Bonum Certa Men Certa

Gemini Links 06/09/2023: Reddit’s New Tracking URLs and Iterating On Fractals



  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal/Opinions

      • Show notes 23-35

        This week i have been preparing to move back to university, and have been streamlining my workflow for learning chinese. Recently i have been neglecting certain aspects, and in general doing far too many flash cards.

        I know that a lot of people swear by anki, but i am less convinced. Often the cards used are low quality, so the information recall can be hardly that helpful either. Instead, i have been increasing the amount of reading i do, which should have the same general effect as word flashcards, but with added context of sentences and plot.

    • Science

      • Astronomy Season Begins (publ. 2023-09-05)

        For me here in Fairbanks, Alaska, astronomy season doesn't start until September, since there isn't enough darkness before that for practical stargazing. I'm on an early-morning life schedule, so it doesn't work for me to stay up until midnight to see the stars. But now there is enough darkness for me to be able to do early morning sessions (around 4am) before work.

        Most nights these last few weeks have been overcast skies, but there was a forecast of partly cloudy early this morning, so I decided to head out early to the boatlaunch, away from the light pollution, and give it a try. Indeed, it was partly cloudy this morning, but I was thwarted by a thick, low-lying fog, which blocked out all the stars and obscured the third-quarter moon.

    • Technology and Free Software

      • let's talk about AI art i guess

        unavoidable subject i suppose. as i mentioned in my microlog, i don't know why everyone's talking about their hatred for AI art these days; it's not exactly the same as when dall-e 2 was unveiled and half of art twitter was running to the hills, panicking about their jobs [1]. it's less fear and more... contempt? disgust? just sheer *hatred*?

        now, i don't wanna come across as a techbro or something. i get rather defensive when i hear people talking shit about AI art; only natural given that's my research and how a lot of my work has involved GAN generated images for the past year and a half (since october 2020 to be exact) [2]. but don't think this a blind defense of the corporations and exploitative systems behind current state of art AI image generation. i would like to talk about the medium or the technology itself (not that it can be understood in a vacuum, but let's cross that bridge when we get to it).

      • Gemini PDA vs Emacs Native Android

        However, there were deal breaking issues. The android sandbox the app lives in is the main one. I was unable to get files I wanted to edit into emacs to edit them. I could make a new file and save it to /storage/emulated/0/Downloads, for example, but if I created the file in another app, like vim in termux, it would not open it. Access denied. This device is rooted, so I even created a new directory - /tmp - and chown'd to u0_a96 (the android system generated user for my particular emacs installation), chmod'ing /tmp/ 0777. No dice.

      • Re: FLOSS Equivalent of Wordpad

        Ted is a very old program. It looks dated as all hell because it uses xlib instead of a "modern" toolkit like Gtk4 or QT6. I do not consider this a bad thing. It's very small, very light, and has very few dependencies. It hasn't really changed in years. It's software that has achived that remarkable (for today) state of being "finished".

        What Ted actually does give you is a pretty good word processor using the Rich Text Format (.rtf) that is the native Wordpad format. No more than that, and no less. It does that job and that job alone.

      • Internet/Gemini

        • Beware Reddit's New Tracking URLs

          Reddit recently implemented a new feature for tracking the activity of it's users and site visitors, even if not logged in. This is a privacy concern for everyone, even if you've never used Reddit.

          If a user using the official app shares a link, they will be given a special tracking URL that links their account to the post being shared. These tracking links look like this: https://reddit.com/r/subredditname/s/tracking_token where the tracking_token is a bunch of gibberish.

          Opening this link resolved to a normal Reddit URL with tracking parameters: https://www.reddit.com/r/subredditname/comments/post_id/post_title/?share_id=more_gibberish

          Take note of the share_id parameter. This is a unique identifier that reports to Reddit who shared the link that is being opened.

        • RE: Why would students use gemini?

          This is an update to my original post asking for help in a course I'm teaching on web technologies, collaboration and the internet to undergrad Computer Science students.

        • RE: Accross the Spiderverse

          Circadian makes a number of great observations. I actually loved "Across the Spiderverse" myself, but would likely point out some of the same flaws if pressed. That said, I've felt for a long time that there is something wrong with our attention span in modern times, and it overflows into our expectations for entertainment. Thinking on this, and on one of his biggest complaints, got me thinking about pacing, and how different it used to be.

      • Programming

        • Re: Fast Thoughts on a Fast Language

          slondr has written up four thoughts on the Ada programming language. As the maintainer of one of the world's most widely used Ada programs, I couldn't resist weighing in. Sadly this program is used for cheating on Latin translation homework, rather than Ada's more glamorous niches of aerospace or security kernels.

        • Iterating On Fractals

          In my recent post about print nozzle sizes I showed a print of a super-fine fractal pyramid.


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

It's a Lot Easier to Participate in the Unethical System Than to Oppose Injustices in It
Going after powerful and high-budget interests is never easy
For the First Time in a Month OSI's "OpenSource.org" Blogs and It's Basically a Microsoft Blog Post (Microsoft Controls OSI)
For the first time in a month OSI writes something and it is Microsoft propaganda composed by a Microsoft-salaried operative
Microsoft, Already Borrowing 3 Billion Dollars a Month, is Trying to Cause Many People to Resign
MSN (i.e. Microsoft) and others openly admit it
They Want Activists to Just Barely Walk and Eat, Not Do Activism Anymore
It's sort of like the ending of '1984'
 
