obscure question so please repost: using ESpeak afrikaans, I'm writing the word 'n which is being pronounced "en" when it should by rights be pronounced "a". This is a fundamental word in the language so they wouldn't have missed it...what rule has been broken somewhere, dear linguists?
* Pano Scrobbler: a feature packed cross-platform music tracker 🛡️ * RecordMaster: Recording, Organizing, Sharing, and more – inspired by the Google Pixel Recorder app, but with more features 🛡️
This is a repository of apps to be used with your F-Droid client. Applications in this repository are official binaries built by the original application developers, taken from their resp. repositories (mostly Github, GitLab, Codeberg).
Don't forget to fill the Rust programming language survey. Whether you are just distantly interested in Rust, or work daily with it, it's worthwhile to fill it!
This is getting a bit more traction than my posts usually do, so hi, people reading me, a bit more context for my being pissed off about Calibre putting AI into its feature set:
I am an author. I've released work with Carina Press, and I've released work on my own. My released work is on record as HAVING BEEN STOLEN BY OPENAI, and I am in fact one of the many, many authors who've had to file claims on the settlement with Anthropic.
So I am not kidding when I say I don't want that technology, technology which HAS STOLEN FROM ME, anywhere near a program I use. ESPECIALLY the program I've used to not only manage my ebook library, but even perform format conversions on my work to prep it for sale. /1
"Oh, but they're unobtrusive, you don't have to use the features if you don't want them" isn't good enough. My baseline is "I don't want that crap in programs I use AT ALL". Period. Full stop.
So I will for the foreseeable future remain on Calibre 8.10, the last known version to have no AI features in it whatsoever. And if an AI-free competitor eventually shows up, I am prepared to transfer my ebooks into a new manager if I have to.
Am I extremely fucking salty about this? YES I AM. Because, again: THIS TECHNOLOGY STOLE MY WORK and that of countless other creatives all over the world. And it's insulting and infuriating to me to see it creeping into each and every corner of my daily computer use no matter how much I DO NOT WANT IT. /End
Thank you for your rejection. Unfortunately due to the high volume of rejections I have received, I have been unable to accept yours. As a result, I must inform you that I will see you on Monday for my first shift.
Going to the gym on a Sunday is like experiencing a microcosm on its own, with power dynamics, hierarchies, and unwritten rules based on honor and muscle girth
This adds support for MacOS via an AVSpeechSynthesizer bridge and its matching C# AVSpeechProvider. Tested under MacOS 26.1, earlier versions might have issues.
Regarding Apple Silicon
Terraria is ...
Another nice surprise! A careful discussion and appreciation of our almost 8-year long running efforts, and its #deltachat and #chatmail artifacts. The "Signal contingency plan" comes complete with podcast, website and zine!
Attached: 1 image
Our chat with Mary & Fanny, two independent technologists, on contingency for "what if Signal were blocked in the US" and their suggestion: @delta
https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.
What miss it's an easier way to choose our server with an auto select (based on location) of them (if the operator of the relay agree to join), to push user accross them.
For 1 increate server failure resillience (if everyone is on the default and that one stop the whole system is down).
Finish the docker image (must be a emergency feature).
And finally approach governement like Germany, France etc to use your app, and make it more known.
Zuckerberg has blown 77 billion – enough money to revitalize entire countries – on an idea so overwhelmingly, obviously stupid that I have never once heard anyone, from the Thanksgiving avuncular table to the most wretched depths of social media, say they liked it or even tried it. He was so sure that it would revolutionize the world that he renamed his extremely famous company after it. And now he's on to the next thing that he's so very, very sure about.
The world needs direction from sober people who aim to improve the human condition, not the whims of a handful of billionaire princelings who absolutely, positively cannot be dissuaded from failing at unprecedented scale while chasing their own vainglory off the edge of a cliff.
i would like to point out that Nasa spent a cumulative total of $57B over 65 years to visit every planet and many small bodies in the solar system, which is still less than the $60B Mark spent in just 5 years building the Metaverse.
Using my Sound Remote/Virtual Here Android to Windows remote control to control my PC from the bed just because, I can. I'm tired and it works so flawlessly with almost no delay. Honestly much better than trying to get a somewhat proper lag free bluetooth/wireless connection from devices directly to the PC to work.
