Rustmilian, (edited ) to android in F-Droid 1.19.0 brings automatic background updates and a new and better workflow for adding repositories.
@Rustmilian@lemmy.world avatar

All F-Droid Clients won’t install the IzzyOnDroid version if you have the F-Droid one installed already because the signatures won’t match, it’s a basic Android security feature.
IzzyOnDroid is actually a bit stricter than that, see IzzySoft Fdroid Index Info & IzzySoft Fdroid Inclusion Policy.

ch3t1ng4l1f3, to privacy German

„You shouldn't confuse privacy with secrecy. We know what happens in the bathroom, but you still close the door. That's because you want privacy, not secrecy.“ (https://www.privacyguides.org/en/basics/why-privacy-matters/#what-is-privacy)
@privacyguides The perfect response to that standard answer of „I gOt nOtHiNG tO hIDe“

Been looking for a perfect response for a long time so thanks I guess ; )

The rest of the article is totally worth reading too!

ArcaneSlime, (edited ) to comicstrips in [Alzwards Corner] EXCUSE ME?!

I meant “scooby doo” itself. And yes, there have been . We don’t need more we need new. I will not forgive the world for “Teen Titans Go!”

Your attempt to paint me as “phobic” or “ist” has nothing to do with the fact I don’t like remakes. I did like The Proud Family, I liked The Boondocks, because they were new and good, and they were still representation. You can take that strawman down anytime you like.

Edit: The PJs, Black Dynamite, Mike Tyson Mysteries too.

idontlikenames, to internet_funeral

...? uhhh sorry I think my aperiodic monotiles got cancer??🦠?

blog, (edited ) to fediverse
@blog@shkspr.mobi avatar

A (tiny, incomplete, single user, write-only) ActivityPub server in PHP
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/02/a-tiny-incomplete-single-user-write-only-activitypub-server-in-php/

I've written an ActivityPub server which . That's all it does. It won't record favourites or reposts. There's no support for following other accounts or receiving replies. It cannot delete or update posts nor can it verify signatures. It doesn't have a database or any storage beyond flat files.

But it will happily send messages and allow itself to be followed.

This shows that it is totally possible to broadcast fully-featured ActivityPub messages to the Fediverse with minimal coding skills and modest resources.

Why

I wanted to create a service a bit like FourSquare. For this, I needed an ActivityPub server which allows posting geotagged locations to the Fediverse.

I didn't want to install a fully-featured server with lots of complex parts. So I (foolishly) decided to write my own. I had a lot of trouble with HTTP Signatures. Because they are cursed and I cannot read documentation. But mostly the cursed thing.

How

Creating a minimum viable Mastodon instance can be done with half a dozen static files. That gets you an account that people can see. They can't follow it or receive any posts though.

I wanted to use PHP to build an interactive server. PHP is supported everywhere and is simple to deploy. Luckily, Robb Knight has written an excellent tutorial, so I ripped off his code and rewrote it for Symfony.

The structure is relatively straightforward.

  • /.well-known/webfinger is a static file which gives information about where to find details of the account.
  • /[username] is a static file which has the user's metadata, public key, and links to avatar images.
  • /following and /followers are also static files which say how many users are being followed / are following.
  • /posts/[GUID] a directory with JSON files saved to disk - each ones contains the published ActivityPub note.
  • /photos/ is a directory with any uploaded media in it.
  • /outbox is a list of all the posts which have been published.
  • /inbox is an external API endpoint. An ActivityPub server sends it a follow request, the endpoint then POSTs a cryptographically signed Accept message to the follower's inbox. The follower's inbox address is saved to disk.
  • /logs is a listing of all the messages received by the inbox.
  • /new is a password protected page which lets you write a message. This is then sent to...
  • /send is an internal API endpoint. It constructs an ActivityPub note, with attached location metadata, and POSTs it to each follower's inbox with a cryptographic signature.

That's it.

The front-end grabs my phone's geolocation and shows the 25 nearest places within 100 metres. One click and the page posts to the /send endpoint which then publishes a message saying I'm checked in. It is also possible to attach to the post a short message and a single photo with alt text.

There's no database. Posts are saved as JSON documents. Images are uploaded to a directory. It is single-user, so there is no account management.

