I tried a Long-Form Content post for Nostr at Blogstack
https://void.cat/d/JUe1EKY3G96bps8vAzWDGi.webp
So it works, can be formatted and edited, but it does not show with clients only supporting the short text note standard. The client needs to have NIP-23 standard support.
#Nostr #Blogstack
Whoops I meant #Blogstack I have too many stacks, books, blogs, etc on my mind...
If Lemmy is not your cup of tea as an alternative to Reddit, maybe try open-source federated Kbin instead
https://void.cat/d/Amu7wECZVGKefdZnNw5Eon.webp
Yes, Reddit is going through its own API pains right now, and of course it is anyway a centralised social network much like Facebook and Twitter. So the discussion around alternatives has been coming up again.
Lemmy has been around for a while, its technology is good, and it federates via ActivityPub to the rest of the Fediverse. You can also host your own instance and set your own terms and conditions. Sounds ideal? Well, there has also been quite an under current of issues raised about Lemmy's devs (something political I gather, but I had more of an ongoing issue with one or two users doing on-topic trolling, so I left).
Well there is now Kbin. It has "magazines" which are similar to subreddits, or you can just post to the main feed. Other users can vote up or down, and comment etc. It also federates via ActivityPub, and I love the fact it can be self-hosted using Docker.
Kbin is a decentralized content aggregator and microblogging platform running on the Fediverse network. It can communicate with many other ActivityPub services, including Mastodon, Lemmy, Pleroma, Peertube. The initiative aims to promote a free and open internet.
The project page is at https://kbin.pub/, and it looks like kbin.social is one of their main instances.
#technology #alternativeto #Reddit #Kbin #socialnetworking
How to change app icons on Android: Useful if a service has multiple apps with obscure names, or just to change the look of the theme
https://www.androidpolice.com/how-to-change-app-icons-on-android/
I find this useful when social network services like Mastodon, PixelFed, Nostr, and Bluesky all have multiple client apps and many have pretty obscure names. I want to quickly click on, say Nostr or Bluesky, so I have changed the icons and names for the apps that I use for these services.
But just for icons sometimes you want to see icons that match the rest of your home screen, so there are quite a few reasons why you may want to do this.
Icon packs allow you to change all the icons to match a particular different theme you want to use.
#technology #Android #icons
Bluesky vs. Nostr vs. ActivityPub — Which Should Developers Care About More?
https://gadgeteer.co.za/bluesky-vs-nostr-vs-activitypub-which-should-developers-care-about-more/
Yes, there is quite a debate raging across different networks about what protocol to support. Obviously, those who know only one well, are going to root for that one, irrespective of whether it may be the best one.
From a dev perspective, where do you throw your efforts in from a perspective of the future growth of the protocol, and how flexible and free is that protocol going to be to new ideas and advancements. The "best" protocol also does not necessarily mean it will be the most successful, or the most adopted one, as we've seen all sorts of politics, misinformation, bad PR, etc play a role in the past (just see what happened to the Zot protocol which has nomadic ID).
From a user perspective, what network do you join and put all your creativity efforts into?
There is no easy answer, and some have even suggested, to get away from the entrenched positions, why not create a brand new protocol! But that has actually happened repeatedly already, and none ever took the "ring that would rule all rings". Client apps like Hubzilla and Friendica, of course, took the approach rather to support multiple protocols so that your one app connects across different networks. Maybe there is still something in that idea.
The Bluesky protocol may well be loosened up in future, and although ActivityPub is quite open (not owned by anyone), it is still actually quite limited in terms of not having profile migrations, groups, and other features. So yes, Nostr right now is probably the most open with devs registering NIPs (Nostr Implementation Possibilities), much like we also see with XMPP protocol's XEPs. It all comes down then, to what NIPs a particular client supports.
Personally, as a user, I still long for a fully interoperable protocol, one for instant messaging, as well as for social networking (or combined into one). Look at e-mail. It may be very dated, but it made no difference which service your joined (apart from the domain name you got) and it always connected to other e-mail clients, and it is not owned by any one company or central server.
But whilst we have this situation, I'm wondering if we won't see the emergence of some future "translation protocol" that will allow posts from XMPP to translate into ActivityPub, Bluesky, Nostr, etc, and go the other way too?
