James

@james@jvalleroy.fbx.one

I contribute to free and open source software projects such as FreedomBox and Debian. I also play games on Steam Deck.
pronounshe/him
Fosstodonhttps://fosstodon.org/@jvalleroy
bloghttps://jvalleroy.fbx.one
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James »
@james@jvalleroy.fbx.one

I'm off from work today. After going to the gym, I made a strawberry avocado smoothie.

A tall glass containing a light pink/brownish liquid.

Alt...A tall glass containing a light pink/brownish liquid.

James boosted

FreedomBox »
@freedomboxfndn@mastodon.social

FreedomBox 25.13 has been released! Here are the highlights:
- backups: Fix robust handling of known errors
- debian: Stop privileged service during upgrade or removal
- miniflux: Fix DB connection issues during install/uninstall

See the full changelog here:
discuss.freedombox.org/t/freed

    0 ★ 1 ↺

    James »
    @james@jvalleroy.fbx.one

    https://phys.org/news/2025-09-space-doesnt-framework-reality.html

    I think this article makes some good points. And makes it clear why physics is not a good substitute for philosophy.


      James boosted

      alcinnz »
      @alcinnz@floss.social

      Throw-away fruity laptop - Forking Mad:
      forkingmad.blog/throw-away-app

      James boosted

      Kunal Mehta »
      @legoktm@wikis.world

      New-ish blog post: Adventures of a YAML engineer

      blog.legoktm.com/2025/08/28/ad

      (I actually wrote this back in May and never published it...)

      I mostly wanted to brag about a bit of YAML code I wrote back in March for 's completed migration to Ubuntu Noble that I neglected to mention in the blog post explaining the technical details. Yes, , is a programming language.

        ...
        James boosted

        Joseph Nuthalapati :fbx: »
        @njoseph@social.masto.host

        I didn't expect Google to wage war against general-purpose computing itself.

        We have custom ROMs, but how long before Google decides that the AOSP doesn't have to be open source anymore?

        It's already quite a struggle to run the essentials like banking and cash transfer apps without Google Play Services. A new update might drop at anytime and your app stops working. Some apps won't let you use the old working version for security reasons.

        ...

        Joseph Nuthalapati :fbx: »
        @njoseph@social.masto.host

        contd...

        How are sovereign nations comfortable allowing this?

        Your mobile banking services don't work when the Internet-based services offered by an American corporation goes down or denies you access.

        What if Trump eats the wrong kind of burger today and decides to put sanctions on your country?

        James boosted

        Techmeme » 🤖
        @Techmeme@techhub.social

        Repeated warnings of AI-driven layoffs is fueling anxiety among workers, who report feeling pressured to accept pay cuts or worse conditions to keep their jobs (Anne Lutz Fernandez/Nobody Wants This)

        nobody-wants-this.ghost.io/ai-
        techmeme.com/250729/p47#a25072

        James boosted

        Joseph Nuthalapati :fbx: »
        @njoseph@social.masto.host

        Today, I met a FreedomBox for Villages volunteer, Satya at a local conference. It was pleasant surprise to know that they have recently deployed a community Wi-Fi network in a remote island village in the Narmada river that barely has cellular phone signals. The village only has an elementary school (until class 4), so the main thing they needed to provide was Moodle with some K-12 educational content.

        Another non-profit might set up satellite Internet in the near future.

          James boosted

          Joseph Nuthalapati :fbx: »
          @njoseph@social.masto.host

          Gleam is an interesting new functional programming language. It is an ML-family language with syntax very similar to Rust, but it's not a replacement.
          If you like Rust and don't like Go (or Elixir's Ruby syntax), Gleam might be worth considering for I/O bound applications needing high concurrency.
          Gleam can also replace Elm on the browser. Code written in Gleam is apparently 30% faster than hand-written JavaScript.

          gleam.run

            ...
            James boosted

            Joseph Nuthalapati :fbx: »
            @njoseph@social.masto.host

            I bought an Android TV 4 years ago. Only today I had a working idea to get rid of ads on it.

            Google's launcher is set as the default. It shows ads at the top which considerably affects the TV's performance. It also deceptively keeps showing titles from the Play Store as if they are available from one of your installed apps.

            So, just get another launcher. You can install one from the Play Store and set it as default.

            No Google Launcher, no ads. :blobcatgooglyshrug:

              1 ★ 0 ↺

              James »
              @james@jvalleroy.fbx.one

              I developed a very small program to practice some coding in Guile Scheme:

              https://git.sr.ht/~jvalleroy/lister

              It's a TUI and CLI program to manage a list of items in a text file.