Links 08/08/2025: "Quit Facebook" and High Cost of Microsoft/Windows Shown Again ("BlackSuit")
Links for the day
Good Morning, Readers of The Register MS
Things The Register MS could (but does not) cover this morning
Why Gemini Protocol Has a Bright Future
Maybe Gemini Protocol's promise becomes more appealing as the Web turns to slop and bloat
Microsofters Filed Two SLAPPs Against Us, Now They Cannot Keep Up With Judges' Orders
For over 4 months already their facilitator in London has been under investigation by British authorities because of what's being done to my wife and I
Censorship Regarding Red Hat Layoffs
Talk about this? They'd rather not.
Struggling to Cut Costs, Microsoft Continues Shutting Down and Cancelling Stuff This Month
There are August layoffs at Microsoft
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 07, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 07, 2025
Fake 'Linux' Articles, Written by Bots to Take Traffic Away From Real Articles
LLM slop helps replace information with junk or misinformation
When Google's Googlebombing of "Gemini" Was Not Enough; They Now Also Googlebomb "Gemini Space"?
We know GAFAM not only worries about Gemini Protocol but also attempts to 'infiltrate' Geminispace
The Register MS Promotes Microsoft Slop, Assumes All Readers Use Microsoft Windows
Microsoft really dominates the site
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: KDE/Qt Development and What's Missing From "Retro"
Links for the day
Links 07/08/2025: US Punishes India Instead of Russia, Attacks Law Firms to Prevent Scrutiny
Links for the day
Read Us in Geminispace as Well
it's definitely a lot simpler than using a Web browser
Once a Site About BSD and GNU/Linux, and After Months of Silence, LinuxBSDos.com Comes Back Only as a Slopfarm
very frustrating
Links 07/08/2025: Hardware Wars, Mass Recall of Colgate Total Clean Mint, More Microsoft Holes Found
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/08/2025: "Right To Manage" and LoRa Analysis
Links for the day
GAFAM 'Says' is Front Page "News"
The point of journalism is to check and assess facts, not parrot what people and companies merely claim
Links 07/08/2025: Apple Makes False Promises, More Trouble for Microsoft
Links for the day
OSS Didn't Always Mean Open Source Software
"oligarchs all the way down"
The Register MS Does More Microsoft Sez or GitHub Sez (Says) Pieces
60 minutes ago
Quit Perpetuating the Narrative of Gemini Protocol 'Dying' (It's False)
The "whisper campaign" against Gemini Protocol
Criticising Social Control Media in Social Control Media
Many people are quitting Social Control Media (fewer of them announce this in public)
Non-Free JavaScript Programs in Banks Aren't Even the Biggest Problem
Technology was supposed to make life easier; in practice, however, for most of us the opposite effect can be observed
Slopfarms Are Typically Fake News
Slopfarms typically relay falsehoods
Gemini Links 06/08/2025: Replacing a Pocket Watch and Buying in Bulk
Links for the day
IBM is Obliterating Fedora
"Fedora releases were shipping with an increasing number of bugs on launch day even while I was using it for a several year stretch."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 06, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 06, 2025
August Hits Microsoft Hard: Dead Divisions, Dead Products, Layoffs Again (on Week 1)
Microsoft's debt is soaring
Slopwatch: Slow Day for LLM Slop, Serial Sloppers Still at It in Their Slopfarms
The Web would be better off if those sites went offline
Red Hat Layoffs Expected in 5 Days (Monday)
"They will announce and proceed with the cuts on 08/11."
Links 06/08/2025: Substack in Trouble, Slop Sceptic Shira Perlmutter Seeks Emergency Injunction Pending Appeal
Links for the day
Gemini Links 06/08/2025: Pinephone, Reverse-Engineering, and More
Links for the day
Links 06/08/2025: Faked Values of Slop Companies and Government Bailouts
Links for the day
FOSSY 2025 Conference Safety
The GAFAM-funded FOSSY 2025 is over
Microsoft's Favourite Pay-to-Say 'Analyst' Firm Has Just Collapsed
'Analysts' that helped propel Microsoft to fictional values akin to Ponzi schemes
Ask Google (Jeeves)
What does Google "know", not know, or would rather forget (or embellish)?
They Want You To Talk About Trump or 'The Other Bill' in Relation to Trafficking of Underage Girls for Sexual Exploitation
Just something we wanted to say...
How to Quadruple Your "Goodwill" Value and Grow Your (Wall) Street "Value" From $152B to $4000B Without Producing a Single Successful Product/Service
The longer it goes on for, the bigger the implosion will be
Staying Productive
Two very reputable institutions recently told us they now reckon Microsoft is somehow funding those SLAPPs against us
A Blow for Patent Ambitions of Bill Epsteingate
It's about money
66 Countries Where More People Use iPhones (or iPads) Than Microsoft Windows, According to statCounter Data
a list of countries where iOS now exceeds Windows
Apple's iOS Bigger Than Microsoft Windows in Many Countries
This ought to alarm Microsoft
The Mainstream Media Talks About Spotify Share Price and Price Hikes, Not Its Debt Increasing by About 33% in Just 12 Months
Spotify isn't a company in good shape
New "US Editor for The Register" is 80% Microsoft and Windows
they typically just treat Microsoft like the "Holy Grail" of "IT"
Microsoft is Apparently Sending Gag Orders or NDAs to Staff That Got Laid Off (“We were told not to post on LinkedIn. Not to say anything.”)
The main lies we keep seeing
Richard M. Stallman Has Published AI Memos Since 1980 (45 Years Ago)
Back when the term AI actually meant something
Gemini Links 06/08/2025: BitTorrent and Feedly Bots
Links for the day
Windows All-Time Lows, Android All-Time Highs in Kuwait
New lows for Windows can be found in many countries this month
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, August 05, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, August 05, 2025