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
James boosted

Max Schrems »
@maxschrems@mastodon.social

What is the best "impact assessment" for an NGO? If a huge Big Tech company like publicly says your work should be prohibited.. 😂

If you wanna join @noybeu and make us even more "powerful" click here: support.noyb.eu/join 😜

(From a paywalled MLex Article)

    James boosted

    Kiwix »
    @kiwix@mastodon.social

    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: kiwix.org/en/kiwix-hotspot/

    Grab it while supplies last!

    As for the technical subtleties 👇

    A picture of the Kiwix Hotspot: a sleek, black aluminium case with "Kiwix Hotspot" written on top.

    Alt...A picture of the Kiwix Hotspot: a sleek, black aluminium case with "Kiwix Hotspot" written on top.

    ...

    Kiwix »
    @kiwix@mastodon.social

    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).

    ...

    Kiwix »
    @kiwix@mastodon.social

    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.

    ...
    njoseph :fbx: boosted

    Kiwix »
    @kiwix@mastodon.social

    And 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.

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    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

      njoseph :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.

      ...

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

      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.

      ...

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

      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.

      ...
      James boosted

      njoseph :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

      njoseph :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.

            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

            njoseph :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

              njoseph :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

                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

                  njoseph :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

                    njoseph :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

                        Pirate Praveen »
                        @praveen@social.masto.host

                        Traditionally 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 codema.in/debphoshfund are trying to address this.

                          ...
                          James boosted

                          njoseph :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.

                            History