Bonum Certa Men Certa

Gemini Links 10/07/2023: Out-smarted by a ‘Smart’ Amazon TV and Making Keyboard Cables



  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal/Opinions

      • Excerpt From a Play

        The earth was sleeping, and the sky was asleep, And in this whole world, everything had fallen into a silent slumber, Only I, Azhdahak (the dragon), remained awake with my pain, And the reddest blood of mine, Was the only burning fire in this silent desert.

      • Week 26/27: Status and Photos

        We live in a small farm town, with fewer restrictions than the nearby suburbs. Our neighbors take full advantage of this by shooting off a phenomenal number of fireworks. This Independence Day, our house was surrounded with a constant display of lights and sounds in the sky. We invited a few friends over and fired a few pyrotechnic rounds ourselves. It was quite an experience.

        I'm planning on putting many of my electronics into a box for a while and reduce the number of devices I use to a minimum. This is because I find that I fret over them too much, and I try to use them all, which is wasteful. I think I'd prefer to limit myself to a few low-impact tools, and work on getting those to do as much as I can make them do.

    • Science

      • Veganism and Mi’kmaw Legends

        To this day tension remains within the anarchist milieu between vegan and anti-vegan radicals. The mere mention of veganism, animal liberation and anti-speciesism on social media or at radical gatherings often generates a backlash of hostile responses. A common anti-vegan response is one that attempts to use Indigenous identity as a quick way to shut down any dialog

    • Technology and Free Software

      • Old Computer Challenge 2023 - Day One

        My plan is to write a daily wrap-up of my experiences during the 2023 edition of the Old Computer Challenge.

        This is the wrap-up of day one.

      • Standard issue ineffability concealment

        Yesterday's winery performance went pretty danged well.

        Much yard work today.

        Fantastic chocolate shake.

        Writing is feeling foolish again: if conceptuality is what hides/masks an ineffable reality, then of *course* attending to words is the wrong direction.

      • How to install Kanboard on OpenBSD

        Let me share an installation guide on OpenBSD for a product I like: kanboard. It's a Kanban board written in PHP, it's easy of use, light, effective, the kind of software I like.

        While there is a docker image for easy deployment on Linux, there is no guide to install it on OpenBSD. I did it successfuly, including httpd for the web server.

      • occ_v3_day00

        The Ultra 10 has been re-assembled sans floppy drive. The case is still off and I have a DVD drive unmounted for the installation. I found a 10GB IDE drive in my stash. I think the original drive was 9GB or something. Only thing on it was a slackware install from 2004, which I plan on wiping and installing...something? The drive tried to boot on the laptop I used to check the drive via USB IDE cable. I forgot to disconnect the drive before rebooting the laptop. LInux LOader loaded, started boot sequence, then kernel panic.

      • occ_v3_day0

        OK, this is going to be more challenging than I thought. The drive runs fine, but I can't easily install much. Getting things to work seems so hard, like back in the day. All of these dependencies and missing software is taking me back to beginners mind. Kinda sux0rz when I just want things to work so I can do old computing and it's not. Then again, now that I think about it, this was how it was before. I think I just did not mind it so much then since I did not have a reference of the computing of now on now's technology.

      • Out-smarted by a 'smart' Amazon TV

        In my last post I briefly described my current quandary. To make my elderly in-laws happier I got them a giant voice-controlled Alexa TV... Size helps (vision issues); voice control helps (remote too complicated, too small to see, etc). It provides a minor amount of empowerment: "Alexa, TV off" instead of calling for help...

        As I also mentioned, idiocy is built-in: when voice control is on, purchases are no longer password-protected. Why? I don't know. Somehow it is tied into 'parental controls', which should do the trick, but instead, makes things even worse. It will not allow starting apps without a password, completely defeating the purpose of the entire project. So I just have to chat with Amazon every now and then and insist that the purchases were made because of their own technical problems. So far it works -- when they see someone renting a dozen movies and not watching...

      • Making keyboard cables

        I just shared on fedi the keyboard cables I made. I am really proud of how they came out so I thought I'd share here the process and justification for why I went the route I did.

      • Post non-reciprocity's a bitch

        It's kind of ironically funny that Geminuats easily in my top ten to read probably hate me.

        So I guess I'll just continue to read them from afar, as it were.

        Got some great sun, today. Didn't need it, as I'm constantly hearing people amazed at how tan I am this year. But it's kind of fun to see skin of mine a hue I've not since childhood.

      • Internet/Gemini

        • It almost happened, but not yet!

          This must have been the longest I've abandoned the gopher. I admit, I didn't even have time to even open the gopher client and read, let alone do anything myself. That's why this gopherhole looks terrible: some parts are broken, no one maintains the Bongusta list, etc.


* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.



Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Under Investigation for Breaches of Law in the UK
Just like the Microsofters
GAFAM is Connected to Misogyny, Almost All Founders Divorced
They're not good people, even if they pay the media to pretend otherwise
SLAPP Censorship - Part 83 Out of 200: Religion is Still Alive, But for Many This Religion is Monetary (Greed, Monopolies, Corporate Power)
If all you keep boasting about is being able to afford a hotel room and some domestic flight, then maybe you have no real accomplishments and are more like a "Facebook serf" with a credit card
 
