I blog about #technology #gadgets #opensource #FOSS #greentech #traditionalwetshaving #LCHF #health #alternativeto #hamradio (ZS1OSS) #southafrica - see https://gadgeteer.co.za/blog. I also blog to various other social networks which I list at https://gadgeteer.co.za/social-networks-i-post-to.

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Cake day: Sep 26, 2022

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Ah, see it now in results - never heard that before. We normally speak of toppings or stuffings.


It very much is, but British English so wondering if that was a US term


Thanks, no, I surrendered ;-) but still can’t figure out why that 6-letter word relates to potato specifically. Just not something I can really relate to potato specifically.


Nope I bombed out - no idea what the association of the 6 letter word was with potato


Good point on OpenPGP. I suppose I already do my mails with OpenPGP in Proton Mail (using my own key that is already uploaded). But something to keep in mind yes.


Seems it fits on a lanyard string from what I see of the other photos. A keyring is thicker and would put twisting force on it, yes. So, seems the lanyard type connector may be better for long term use.


The game has a theme word for each day, so keep that in mind when guessing the words. It is more challenging than Wordle because there are no hints apart from the theme word. So, if one of the words is 'landing' and you guessed 'land' there is no confirmation you're getting warm at all. How to play it: There are exactly four words hidden amongst the letters, and all letters are used exactly once. The words will always be between 4 and 9 letters long. Click on the letters (or type them on your keyboard) to spell a word. When you have a word you want to submit, click the "Submit" button. If the word is one of the daily words, it will be added to your found list of words. Find all four words as fast as you can! Each successful word is assigned a colour, so a red word will mean the shortest word is taken, so don't try to guess more words with that same length of letters. You can also click the Reshuffle button to rearrange the letters, which can help spark some ideas. If you're struggling, you can give up after at least 5 incorrect guesses. It also has an option to share your results by copying them to the clipboard to paste into whatever social network service you use. See https://jumblie.com/ #technology #gaming #puzzle #jumblie
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Token2 is an open-source Swiss FIDO2 security key that brings innovative features at a cheaper price
Token2 is a cybersecurity company specialized in the area of multifactor authentication. Founded by a team of researchers from the University of Geneva with years of experience in the field of strong security and multifactor authentication. Token2 has invented, designed and developed various hardware and software solutions for user-friendly and secure authentication. Token2 is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Don't believe what AI tells you, as they tend to generalise around past statements. Token2 is a good example of how newer challengers to the incumbents, like YubiKey, bring lots of innovation. For example, Token2 has the ability to store up to 300 passkeys, dual port USB-A and USB-C on a single device, FIDO2.1 with additional PIN, opens-source, etc. I also like the fact the device's firmware and management is in Switzerland and not within one of the Five Eyes countries. There are quite a few options, but their FIDO2 Keys page also has a selection wizard to help out. Whilst prices may be cheaper, depending on your country, shipping may cost a bit more. **UPDATE:** Token2 sent this clarification after posting: only the management software is open-source for the time being. The firmware (Java applet) is planned to be made available as open source for public security audit purposes, but the timeline is not yet clear. See https://www.token2.ch/ #technology #security #Token2 #authentication
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No they don’t have a central managed hosting, and that is the point they are making. It is intended for someone to host for their family and friends. There may be some hosting it at various places but no central list you can find them on. Those sites, of course, will federate with other Fediverse networks, but no-one will necessarily even know they are GoToSocial nodes.


Yes, but it is a bit unusual for a “beta” to be the stable version, when there is a such a thing as “stable”. Beta is normally taken to be a testing version, between alpha and stable releases. But it shows we can’t just go on our own assumptions about what alpha and beta mean.


Yes I think they’re meaning they’re still adding lots of new features possibly, but it is a bit confusing as I think of Alpha as raw and not production ready. Beta can be ready for testing with brand new features, and stable is usually production ready and all features already passed beta testing. I get it is for home use but still. Maybe they’re covering themselves legally, but then you can just say “use at your own risk”. It’s possible too they don’t have separate branches at all, and just add/update/fix the “alpha” version.


From their site: “It is already deployable and useable, and it federates cleanly with many other Fediverse servers (not yet all). However, many things are not yet implemented, and there are plenty of bugs! We foresee entering beta around the beginning of 2024.”. I would say it should be described more as beta by now from that description.

Gmail was in beta for many years whilst it was in production, and Meshtastic only has alpha and beta releases, with no “stable” release. I think some projects feel if they are still adding features it says in beta and never reall is in stable until they stop adding features. But yes they should actually iterate through alpha, beta, RC, stable. Not everyone does, though.


Let’s agree on newer. It is not even in stable release yet, and until this week I’d not even heard about it anywhere else.


Yes, as there is full control over what is exposed or mapped for the app including network ports, and future updates don’t get broken by inconsistent dependencies. I suppose if you run only one service on a machine and stick to standard ports for reverse proxying then maybe a binary install can be simpler. But if you want to install multiple apps ona server containers does become easier to manage and update.


Yes not “new” per se, but it is still in early Alpha release and mostly unknown to everyone. Nextcloud and most of the others have been around many years and have had iterative stable releases. I was actually on Mastodon since 2016 so GoToSocial is a lot newer at around 3 years. But yes point taken, “new” is not the best description.


They say it is less complex than Mastodon as well as lighter weight requirements. A Docker install is usually also easiest. So I’d say it is a better option to try for friends and family.


