mastodon - Link to source

For any #FirstContact fans, #PeterCawdron has put his next book up for preorder toward the end of October.

I'm going through a difficult patch and not reading much at the moment, but we're looking at nearly 6 weeks away. Hopefully things will have improved by then. My daughter's due to be on a school trip, my Son is due to be a few weeks old, and my job is due to be paused. SO I might get there around about the right time.
#Bookstodon

Bbook cover for "The Oracle" by Peter Cawdron, highlighted as an "International Best-Selling Author". At the top, the author's name is in white, modern font. Below this, an illustration of a flying saucer or UFO is suspended in a star-filled space backdrop. The middle of the image transitions into a colorful, abstract terrain that resembles the surface of a planet, with vibrant hues of orange, blue, and hints of purple. The terrain's texture is smooth, with wispy, tendril-like shapes extending across it. The title text "THE ORACLE" is in bold, white block letters. The letter "O" in "Oracle" is not completely filled, giving it a stylized appearance. Below the title, the subtitle "FIRST CONTACT" is in a smaller, white font.
#bookstodon #firstcontact #petercawdron

mastodon - Link to source

Friday.

The iron tripped our home electric supply this morning. I reset, came down to the office, unplugged the mesh wifi repeater thing because it struggles to reconnect without the stupid app, then turned on the hard drive I use for batch processing multigig videos, then got distracted by a phone call.

Next, the hard drive goes green on my dashboard. It's etherneted into the unplugged extender.

Please send help.

mastodon - Link to source

ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
como é que é?
meri quê?

🔗 jn.pt/pais/artigo/reitor-do-po…


Reitor do Porto denuncia "pressões" para aceitar entradas ilegais em Medicina

O reitor da Universidade do Porto denunciou ter recebido pressões de várias pessoas para deixar entrar na Faculdade de Medicina 30 candidatos que não tinham obtido a classificação mínima na prova exigida no curso especial de acesso.
JN/Agências (Jornal de Notícias)

mastodon - Link to source

Ein sehr guter Blogbeitrag von meinem KIT-Kollegen Gerhard zum Thema Urlaub - der gut erklärt, warum auch eine Behinderung wie Geburts-Blindheit durchaus kontextabhängig nicht behindernd sein kann.

blindnerd.de/2025/08/20/unter-…
#a11y #accessibility
#blindNerd


Unter uns

Meine lieben, Vor acht Jahren schrieb ich bereits einmal über das heutige nicht astronomische Thema. Ich finde, es ist es wert, heute und hier nochmals neu aufbereitet und rezykelt zu werden. Es ge…
Blindnerd - Wissenschaft und Technik blind erleben
#a11y #Accessibility #blindnerd

mastodon - Link to source

CoMaps is now on IzzyOnDroid!

IzzyOnDroid is an Android store for Free & Open Source Software. The apps are free (as in „free beer“ and as in „free speech“) and Open Source.

Builds for IzzyOnDroid are directly from developers and signed by developers. This enables very fast publishing (whereas F-Droid re-builds apps from source).

There are several ways to install and update CoMaps via IzzyOnDroid:
apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/a…

#IzzyOnDroid #FOSS #OpenSource #FreeSoftware #FOSSCommunity #LibreApps

At the top “IzzyOnDroid” in blue, and below the CoMaps logo in olive green.

„CoMaps - Hike, Bike, Drive Offline with Privacy“ – IzzyOnDroid F-Droid Repository

Easy map navigation - Discover more of your journey - Powered by the community
IzzyOnDroid Repo Browser
#FreeSoftware #foss #opensource #izzyondroid #fosscommunity #libreapps
This entry was edited (1 week ago)

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in reply to CoMaps - Hike, Bike, Drive

mastodon - Link to source

Kerplunk

Builds for IzzyOnDroid are directly from developers and signed by developers. This enables very fast publishing (whereas F-Droid re-builds apps from source).

So any developer can distribute self signed malicious apps fast.

Without checks. Wonderful Idea.

Fdroid builds from reviewed source code.

I will stick with FDroid and recommend others to do the same.

in reply to Kerplunk

mastodon - Link to source

IzzyOnDroid ✅

@Kerplunk we'd suggest you read the security section at apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/i… 😉 TL;DR: multiple scans are performed on apps published via #IzzyOnDroid, to make it as safe & secure as can be. In the 10 years of our existence, there hasn't been a single incident of a malicious app. So please, don't spread uninformed misinformation ("without checks" even). Thanks! @CoMaps

PS: IzzyOnDroid also has #reproducibleBuilds to ensure apps were built from the indicated source. Planned for CoMaps as well

Information on IzzyOnDroid's F-Droid compatible repo

how to use this site and its repo, how to get your app listed here, and more.
IzzyOnDroid App Repo
#reproduciblebuilds #izzyondroid @CoMaps - Hike, Bike, Drive @Kerplunk
in reply to Hu

mastodon - Link to source

Kerplunk

@ib @IzzyOnDroid
Have your system ever detected anything malicious before?

