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@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

shrugal

@shrugal@lemm.ee

Also @shrugal.

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shrugal ,
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

I'm transcoding everything to 320kbps MP3s. It's much much smaller than flac, and I can't hear the difference even if I try.

Alternatives to Google Docs/sheets?

What are people using in place of Google docs/sheets/etc? I'm looking for a simple program that syncs with the cloud so I can access my documents on my different computers or my Android phone. I run Windows 10 (don't crucify me). I use libre office for things that can stay on one computer, but for things like school notes,...

shrugal ,
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

I can't recommend Synology enough! They make it as easy and painless as possible to own your data again.

shrugal ,
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

Idk when you checked, but they work pretty well now. Not quite on par with Google Docs, but the closest thing I know.

shrugal ,
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

Here is a more detailed explanation of the exploit.

The Pepaire-Bueno brothers exploited a bug in MEV-boost's code that allowed them to preview the content of blocks before they were officially delivered to validators, according to the indictment.

The brothers created 16 Ethereum validators and targeted three specific traders who operated MEV bots, the indictment said. They used bait transactions to figure out how those bots traded, lured the bots to one of their validators which was validating a new block and basically tricked these bots into proposing certain transactions. [...]

So hardly an attack on any core system of cryptocurrencies.

shrugal ,
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

It's not. They tricked some MEV-Boost bots into doing bad trades.

shrugal , (edited )
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

IANAL and all, but bad/unfavorable contracts and literal deception/fraud are two different things, at least in the legal system. Not everything that's technically possible is also allowed, obviously.

Compare it to using a security flaw to hack into a system. Technically you're only using the official API, maybe in unusual ways, but still. But you're doing it in bad faith and causing harm, maybe pretending to be someone you're not or injecting fake data into the system, and that can make a difference.

shrugal ,
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

What's absurd is this crypto maximalist take.

You can't just make up your own permission and punishment system, and then expect the legal system to just step aside and let it handle all disputes, especially when it comes to fraud. That's like founding your own city in an existing country, and declaring all existing law obsolete. I know some people think this is a real possibility, but the real world doesn't work like that.

shrugal ,
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

No, it really doesn't. That's like creating a bot that buys and sells company shares automatically, and saying the stock exchange has a vulnerability because your bot makes bad decisions.

Secure portal between Internet and internal services

I thought I was going to use Authentik for this purpose but it just seems to redirect to an otherwise Internet accessible page. I'm looking for a way to remotely access my home network at a site like remote.mywebsite.com. I have Nginx proxy forwarding with SSL working appropriately, so I need an internal service that receives...

shrugal , (edited )
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

I just set up a Vouch-Proxy for this yesterday. It uses the nginx auth_request directive to authenticate users with an SSO server, and then stores the token in a domain-wide cookie, so you're logged in across all subdomains. Works pretty well so far, you don't even notice it when you're logged in to your SSO provider.

But you do have to tell the proxy where you want to redirect a request somehow, either by subdomain (illegal.yourdomain.com) or port (yourdomain.com:8787) or path (yourdomain.com/illegal). I'm not sure if it works with raw IPs as hosts, but you can add additional restrictions like only allowing local client IPs.

In my special case I'm using the local Synology SSO server, and I have to spin up an additional nginx server because the built-in one doesn't support auth_request.

maegul , to Technology
@maegul@hachyderm.io avatar

Google's play on Search, Ads and AI feels obvious to me.

  • They know search is broken.
  • And that people use AI in part because it takes the ads and SEO crap out.
  • IE, AI is now what Google was in 2000. A simple window onto the internet.
  • Ads/SEO profits will fall with AI.
  • But Google will then just insert shit into AI "answers" for money.
  • Ads managed + up-to-date AI will be their new mote and golden goose.

@technology

See @caseynewton 's blog post: https://mastodon.social/@caseynewton/112442253435702607

shrugal , (edited )
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

I hope at that point we have enough capable alternatives. Like, hopefully around the time they add ads is also the time when open-source models and apps have caught up again.

Microsoft is testing Game Pass ads on the Windows 11 Settings homepage (www.ghacks.net)

Microsoft's announcement: "We are introducing a new Game Pass recommendation card on the Settings homepage. The Game Pass recommendation card on Settings Homepage will be shown to you if you actively play games on your PC. As a reminder – the Settings homepage will be shown only on the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 and...

shrugal , (edited )
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

It's a group therapy called !linux, we always have free seats!

