Bonum Certa Men Certa

Gemini Links 27/07/2023: Old Computer Challenge and Dumping Twitter



  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal/Opinions

      • A couple more hours of sleep would be really nice

        Seems like I'm back to awakening after just five hours of sleep. I mean, it's sorta maybe kinda enough. But yawn....

        It occurred to me a little while ago that it takes (someone like) a Biden to be okay with (someone like) a Biden.

        Okay, I'll be fair:

        It occurred to me a little while ago that it takes (someone like) a Trump to be okay with (someone like) a Trump.

      • 🔤SpellBinding: AEKLMRW Wordo: PODIA
      • Unicorn MediaWhy Kolektiva.social Is a Cautionary Tale for Activists Using Mastodon

        The recent news that a copy of Kolektiva.social’s database was confiscated by the FBI as the result of a raid at the home of one of the organization’s administrators, should serve as a cautionary tale for activists taking advantage of Mastodon’s federated nature to form online communities. Specifically, you should should do some research into the security in place at an activist-focused server, as well as the servers privacy policies.

        Actually, the same advice would hold even if you were joining a server for, say, people who like knitting, but if you’re a political activist it’s even more important because law enforcement loves to keep tabs on folks whose politics fall outside the mainstream.

    • Politics and World Events

      • The Philosophy of the Act

        Only the first word of the Cartesian philosophy is true; it was not really possible for Descartes to say cogito **ergo sum,** but only **cogito**. The first (and last) thing that I perceive is my own act of spirit, myself perceiving. The spirit, which is life woken into self-consciousness, discovered its likeness to itself, or identity, through the act of thinking about thinking. All further perception is only an explication of this idea, which **is the** idea **par excellence.** I know that I think, that I am spiritually active, or, – since there is no other kind of activity – that I am active, but I do not know that I am. Not being, but the act, is the first and last.

        If we go on to an explication of this act, we find it to be threefold: the thinking, the thought-about, and the identity of these two, the “I.” “I think” means: the “I” places itself (or sets itself) before itself as another, but passes through this reflection back to itself, in the same way that the discovery of one’s own life in a mirror is something that comes from the outside. It perceives that the image in the mirror is its own.

      • “Black comrades” against the Japanese occupation

        In the second half of the 19th century, small Korea, and formerly a frequent target of aggressive campaigns of neighboring China and Japan, became one of the main goals of Japanese colonial expansion. The Japanese power that gained strength saw Korea as its potential possession. Preparations for the colonization of Korea, however, faced certain problems, among which were the attempts of the Korean people to defend their independence, and the positions of China and the Russian Empire. However, after the Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905, Japan still managed to establish a protectorate over Korea. 22 August 1910 Korea was finally annexed to Japan and passed under the control of the Japanese governor-general.

        Of course, such a situation could not please the advanced part of Korean society. Moreover, in the Japanese Empire, all non-Japanese people were treated as second-rate people, and Koreans were no exception. However, since Japan was nevertheless more developed not only militarily and economically, but also culturally, a country, revolutionary ideas popular in Japan began to spread in Korea. So anarchism penetrated Korean land — an ideology that at some point became dominant in the East Asian revolutionary movement.

    • Technology and Free Software

      • Getting started with a megadungeon

        Yesterday I was trying to explain my anxieties regarding Arden Vul to my wife. This is about the megadungeon with a PDF of more than 1122 pages. It's long. The levels are long. The rooms are long. The intro is long. The explanations are long.

      • Nobody ever said complicating simple things would be easy

        I'm one of the lucky ones whose computer came with something called a "lid". I've discovered that when I cause it to become facing-ly parallel to the keyboard, I don't have have to concern myself with the stuff you mention at all. It's really quite miraculous.

      • Old Computer Challenge Epiphlogue

        The Old Computer Challenge has concluded. I enjoyed taking on the challenge, as well as reading about everybody's experiences in various protocols out there, gopher, gemini, irc, hypertext transfer, etc. When I first read about the challenge, I told myself that I needed to particpiate this year. I enjoy when the "smolnet" communities call for participating in shared experiences like occ, or ROOPLOCH, or christyotwisty's monthly 5 questions, and we are able to come together as community and have fun![1][2][3]

        There are many things I have learned, not just from my direct involvement with my old hardware and software, but also from you people in the community. I have been keeping notes and still continue to take notes of what you all share.

      • ERC with soju: update

        A couple of months ago i wrote about setting up soju on OpenBSD (it was pretty straightforward) and trying to get Emacs' ERC working with it (shenanigans were required)...

      • Thumby app released 🎮😸

        I still haven't finished the mine game that I mentioned, but I have released a music editor, TinyTunes. It's currently the first thing listed on the Thumby Arcade, but I think that just means it's the most recent.

      • Internet/Gemini

        • Fighting Social Internet Burn Out

          Slowly over the past year I've noticed I've not been getting the same enjoyment out of places like Mastodon that I used to.

          There's a lot of goings on that might explain this, but I suspect the main culprit is myself and my changing tastes over time.

          Over the past year I've migrated Mastodon servers. I've made heavier use of filters to block politics, activism, and outrage porn. I've become quicker to block and mute people who I'm not interested in interacting with. All these things have been a help but not a cure.

        • Sometimes the Decision Gets Made for You

          Sometimes, a decision gets made by the restriction of the possible options to a single plausible choice.

          I'm done with Twitter. Locked my account, cleared my info, posted a message to the effect of the following: I won't use a platform that doesn't take CSE seriously, where the posting of such doesn't earn you a ban and a report to the Feds.