I do think users, at least, are starting to accept the situation of social networks going decentralised and federated, and are realising it is not so complicated to grasp. We've been spoilt and brainwashed too long by strong authoritarian centralised network services. If we don't demand more open and inter-operable social networks now, we are doomed to repeat the lock-ins of Twitter, Facebook, etc all over again. Then our friends can be on any network, and we can still interact fully with each other, like we've been doing with e-mail.
See https://thenewstack.io/bluesky-vs-nostr-which-should-developers-care-about-more/
#technology #socialnetworks #interoperability #openstandards #protocols
New Milk Stout from CBC craft brewery in Cape Town, South Africa
10 Common VPN Mistakes and Assumptions People Make
https://www.howtogeek.com/894286/10-common-vpn-mistakes-people-make/
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are a handy tool. But it’s all too easy to use them for the wrong task, misconfigure them, or otherwise make common VPN mistakes. Here’s how to avoid them and get the most out of your VPN service.
In most cases, it becomes a waste of money (or privacy) by not being aware of these issues. This is an easy-to-read article that just explains what these issues are, and what they mean. Nothing technical is required to address most of these.
#technology #privacy #VPN
But can enhance it through distance, convenience, time zones, disabilities, etc. Our world before phones for example was so small, requiring a horse ride if we just wanted to visit an adjacent village.
I managed to pay for my groceries with Bitcoin which was super useful too
@nossence #subscribe
DD-WRT vs. OpenWrt: Which open-source router firmware should you pick? Custom firmware on your router gives you more control and longer support than the stock firmware
https://www.xda-developers.com/dd-wrt-vs-openwrt/
Most of the best Wi-Fi routers give the average customer all the controls they could ever want with simplified access to wireless settings, QoS, and firewall settings making home networking tech more accessible to all. For those looking for a more open experience, more advanced and in-depth settings can be made available with an open firmware like OpenWrt or DD-WRT. If you want access to these extra features, however, you’re looking at a more complicated setup procedure and a lot more research.
Both OpenWrt and DD-WRT are completely free to download and use with access to stable and beta builds. OpenWrt is completely FOSS (free and open-source software) meaning that no company owns any part of it, so you can use it without any permission and if you have the know-how, you can even dig into the code yourself. DD-WRT makes a few concessions when it comes to being open-source to allow support for a wider range of devices, such as those running Broadcom chips.
Availability comes down to not only a specific brand of router, but the model and even hardware revision. Many routers will have multiple versions with slight hardware tweaks that don’t matter much, if at all, to the end-user with standard software, but can lead to issues when installing a custom Linux-based operating system (OS) like OpenWrt or DD-WRT. When you’re looking for router software for your hardware, make sure to note any version information. This can typically be found next to the model number on the bottom of the router.
It's true that these options don't necessarily support the very latest routers, but they do add masses of features to older routers. Also with ASUS routers they do already have lots packed in, and I actually opted to install the ASUSWRT-Merlin firmware which retains close compatibility with the ASUS firmware.
#technology #routers #DDWRT #OpenWRT
Millions of Gigabyte motherboards were sold with a firmware backdoor to invisibly and insecurely downloads program updates
Hiding malicious programs in a computer’s UEFI firmware, the deep-seated code that tells a PC how to load its operating system, has become an insidious trick in the toolkit of stealthy hackers. But when a motherboard manufacturer installs its own hidden backdoor in the firmware of millions of computers—and doesn’t even put a proper lock on that hidden back entrance—they’re practically doing hackers’ work for them.
Researchers at firmware-focused cybersecurity company Eclypsium revealed today that they’ve discovered a hidden mechanism in the firmware of motherboards sold by the Taiwanese manufacturer Gigabyte, whose components are commonly used in gaming PCs and other high-performance computers. Whenever a computer with the affected Gigabyte motherboard restarts, Eclypsium found, code within the motherboard’s firmware invisibly initiates an updater program that runs on the computer and in turn downloads and executes another piece of software.
Because the updater program is triggered from the computer’s firmware, outside its operating system, it’s tough for users to remove or even discover.
The problem, too, is that lots of other brands use the Gigabyte motherboards, and any update pushed to fix this, may also end up aborting due to the complexities of matching hardware and firmware.
