Alright folks it is now official: THE KIWIX OFFSPOT IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AND SHIPS WORLDWIDE
The official retail price is/will be USD 319 (taxes & shipping included) and you can buy it here: https://kiwix.org/en/kiwix-hotspot/
Grab it while supplies last!
As for the technical subtleties 👇
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A picture of the Kiwix Hotspot: a sleek, black aluminium case with "Kiwix Hotspot" written on top.
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It is plug-and-play: no installation required, simply look for "Kiwix" to appear on the list of available networks.
Real fast, real sturdy: we chose an NVMe SSD internal storage, and it is clocking at 40 times faster than a regular SD card. Heat management is also done via special aluminium case with heatsink and fan (again, designed for hot places).
Works with crowds: connect up to 20 users from any phone, tablet, or computer within range (we initially designed it with classrooms in mind).
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We are starting with the curated selections (Preppers, Medical, DevStack) for the time being, but some folks have already reached out asking for larger setups (mix of the above or, as one put it, "as much as you can fit" 😅 ).
Drop us a note if that's your case and we'll work something out.
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boostedAnd for the record / anecdote, what got us into building our own hardware were those enterprising peeps who started downloading our content and software and reselling it under their name.
Some of them look like they made a solid amount of cash, good for them, but we got kind of tired waiting for those guys to donate something back.
https://git.sr.ht/~jvalleroy/lister
It's a TUI and CLI program to manage a list of items in a text file.
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)
https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/01/redis_returns_to_open_source/
http://www.techmeme.com/250501/p40#a250501p40
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.
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If I get fired for something, let it be for a mistake I actually did, not for something that's so stupid that it's unlikely for a human to do such a thing.
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Used VS Code without Copilot for a day.
While I'm at it, why not ditch Micro$oft VS Code as well? It's not a hard requirement for TypeScript.
Trying out nvim+lazyvim setup. A friend recommended that I also try wezterm. So, learning Lua seems inevitable at this point.
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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.
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.
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): https://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 
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": https://library.kiwix.org/#lang=eng&category=wikipedia
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! ⚒️ 
#Wikipedia #Kiwix #Offline #KnowledgeIsPower
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Screenshot showing the application Kiwix with the open Wikipedia entry for Kiwix. Very meta.
New blog post: Three years of #SecureDrop
https://blog.legoktm.com/2025/01/31/three-years-of-securedrop.html
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.
MaggieAppleton/digital-gardeners: Resources, links, projects, and ideas for gardeners tending their digital notes on the public interwebs
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.
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)
https://restofworld.org/2024/uber-shuttle-india-shared-bus/
http://www.techmeme.com/241207/p8#a241207p8
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!
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Pie in pan on oven. The pie is covered with cheese.
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.
Problems with Free and Open Source Software
https://njoseph.me/blog/posts/foss-problems/
My last blog post for September. After not writing any blog posts for 4 years, I wrote 4 in one month!
New blog post!
Using small AI tools on Debian GNU/Linux
https://njoseph.me/blog/posts/small-ai-tools-debian/
I am using the word #AI as it is meant to be used, as click-bait. 😉
Traditionally #FreeSoftware projects are driven by developers or for profit companies (sometimes governments funding specific projects). Users without programming skills usually can't influence the direction of a project. People talk about developers not getting paid for developing Free Software and users demanding more from volunteers. I think we have to rethink about this model and try to address this disconnect. @prav and https://codema.in/debphoshfund are trying to address this.
I have started quoting liberally in my linkblog (subscribe via RSS).
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. https://pxlnv.com
New Debian Developers and Maintainers (May and June 2024) https://bits.debian.org/2024/07/new-developers-2024-06.html
Today's threads (a thread)
Inside: The true, tactical significance of Project 2025; and more!
Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/14/fracture-lines/
1/
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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.