                James boosted

                Techmeme » 🤖
                @Techmeme@techhub.social

                Redis, the popular in-memory data store, returns its main system to open source license AGPL, after facing criticism in 2024 for moving to a dual-license model (Lindsay Clark/The Register)

                theregister.com/2025/05/01/red
                techmeme.com/250501/p40#a25050

                James boosted
                in reply to »

                Joseph Nuthalapati :fbx: »
                @njoseph@social.masto.host

                After switching to Neovim (no AI plugins this time), I feel like the joy of programming is slowly returning.

                LLMs are like energy vampires. They suck the joy out of everything.

                James boosted

                Joseph Nuthalapati :fbx: »
                @njoseph@social.masto.host

                I started using GitHub Copilot for work to generate both test and production code in January.

                Since the refactoring work it was generating for me was too much, I stopped using it for production code a month ago.

                It keeps creating test files in the wrong directories and breaks half the scripts in the repository (not consistently though 🤦‍♂️). Yesterday, this got pushed to the main branch and broke scripts for everybody.

                The day has finally arrived! I've completely given up on AI-generated code.

                ...
                James boosted

                Joseph Nuthalapati :fbx: »
                @njoseph@social.masto.host

                I have one prediction for 2025 that I am most confident about.

                2025 will be the hottest year on record (since 1850), just like the two years before it.

                  James boosted

                  Em :official_verified: »
                  @Em0nM4stodon@infosec.exchange

                  Tiny Apocalyptic Time Tip 🌐✨

                  If you too feel uneasy about
                  the state of the world,
                  and you too worry about losing access to one of the greatest knowledge treasure of the internet,

                  Know that you can download an
                  offline copy of Wikipedia!

                  Here's how 📚👇

                  1. Download the free and open source software Kiwix (this will be your reader): kiwix.org/en/applications/

                  2. If you want smaller versions of Wikipedia, you can download them within Kiwix.

                  Within the app, go to "Categories" in the menu on the left, then browse to a topic/version you want. Scroll to the bottom for Wikipedia mini, for example. Click on it then click "Download" on the right :neocat_book:

                  3. Once you have downloaded a database, click on "Opened" on the left > database you want to search > "Open Main Page" on the right.

                  4. You can use the Search field on the upper-right to find topics like on online Wikipedia! 🔍

                  5. If you want the full English version of Wikipedia (110GB), you might want to download it from the torrent file instead. Install a torrent client of your choice (I use Transmission).

                  Then, go to this page, click on "Download - 109.89 GB" blue button on the first result (size may vary overtime), then select "Torrent file": library.kiwix.org/#lang=eng&ca

                  6. Once you have the torrent file, open it with your torrent client to start the download. This is BIG! Be patient! 📦

                  7. Once the download is completed, open your Wikipedia `.zim` file with Kiwix!

                  8. Magic! 📖✨

                  Extra Tip: You can download many other awesome knowledge files from the Kiwix Library! Personally, I also got the iFixit knowledge base! ⚒️ :blobcatrainbow:

                  Screenshot showing the application Kiwix with the open Wikipedia entry for Kiwix. Very meta.

                  Alt...Screenshot showing the application Kiwix with the open Wikipedia entry for Kiwix. Very meta.

                    James boosted

                    Kunal Mehta »
                    @legoktm@wikis.world

                    New blog post: Three years of

                    blog.legoktm.com/2025/01/31/th

                    This is the longest I've ever held the same position at a job, so a few notes on what I've been up to over the past year and what I enjoy.

                      James boosted

                      Erik Moeller »
                      @eloquence@social.coop

                      We're hiring a Senior Software Engineer on the @securedrop team at @freedomofpress.

                      SecureDrop is open source whistleblowing software. The project is at a critical inflection point as we get ready to build the next-gen version based on a modern cryptographic protocol.

                      100% remote, full-time, $110-$120K base salary with comprehensive benefits for US-based employees. (If you're not in the US, we can discuss consultancy models.)

                      Hmu for questions.

                      grnh.se/813b998c5us

                        0 ★ 0 ↺

                        James »
                        @james@jvalleroy.fbx.one

                        Tried making one-pot pasta, but I used too much tomato paste.

                        A plate with pasta

                        Alt...A plate with pasta

                        James boosted

                        Kunal Mehta »
                        @legoktm@wikis.world

                        ...
                        James boosted

                        Joseph Nuthalapati :fbx: »
                        @njoseph@social.masto.host

                        MaggieAppleton/digital-gardeners: Resources, links, projects, and ideas for gardeners tending their digital notes on the public interwebs

                        github.com/MaggieAppleton/digi

                          James boosted

                          Joseph Nuthalapati :fbx: »
                          @njoseph@social.masto.host

                          Using Python uv tool as a replacement for Poetry for a small Python utility I'm writing. It feels a lot like Rust's Cargo.

                          All that I can say for now is that it is certainly a better experience than setting up a virtualenv manually.