What Works

  • Users can find the account.
  • Users can follow the account and receive updates.
  • Posts contain geotag metadata.
  • Posts contain a description of the place.
  • Posts contain an OSM link to the place.
  • Posts contain a custom message.
  • Posts autolink #Hashtags (sort of).
  • Posts can have an image attached to them.
  • Messages to the inbox are recorded (but not yet integrated).

ToDo

  • My account only has a few dozen followers, some of whom share the same sever. Even with cURL multi handle, it takes time to post to several servers.
  • It posts plain text. It doesn't autolink websites
  • Hashtags are linked when viewed remotely, but they don't go anywhere locally.
  • There's no language selection - it is hard-coded to English.
  • The outbox isn't paginated.
  • The UI looks crap - but it is only me using it.
  • There's only a basic front-page showing a map of all my check-ins.
  • Replies are logged, but there's no easy way to see them.
  • Doesn't show any metadata about the place being checked-in to. It could use the item's website (if any) or hashtags for the type of amenity it is.
  • No way to handle being unfollowed.
  • No way to remove servers which have died.
  • Probably lots more.

Other Resources

I found these resources helpful while creating this project:

What's Next?

I've raised an issue on Mastodon to see if they can support showing locations in posts. Hopefully, one day, they'll allow adding locations and then I can shut this down.

The code needs tidying up - it is very much a scratch-my-own-itch development. Probably riddled with bugs and security holes.

World domination?

Where

You can laugh at my code on GitHub.

You can look at my check-ins on a map.

You can follow my location on the Fediverse at @edent_location@location.edent.tel

https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/02/a-tiny-incomplete-single-user-write-only-activitypub-server-in-php/

#ActivityPub #fediverse #mastodon #php #Symfony

SatyrSack, to programming in Zed is now open source

From their FAQ:

# platforms does Zed support?

As of now, we only support macOS.

We are a small team, so it’s critical for us to be laser-focused. As a startup, one of our key priorities at this early phase is learning, and right now, we’re focused on the following questions:

  • What are the key features we need to get traction on any platform?
  • Are our assumptions about our eventual business model valid?

While we’d love to support users on Linux and Windows, adding those platforms doesn’t really help us answer those questions. We’re investing a lot to make Zed portable, but adding other platforms comes with opportunity cost in the short-term and maintenance overhead going forward. Right now those costs don’t make sense for us.

As Zed matures on a single platform, this cost/benefit ratio will shift, and it will make sense to expand to other platforms. We hope you’ll give it a try when that happens.

As a general timeframe, you can expect us to begin work on supporting these platforms after Zed is open source, but before version 1.0. Any news will be posted to our platform-tracking issues.

Linux support is listed on their roadmap.

blog, to ai
@blog@shkspr.mobi avatar

The (theoretical) risks of open sourcing (imaginary) Government LLMs
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/01/the-theoretical-risks-of-open-sourcing-imaginary-government-llms/

Last week I attended an unofficial discussion group about the future of AI in Government. As well as the crypto-bores who have suddenly pivoted their "expertise" into AI, there were lots of thoughtful suggestions about what AI could do well at a state level.

Some of it is trivial - spell check is AI. Some of it is a dystopian hellscape of racist algorithms being confidently incorrect. The reality is likely to be somewhat prosaic.

Although I'm no longer a civil servant, I still enjoy going to these events and saying "But what about open source, eh?" - then I stroke my beard in a wise-looking fashion and help facilitate the conversation.

For many years, my role in Cabinet Office and DHSC was to shout the words "OPEN SOURCE" at anyone who would listen. Then patiently demolish their arguments when they refused to release something on GitHub. But I find myself somewhat troubled when it comes to AI models.

Let's take a theoretical example. Suppose the Government trains an AI to assess appeals to, say, benefits sanctions. An AI is fed the text of all the written appeals and told which ones are successful and which ones aren't. It can now read a new appeal and decide whether it is successful of not. Now let's open source it.

For the hard of thinking - this is not something that exists. It is not official policy. It was not proposed as a solution. I am using it as a made-up example.

What does it mean to open source an AI? Generally speaking, it means releasing some or all of the following.

  1. The training data.
  2. The weights assigned to the training data.
  3. The final model.

I think it is fairly obvious that releasing the training data of this hypothetical example is a bad idea. Appellants have not consented to having their correspondence published. It may contain deeply personal and private information. Releasing this data is not ethical.

