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US Politics / Gig Economy / SNAP

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#snap #ubereats #gigeconomy

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ICYMI, Joe Menn had a good scoop this week about how the US govt is getting set to ban TP-Link devices from being sold in the United States. If that happens, a whole lot of small businesses will probably need to find new networking gear. I have never trusted TP-Link devices and have repeatedly warned readers away from them. They have a history of flooding the market with massively underpriced hardware, and this is a market where generally speaking the cheapest means the most hackable. Here's one reply I sent to a reader in 2023 who inquired about finding what appeared to be an undocumented cloud login page.

msn.com/en-us/news/politics/u-…

"Thanks for your readership and the nice note. I was posting on Mastodon yesterday about your very brand of router!

infosec.exchange/@briankrebs/1…

"I realize that NYT and others constantly recommend TPLink b/c of the features vs price point, but I would stay away from this brand, and any that force you to register "in the cloud" before you can use them as local networking devices. You do not want your router to do anything except when you tell it do so, and to my mind all this cloud business being attached to network storage and local network things is troubling."

"If you are at all confident around computers, I'd recommend getting something like a high-end ASUS router and then installing an open source firmware on it, like Tomato or something. Because the default software that is on most routers is complete garbage, and often turns on a lot of stuff you really don't want turned on, or has other stupid default settings. If updating your new $160 router w/ third party firmware that could brick it if you screw it up is too much, then just stick with a Netgear router and make sure you check for firmware updates periodically."

BrianKrebs (@briankrebs@infosec.exchange)

This is pretty neat. It's common for IoT malware threats to patch infected routers, etc. so they can't be updated (with other malware or security patches).
BrianKrebs (Infosec Exchange)

mastodon - Link to source

Cyclist falls down 130-foot ravine in France, survives 3 days by drinking wine he had in shopping bag

Updated on: October 31, 2025 / 6:45 AM EDT / CBS/AFP

A French cyclist survived for three days after a horrendous 130-foot fall into a ravine, kept alive by the bottles of red wine he had in his shopping bag, police said.

cbsnews.com/news/cyclist-falls…

#BikeTooter #SearchAndRescue #wine #cycling


Cyclist falls down 130-foot ravine in France, survives 3 days by drinking wine he had in shopping bag

A helicopter airlifted him to hospital, with a rescue doctor calling his survival "a miracle."
CBS News
#cycling #Wine #biketooter #searchandrescue

mastodon - Link to source
Včera jsem vzal extra směnu abych zaskočil za kolegu, který “se necítil dobře”. Dali mi autobus, který měl závady a já s ním odmítl jet, takže jsem si vzal náhradní, nahlásil změnu a včas a podle řádu jsem dokončil trasu.
Dnes mě zjebal šéf, že protože jsem změnil autobus, přišli jsme o body v nějaké zbytečné soutěži.
Myslím, že moje nasraní velice brzy vystřídá výpověď… Nebo ho zabiju.

mastodon - Link to source
The thing about JAWS vs NVDA is that it doesn't matter if @freedomscientific packs it with objectively better features. NVDA is free, easy to use (within the context of desktop screen readers), and it's good enough for the vast majority of screen reader users. Want to browse the web? Want to check your email? Need to type up an assignment? Need to track data with spreadsheets? Want to write some code? Want to run virtual machines? Just wanna keep up with your communities on Discord? Want to test your app for accessibility? NVDA can do all of those things. There is no faffing, no caveats, no running obscure commands, and no license to install. You download it. You install it. You run it. That's it. Want it to do more stuff? Open the addon store which is built into NVDA. If you know Python, you can write your own addons and share them with other users.
FS is relying on organizations like schools and governments where paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars is normal and expected and you can't just install an addon to an existing app. This does not work outside of those organizations. The blind kid who wants to listen to memes and keep up with their friends doesn't have several hundred dollars per year, but they probably know that they can go download a free screen reader that will let them listen to memes and keep up with their friends.
NVDA is winning because it's good enough for most people and costs nothing. If you do have the money to spare for a license and you want to use JAWS because you prefer it, that's fantastic! I'm glad you found a screen reader that you like. Most people will choose the free option because they just wanna listen to their favorite streamer while they type up their research paper.
#blind #AccessForAll #ScreenReader #nvda #jaws #jaws26
#blind #screenreader #nvda #jaws #accessforall #jaws26 @Freedom Scientific / Vispero

