mastodon - Link to source

Another notable feature merged in the GNOME Calendar live coding session today: the ability to export an entire calendar as an .ics file.

This was originally added to the wishlist 10 years ago: gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-c…

Thanks to @FineFindus's dedication towards implementing this (alongside the individual event .ics export feature) this year, you will be able to use this feature in #GNOME 50 (or the nightly flatpak version of Calendar today): gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-c…

#GNOMECalendar #calendaring


Allow exporting an entire calendar as a file (#31) · Issues · GNOME / gnome-calendar · GitLab

Originally reported by Tin Man on 2015-10-26 in Bugzilla bug (#757125): For backup purposes, it would nice...
GitLab
#gnome #calendaring #gnomecalendar @FineFindus

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mastodon - Link to source

Today I am stepping down from my role as the CEO of #Mastodon. Though this has been in the works for a while, I can't say I've fully processed how I feel about it. There is a bittersweet part to it, and I think I will miss it, but it also felt necessary. It feels like a goodbye, but it isn't—I intend to stay on and continue to advise the new leadership and contribute, because Mastodon—and the fediverse—is one of the very few beacons of hope for a better web.

blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/11/…

My next chapter with Mastodon

Reflections on my time leading Mastodon and what's to come next.
Mastodon Blog
#Mastodon

mastodon - Link to source

Buried in this nicely-detailed RCA is a pretty damning fact:

Cloudflare left .unwrap() in mission-critical Rust code.

For non-Rustaceans, .unwrap() handles a type called Result that can either be Ok with a value, or an Err with an Error. The whole point is to gracefully handle errors and not let panics make it to production code.

I use .unwrap() sometimes! Usually when there's a logical guarantee that the result can never be an error. But I make sure to purge it from critical processes for exactly this reason.

blog.cloudflare.com/18-novembe…

Rust code using .unwrap() at the end of a function call chain

Cloudflare outage on November 18, 2025

Cloudflare suffered a service outage on November 18, 2025. The outage was triggered by a bug in generation logic for a Bot Management feature file causing many Cloudflare services to be affected.
The Cloudflare Blog

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glitchsoc - Link to source

There was a time where you could simply put some html-Files into some directory which would directly be served to the Internet... like magic!

😎 AN HOMAGE TO 90s ~/PUBLIC_HTML HOSTING

Remember when the web was FUN?! 🌈

public.monster/

#hosting #cloud #internet #web #infrastructure #90s


public.monster

Remember when the web was fun? Upload your HTML and go live instantly.
public.monster
#web #hosting #cloud #infrastructure #Internet #90s

mastodon - Link to source
Decided with the direction that @freedomscientific is taking JAWS that it's time for me to cancel my home annual subscription and switch over to @NVAccess as my screen reader on my personal machine. NVDA does what I need on it (web surfing, email, writing, and some coding) fine, so I figure why not. And I can always pick the subscription back up if I really need it for something.
@NV Access @Freedom Scientific / Vispero

lemmy - Link to source

Vanadium version 142.0.7444.171.0 released

Changes in version 142.0.7444.171.0:

  • update to Chromium 142.0.7444.171

A full list of changes from the previous release (version 142.0.7444.158.0) is available through the Git commit log between the releases.

This update is available to GrapheneOS users via our app repository and will also be bundled into the next OS release. Vanadium isn't yet officially available for users outside GrapheneOS, although we plan to do that eventually. It won't be able to provide the WebView outside GrapheneOS and will have missing hardening and other features.


