know?

pluralistic.net/2024/10/16/kee…

Pluralistic: You should be using an RSS reader (16 Oct 2024) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

pluralistic.net
@Cory Doctorow
in reply to Jorge Candeias

Randy Hall
Randy Hall
• •
I mean, there's a reason Google turned off their RSS reader, and it probably wasn't because nobody was using it. #deenshittify
@pluralistic
#deenshittify @Cory Doctorow

New contribution experience report, about fixing a bug in @thunderbird . Spoiler: it went surprisingly well, they have made some serious effort to ease first contributions since last time I tried (and failed). Go #Thunderbird! ⚡ antonin.delpeuch.eu/posts/cont…

Contribution experience report: Thunderbird

My ramblings about open source development and related topics
antonin.delpeuch.eu
#thunderbird @Thunderbird: Free Your Inbox
in reply to Antonin Delpeuch

Thunderbird: Free Your Inbox
Thunderbird: Free Your Inbox
• •
We're so glad you had an overall good experience, and you've given us some constructive advice on where the contributor experience could be smoother. And thank you, of course, for submitting a patch! Warm and fuzzy (or maybe feathery) feelings all around :)

Právě byl vyhlášen víkend pro všechny mamuty se čtyřdenním pracovním týdnem!

Wealthy tech guys are working so hard to relegitimize eugenics with a tech rebrand.

theguardian.com/world/2024/oct…

#tech


Revealed: International ‘race science’ network secretly funded by US tech boss

Group promoting ‘dangerous’ scientific racism ideology teamed up with rightwing extremist, recordings reveal
Jason Wilson (The Guardian)
#tech

If your wine is too philosophical for you, it can be helpful to dekant it.
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)

We asked and you answered! Here's Tuta's updated list of best WhatsApp alternatives in 2024 👏

Which one is your favorite? 🤔 Do comment below - or check out our detailed review first!

👉 tuta.com/blog/best-whatsapp-al…

#WhatsAppalternatives #Messenger #Privacy #Encryption

Signal, Threema, Wire, Element, SimpleX, Session.

Best WhatsApp Alternatives For 2024 | Time To Go Private! | Tuta

There are lots of messaging apps similar to WhatsApp. Here's a review of the best secure alternatives: Signal, Threema, Telegram, Element, Wire, SimpleX, Session, and more.
Tuta
#privacy #encryption #messenger #whatsappalternatives
in reply to Tuta

Jean-Baptiste
Jean-Baptiste
• •
Thanks for this good article but there is a broken link :
With its true incognito mode - that differs a lot from Google’s incognito mode that was used for “privacy washing”
@lascapi
@🌈 Lascapi ⁂
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)

If there is a subject of #RSS happening, I recommend taking advantage of @thunderbird's built in RSS reader for those that use #Thunderbird. I use both for websites and podcasts. And yes, it can be used for #Mastodon accounts as well.
#Mastodon #thunderbird #RSS @Thunderbird: Free Your Inbox
in reply to Richard

Thunderbird: Free Your Inbox
Thunderbird: Free Your Inbox
• •
Thanks for the recommendation! Not surprisingly, we're big fans of the RSS feature, and we're always thrilled when others like it just as much as we do!

I know logically I should be underwhelmed by the specs of the #iPadMini 7 but I still kind of want one with no justifiable reason.
#iPadmini
in reply to Robin Frost

David Goldfield
David Goldfield
• •
Oh, iPads have been calling me for years and I also can think of no logical reason for why it would actually benefit me, as I have the same functionality with my iPhone and I don't need the larger screen. If I decide to splurge on one, though, I don't think I'd buy a Mini as I'd want the option to use a detachable keyboard with it and something like the iPad Air would give me a larger keyboard to work with.
in reply to David Goldfield

Robin Frost
Robin Frost
• •
@DavidGoldfield have a Bluetooth keyboard I'd use and I just know myself I wouldn't use the larger screen even if it has more power behind it. It is a fascinating thought process and interesting to hear about who chooses what and why.
@David Goldfield
in reply to Robin Frost

David Goldfield
David Goldfield
• •
I think I could justify it if I were traveling on a regular basis or if I were still commuting to an office taking long train rides. However, I'm always working from home so I'm never far from my computer and for writing content I'd rather use Windows for serious editing than iOS.
in reply to David Goldfield

Cory Jackson
Cory Jackson
• •
@DavidGoldfield I agree. I have thought many times about picking up an iPad. However, if you flip your phone into landscape mode, the layout is almost identical to an iPad.
@David Goldfield

Hmm, where's that poll @Seirdy made about TLS again..? :akko_think2:

theregister.com/2024/10/15/app…


Sysadmins rage over Apple’s ‘nightmarish’ SSL/TLS cert lifespan cuts

Max validity down from 398 days to proposed 45 by 2027
Jessica Lyons (The Register)
@Seirdy

#unix_surrealism #technomage #fossangel
Towering Fossangel and Mage stand in the rain. Fossangel has an umbrella. Mage does not. She looks at the angel annoyed.
#unix_surrealism #technomage #fossangel

Today's Thursday already???