Links 21/05/2026: Facebook Rewarded With Tax Breaks to Destroy the Environment and Cause Global Warming, Shortages, Pollution; SpaceX (SPCX) Continues Losing Billions of Dollars
Links for the day
Codecs and Software Patents - Part VIII - GNU Audio/Video Team Has Chosen the AV1 Video Codec and It Explains Why (They've Researched Their Options)
AV1 video codec will be used to encode and share GNU videos online
Dr. Stallman Helps Establish Free Software Advocacy Outside the Free Software Foundation (FSF) as Well
The ideals or principles of Free Software needn't be centralised or monopolised; they can be federated
22 Years of Tux Machines and a Community Stronger Than Ever Before
We've already received some feedback from the community and improved it accordingly
More Microsoft Layoffs on the Way (June and July 2026)
with or without PIPs
LWN Sponsored by the Linux Foundation (Monopolies)
We must be able to casually point this out
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XXIX - European Patent Office (EPO) Tells Staff "Speaking up" is Good, But Not When the "Brother-in-law" of EPO's President Does Cocaine
Do we still have a functioning democracy and potent press?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, May 20, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Gemini Links 21/05/2026: Immigration, Slop, and Slop 'Code' Suggestions Infesting Code Repositories
Links for the dayGemini Links 21/05/2026: Immigration, Slop, and Slop 'Code' Suggestions Infesting Code Repositories
Oracle Seems to Have Popularised Overnight Layoffs, Now GAFAM Does the Same
layoff emails at 4 a.m. local time
A Lot of Fake News About Microsoft's LinkedIn Today, Some Comes From Slopfarms, Some Relies on Those Slopfarms
As usual, slopfarms make the Web a huge pile of garbage
IBM's Kyndryl is Circling Down the Drain, Say Kyndryl Insiders
"IBM Dinosaurs who were recycled and catapulted into the orange trash heap by IBM"
A Lot of Coverage Adding Hype Factor to Slop Bug Reports... is Made by LLM Slop
Local Privilege Escalation [...] the slop motivates some actual people to keep writing about it
Links 20/05/2026: Mass Layoffs at NPR (Bought by the Ballmers and Bill Epsteingate), Starbucks Korea CEO Fired Over ‘Tank Day’ Ad
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/05/2026: Advantage of CD Collections, Geminaut's View of Nostr, and SSL / TLS Certificates
Links for the day
IBM is Becoming a Pile of Expired Patents and Abandoned Buildings, Assets of Little Actual Value
Having laid off a ton of people, borrowed lots of money to fake growth (by acquisition), and sent some jobs to low-paid regions where innovation isn't done
Links 20/05/2026: Looting of Americans for "White Grievance Reparations Fund"; "Mark Zuckerberg Used Shell Companies to Bully Native Hawaiians"
Links for the day
Web Browsers Are for Rendering Web Page, They Shouldn't Become PDF Editors
Linus Torvalds is quickly learning and speaking about this
SLAPP Censorship - Part 82 Out of 200: British Government Intervenes in the SLAPPs by Brett Wilson LLP
At this stage our matters are dealt with by a layer below that of the Prime Minister (adjacent to it)
LinkedIn Communications Reveal That LinkedIn - Like GitHub - Will Vanish Inside the Belly of Microsoft
This is definitely going to happen.
In Wall Street, Financial Difficulties Drive Shares Up
Wall Street doesn't work that way
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XXVIII - European Patent Office (EPO) Guidebook Says Report Crimes Committed on EPO Premises. Some Did, But President Campinos Covers up for the Culprits.
The staff has long been on strike and the union (SUEPO) organised an enhanced day of action just two days ago
Gemini Links 20/05/2026: Fall of an Empire, "High Tech is a Social Exercise", and Big Cameras
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, May 19, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, May 19, 2026
LinkedIn Layoffs at Microsoft: Probably Well More Than 5% of Staff
In short, it's difficult to believe only 5% are impacted
It's Not Just a Widespread Theory, It's Apparently a Verified Fact: Home Appliances Not Made to Last Long
Washing machine repair man asserts that the machines sold a decade ago could maybe last a decade; now they last barely 5 years.
Torvalds Capitulated on Rust and Slop, Now He's Paying the Price
they are pushing Microsoft and slop for grifters and scammers
Whistleblowers Needed: We Are Seeing Many Layoffs in Red Hat (Not Just in China), We Want to Know More
Last week we learned about some people who said they had left Red Hat or are leaving Red Hat
Links 19/05/2026: More Obituaries for Peter G. Neumann, Taiwan Abandoned by Cheeto House for Don's Personal Gain
Links for the day
Links 19/05/2026: Online 'Storage' (Surveillance) Accounts Lower Thresholds (Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos), Slop Debacles Expand (False Promises Made to Staff Regarding Compensation)
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 81 Out of 200: SLAPP Censorship Does Not Work If Your Sole Strategy is Revenge (and You Attack the Family)
Both yours and others'
Techrights at 20 (Soon)
It does not seek popularity or affirmation from "Establishment" outlets
We Pay More for Less, for Things That Last Less Time and Are Almost Impossible to Repair
Ever noticed how "modern" or "smart" TVs come with dumber and dumber (worse) controllers?
Vista 11 Turns 5 in a Couple of Months. Not Many People Use It.
It is the only supported version of Windows; many people move elsewhere
Head of GitHub Recently Left, Microsoft Need No Longer Report Mass Layoffs There (User Activity is Declining)
We've long said that LinkedIn and GitHub, which Microsoft bought, would likely end up like Skype
The Slop Bubble is Already Bursting
Slop is not desirable and the general public is growingly impatient, seeing that slop has improved nothing for them
Gemini Links 19/05/2026: Reliable Old Tech, Collection of Essays
Links for the day
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XXVII - European Patent Office (EPO) Became a "Toxic Work Environment" When Cocaine Addicts Put in Charge
They are putting at risk colleagues by abusing them
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, May 18, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, May 18, 2026