Comparing 142.0.7444.158.0...142.0.7444.158.0 · GrapheneOS/Vanadium

Privacy and security enhanced releases of Chromium for GrapheneOS. Vanadium provides the WebView and standard user-facing browser on GrapheneOS. It depends on hardening in other GrapheneOS reposito...
GitHub
#grapheneos

mastodon - Link to source

The Final Straw: Why Companies Replace Once-Beloved Technology Brands

What causes a business to abandon hardware, software, or tools it once relied on? Enumerating the common reasons helps you recognize when it’s time to move on.
functionize.com/blog/the-final…


The Final Straw: Why Companies Replace Once-Beloved Technology Brands

Discover the reasons companies abandon once-favored technology brands.
Esther Schindler (Functionize Inc.)
in reply to daniel:// stenberg://

akkoma - Link to source

it's missing 🎃 --> 39c3

the original .ogg seems to be lost media, but i have an idea on how you may be able to retrieve it:

  1. go to studio.youtube.com
  2. find that specific video, open the details page
  3. there should be an “original file” field where you can re-download exactly what you uploaded

if it’s the same ogg as in the torrent, can you seed it for a bit? I already added it to my client and i’ll seed it indefinitely (if I ever receive the file)

YouTube

Sdílení videí s přáteli, rodinou a celým světem.
studio.youtube.com

mastodon - Link to source
The Cadence uses a technology best described as micro-magnetic bistable actuators. "Bistable" means the pin is stable in two positions: fully UP and fully DOWN. It uses a pulse of energy only to flip the switch. Once the pin is up, a permanent magnet (not electricity) locks it in place. It sits there for free. You could leave the device on a single page for 100 years and it wouldn't drain the battery. Fascinating. Imagine a tiny permanent magnet attached to the bottom of the pin. Surrounding it is a copper coil. To raise the pin, the device shoots a quick millisecond pulse of electricity through the coil, repelling the magnet and shooting the pin up. Once it hits the top, it "latches" (magnetically sticks) to a metal plate or catch. To lower it, it shoots a reverse pulse, pulling it down where it latches again.
look up: US Patent 10,249,217. US Patent 10,163,367. US Patent 9,812,033.
This entry was edited (2 days ago)

miki reshared this.

in reply to Kara Goldfinch

mastodon - Link to source

Tamas G

@KaraLG84 not quite. It uses a motorized mechanical carriage (a tiny motor and cam system) that physically drives underneath the cells to push the pins up or down. This is why the Orbit refreshes cell-by-cell (like a wave) rather than the whole line popping up instantly. The motor has to travel across the line to set the pins. Once the motor pushes the pin up, it rests on a mechanical ledge. It is rigid (signage quality) like the Cadence, but it got there via a slow motor, not a fast magnetic pulse. Cadence dots can be pushed down, although not as squishy as older Piezo tech, just not fully firm like Orbit's. Still, when you push down, you feel a resistance under your finger, so heavier-handed Braille readers would still be "checked" by Cadence, and thoose with neuropathy in their fingers could read it.
@Kara Goldfinch
in reply to Kara Goldfinch

mastodon - Link to source

Tamas G

It's on tactile Engineering's site: tactile-engineering.com/cadenc… - I'd also recommend the Youtube video Double-tap put out: youtube.com/watch?v=0ixTjffDMS…
Cadence put this other video out where they use it. Pin sounds and usage is heard on their video, but I think a bit louder than usually with their microphone closeness to display: youtube.com/watch?v=LQgPhYU2N-…

Cadence Braille Display

In this episode of Double Tap, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece speak with Brian Clark and Wunji Lau, the Director of Marketing from Tactile Engineering, about ...
YouTube
This entry was edited (1 day ago)

mastodon - Link to source

"WhatsApp flaw allowed researchers to scrape data of 3.5 billion users"

Things that can never happen in #ArcaneChat since there is no phone number or any personal data required

cyberinsider.com/whatsapp-flaw…

#meta #WhatsApp #privacy


WhatsApp flaw allowed researchers to scrape data of 3.5 billion users

Researchers uncovered a flaw in WhatsApp's contact discovery mechanism, allowing them to enumerate over 3.5 billion active accounts.
Alex Lekander (CyberInsider)
#privacy #whatsapp #meta #arcanechat

mastodon - Link to source

hypercentralizers are not having a good day today -- #github has joined #cloudflare to block or slow down millions of folks from doing stuff.

