Bonum Certa Men Certa

Gemini Links 09/08/2023: Risk of Proprietary Web Apps



  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal/Opinions

      • No pedal or to the metal

        Nice looking day on tap out the front with. Occasional vehicles passing. Somehow odd to see them in the school parking lot across the street.

        I wish I could have found a way to stick with the middle-school teaching stint I attempting a couple years ago. My wife had the same kids for different subjects, and I love when either of us is suddenly remembering a specific student, their quirks, wondering how they're doing a couple years later, what directions they'll head post school.

      • Re: On a Modern Mental Illness (Prince Trippy)

        The Prince[1] recently wrote about the "modern mental illness" of being overly-concerned (neurotic) about online privacy. Maybe the same extends to privacy in general, I don't know... but I think it mostly exhibits in the digital world.

        I enjoyed the realization he came to: that it is "an endless game," full of players in various strata, and that the pursuit of a cure is more-than-usually vanity.

      • A First Step into Gardening

        Our house has a fence running around most of the property with a small open section left behind. One corner of the fence has several vines and shrubs that grow thick and tall. These were fairly well-shaped when we moved in, but thanks to intense sunlight and bountiful rain this summer, the shrubs are growing rapidly.

        I know nothing about gardening and plant care, but I'm trying to learn as best I can. I can't identify the plants in the corner of the fence, but I can see plainly that they're overgrown and about to consume the small space next to our shed.

      • Hello world!

        Right when I heard about geminispace I thought I am going to write here about the things I do not want anyone to read. Yes, it sounds kind of weird or stupid (I do not know) but I am kind of "scared" or "ashamed" to write things that my parents or relatives can read.

      • Defending a village against raiders

        There’s actually a pretty interesting example on that page where the party splits. Some characters are “resting”, presumably because their players can’t make it to the next session. That session, some other characters go and investigate a dungeon, return and rest for a few days, go again, fight a big monster and loot it. The session ends after the big monster fight and the loot. The next session, the players who didn’t participate are back and decide to go to the same dungeon! At this point in time, the big monster and all the loot is still there. Now what? You can bend reality and say the monster and loot just cannot be found because the other group will have found it in the future, or you can do what I do: force-extend their rest so that whenever there’s a session, it is “now”. Once the big monster is slain, there’s no adventuring in the same dungeon at some point in the past. The players have the choice to explain what else they were doing in the days until “now”.

      • Calzonia

        There is little point to letting a sourdough starter pizza or calzone dough rise, especially if the starter is short on yeast and long on lactic acid bacteria, or the natural yeast somehow is not the crazy mutant bread type. Also the dough is too soft to use if you rotate the starter in the morning and then want to cook the dough for dinner. One might instead rotate the starter around dinner time, let the dough "rise" for a bit, then shape it and let it dry out overnight, but that's not when I rotate the starter. Instead, rotate the starter, use all the excess with a suitable amount of flour and some oil (or clarified butter) and salt for a pretty dry dough, shape that out, and let it sit somewhere maybe on a cutting board to dry out. This makes it much easier to manipulate without tearing or sticking to the cutting board when you want to move it into the oven.

    • Technology and Free Software

      • Can You Purchase A House Without Javascript Or Proprietary Web Apps?

        I'm a free software advocate who tries to compromise as little as possible with my principles, by blocking JavaScript in my Web browser, and by not using non-free Web apps, which in most practical cases amounts to the same thing. I also recently have been trying to purchase a house. So, I have been in a position to test how much of the process can be done without violating these principles, and how difficult it is. If you have no idea what I am talking about, please read this [...]

      • Internet/Gemini

        • Open Offer: I Will Host Your Domain



          When you set up a domain, it will be hosted on _both_ HTTP(s) and Gemini. So you can interleave both html and gmi files in your git repo, and it will all work out. Or you can just leave off one or the other, if you don't care about one protocol.

          Now for the offer: if you're reading this, just shoot me an email and I will give you the passphrase which allows you to use the instance. If you have always wanted to have a personal website or gemini capsule on your own domain, but hadn't wanted to go through the effort of setting up hosting, this is your chance!


