Here's Everything You Can Do With the Ports on Your Monitor
There is more to life than just HDMI, that's for sure. It is well worth reading this linked article before buying any new monitor or graphics card.
Something interesting I learnt is that with DisplayPort there is the possibility of MST or Multi-Stream Transport where you can daisy-chain multiple monitors together with DP cables using only a single port on your GPU.
Also, it's important, as it is with USB-C cables, to get HDMI cables that match the version of HDMI that the monitor supports.
See https://www.howtogeek.com/heres-everything-you-can-do-with-the-ports-on-your-monitor
#technology #monitors
The RingConn Gen 2 may be a good subscription-free alternative to the Oura ring
A battery life of 10 to 12 days is pretty good (in reality it may only get 7 days), with a battery charging case providing an additional 150 days of power! But that is still longer than the Oura ring. Costing less than an Oura and also being subscription-free are more positives.
It does apparently sync data to Google Fit, but not to Strava. So I'd be sure to check properly what services it syncs to. Today, the ideal is to sync to the global Apple Health and Google Health Connect services.
I'd certainly not consider buying a ring with a monthly subscription payment, so next time around I'll be comparing this ring with the Galaxy Ring and other similar contenders.
#technology #health #smartring
WeatherSpark offers detailed reports of the typical weather for 145,479 locations worldwide
The Weather Year Round Anywhere on Earth. Climate reports with the weather by month, day, even hour. Great for event and trip planning!
This site does not give actual daily weather reports, but gives a more detailed view of the climate for every city. It will give a good idea of what sort of weather to expect if you are planning on travelling somewhere in future. It can also do a comparison between two cities.
There is a toggle on the navigation bar to switch to metric values.
See https://weatherspark.com/map
#technology #weather
8 Tiny Utilities to Make Your Linux Experience Even Better
Some quite useful utilities here to:
* prevent the screensaver coming on
* adjust screen colours for night or low light
* hide the mouse cursor when inactive
* passing data through a UNIX pipe
* a powerful filter tool for reading and searching lists
* have multiple copy buffers
* add intuitive trackpad gestures
I have noticed though on KDE that there is a Clipboards Content icon by default on the toolbar, and you can quickly copy a few different snippets of text, and then by just clicking on each one it will put it back into the buffer for quick pasting. So, in this way you can copy a login ID and then password, go to another page, and paste them one after the other.
See https://www.maketecheasier.com/tiny-linux-utilities
#technology #Linux
An NVMe drive is giving me 700% faster performance than my previous SATA SSD drive
I just upgraded my main boot drive on my Linux desktop, from a 120 GB SATA SSD drive to a 500 GB NVMe SSD drive. Whilst it is true the Crucial CT120BX100SSD1 SSD was not the fastest SSD around, it shows a rating of max of 6Gb/s through the SATA interface. I'd expect many users also have slightly older SSD boot drives as well. Even though they are faster than spinning hard drives, the NVMe interface blows the socks off the SATA interface.
The NVMe drive that I just fitted is a Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500 GB drive. It's not the world's fastest drive either, but sitting on the NVMe interface it is clocking a bit over 7x faster than the older SSD drive on the SATA interface.
The NVMe drive is showing a sequential read speed of 3,523 MB/s compared to 464 MB/s for the SATA drive. Sequential write speeds are 3,124 MB/s compared to 180 MB/s. Both tests were run using KDiskMark.
#technology #SSD #NVMe
Use FilePizza App to Send Someone a File Without Using Any Cloud Storage
“FilePizza isn't the only application like this. There's p2pfileshare.com and sharedrop.io, to name a couple. FilePizza stands out because of the simplicity—just share a file and copy the URL—and because it has a unique URL. These links only work as long as the computer is on and the browser window offering the file is open. Without a cloud service, it's on your device to share the file with whoever might download it. Close the tab, and the file is gone.”
What is good about this app (as the article also says, not the only one that does this) is there is no uploading of your file to any remote service, and once you close the browser, the access to the file is gone. The best part is just having to remember the domain name and that is really all — no accounts, no login, no installations, no complications.
See https://lifehacker.com/tech/file-pizza-sends-file-without-using-cloud-storage
#technology #filesharing
Photography Sim Games are now a Thing too
I was just watching demos of two photography sim games, supposedly launching officially in 2025. But what stood out for me was that both involve walking through the wilderness in some really stunning scenery, and taking into account all the normal environmental variables and technical camera challenges, you need to capture the photos.
So no rushing, racing, or shooting is required.
“The in-game camera includes an abundance of settings that you’d expect from a real-world professional DSLR camera. The camera simulates settings such as Auto/Manual Focus, Flash, Exposure, Contrast, White Balance, Aperture, Burst Shot, and other effects for full creative control over your photography. The game further provides tools that allow for manipulation of the environmental conditions for your photos, such as manual adjustment of light angles, fog, snow, wind, and rain.”
The two games I looked at are:
* Lushfoil Photography Sim at https://annapurnainteractive.com/en/games/lushfoil-photography-sim
* Photography Simulator at https://www.madnetic-games.com/photography-simulator.html
These look really relaxing, and it's also a great way to practice some skills before setting out in the real world to try to capture these types of scenes.