Maybe a good time to checkout out this new ACLU article about the current Apple/Google app-store oligopoly aclu.org/news/free-speech/app-…

TL;dr Google/Apple increasingly wield their world-wide #appcontrol in the political interests of various governments, and not in the interest of user security or privacy. The article lays out three areas of fighting back ...

last paragraph of https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/app-store-oligopoly How we can push back In an increasingly centralized world, it will take very little for an abusive government to cause an effective organizing tool to disappear, to block an app that belongs to a critical dissenting media outlet, or to force invasive malware into a software update used by everyone. We need a shared infrastructure that doesn’t permit this kind of centralized control. We can disrupt oligopolistic control over software through user choice (e.g., preferring and installing free software), building good protocol frameworks (e.g., demanding tools that use open standards for interoperability), and through regulatory intervention (e.g., breaking up monopolistic actors, or mandating that an OS must allow sideloading, as the EU did with the DMA). The device you carry with you that is privy to much of your life should be under your control, not under the control of an abusive government or corporations that do its bidding.

Your Smartphone, Their Rules: How App Stores Enable Corporate-Government Censorship

Big Tech Oligopoly helps the Trump Administration crack down on free speech
Daniel Kahn Gillmor (American Civil Liberties Union)
#github #cloudflare #appcontrol

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in reply to Delta Chat

mastodon - Link to source

slackline :emacs: :orgmode:

Google/Android are starting to retreat on the developer verification, see details under "Empowering advanced users" at link below (still remains to be seen what it will actually look like)

android-developers.googleblog.…


Android developer verification: Early access starts now as we continue to build with your feedback

News and insights on the Android platform, developer tools, and events.
Android Developers Blog

mastodon - Link to source
@NVAccess I'm telling people how awesome speechplayer is, but some people say the engine with espeak sounds harsh. It's rather unfortunate that Debian doesn't compile speechplayer. I love that it's always in the nvda, and that Fedora includes it by default. I would love it if speechplayer was standard, it's so much better than traditional espeak in my opinionated opinion.
@NV Access
This entry was edited (2 days ago)
in reply to NV Access

mastodon - Link to source

Dane Stange

It sounds like a plan, thank you very much! That is exactly what I will do, I would even make a repository for it and share it, and there would be a read me with instructions and little details for if something breaks, this is that and the other. It would be very deep and detailed. I guess I should start by firstly reading the link that you sent me earlier and trying to get it working. I'll try on winders as I know that's where it's probably most worky as it's an nvda addon after allington. After that, I'll see how feasible it is to build it on macOS/linux, I'll try debian first than fedora. Debian sadly seemingly doesn't compile speechplayer in espeak which is rather silly, so I'l; be fixing that promptly. I'll also make a speechplayer standalone speech dispatcher module and see if I can do some talkyTalky with Yuri about speechplayerSA on iOS, as he was able to put speechplayer in espeak on ios which is perty darn great!! Seriously!! Do you realise just how great speechplayer in espeak is? I'm sure you do.

iceshrimp.net - Link to source
So rblind.com didn't go down, and it isn't anymore broken today than it usually is. Cloudflare breaks #accessibility. It always has, and it always will. Now the rest of you know how it feels to be locked out because you don't run JavaScript and can't solve a captcha. Will you stop using #cloudflare? No, of course not! If it blocks #AI, you're completely fine with denying that blind users might be human at all. As AI becomes more and more capable, the definition of "human" is going to become more and more restrictive, until everyone who isn't completely able bodied and doesn't have absolutely perfect vision, hearing, and cognition is completely excluded.
#Accessibility #AI #cloudflare
in reply to Frost, glow wolf 🐺

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@IceWolf Yes, it does. The problem is that all of these are intended to destroy the open web, by blocking a particular type of use someone doesn't like. The only way to preserve accessibility is to instead focus on blocking whomever or whatever is using an unfair share of server resources. If that's AI, block it. If that's me hammering your server for some reason, block me, too. Setting up rate limitting is a well understood problem. Blocking AI because it's slamming the server is an excuse. And you already have no reliable way to tell the difference between an AI, a script, and a screen reader. Block based on resource use.
@Frost, glow wolf 🐺
in reply to 🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

glitchsoc - Link to source

Frost, glow wolf 🐺

I think the problem is that "AI" scrapers are getting around that by a) ratelimiting themselves and b) botnetting.