Welcome to the RB family, IconRequest 🥳

apt.izzysoft.de/packages/de.ka…

With this app you can share the data for adding the icons missing in your icon pack.

Thanks to Bastian for helping us establishing #reproducibleBuilds for this app here at #IzzyOnDroid :awesome:


„IconRequest“ – IzzyOnDroid F-Droid Repository

Retrieve app icons from your installed applications
IzzyOnDroid App Repo
#reproduciblebuilds #izzyondroid

I need to keep on track of JAWS dependencies on my work machine. Does anyone know if updating the Visual C++ or Windows Desktop runtimes outside of the JFW update process will cause problems? our asset management software is complaining there are updates to these components which enterprise IT want me to install. Looks like the latest 2025 beta has installed Desktop Runtime 8, does that mean 6 isn't required anymore when it gets released I wonder?
in reply to Sean Randall

Andrew Hodgson
Andrew Hodgson
• •
@cachondo The last time this happened they got updated when the latest release of 2024 got installed. However there is another update for VC++ pending now and I'm getting hounded to install it. Are you sure it got updated out of bounds of the JFW installer? I may try this on my home machine first.
@Sean Randall
in reply to Andrew Hodgson

Sean Randall
Sean Randall
• •
I've not updated JAWS since it got licensed 3 or 4 months ago and I have the October redistributables on the work laptop

ah rats. I've tested positive for #Corona. 😭🤧🤧

I'm not too sick, just feels like a flu. I've had all the vaccinations they'll let me have (3).

But I'll probably miss at least part, maybe all, of the @geofabrik OpenStreetMap Hack Weekend in a few days. 😢

#corona @Geofabrik
in reply to Amᵃᵖanda | OSM Witch 🧙🏻‍♀️

Pietervdvn
Pietervdvn
• •
I wish you a fast recovery! I had corona this summer and have been tired all week 'cause I got my shot last friday. But both my parents have the 'ro as well, so it is going around a lot!
in reply to Pietervdvn

Amᵃᵖanda | OSM Witch 🧙🏻‍♀️
Amᵃᵖanda | OSM Witch 🧙🏻‍♀️
• •
@pietervdvn thanks. This is the second time for me. The doctors wouldn't give me a 4th vaccination. I suppose this is equivalent
@Pietervdvn

večer +110 ľudí uzavretá spoločnosť #precositorobim
#precositorobim

Microsoft can't cloud


Microsoft, the company that lost the cryptographic keys that protected their cloud customers from attackers, now lost important log files.

archive.is/UZGyh

People go to the cloud, despite the fact that cloud is more expenive than on-premises by a factor of 5, because cloud promises to get operations right so that companies can outsource that and focus on dev.

Microsoft is NOT an operations company at all.

It can't cloud.

As a kid I often wondered how the Germans could allow the Holocaust to happen. In the past year I've heard all the reasons why.

- "I don't want to lose my job"
- "It will cause friction in my family"
- "Both sides are bad"
- "This isn't my issue to speak about"
- "I'm too busy"
- "I don't care about politics"

I want to know which senior executive at Microsoft is obsessed with the Recall feature and stops them from just cutting it
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)

When I took my car to the service I noticed, that the service wasn't in #OpenStreetMap.
Well, it is now. And whole little street got updated with fresh data...
😊 I like how easy it is...
Na Lávce street in Open street maps
3D model of the street Na Lávce
#openstreetmap

Fuck Microsoft and Fuck Nadella.

As expected, the 24H2 update installed 'Recall', it can't be uninstalled.

To disable the Microcoft spyware, run this as admin

C:\Windows\System32>Dism /Online /Disable-Feature /Featurename:Recall

Can't vouch that all the people you share your screen, code, IP, private details, will disable theirs. consider NOT sharing anything ever again.

reshared this

Echo: Ding ding.
Me: Notifications?
Echo: Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Nanaimo.
Me: What's the weather statement?
Echo: Currently, it's 11 degrees in Nanaimo. Also, there's a weather statement.
Me: Yes, but what's the weather statement?
Echo: Currently, it's 11 degrees in Nanaimo.
Me: Read. The. Weather. Statement.
Echo: Currently, it's 11 degrees in Nanaimo.
Me: *Goes on city-destroying rampage*
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
in reply to simon.old

Jason Fayre
Jason Fayre
• •
Just don’t do too much damage. I’m on my way there now. Did you ever find out what the Weather statement was?

