mwl

mwl, 11 months ago to sysadmin

Computers are like onions. Everything is layers built on layers, and every layer makes you cry. #sysadmin

mwl, 1 month ago to random

Hey everyone! #vultr just enshittified!

They re claiming ownership of all intellectual property you host on their VMs.

https://grimgreenfo.rest/notes/9rdle0uyo4d30029

Clear violation of copyright law.

So, where are people moving to? What options are out there? that suck less?

mwl, 4 months ago to random

You've heard of Barbenheimer, but have you heard of:

mwl, 3 months ago to random

My new favorite correction.

mwl, 3 months ago to random

If you have an Adobe account, for Acrobat or Photoshop or whatever: they've turned on the "we will pillage your work for AI" setting.

Go to https://account.adobe.com/ -> Account and Security -> Data and Privacy Settings -> Content Analysis. Turn it off.

If they want to learn from your work, make them pay for it.

mwl, 10 months ago to random

Dear creators:

please, please, PLEASE set up your own web sites and distribute your work from there.

If you post your work only on Twitter and/or Reddit, it's gonna disappear. Soon.

mwl, 11 months ago to random

Me: I won't discuss business in a room with an Alexa, because Amazon is my business competitor and they eavesdrop.

Various other folks: :flan_eyeroll:

Today: Amazon to pay fine for eavesdropping. https://www.npr.org/2023/06/01/1179381126/amazon-alexa-ring-settlement

mwl, 1 month ago to random

Today's mood:

mwl, 6 months ago to random

help I'm dying

mwl, 7 months ago to random

Dear open source committers and developers: never, EVER do this.

https://ariel-miculas.github.io/How-I-got-robbed-of-my-first-kernel-contribution/

Newcomers need encouragement, mentorship, and support. Never dismiss days of work. Give them feedback and send them back to do it correctly.

OpenBSD is actually pretty good at massaging newcomers into producing solid patches, if you can ignore the haters on their mailing lists.

(blog post found via @vaurora, it's an excellent writeup of a problem I've seen too many times.)

mwl, 6 months ago to random

Studios: "This is our last best offer! Accept this or you get nothing!"

SAG-AFTRA: "Nah. We'll stay on strike."

Studios: "GEEZ! FINE! WE CAPITULATE!"

Unions work.

https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/sag-aftra-tentative-deal-historic-strike-1235771894/

mwl, 2 months ago to random

As a straight middle-aged white dude who worked for decades in tech, my superpower is admitting that I don't know enough about something to have an opinion.

You could also develop this superpower.

mwl, 11 months ago to random

Decision from the US Copyright Office: AI-generated text is not copyrightable.

Use an AI to generate your game, your ad, your marketing, your documentation? Anyone can use that text.

Congress can change this, and there's lots of examples of how to register your human-generated text when it's surrounded by other text, but in short: it's not intellectual property.

https://writerbeware.blog/2023/06/16/copyright-contracts-and-ai-generated-material/

mwl, 9 months ago to random

Fix your sign, people.

mwl, 8 months ago to random

This.

mwl, 1 year ago to random

If we've ever met in person and you've wondered "Gee, how did he get this way," I finally have a solid answer.

mwl, 11 months ago to random

Today's mood:

mwl, 4 months ago to random

FreeBSD Release Engineer Emeritus Glen Barber has had a rough few years.

He managed the last several major FreeBSD releases. If you've run FreeBSD any time in the last few years, it's because of him.

Now he's out of work and his car is busted. Can't get one without the other. Throw him a couple bucks towards getting some wheels?

https://www.gofundme.com/f/outofwork-and-need-transportation

mwl, 4 months ago to random

Possibly the most useful article to appear in Low Tech Magazine.

https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2023/12/how-to-build-a-small-solar-power-system/

mwl, 5 months ago to random

Henry Kissinger may not see your jokes but your friends who are war criminals will.

Also: if you are in line to piss on HK's grave, stay in line.

mwl, 11 months ago to random

I was specifically told that billionaires just rise to the top if they deserve it.

mwl, 3 months ago to writing

Dear writers: Delete your Findaway Voices account NOW

https://mwl.io/archives/23448

#writing #FindawayVoices
Massive license grab that will irrevocably destroy your career.

mwl, 7 months ago to sysadmin

On this date in 1993, the IETF published RFC1519 and obsoleted classful addressing.

If anyone talks about Class C addresses, or even A, B, D, or E, their knowledge is thirty years obsolete and they can be safely ignored.¹ #sysadmin

https://mwl.io/archives/3758

¹ Unless they're discussing history.

mwl, 9 months ago to random

You're not useless.

That's just internalized capitalism, trying to trick you into being exploited.

mwl, 22 hours ago to random

When I left Twitter, I worried that it would impact my ability to make a living.

That worry was unfounded.

Would I be doing better if I was still on Twitter? Perhaps. But looking at my #ryoms visitors on Kickstarter, it's clear that the fedi is a more than adequate replacement.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mwlucas/run-your-own-mail-server

Thanks for sharing, everyone. I appreciate your support.