#technology #vulnerabilities #Giagabyte
The Best Ways to Scan a Document Using Your Phone or Tablet: No Need to Buy any Apps
https://www.howtogeek.com/209951/the-best-ways-to-scan-a-document-using-your-phone-or-tablet/
On an iPhone or iPad, open the Files or Notes app and use "Scan a Document" to scan a document with your device's camera. On Android, use the Google Drive app to scan a document to your phone or tablet. (The Google Drive app works on iPhone and iPad, too.)
These existing apps actually do a very good job of scanning multiple pages, straightening pages, recognising the text, using existing storage, etc. There is no reason really today to go buy scanners or even 3rd party apps.
#technology #scanning #documents
Before E-Readers, a 1930s Writer, Bob Brown, Reinvented the Book With “Readies”
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/readies-1930s-e-book-invention
I suppose he was just way ahead of his time with his mechanical display, and of course then really cheap paperbacks killed off his idea. It's a bit like internal combustion engines killed off early electric vehicles. Sometimes time is needed to mature an idea and have the materials ready...
The early 20th century saw a revolution in entertainment. Connoisseurs of the arts no longer had to go to the playhouse to see dramas or the concert hall to hear music. Cinemas projected movie stars onto massive screens, and phonographs piped recordings of popular songs into people’s homes. Print books, however, were harder to reinvent. That didn’t stop one enterprising artist from envisioning the first e-book nearly 70 years before its time.
American writer Bob Brown was inspired to bring the written word into the electronic age after seeing a film in 1930. The visual medium was progressing fast, with “talkies” quickly supplanting silent pictures. He felt his medium of choice was falling behind in comparison. “We have the talkies, but as yet no Readies,” Brown wrote. “Writing has been bottled up in books since the start[...] It is time to pull out the stopper.”
His proposal continued with a description of what his so-called “Readies” would look like. Brown’s concept for the machine had many of the same advantages as modern e-readers. It would “allow readers to adjust the type size and avoid paper cuts” as well as “read hundred-thousand-word novels in 10 minutes” if so desired. Instead of e-ink, this would be accomplished by ribbons of tiny text that readers would scroll manually behind a sheet of magnifying glass. An ingenious combination of microfilm and ticker-tape machines, the device would be more cumbersome than a Kindle but still convenient compared to a personal library.
#technology #ereader #reading
Which Browser Offers the Best Privacy Protection? No, Google Chrome is not on the List
https://void.cat/d/P6Jmr287rdK5md82VJTeTq.webp
Each website visit yields valuable data, sold to marketers so targeted ads can follow us around the web — unless you’re using the right browser. But what’s the best browser for privacy? There are myriad options other than Chrome or Safari if you’re concerned about online privacy and security.
If you aren’t mindful of your browsing data, you should be. We use our browsers for everything from banking to social media to email to online shopping, and a lot of sensitive data gets shared. We should be mindful of where that information is going, who can see it, and how (or if) our data is stored.
Because our data is the main source of profit for big tech, they’re incentivised to collect as much of it as possible, which they then sell to advertisers. Marketers then target us with ads, which follow us around the web for days or weeks at a time. Privacy-focused browsers can cut most or all of that intrusive data collection out of the online experience.
Even with cookies blocked, browser fingerprinting can still create a snapshot of your online behaviour. In the wrong hands, that can be used to identify or impersonate you, even though companies claim to anonymise collected user data. Even if bad actors don’t get into your bank account, they may get enough info to commit identity theft.
The best browsers for privacy depends on your needs and know-how, but Firefox, Tor, and Epic all offer unique features and functions that will help keep your data private online. Test drive each to learn which is best for you and for which situations.
See https://www.howtogeek.com/892396/which-browser-offers-the-best-privacy-protection/
#technology #privacy #browsers
Chocolate and Gin tasting just outside Cape Town, and visited the CBC Brewery where craft beers are made. The chocolate is sold through Woolworths and the craft beer is found all over South Africa. Chocolate has no added sugar and much of it has no dairy milk, so no guilt there!
https://void.cat/d/t22KbSyjvPwVZsoB39MDJ.webp
https://void.cat/d/2GhNAAEMNu1X84Tn4AhhRc.webp
Thanks Ryan! Enjoying it already and actually loving the app UI's. A bit quicker too than Secure Scuttlebutt that I was used to.
Thanks it is looking very interesting here, and a good variety of topics too