Releasing how the data is trained is probably fine. It would allow observers to see what biases the model has encoded in it. Other departments could use the model to train their own AI. So I (cautiously) support the opening of that code.

But training weights without the associated data is kind of useless. Without the data, you're unable to understand what's going on behind the scenes.

Lastly, the complete model. Again, I find this problematic. There are two main risks. The first is that someone can repeatedly test the model to find weaknesses. I don't believe in "security through obscurity" - but allowing someone to play "Groundhog Day" with a model is risky. It could allow someone to hone their answers to guarantee that their appeal would be successful. Or, more worryingly, it could find a lexical exploit which can hypnotise the AI into producing unwanted results.

Even if that weren't a concern, it appears some AI models can be coerced into regurgitating their training data - as discovered by the New York Times:

The complaint cited examples of OpenAI’s GPT-4 spitting out large portions of news articles from the Times ... It also cited outputs from Bing Chat that it said included verbatim excerpts from Times articles.
NY Times copyright suit wants OpenAI to delete all GPT instances

Even if a Government department didn't release its training data - those data are still embedded in the model and it may be able to reconstruct them. So any sensitive or personal training data might be able to be reconstructed.

Once again, to be crystal clear, the system I am describing doesn't exist. No one has commissioned it. This is a thought experiment by people who do not work in Government.

So where does that leave us?

I am 100% a staunch advocate for open source. Public Money means Public Code. Make Things Open It Makes Things Better.

But...

It seems clear to me that releasing training data is probably not possible - unless the AI is trained on data which is entirely safe / legal to make public.

Without the training data, the way it is trained is of limited use. It should probably be opened, but would be hard to assess.

The final model can only be safely released if the training data is safe to release.

What next?

I'll admit, this troubles me.

I want to live in a world where the data and algorithms which rule the world are transparent to us. There will be plenty of AI systems which can and should be completely open - nose-to-tail. But there will be algorithms trained on sensitive data - and I can't see any safe, legal, or moral way of opening them.

Again, I want to stress that this particular example is a figment of my imagination. But at some point this will have to be reckoned with.

I'm glad this isn't my problem any more!

https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/01/the-theoretical-risks-of-open-sourcing-imaginary-government-llms/

gabboman, to random

TAFFYCOW TIME @SnazzyPurpleMan NOW ITS FIXED

#i-found-it-in-the-wafrn-wiki #i-mean-i-googled-taffy-cow #and-i-got-a-link-to-wafrn-wiki #what-the-fuck-this-is-a-joke-that-only-like-25-people-in-the-world-will-get

aiBlanket, to Funny
@aiBlanket@mastodon.sdf.org avatar

“How many times did this happen before they had to put a sign up.”

ylai, to linux in Docker team is considering distributing Docker Desktop as a Flatpak and Snap

There might be several misunderstandings:

  • Docker Desktop ≠ Docker Engine, and I think what you (and several in this thread) are thinking is actually Docker Engine. Docker Desktop ultimately includes a Docker Engine inside, but it does not appear you need that virtual machine (e.g. running non-Linux code). See: docs.docker.com/desktop/faqs/linuxfaqs/-is-t…
  • Docker Desktop is based on KVM, which already works with Flatpak. So this is not something new. For example, GNOME Boxes is available as Flatpak and provides a way to run KVM guests in SteamOS.
  • Starting with version 3.5 (the current stable) SteamOS already includes Podman with the default installation. And running the daemon-y Docker Engine “bare metal” is not going to be any easier with the immutable filesystem. While Docker Desktop solves this by using KVM, it adds another layer with performance loss, vs. just running Podman containers.

So what you want is already available, and no Docker Desktop is actually needed.

senil888, to random

I always thing suggested-algorithm free reverse chronological timelines are funny because I saw a tumblr post a while back that loved it for the reason of whenever you see a beloved mutual post something like "I'm normal now" you're about to witness the wildest moments of their life for who knows how long, followed by what set them off.