This service is still in Alpha release but is already deployable and usable, and federates with other Fediverse servers. However, there is no "main" instance you go to join. The intention really is that you host your own instance for yourself and a few friends and family. To this end, it is designed to be very lightweight and will happily run on a Raspberry Pi or even a $5/pm VPS. This is taking a very different approach from say Mastodon which has one main instance everyone could join, but then it sits with the issue that everyone joins there, and it becomes a bit "centralised". GoToSocial has been designed as lightweight for self-hosting, and also has a Docker image installation, so it makes it really easy for (and encourages) most people to host their own instance. It seems to also be focussed very much around privacy (defaults to unlisted posts) and permission controls (for example, you have an option to post to mutual-only where both people follow each other). Also, by hosting your own service you set the rules, and you are also your own admin. You can choose to turn off likes, replies, boosts, etc as well. Being your own admin also means you can easily adjust the post length as well. It does conform to the Mastodon API so apparently some Mastodon clients will also work fine with it. See https://github.com/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/ #technology #ActivityPub #GoToSocial
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We’ve not actually seen for sure that TikTok data is being passed to the Chinese government - supposedly the USA data is being kept separately. But we have certainly seen US data brokers gathering data from all over in the US and selling that on to any 3rd party (domestic government, as well as anyone else). Facebook has been caught more than once being in the business of leaking private data. I’m just surprised that the US gov did not leave this choice up to its citizens to choose on - the ideas of freedom of choice and speech seem to be rather dictated here now.

I’m just wondering if it is not more a case of the US gov has no control itself over TikTok (think US CLOUD Act) and this is what is irking them. I’m not in the US so one way or the other I don’t really mind. What I do mind about though is that TikTok does not sell out to a US company. We really don’t need one single country controlling all the mainstream social media platforms. US laws after all do not represent all of mankind, so some diversity is a good thing.

So I guess I’m rather for a “ban” than a “sell out”.


Wow nice!! Yes my issue seems to be touching a key next to where I should be hitting. So if I could even increase travel to register, I’m wondering if that would at least make my typing a bit better. Of course, there is no easy cure for dyslexic typing ;-)


Yes it is an excellent idea. I’d be interested to see tests done around how this travel distance maybe actually increases or decreases any key pressure at all.


Sort of in a way, yes, if you count there is some increasing pressure from the spring. But in reality, no, it is really based on the travel distance that can be adjusted. But you raise an interesting point for a future innovation, being more around actual pressure/resistance per key setting.


Bot, why would you summarise something that I already summarised as a human?


This Asus PC case monitors your dust filter so you don’t have to
Traditionally, one would have to periodically check the status of the dust filtering on a PC case, but that's not the case (pun intended!) with the Asus ProArt PA602. This chassis has a fancy infrared (IR) sensor behind the front-facing dust filter. Should this detect a set layer of dust covering the filter material, a small LED will illuminate on the side of the case. It's tastefully done. No alert on an LCD screen, no obnoxious sound. With this activated, you will know to clean the filter (and give the inside a quick air blast) next time the system has been shut down. Quite a thoughtful case, apart from having the dust filter warning, it also has wheels to move it more easily. But it does show also, is that even cases can innovate as well. I'd like to see more of these and maybe have the sensors also on the other dust filters (my case has one underneath as well), as IR sensors themselves are not very expensive to incorporate. See https://www.xda-developers.com/this-asus-pc-case-monitors-your-dust-filter/ #technology #cases #dust
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These keyboards rely on magnets and springs and activate by sensing changes in the magnetic field. Popularized by Dutch keyboard startup Wooting, these switches rely on the Hall Effect and have actually been around since the 1960s. You can change how far you need to press down to register the keystroke, as well as for the release point. The one thing you can’t change, though, is the switch’s resistance. Despite all the talk of magnets, that’s still handled by the spring inside the switch, after all (for the moment, until the xyz is released). But interestingly, this also means with temperature differences, you may also have to "calibrate" your keyboard. The price point for the Akko MOD007B PC Santorini keyboard at around US$110 to $150 is certainly not more expensive than many mechanical keyboards. See https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/07/magnets-are-switching-up-the-keyboard-game/ #technology #keyboards
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Hope I don’t have to pay for audiobooks I don’t listen to because that’s a waste. Spotify should just stick to what they do OK which is music. I’ll stick to music only.


I think it’s why many decentralised platforms don’t want very big instances, and prefer them to split off into smaller federated sites.


It’s often not the cost of the software, but the hosting costs, especially on a growing platform.


Yes, it could be that, and may explain why the Nazi images came out like they did. But it sounded more like to me, Google was forcing diversity into the images deliberately. But sometimes that does not make sense. For general requests, yes. Otherwise they can just as well decide that grass should not always be green or brown, but sometimes also just make it blue or purple for variety.


That is really just not relevant at all to the discussion here, but to satisfy your curiosity, I’m busy building a Lego model that a family member sent me, so the generated AI photo was supposed to depict someone that looked vaguely like me building such a Lego model. I used Bing in the past, and it has usually delivered 4 usable choices. Fact that Google gave me something that was distinctly NOT what I asked for, means it is messing with the specifics that are asked for.


Sometimes you do want something specific. I can understand if someone just asked for a person x, y, z and then gets a broader selection of men, women, young, old, black or white. But if one asks for a middle-aged white man, I would not expect it to respond with a young, Black women, just to have variety. I’d expect other non-stated variables to be varied. It’s like asking for a scene of specifically leafy green trees, then I would not expect to see a whole lot of leafless trees.


Yes, but it does not really matter what the rest of the prompt detail was? The point was, it was supposed to me an image of me doing an activity. I’d clearly prompted for a white man, but it gave me two other images that were completely not that. Why was Gemini deviating from specific prompts like that? Seems the identical issue to the case with the Nazis, just introducing variations completely of its own.