Hello GPT-4o (openai.com)

GPT-4o (“o” for “omni”) is a step towards much more natural human-computer interaction—it accepts as input any combination of text, audio, and image and generates any combination of text, audio, and image outputs. It can respond to audio inputs in as little as 232 milliseconds, with an average of 320 milliseconds,...

shrugal ,
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

This is pretty impressive and hella creepy!

shrugal , (edited )
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

It can be a bit annoying sometimes, but there are solutions for almost anything, like alternative clients and frontends. I also think it's important to remember that this is not an all-or-nothing situation. Every little bit of privacy you can preserve helps, even if you still have to use their services sometimes.

If your example is mostly about chat then Beeper might be a good option for you. The messages on FB and IG would still go through Meta, but at least you don't have to install their apps.

shrugal ,
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

If you have an always-on-and-connected device then you can self-host their bridges. It preserves e2ee because messages are de- and reencrypted on your device, and it's relatively easy to set up.

shrugal ,
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

You have to provide the user, group and file name as the next three guesses, just trust me!

shrugal , (edited )
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

It's hard to overstate what a nothing-burger this article really is! Let me break it down:

  • Signal got $3 million from the Open Technology Fund at some point in its development
  • Some anonymous source alleges that the OTF's ultimate goal is to promote US foreign interests
  • The current chairman of the board Katherine Maher worked at the National Democratic Institute and Wikipedia before
  • The same anonymous source says she was recruited because of connections to the OTF
  • She has at some point voiced the opinion that a completely free internet without regulation just reproduces existing power structures, and that balancing regulation and 1st amendment rights is a tough problem
  • Signal doesn't have reproducible builds on iOS (it absolutely does on Android btw)
  • Some people feel like Signal chats come up more often than they should in court cases and media reports

That's it, that's the whole story. That's the reason why the Telegram guy of all people thinks you should be careful, and better use his chat service instead, and the Twitter guy agrees.

I mean, reproducible builds on iOS would be nice, but that platform has much bigger problems from a privacy/security/sovereignty/freedom standpoint anyway. And the rest is just nothing turned up to 11.

shrugal ,
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

Just a heads up, trying to buy Uranium for the reactor on Ebay will get you in trouble real fast, so be careful!

shrugal , (edited )
@shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

I think some of the arguments are quite flawed. Bitcoin itself has most of the properties it is said to have, but it lives in a world that doesn't and so some only really apply if you manage to stay inside the system. Like, your Signal chats are private as long as you don't copy-paste them to Facebook.

Regarding self-custody/decentralization and using custodial services: The problem here is not that those properties don't apply to Bitcoin, but that some people just choose to give away control over their wallets or not use Bitcoin itself for certain transactions. Can't blame that on the currency, unless you think it can't be done any other way.

Regarding privacy: I don't think any serious "Bitcoiner" advertises Bitcoin as private. The message has always been that it's "pseudonymous", that you have to take extra steps in order to make it anonymous, and that it's transparent instead of private by design.

Regarding transparency/inclusion: These paragraphs actually argue about privacy again. One is trying to spin the existing transparency into a negative, which is a valid opinion but not something "Bitcoiners" are wrong about. The other circles back to the idea of staying inside the system. Bitcoin transactions are inclusive, but ofc you can still get into trouble if you have to fear external repercussions and can't stay anonymous.

nm , to Technology
@nm@veganism.social avatar

[Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

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    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    If you're curious, here are the numbers added up for all Lemmy instances with 10+ users:

    blocked/fedipact

    • ​​users: 251442 (~60%)
    • active: 24106 (~55%)
      ​​​

    federated

    • ​​users: 167166 (~40%)
    • ​​active: 19558 (~45%)
    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    If you have a monopoly and need to maximize profits then the question becomes: Why not?! You could extract more money this way, and it's not like your users would go anywhere else at this point.