Andre Louis reshared this.

in reply to Rich W. Beardsley

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NV Access

@Rich @cubic When someone is pushing a paid or more expensive option, it is often because they benefit from it. We're happy to talk to state evaluators and organisations so they know about NVDA. At the end of the day, they should be providing the user with FULL information about the options, costs (up front and ongoing) and recommending the solution which is best for that individual, not for any other reason
@Rich W. Beardsley @Seedy!
in reply to NV Access

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Eden Linnea

@NVAccess @Rich @cubic If it would work with my work software, Eclipse, I would give it a try. And not Eclipse the programming language. For a minute, it worked in NVDA, but then it was reading everything twice in JAWS. So when they fixed that, NVDA no longer works again. I think the clickable thing just drove me nuts on the web. And I feel like I must be an idiot, because I believe people when they say it's fast and responsive for them, but I've found it stalls programs for me and such. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad you guys are around and applaud what you do.
@Rich W. Beardsley @NV Access @Seedy!
in reply to Eden Linnea

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James Dean (has moved)

@EdenLinnea @NVAccess @Rich @cubic I get that the "Clickable" thing is super annoying. If you go into NVDA Settings then Document Formatting and shift+tab five times, you find a box that says "clickable." Uncheck it and no more "clickable clickable clickable" nearly everywhere on the web. This should really be turned off by default because literally everyone I have taught NVDA to has wanted that turned off as soon as they encountered it.
@Rich W. Beardsley @NV Access @Eden Linnea @Seedy!
in reply to James Dean (has moved)

mastodon - Link to source

NV Access

@GamingWithEars @EdenLinnea @Rich @cubic I just had a look at our issues - github.com/nvaccess/nvda/issue… - and didn't see a request for it (it seems like something there may well be one for somewhere) - do feel free to create an issue - technically it wouldn't be hard to change it to default to disabled, it would just be ascertaining how the most users prefer it

nvaccess/nvda

NVDA, the free and open source Screen Reader for Microsoft Windows - nvaccess/nvda
GitHub
@Rich W. Beardsley @James Dean (has moved) @Eden Linnea @Seedy!
in reply to Eden Linnea

mastodon - Link to source

Jamie Pauls

@EdenLinnea @NVAccess @Rich @cubic Coming at this conversation as someone who uses both screen readers, I would encourage anyone who has even a slight interest in using more than one screen reader to take time to play with jaws, NVDA, and even narrator if you are so inclined. If you are someone who is quite happy with one screen reader, then that is fine as well. The fact that we can even have a serious discussion about multiple screen readers is remarkable in my opinion.
@Rich W. Beardsley @NV Access @Eden Linnea @Seedy!
in reply to Dane Stange

mastodon - Link to source

Sam Tupy

What a mess yeah, I regret having engaged in that and retract any dumb statements I made about that topic back then. I say gently, please lets not bring up old stupid drama like that my man, though in this case it worked out as it provides an opportunity for me to indicate that I now regret engaging in it so no hard feelings. Lets leave the sludge from the past in the past though from now on.
in reply to Tom Grant

mastodon - Link to source

Sam Tupy

@TomGrant91 @Aryan I'm not even remotely worried about 32 bit synths on newer NVDA. First I'll wait to see if NVAccess fixes it. If they don't, I at least know a way how, and assuming time/energy/interest/life permits, look forward to implementing it. I use IBMTTS and while I'm not exactly addicted to it - I could switch if needed, I get what it would be like for an architecture change to force a synth change and it's completely unneeded even if it would take some extra work.
@Tom Grant @Aryan
in reply to garo