I didn't quite believe this when I first started. It is actually easier to set up, and more reliable than bluetooth audio and braille. Bluetooth, the very short distance product, is actually worse, in terms both of latency and ease of startup, than the product on the network. Seriously, I just don't know what to say. This doesn't make sense. The only thing which brings things sort of into competition is aptx. That both costs money and is sometimes unavailable. Again, talk about counterintuitive.
@techsinger Yup, + I can use my keyboard under my blanket without lag and yeah, connectivity issues. It's just as you said, much more stable. Impressive, but hey I can't complain really. Love it. I wanna try to get Sound Remote started up automatically though, when I need it or something. Maybe through a keystroke. Because atm, I always have to fall back to NVDA Remote for the first minute or so to configure stuff, like unlocking the PC and opening Sound Remote.
Personally, I disable automatic locking for my home machines. It helps that I don't have a monitor and I trust my people completely, but even if it were just no monitor, I would forget about locking. I haven't used sounddRmote yet, but do have Sonobus on win+2 which launches it and connects it to the group automatically. All I have to do is hit win+2 and then launch SB to get sound. VH is automatic for the keyboard and if the display is plugged into the phone, it uses that as well. The only time I have to start up is after a reboot, and that's just because I'm lazy, I could very easily have SB start on boot.
A full list of changes from the previous release (version 165) is available through the Git commit log between the releases (only changes to the gmscompat_config text file and config-holder/ directory are part of GmsCompatConfig).
GmsCompatConfig is the text-based configuration for the GrapheneOS sandboxed Google Play compatibility layer. It provides a large portion of the compatibility shims.
This update is available to GrapheneOS users via our app repository and will also be bundled into the next OS release.
Hey @FreakyFwoof sup! I was told via brother @cordova5029 that you had a soundfont you've made? I wanted to see if it'll be good to use in the tracker I work with? Also putting this here to gage interest on old hardware disks and stuff out there, I have some old Korg DSS1 disk if anyone wants em.
Guess an #introduction is in order. Not sure I ever did one for my first instance, whoops.
Hi, my name is James an I've moved from an instance that is closing down soon.
I'm absolutely queer but working a boring office job in Germany, trying to remind ppl at work that personal data needs protection and that genAI came fresh out of pandora's box and does not belong in their daily job.
In my free time I #write fic, #draw digital art and #read a lot of books, mostly #scifi. I play a handful of computer games like #GW2. I watch a lot of tv shows and love Star Trek and Doctor Who.
I love #space, #nature, #cats and #photography (although my photos are just taken with my phone). I post them mostly on my Pixelfed account.
Guess that's it for now. I probably forgot a lot of stuff that people write into introductions, but feel free to ask x)
re #lastboost, this is why limiting access to accessibility services on Android is so necessary, so is preventing istallation of non-Google-approved apps.
Intel 471 reports FvncBot, a new Android banking trojan targeting Polish users via a fake mBank security app. It abuses accessibility services for keylogging, employs web injects, screen streaming and HVNC, and has a new codebase not tied to leaked source codes. intel471.com/blog/new-fvncbot-…
Google commemorated this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities earlier this week by publishing a blog post in which the company detailed “7 ways we’re making Android more accessible.
I have developed a fool proof system to not forget clothes in the washer at night
1) turn on lights in laundry room 2) load clothes 3) forget about both clothes and light 4) at bedtime, husband sees light on downstairs and furiously demands to know why lights have been left on 5) as husband starts to stomp off to turn off lights yell “oh while you’re down there can you switch the laundry?”
Provided to YouTube by Symphonic DistributionMy Last Fantasy · SpritelyLife's Not A Novel (but I sure want it to be)℗ 2023 SpritelyReleased on: 2023-01-27Pro...
Have you ever had to call someone by your own first name? My first name is very rare, so I’ve only met one person with the same name in my whole life, but I’m curious about other people’s experiences. I also wonder about people in romantic relationships that have the same first name. That must feel weird 🤔 I just read something about being around people whose name is your deadname and how that’s a surreal experience. That’s so interesting!
Boosts and comments are welcome 🤗
I’ve had a relationship with someone with my name (2%, 4 votes)
I’ve had friends with my name (37%, 63 votes)
It’s happened sometimes (46%, 79 votes)
I’ve never called anyone by my own name (20%, 34 votes)
My name is neither particularly common nor particularly rare. I've had classmates who shared my first name back in primary school, and that was a very annoying experience. I never knew whether I was the one called.
