Capitalism is quietly erasing the idea of private property. All products are effectively becoming rentals, and the companies can revoke your right to use them whenever they feel like it. It's becoming increasingly difficult to actually own anything. Media is streamed, and devices are locked from the users.It's hilarious how all the things people were afraid of happening under communism are actually happening under capitalism.
So I was recently asked why I prefer to use free and open source software over more conventional and popular proprietary software and services.A few years ago I was an avid Google user. I was deeply embedded in the Google ecosystem and used their products everywhere. I used Gmail for email, Google Calendar and Contacts for PIM, YouTube for entertainment, Google Newsstand for news, Android for mobile, and Chrome as my web browser.
I would upload all of my family photos to Google Photos and all of my personal documents to Google Drive (which were all in Google Docs format). I used Google Domains to register my domain names for websites where I would keep track of my users using Google Analytics and monetize them using Google AdSense.
I used Google Hangouts (one of Googleโs previous messaging plays) to communicate with friends and family and Google Wallet (with debit card) to buy things online and in-store.
My home is covered with Google Homes (1 in my office, 1 in my bedroom, 1 in the main living area) which I would use to play music on my Google Play Music subscription and podcasts from Google Podcasts.
I have easily invested thousands of dollars into my Google account to buy movies, TV shows, apps, and Google hardware devices. This was truly the Google life.
Then one day, I received an email from Google that changed everything.
โYour account has been suspendedโ
Just the thing you want to wake up to in the morning. An email from Google saying that your account has been suspended due to a perceived Terms of Use violation. No prior warning. No appeals process. No number to call. Trying to sign in to your Google account yields an error and all of your connected devices are signed out. All of your Google data, your photos, emails, contacts, calendars, purchased movies and TV shows. All gone.I nearly had a heart attack, until I saw that the Google account that had been suspended was in fact not my main personal Google account, but a throwaway Gmail account that I created years prior for a project. I hadnโt touched the other account since creation and forgot it existed. Apparently my personal Gmail was listed as the recovery address for the throwaway account and thatโs why I received the termination email.
Although I was able to breathe a sigh of relief this time, the email was wake up call. I was forced to critically reevaluate my dependence on a single company for all the tech products and services in my life.
I found myself to be a frog in a heating pot of water and I made the decision that I was going to jump out.
Leaving Google
Today there are plenty of lists on the internet providing alternatives to Google services such as this and this. Although the โDeGoogleโ movement was still in its infancy when I was making the move.The first Google service I decided to drop was Gmail, the heart of my online identity. I migrated to Fastmail with my own domain in case I needed to move again (hint: glad I did, now I self host my email). Fastmail also provided calendar and contacts solutions so that took care of leaving Google Calendar and Contacts.
Here are some other alternatives that I moved to:
- Gmail โ Fastmail โ Self-hosted (via Cloudron)
- Google Contacts โ Fastmail โ Nextcloud Contacts
- Google Calendar โ Fastmail โ Nextcloud Calendar
- Google Search โ Bing โ DuckDuckGo
- Google Maps โ Bing Maps โ OpenStreetMaps and OsmAnd
- Google Analytics โ Matomo Analytics
- Google Drive โ Nextcloud Files
- Google Photos โ Nextcloud Files/Gallery
- Google Docs โ Collabora Office (Nextcloud integration) and LibreOffice
- Google Play Music โ Spotify / Plex โ Spotify / Jellyfin
- Google Play Movies/TV โ Plex โ Jellyfin
- Google Play Audiobooks/Books โ Audible/Kindle
- Google Play Store (apps) โ F-Droid / Aurora Store
- Google Android โ Lineage OS โ Ubuntu Touch on PinePhone (coming soon?)
- Googleโs Android Apps โ Simple Mobile Tools
- Google Chrome โ Mozilla Firefox
- Google Domains โ Hover
- Google Hangouts โ Matrix and Nextcloud Talk
- Google Allo โ Signal
- Google Podcasts โ PocketCasts โ AntennaPod
- Google Newsstand โ RSS
- Google Wallet โ PayPal and Cash App
- Google Voice โTing Mobile
Migrating away from Google was not a fast or easy process. It took years to get where I am now and there are still several Google services that I depend on: YouTube and Google Home.