mastodon - Link to source

Sam Tupy

@garo @TomGrant91 @Aryan Yep something like this is exactly my plan if NVAccess doesn't provide a general solution themselves. I want to emulate NVDA's synth driver layer in a 32 bit process, so then someone would install the 32 bit .nvda-addon package as they normally would but in this deticated 32 bit process. A 64 bit addon would then exist which makes all the 32 bit synth drivers show up in 64 bit NVDA using IPC to communicate. Surely this is not entirely thought out and I'd be dealing with some complications I haven't yet imagined, but it's very very possible that's for sure.
@Tom Grant @garo @Aryan
in reply to Tom Grant

mastodon - Link to source

Sam Tupy

@TomGrant91 @Aryan Since you said you didn't know about it, it's basically all here, stable NVDA addon with no crackles pops or squeals, C API to it, and command line speech utility. github.com/samtupy/b32tts_wrap…

GitHub - samtupy/b32tts_wrapper: Waveout wrapper around the Bestspeech/keynote gold tts engine allowing for retrieval of synthesized audio in memory.

Waveout wrapper around the Bestspeech/keynote gold tts engine allowing for retrieval of synthesized audio in memory. - samtupy/b32tts_wrapper
GitHub
@Tom Grant @Aryan

mastodon - Link to source
In the early to mid 2000s, IBM created several text-to-speech voices. Some of the newer voices created after 2006 include a file called pcm.fli.
If this file is imported as raw data in an audio editor, several hours of text that was used to train the TTS can be heard. Some of it is lifted from sources such as 1990s news articles, while other bits of it seem to be made up.
One of the sentences the voice actors had to say was "did Michelangelo zap you?"
The voice actors behind two of the voices, Michael and Lisa, said this sentence in two different ways which convey some... slightly different meanings.
Lisa is lower quality because the 22 kHz version of that voice isn't very listenable if it's imported as raw data, with lots of popping noises that make it sound very distorted. The 8Khz version doesn't have this problem, so I used it.

mastodon - Link to source

V posledních dvou týdnech jsme se soustředili na to, aby náš první workshop proběhl co nejvíc bez problémů. A tak jsme provedli pár změn pod kapotou, které usnadňují používání Stacků. Compose file je nyní možné uložit bez aplikování změn a pull+up URL pro CI/CD dává debug výstup, se kterým se dají rovnou vyřešit případné problémy. Chystáme se také na OpenAlt, kde jsme dali k dispozici část naší infrastruktury pro transkódování live streamů.

vhsky.cz/w/16S98qDoWYcv8NcuVf6…

mastodon - Link to source
@thunderbird Hi there, just a bit of a newsflash, It's not WindowsEyes. It's WindowEyes; although WindowEyes has not been in existence for a very long time now. You may want to update/remove that from this article: support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/t…

Thunderbird Accessibility Features | Thunderbird Help

Find out about all of the Accessibility features available in Thunderbird.
support.mozilla.org
@Thunderbird: Free Your Inbox

mastodon - Link to source

This is a reminder that SpaceX is not currently profitable and exists only due to government contracts & regular infusions of investor cash.

( It would be profitable if it were not wasting money on rockets that explode and on making a mess of low orbit. )

techcrunch.com/2025/07/08/spac…


SpaceX in talks to raise new funding at $400B valuation | TechCrunch

The company’s strategy is to raise money via a fundraising round and separately hold a tender offer to allow employees to sell some of their shares to a select group of investors.
Aria Alamalhodaei (TechCrunch)

mastodon - Link to source
FFmpeg is set to receive $100,000 from FLOSS/fund, a program launched by Indian stockbroking firm Zerodha to give back to the ecosystem that made its success possible. The team noted that, while welcome, this funding "does not solve the funding problems behind FFmpeg and Open Source in general." news.itsfoss.com/ffmpeg-receiv…

FFmpeg Receives $100K in Funding from India's FLOSS/fund Initiative

It is one of the world's most widely used multimedia frameworks today.
Sourav Rudra (It's FOSS News)

mastodon - Link to source

As if you didn't lose me already on the scammy text you doubled down and EVEN DARED for an immediate response?