In the opposite order of when they experienced it. And I think that's beautiful.

gabboman,

@senil888 they did that back in the day

#here-I-hide-the-posts-that-you-have-seen-already #its-the-only-algorithm-thing-i-have #a-'in-this-scroll-session #what-posts-have-you-seen'

mat, to random

Wordpress ActivityPub plugin 2.0.0! FWIW, Bidirectional Comment Federation is the last piece I personally was waiting for to declare this thing "feature complete". It means instead of a discussion on your blog and another discussion on social media, there's now a single conversation. Congratulations @pfefferle !

pfefferle,
@pfefferle@mastodon.social avatar

@henrik @mat subfolders are always tricky and you have to tweak some things, but it should work: https://wordpress.org/plugins/activitypub/#what%20if%20you%20are%20running%20your%20blog%20in%20a%20subdirectory%3F

hottari, to selfhosted in Jellyfin on a vps

(I can’t have jellyfin prune media I have watched cause seeding )

You actually can. Thanks to this TRaSH guide.

shebang, to random

Oh no! All my catcatnya gone :c

gabboman,

@shebang the css? will be back at some point but will need some updates on your side sorry

-do-you-think-of-the-new-theme

JustineSmithies, to voidlinux
@JustineSmithies@fosstodon.org avatar

If all goes well with my install tomorrow I might be tempted to give a try instead of my usual trusty ?
Anyone want to chime in with reasons for and against zsh ?

JustineSmithies,
@JustineSmithies@fosstodon.org avatar
Hyolobrika, to random

How would digital currency programming with CBDCs be different from Bitcoin scripts and Ethereum smart contracts?

gabriel,

@Hyolobrika
All we have is speculation because as @Moon pointed out, there are no implementation details available. We do have strong evidence from many examples in the past that states would use their monopoly over consensus (what a CBDC is by definition) to restrict payments for political reasons.

You may find this report by the bank of Canada interesting. It outlines responses from their public consultations on a Bank of Canada Digital dollar (CBDC)

RE: https://shitposter.club/objects/a2329307-97d6-4eda-a6c4-85f7082ba8a8

gabriel,

@Hyolobrika
All we have is speculation because as @Moon pointed out, there are no implementation details available. We do have strong evidence from many examples in the past that states would use their monopoly over consensus (what a CBDC is by definition) to restrict payments for political reasons.

You may find this report by the bank of Canada interesting. It outlines responses from their public consultations on a Bank of Canada Digital dollar (CBDC)

RE: https://shitposter.club/objects/a2329307-97d6-4eda-a6c4-85f7082ba8a8

Heliograph, to random
@Heliograph@mastodon.au avatar
ElectroVagrant, to memes in I love piped bot

Peertube is like an alternative site to youtube. It’s a different place to post your video (you can’t use it to watch YouTube videos to my knowledge)

This is mostly right, I think I’d only clarify that it’s not a singular site, much like Lemmy isn’t, as instead it’s more site software to spin up a YouTube-like video hosting site. Also you’re right that you can’t use it to watch videos as you might via Piped/Invidious, unless the creator has also posted their video to a PeerTube site/instance.

Last little point that’s not super important to know for regular folks is that it’s not using bittorrent for helping distribute video loads, it’s WebRTC. Still peer to peer, just a different approach to it.

sethmlarson, to python
@sethmlarson@fosstodon.org avatar

🚨 PSA: is requiring in 2024 to publish new releases. If you're a developer of packages then you need to enable 2FA in addition to adopting either Trusted Publishers or API tokens before publishing new releases.

Data from today shows less than 10% of PyPI's accounts have 2FA enabled: https://p.datadoghq.com/sb/7dc8b3250-389f47d638b967dbb8f7edfd4c46acb1

sethmlarson,
@sethmlarson@fosstodon.org avatar

@tmr232 There's no requirement for 2FA to publish via Trusted Publishers, however you need to enable 2FA to configure Trusted Publishers, see management actions:

https://blog.pypi.org/posts/2023-08-08-2fa-enforcement-for-new-users/#what-are-management-actions

blog, to random
@blog@shkspr.mobi avatar

Reflections on completing NaNoWriMo
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/12/reflections-on-completing-nanowrimo/

The venerable NaNoWriMo is a self-directed challenge. To whit - can you write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November? It doesn't have to be a good novel. You just need to complete it. 50k words over 30 days is 1,667 words per day. If you can type at about 20 Words Per Minute, then you can bash out a novel in 90 minutes per day.

I completed the challenge in 15 days and published a new chapter every day in November. I want to talk about how I did it and what I learned from it.

