Notices by Dave Lane :flag_tino: 🇳🇿 (lightweight@mastodon.nzoss.nz), page 6

@donkeyblam good question. I suppose there's general stuff to read out there, but given the vanishingly low cost of getting into it (e.g. a $5/month commodity VPS) it's something I just learned by doing. I've written up a whole bunch of howtos which give some guidance on VPSs stuff, too: https://tech.oeru.org - a good starting point would probably be the Bit/VaultWarden howto. It's a hugely useful service: https://tech.oeru.org/setting-your-own-bitwarden-password-manager-and-vaultwarden-sync-server

@ocdtrekkie @donkeyblam well, I'm talking about people who are 'hardcore tech' and shouldn't be intimidated by copying and pasting a few commands. These things take ~10-60 minutes to do... and then a few minutes the next time you do an upgrade. Many of the services I use get a few hours of my time per year in admin... and that's a lot cheaper than a) having to spend a bunch of time jumping through proprietary provider hoops, b) trusting them to look after my data, & c) paying them.

@alex @Firesphere it's always a question of 'worry now, or worry later'... because things always eventually go wrong with proprietary services.

I am reminded, once again (as I require timely output), that inkjet printers, as a class of devices, are almost entirely useless. What a snare and delusion.

@jalefkowit yeah, nah. Sure, it's a glib observation... but wrong in general, I think. My life's better every day I'm using #LibreSoftware and not proprietary rubbish. I'm a nerd, but I'm not convinced that nerds are weirder than anyone else - if anything, they're more self-aware about their weirdness, and own it. Refreshing. Just saying.

Here's my occasional reminder that #onlinevoting for democratic positions is still a very bad idea. Here's the comprehensive explanation: https://invidious.snopyta.org/watch?v=abQCqIbBBeM or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abQCqIbBBeM Here's the local explanation for us in Aotearoa NZ: https://davelane.nz/brakes-headlong-rush-online-voting We need people to stop even thinking this is worth pursuing. Use technology where it's useful: to help engage and educate people so that they are inspired to vote and have an informed position on their preferred candidates.

Wow, every time I'm forced to use a Microsoft technology (the bloody VisionFive2 RISC-V Debian image is held on OneDrive - why?), I puke in my mouth a little. It all seems so pointlessly complicated and yet functionally primitive at the same time. 🤢

@SnerkRabbledauber It's the natural evolution of proprietary software - it always tries to expand it beachhead on everyone's computer. It's a bit like a (wait for it) "cancer", albeit a digital one. I just feel sorry for most computer users that don't realise how exploited they are because they have nothing to which to contrast their experience.

@Bernard yes, I suspect you're quite right. I've actually got an Official Information Act query in right now intending to find out what other options our Ministry of Education considered besides MS Office 365 and Google Docs for schools. I suspect they didn't. @1ll173r47 @dragestil

@djsumdog and yet you appear to have cleaved to one side of that divide, and are even pushing the words of one of its most famous/reviled (depending on ones perspective) adherents to make your points... 🤔 @strypey

@djsumdog you might be right about him making a good point. The bible, hell, even Trump has got a few things right, but those things are either self-evident, or I can inevitably hear those same insights from sources I actually respect. I must admit to not being overly excited by Aristotle. As for entertaining thoughts, I'm spoilt for choice, and I usually seek them from more auspicious sources. @strypey

@djsumdog Sorry, but I grew up within sight of NY City and Trump's was a frequent loud and colossally dumb voice throughout my formative years. He was an unworthy, righteously ignorant, entitled, self-serving, self-aggrandising charlatan then, and he hasn't improved one whit with age. @strypey

@djsumdog oh dear. That's your cred shot to hell. Trump won? Holy crap. And no, I didn't vote for Clinton either, because, yes, she's part of the entirely corrupt establishment. But thinking Trump is preferable... no, Trump is a shit stain. There's nothing good about him. Sadly, the US is a broken, corrupt nation and it's terrifying. I'm just pleased my immediate family is mostly far away from it. @strypey

@djsumdog as I said, the US is screwed. @strypey

@djsumdog interesting response. I'm not advocating that approach, however it might be necessary to achieve the needed change in behaviour. You might want to read Kim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the Future. He imagines how these things might escalate (e.g. people shooting down private jets & even long-haul passenger jets) if gov'ts continue to be actively counter-productive in the face of existential crisis. Shit has to change & some powerful people will need to accept far lower profits.

@djsumdog I've done far more maths than most. I'm disappointed in your position on climate change.

@djsumdog here's the thing: You're advocating for 'business as usual', aligned entirely with people who're making vast fortunes from fossil fuel exploitation (&, as you say, from convincing weak gov'ts that they're investing in 'green'(washed) energy transfer media like hydrogen & biofuel) . You're throwing us numbers & asking us to draw conclusions from them. 1/2 @strypey

@djsumdog None of use are climate scientists, but I am a scientist & know how science works & what motivates most scientists. I will *always* trust scientists that promote a position *despite* it being a) unpopular with funding/grant providers (gov'ts, institutions, & big corporates), and b) being contrary to societal norms and behaviours. Doing so is generally career limiting, not enabling. Those scientists trying to bring this to our attention are largely selfless heroes. 2/2 @strypey

@djsumdog maybe you're right. That said, I see the hallmarks of an anti-progressive (conservative) ideology poking through the gaps in your narrative... Yes, I guess, though we see a lot of things the same way, it seems we observe different loci of power, and we have different images of ourselves, and those affiliations make us incompatible in our positions. Too bad. @strypey

@djsumdog also, I think that likening this initiative to something daft like religion is just going to get people's backs up (i.e. not the accomplishing result you desire). But this is probably going to end up in violence because most people happy with their blissful ignorance.