    That is why it's so important to fight and break up monopolies, and to limit what these companies can do. Because they have no reason not to squeeze every penny they can get out of you!

    shrugal , (edited )
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    I've been running Gluetun for a few months now, and just the other day discovered that you can use it to seamlessly proxy Twitch streams (using it as http proxy for ttv lol pro), so they load via countries that Twitch doesn't show ads for. Setting it up was ridiculously easy, and now I have neither ads nor endless loading anymore. The whole thing was a really nice surprise!

    shrugal , (edited )
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    Yes. It makes it much harder to build a profile about you though, because you're not logged in and they don't know if those views come from you or someone else using your server. Even if you're the only one, the website doesn't know that.

    shrugal , (edited )
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    From what I understand the GDPR says you have to give users a real choice about the usage of their data, without any unreasonable negative repercussions. Having to pay money (at least as much as they are asking for) is such an unacceptable repercussion, no matter how FB might phrase it.

    They are allowed to take money or show ads for access, but they can't couple that decision with the one about the user's data usage.

    shrugal , (edited )
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    pay for it with advertising your data

    FTFY.

    That part is not allowed according to the GDPR afaik, the decision about your personal data cannot be artificially linked to something else. They can absolutely show ads, but without using your data.

    shrugal , (edited )
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    The video is probably factually correct, but very disingenuous with its interpretations and conclusions imo.

    Of course Mozilla and Firefox have their own share of problems and bad decisions, and they are pretty well known and talked about from what I've seen, but equating it to Google and Chrome is just pure cynicism. Mozilla having to earn money somehow (1% donations!) and Google trying to maximize profits at all costs is not the same thing, even if it might look similar sometimes.

    shrugal , (edited )
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    I started using their Signal and WhatsApp bridges today, probably one of the easiest setups I ever did. You just run a Docker container for every bridge, and login to your Signal/WhatsApp account by chatting in the app with the Matrix bot it creates.

    Literally takes like 5 minutes if you've used Docker before, and you don't need a domain or forwarded ports or anything.

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    There's almost no difference to a good Matrix client if you already selfhost the server and bridges. Most of the Beeper client's value is making it very easy to manage the bridges they host for you.

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    This is not applicable here, since Beeper is "just" Matrix + Bridges + Simplified UX!

    shrugal , (edited )
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    What is this "closed source experience" you are talking about? How would making the client open source hinder that in any way, especially when their stated goal is to earn money with premium features instead of the app itself?!

    Imo being open source is a VERY big deal for an e2e encrypted chat client! I don't really care whether most of their stack is open if the app I'm actually using to type and encrypt my messages is not. This makes the whole thing look like a trick, pretending to be open when key parts are not.

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    That's not the point. An app doesn't become good because you can just not use it.

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    The thing is, we are talking about the Beeper service here. Yes Matrix is good, yes Beeper bridges are good, but a closed source Beeper app is bad. That's what the criticism is about, and it doesn't help if you deflect that by arguing about all the other things they are doing or that no one is forced to install it.

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    I can answer that: it’s the “I don’t care about security as long as I can send memes and inappropriate messages to most people” experience.

    Closed source doesn't help with that though, you don't have to care about privacy in open source.

    except you do know that the bridges are decrypting all messages anyway

    They are working on on-device bridges that preserve e2ee, but making the client closed source kind of defeats the purpose here.

    shrugal , (edited )
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    You're definitely right that people are a bit too doom-and-gloom about it, Beeper did do a lot of good over the last few years!

    But I also find it a bit odd that they talk so much about the importance of open source in messaging, and then release a closed source client without at least adressing the topic. Add the fact that they've been aquired by another company on the same day, and it starts to smell like another instance of openwashing.

    Idk, we'll have to see how it plays out I guess.

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    the connecting with a majority of people using the same closed source platform

    The platform is open, including the part that connects to other closed source platforms. It's just Matrix and open source bridges after all. And making the client app closed souce doesn't help with any of that.

    I'm sorry if I'm a bit pedantic about this, but it seems like you're describing an upside to closed source software that's just not there.

    shrugal , (edited )
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    Nothing about what you just wrote has anything to do with closed source software though. You could just as well say that closed source helps them predict the future or draw shinier unicorns. It doesn't!

    Maybe you mean tightly coupled, stripped-down, preconfigured or vertically integrated, but you can do that just as well with open source software. No one is forcing them to make a general purpose chat app or offer the ability to choose a different server. It's just a matter of being able to see, verify and modify the code.

    differentiate above the competition [...] charging for it

    This is the only thing that comes close imo. But they stated specifically that they don't want to make money with the chat app itself, so it doesn't really work as a justification. They could easily offer server-side premium features or create a closed source premium-only version or extension, it's no reason to make the base app closed source.

    security theatre

    They don't have to do that, and they don't afaik. Matrix itself can do proper e2ee just fine, and Beeper is pretty open about the fact that bridges hosted by them have to break e2ee to translate between platforms. They'd only need theater if their closed source app actually has some bad code in it, which is kind of my point.