It’s not just historical. I’m a white male and I prompted Gemini to create images for me if a middle aged white man building a Lego set etc. Only one image was a white male and two of the others wrecan Indian and a Black male. Why when I asked for a white male. It was an image I wanted to share to my family. Why would Gemini go off the prompt? I did not ask for diversity, nor was it expected for that purpose, and I got no other options for images which I could consider so it was a fail.




Not sure what you mean by management, or which aspect of management? The issue was more about acceptance of community enhancements through the open source code project. Some contributors felt they could move faster with more diverse enhancements. It may be something like the LibreOffice fork from OpenOffice, where some wanted to just move faster with changes.


Atuin replaces your existing shell history with a SQLite database, and records additional context for your commands. With this context, Atuin gives you faster and better search of your shell history! Additionally, it provides optional and fully encrypted (E2EE) synchronisation of your history between machines, via an Atuin server, or you can self-host your own server. There is a single command to easily delete your data from the server too. It supports zsh, bash, fish, and nushell shells right now. The search is as easy as pressing the up arrow in the terminal and then scrolling back, or typing to search. But you could also type something like this to do a search [search for all successful `make` commands, recorded after 3pm yesterday atuin search --exit 0 --after "yesterday 3pm" make]. Atuin offers configurable full text or fuzzy search, filterable by host, directory, etc. As it has context around dates, times, exit code, and even the directory location form where a command was executed, you could use the -c flag to just search for commands run in a particular directory. The sync function allows you to have the same history across terminals, across sessions, and across machines. There is a quick start script that can be run to install it, otherwise you can also install from the various Linux repos. For manual installation, the steps I found to get going were: * Install Ble.sh and add it to your .bashrc (or other shell) file * Install Atuin and add it to your .bashrc (or other shell) file (after Ble.sh) * Restart your shell and run 'atuin import bash' to import my bash history into Atuin * Press up arrow to see if Atuin interactive search triggers The link below has some good documentation as well a link to their source code. See https://atuin.sh/ #technology #Linux #opensource
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Mbin is a decentralized content aggregator, voting, discussion and microblogging platform running on the fediverse network. It can communicate with many other ActivityPub services, including Kbin, Mastodon, Lemmy, Pleroma, Peertube. It is an open source alternative to other link aggregator services like Reddit. The initiative aims to promote a free and open internet. Mbin is focused on what the community wants, pull requests can be merged by any repo owner (with merge rights in GitHub). Discussions take place on Matrix then consensus has to be reached by the community. If approved by the community, only one approval on the PR is required by one of the Mbin maintainers. It's built entirely on trust. It seems it's claim to fame is being more open and accepting of community changes and improvements. It can install as either bare metal/VM or as a Docker container. Although anyone can install it and self-host it, their project page also contains a link to various instances that already exist and which anyone can register on. See https://github.com/MbinOrg/mbin #technology #opensource #Fediverse #linkaggregator #decentralised
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You should only see who you follow. For example I put zero on Nostr about crypto. My interests are general tech.


Thanks for that extra info - yes not much of that detail was on their site. Nostr has been around a bit longer I use it daily (amongst other networks) and it seemed the most similar network to Polycentric that I’ve seen (the philosophy). I did a video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mSyMCJlSwA about Nostr, but right now there is not that much to get me excited enough about Polycentric yet.


I've not done an in-depth look at this network but reading through their documentation shows it has a lot of similarity to the basics of the Nostr protocol and network. There is just not as much information available on the Polycentric site as there is already for Nostr. Nostr is also censorship resistant, with distributed relays doing the relaying of posts (Polycentric calls them servers). Both use public-private key cryptography, with every post being cryptographically signed. Both networks also have the ownership of the identity managed by the end client (no-one can delete a client on either network), and those profiles can be used across devices. And whilst basic posting looks very similar (microblogging type format, and is limited to 280 characters) this is also where the differences lie. Nostr has likes, whilst Polycentric only shows boosts (reshares) and reactions through commenting. The Nostr protocol is also an extensible one, which means it has new NEP standards added by various people to go way beyond just blog posts. So, it also already provides full length text posts (like Minds uses), events, link aggregation, and more. Polycentric servers have a moderation API control built-in (non-recommendation vs non-storage) whilst Nostr does not have this, and it is left to individuals to block or mute a profile. But the recommendation feed is a nice touch on Polycentric to help new users find recommended content. Both networks allow anyone to host these servers/relays. But if privacy and censorship resistant networks are what you're into, then both Polycentric and Nostr are worth having a look at. See https://docs.polycentric.io/ #technology #socialnetworks #privacy
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A broader context given at https://cleantechnica.com/2023/12/03/adding-context-to-that-consumer-reports-electric-car-reliability-report/

Consumer Reports also grouped powertrains together when discussing reliability, which is where some issues start to appear. Apparently, EVs suffered 79% more problems than gas-powered vehicles. That will undoubtedly lead to shock headlines, but it’s also misleading, Autoblog says. Most EVs are new to the market, which goes back to the cliché mentioned earlier. There are also a lot fewer make/models availability, meaning that simply averaging all models together will result in a few bad apples skewing the results.


Apart from the Apple Watch (which became a door stopper when I moved back to Android) I’ve not had a lot of success with really good accuracy on watches. I actually opted to get a Polar H10 chest strap, and it is really super accurate. I usually live monitor the data on the Polar app on my phone (and it uploads to Strava, and then to Samsung Health), or if I’m outside I pair my Samsung Galaxy Watch to it with the Sporty Go! app so it shows on my watch.


Choosing a single letter name was a marketing disaster. Elon is truly clueless when it comes to people and social. Even worse when X implies Ex anything.


Reddit’s big claim to fame is having results show up in Google searches. Removing it would probably hurt Reddit (and to some extent Google). I’m just hoping that enough content gets indexed by Google for Lemmy and similar sites, as the best content creators don’t just reside on Reddit.