I was hit by a malicious verified by playstore app, so yes, the experience was painful.

The most malicious thing on any android device is inclusion of GAPPS, the google tracking and spyware suite.

I have absolutely nothing against izzysoft way but now have a non google phone and after binning a phone that became malicious, extremely cautious with regard to applications and stores.

@IzzyOnDroid ✅ @Hu
in reply to Kerplunk

mastodon - Link to source

IzzyOnDroid ✅

@Kerplunk @ib I cannot really tell about "malicious" – but "suspicious", yes. Usually before (or rather instead) of inclusion. We then do not include such app unless clarified and found "OK". And yes, we avoid proprietary components like GMS. We make few exceptions where it's unavoidable, but then clearly mark the app with the NonFreeComp anti-feature

And yes, being cautious is essential, so thanks for taking care! We try to assist you there as good as we can, eg. with full transparency

@Kerplunk @Hu
in reply to NeatNit

mastodon - Link to source

IzzyOnDroid ✅

@neatnit The official F-Droid client lets you set a "preferred repo". All clients I've tested so far allow you to select the source repo when you scroll to "versions". As for @CoMaps the entries are even distinct, as the app uses a different packageName at F-Droid. Updates are usually taken from the repo you installed an app from. A full description of the process is unfortunately too long for a toot 😉 @Kerplunk
@NeatNit @CoMaps - Hike, Bike, Drive @Kerplunk
in reply to IzzyOnDroid ✅

mastodon - Link to source

NeatNit

@IzzyOnDroid @Kerplunk Thanks! Perhaps worthy of an article to link to, similar to the security one you linked before. For me this is one of the things I overthink that makes me wary.

For example I have added the repository for Bitwarden, and I'm worried that they can (for example, in theory) add a malicious version of whatever app I'm searching for in the real F-Droid repo with a fake version number that's newer than the real one.

@IzzyOnDroid ✅ @Kerplunk
in reply to NeatNit

mastodon - Link to source

IzzyOnDroid ✅

@neatnit now, THAT would require them to also hold the proper signing keys – which is very unlikely unless the original party has leaked them – so only the signer of the original app should be able to do that. F-Droid keeps theirs very safe, on an air-gapped machine. We always recommend the devs proper measures. Also see: f-droid.org/2023/09/03/reprodu… @CoMaps @Kerplunk

Reproducible builds, signing keys, and binary repos | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository

Earlier this year, we reported about our progress concerning reproduciblebuilds. Meanwhile,more and more apps are using this; you can find some statisticsher...
f-droid.org
@NeatNit @CoMaps - Hike, Bike, Drive @Kerplunk
in reply to NeatNit

mastodon - Link to source

IzzyOnDroid ✅

@neatnit Yupp. App signing is kind of TOFU (Trust On First Use). So check carefully before the first install, then the "signing stuff" protects you against malicious actors providing "updates". It's just one piece of protection, though – there's e.g. always the "supply chain" (e.g. a dependency the app uses could "sneak things in"), which is why we established several additional scans, @CoMaps @Kerplunk

(1/2)

@NeatNit @CoMaps - Hike, Bike, Drive @Kerplunk
in reply to IzzyOnDroid ✅

mastodon - Link to source

IzzyOnDroid ✅

(2/2) For example, our "APK library scanner" finding "unexpected (proprietary) libs" is no rarity. For apps in our repo, in 90% this was unintended and got fixed by the corresponding dev quickly. In the other 10% we were either able to convince the dev to use a FOSS alternative (while updates were stalled here), or (in rare cases) had to remove the app entirely.

@neatnit @Kerplunk

@NeatNit @Kerplunk

peertube - Link to source

🚴 ČR vs. zahraničí: Jak vypadají opravdové cyklostezky?

Srovnáváme naší cyklistickou infrastrukturu se zahraničím! Proč má Praha jen symbolické cyklopruhy, zatímco třeba polský Białystok buduje stovky kilometrů chráněných cyklostezek?

Podívejte se, jak se město s mnohem menším rozpočtem a rozlohou stalo vzorem pro městskou cyklistiku. Zjistíte, proč oddělené cyklostezky nejsou jen o asfaltu, ale o bezpečnosti a plynulosti dopravy pro všechny.
Městská cyklistika je budoucnost! Přináší méně zacpané silnice, zdravější obyvatele a čistší vzduch. Inspirujte se s námi a pojďme společně pomoci Praze stát se cyklistickým rájem.

V tomto videu se dozvíte:
Problémy a nedostatky pražské cyklistické infrastruktury.
Jak funguje moderní cyklistika v Białystoku.
Konkrétní čísla a srovnání cyklostezek.
Výhody rozvinuté městské cyklistiky pro celé město.
Na závěr rychlý pohled do města Lodž.

Pomozte nám zlepšit Prahu! Sdílejte toto video s úředníky, politiky a všemi, kterým záleží na budoucnosti našeho města. Máte fotky nebo videa cyklostezek ze zahraničí, které fungují? Pošlete nám je!