                          I am writing this proprietary tool for a team of JavaScript developers. I think they will feel that it is just as easy to use as npm/yarn or whatever is the new hotness this week.

                            ...
                            James boosted

                            alcinnz »
                            @alcinnz@floss.social

                            Yes, I keep coming back to the thought which is expressed here...

                            Before You Can Have Smalltalk, You Must First Defeat Capitalism. - Matthew Gaudet:
                            mgaudet.ca/blog/2024/10/28/bef

                            "If you want to build a future that involves beautiful systems like Smalltalk, you must first rebuild the economic environment wherein it could be built. Wherein it could succeed!"

                            James boosted

                            Techmeme » 🤖
                            @Techmeme@techhub.social

                            A look at Uber Shuttle, the shared bus service that has rolled out in over 20 cities and completed ~30M trips globally, as Uber awaits approval in Bengaluru (Anisha Sircar/Rest of World)

                            restofworld.org/2024/uber-shut
                            techmeme.com/241207/p8#a241207

                            0 ★ 0 ↺

                            James »
                            @james@jvalleroy.fbx.one

                            Christmas tree is up

                            Very small, artificial Christmas tree with lights.

                            Alt...Very small, artificial Christmas tree with lights.

                            0 ★ 0 ↺

                            James »
                            @james@jvalleroy.fbx.one

                            Food, meat [SENSITIVE CONTENT]I made a "savory pumpkin pie" for Thanksgiving dinner. It contained bacon, onion, rosemary, cheese, and a bit of black pepper and cayenne. I think it turned out pretty well!

                            Pie in pan on oven. The pie is covered with cheese.

                            Alt...Pie in pan on oven. The pie is covered with cheese.

                            James boosted

                            Em :official_verified: »
                            @Em0nM4stodon@infosec.exchange

                            To everyone when they see horrible privacy news about Microsoft replying with:

                            "I don't care, I use Linux"

                            Sure, you do. But does your medical clinic do? Does your therapist do? Does your family member typing a personal email to you in Word before sending it do too?

                            This is a systemic problem.

                            You cannot protect your own data only by using Linux yourself. You must also demand stronger regulations and enforcement to obligate organizations around to protect your data as well.

                              James boosted

                              Joseph Nuthalapati :fbx: »
                              @njoseph@social.masto.host

                              Problems with Free and Open Source Software
                              njoseph.me/blog/posts/foss-pro

                              My last blog post for September. After not writing any blog posts for 4 years, I wrote 4 in one month!

                                ...
                                James boosted

                                Joseph Nuthalapati :fbx: »
                                @njoseph@social.masto.host

                                New blog post!

                                Using small AI tools on Debian GNU/Linux
                                njoseph.me/blog/posts/small-ai

                                I am using the word as it is meant to be used, as click-bait. 😉

                                  ...
                                  James boosted

                                  Lu wilson »
                                  @TodePond@mas.to

                                  check out this beautiful post by @jimmyhmiller on What It Means To Be Open

                                  jimmyhmiller.github.io/raised

                                    James boosted

                                    Joseph Nuthalapati :fbx: »
                                    @njoseph@social.masto.host

                                    I have started quoting liberally in my linkblog (subscribe via RSS).

                                    njoseph.me/shaarli/

                                    Earlier, I was only writing my own summary or opinion of the subject, but quoting adds more context. This is inspired by the writing style of Pixel Envy blog. pxlnv.com

                                    Debian » 🤖
                                    @debian@framapiaf.org

                                    New Debian Developers and Maintainers (May and June 2024) bits.debian.org/2024/07/new-de

                                    ...

                                    Cory Doctorow »
                                    @pluralistic@mamot.fr

                                    Today's threads (a thread)

                                    Inside: The true, tactical significance of Project 2025; and more!

                                    Archived at: pluralistic.net/2024/07/14/fra

                                    1/

                                    An X-ray of a broken femur. On either side of the fracture is a elephant (cropped from a medieval illumination) facing one another, in the livery of the GOP logo.

                                    Alt...An X-ray of a broken femur. On either side of the fracture is a elephant (cropped from a medieval illumination) facing one another, in the livery of the GOP logo.

                                      FreedomBox »
                                      @freedomboxfndn@mastodon.social

                                      FreedomBox 24.14 has been released! This one adds a new "Automatic repair" option to the Diagnostics page. When enabled, it will attempt to fix some issues that cause diagnostics to fail.

                                      discuss.freedombox.org/t/freed

                                        ...

                                        FreedomBox »
                                        @freedomboxfndn@mastodon.social

                                        FreedomBox 24.6 released to Debian (unstable) with several fixes related to the setup, uninstall, and backup/restore for Wordpress and Zoph apps.

                                        discuss.freedombox.org/t/freed

                                          History