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.
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@njoseph
Too much power corrupts. We must drop Google. Now. And all those dystopic, golden prisons stealing our freedom
Google won't allow you to install Android apps whose developers' identity Google hasn't verified. Starting in 2026 in some countries and in 2027 everywhere: https://www.androidauthority.com/android-developer-verification-requirements-3590911/
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We need to fight Google's new ID requirement for app developers. It isn't like showing ID at the airport. More like showing it at the printing press and only IDed authors are allowed to print books.
What Google doesn't talk about is that they build this ID system to ban developers and their apps.
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Unfortunately, developers on Google Play are already used to this system and people have accepted Apple, so I this will be a hard fight. Digital ecosystems being closed "to keep us safe" isn't seen as a bad thing.
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People saying "But I use a degoogled custom ROM, so I won't be affected" are missing the point. Apps not on Google Play are already a niche. Banning them on most people's devices is a big issue, even if some people can still escape.
Also the general trend of Google becoming more closed may make even custom ROMs impossible eventually.
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In the past, when books were censored and forbidden, people could still print them in their basements and spread them. Everybody who got their hands on one, could read it. This won't be possible anymore in our new digital age.
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Under-reported detail: If you don't pay a fee to Google, they limit how many people can install your apps and how many apps you are allowed to have.
Source: https://developer.android.com/developer-verification/guides/android-developer-console
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Google asks what we think of their plans to block Android app installs outside of Google Play (unless the developers let Google verify their identity and pay a fee).
Want to tell them your opinion, just submit this form:
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)
https://nobody-wants-this.ghost.io/ai-is-already-disempowering-workers-through-hype/
http://www.techmeme.com/250729/p47#a250729p47
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.
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.
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. 
I don’t know #Clojure sufficiently to judge the benefits of its typing system.
But when it comes to its culture of forward-and-backward stability, as someone who has often complained about developers introducing breaking changes just because they like something to have a different name, I can definitely relate to these words:
Why are we renaming everything all the time?
Once you notice this trend, it’s impossible to un-see. We get records out of the database, and what’s the first thing we do? Rename its fields. We then run it through several transformation steps which will invariable rename them again. We then put it on the wire as JSON, and, of course, that requires that we rename them again. We then load them in our SPA and, well the names we got off the wire certainly won’t do. Best rename them one more time.
It’s insanity, and yet it is the world we created.
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
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 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.
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!
Alt...
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. 😉
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
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.
https://discuss.freedombox.org/t/freedombox-24-14-released/3143
FreedomBox 24.6 released to Debian (unstable) with several fixes related to the setup, uninstall, and backup/restore for Wordpress and Zoph apps.
https://discuss.freedombox.org/t/freedombox-24-6-released/2982