Even by Amazon standards, this is extraordinarily sleazy: from Mar 28, each Amazon Echo device will cease processing audio on-device and instead upload all the audio it captures to Amazon's cloud for processing, even if you have previously opted out of cloud-based processing:

arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/0…

-

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

pluralistic.net/2025/03/15/alt…

1/

Oh wow, seems like Godot accessibility is really coming along. github.com/godotengine/godot/p… has a bunch of updates, and for anyone willing to slog through the depths of audiogames.et, there's a whole tutorial on building simple accessible games at forum.audiogames.net/topic/559….

May have to give that another shot. As much as I love working with Bevy, my biggest blocker to finishing System Fault has been that there' not the usual game dev stuff for it yet, and something like building a character controller when you can't see the million little ways your character gets stuck on the environment is tricky AF. Being able to just plunk stuff down, attach sounds and physics, grab third-party assets,and start building is something I sorely miss.

Implement screen reader support using AccessKit library. by bruvzg · Pull Request #76829 · godotengine/godot

Initial implementation of the AccessKit integration use C-API: All base (non-editor) controls except GraphEditor should work now. UI behavior without active screen reader should be unchanged. When ...

^GitHub

@Friendica Support Die folgende #Frage hatte ich schon einmal gestellt, sie aber irrtümlich wieder gelöscht:

Ich habe mir einen zusätzlichen #Circle eingerichtet, den ich nur als #Feedreader nutzen will. #Feeds, die dort landen, werden jedoch nicht in diesem Circle angezeigt, sondern unter "Alle Kontakte bzw. Kontakte". Was muss ich tun, um die Feeds nur in diesem neuen Circle anzuzueigen und den Rest unter "Alle Kontakte"?

"Plus de 40% des français vivent avec un smartphone dysfonctionnel, majoritairement pour des raisons d’obsolescence logicielle."

C’est l’un des enseignements d’une étude qu'on a menée avec Médiamétrie, Télécom Paris et l’Université de Toulouse.

📣 limitesnumeriques.fr/travaux-p…

On a demandé à 1000 français combien vivent avec un smartphone dysfonctionnel, quels étaient leurs problèmes, et dans quelle mesure ceux-ci influençaient le renouvellement de leur téléphone.
Voici ce qu'on a découvert ⬇️

In 2019, Iceland became one of the first countries to approve a four-day workweek. Here's how things have been going for them.

2021: "Trials of a four-day week in Iceland were an "overwhelming success""

bbc.com/news/business-57724779

2024: "Iceland’s economy is outperforming most European peers after the nationwide introduction of a shorter working week with no loss in pay."

cnn.com/2024/10/25/business/ic…

2025: "The effects of the shorter workweek in Iceland have extended far beyond the office."

wecb.fm/in-2019-iceland-approv…

#news #labor #WorkersRights #FourDayWorkWeek #work #iceland

In 2019, Iceland Approved the 4-Day Workweek: Nearly 6 Years Later, All Predictions by Generation Z Have Come True

In 2019, Iceland made headlines by becoming one of the first countries to officially approve a four-day workweek. But rather than passing a blanket law,

^{Sarah Jensen (WECB)}

🎲

EDIT: First picture deleted as it was AI/LLM generated.

#Dragon #RPG #TTRPG

#MusicBee #софт #music #UX #FAIL #вопрос

Поднимите руки (т.к. голо сование вместе с картинкой прикрепить нельзя), кто понял, что оно пытается мне сказать 😉

P.S. Объяснять не надо. Чем порезать .flac по .cue, я найду самостоятельно. Просто иллюстрация того, как всё-таки далеки погромисты от народа 😔

Rendering form fields as group in Django

valentinog.com/blog/django-for…

#django

Další skvělá aplikace na OScloud! 🚀

🔹 MiroTalk je open-source platforma pro videokonference, která běží přímo v prohlížeči díky technologii WebRTC.
✅ Bez instalace, bez pluginů – stačí otevřít odkaz a jste ve videohovoru.
🔒 Soukromé & bezpečné – ideální pro rychlá online setkání, porady nebo hovory s přáteli.

Vyzkoušejte MiroTalk na talk.oscloud.cz a začněte ihned pořádat videohovory! 🎥💬
docs.oscloud.cz/apps/mirotalk/
#OScloud #MiroTalk #Videokonference #WebRTC

Click the link to make a call.

MiroTalk calling provides real-time HD quality and latency simply not available with traditional technology.

^MiroTalk

The web frontend redesign is underway! Chat functionality is almost ready, and completing it is a critical step towards a Libervia release. I’ll likely be making a video soon to show off the progress.

#Libervia #XMPP

Konference #Installfest bude v Praze na Karlově náměstí celý tento víkend.

🎟️ Vstupy se otevírají v 09:00!
📍 Mapy a info: installfest.cz/if25
🚑 Kontakt na zdravotníka: +420 228 229 869
📹 Sledujte živě přes internet youtube.com/playlist?list=PLub…

From 2021

The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax

propublica.org/article/the-sec…

The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax

ProPublica has obtained a vast cache of IRS information showing how billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett pay little in income tax compared to their massive wealth — sometimes, even nothing.

^ProPublica

Sensitive content Reveal/hide

The Beatles If They Were a 1940s Female Vocal Harmony Group - PART 2 | The Beetle Sisters

youtu.be/hTDYbBpfX70?si=kWkYvT…

The Beatles If They Were a 1940s Female Vocal Harmony Group - PART 2 | The Beetle Sisters

00:14 All You Need is Love03:18 Here Comes The Sun05:37 Twist and Shout08:25 Lucy in The Sky With Diamonds12:04 A Day in the Life14:50 Across The Universe17:...