#technology #gaming #photography
GIMP 3's New Features Make the Best Free and Open Source Image Editor Even Better
“Among the biggest changes is nondestructive filters. Previously applying filters, such as blurs, was final—you could use the undo function to get back to a pre-filtered state, but you couldn't simply edit or remove the filter. You can now tweak the settings of filters, or even remove filters entirely from the layer panel.”
The UI scaling is a lot better now, but I still struggle a bit with the interface, trying to find what I want to use. So I set a few tweaks and must say it looks a bit easier for me now.
I included a screenshot with this post, but I set the Icon theme to Default (mine was on Legacy) and disabled the Use symbolic icons toggle. I toggled on the merge menu and title bar, and toggled off the Use tool groups. The last setting just makes it easier to scroll over all those icons to see what does what.
See https://lifehacker.com/tech/best-new-features-in-gimp-3
#technology #opensource #GIMP
PeerTube 7.1 Expands Podcast 2.0 and Apple Podcast Support
For those who don't know PeerTube, it is an open source decentralised alternative to YouTube with many of the same features. But importantly it also integrates with the Fediverse so anyone from Mastodon, Hubzilla, Friendica, etc can follow a channel on PeerTube and like and comment on the videos, all from the social network they call their home.
“Recognizing that many people like to listen on the go, PeerTube has improved its support for Podcast 2.0 standards, ensuring creators can distribute and manage their shows more efficiently. Even better, these upgrades now enable channels to be submitted directly to Apple Podcasts, provided the channel owner has added the required banner, avatar, and description.”
See https://linuxiac.com/peertube-7-1-decentralized-video-platform-released
#technology #opensource #decentralised #PeerTube
These 6 myths about gaming on Linux just aren't true (except one)
For many (like myself) I had to dual boot into Linux years ago mainly because my higher end games did not work on Linux. As far as word processing and most other things, those all worked OK on Linux from way back already.
But with Steam Games I found that Euro Truck Sim 2, Read Dead Redemption II, Assetto Corsa, SnowRunner, etc were all working fine for me on Linux, and my full transition was just fine.
So if gaming is what still holds you back, this linked article may put some myths to rest for you. It's true there may be some specific exceptions still, but for most users, Linux should just be fine nowadays as far as gaming goes. Yes, some of the latest Adobe products may still not work on it, but Adobe is pricing itself out of its market for non-professionals anyway.
See https://www.xda-developers.com/these-myths-about-gaming-on-linux-just-arent-true-except-one
#technology #Linux #gaming #myths
There is a lot of good news to be found outside of your social media feeds
Contrary to what often gets surfaced in social media feeds, and many newspapers too, there is actually a lot of good news going around. Unfortunately, good news does not sell well at all, and it is usually clickbait headlines causing rage or anger, that seem to draw attention.
It is for this reason that some social networks make a point of pushing these posts into people's feeds so that it increases engagement and drives comments etc. They design algorithms that analyse what buttons can be pressed to drive engagement and thereby surface posts that will do this driving.
The alternative is a cleaner chronological feed just based on who you follow, and when they posted. These users may have a more positive experience depending on who they follow.
Which is why many want to break away from watching traditional news channels and legacy social networks. There are actually many places dedicated to positive and uplifting news.
Some are websites like:
https://www.optimistdaily.com/
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/
Whilst some are focussed Subreddits such as:
https://www.reddit.com/r/goodnews/
https://www.reddit.com/r/UpliftingNews/
Fediverse https://kglitch.social/m/positivenews
Fediverse upliftingnews@lemmy.world
Bluesky also has two curated feeds called 'Positive News' and 'Uplifting and Good News'.
To make this easier, you could also install or use an RSS reader which will bring various sources to you in one place, without all the distractions of visiting the various sites.
There is also a hack at https://www.howtogeek.com/how-i-use-reddit-to-stay-on-top-of-the-news/ which explains how to cobble a couple of different positive news Subreddits into a single feed to follow.
#technology #positivenews #goodnews
‘Critical concerns’ about internet of things security
“GlobalData’s Internet of Things report outlines that the fragmented security standards landscape and the weak security of many internet of things (IoT) devices could hold back further adoption of the technology. Furthermore, it suggests that existing IoT deployments could become a security risk due to the current state of affairs.”
Way too many IoT devices have no real security (they don't get updates and patches, they freely call out onto the Internet, sometimes have no login security, use weak security standards, etc).
It's partly because they are cheap devices and do not adhere to any strict security compliance.
So whilst many users have a firewall turned on for their router, that usually only blocks incoming traffic. These IoT devices can still freely establish links with the outside world, and if compromised, could end up creatinga bridge to everything else on the LAN behind the firewall.
Which is why I went to quite a bit of trouble to isolate my IoT devices onto their own VLANs. If you do not have the hardware to configure VLANs for them, at least ensure they are connected to your guest network, and that the guest network is isolated from the main LAN network (there is typically a toggle setting for that).