          Left as subtext: maybe all of you can justify it to yourself, but I can't. And maybe you didn't know about it before, but if you see this, you'll know about it now.


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

How Corporations Such as Microsoft Try to Crush Critics and Dissolve Activism
Stay focused
Wikipedia Can Lower Its Hosting Bill by Going More Static, Not Just by Caching, But It Would Not Solve Its Biggest Problems (Bribes and AstroTurfing)
For about 15 years we had a Wiki in this site
Urgent Need for SLAPP Litigation Transparency
Microsofters really want to shut us up
On Shutdowns and 2,000 More Layoffs at Microsoft (10,000 Microsoft Staff May Have Already Been Laid Off in 2025)
Microsoft tries to hide and belittle mass layoffs; its data centre business also flounders, so it issues puff pieces about some anniversary over and over again
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: A "Deep Dive" Into the Complaint at the California Privacy Protection Agency
There are many facets to it and it may be the first complaint of several
Microsoft Problems in Europe Even Before the Cheeto Tariffs
The case of Romania, Europe's notorious Microsoft fan
Oman in 2025: GNU/Linux Growing to 5%
what can Microsoft do about it except sabotage the PCs?
Microsoft Shares Collapse Again (Down $101), Fifth Round of Microsoft Mass Layoffs in Less Than 100 Days in 2025
disaster
 
Walmart Vizio TVs Scream At Immigrants to Leave America
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Stolen Credit Card and LinkedIn. DHS Spies on Immigrant Social Media.
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
At 50, Microsoft Has Over 100 Billion Dollars in Debt and Less Than 25% "Market Share" (Windows)
statCounter basically sees less than a quarter of Web requests coming from Windows
linuxhint.com Died 12 Months Ago (After Adopting Image Slop)
Zombie sites
LLM Slop Will Eventually Stop Due to High Costs, Worse Training Sets (Polluted Models Ingesting Their Own Junk), and No Real Returns
This too shall pass
Courage is Contagious
I became a witness to acts of great courage from EPO examiners
Gemini Links 08/04/2025: Gabbro 0.1.4 and Disillusioned With Social Control Media
Links for the day
Microsoft Windows in Jordan: From 99% Down to 10%
This is becoming more "normal"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, April 07, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, April 07, 2025
Gemini Links 07/04/2025: Stock Market, Galène, and DMT Entities
Links for the day
During the Weekend We Said Fedora DEI Requires Proprietary Software, Now the Chat About It Is No Longer Accessible Over the Open Web
is this just a coincidence and an habitual change in Element?
Links 07/04/2025: US Measles Fatalities and China Launches HDMI and DisplayPort Alternative
Links for the day
Links 07/04/2025: More Cuts to Science Funding, Snail-speed Internet in Germany
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/04/2025: Leasehold and Safe Gifts
Links for the day
In Some Countries, Laptops and Desktops Become a Dying Breed (Even Before Tariffs), Windows Has Nowhere to Go
expect more GNU/Linux on new and existing laptops
When the Credibility or 'Quality' of Clients Ceases to Matter, It's About Helping Rich Companies Like Microsoft Censor Critics (No Matter the Risks)
Bad ideas typically result in undesirable outcomes
UAE: GNU/Linux and Android at Record Levels, Windows at New Lows and Falling Below Apple
Even iOS is measured as bigger than Windows this month
Links 07/04/2025: Reddit Occupied (Social Control Media Controlled by Oligarchy), Demise of Globalisation Ongoing
Links for the day
Windows Has Fallen to All-Time Lows in Switzerland Since GNU Celebrated 40th Anniversary (GNU’s 40th Birthday in Biel, Switzerland)
GNU/Linux has been doing well in Switzerland
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 06, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, April 06, 2025
Links 07/04/2025: Leaving Gemini/smolweb and Mastodon Migrations
Links for the day
In Iraq, Windows 3.1 (Percent)
There's also zero
One Person's Take on Jef Spaleta, the New Fedora Project Leader
"With a little searching, I wonder what else may be found regarding Microsoft."
Links 06/04/2025: Flood, Cool Gemini Capsule, and Long Form
Links for the day
Links 06/04/2025: Science, Politics, and Pricier Goods
Links for the day
LLM Slop Has Virtually Killed unixmen.com and Many Other Sites
There's no longer any incentive to write real articles in there
Sharp Declines for Microsoft Windows in Bangladesh (Pop. ~175,000,000), Big Gains for GNU/Linux
Microsoft Windows has been having a really hard time in poor countries
Links 06/04/2025: Fake Reviews, Privatisation Heists, and "AI" as Smokescreen for Impoverishing Humans
Links for the day
Taking a Moral Stand Against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and the Worst Offenders/Facilitators
Any other stance would sidle with moral depravity or moral hazard
Links 06/04/2025: Many New Acts of Repression and Elements of Financial Depression
Links for the day
In Qatar GNU/Linux Rose From Under 1% to Over 4% in Two Years (or Over 5% If Counting ChromeOS)
It's a big improvement compared to what we saw last year
LLM Scrapers Are a Nuisance, But They're Also a Reminder It's Time to Make Your Site Static
Perhaps the best protection is the ability to endure surges
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 05, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, April 05, 2025
Links 06/04/2025: Attacks on Education, Fake Patents, and Fake (Illegal) Patent Courts
Links for the day
France: Apple and Microsoft Down, GNU/Linux Up to New Record Levels
How will tariffs against France impact things in the coming months?