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

Libel/Defamation Law Does Not Exist to Cover up Crimes
The projection tactics are nothing new
Myanmar/Burma: Growing Acceptance of GNU/Linux, Big Losses for Windows
GNU/Linux has come close to 5% there
Without IBM, Microsoft Would Not Have Taken Off. Both Companies Need to be 'Taken Down'.
Maybe it's time to boycott IBM as well
'Former' Red Hat Staff Upset That Techrights Covers IBM Accounting Problems
Are we touching a sensitive subject at IBM?
Ubuntu is Controlled by a Youngster From the British Army (Background in Mass Surveillance), So One Can Expect Ubuntu to Not Respect Privacy
"Canonical is aware of the legislation and is reviewing it internally with legal counsel"
IBM Hates Computer Freedom. This Means Red Hat Too is an Enemy of Software Freedom.
A summary of Fedora's position when it comes to "attestation"
IBM Union Says Many IBM Layoffs in Europe, With Netherlands and Belgium Confirmed, Allegedly Italy Soon (200 Layoffs)
IBM's demise will harm Red Hat and already harms Red Hat, according to whistleblowers
Microsoft and Microsoft's 'Open' 'AI' Seeking Bailout From the Pentagon Means Brand Erosion
Microsoft and its offshoots growing more and more dependent on military ("defence"; "Department of War") budget
Another EPO Strike a Fortnight From Now, Local Staff Committee Munich (LSCMN) Shares 127-Page Document Explaining How Policies Impact EPO Staff
The Office is circling down the drain
Microsofters' SLAPP Censorship - Part 3 Out of 200: A More In-Depth Breakdown
presents the narrative in a less chronological and more logically coherent fashion
2026 Seems Like (Potentially) the Last Year of Slop Drowning News Sites
Sites that do so perish [...] It's getting hard to find slop in news sites which cover "Linux" because many gave up
Links 05/03/2026: New LexisNexis Data Breach Confirmed, "Goldman Sachs Head During Financial Crisis Says He “Smells” a Similar Crash Coming"
Links for the day
"Silent Layoffs" or "Forever Layoffs" at IBM and Red Hat (After Bluewashing)
Like every day (all day long) we can see people who leave IBM and say something that's based on a 'script'
Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Others Promoting String of RMS Talks, Starting Tomorrow in Lucerne School of Computer Science and Information Technology
Well done, FSF!
Links 05/03/2026: A Bet Against Substack, American Government Openly Hostile Towards Environment
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/03/2026: Greed and Sentiments Shifting Against Slop
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 04, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, March 04, 2026
FSF Promoting Richard M. Stallman (RMS) Talk in Switzerland in Just Over a Day From Now
RMS may have more talks on the way
Why Slop Will Flop - Part IV - We've Seen the End of It
Some years ago they insisted blockchains would revolutionise everything
Android is Proprietary 'Linux' and It Becomes More Malicious Over Time, Google Only Delayed What It Planned All Along
Google is a proprietary software giant, GSoC is only a distraction and confusion
Links 04/03/2026: Scam Altman Causes Chatbot Sub Numbers to Plunge, "Stocks Drop as Inflation Risk Emerges"
Links for the day
Why Slop Will Flop - Part III - Our Relationship With Slop (and Yours)
I never - except inadvertently - "used" an LLM-based chatbot
Why Slop Will Flop - Part II - Devil in the Details
News sites or social control media sites which tolerate slop are digging their own grave
Simpler Means Faster
Do you know your bottlenecks?
Gemini Links 04/03/2026: About a Missing Symbol and "Good Manners"
Links for the day
The Register MS Takes Money From Chinese Surveillance Threat to Promote a Ponzi Scheme
"Sponsored by Huawei."
Nicaragua's GNU/Linux Usage Measured at Over 8% by statCounter
Nicaragua is a poor country, but it also has rich culture
Why Slop Will Flop - Part I - Slop Fatigue Prevalent
See, sooner or later people (audiences of colleagues) find out and as soon as they find out you are slopping, they will lose interest
Microsofters' SLAPP Censorship - Part 2 Out of 200: Detailed Timeline From 2012 (Attack on Reporters That Question Restricted Boot) to 2024 (Lawsuit Against Reporter and His Wife in Another Continent)
we reproduce a document produced 2 years ago to give people more context and more facts