There’s no mention though in the linked article that Richard actually thinks this? Both XMPP and Nostr are extensible. Nostr saw accounts linked to a server as weakness, and therefore went with many relays (any of which can be used).

But as also mentioned, Richard is actually very active on Mastodon today. ActivityPub is not the best protocol around, but it is now a W3C standard and seems to have more popular uptake than both XMPP and Nostr (Nostr having the excuse that it is very new still).

BTW I’m active daily on XMPP, Nostr, Mastodon, IRC, and many more, so have no particular stake in any one.


Thanks, I see now it is actually more a migration option for some supported extensions, I’ll see if I can update the post accordingly. The title they gave was a bit misleading.


In a major update towards cross-browser compatibility, Firefox users are set to enjoy the benefits of importing Chrome extensions (note this is really part of the data import/migration from an existing Chrome browser installed, just for extensions that are already supported, and not installing from the Chrome web store), thanks to a new feature unveiled by Mozilla. This is a big deal because it brings us one step closer to having more compatibility between browsers. Mozilla has been working on making extensions easier across multiple browsers, and this new feature is currently being tested. Best part? It’s already available to all users of the latest stable version of Firefox. Firefox itself actually has quite a few excellent extensions that you don't find on Chromium based browsers, so I'm wondering whether Google will be responding with importing Firefox extensions into Chrome? But I'm not holding my breath at all. See https://debugpointnews.com/firefox-chrome-extensions/
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India, the world’s largest smartwatch market, is getting new smart rings by BoAt and Noise, similar to Oura but likely cheaper
Tech giants such as Apple, Samsung and Huawei have long focused on the wrist. It’s not the most comfortable option for everyone, and it can be challenging to maintain precise tracking through the wrist. Ensuring that your smartwatch fits snugly to obtain accurate data is crucial. A smart ring can be the great solution, however, provided you have the right size. A finger has access to arteries, which a smartwatch could not reach, Mohit Kumar, founder and CEO of Ultrahuman, which counts iSeed, Steadview, Nexus Venture Partners and Blume among its key investors, told TechCrunch. “If you go to any medical grade pulse oximetry devices, you put it on your finger. You don’t put it on your wrist. That’s primarily because this is a much better source of data,” he said. Khatri of Noise agreed with Kumar and said the data available through a finger is way higher than a device can get from a smartwatch. Launching smart rings from BoAt and Noise is expected to bring competition to this nascent space. The products are not yet launched, but the R&D and work commenced over a year back. Another positive sign is that it is unlikely that the data will sit behind a subscription pay wall (as Oura's latest ring has). I've been pretty impressed with my Oura ring, but it was very costly, and they did send me a replacement ring just after the warranty expired as the battery was suddenly giving out. So I may be keen to test one of these new Indian rings out when they are available. So I'll be watching this space closely. More competition in the market, especially from India, is going to be good for consumers. See https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/13/smart-rings-india/
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Google has announced several key changes to make its search platform safer for users by giving more control to South Africans (and other countries) over what personal information appears in results. The internet giant said that it is bundling a host of new features that will allow users to remove their personal information from search and tackle explicit material posted without consent. Google said that it is implementing major updates to this tool, making it easier for users to remove their personal contact information from Search. The tool will proactively monitor the web for results containing users’ contact information and enable immediate removal requests. Users will also be notified when new results appear containing their contact info. Why this is also positive, is that it can also be difficult to get information removed from actual websites which are in many different countries. So being able to also just remove the indexed link, does help quite a bit as there is no longer something pointing most users to that information associated with you. So will this be possible with DDG and Brave search too? I know some may decry the freedom of search is being encroached here, but it should also be remembered that it does often happen that the private information being published is also not legal. Just today, when testing this out I discovered my private cellphone number published (I know from the wording with it, that it was obtained from very likely a banking or insurance source, and my permission was not given for it to be published). In many countries, the right to privacy is also entrenched in their laws. The right to know does not usually override the right to privacy that individuals have. See https://businesstech.co.za/news/internet/709098/4-big-changes-coming-to-google-including-removing-personal-information-and-images-from-search/ #technology #privacy #search
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Value your health by keeping track on your training. It records as you go running or walking, and gives you a bike computer with a bigger screen for cycling. You can even mark interesting locations along your way with pictures. The app keeps recorded statistics in great detail for analysis. It also has voice announcements, and supports Bluetooth LE sensors for heart rate (Polar, Wahoo Kicker/Ticker, moofit, Mi Band 3, Amazfit Neo, Garmin HRM, and more), speed and distance (running and cycling), cadence (cycling), and a power meter (cycling). It measures altitude gain/loss via the phone's barometer sensor. You can export data without any restrictions, as tracks either as KMZ (incl. photos), KML, or GPX. It requires no Internet access, or extra permissions, and there are no adverts nor in-app analytics. You share only the data you want others to have. It can be installed from the Google Play Store, but also from the F-Droid store, with all Google services excluded. It is not aiming to be a direct competitor to Strava because there is no public website, and also no iOS app. Strava's website does help create more of a social and peer pressure type motivation for many, across both Android and iOS users. But OpenTrack is focussing more on preserving privacy by not using such a service, although one can import the recording into other apps and share from there. Regarding iOS, well the app is fully open source, so maybe someone could consider compiling it for iOS if the dependencies are not an issue. See https://opentracksapp.com/ #technology #fitnesstracker #health #OpenTracks #opensource
