Twitter now blocks visitors from viewing tweets, profiles unless they're logged in: No longer usable then for blogging publicly
https://mashable.com/article/twitter-force-visitors-login-view-tweets-profiles
Twitter has now begun locking visitors out of the platform unless they're logged into their account. Visiting any Twitter page other than the homepage without being signed in will automatically forward users to a page where they can login or set up an account on the platform. Visitors cannot view any user content without logging in.
The unexpected move from Twitter started rolling out on Friday. There has yet to be any official announcement from the company.
So, no more using it as your blog for the broader public to return via the link to read your posts (like I always used it for my 31,700+ tweets). It will also break links from search engines that have long referenced important news events or announcements.
That said, I've my engagement on Twitter drop through the floor over the last year. It is basically irrelevant for me today. I post the same content across about 17 networks and by far my highest engagement (every day) is on Mastodon and Friendica (bot of which almost daily have new followers).
But Twitter, Reddit, etc can do what they want to (they are privately owned) and I suppose whatever happens will just play out in its natural course. It's going to be very interesting to see how the news media reacts to this limiting of their posts...
#technology #Twitter #socialnetworks
Cape Town libraries have free access to Overdrive or Libby eBooks as well as over 7,000 local and international newspapers via PressReader
Apart from the above there is also online access to African storybooks in English, isiXhosa and Afrikaans, Fundza literacy learning, SA curriculum for homeschooling, ISET publication for careers in IT, and more.
It is really good to see libraries catering for online and remote access in modern times. I see too our local library will be celebrating their 100th year of service next, after starting out in May 1924 from the premises of a private home shortly after the suburb was established and the first houses were built.
Free online access such as this brings really easy access to all residents, who just need an Android or iOS device to access a rich variety of learning and news.
I remember many years ago when I first got the PressReader app, how I wished there was easier, more ready access to it. But back then libraries, by us anyway, were not really up to date and e-books were not on their horizon at all. I remember then still visiting a library in person and having to navigate the Dewey catalogue system of cards in order to actually find the book on the shelves, and hope it was not checked out already. Today, there is little need to travel to the library unless you want to use the free computer resources or get person-to-person assistance.
#technology #libraries #learning #CapeTown #SouthAfrica
The Verge's greatest nonfiction tech books of all time: They are all about the intersection with humanity, not about technology itself
https://www.theverge.com/c/23771068/best-tech-books-nonfiction-recommendations
All the books are nonfiction, yet none are actually technical. They are about how computers have affected humans and their culture in various ways, whether it was through games, algorithms, social networks, corporate CEOs, and more.
Interestingly, some also look at how computers have changed the way humans interact with other humans through spam, their intellectual property, how celebrity creators come into being and are destroyed overnight, etc.
Very sad to say that of the 40 books listed, I've only read one, and that was The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier by Bruce Sterling. But I can say this book had a profound impact on me. So I'll certainly try to read a few more from this list.
#technology #reading
Proton launches its password manager Proton Pass: But you may still want to consider Bitwarden for these reasons
https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/28/proton-launches-its-password-manager-proton-pass/
The company plans to open source Proton Pass so that security experts can verify the security model. There will be security audits, security reports and a bug bounty program as well.
Credit card autofilling would be useful too. But the basic version of Proton Pass is free with support for multiple devices.
Users can also get a premium subscription, which includes unlimited email aliases instead of 10 and the two-factor authentication feature I mentioned earlier. It will soon also include the ability to create shared vaults so that users can safely share passwords with family members and friends. If you’re already a Proton subscriber, the premium features for Proton Pass are included in Proton’s Unlimited and Family plans. Otherwise, the premium version of Proton Pass will cost $2.99 to $4.99 per month based on the subscription length.
Even for me as an existing Proton VPN paying member, I'd have to pay up $4 per month for the unlimited tier to get paid access to Proton Pass. I'm paying around $1 per month currently for open source Bitwarden password manager.
Both have unlimited password capability and are cross-platform, but Bitwarden does also already have credit card filling as well as also vault sharing.