See https://www.verdict.co.uk/critical-concerns-about-internet-of-things-security
#technology #security #IoT
I always try to cable as many devices as possible apart from the phones and some wireless only devices. I have one extended AP but it is wired back to the main switch
RCS Universal Profile 3.0 will fully encrypt texts between iPhone and Android
“RCS messaging has been a hot topic of debate over the past couple of years, with Google leaving no chance of mocking Apple for refusing to adopt it — until it finally did with iOS 18 last year. However, Apple’s version of RCS came with a major catch: it lacked end-to-end encryption (E2EE), unlike what you’ve used on Android through Google Messages. That’s about to change, and it’s great news for your chats with iPhone users and mixed group chats.”
What is quite obvious is that Google has rushed this implementation a bit. There is nothing wrong with wanting to have had this in place a year or two back, but the sad part (in my opinion) is that Google does not seem to have thought this out properly with regard to decentralisation and interoperability.
It needed to have E2EE (in this day and age) and it could not just be Google managing the world's messaging, so it needed to allow for functionality across more than just a centralised service.
Give the state of the USA and the UK around “backdoors” there will also be global concerns around how secure the service will be if the servers are hosted inside the USA or under the control of a US owned organisation. Also, will the service continue to be available if a trade, or other, war breaks out.
Yes, I know everything is better than SMS, but still the design process is the chance to get all this right.
But despite this, I'm happy to see RCS moving forward, and I'm hoping it fully replaces SMS at some point in the future for business notifications, and can be a common standard (versus all the different messenger services we see today, of which everyone is not on all the services).
See https://www.androidpolice.com/rcs-encryption-between-iphone-android-coming-soon
#technology #RCS #messaging
An SSD docking station is a great idea to easily utilise replaced SSSD drives
This is an interesting idea to use those SSD drives that you may have upgraded, because if an SSD drive is left for too many months without being plugged in, it can lose its data.
This is an easy way to plug one or more in and use it for ad-hoc storage.
It is true that a USB-C connector may have got much better speeds, but I suppose a USB-A connector provides maximum compatibility.
#technology #SSD #storage
OPNManager is a beta version Android app for the OPNsense firewall
OPNManager is a streamlined, user-friendly application designed to simplify the management of OPNsense firewalls. Built with Tauri and SvelteKit, this cross-platform app provides an intuitive interface for users who need a more simplified alternative to the standard OPNsense web interface.
It is not an official OPNsense mobile app but will use the OPNsense API to allow a user to view and manage some basic dashboard functionality.
The dev is trying to get enough testers together (see on the r/opnsense Subreddit) and then the app can appear as a beta testing app on Android's app store.
But if you look at the GitHub site you will see an Android APK release, as well as Linux releases including an AppImage so far.
See https://github.com/Red-Swingline/OPNManager
#technology #OPNsense #opensource
It's Already Worth Downloading the Mobile Epic Games Store
“Google makes a bunch of its money through in-app purchases and virtual microcurrencies. Pay-to-win mechanics may be atrocious, but it's good for Google's bottom line. The more intrusive a game's monetization is, the more money Google stands to make. The Epic Games Store mobile app may be available for both Android and iOS (the latter only in the EU), but Android needs it more.”
Apart from some free games, it is an interesting point made that Epic has more interest in providing quality games and not from profiting from ads in low quality games.
More options for users is also a good thing.
See https://www.howtogeek.com/its-already-worth-downloading-the-mobile-epic-games-store
#technology #gaming
Homebrew Traffic Monitor Performs Useful Traffic Surveys
“How many cars go down your street each day? How fast were they going? What about folks out on a walk or people riding bikes? It’s not an easy question to answer, as most of us have better things to do than watch the street all day and keep a tally. But at the same time, this is critically important data from an urban planning perspective.”
Certainly could be an interesting project to build (I suppose any local authority would pay a fortune for someone to provide this for them normally).
It can run off a Raspberry Pi, and it does process the data locally which is good for privacy.
See https://hackaday.com/2025/03/11/homebrew-traffic-monitor-keeps-eyes-on-the-streets
#technology #traffic #RaspberryPi #opensource
Windows Has a Hidden Software Package Manager
“Installing a bunch of applications at once on Windows can be annoying. Linux users have long used package managers to accomplish this with far greater ease—as have some Mac users. Using a package manager, you can type a single command to install as many different applications as you want. And, it turns out, Windows comes with a package manager. It's called Winget.”
I just wonder then why this is such a well-kept secret in the Windows world. I suppose, though, many users just accept the status quo, because without having tried other OS's, one is really not going to know that the status quo is not the best that there is.
What used to happen on my Windows laptop was, as soon as I wanted to run an app I had not used for a while, it would tell me on start up that it needed to be updated (very irritating). Updates are best done as soon as they are released, as many are also security patch updates.
See https://lifehacker.com/tech/windows-has-a-hidden-package-manager
#technology #windows
Over 360,000km on one battery — South Africa’s highest mileage electric car
“By the time the car had covered over 300,000km, the pack still had well over 80% of its original capacity available.”
Well, there goes that theory that batteries won't last very long. Ironically enough, it has been the petrol-powered range extender engine that has given the most trouble.
If anything, this car really appears to have racked up very few running costs, actually.
#technology #EV #southafrica #batteries #environment