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According to the International Water Association (IWA), the main culprits for this loss are underground leaks on water mains and service pipes. To monitor leaks in water pipeline networks, researchers at the Polytechnic University of Milan have experimented with a novel method using fibre optics — the inexpensive and commonly-used technology that allows us to have fast internet at home. The scientists developed a distributed fibre optic sensing (DFOS) cable based on the so-called Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) technology, which enables the processing and storage of optical information. This is a staggering amount of water lost daily, and it's not just the drinking water itself, but for local governments it usually also means lots of lost revenue. In South Africa, we've seen the crazy situation where a city is being flooded by rains, but there is a shortage of drinking water. But the reason is simply due to problems with the delivery of water, even though dams may be full. It is good to see research not only focusing on putting billionaires on Mars, but also trying to solve real-world challenges facing billions of humans on Earth right now. Water is our most precious and essential resource here on Earth, and although we may see much of it, only a very little is actual drinking water, and that water needs to reach people every day for them to survive. It would be great if this fibre could be both used for this detection, and at the same time, also provide Internet access. See https://thenextweb.com/news/fibre-optics-answer-to-water-loss-leaky-pipes #technology #fibre #waterleaks
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The app was written in Python and started out for the HP-45 (ROM is included) but finally included also the HP-35 and the HP-80, as well as three others. For macOS and Windows you could just run the included executables, or with the Python code, this will run fine on Linux if you have Python installed. Nice thing is that you can also modify or tweak the Python code if you wish. As she states, this is not a "how to learn HP or RPN" but there is a lot of included online help, and the original HP manuals are available online. What an amazing resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the inner workings of these legendary calculators. See https://sarahkmarr.com/retrohp1973.html #technology #opensource #Python #HP1973 #HP45
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I rediscovered this weather app again (for Android and iOS) and am quite amazed that it now has a 4.9 out of 5 rating on the Google app store, and 5m+ downloads just on Android. Weather forecasting is just never going to be 100% accurate but I do like that this app presents a forecast view from a number of forecasting services so that you can best compare them. The widgets are also the most customisable that I've seen with font size adjustments, icon type, and a good selection to choose from. The weather page itself is also customisable to quickly see what you most want to first. I was pleased to see it does accept, and works fine with, a non-precise location. It is also ad-free and there is an option to share some info, but it is defaulted to off. They work on donations via PayPal for once-off donations (nice to have that option), or monthly via the Android or iOS app stores. The app is Japanese based so hopefully data is safe from the US NSA, but they do state they are not selling data to any 3rd parties. They do seem to be handling privacy according to best practices. They claim their feature is actually the "wow" weather photos you see, and they also offer a marketplace to sell your own weather photos via their market. See https://weawow.com/ #technology #weather #weawow
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The new BMW Motorrad ConnectedRide smart glasses integrate the familiar BMW head-up display technology found in its cars. They project data such as navigation, speed or selected gear directly into the rider’s field of vision in real time. They are designed for comfort and fit numerous helmets and face shapes. The lithium-ion battery enables up to 10 hours of operation and BMW Motorrad supplies two sets of certified UVA/UVB lenses with the frame. I remember a helmet also having something like this a few years back, and I'm not sure if it is still around. This, being a BMW product, probably means it is solid and works well, but also means it's going to cost €690 (ZAR14,202). Having navigation directions also visible does mean your expensive phone need not be sitting exposed on the bike's dash (which in South Africa can be a brave thing to do). See https://www.timeslive.co.za/motoring/news/2023-07-11-bmw-smartglasses-help-bikers-navigate-with-head-up-display-technology/ #technology #motorcycling #BMW #HUD
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Lemmy instance for amateur radio enthusiasts
All things amateur radio at this instance. So if you're interested, you can follow from any existing Lemmy instance you're at. I see the following communities already there: - Amateur Radio at [!amateur_radio@lemmy.radio](https://lemmy.radio/c/amateur_radio) - Lemmy talk - Homebrewing - Digital Modes - Rag Chew - CW Talk - Weekly Net - Macs in the Shack - VHF+ - SOTA - Shack Pics - POTA - DMR
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Most people agree that Social Media is broken and that we need to find new solutions. Max DeMarco embarked on a journey to find out more about a new invention called NOSTR. This is his documentary about that journey and his interview with key players. I've actually been on Nostr myself a few months (and did my own video about it). As with most alternative networks, you see who you put in your feed. Watch at https://youtu.be/aA-jiiepOrE
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I like devices that are not locked into an OS ecosystem (Apple, I'm looking at you!) and although I already have a Fitbit Aria scale, it gets thrown out when my wife stands on the scale with a pet, to get the pet's weight (you weigh yourself, hold the pet, and then work out the difference). Having a built-in pet/baby mode is actually really useful. But Withings also has some other interesting features like Eyes-Closed mode, Athlete mode, Pregnancy mode, etc apart from all the usual smart scale measurement features. And of course it will sync to Apple and Google/Samsung Health, and Strava or MyFitnessPal. Thankfully the Withings+ subscription is not needed for any of the above functionality, so I may seriously consider buying this scale. See the review at https://www.howtogeek.com/894214/withings-body-smart-review/ #technology #weight #Withings #smartscale #health
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How to Download Your Reddit Data and have full text search of it offline
Reddit has a form where you can request a copy of your data. The process can take up to 30 days, after which you will get a private message on your Reddit account with a download link. The data comes in the form of CSV files that you can open using Microsoft Excel or any text editor. If you’d rather not wait for Reddit to deliver your data, or would prefer to keep your data in a searchable archive, you can use Brownman’s tool, reddit-user-to-sqlite. This command line application can download the complete public archive of any Reddit user and compile it in an SQLite database file. Just keep in mind that this method will stop working on July 1, 2023, when the API change occurs (because you don't actually own that content you created on Reddit?). See https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-download-your-reddit-data/ #technology #deletereddit #Reddit
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Easy Deepfake Voice Cloning technology is an emerging risk to organizations
