danyork

danyork, 5 months ago to fediverse

Advocates for #ActivityPub - IF YOU HAVE A #WORDPRESS SITE, have you installed the ActivityPub plugin? https://wordpress.org/plugins/activitypub/

At the State of the Word address this week, Matt Mullenweg was asked about support for the plugin, and he commented that less than 5,000 sites had installed it. So he wasn't sure how interested people are in it.

So... if you have a WP site, let's start installing that plugin and making more sites available via ActivityPub! 😀

#StateOfTheWord #SotW

danyork, 11 months ago to ai

“SHALL WE PLAY A GAME?” It was 40 years ago today, on June 3, 1983, when “War Games” was released in the US, giving us all a taste then of the dangers of giving full control to #AI systems. Watching the trailer now, it’s fun to hear all the modem sounds and everything else:

https://youtu.be/TQUsLAAZuhU

(More about the film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGames )

I was in high school at the time, and was dialing into BBS’s and services, so I absolutely loved the film. 40 years!!!

#WarGames

danyork, 11 months ago to random

Wow! This is an amazing opportunity for the right person! I mean… helping Mozilla lead their entrance into Mastodon / the Fediverse… and doing so while creating a positive social experience!

PLEASE SHARE THIS with people you think might be good candidates. Let’s help Mozilla!

From: @jamesid
https://mozilla.social/@jamesid/110470858327528256

danyork, 8 months ago (edited 8 months ago) to firefox

If for some reason you are still using #GoogleChrome, now is a really good time to look at using other web browsers!

I’m a very happy #Firefox user, and if you haven’t looked at FF for a while, I’d encourage you to give it another look. Newer versions are faster… and they actually respect your #privacy !

From: @malwaretech
https://infosec.exchange/@malwaretech@infosec.exchange/111019619190896517

danyork, 10 months ago to scifi

“Hope begins with the ability to imagine alternatives. And there is always an alternative.” - part of a brilliant graduation address by Cory Doctorow ( @pluralistic ) to York University.

A great piece about science fiction, optimism, pessimism, fatalism, humane agency, Luddites, tech bros, inevitability, and the need to always seek alternatives… and to find hope.

Read the whole thing: https://doctorow.medium.com/there-is-always-an-alternative-e55fd414d1fd

#hope #scifi #sciencefiction

danyork, 10 months ago to internet

“Very bad laws are still laws. The Tories are about to pass one that will make the damage caused by Brexit seem like a fart in a hurricane: the online safety bill. It will ruin your experience of the internet. Guaranteed.”

——
The online safety bill: taking a sledgehammer to the internet in the UK?
Using the Online Safety Bill to prevent harm to children is like saving them from drowning by boiling all the water in the UK into space
https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/the-online-safety-bill-taking-a-sledgehammer-to-the-internet-in-the-uk/

#internet #uk #OnlineSafetyBill

danyork, 5 months ago to threads

It's great to see that #Threads is getting serious about offering #ActivityPub integration so that communication can happen with #Mastodon and the broader #Fediverse.

We NEED open, interoperable protocols that for this kind of communication and interaction. It's a key way to unlock the walled gardens that control so much of messaging.

And it's great to see a company the size of Meta getting behind ActivityPub. Kudos to the teams involved.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/13/24000120/threads-meta-activitypub-test-mastodon

tip @Techmeme

danyork, 10 months ago to random

This count of Mastodon users has now crossed over 13,000,000 🎉🎉🎉.… and it is fascinating to see the big burst over the past couple of days with all the self-inflicted chaos on the birdsite!

(Keeping in mind that at 13 million, it is still a “rounding error” (i.e. a small fraction) when compared to huge sites like Facebook… but it is still very awesome to see! Looking forward to the future!)

From: @mastodonusercount
https://mastodon.social/@mastodonusercount/110649568100129610

danyork, 1 month ago to Wikipedia

If you are looking for a summary of what is happening with the terrible Baltimore bridge collapse, the #Wikipedia page about the event is being constantly updated: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Scott_Key_Bridge_collapse

#Baltimore #BaltimoreBridge

danyork, 10 months ago to threads

A great piece from @mmasnick that includes this:

So, I’m personally not that excited about #Threads as a product, nor am I all that worried about it doing something bad for the #fediverse. I am excited that it shows how big companies can make use of open protocols in a manner that keeps the #internet more open, enabling communication not just within a single silo, but where the users have more control, rather than a single centralized company.

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/07/06/meta-launches-threads-and-its-important-for-reasons-that-most-people-wont-care-about/

tip @Techmeme

danyork, 9 months ago to internet

Subsea cables are one of the most critical ways that we all get #InternetAccess But they are not well-understood by most people. This is an excellent explainer piece about how the cables work, their history, how they are installed, and what threats there are. Great way for those interested in learning about how the #Internet actually works!

Also includes a 4-minute video that explains more and has helpful video and images.

From: @stshank
https://mstdn.social/@stshank/110769356180266349

danyork, 1 year ago to fediverse

Very useful analysis from @mmasnick about #Mastodon, #BlueSky, and #nostr .. and #decentralized messaging in general.

#Decentralization is critical to prevent the kind of mess and chaos we are seeing with Twitter right now.. and have seen with other sites, too.