IMO it's 100% legit to block "AI" scrapers based on what they're going to do with your stuff, in addition to the whole resource use thing. And as for resource use, it sounds like some of them do botnetting without ratelimiting themselves, so you still get hammered it's just from _everywhere._

in reply to Frost, glow wolf 🐺

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@IceWolf I strongly disagree with this. In the 90's, publishers insisted that all ebook platforms block text to speech, because blind people should be forced to purchase the more expensive audiobooks. This didn't stop until multiple court cases were filed against Amazon and others, and a UN treaty got signed. If we allow authors to say "You can't do X, Y, and Z with my otherwise freely available content", that will soon be abused to disallow using translation software on it, then turning it into Braille, then using screen readers on it, etc. Some directors still don't allow audio description of there films to be produced. Should an artist be allowed to say "no alt text for my photo can ever be produced by anyone"? And it's quite easy to not just rate limit, but tarpit abusive connections. So soon all the botnets resources are taken up by holding open worthless connections.
@Frost, glow wolf 🐺
in reply to Frost, glow wolf 🐺

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@IceWolf Right, but as long as capitalism exists, any limits we set to stop one will always be abused to stop the other. As someone with accessibility needs, the only way for me to have a life and job is for the internet to stay completely open. Not just "open to whatever types of use authors and companies feel like granting", because that always excludes accessibility.
@Frost, glow wolf 🐺
in reply to Frost, glow wolf 🐺

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@IceWolf Twitter and Reddit are more good examples. They decided to shut down there API's, in order to sell content to the AI machine. So most blind people are on Mastodon now. But if the fediverse decides they want to stop all AI training as well, a side-effect of blocking that will be shutting out people using assistive technology. Just like Reddit and Twitter did. Only for the opposite reason.
@Frost, glow wolf 🐺
in reply to Frost, glow wolf 🐺

mastodon - Link to source

Jason the fox 🔜 Giant fox maw

THIS. i have my own custom bot blocker that works well with the scrapers i get. it actually doesn't use JS even. i wont deny that it probably still reduces accessibility sadly. but it works. and i cant limit based on usage when every bot visit is a different IP. i try to block their datacenter IP ranges and they switch to residential IP botnets.
in reply to Jason the fox 🔜 Giant fox maw

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@foxbutt@IceWolf In general, you can start by tarpitting. And you can also rate-limit by geographic areas. For example, 99 percent of my visitors are from the US and Canada. But obviously, I don't want to block the entire rest of the world. But I do have all other countries on a much, much quicker rate limit. There are ways around this if you care. But most people don't; accessibility is a sacrifice they are willing to make on my behalf.

The other problem, of course, is all of these solutions will block legitimate scripts. For example, The Internet Archive, scripts that mirror resources on physical media to ship to underdevelopped countries, and that thing that I use to download multi-page articles for offline reading on my phone because the subway doesn't have internet access.