Say goodbye to your inbox whatever your name. I'm going to ensure whoever replies you back gets their email buried under the hundreds of spammy lists I'm going to introduce your disposable email address in.

Good made fillmyinbox.com for a reason.

@Tutanota please do better with your spam filters.

For anyone bored, the real reply email address is puldubee@gmail.com

#justice

#Justice @Tuta
This entry was edited (2 months ago)

mastodon - Link to source

Si te acusan de ser fachada de inteligencia y no demandas, ¿es prudencia… o miedo a lo que podría destaparse?
La transparencia no se profesa, se prueba.
En la guerra por la privacidad, el silencio también es un mensaje.

Esto referente al caso de Cameron Ortis vs Tuta (bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-6…) al día de hoy siguen habiendo más preguntas que respuestas @Tutanota


Cameron Ortis: Canadian official sentenced to 14 years for leaking secrets

The case against Cameron Ortis marks the first time Canada's espionage laws were tested at trial.
By Nadine Yousif (BBC News)
@Tuta

mastodon - Link to source

The world is turning into @pluralistic Unauthorized Bread short story.

Samsung's smart fridges are beginning to show adds to annoy the crap out of its users.

I suggest renaming "smart" devices to "FART"-devices:
Fucking
Annoying
Redundant
Trash

heise.de/en/news/Samsung-turns…

#smart #fridge #FART


Samsung turns refrigerator displays into advertising space

Samsung releases a software update for smart high-end refrigerators. This includes a screensaver that also displays advertising, but initially only in the USA.
Werner Pluta (heise online)
#fart #smart #fridge @Cory Doctorow
This entry was edited (2 months ago)

mastodon - Link to source

Na HNku vyšel článek o nových emisních povolenkách, ETS2, pro domácnosti. Shrnul bych to slovy "Jak chudák do ještě větší nouze přišel". Nás se to prakticky nedotkne. Máme vše na elektřinu, která je již zatížena povolenkami. Pokud ale jezdíte spalovacím autem a topíte uhlím či plynem, tak vás to zasáhne maximální silou.

Co mě zaráží nejvíc je, že s povolenkami půjde omezeně obchodovat. To je ideální recept jak našroubovat cenu uhlí a paliva ještě o level výš.

archiv.hn.cz/c7-67805900-oo1h4…

Někdo skoro nic, jiný si připlatí desítky tisíc. Podívejte se, jak na vaši domácnost dopadnou nové povolenky

Kdo topí uhlím nebo najezdí desítky tisíc kilometrů vozem na diesel, tomu zvednou nové emisní povolenky pro domácnosti náklady až o desítky tisíc ročně. Na mnoho lidí však nemusí být dopad nijak zásadní.
Jan Brož (Economia, a.s.)
in reply to Jiří Eischmann

mastodon - Link to source

🔩 Adam Štrauch

@sesivany Z toho bude mrzení ještě na mnoha úrovních. Pokud ty povolenky nezavedou, tak je zaplatíš ještě jednou na pokutách, resp. zablokovaných dotacích z EU. Pokud je zavedou, tak tomu tvýmu sousedovi stoupnou náklady na život třeba o 30k ročně a koho asi bude volit, když současné dno, které tomu mělo zabránit, je kombo ANO, SPD a spolek přátel TDI.
@Jiří Eischmann
in reply to 🔩 Adam Štrauch

mastodon - Link to source

Jiří Eischmann

Pak je ještě třetí varianta, že lidi začnou zase pálit vše, co jim přijde pod ruku. Zrovna náš soused má nově postavený dům, ale dal si do něj kotel na tuhá paliva a pravidelně si dováží europalety, které řeže a topí jimi. Nekvalitní, vlhké dřevo... dokážeš si představit, jaký vzdoušek tu v zimě máme. Ale asi bychom měli být rádi, že netopí petkama naplněnýma pilinama a vyjetým olejem...
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