From: @mmasnick
https://mastodon.social/@mmasnick/110278258978335092

danyork, 6 months ago to Wikipedia

In this article from last week, if you read down beyond the first part about Twitter, the later parts are a great view into how discussions and decisions happen within the world of #Wikipedia editors. Well done!

https://slate.com/technology/2023/10/wikipedia-elon-musk-gaza-hamas-israel-x-twitter-dispute.html

danyork, 5 months ago (edited 5 months ago) to random

Wow! Our 14yo just pointed me to https://www.fakespot.com , a very cool project from @mozilla !

Install the browser extension and start searching at a site like Amazon with many reviews... and Fakespot gives ratings showing how accurate the reviews are for a given product. And shows you what the actual customer rating would be if you remove the fake reviews.

Very cool!

Kudos to the Mozilla team for supporting this!

(Mozilla acquired Fakespot in May 2023)

danyork, 1 year ago to fediverse

Excellent to see a new #SocialAudio service emerge that lets you do a TwitterSpaces-style audio streaming service via your #Mastodon account. This is one of the big holes I have seen missing in the #TwitterMigration

By its nature this is a centralized service… but in reading various comments it looks like you CAN self-host this “Audon” software, which means there are ways to decentralize this.

From: @fediversereport
https://mastodon.social/@fediversereport/110254125823826754

danyork, 7 months ago to random

Have you thanked someone for a job well done recently?

Yesterday we had a guy come to repair a broken spring on our garage door. He arrived early, took at look at what was needed, fixed it all while I was in my office in a meeting, and just left the invoice for us. He fixed some other parts to it and lubricated it all, too.

So today I took 5 minutes to call his company and just simply say what an awesome job he did!

(And they were appreciative. Probably people mostly call with issues.)

danyork, 8 months ago to random

How To Opt-In to Mastodon Search - a quick screenshot.

If you, like me, were trying to figure out the exact steps in the web interface, maybe this screenshot will help.

You start by going to your "Getting started" view and choose "Preferences" in the right column.

[This ONLY works if your Mastodon instance is running at least v4.2.0.]

Then, as shown in the image, you go to:

• Public profile
• Privacy and reach tab
• Check "Include public posts in search results"
• Save changes

danyork, 9 months ago to Wikipedia

Great reminder! I’ve seen the power of #Kiwix to bring the online world to places that are either offline or barely connected. As noted, it’s also a great way to have resilient access to information like #Wikipedia in the event of network outages.

From: @wikipedia
https://wikis.world/@wikipedia/110768719817791166

danyork, 2 months ago to random

Dear Apple,

Can you PLEASE stop turning my links into “previews” when I am composing an email message? I don’t want that. I never have wanted that. I get that you think you are “helping” me, but I JUST WANT TO POST A RAW URL. That’s it. Just a link address.

And yes, I know in the Mac version I can get a down-arrow to convert it to a plain link, but that’s a pain, and not easy in IOS.

I just want URLs.

Thank you,
An email user (who, yes, has gray hair and has been using email for 30+ years)

danyork, 10 months ago to random

So because I enjoy exploring new forms of social media, I had to check out the new #Threads app page in the Apple AppStore. YOU CANNOT GET THE APP YET… the AppStore only says “Coming Soon” and the date of July 6.

But look at all the data they say they may collect about you! More than I have seen for any other app. At least they are honest about your lack of privacy! 😳

danyork, 4 months ago to internet

For ppl in the USA still thinking about making tax-deductible contributions before midnight tonight, here are my entirely-subjective suggestions for US organizations to consider who are working to make the #Internet better in some way:

• The Internet Society - (Yes, this is my employer!) There are still 3 billion people with no Internet access - and governments around the world are seeking to restrict what we can see and do. We need your help to defend the Internet! https://www.internetsociety.org/donate/

1/

danyork, 4 months ago to random

This! 100X this…

So much of what we put online is ephemeral. Even with awesome services like the Internet Archive, so much memory is lost.

And sometimes that’s okay. There is a place for ephemeral things. Sand castles can be beautiful art to be treasured until the next tide. And we don’t need to save every post-it note.

But so much else is worth saving. Even if we may not know it now.

To paraphrase a song.. “All we are is bits in the wire…”

From: @reiver
https://mastodon.social/@reiver/111762190007459044

danyork, 1 month ago to internet

Q - do you know of well-researched articles, or academic papers, that explore the risks to the Internet’s infrastructure due to climate change?

I.e. how do we keep the Internet functioning in the midst of extreme weather and other aspects of climate change? For example, if sea levels rise, what will that do to subsea cable landing stations?

I am building a list of articles and papers, and I have some.. but am looking for more.

Thanks!

#Internet #InternetAccess #Climate #ClimateChange

danyork, 1 month ago to random

“The future isn't here, it's just not evenly distributed. Prisoners are the ultimate early adopters of the technology that the richest, most powerful, most sadistic people in the country's corporate board-rooms would like to force us all to use.”

• @pluralistic on the horror that is prison-tech companies gouging the people who can afford it the least. 🙁

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/02/captive-customers/

danyork, 1 month ago to random

My only good shot from totality (after I remembered to take the filter off the lens! 🤦‍♂️🤣). Totality was amazing and so I was drinking it all in. Temps dropped a good 10 degrees F, mosquitoes came out, the birds stopped singing, everyone’s solar lights came on, and it was incredibly dark. Really amazing!
And then it was over and everything started returning to normal!

#Eclipse #Eclipse2024 #Totality #Vermont #SolarEclipse #SolarEclipse2024