What I learned

I know that I can bash out a novel in half a month given sufficient motivation. I have dozens of stories that I want to tell. I finally understand why authors complain about their characters not doing what they need them to do. Trying to engineer a nifty plot point is tougher than I thought. It's fascinating to write characters you don't like - and it can be hard to give them a suitable comeuppance. Stories I thought would be short went on far too long. Being clever rarely works. The thundercrack of realising exactly how something is going to work is brilliant.

But, most importantly, I can commit to a creative challenge, execute it, and complete it.

I've loved the feedback people have given - good and bad. I don't think I want to try and publish it as a "real" book. But we'll see.

Proper Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance

Throughout September and October, I spent some time planning out the bones of my book. I wrote titles for chapters gave each a very vague synopsis. If I had a thought about a plot-point, I scribbled it down. This is similar to my algorithm to write an assignment. A paragraph of 100 words means that you only have to write 17 paragraphs per day. If your chapter has a beginning, middle, and end then you only need to write 6 paragraphs for each.

I also went to a NaNoWriMo "Write In" during October. It was kind of nice to sit with others and chat about our story ideas. It's also harder to doss about on the Internet when you're surrounded by people typing.

Spell Cheque Is The Enemy

I mostly wrote in plain-text. When I did use something like Google Docs, I got distracted by its spell-check and (often erroneous) grammar suggestions. I found it incredibly important to get into the flow. Running on huge paragraphs without stopping to think if I'd spelled "obstreperous" correctly. All of that can be saved for editing. The most important thing is to get the story out.

The secret to doing the work is doing the work

I realise how privileged I am to have a couple of hours each day to write. And I don't mean to suggest that you should feel bad if you don't. But the nice thing about writing is that there are no short-cuts. I cannot teach you "one weird trick that authors hate". You literally have to sit at the keyboard and fling your fingers at it until the words are on the page.

I suppose the only "trick" is not caring too much about the end result while you're writing. Once the words are out, it's OK to go back and fix all your mistakes.

Would I do it again?

I think so! It's fun writing short stories. They're an interesting way to examine what I think about the world. Perhaps next year I will try to turn one of them into a full length novel.

I should probably read more about writing and attend some of the workshops run by published authors. It might also be useful to get beta-readers to commit to giving me feedback on each chapter.

Would I like to be the next Andy Weir and transform my blog into a best-seller and then a movie? Yes, obviously. But I'd rather be realistic about what I can achieve and how I can maximise the fun I have.

Anyway, you can read Tales of the Algorithm online - and I'd love to know what you think of it.

https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/12/reflections-on-completing-nanowrimo/

afg, to random
@afg@vive.im avatar

These seeds that aggressively embed themselves in clothes and fur… it’s a clever evolutionary advantage, but I really want to identify the plant so I can eradicate it from my yard before it gets to this stage. Great Lakes region of USA. https://www.allforgardening.com/698145/these-seeds-that-aggressively-embed-themselves-in-clothes-and-fur-its-a-clever-evolutionary-advantage-but-i-really-want-to-identify-the-plant-so-i-can-eradicate-it-from-my-yard-before-it-gets-to/

'sthisplant

Threads has hashtags now (www.theverge.com)

“Tags work a little differently than hashtags do on platforms like Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). When composing a Threads post, you start a tag by tapping the # symbol and then typing out your topic. But instead of being limited to just one word, you can type out a whole phrase (with spaces!) and add special characters,...

fujiwood, to fediverse in Threads has hashtags now

bro you dont like sentences why not its good for everyone to be able to just do whatever they want its totes okay because then you can like be like really specific about your hashtag so only like minded people can see your stuff and you can make real connections fr fr no cap

Edit: JFC it’s going to be so stupid.

pfefferle, to fediverse
@pfefferle@mastodon.social avatar

We just released version 1.3.0 of the plugin for

https://wordpress.org/plugins/activitypub/

The WordPress.com release is in preparation!

Main new feature: Threaded Comments 😍

Here is a nice example: https://notiz.blog/2023/12/04/sidebar/#comments

Thanks to everyone who was involved!

https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases/tag/1.3.0

naturzukunft,
afg, to random
@afg@vive.im avatar

Hi! Does anybody know what plant this is? Or at least what family does this belong to! https://www.allforgardening.com/692899/hi-does-anybody-know-what-plant-this-is-or-at-least-what-family-does-this-belong-to/

'sthisplant

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