It is interesting how easy this has got with a popular service like Prime Voice AI, and when you realise that many use voice recognition for authenticated access to systems, we can see where the risks come in. Like most technology, there are lots of positive upsides, but it always opens up the negatives as well. As Steve points out in his commentary in the linked article, the bad actors are often quicker than anyone else nowadays to take advantage of these new developments. No end in sight for the upward trajectory of careers in security and vulnerability consultants. #technology #security #voicecloning
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What Is a GaN (gallium nitride) Charger, and Why Should You Buy One?
When you’re on the hunt for a new USB power adaptor, you may come across a few options with gallium nitride (GaN) technology. These charging bricks tend to be a bit expensive. But due to their reduced size and increased charging ability, a GaN charger may be your ideal purchase. It could even help you save money in the long run. Most USB chargers use silicon semiconductors. Gallium nitride (GaN) is simply a power-efficient alternative to silicon. It allows a charger to achieve small size without a reduction in charging speed or thermal performance. A GaN charger is ideal for travelling or powering several high-wattage devices, such as laptops. With more and more laptops charging through USB-C, and more phones making use of ultra-fast charging, you'll start to notice that the silicon based chargers can get really hot during charging these devices. Instead of buying a large silicon-based charger that only has two ports (with a shared throughput), you can buy a GaN charger with four, five, or even six high-speed charging ports. #technology #chargers #GaN
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Why You Should Use Bionic Reading in Chrome (or Any Browser): An extension to highlight the most important parts of words
Bionic Reading is a new way of reading text that uses a patented algorithm to highlight the most important parts of words, making it easier and faster to read. The method was developed by a German software developer named Renato Cukar, who was inspired by the way the human eye reads text. Bionic Reading works by highlighting the most important parts of words, which helps the eye to follow the text more smoothly and efficiently. This makes it easier to read longer passages of text, and can also help to improve comprehension. Bionic Reading is available as a free Chrome extension, as well as a mobile app for iOS and Android. It can also be used on websites and in PDFs. See https://www.howtogeek.com/882688/why-you-should-use-bionic-reading-in-chrome-or-any-browser/ **EDIT**: Although some individuals claim to see improvement, it may be that results do vary as one test shows no real improvement across the board - https://blog.readwise.io/bionic-reading-results/ #technology #bionicreading #reading
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My video overview of Nostr: A simple, open protocol that enables global, decentralized, and censorship-resistant social media
Nostr is unique in that it has a global public key ID that replicates posts (notes) via relays, so it is scalable, resistant to censorship, and the user fully owns their identity profile. There are only two parts to the network, namely relays and clients, with the Nostr protocol linking them. Every post is signed, and every client validates these signatures. In this video I explain more about Nostr is, why it is probably one of the easiest networks to get registered and going on, I compare it with some other protocols, and I demonstrate a few of the web as well as Android mobile apps. There are no servers at all needing to be chosen, and it is truly irrelevant which client app is used. I'll also explain where cryptocurrency may come in, but why you need not worry about it all, or even use it at all. Watch https://youtu.be/8mSyMCJlSwA #technology #Nostr #socialnetworks #alternativeto #decentralised
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Veloren is an open-source multi-player voxel role-playing game that can be self-hosted (and has more adventure and fun than Minecraft)
It is inspired by games such as Cube World, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Dwarf Fortress and Minecraft. You can play single player or multi-player, standalone or use an online server, or even host your own server in a Docker container, or on a Raspberry Pi. Plenty of options! You start by creating your character, you can collect items for your inventory, you can craft items, there are weapons and combat, you develop skills, can tame creatures, you can trade with merchants, you can socialise, and lost more. There is no single, specific goal or focus, and the idea is to keep exploring and have adventures. The game is community driven and actually updates quite regularly. It is clearly no clone of Minecraft. It is fun and adventure! See https://veloren.net/ #technology #opensource #gaming #selfhosting #Veloren
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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 interoperable 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/
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Qwantify: Self-Hosted and Open Source Project for Gaming Online with Friends
One of the best parts of gaming is gaming with friends, but often this requires everyone involved to have the same expensive piece of hardware. Almost everyone has a computer with a browser already, though, so if you’d like to play online with friends who don’t have the same gaming machine as you, they can play along now simply by opening a web browser thanks to this project called Qwantify. There are a few requirements to get this to work, though. At least one person needs to have a computer with a GPU to run the docker container that hosts the game, but once that’s done anyone with a browser can connect to it and play. The entire project is open source as well, and since it’s currently a very young project there is only support for AMD and Intel GPUs but it does have a fairly intuitive user interface as well as some other features like allowing for various gaming peripherals and supporting streaming gameplay to Twitch and YouTube. I'm not yet seeing any videos yet showing how it is actually setup and working. Their GitHib project page does have the instructions though on how to set up the Docker container to get going. See https://hackaday.com/2022/12/26/self-hosted-gaming-with-friends/ #technology #opensource #gaming #qwantify
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Universal Android Debloater GUI - an open source low-level app for debloating Android phones
This is a complete rewrite in Rust of the UAD project, which aims to improve privacy and battery performance by removing unnecessary and obscure system apps. This can also contribute to improve security by reducing the attack surface. Packages are as well documented as possible in order to provide a better understanding of what you can delete or not. The worst thing which could happen is removing an essential system package needed during boot causing then an unfortunate bootloop. After about 5 failed system boots, the phone will automatically reboot in recovery mode, and you'll have to perform a FACTORY RESET. So make a backup first! In any case, you can NOT brick your device with this software! So the app itself is not going to cause any direct damage. The issue is more around how deep the bloatware sits, and whether some part of the phone's OS really relies on that bloatware being there. But they do have debloat lists per OEM, so hopefully that means those, at least, are fairly OK to rip out. See https://github.com/0x192/universal-android-debloater #technology #opensource #android #debloat