@Frost, glow wolf 🐺 @Jason the fox 🔜 Giant fox maw
in reply to 🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

mastodon - Link to source

Jason the fox 🔜 Giant fox maw

agreed that blocking real bots ends up being an issue sadly. i kinda just allowlist some user agents since the bots i get are more interested in faking old browser user agents.

i do agree with the alt text comparison to an extent. i dont know if this is entirely true but i feel like images with alt text would be more valuable to ai scrapers building image generation tools. HOWEVER, despite that, i want to have alt text on my site and fedi posts for accessibility.

in reply to Jason the fox 🔜 Giant fox maw

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@foxbutt@IceWolf Right, because an open internet means that you don't really get to decide what accesses your content: my screen reader, someone on an ebook reader from eight years ago, a smart TV, or a fridge. Abusive bots are a problem, and need to be stopped. But that's to save the server resources, rather than to limit content use. Because if you limit AI ability to scrape your content, you will always lock me out. The entire fediverse is wonderful for AI! It's got an open AI that my specialized accessibility client can access, and so can any AI training tool. To block the AI, you'd have to take away the API, or put up something that would also block other human and automated uses of it as well.
@Frost, glow wolf 🐺 @Jason the fox 🔜 Giant fox maw
in reply to Frost, glow wolf 🐺

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@IceWolf@foxbutt I'm not at all. But I'm absolutely certain some other company is! All they have to do is spin up an instance and join the major relays. Or just buy access to the local timeline on mastodon.social. My point is that in order to prevent these things, the fediverse would have to block all automated access of any kind: screen readers, third party clients, everything.
@Frost, glow wolf 🐺 @Jason the fox 🔜 Giant fox maw
in reply to 🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

glitchsoc - Link to source

Frost, glow wolf 🐺

Fortunately, fedi's decentralized nature provides a little bit of defense against this

if they get access to mastodon.social's federated timeline, a) that only covers stuff mastodon.social sees, and b) that's a normal account that can be banned if the mastodon.social people find out (and actually have moderation)

and you could absolutely spin up your own instance to scrape fedi, but someone tries that every few months and everyone blocks the hell out of them. :3

You can't just scrape the activitypub API without being a legit server (and hence blockable), that's what authorized fetch is for.

in reply to Frost, glow wolf 🐺

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@IceWolf@foxbutt Everyone blocks the people who admit they're doing that. Do you really think Google and Metta aren't running some random instance under a quirky name? Do you really think every single server admin will refuse money for access to their timelines? The thing about a distributed system is...it's distributed. Once dozens and dozens of servers have it, you really don't have any hope of controlling where it goes or what happens to it.
@Frost, glow wolf 🐺 @Jason the fox 🔜 Giant fox maw
in reply to 🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@IceWolf@foxbutt There are, of course, ways to "fix" this. We could require relay operators to request photo ID of every single server operator who joins the relay. And we could only federate with other servers that are willing to provide their ID's to us. And we'll only allow API access for approved organizations. The cure sounds a lot worse than the problem, to me!
@Frost, glow wolf 🐺 @Jason the fox 🔜 Giant fox maw
in reply to 🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

glitchsoc - Link to source

Frost, glow wolf 🐺

Fortunately, "it" isn't one single thing. :3

Sure Google and Facebook could totally spin up random instances. But getting people to _federate_ with their instances might be tricky!

(also Facebook's pretty blatantly doing this with Threads, and fortunately a lot of servers blocked them on sight.)

Like, to federate, you'll need to have people on your instance worth talking to. That kinda requires actual users.

in reply to Frost, glow wolf 🐺

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@IceWolf@foxbutt Currently, my small single-user instance is receiving over fifty thousand posts a day. The database currently contains slightly over twenty million posts. And I'm just one dude. If an organization wanted visibility into the entire fediverse, I'm sure they could do a lot better!
@Frost, glow wolf 🐺 @Jason the fox 🔜 Giant fox maw
in reply to Frost, glow wolf 🐺

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@IceWolf@foxbutt No, all you have to do is join a relay server. Then it will send you every post from every other server that also joined that relay server. Almost no relay servers currently require approval to join. Also, because of how threading works, once you become aware of a user (perhaps because they boosted you or whatever), most fediverse implementations will happily let you "backfill": IE allow your server to download every public post of that user so you can view it locally.
@Frost, glow wolf 🐺 @Jason the fox 🔜 Giant fox maw
in reply to 🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

glitchsoc - Link to source

Frost, glow wolf 🐺

Yeah, relays are kinda weird.