What Proton Pass includes in its paid model is the unlimited email aliases. For Bitwarden, it will only generate unlimited email aliases for an existing email address you have (with the plus addressed mail), or using your domain's catch-all email, or link to other paid email alias services. And of course with Bitwarden you can self-host a full service yourself if you wish to.
But if one was to just consider the free tier for both password managers, then Proton Pass may be an equally good choice (once it gets credit card form filling).
#technology #ProtonPass #passwordmanagers
Brave aims to curb the practice of websites that port scan visitors: Great idea, but will a normal user know what 'localhost resources' are?
The Brave browser will take action against websites that snoop on visitors by scanning their open Internet ports or accessing other network resources that can expose personal information.
Starting in version 1.54, Brave will automatically block website port scanning, a practice that a surprisingly large number of sites were found engaging in a few years ago.
Some sites use similar tactics in an attempt to fingerprint visitors, so they can be re-identified each time they return, even if they delete browser cookies. By running scripts that access local resources on the visiting devices, the sites can detect unique patterns in a visiting browser.
My only worry is that an average non-tech users is not going to firstly know what localhost resources are, and secondly what impact that may or may not have on their using that site.
Localhost resources are files or resources that are hosted on your local machine. They can be accessed by websites (if not blocked) or applications that are running on your computer, but they are not accessible from the internet.
If you block a website from accessing localhost resources on your computer, it will no longer be able to access files or resources that are hosted on your local machine. This can help to protect your computer from security risks, such as malware or viruses. However, blocking a website from accessing localhost resources may also prevent you from using certain features of the website. For example, if you block a website from accessing your database files, you may not be able to log in to the website or use certain features.
Ultimately, the decision of whether to block a website from accessing localhost resources is up to you. If you are concerned about your security, then blocking websites may be a good option. However, if you need to use certain features of a website, then you may need to allow the website to access your localhost resources.
So the takeaway is: Blocking by default will protect you, but some aspects of a website may break, and if you need to access those for a site you consider safe, then you may have to consider granting access.
#technology #privacy #bravebrowser
Google Wallet will soon let phones without NFC (budget phones) make in-store payments with QR codes
https://www.androidpolice.com/google-wallet-soon-let-phones-without-nfc-make-in-store-payments/
The feature will launch in Brazil first, allowing Android users to pay through their debit or credit card by scanning a QR code displayed on the payment terminal. Since most smartphones in Brazil do not ship with NFC, adding QR code support for payments will help Wallet expand its reach.
The GPay app available in India already allows users to pay by scanning a QR code. So, Google is essentially bringing a GPay functionality to Wallet, which should hopefully expand to other countries sooner than later.
I did notice in South Africa some banks also offer QR code payments via their own banking app. But it is good news as it does help reach those who cannot afford to pay for high-end phones, and then they miss out on contactless, and cashless, payments.
#technology #banking
$99 ESPBoy Turned Into Functional Walkie-Talkie
https://hackaday.com/2023/06/27/espboy-turned-into-functional-walkie-talkie/
The ESPBoy was first built as a hackable open-source game engine and handheld console for educational purposes. However, it’s also a platform that can readily support all kinds of other uses. You can even turn the humble handheld device into a working walkie talkie.
The build relies on adding a SA868 transceiver module to the ESPBoy, along with a microphone, speaker, audio amplifier and antenna as supporting hardware. It then relies on the ESPBoy’s existing screen and buttons as a user interface for the radio. Assembled appropriately, it can then be used as a very basic and barebones walkie talkie for voice communication.
The ESPboy is open-source (most software is under MIT license) and open-hardware (CERN license) project, and is a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics [STEM] learning platform which encourages and enhances creativity, imagination, and ingenuity through project-based learning and reverse engineering. ESPboy is ideal to learn game development, internet of things, start programming, understand how gadgets work, and try robotics basics all with the community help.
#technology #opensource #radio #ESPBoy
New Second Life Mobile App Preview Shows Off Greatly Improved UI, Graphics & Avatar Rendering -- Aiming For Late 2023/Early 2024 Beta Release
https://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2023/06/second-life-mobile-ios-android-preview.html
Yes, some long existing metaverses do still exist without Meta. Second Life has been going so long that it preceded much of the mobile phone boom, and has probably lost out on growth due to not having a good mobile app. Previous efforts had not been that successful, but it does now look like they have something that is working quite well, and today's phones also have a lot more RAM and CPU power than 5 or 10 years ago.