Eventually, my Google Homeโs will grow old and become unsupported at which point hopefully the Mycroft devices have matured and become available for purchase. YouTube may never be replaced (although I do hope for projects like PeerTube to succeed) but I find the compromise of using only one or two Google services to be acceptable.
At this point losing my Google account due to a mistake in their machine learning would largely be inconsequential and my focus has shifted to leaving Amazon which I use for most of my shopping and cloud services.
The reason that I moved to mostly FOSS applications is that it seems to be the only software ecosystem where everything works seamlessly together and I donโt have to cede control to any single company. Alternatively I could have simply split my service usage up evenly across Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple but I donโt feel that they would have worked as nicely together.
Overall Iโm very happy with the open source ecosystem. I use Ubuntu with KDE on all of my computers and Android (no GApps) on my mobile phone. Iโve ordered the PinePhone โBrave Heartโ and hope to one day be able to use it or one of its successors as a daily driver with Ubuntu Touch or Plasma Mobile.
I donโt want to give the impression that I exclusively use open source software either, I do use a number of proprietary apps including: Sublime Text, Typora, and Cloudron.
scene: inside valhalla's brain.
home economy manager> I know that #InCoWriMo is near, but you can't buy new stationery until you've used up the one you have. Not even if it's cheap, you no longer have space to keep it
some other less wholesome part of me> making doesn't count as buying, right?
home economy manager> well, since you're using things you already had in the stationery bagโฆ
(I had a 2015 sponsored calendar together with stationery and other paper โin case I ever decide to do something with itโ)
Thunderbird calendar addon Year View is now in "(very) low maintenance mode".
It will not be updated to support TB68 or TB70.
As the readme says, I don't have time, resources and motivation to keep work on this.
I'm not really using this plugin anymore from a while now.
I'm using TB only on my office Mac, where I'm still on TB60 because 90% of the addons I need still doesn't work in a way or another on TB68.
Writing "Year View" was a quite painful experience: overall documentation was too old ad outdated or non existent. And that's only on Thunderbird/XUL side: I had to read and understand Lightning code because I couldn't find any other docs. Most of the code in "Year View" is an edited copy of Lightning code. There are also a number of ugly hacks.
From what I read in Thunderbird docs, if I manage to make this thing run on TB68 I will need to rewrite it anyway to make it run on TB70 (where my needed addons will not run anyway). I'm very sorry, but It's not worth the pain.
If you want a proper year view in calendar in the future, please bugs Lightning devs.
I'm tired of these dishonest diatribes trying to argue that Social Media provides no value to the world.Tell that to the grandparents who have been able to keep in touch with their grandkids on a daily basis instead of the way it used to be: whenever they could manage to get on the telephone or visit.
Tell that to the marriages that happened because people were able to connect.
Tell that to the businesses that started because people were able to easily network.
Tell that to the families split across the world who can keep in touch (like my wife's uncle and his family in Germany, who she would only ever see for a week every 5 years when they came back to the USA to visit)
We wouldn't be here if Social Media sucked. No, we just don't like the corporations extracting their own value from our lives. We're here because we want the power back, and we finally have the tools to do it.
finishes writing a letter.
looks at the calendar.
I guess it's time to start to work on the list of people I want to write to for #InCoWriMo (and to see if I have enough stationery, but I probably do :D )
About one year ago, my father gave me and @Diego Roversi a cheap laptop he had bought at a supermarket and found out it wasn't suited to his needs (plus it didn't have enough disk space to install the latest windows upgrades, or something like that, I don't remember the exact details).
We didn't really have a need for it, the only part that was potentially interesting (touchscreen and tablet mode) didn't work with linux, nor did the sound card, and overall the process to install linux on it made us discover how low quality the thing was, but we ended up using it to watch movies with an usb sound card.
Then the last time we tried to turn it on (to show a countdown for the new year) it didn't. Opening it revealed a dead battery. Glued down to everything else. And it didn't start without a battery connected. And when trying to unglue the battery it started to break, so my SO stopped before burning down the house.
At this step, #repair mode ended and scavenging for parts started, but most components were covered by the glued-down battery, trying to dismantle the screen resulted in cracked glass and the only thing we could save are two magnets and a handful of screws.
We didn't buy the thing. We didn't need the thing. We knew it was bad, but still this is irritating. Extremely irritating.