This entry was edited (1 week ago)

mastodon - Link to source

U SPD je to jako kdysi u Miroslava Sládka. Odpadlíci promluvili a obvinili vedení hnutí, že vyvádí z SPD peníze.

A podali kvůli tomu trestní oznámení.

"Získané informace nasvědčují tomu, že mohlo dojít a dochází k účelovému vyvádění finančních prostředků hnutí SPD," stojí v oznámení pro policii.

Jde o stejné podezření, kterému Tomio Okamura čelil už v Úsvitu. Lídr SPD pochybnosti vždy striktně odmítal.

Dnešní článek na Neovlivní

in reply to Ciela-An Orca Ally

mastodon - Link to source

LibreOffice

Hi! Text-to-speech is a feature normally provided by operating systems, and not individual apps, so we're not sure what you mean, sorry! Can you be more specific? Please also see: libreoffice.org/get-help/acces…

Accessibility | LibreOffice - Free and private office suite - Based on OpenOffice - Compatible with Microsoft

LibreOffice, Accessibility, ODF, Open Standards, interface
www.libreoffice.org

mastodon - Link to source

Krásné #dobréRáno a parádní den vám přeju, přátelé a kamarádi Mastodontíci ❤️💙☕️

Díky zdeňkovi @archos jsem se mohl vrátit. Děkuju vám všem za podporu v době, kdy jsem tu nebyl
(@onka6, @KaterinaGloserova , ...)
Dost se mi po vás stýskalo, jen jsem si to chtěl všechno v hlavě ujasnit. Chvíli jsem byl na BS, je tam pár fajn lidí, kteří tady nejsou, ale jinak je to tam takový neosobní...
No a pak už jsem se neuměl vrátit. Zapomněl jsem vstupní údaje...
Odpusťte mi, chyběli jste mi...
❤️💙😉

#dobrerano @Archos @Kateřina
This entry was edited (1 week ago)

mastodon - Link to source
In today's episode of #accessibility shit-fuckery: our new dishwasher.
In terms of form factor, Fisher & Paykel DishDrawers really suit us: you effectively get two half dishwashers, so you can easily run a half load, run one while you're still filling the other, etc. We had them at our old house years ago and they were awesome. They were also the most accessible dishwasher I've encountered by design: they had tactile buttons, and even though some of the buttons cycled between options, there were different beeps when you wrapped around to the start of the options, so if you couldn't see the screen, you could choose what you wanted easily once familiar.
So when our old dishwasher died last week, it was a clear choice: we'd get DishDrawers. There's always a risk that new models will regress accessibility, and unfortunately, it's pretty difficult to test or find out about stuff like this. But this new model also has WiFi connectivity, so I figured that would work as a fallback at least.
It turns out that they're all capacitive touch buttons; i.e. not tactile, no press. Worse, there are no distinct beeps when you wrap around to the first option, etc.
So I resigned myself to using the app, which is surprisingly very accessible. But... no go there either. Because of a safety feature you can't disable, you have to enable remote start using the (inaccessible) buttons on the dishwasher. Remote start gets auto disabled when the door is opened, after the next wash completes or after 72 hours, whichever comes first.
At best, that makes this thing extremely tedious for me to use. I can stick tactile dots above or below the buttons, but even then, it's easy to accidentally touch a button while you're looking for them and you can easily choose the wrong option due to the lack of useful audible feedback. I already have this problem with our air fryer and it frustrates the hell out of me. But I guess it just is what it is, as is so often the case.
The worst part is that they took a reasonably accessible product and made it inaccessible. And for what? Visually pleasing touch buttons that probably don't even function when you have wet hands (because surely people don't have wet hands in a kitchen?). It's Thermomix all over again. And the message these companies send is clear: "we don't care about people with disabilities at all. We don't even give it a thought."
I called Fisher & Paykel to see if there's anything they can do and it's been escalated to their tech team, but I'm not holding my breath, especially because the inability to permanently enable remote start is a deliberate safety choice. I'm just so, so tired of struggling with and fighting these battles every. Single. Day. I barely even have the energy to be angry. The temptation to just give up is immense.
#Accessibility

reshared this

mastodon - Link to source
Krásné dobré ráno mastodonťata! 🙋‍♀️🐶🐈
Nebudu lhát.Za těch pár dní částečné výměny kancelářské židle za pracovní rukavice jsem poněkud rozlámaná.Ta moje kondice nebude tak ucházející, jak jsem si myslela. 😂 Ještěže jsou takové vynálezy, jako je horká sprcha.To co je bolavé prohřeje, to co je ubrblané, odplaví.Vzhůru do nového dne!Po práci mám brigádu u mamky, ale večer! Babinec!Domů vlastně až zítra. 😁😁
Vy to moc nepřehánějte, máme pátek, tak ať vám zbydou síly na víkend. 😊
#dobre_rano
#dobréRáno
#dobre_rano #dobrerano
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