^YouTube

There was SO much technology at the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference and I'll be going live tonight (March 14th) at 8PM EST to share some of what I thought was the coolest stuff there!

youtube.com/live/SFbL8CIvXHQ

#Accessibility #A11y

Exciting Tech at CSUN 2025 - Assistive Technology Conference

Though I did not attend CSUN, I did my best to follow the news online! Come join me as I share what I saw and heard. Also, let me know what you know! 😊Major...

^YouTube

My brother-in-law is Peter David, writer of stuff. (Seriously, that's what it says on his business card.) He's written #comics (he's best known for his 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk), movie and TV novelizations (some of his #StarTrek novels are very popular in Trek fandom), television episodes (such as #Babylon5) and movies, original novels...all kinds of, well, stuff.

I bring this up because he's been dealing with severe health issues for three years and counting and is starting to make progress in recovery just in time for Medicaid to yank his coverage. As you may know, in America, medical expenses without some kind of insurance coverage are prohibitive.

A friend has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for these medical expenses. If you can spare a few bucks, please donate. Thank you.

gofundme.com/f/help-peter-davi…

Donate to Help Peter David, organized by Graham Murphy

Hi, friends. I'm restarting a fundraiser for Peter David and his family. Peter's health issues continue… Graham Murphy needs your support for Help Peter David

^gofundme.com

Learning Blind Tech Episode 23 ChatGPT, Leasey and Braille Sense 6

This episode will cover some basics on creating an API key through openai and using ChatGPT with Leasey and the Braille Sense 6.

desireerenae.com/learning-blin…

Learning Blind Tech Episode 23 ChatGPT, Leasey and Braille Sense 6

^{Desiree Renae's Website}

wow, Adwaita 1.7.0 has a new adaptive preview, so you can see how your apps will look on phones. Now that's some #LinuxMobile goodness :D

nyaa.place/blog/libadwaita-1-7…

#GNOME

sometimes i make stuff just to cheer myself up... if it cheers anybody else up 👍

(❤️ to Bruce Cockburn for this amazing song)

#coversongs

Sensitive content Reveal/hide

For anyone in the United States who wishes to contact Senator Chuck Schumer, as I have done, you can use this website:
schumer.senate.gov/contact/mes…
He is minority leader, so he can be contacted directly by out-of-state voters.
If you're like me, and hate actually talking to people, or can't, for whatever reason, this is an option.

Message Chuck | U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York

The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Chuck Schumer of New York

^{www.schumer.senate.gov}

Called it. Wrote this back in Sept. 2024, about a clever Windows Powershell phishing scam that was targeting developers at the time. It uses a fake CAPTCHA that asks visitors to distinguish themselves from bots by pressing a combination of keyboard keys that causes Microsoft Windows to download password-stealing malware. Everyone said, bah, devs will never fall for this. Maybe, I said, but your average user would for sure.

Judging from the number of recent media reports, it appears this one is pretty widespread at the moment.

krebsonsecurity.com/2024/09/th…

The mRNA technology behind coronavirus vaccines is now being used to create bespoke vaccines for cancer patients.

"Cancer vaccines weren’t a proper field of research before the pandemic. There was nothing. Apart from one exception, pretty much every clinical trial had failed. With the pandemic, however, we proved that mRNA vaccines were possible.

mRNA cancer vaccines work by giving the body instructions to make a harmless piece of a cancer-related protein. This trains the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells carrying that protein. Think of it like a training manual for security guards. The vaccine gives the immune system a guide on what cancer looks like, so it knows exactly who to watch for and remove.

Going from mRNA Covid vaccines to mRNA cancer vaccines is straightforward: same fridges, same protocol, same drug, just a different patient.

In the current trials, we do a biopsy of the patient, sequence the tissue, send it to the pharmaceutical company, and they design a personalized vaccine that’s bespoke to that patient’s cancer. That vaccine is not suitable for anyone else. It’s like science fiction.

The UK was ready. We had fridges and we had world-class manufacturing and research facilities. During the pandemic, we had proven we could open and deliver clinical trials fast. Also, the UK had established a genomic global lead with Genomics England and the 100,000 Genome Project. All doctors and nurses in this country are trained in genomics.

So the UK government signed two partnerships: one with BioNTech to provide 10,000 patients with access to personalized cancer treatments by 2030, and a 10-year investment with Moderna in an innovation and technology center with capacity to produce up to 250 million vaccines. The stars were aligned.

For many years, we believed that research is inherently slow. It used to take 20 years to get a drug to market. Most cancer patients, unfortunately, will succumb by the time a drug gets to market. We showed the world that it could be done in a year if you modernize your process, run parts of the process in parallel, and use digital tools.

We have a trial to stop skin cancer coming back after you cut it out. It’s now completed. We over-recruited again, just like every single one of the trials that we ran, and the trial finished one year ahead of schedule. That’s completely unheard of in cancer trials because they normally run over-long.

What will happen now is that, over the next six to 12 months, we will monitor the people in the trial and work out if there’s a difference between the people who took the cancer vaccine and the ones who didn’t. We’re hoping to have results by the end of the year or beginning of 2026. If it’s successful, we will have invented the first approved personalized mRNA vaccine, within only five years of the first licensed mRNA vaccine for Covid. That’s pretty impressive."

- Dr. Lennard Lee, UK National Health Service oncologist and medical director at the Ellison Institute of Technology in Oxford

wired.com/story/wired-health-l…

#cancer #vaccination #Science #COVID

'Brutal' or 'iconic'? How a giant puddle in a Tim Hortons lot became Hamilton legend 'Lake Timmicaca'

cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/la…

Makes for good photo opportunity.