⚠️ In four days Gemini wants to scan your phone ⚠️
Stop #Google now: 👉 https://tuta.com/blog/how-to-disable-gemini-on-android
Jacob Scharmberg
Math student in topology and geometry, nature lover, computer nerd, FOSS enthusiast, cycling ftw, plant dad.
@bazzite.gg wow and this is even just the KDE version it looks like? Wonder what it would be with all editions combined.
Jacob Scharmberg boosted:
Estonian engineers found that 15-year-old smartphones, when hacked to work together as a single self-organized unit, can handle many such tasks, including image recognition, with unexpected ease. How did they turn a bunch of old phones into a mini datacenter? https://spectrum.ieee.org/smartphone-data-centers?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fedica-Mastodon-Daily-Pipeline
Jacob Scharmberg boosted:
Do it anyway.
I hate running. I used to believe that, over time, this would change. I thought, over time, that I would grow to love running out of sheer repetition. This has not happened.
I used to think that if I could write for a living I’d never have to work—my hobby would be my job. This also has not happened. It turns out that when you have to do something for multiple hours every day it’s not always fun. Sometimes the day goes by quickly because of how much fun you’re having, sure, but not every day. Some days you don’t feel like being creative but have to anyway. Some days you have absolutely nothing to say but need to keep talking because that’s the job.
Sometimes things are hard, is what I’m saying. It’s a universal human experience.
Companies, naturally, are trying to sell you things to “solve” this unsolvable problem. The logic of consumerism runs deep in all of us thanks to the hundreds of hours we’ve all spent listening to advertising’s constant rituals. In thirty second we see a problem presented, a solution offered at a reasonable price, then a moment of ecstatic relief as the product solves the problem. It’s the story we’ve all seen more than any other, drilled into our heads, shaping the way we see the world whether we realize it or not.
So obviously we all think we’re one purchase away from solving things that aren’t really solvable. Do you hate running? Buy a Fitbit and you can turn those dreaded workout into something fun. Are you having trouble feeling motivated? Maybe buy this fancy project management software, or notebook, or anything else you might come to believe will finally make it easy for you to do things you don’t actually want to do.
I am not, for the record, saying all of these things are useless. They have real purposes. But no tool is every going to make it easy for you to do things you don’t want to do. I am never going to like running—I’m just going to have to convince myself to do it anyway.
I’ve found ways to make running suck less. I do it first thing in the morning—that way I don’t spend all day dreading the workout to come. I always run with my wife, which creates the social pressure I need to actually follow through. I listen to music while I run, mostly so that I have something to think about that isn’t how much I hate running. And we basically always run the same route—that way I know exactly how much running is left and can avoid the need to make any decisions while I’m tired and angry.
None of this makes running fun. It does make it suck less. And part of doing things you dislike—or even doing things you like on days you’d rather not—is realizing that there’s never going to be some purchase or trick that will magically make it easy. There is never going to be some magic moment of truth where things click and you stop resisting the things you know you need to do.
Sometimes you just have to push through it. Sometimes it’s hard, and that’s okay. Do it anyway.
Featured image from the forth century CE depicting someone who enjoys running more than me.
Stuff I wrote this week
It’s been a few weeks since I published anything here—I’ve been away from home for a while. Here’s some stuff I published while I was out.
- 4 battery myths (and why they’re not true) PopSci Please stop putting batteries in your freezer. Please.
- The Five Coolest macOS 26 Features People Don’t Know About Lifehacker In which I dig into a beta operating system and talk about what I, personally, am interested in.
- How to Use Markdown WIRED It’s law that every tech journalist write this article at least once and it was my turn.
- Why induction stoves are better than gas PopSci My life improved profoundly when I ditched gas.
Stuff you should read
- It matters. I care. Molly White/Citation Needed A plea for sincerity and hard work in an era defined by cynicism.
- Why does every commercial for AI think you’re a moron? Ismail Muhammad/The New York Times Hilarious, accurate.
- An obituary for reading the internet Anne Helen Petersen/Culture Study Pocket is shutting down and, with it, the idea of actually reading things online.
@fosserytech just to clarify, the first headline is misrepresenting the facts. There was never a decided plan to ditch 32 bit libraries. It was proposed and discussed but ultimately decided against for now.
@Natanox Ah yeah the security aspect makes sense.
As for popup cameras, I'm honestly not sure why they disappeared. It seemed like a cool idea. Although I admit that I never really liked the idea of adding moving parts to a phone. But then again, reliability didn't end up being an issue afaik.
@Natanox are there still any modern phones with popup camera? I thought that was a trend that has already ended.
Also what is wrong with installing a custom OS manually?
@rosamundi @underseamonkey yeah it can definitely be daunting. That being said, they do have a web installer aimed at nontechnical people. I haven't tried it myself but have heard good things about it.
@rosamundi @underseamonkey there is also an option to install eOS on a Fairphone that didn't come with it from the factory. This doesn't mean resetting all data though, so it is a bit of work setting everything up again.
@Techaltar hm der Link zu Reparaturinformationen schickt einen nur wieder zum selben Datenblatt... 🤔
@pojntfx amazing! Looking forward to when this arrives in Fedora.
@pojntfx that's great news! This has been annoying me for a long time. Does it also fix the loading screen while installing another app?
Jacob Scharmberg boosted:
Jacob Scharmberg boosted:
If you are an EU resident, please sign the Stop Killing Games petition! They need all the help they can get, and if this passes it'll go a long way toward ensuring the game library you've paid for is playable in perpetuity.
Stop Killing Games
@Natanox Tesa hat so stretch-release Kleber (wie bei Handy-Akkus). Der ist für Haken an der Wand gedacht und deshalb relativ stark. Habe das ein paar mal benutzt um Dinge an der Wand zu befestigen und hat super funktioniert. Sind allerdings nicht billig und ich weiß nicht, ob das Format für deinen Anwendungszweck passt.
https://www.tesa.com/en/consumer/mounting-hanging-sms/adhesive-strip-powerstrips
@BrodieOnLinux interestingly, it is much better on the plasma mobile versions of many apps and I am happily using it on my tablet. I'm assuming they tried to reduce the interface there since phones are ofc much more limited in screen-size.
@BrodieOnLinux maybe not exactly an answer to your question, but for me it's mostly that the apps feel too cluttered. (The shell is fine.) The most notable case I have found for this is Okular where there are so many buttons etc in plain sight at all times that I barely ever use. But I think this is also a me problem, since I get easily distracted so this just takes away my focus. It does also take up screen real-estate that could have otherwise just been the content.
Jacob Scharmberg boosted:
Tijdens zijn maand zonder big tech ontdekte nieuwsverslaggever @frankrensen een alternatief internet, waar gebruikers zelf de regels bepalen:
Archive:
https://archive.is/p6WEN
Jacob Scharmberg boosted:
Orban needs to go. Hungary has passed a law that criminalises the organisation of Pride marches and threatens anyone who protests with police intimidation, fines, and surveillance.
I just signed the petition of Budapest Pride Organisers today against the attack on people's freedoms. But we urgently need more voices to speak up.
Sign here: https://allout.lgbt/58994dd1
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