Huh on backfilling. "Most implementations" being "anything that's not Mastodon" I take it, just like with all the other useful features Masto doesn't have?

Masto actually added backfilling super recently with 4.5 or something, I gotta backport it because we're running a patched Masto 3 but ugghh it's gonna be a pain.

in reply to Frost, glow wolf 🐺

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@IceWolf@foxbutt Nah, it depends on how your implementation is configured. Some server owners turn off backfilling because they want to save disc space and don't care about search. And some server owners configure things so that there server will only show your server a certain subset of posts from a user, rather than all of them when it asks. And then authorized fetch and how it interacts with blocking and post privacy adds another layer of complexity.

And, of course, none of this stuff is (or can) be enforced by any kind of technical server. Someone could easily write/patch an "evil mastodon" to suck up as many posts as it can, while fooling the other server into thinking the requests are legit. Kind of like how some torrent clients are written to upload as little as possible.

@Frost, glow wolf 🐺 @Jason the fox 🔜 Giant fox maw
in reply to Frost, glow wolf 🐺

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@IceWolf@foxbutt I dunno. I have no idea who runs tech.lgb or mastodon.online, two servers picked completely at random from the 15,603 instances currently federating with me. The fact that I'm a good person doesn't mean that everyone else on the network is. And let's be real: if I was going hungry and had little or no access to healthcare, and open AI said "Hey, buddy, we'll give you a million dollars for that post archive!" how many people would choose to be sick and homeless rather than make that deal?
@Frost, glow wolf 🐺 @Jason the fox 🔜 Giant fox maw
in reply to Frost, glow wolf 🐺

glitchsoc - Link to source

Frost, glow wolf 🐺

like, this is absolutely a thing that happens and it's also a problem but it's a cultural problem rather than a technical problem

I don't want my stuff to wind up in a Slop Machine database, because it's just creepy to have things mimicking me (along with everyone else) like that

but of course I can't technically stop you from doing that to my posts. But I can still ask people, hey please don't do that.

in reply to Frost, glow wolf 🐺

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@IceWolf@foxbutt Right, and once again, I think DRM is an instructive example, here. Companies can ask people not to pirate there stuff, and usually, most of the people will request that most of the time. But it only takes one! And every single method of DRM that attempts to block piracy makes everything both less accessible and worse for everyone.
@Frost, glow wolf 🐺 @Jason the fox 🔜 Giant fox maw
in reply to Frost, glow wolf 🐺

glitchsoc - Link to source

Frost, glow wolf 🐺

But yeah, detecting the ones that are ratelimiting themselves (or botnetting to spread the source IPs) is tricky.

Anubis does it with proof of work, "do a small thing that's inexpensive for any single person but a botnetting scraper would have to do it thousands of times". But that all falls over without javascript.

It'd be nice to see an alternate challenge for if JS doesn't work, some kind of actual question form that asks you a thing that LLMs are bad at. Maybe a randomized simple math problem or something, I dunno. A thing that isn't difficult to solve, if you're an actual person with reasoning and logic instead of a statistical word-slapper-together. (Though that doesn't help cognitive-deficiency people...)

in reply to genstar.service

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

@Genstar@IceWolf This, too. It also feels like...one step away from cryptocurrency mining. Remember when captchas were just to tell humans and computers apart? Then they were to help digitize public domain books for the general good. Then they were to help digitize books for Google's ebook library. Now they're to help train Google's AI to recognize photos! How long until someone goes "Hey, as long as we're making someone's computer do work to prove it's a real person...hmmm...why don't we have them mine some bitcoin for us? For charity! Well, at first..."
@genstar.service @Frost, glow wolf 🐺
in reply to Andrew Hodgson

iceshrimp.net - Link to source

🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦

transphobia

Sensitive content

@Andrew Hodgson @Matthew J
⇧