Fediverse in 2019 - Fediverse
The previous year for the Fedi reviewed.https://fediverse.party/en/post/fediverse-in-2019
#fediverse #federation #2019 #review
Also, welcome fediverse.party to #Feneas! ๐ค
OTOH, reading point 3 of the proposed solutions and comparing it with the place I'm getting my dependencies from (distributions):
For example, package discovery sites might work to find more ways to allow developers to share their findings.
check, there is room for improvement, but the principle is there and is being used
Build tools should, at the least, make it easy to run a packageโs own tests.
check
More aggressively, build tools and package management systems could also work together to allow package authors to test new changes against all public clients of their APIs.
check, as long as those clients are also available from the same source
Languages should also provide easy ways to isolate a suspect package.
this one isn't done, but the idea is that suspect packages don't get there in the first place. YMMV on what counts as suspect, however.
Dear fediverse,
does anybody know of instructions on how to light an oil lamp (the kind with vegetable oil) with flint and steel, and no matches (not even the old, non self-igniting, type with sulfur)?
I've found how to light fires (lots of resources), a couple of instructions on how to light candles that aren't going to work with a lamp, articles and videos about oil lamps in general, but nothing on the combination.
I can't believe that before the invention of sulfur matches people had to light a full fire (or ask some fire to the neighbors) in order to be able to light a simple lampโฆ
reshared this
Fire is the shared blood of community. You generally would ask some lit coals of a neighbor and carry them home in a jar ("to heap coals on their head") and light your fire from that. Lanterns etc were lit from a spill, straw, or noodle (spills preferred) because bootstrapping fire suucks. But if you must:
Charcloth or char moss on top of flint, striking w/ sparks that catch and glow, place lit cloth into tinder and blow into a flame, light the lantern from that.
Tarbuck Transom ๐น reshared this.
These days I'm re-reading a book on the history of math I had read ages ago.
The aim of the book is to present an overview of current (at the time it was written, in the 1970s, plus an appendix from the 1990s) modern math and it's pretty good at it (that's the reason why it was recommended to me when I was in high school and my math teacher found out I had plans to study math at the university).
Because of this, it is reasonable that it's skipping all math development from cultures that didn't have a direct influence on modern math: it claims so in the introduction, apparently recognizing that those developments were significant, just outside the scope.
But then, every. single. time. the author gives a judgement on something, it's cringeworthy. When the europeans in 1600 and 1700 developed calculus with no formal basis and without even recognizing the need for one it was liberating; when arabs did the same with algebra it was a lack of formal capabilities. No. just no. did you even *read* what you're writing???
Luckily, most of the book is maths and that part is enjoyable, I should just skip the end of most chaptersโฆ
@Charles Stanhope it's โMathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Timesโ by Morris Kline
(in an italian translation, and I've just realized that the original book only reaches the 1930s and the appendix written in the 90s that brings it a bit more up-to-date is from the italian editor. It was ages since I read it, and right now I'm still at the 1700s :) )
Bad picture is bad, but...
I didn't exactly lit a #fire, but at least I got some embers from #FlintAndSteel (I was indoors, so I couldn't light kindling)
I watched the following two videos to get from "one spark every 100 strikes" to "one spark every 5-10 strikes, and sometimes they even get on the char cloth" (sorry for the youtube links)
youtube.com/watch?v=CRR8fQbVYTโฆ
youtube.com/watch?v=3pzGMQkdeFโฆ
The big hints from those videos were:
* keep the flint at 45ยฐ to the striker
* if you're missing the flint often, you are using the right movement :)
I'd recommend following the link to read the full thread
Developer-driven software distribution is a bad idea, which is why I dislike things like Flatpak.Having distro maintainers involved in the process and installing your software from a free software distribution like Debian or FreeBSD is a much better distribution of power. The packages can be tuned to suit their environment without the developer having to repackage it for every distro, and the distro maintainers can keep out anti-features like telemetry and advertising.
The middleman may seem annoying to developers, but embrace the model and it'll work for you. Landing packages in your favorite distro isn't actually that hard, and the rest of the distros will follow. If you're an end-user who wants to see some software available for your distro, look into packaging and volunteer - it's easy.
like this
I don't see any technical reason why there couldn't be a trustworthy source of curated flatpacks, but wouldn't that be basically a distribution repository?
Yes, programs wouldn't have to be patched to work with different versions of their dependencies, but flatpacks would have to be regenerated every time a dependency has a security issue, so I'm not convinced it would be easier for the maintainers.