Cuando el que se peina con lengua de vaca dice la chorrada de que La Oreja de Van Gogh era la verdadera contracultura no (solo) pretende absolver sus complejos de niño pera básico sino que busca promover un relato en el que "los malos" eran una mayoría opresora

Porque un buen relato necesita épica, y hay poca épica cuando "los buenos" (los suyos) controlaban los medios que programaban la música, los jueces que secuestraban publicaciones o la policía que cerraba garitos.

I remember some people expressing how annoyed they were with people reimplementing standard command line tools in Rust. But here is the reality of such reimplementations: hachyderm.io/@cliffle/11332081…

It isn’t just the memory safety. The reimplementations typically turn out much simpler, partly because of a more high-level language and partly because of usable dependency management.

If you have 20 times less code to maintain, you can do a lot more with it. Adding “nice to haves” like output coloring in C requires considerable effort, improving usability of these tools in Rust on the other hand is a no-brainer. That’s e.g. why duf and dust can present the output better than df and du.

And there are performance wins at almost zero cost. That’s partly due to relying on well-optimized libraries instead of own reimplementations (yes, dependency management again). But taking advantage of multi-threading and modern CPU features seems much easier in Rust as well.

cliffle (@cliffle@hachyderm.io)

There's a handy command line tool, fdupes, for scanning a filesystem for duplicate files and optionally removing them. It's about 6kloc of C. That seemed like kind of a fun little toy problem for this evening, so I wrote a little work-alike in Rust.
Hachyderm.io

Una forma de bajar el precio de los alquileres en tu barrio es que aumente la delincuencia. Haz tu parte.

Alright I'm organizing 6 weekly meetings with some very unwilling participants, so I need 6 loaf cake recipes to win them over... any recommendations? 🍰🍰🍰

Flavours so far:
- orange
- white chocolate raspberry
- pumpkin spice
- rozemary olive oil
- ???
- ???

#fediverse #cake #reccomendation

Pic of orange cake that I'm making
#fediverse #cake #reccomendation

mám čajík, a kde som, v Pivárni
in reply to SuspiciousDuck

SuspiciousDuck
SuspiciousDuck
• •
aj hudbu 😁 ach keby tak mám zajtra voľno
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)

Gone ar the days I'd use the Run dialog for everything. These days it has become almost a list of favourite things, and anything else can be run from typing into the start menu.
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
in reply to Andre Louis

Мира🇧🇬🇭🇺
Мира🇧🇬🇭🇺
• •
I still use the run dialogue. Haha. But gone are the days when I used Windows, so I have forgotten a lot of things. Typing into the start menu is too slow for me. the days of having a giant destktop list with icons, however, haven't gone yet.

It would be nice if Microsoft could stop breaking the accessibility of the Windows clipboard history panel.
in reply to Jamie Teh

Quin
Quin
• •
Lost all hope in that years ago. Now I just set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System\AllowClipboardHistory to 0, and use ditto. If that key doesn't exist, make it, it needs to be a DWORD.
in reply to Quin

Tristan
Tristan
• •
@TheQuinbox This entire thread is everyone else praising the holy word of Ditto and I'm so here for it. Ditto is the understated productivity boost that everyone needs in their lives.
@Quin
in reply to Tristan

Alex Hall
Alex Hall
• •
@tristan @TheQuinbox I haven't heard of Ditto, but the homepage makes it sound good. How's the accessibility? Does it use its own hotkeys, or can it take over the default Windows ones? This one doesn't matter much to me, but I'm curious: can syncing be done by hosting a local service, or does it always use Ditto's servers?
@Quin @Tristan
in reply to Alex Hall

Tristan
Tristan
• •
@alexhall @TheQuinbox I don't think it can take over the default Windows hotkeys, but I've never tried. My muscle memory is quite comfortable with the defaults now. It's 100% local; I host my ditto.db on my NAS and have access to it from anywhere using the LAN or Tailscale. There's a system that you can set up that allows "friends" (other machines) to send you clips, via a server-client model, which I've never messed with.
@Alex Hall @Quin
in reply to Tristan

Sean Randall
Sean Randall
• •
@tristan @alexhall @TheQuinbox no, the windows copy and paste keys remain as is.
Ditto hooks into copy so you can retrieve any number of previously copied items, I suppose is the best way to put it.
@Alex Hall @Quin @Tristan
in reply to Sean Randall

