Notices by Jeff Triplett (webology@mastodon.social)

Please publish and share more

https://micro.webology.dev/2024/11/02/please-publish-and.html

This advice applies to #Python tooling, too.

> Tools should be durable, reliable, and safe. They should also work as designed and provide clear instructions on operating them.

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/tools/23438662/tool-buying-guide

@ntnsndr I have never tried Matrix, but I have yet to use a non-proprietary platform whose UX wasn't hot garbage.

I'm not a fan of Discord and Slack, but I have to log into them every day for a few dozen orgs that are firmly there.

I welcome a good, open platform whose UX is not hot garbage. (I am not sure we are there yet.)

🎉 With a ~76% voter turnout and all three bylaws passing for this year's @ThePSF elections.

It was a great turnout and outcome.

There is so much noise on the forum and mailing lists, which continues to be an echo chamber. It's a shame so many people (small numbers are still too many) are still anti and openly hostile towards having an enforceable code of conduct.

💪 That ship sailed years ago and the Python community is better for it.

@MonaApp I can't tell what changed in the last 24 hours, but both my trackpad and mouse stopped working with that app. Clicks do not register and I can't for the life of me tell how to fix it or what's changed.

Have you see this before?

I have used a dozen other apps and I have not seen this at all.

I deleted, restarted, and re-installed a fresh copy from the App Store and I have the same behavior.

Plz help!

🤔 Friends, I hate to say this with fresh layoffs happening, but you are about to see how much "Big Tech ❤️s Open Source" after years of exploiting our work.

>$100 billion in cash reserves and record quarterly profits going back a decade doesn't provide even an ounce of job safety, job security, or even loyalty for the employees and projects who got them there.

If you believe otherwise and work for one of these companies, I hope you are mentally and financially ready for what is to come.

📌 On leaving Pinboard, aka Raindrop, is better 🤷: https://micro.webology.dev/2024/04/11/on-leaving-pinboard.html

@sethmlarson The context matters 💯

Flask runs a `pip install -e . ` to install itself to run tests. This gets a negative mark.

Same for running `pip install -U pip` to always be on the latest pip.

I don't know how someone may reasonably pin those.

They also get tripped up on locked Python dependencies via `pip install -r locked-filename.txt`.

These aren't helpful.

🔥 An update on OpenSSF's XZ fumble: https://micro.webology.dev/2024/04/01/an-update-on.html

@sethmlarson Django was also dinged because of their security details because the file includes a link to the website.

Some points for the filename existing, so GitHub's API can pick up on it.

Negative points for keywords not existing because the file is a URL that appears to be on the external website.

🤷

@sethmlarson I don't believe grepping for "pip install" and then failing is useful or healthy for anyone, which is what those sections appear to be pointing out.

I get that this is a hard problem to know the right context and to differentiate, which is why many of us are pointing out that it's a bad tool.

A bad tool is one we can't trust or that commonly reports false positives, which is where we are at.

✅ My best life hack for increased productivity is to budget $0 a year on productivity software.

🤔I got asked about this yesterday from a neighbor, a teacher in our local school district.

Teacher: "Isn't AI 4 to 5 times faster/better at coding than the best developers?"

Me: "Isn't AI 4 to 5 times faster/better at teaching than the best teachers?”

(shocked/disgusted look on her face)

🤷 And that's one of the problems of AI. It seems better than you at something you know nothing about because you don't quite know well enough to call it out on its bullshit. https://toot.cafe/@baldur/112031199817039932

> Specifically, Mozilla plans to scale back its investment in a number of products, including its VPN, Relay and, somewhat remarkably, its Online Footprint Scrubber, which launched only a week ago. Mozilla will also shut down Hubs, the 3D virtual world it launched back in 2018, and scale back its investment in its mozilla.social Mastodon instance. The layoffs will affect roughly 60 employees. Bloomberg previously reported the layoffs.

https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/13/mozilla-downsizes-as-it-refocuses-on-firefox-and-ai-read-the-memo/

When your market cap includes the 4th comma, it should trigger an automatic monopoly investigation and a government-regulated breakup.

No raises though. 🤷 https://awscommunity.social/@Quinnypig/111813275247407517

@mkennedy @ThePSF I agree. That part is poorly written. They should revise this copy to be more respectful of attendees instead of whatever dense copy that is.

Please read this. All of this.

https://pythonafrica.blogspot.com/2023/12/an-open-letter-to-python-software_5.html

> The entitlement and assumption of cultural superiority embodied in these ideas are absurd and offensive.

This is a pretty damning accusation, and the pan-African Python community members are not wrong in their outrage and disappointment.

> We ask the PSF to recognise our concerns, and not just to take them seriously, but to commit to working with the African Python community to address them, so that we do it together.

✊