A20 and A64 OLinuXino OSHW Linux computers now got OpenElec / Kodi support olimex.wordpress.com/2019/11/2โฆ
Weโve been challenged by a group of amazing individuals and Private Internet Access to raise a total of $113,093 during this fundraising season -- renew or begin your Conservancy support today! sfconservancy.org/news/2019/noโฆ
Opening raw images with feh
Up to debian buster, feh was able to open the thumbnails inside my .cr2 files using Imlib2 directly; this has stopped working in debian bullseye, but I've found that there is a way to open them properly using dcraw: it only requires adding --conversion-timeout 5 (or any other suitable positive number) to the command line to enable the use of external programs.
so
feh 141140-img_5195.cr2
results into various errors including feh WARNING: 141140-img_5195.cr2 - No Imlib2 loader for that file format
while
feh9 --conversion-timeout 5 141140-img_5195.cr2
prints 141140-img_5195.cr2 is a Canon EOS 1100D image. and shows you the preview you wanted :)
And this shaves the neck of the yak, now I can proceed with the original task...
In the last few years I've been adding little boy blue and similar shades to my clothing (beside black, which remains the main me-colour).
Last week I suddenly realized that I โneededโ a #fountainPen ink in a similar shade., asked for recommendations on a forum and ended up buying two (online, looking at pictures, because I don't have a shop that keeps a variety of inks nearby :( ): Noodler's Polar Blue and Herbin Bleu Myostosis.
The Herbin is more periwinkle, which is not really me, but I love it and it's very me-playing-old-lady (only missing some lavender scentโฆ), and the bottle with a pen holder is very nice.
The Noodler's is a problematic ink, but the shade is just as I wanted (and I've managed to make it behave with #dipPens by adding some gum arabic: that's the sample in the middle of the picture).
Also, I've managed to open a Noodler's bottle without spilling ink everywhere, and I consider this a personal achievement :) (there is a reason why other producers leave some air in their bottlesโฆ)
And I would never give ink samples to friends with the subtle aim of starting an ink sample exchange and end up with even MOAR inks to try.
NEVER!
(sometime I just give ink samples with no other reasons :D )
I'm releasing the sources of the Pepper&Carrot eShop's product for #ThankYouPatrons day! Prepare your printer, transfer paper, sticker paper to hack, tweak and derivate your own DIY creation ๐ E-shop sources link: peppercarrot.com/en/static6/soโฆ
I'm hearing more people at coffee shops ask "Do you take cash?"Every time I hear it, I scream into my head, "What kind of world are were creating FFS where only people with access to the right technology can buy shit!!!"
I know of one restaurant in town that is cashless. They're completely fucking proud of it, how futuristic it is. And, honestly proud of how it keeps certain people out.
Know what's super futuristic? Technology that doesn't enable discrimination.
Of course, part of the reason for that is that people are terrible.
Holding cash on site opens you up to the possibility of being robbed, sometimes violently.
If people weren't terrible, that wouldn't be a concern.
It isn't all that though, there is, at least in Australia, laws stating you MUST be paid into a bank account (not cash) for your labour. That is the Tax Dept making sure they keep their fingers in your pie.
I live in a place where luckily armed robberies are rare (although extortion isn't, but that doesn't depend on the amount of cash kept on-site).
OTOH, places with a lot of cash flow do have ways not to keep too much inside the premises, at least not in a way where it can be accessed on demand (time-based deposit safes, people regularly moving cash away to a bank, etc.). Maybe it's helped by the fact that those who have that need really have a lot of money around (and thus can afford paying to keep it safe).
OTOH, since recently we also have laws that state that payments above a certain amount can't use cash, but at least that's quite above a typical restaurant bill, even for large groups.
> Bits were stored as sound pulses sent into a nickel wire, about 50 feet long. The pulses traveled through the wire and came out the other end exactly 5.5545 milliseconds later. By sending a pulse (or not sending a pulse for a 0) every 500 nanoseconds, the wire held 11,008 bits. A pair of wires created a buffer that held the pixels for 480 characters
That is so punk.
Your friendly 'net denizen
in reply to Elena ``of Valhalla'' • •Elena ``of Valhalla''
in reply to Your friendly 'net denizen • •it did.
except for the fact that we aren't going to buy a new one to replace it (but I suspect my father did).