There is also a video demo at the linked article below, that shows it in action.
#technology #metaverse #secondlife #virtualworlds
An Android phone, running Linux and modified openpilot software, can do basic self-driving of a car
https://mankaran32.medium.com/hacking-my-android-phone-to-drive-my-car-9ea98c30e91b
The car is a research vehicle of a local university, where they fitted custom motors for controlling steering. The Redmi Note 9 Pro phone is communicating via a wireless CAN bus interface to the Suzuki Alto car.
This is really more a proof of concept than a serious commercial solution, but the code is open source (link in the article), so one can see how it works... and it does actually drive the car.
#technology #selfdriving #opensource
Cheat allows you to create and view interactive cheatsheets on the Linux command-line
https://github.com/cheat/cheat
It was designed to help remind *nix system administrators of options for commands that they use frequently, but not frequently enough to remember. The next time you're forced to disarm a nuclear weapon without consulting Google, you may run: cheat tar and quickly get some examples to jog your memory.
The project gives a couple of options to install it, but I was able to just click to install from AUR and no setup was needed at all. I see there is also a Snap package for those who use Snap.
#technology #opensource #Linux #cheatsheet
Guide to lossless audio: Everything you need to know from a smartphone user perspective
https://www.xda-developers.com/lossless-audio/
Remember the good old days of Walkmans, iPods, and CD players? Or even before that, when vinyl records were played on turntables? Now that was true lossless audio. It's essentially audio that's presented in its purest form, exactly as the artist intended for it to be heard. A lot of those dedicated music players, however, have become obsolete now as people started turning to smartphones and music streaming services to listen to music. Modern-day solutions offer a convenient way to access huge libraries of music from anywhere at any given time. But this added convenience, as you'd expect, affect the overall quality of the music.
Most of the music we listen to these days is heavily compressed to save space on our devices or consume less mobile data while streaming. This compression can significantly degrade the audio quality. If you wish to listen to music in its highest quality, just the way artist intended, lossless audio is the answer. But what is lossless audio anyway? Is it significantly superior to MP3 and other compressed audio formats?
#technology #streaming #music #audio
The Top 7 Ways You Can Use Google Bard More Effectively
https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-use-google-bard/
To use anything more efficiently, it always helps to understand first what it can actually do, and then to understand how to use it. This linked article helps explain both of those concepts.
The article also provides a few examples of how you can use Google Bard. For example, you can use Bard to:
* Summarize articles or blog posts
* Provide catchy headlines or titles
* Write emails or letters
* Translate languages
* Generate creative content, such as poems, programming code, or scripts
* Answer your questions about a variety of topics
* Provide activities or itineraries for places you're travelling to
* Proofreading
* Data analysis of paragraphs of text
#technology #AI #GoogleBard
GloboNote - a feature-rich, free and open-source sticky notes application
It is a Java-based app that runs on Windows, Linux and macOS that provides an amazing amount of rich text formatting options for sticky notes, auto-roll up notes, protection and encryption of notes, alarms, colours, attaching images or files, and much more. Although you could use it for organising masses of notes into groups and subgroups, it really shines at having quick reference notes, checklists, to-do list and reminders readily available on your desktop.
#technology #GloboNote #opensource #stickynotes
Manjaro and EndeavourOS Are Both Arch Based, But There Are Some Big Differences
https://www.howtogeek.com/896410/why-i-hopped-from-manjaro-linux-to-endeavouros/
This was an interesting read, and even though I'm still on Manjaro Linux, I see now it is much closer to Arch than Manjaro is.
It's a good point being made that Manjaro's slight delaying of their package updates, can sometimes break dependencies when those dependencies are updated ahead of the actual Manjaro packages.
In fact, with EndeavourOS being so much closer to Arch, it is actually overall more bleeding edge on updates than Manjaro, so for those wanting just a friendlier GUI Arch itself, this may be the one to go for. On DistroWatch I see EndeavourOS listed as number 2 (with Debian-based MX Linux as number 1 across the board).