I'm really happy with the progress FLOSS communities have had over the past 3 decades in the kind of environment they foster. For the longest time they were spaces where "got good"/RTFM/PEBKAC was the abrasive default mode of communication between themselves and specially newcomers and that permeated down to the documentation and the software itself. Some places remain like that, but the Cambrian explosion of projects has led to alternative spaces, to the point where I'd say the places where being consistently a dick to each other is acceptable are now a minority. As an small anecdote that remains seared in my mind and I find representative, as a tech curious young lad I was scouring every bit of open source documentation I could find to learn. I recall reading GNU documentation that kept talking about the Meta-key. I could never figure out how to AltaVista what the hell that was, and it was of course not mentioned anywhere that it was "old-speak" for Alt. The mailing lists looked intimidating, specially when I saw how people treated each other, so I never asked there. Eventually I muddled with getting RedHat and Slackware that came with some magazine installed but would get stuck on gettting my winmodem to work. I never felt I could actually "be part" of the open source space, until Ubuntu came out, sent me CDs to share in school, with a more "meet people where they are"/"welcoming" attitude.
The two slogans which have done the most to destroy democracy and freedom in the United States: "Make America Great Again" and "Vote Blue No Matter Who."
Slight clarification about my last post... This only really applies to those of us who had purchased Mona Pro in the 6.x release cycle, not Mona Pro Max. The App Store guidelines I cited still apply, but the clarification needed to be made here.
I’ve been diving into the Mona 7 upgrade controversy, specifically the requirement for Mona 6 Pro users to buy a "Bridge Upgrade" to Pro Max ($10) in the old app just to unlock the *privilege* of buying the Ultra One-Time Purchase ($20) in the new app.
While a developer is absolutely allowed to release a new App ID and charge for it (that is standard practice), this specific "Bridge Purchase" mechanism appears to violate Apple's App Store Review Guidelines in two critical ways.
If you are frustrated by this, here is the technical breakdown of why this flow is likely non-compliant:
1. Violation of Guideline 3.1.1 (In-App Purchase Mechanics) The core rule of IAP is that purchases must be for content/features *consumed within the app*.
Guideline 3.1.1 states: "Apps may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality... Apps and their metadata may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase."
By forcing users to buy an upgrade in Mona 6 (App A) specifically to unlock a price tier in Mona 7 (App B), the developer is effectively selling a "coupon" or "license key" for a different app. * The $10 spent in Mona 6 is not primarily for Mona 6 features (since the user is abandoning that app for Mona 7); it is a fee paid in App A to modify the behavior of App B. * Apple historically rejects apps that sell access to other apps. The "Loyalty Discount" should be native to Mona 7 (e.g., detecting the Mona 6 receipt), not gatekept behind a fresh paywall in a deprecated binary.
2. Violation of Guideline 2.3 (Accurate Metadata & Misleading Terms) This is the "Bait and Switch" clause.
Guideline 2.3.1 states: "Customers should know what they’re getting when they download or buy your app... Don’t include any hidden or undocumented features in your app."
When users bought Mona 6 Pro as a "One-Time Purchase," the reasonable expectation was a perpetual license for that major version. By creating a *new* tier (Pro Max) and retroactively declaring it the *only* tier eligible for future loyalty benefits, the developer has obfuscated the value of the original purchase. * Forcing a user to upgrade a "dead" product (Mona 6) to access the "live" product (Mona 7) is a "Junk Fee" structure that confuses the purchase flow and misleads users about the true cost of the upgrade ($11.99 original + $10 bridge + $20 new app = $41.99 total, vs the advertised $20).
The Bottom Line: The developer has every right to charge $20 for Mona 7. They do NOT have the right to force you to spend $10 in Mona 6 to "unlock" that button.
If this flow remains, it sets a dangerous precedent where developers can tax users in legacy apps to gatekeep access to new ones. The "Loyalty Offer" should be available to *all* paid Mona 6 users, or the upgrade path should be handled entirely within Mona 7.
The similarities between #accessibility and #cybersecurity continue to amaze me. These are both areas of standards, recommendations, legal precedents etc. that SHOULD, in theory, give companies the tools, as well as the insentive, to do what their clients/customers need them to do. Is that the reality? Sadly, often, no it isn't. I just saw a renowned voice in the cybersecurity space repost a post that essentially states that if the infraction is cheaper/more lucrative than the fine, companies will choose the fine every single time. Frustrating, innit?
So what if I say the exact same thing is true for #accessibility and that the majority of GUI-based cybersecurity tools are not #accessible enough to be productive?