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Microsoft 365 faces more GDPR headwinds as Germany bans it in schools: Redmond disputes report that ‘it is not possible to use without transferring personal data to the USA’
Germany's federal and state data protection authorities (DSK) have raised concerns about the compatibility of Microsoft 365 with data protection laws in Germany and the wider European Union. Under the GDPR, children below the age of 13 are incapable of consenting to their data being collected, while consent may be given by those with parental responsibility for those under 16 but not younger than 13. When platforms do store data on adults, those customers are meant to be able to request the deletion of their records. Microsoft has denied that its assessment : "We ensure that our M365 products not only meet, but often exceed, the strict EU data protection laws. Our customers in Germany and throughout the EU can continue to use M365 products without hesitation and in a legally secure manner." That statement is not actually a categorical and clear denial of what Germany alleges. But actually my opinion is, if there is concern about any age group using this software for educational purposes, all the concepts (and use) can also be taught using open source LibreOffice and then there is no issue like this. Schools should anyway be teaching concepts and principles, that there are options out there, and to innovate around experimentation, adapting software, etc. See https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/30/office_365_faces_more_gdpr/ #technology #GDPR #privacy #M365 #Germany
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Remember BBSes (Bulletin Board Systems)? Here’s How You Can Visit One Today Using A Telnet Connection
These days, social media gets all the attention, but the Bulletin Board System (BBS), a relic from a kinder, gentler time in computer communications, persists. Each BBS is its own retro-flavored community with messages, text-based games, and files you can download. And you can still connect to one today. A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer-based electronic community on which its members can read and write messages, play text-based games, and download files. They originated in 1978 in Chicago, and their popularity peaked around 1995, just as the internet began to go mainstream. Back then, this was the Internet for most people. Today, because dial-up phone lines are scarce, and we have the internet, most BBSes utilize the Telnet protocol for connections (although some dial-up BBSes still exist). Today, the number of BBSes is rising due to a growing nostalgia for the past. The Telnet BBS Guide lists almost 800 currently active BBSes, which is more than double the amount around in 2016. Sure, you can just jump on Twitter, Facebook, or Reddit to find a community. But if you want a blast from the past, you should try a BBS. Each BBS is a cultural pocket that’s usually insulated from the reach of Google’s indexing or viral intrusions from social media. You can’t get to a BBS through a web browser without logging in through a terminal emulator. This means, generally, you can’t reach the resources of a BBS openly from a website (although exceptions do exist). As a result, each BBS feels like a private club that reflects the personality of the administrator, or Sysop (system operator). Each BBS is its own community. People leave messages for each other, play against each other in text-based games, and (less commonly, now) share files that are only available on that particular BBS. See https://www.howtogeek.com/686600/remember-bbses-heres-how-you-can-visit-one-today/ #technology #retro #BBS #bulletinboard #Telnet
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University of Waterloo has developed a drone-powered device that can use Wi-Fi networks to ‘see’ Wi-Fi devices through walls: No software patch possible
The device, nicknamed Wi-Peep, can fly near a building and then use the inhabitants' Wi-Fi network to identify and locate all Wi-Fi-enabled devices inside in a matter of seconds. The Wi-Peep exploits a loophole the researchers call polite Wi-Fi. Even if a network is password protected, smart devices will automatically respond to contact attempts from any device within range. The Wi-Peep sends several messages to a device as it flies and then measures the response time on each, enabling it to identify the device's location to within a meter. "The Wi-Peep devices are like lights in the visible spectrum, and the walls are like glass," Abedi said. "Using similar technology, one could track the movements of security guards inside a bank by following the location of their phones or smartwatches. Likewise, a thief could identify the location and type of smart devices in a home, including security cameras, laptops, and smart TVs, to find a good candidate for a break-in. In addition, the device's operation via drone means that it can be used quickly and remotely without much chance of the user being detected." This vulnerability relates to the location and type of devices, so is not about any access to your devices or network. It's great from thieves for example to see where your smart TVs are located in a home, and where the human's phone devices are presently. But it's also great for hostage rescuers to see where hostages are grouped in a bank vs others moving around. As it is hardware related, there is no possible software patch, and we'll need to wait for newer Wi-Fi hardware devices to be rolled out. See https://techxplore.com/news/2022-11-loophole-wi-fi-walls.html #technology #security #privacy #wipeep #vulnerability
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Once your archive is on your machine, you will have a browsable HTML archive of your tweets, direct messages, and moments including media like images, videos, and GIFs. This is nice, but it also has a few flaws. For one, you can’t easily copy your Tweets somewhere else, for example, into your website because they are stored in a complex JSON structure. But even more dangerous: your links are all still t.co links. This hides the original URL you shared and redirects all traffic over Twitter’s servers. But this is not only inconvenient, it is also dangerous. Just imagine what happens when t.co ever goes down: all URLs you ever shared are now irretrievable. And then, there are the images: all images in your archive are much smaller than the ones you originally shared, and when you click to expand them, you are taken to the Twitter website once again. So, your Twitter archive is far from being a safe, independent backup in case you want to delete your account or if Twitter ever dies completely. But luckily, there is help in the form of a Python script called Twitter Archive Parser, a project started by Tim Hutton. See https://matthiasott.com/notes/converting-your-twitter-archive-to-markdown #technology #twittermigration #twitterarchive #twitter
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Your Gmail Account (and other e-mail) Has Unlimited Addresses - Useful For Seeing Who Leaked Your Address to Spammers