Links 04/03/2026: "The EU moves to kill infinite scrolling" and a call to "Nationalize Amazon"
Links for the day
Coming Soon: Evidence of Abuse in Our IRC Network
IRC's freedom can sometimes be its 'weakness' if not properly guarded
High GNU/Linux Adoption in Brunei Darussalam
It's worth noting (or at least noticing) that Microsoft loses ground in some of the countries where the government contracts paid the most
Media Blackout Reducing or Preventing Press Coverage of Microsoft Layoffs in 2026
Worse yet, there will be gaslighting and deceit
GNU/Linux in Laptops/Desktops Still Matters, It's Likely the Only Way to Achieve Software Freedom
Software Freedom requires all sorts of things at the "OS level"
Gemini Links 04/03/2026: The Garnet Star, The Hunt, The SYN Attacks
Links for the day
The EPO's General Consultative Committee (GCC) Discussion Illuminates How Much Worse Things Have Gotten ("on Strike and Participated in the 'Meeting'")
a videoconference - not a physical meeting - discussed EPO policies
Free Software Foundation Supports Its Founder, Advertises His Talks in Switzerland
When you suppress voices, assuming the reasons for suppression are bunk, it is always bound to backfire very badly
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 03, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, March 03, 2026
Over 1,500 EPO Workers Went on Strike Last Week
a new publication which celebrates some accomplishments of industrial actions and calls for further actions
Madame Streisand Wanted to Censor The Web, Instead She 'Created' a New Term, "Streisand Effect"
It is basically an own goal
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Failed to Detect Fraud in Law Firms... Until It Was Too Late
Earlier today we contacted some more politicians about this and received mail from them as well
Our EPO and IBM Coverage Bears Fruit
In case insiders want to get in touch with us, please ensure or at least try doing so securely
Defending Women Isn't a Crime, Everybody Can Agree on That
Their culture is unlike ours
EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part VI - Influx of Spaniards and Portuguese Workers (+77%) at Europe's Second-Largest Institution, Led by the 'Alicante Mafia'
There is now data supporting this assertion, new and complete data in fact
Links 03/03/2026: "Scam Altman in Damage Control" and Oil Traffic Disrupted
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/03/2026: Phones, LLMs, and Changes on the Web
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Confirms Talk in Bern Next Week
Dr. Stallman has just formally confirmed his third talk this month in Switzerland
Nobody is Safe at IBM (or Red Hat)
There is no job security at IBM
GNU/Linux at All-Time High in Guam
there are many computers in that island
Bad faith: Hugo Roy knew FSFE impersonating FSF before French tribunal, colleagues deceived
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Microsofters' SLAPP Censorship - Part 1 Out of 200: Claim No. KB-2024-001270 in a Nutshell
abuse of process by a law firm working for an American who was arrested for strangling women and another American whose own spouse calls a "rapist"
When EPO Team Managers (TMs) Are Harassing People Who Strictly Apply the European Patent Convention (EPC) in Patent Examination
There are two strikes planned for this month
Confirmed: Using Slop Gets You Fired
Let the story of Benj Edwards be a cautionary tale
Links 03/03/2026: "No one wants to read your AI slop" and "chatbots in the kill chain"
Links for the day
EPO and "Equivalent to More Than 100 Days of Strike"
The industrial actions continue and already have a positive effect
Streisand Effect, the Microsoft Way
Microsoft has once again proven the Streisand Effect
Keeping Track of IBM Layoffs in March 2026
IBM depends on bribery
GNU/Linux Measured at 7% in Yemen
Windows is too hostile and dangerous
Links 03/03/2026: Security Breaches, Iceland Wants EU Membership, and "Wall Street–Backed Lawmakers Want to Help Banks Gouge You"
Links for the day
Queensland Health Payroll System: IBM billion-dollar-blowout inquiry
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 02, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, March 02, 2026
Gemini Links 03/03/2026: GrapheneOS and Keyboard Shortcuts
Links for the day