Alex Hall
Alex Hall
• •
@cachondo @tristan @TheQuinbox Ah, that makes sense. So it automatically saves everything I copy, but pasting previous clips is done with ctrl-`. Really, it just replaces win-v with ctrl-`. I assume that if I select a previous clip, my clipboard is set to that clip so I can ctrl-v the same clip later if I want to.
@Quin @Tristan @Sean Randall
in reply to Alex Hall

Sean Randall
Sean Randall
• •
@alexhall @tristan @TheQuinbox ctrl+V will always paste the last thing on your clipboard of course. And yes by default, entering on an item in Ditto's interface will put it back there for you, although it also attempts to paste it where you are if it can.
@Alex Hall @Quin @Tristan
in reply to Sean Randall

Tristan
Tristan
• •
@cachondo @alexhall @TheQuinbox You can always press ctrl+c on any entry in the list to just copy it without it trying to paste.
@Alex Hall @Quin @Sean Randall
in reply to Tristan

Sean Randall
Sean Randall
• •
@tristan @alexhall @TheQuinbox I never knew that. Is it weird that i've been using this thing for a decade or so without ever needing to recopy but not repaste an item?
@Alex Hall @Quin @Tristan
in reply to Alex Hall

Tristan
Tristan
• •
@alexhall @TheQuinbox Oh, right, and the accessibility is great. I press ctrl+` and get dropped into a list of my latest items. I can arrow up and down the list, start typing to search, and press applications/context menu on clips to view more details. It's literally that easy. There's an options dialog that is also pretty usable, although Sean mentioned there were occasional issues with setting hotkeys upthread. I've not changed my hotkeys in a very long time so I can't comment to that.
@Alex Hall @Quin
in reply to Tristan

Alex Hall
Alex Hall
• •
@tristan @TheQuinbox Thanks. I just installed it and will play with it. I use Windows clipboard history a lot, and like Jamie, and tired of never knowing if it'll work after an update. It also feels slower in recent updates than it used to.
@Quin @Tristan
in reply to Alex Hall

Tristan
Tristan
• •
@alexhall @TheQuinbox My ditto.db:
Created: 12/25/2018 11:08:08 AM
Last modified: 10/17/2024 8:46:33 AM
Size: 7.48 GB (8,038,252,544 bytes)
Searching still happens instantaneously, even over the network.
Consider this me vouching for it's stability and longevity over Windows clipboard history.
@Alex Hall @Quin
in reply to Tristan

Alex Hall
Alex Hall
• •
@tristan @TheQuinbox Meanwhile, I copied one URL to my clipboard, opened Ditto, hit f3, hit ctrl-g, and froze it. Windows just offered to restart, after the usual warning that I could lose data if I didn't wait for Ditto to respond.
@Quin @Tristan
in reply to Alex Hall

Tristan
Tristan
• •
@alexhall That tracks, I never use groups or F3 at all. I just tried doing that here and it didn't crash. I wonder what happened there.
@Alex Hall
in reply to Tristan

Alex Hall
Alex Hall
• •
@tristan Does the applications key work? That does nothing either, though maybe that's only for certain entry types.
@Tristan
in reply to Alex Hall

Jamie Teh
Jamie Teh
• •
@alexhall @tristan Curious. I just installed Ditto and have used both groups and the applications key with no problems out of the box.
@Alex Hall @Tristan
in reply to Jamie Teh

Serena 🏳️‍🌈
Serena 🏳️‍🌈
• •
You mean it would be nice if Microsoft would just stop breaking things.. LOL. I don’t think they’re capable of not breaking something at this point.

Včera som zase musel vyhadzovať nejakého týpka z bytu. Majiteľka ho tam našla spať, včera prišiel s tým že si tú izby prenajme na dva mesiace. Tak volám majiteľke a ona ho tam nechce. Majiteľka potom volá späť spolubývajúcemu a sama mu hovorí že ho tam nechce, neviem čo budem robiť keď ho tam nájdem znova.

Najlepšie na tom je že začali chodiť už dvaja čo tam nemajú čo robiť a podľa mňa veľmi dôveryhodne nevyzerajú.

This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
in reply to Stevez

SuspiciousDuck
SuspiciousDuck
• •
@theron29 ono je to taká prekérna situácia tým že ten spolubývajúci tam býva už 5 rokov a teraz to trochu vyzerá že stále niečo riešim sa mi nepáči. Ten zámok je bezpečnostní to nejde len tak.
@Stevez
in reply to SuspiciousDuck

SuspiciousDuck
SuspiciousDuck
• •
"natrel" som spolubývajúceho majiteľke, nech si každý myslí čo chce je mi to šum a fuk. Kačica rieši.
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
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