#technology #opensource #Linux
Liftoff! is one of the first dedicated Lemmy apps
https://github.com/liftoff-app/liftoff
Quite a few Reddit app developers have committed to producing apps for Lemmy, and this seems to be one of the first ready for use. Mobile apps may well give Lemmy a better look-and-feel for many.
Only download for many is that it requires the build process to be run before using it. I'd hope they can at least publish the APK on the F-Droid store for Android.
#technology #Liftoff #Lemmy #opensource #Reddit
How to Choose the Best RAM for Your PC: Takeaway is heatsinks on RAM are usually not needed
https://www.howtogeek.com/896250/how-to-choose-the-best-ram-for-your-pc/
As always How-To Geek really comes up with some excellent practical advice on what to really consider when choosing RAM modules.
There is nothing wrong with heatsinks, but don't let that be your deciding factor unless you're going to seriously overclock your machine.
#technology #RAM
Cosmic rays could help us get around indoors, underground, and underwater: Has some pros and cons vs GPS
https://www.freethink.com/hard-tech/navigation-system
No, it's not an April Fools' Joke (which is what I thought at first reading). “Cosmic-ray muons fall equally across the Earth and always travel at the same speed regardless of what matter they traverse, penetrating even kilometres of rock,” said researcher Hiroyuki Tanaka.
It certainly bypasses any attempts to spoof it or jam it, and it has way better penetration than GPS, but it due to its nature, accuracy is only around 2 m to 25 m right now.
#technology #navigation
Kodi vs. Plex: Which is Best For You For Streaming And Entertainment?
https://www.howtogeek.com/887832/kodi-vs-plex/
If you’re looking for a way to stream or watch movies and TV shows, there’s a good choice you’re trying to pick between Kodi and Plex. Though both are solid choices, there are some notable differences that can help you decide between them.
Plex is a media server solution that runs in one location and is accessed using client apps, a web interface, or DLNA.
By comparison, Kodi is designed to run on your primary media centre computer or device but also includes emulators, games, and a richer suite of add-ons that connect to all sorts of 3rd party services.
#technology #Plex #Kodi #streaming #entertainment
Open-Source KeePassXC Password Manager Review
https://www.howtogeek.com/879987/keepassxc-password-manager-review/
All in all, KeePassXC definitely earns mention among the best password managers, though it comes with some sizable asterisks. The biggest one is that as an open-source product, it may be free, but it also lacks the polish of many industry leaders. As such, it’s not for everybody, though anybody that likes old-school cool will love it.
Yes, it's also not had any independent 3rd party security audit (but then again you download and use it locally on your machine). I'd certainly still benchmark it with either the free, or paid version, of open-source Bitwarden (which you can also self-host for free) which has some rich functionality as well as cloud sync across all devices.
#technology #opensource #passwordmanagers #passwords
Red Hat Enterprise Linux source code no longer available to the public: This effects various downstream distros based on it
https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/23/red_hat_centos_move/
Red Hat has decided to stop making the source code of RHEL available to the public. From now on it will only be available to customers — who can't legally share it. This is very bad news for downstream projects which rebuild the RHEL source code to produce compatible distributions, such as AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, EuroLinux, and Oracle Unbreakable Linux.
The core difference is that CentOS Stream is upstream of RHEL: it's what will become the next point release of RHEL. It's a sort of continuous rolling beta of the next version of RHEL. Alma, Rocky, and so on, and the former CentOS Linux, were downstream of RHEL: they were rebuilds from the same source code, guaranteeing perfect compatibility (and stability).
Red Hat is still "complying" legally with the GPL in that they do provide the source code to their customers, but that code may not be shared further by anyone else.
It does sound like there may be also a sort of workaround for the downstream distros, but it's not ideal. So we're going to have to see how they respond with their plans going forward.
Red Hat was acquired by IBM in 2019, and apart from this move, there have also been some lay-offs made at Red Hat (as with many other global companies).
#technology #opensource #RedHat #Linux