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Google’s NotebookLM Now Broadly Available with Audio Overview Customizations thurrott.com/a-i/google-gemini…


FediMeta, blocklist update, 1/3

Got two blocklist updates today, and a non-update with private visibility. First, a FediNuke/tier0.csv transparency update:

I override-added an instance to FediNuke using my documented override process: caekis.love.

Was already near consensus, and the admin was already in receipts for the gleasonator.com FediNuke entry.

See the many receipts for caekis.love in my receipt archive. The severity was enough to warrant inclusion.

#FediNuke

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

FediMeta, blocklist update, 2/3

I also retired my tier-1 blocklist. It’s the least-used blocklist I have, and I’m managing several; it’s not worth the effort. Every new severity level demands more instances to carefully consider.

Without willingness to spend that effort, its existence encourages me to treat it like a dumping ground for other entries that don’t qualify for other lists instead of evaluating entries’ severity properly.

I will maintain it in private to shine a light on the latter phenomenon, but I won’t share it.

Before you protest, know that I’m maintaining six other blocklists:

  • FediNuke.txt
  • My tier0 list (might re-name)
  • BirdSiteLive, bird.makeup
  • Other bridges
  • Corporate social media (Threads, Medium, Minds, etc)
  • Spammy subdomains

They will be unaffected. If anything, they’ll improve.

#blocklists



Reading about the attack on @internetarchive I wonder two things: how to more reliably fund it, but also, how to fund at least five more independently run instances worldwide.


I think we reached an important milestone today about my work on modernizing notifications in GNOME and for the FreeDesktop.

Most of the improvements I proposed for version 2 of the xdg-desktop-portal got merged today. This has been a long journey and many thanks go to everybody involved, especially to those who reviewed the my changes 🎉

If you haven’t followed the journey: github.com/flatpak/xdg-desktop…

reshared this



You know open source is great. And you know we can't make money from what we give away for free.

But why do people develop open source projects? Who uses it? And why do we need it? What would happen if it didn't exist?

Follow me on my journey to explore how we can build sustainable technology that serves the public interest: Subscribe to Flint & Silicon to hear about the systemic challenges and opportunities of Public Interest Technology.

🔄 Boosts welcome!

ergaster.org/podcast



The system that moves water around the Earth is off balance for the first time in human history cnn.com/2024/10/16/climate/glo…


> WARNING: The convert command is deprecated in IMv7, use "magick" instead of "convert" or "magick convert"

🤟 OH NICE. Are the "import" days gone too?

But #ImageMagick wasn't the worst offender there... I should crunch some stats on packages providing many /usr/bin/{?,??,???} files...



MacChat: “Exploring Parallels, ChatGPT, and CleanMyMac: Mac Adventures and Beyond” - Unmute unmute.show/macchat-exploring-…


Wrote a new thing! sarahmhigley.com/writing/activ…

About what to do if two focus outlines in a trenchcoat approach you in a dark alley and offer you a combobox.

in reply to Sarah Higley

I'm sending this to all my web colleagues, right away. :D Too bad I can't go outside, climb up to the roof and just shout it ("Aria-activedescendant is not focus! Aria-activedescendant is not focus!") loudly for half an hour, but I don't know if any neighbors would then think I've lost my sanity so I better not. Grateful for you exploring this topic.
in reply to Tamas G

@Tamasg ah, is *that* why all my neighbors avoid me?

Also, glad it’s a useful topic for your team 😊



Einladung zur Erstellung von dokumentarischen Beiträgen wie Videos, Podcasts oder Texte über Braille-Schrift, Fotos, Grafiken oder Zeichnungen mit Braille zur Feier von „200 Jahre Brailleschrift im Jahr 2025“. offsight.de/viewtopic.php?f=24…


Mám vidiny, vidím svoju posteľ ako v nej už ležím.


„Disability History Project“ Aufruf zum Einreichen von Objekten, die politisches Engagement von Menschen mit Behinderungen und ihren Kampf um Selbstbestimmung dokumentieren. science.orf.at/stories/3227176…
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)


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
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…


"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



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.


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


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…

in reply to Jorge Candeias

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


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…
in reply to Antonin Delpeuch

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

#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

in reply to Tuta

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
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.
in reply to Richard

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.
in reply to Robin Frost

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

@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.
in reply to Robin Frost

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

@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.






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:



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

@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.
in reply to Andrew Hodgson

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. 😢

in reply to Amᵃᵖanda | OSM Witch 🧙🏻‍♀️

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

@pietervdvn thanks. This is the second time for me. The doctors wouldn't give me a 4th vaccination. I suppose this is equivalent



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.