Here's a callout to #cybersecurity vendors. Are you going to fix this, or be a hypocrite? :) #tech
This is actually good to know as I was thinking about switching my major from CS to cyber, don't think I'll do so anymore, though. I like CS fine, and I'm doing well, at least according to all my professors lol, but I find the theoretical stuff not super interesting.
@ZBennoui Oh it's perfectly doable with a bit of elbow grease I would say. A lot of tools are commandline which, while not necessarily efficient out of the box, does dodge around some of the UI issues, and yet others are web-based which means one can get quick at them with a bit of practice, but there's also scary Legacy Java UIs that ...kinda work but are not exactly pleasant to use. I'd say if youre not passionate about it you probably won't have a great time, but if you are, it is certainly learnable/doable and quite fun once you get good at it :)
oh for F's sake! Damn it, I need to switch to Linux only devices including my phone. Years of them saying "Don’t be evil" has turned lets show them how evil we can be.
that's why I always have two devices, one for work and one privately. And in my company, if I have a work-managed device, bring your own device, I have to sign a document that they have the right to wipe it entirely and to surveille it to a huge extent.
> once they’re on your phone, they’re decrypted and available to anyone controlling the device. A company controls your device. Encouraging that using the appropriate language is starting to catch up with the mainstream, it's just a shame that they're 30 years late @rms #stallmanwasright
I don't think people are ready for what's coming: Bots that look and talk like real humans, which can actually control things in the real world. Imagine the unbelievable mess it's going to create in our society when we can't tell who is real anymore. We need to be thinking about these problems now, because the technology isn't far off. I've already had conversations that were in the "uncanny valley" where I wasn't sure if who I was speaking to was a bot. Those came and went, replaced by ones that actually crossed over the valley and sound real. Next up: "live" video.
TruGen AI delivers hyper-realistic Video Agents that see, hear, remember, and act in real time - transforming conversations into natural, human-like interactions. Scalable, secure, and API-first, it adapts across industries and languages.
do you think millennial or gen Z leaders can build on the legacy of the civil rights movement and build a better world, or will expectations keep being diminished?
the good thing, definitely (50%, 4 votes)
the bad thing :( (12%, 1 vote)
maybe a big rock will hit the earth instead (37%, 3 votes)
Tough scroll for FOSS this morning, something shady going on with Calibre, something shady going on with SyncThing, something shady going on with F-Droid, it's almost as if free software has a functional society as one of its dependencies and none of this shit works in a social environment where people are emboldened to be arseholes
If you want to learn how not to write dialogs in a SciFi show, watch Invasion. All characters are eqully brain dead, and their only purpose is to make idiotic moves and talk about their feelings ad nauseam with a lot of dead air in between.
Big brands and petrochemical corporations keep selling the public a convenient and comforting story to hide the hard truth: they simply have to STOP PRODUCING SO MUCH PLASTIC.
but working a boring office job in Germany, trying to remind ppl at work that personal data needs protection and that genAI came fresh out of pandora's box and does not belong in their daily job.
and Doctor Who.
Angela Korra'ti
in reply to Angela Korra'ti • • •This is getting a bit more traction than my posts usually do, so hi, people reading me, a bit more context for my being pissed off about Calibre putting AI into its feature set:
I am an author. I've released work with Carina Press, and I've released work on my own. My released work is on record as HAVING BEEN STOLEN BY OPENAI, and I am in fact one of the many, many authors who've had to file claims on the settlement with Anthropic.
So I am not kidding when I say I don't want that technology, technology which HAS STOLEN FROM ME, anywhere near a program I use. ESPECIALLY the program I've used to not only manage my ebook library, but even perform format conversions on my work to prep it for sale. /1
Angela Korra'ti
in reply to Angela Korra'ti • • •"Oh, but they're unobtrusive, you don't have to use the features if you don't want them" isn't good enough. My baseline is "I don't want that crap in programs I use AT ALL". Period. Full stop.
So I will for the foreseeable future remain on Calibre 8.10, the last known version to have no AI features in it whatsoever. And if an AI-free competitor eventually shows up, I am prepared to transfer my ebooks into a new manager if I have to.
Am I extremely fucking salty about this? YES I AM. Because, again: THIS TECHNOLOGY STOLE MY WORK and that of countless other creatives all over the world. And it's insulting and infuriating to me to see it creeping into each and every corner of my daily computer use no matter how much I DO NOT WANT IT. /End