    Expanding to selling some user metadata, or sniffing the bridges, would be an extra

    Again: Their Matrix server and bridges are open source right now, and it wouldn't stop them from doing what you're describing.

    Too pedantic 😉

    I just can't help it. 😜

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    Yes and yes. It runs the bridge and en/decrypts messages locally on your device, so full e2ee is preserved. The bridge still has to login to your messenger accounts, so nothing changes there.

    Note-taking app that looks too good to be true? - Siyuan

    Recently stumbled upon this note-taking app called SiYuan, but it honestly looks a bit too good to be true(?). Has anyone here used it or got any experience with it? Trying to replace Obsidian is a difficult task, and I've been through almost all note-taking apps there are out there, however this one looks fairly similar....

    shrugal , (edited )
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    Looks dope, but it seems like the Docker container has some very unfortunate limitations:

    • Does not support desktop and mobile application connections, only supports use on browsers
    • Export to PDF, HTML and Word formats is not supported
    • Import Markdown file is not supported

    This kinda makes it unusable for me. :/

    Edit: I just installed it and ... you have to login and pay for a subscription in order to sync between devices. RIP

    Edit 2: It's not a subscription, just a one-time payment. Might be worth it for some!

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    Looks like you can create a simple binary executable and make it run as root with setuid.

    Comments no longer visible with youtube frontends?

    Are comments no longer visible for anyone else using the youtube frontends? I can no longer see comments with either invidious, piped, or viewtube, and I've tried several instances of each. With invidious there's just nothing there below the video description. With viewtube I get an error message. And with piped I see...

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    It's a known issue and should be fixed in the most recent version of Piped (and probably everything that depends on NewPipe). I updated mine yesterday and it looks like all video comments work again.

    shrugal , (edited )
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    What does their multi-device story look like? Can I use one identity/account on multiple devices, with synced read state etc?

    Edit: Looks like it's being worked on. I don't want to use a messenger without this feature anymore, but I'll give SimpleX another look once it's done.

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    I use Synology C2 backup for my NAS, but they also have very affordable options for PC backups and object storage.

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    Please try to request the source code with that screenshot!

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    But M$ likes to play games with you!

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    Relevant xkcd

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    I'll repeat what I said the last time this was posted: NO f*cking way the Fedora guy got past the partition configuration step without pulling at least a few hairs out! I love Fedora, but that UI is just cursed!

    shrugal , (edited )
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    I'm not saying these rules are perfect, but it doesn't help if you argue against rules that don't exist.

    Commercial transactions are not "all" tx, and above 3000€ are obviously not the most common tx.

    I do think the crypto restriction with no lower limit is too much, and I don't get why they focus on custodial wallets, but it's again not "all" tx.

    Why does the government ...

    Money laundering, tax evasion and corruption are real crimes with real consequences, and knowing about the flow of money is pretty much required to be able to detect them. It's a trade-off with privacy, so imo setting some limit for anonymous payments is the right thing to do. Idk if 3000€ is perfect, but it does seem reasonable.

    Police have more surveillance and crime-detecting tools ...

    We need some amount of oversight and surveillance, so imo it's not good enough to just exaggerate every proposal to the extreme and reject it on those grounds. These rules are not a total crackdown on anonymous payments, but they might still be too restrictive. But you kill every discussion about that if you just make up different rules entirely, instead of arguing about the rules that were actually adopted.

    US sues Apple for illegal monopoly over smartphones (www.theverge.com)

    The US Department of Justice and 16 state and district attorneys general accused Apple of operating an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market in a new antitrust lawsuit. The DOJ and states are accusing Apple of driving up prices for consumers and developers at the expense of making users more reliant on its iPhones.

    shrugal ,
    @shrugal@lemm.ee avatar

    They don't have to make extra apps, just remove restrictions that make some functionality exclusive to iPhones or Apple Watches. So iPhones get the same access to Apple Watches as other phones, and Apple Watches get the same access to iPhones as other watches.

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