You can append to your existing e-mail address in various ways, and this could be pretty useful for seeing who leaked your e-mail address to spammers. For example, for your bank, give them the address myaddress+banking@gamil.com. Then, if spammers send to that address, you can quickly see where they got the e-mail address from! I've tested it with Proton Mail, and it works in exactly the same way. See https://lifehacker.com/your-gmail-account-has-unlimited-addresses-1849809691 #technology #email #antispam #privacy
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RIP: Kathleen Booth, the inventor of assembly language - Builder and programmer of the ARC and SEC turned 100 this year
Professor Kathleen Booth, one of the last of the early British computing pioneers, has died. She was 100. In 1950, Kathleen and Andrew married, the same year that she got a PhD in applied mathematics, again from the University of London. To secure further funding for their work, the Booths again went to the Rockefeller Foundation, which provided it on condition that the APE(C)X worked with human languages as well as just mathematics. The result was a demonstration of machine translation in November 1955. As well as building the hardware for the first machines, she wrote all the software for the ARC2 and SEC machines, in the process inventing what she called "Contracted Notation" and would later be known as assembly language. See https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/29/kathleen_booth_obit/ #technology #programming #assemblylanguage #KathleenBooth
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Twitter’s Bluesky app for a decentralized protocol for Twitter, will use the AT protocol
Yes, progress with Bluesky has been super slow (a bit like Tim Berners-Lee's Solid) but at least we now know what protocol it will use, which will help explain a bit more about what could be expected. The AT Protocol website is still fairly sparse, but it offers three reasons the decentralized future of social might be the right one: “federated social,” which allows users to use many apps on top of one service; “algorithmic choice,” which lets them decide how that information is presented; and “portable accounts,” meaning you could move your stuff from one app to another without losing your content or social graph. Don’t hold your breath for the app and protocol to hit your social sphere, though. Bluesky continues to move fairly slowly and is trying to do its work publicly. As Dorsey said when the project launched, “The work must be done transparently in the open, not owned by any single private corporation, furthering the open & decentralized principles of the internet.” See https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/19/23412482/bluesky-at-protocol-decentralized-twitter-social-networks-app #technology #Bluesky #Twitter #decentralisation #federation
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In theory, eSIM makes it easier to jump between devices and phone plans, that’s far from the case right now
An interesting read at the linked article below. Whilst it is a given that eSIMs (and their successor) are going to happen, there are clearly some rough edges that need to be worked on. What was going to be greater freedom to switch SIMs, could end up being a bit of a lock-in with an existing eSIM ;-) I've switched more than once between an iPhone and an Android phone, and even moved a SIM card from a mobile hotspot into a second SIM slot on an Android phone. And yes, some of these things may not be easily possible yet with eSIMs. As the author pointed out, they ended up with two phones and no cellular service at all. See https://www.theverge.com/23412033/esim-phone-plan-device-switch-ios-android #technology #eSIM #SIM #mobile
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Death to passwords: Beta passkey support comes to Chrome and Android - But there are still unanswered questions about lock-ins
Big Tech wants to kill the password, with "Passkeys" being the hot, new password replacement standard on the block. Passkeys are backed by Google, Apple, Microsoft, and the FIDO Alliance, so expect to see them everywhere soon. iOS picked up the standard in version 16, and now Google is launching passkey betas on Chrome and Android. The Passkey standard just trades cryptographic keys with the website directly. There's no need for a human to tell a password manager to generate, store, and recall a secret—that will all happen automatically, with way better secrets than what the old text box supported, and with uniqueness enforced. The downside is that, while every browser in the world supports showing that old text box, passkey support will need to be added to every web browser, every password manager, and every website. It's going to be a long journey. Not only that, there is also talk of it being locked to a mobile device, and what about those who move across all platforms like me having an Android as well as iPhone, and a Linux and Windows desktop? I make use of apps such as Authy and Bitwarden that sync and work across all my devices. I can't use Apple's Passkey as that only works on Apple devices, and Android's one is not going to help me on Linux. I just get this queezy feeling that Big Tech has been out to grab land as quickly as it could here for itself, and has not tried to really work openly with each other, and others, to create a truly portable solution. I want to make use of a solution that does not belong to any platform owner, and which I can use anywhere. Problem is, Big Tech owns platforms and they end up being the majority voice. I really would have preferred cross-platform players to have had a louder voice. See https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/10/google-rolls-out-beta-passkey-support-for-chrome-and-android/ #technology #passkey #passwords #authentication #BigTech
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Google Camera Port Hub: Get the best GCam APK for Samsung, Xiaomi, Redmi, and other phones!
Google Camera and its post-processing algorithms undoubtedly changed the game in terms of what we expect from smartphone cameras, elevating the Google Pixels to some of the best Android phones you can buy for the camera. That’s the exact reason why Google Camera ports are so highly requested for non-Google devices. With the appropriate ported Google Camera app, you can use Google’s superior HDR+ optimization as well as their Portrait Mode on virtually any smartphone that supports the Camera2API. See if your phone is listed for Camera2API at https://www.xda-developers.com/google-camera-port-hub/ #technology #mobile #camera #photography #googlecameraport
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Scientists make AI laser turret for killing cockroaches - What could possibly go wrong?
Scientists have developed a laser with artificial intelligence (AI) designed to neutralise cockroaches as a new form of pest control. The team’s experiments showed that its laser system “enables the immediate and selective neutralisation of individual insects” from a distance of up to 1.2 metres. You certainly want to be sure to have some remote kill switch for this device, as I would not want to walk up to it to disable it if it has some malfunction. Will also be interesting to see what else it zaps by mistake… although mosquitoes would be great! See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/science/462446-scientists-make-ai-laser-turret-for-killing-cockroaches.html #technology #AI #cockroaches #pestcontrol
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