Skip Navigation

InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)SD
Posts
0
Comments
263
Joined
2 yr. ago

  • Toooo real. Its like companies have taken the worst of everything and just call it agile. List out every task and estimate them so we have timelines, but don't actually architect anything as that's waterfall. Fake waterfall, with fake dates, but fingers will be pointed like they were real commitments, and spend a month doing it for this executive power point instead of fucking off so devs can build the damn thing.

  • As a final thought, why is protection from malicious apps from the play store being performed on the phone instead of in the store?

    In addition, why is known spyware on the top of the recommended list if I were to open the play store: temu, snapchat.

    Or getting pissy if I use an ad blocker when their platform has served malicious ads.

  • Permanently Deleted

    Jump
  • I ended up just building a box after looking for the perfect NAS and finding it didn't exist. The software is usually just crap or the hardware is underwhelming. Got a Node 804 case to slap in plenty of HDD space. Running NixOS so I'm in control of the software. In retrospect I wish I had gotten a rackmount type case. Tossed in an Arc GPU for better transcoding shortly after the initial setup.

  • Major desktop environments are KDE as you mentioned and Gnome.

    Arch wiki is a good resource even if not running arch. You may want to look into their dotfiles page to back up your settings: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dotfiles.

    NixOS ended up being my distro of choice for reproducible installs but it has a high learning curve and poor documentation so I wouldn't recommend to start with. That said you can still use Nix on other distros with home manager to manage dotfiles and install non-system apps.

    Distros just pick the default things to install. You can always use the package manager to install something else like a better file manager.

    A lot of choices are simply subjective so its hard to recommend any one distro. Mint is close to windows, based on Ubuntu and uses Gnome. Ubuntu based on Debian I find to be user friendly. Not used a Fedora based distro in ages but there is also Silverblue I've heard mentioned positively.

    Distros like Arch and NixOS are more design your own system setups. Pick what you want. I used arch for a bit, but got annoyed at keeping all my systems in sync. Had a huge wiki of all the tweaks I made. Then scripts to automate some of it. I started looking at automation tooling like ansible when I found nix.

  • Could be the battery. My 5a5g died after 3 years and it was the battery. I couldn't get it to boot that I could tell even while charging. Didn't try calling it though to see if it rings.

    Sounds odd, but have had similar issues with a Nest cam. Main powered doorbell camera resets when someone rings it until I replaced the battery.

    Can't remember if the 5a5g had a headphone jack (using 7 pro now), but you can kiss that goodbye. Fingerprint reader is in the screen now instead of the rear, but otherwise its been functionally similar.

    The 8 line has extended support. If you care about security updates I'd check https://endoflife.date/pixel and pick what's affordable. (a) models are at the lowest end, followed by the regular 8/9, then pro models for the best hardware.

    Graphene also recently added some options like:

    • Cap charging to 80% to extend battery life.
    • Fingerprint reader + 4-6 digit pin. My normal pin is long so I'm happy with this change as forcing my biometrics won't unlock it alone. Capped at 5 attempts.
    • Kill switch pin. If forced to give up a pin it will factory wipe the phone.
  • Pretty snappy. All the gnome APIs are written in C. It doesn't run on node, it runs on gnome-javascript (gjs) which exposes all the C APIs through JavaScript. If you use the Astal wrappers its pretty painless but using the gnome APIs directly in gjs is a little weird since you have to consider things like memory management.

  • I have it activate a layer when held where all the other keys are remapped.

    I also use a 45% keyboard (https://wilba.tech/jd45) and its done in the keyboard's firmware (https://qmk.fm/), so I need the extra keys.

    I have an older model of the JD45 with a full bottom row.

  • It is gnome, but https://aylur.github.io/astal/showcases/ is pretty awesome if you've done any React development. Pretty much coded up my own desktop environment with typescript and tsx for layout stuff. Lot's of fun widgets.

    Note that I use nixos so pretty much everything is hand picked instead of a prebuilt ready to go environment. Hyprland for the basic desktop, Astal for my desktop shell with widgets, toolbars, etc.

  • No programming knowledge required.

    Graphene only supports Pixels due to the titan chip. The versions with "a" are cheaper. Check when they go end of life to find the cheapest if you care about updates. So probably the 6a or 7a if you want at least 2 years of updates.

    1. Not sure on this one.
    2. The auditor is to make sure you are installing an authentic version of graphene. That it is not a modified version that has been tampered with (e.g., backdoors).
    3. Automatically enables MAC randomization. This can help with being tracked on public networks. Fingerprinting techniques have gotten better though with deep packet inspection and even measuring radio characteristics. I've seen demos of two brand new and identical models of iPhones being distinctly picked out due to variances in the radios during manufacturing.

    Doesn't help with advertisers tracking behavior based on IP. VPNs help with "blending-in" by putting multiple users behind the same IP. Provider matters here. Needs to be a VPN provider that won't just sell your data or cave to law enforcement. Mullvad is my preference. Paid with crypto. RAM only logs. That said, use Tor or I2P for anything you don't want subpoenaed.

    For additional tips:

    • Can't remember if its on by default, but auto-reboot to put data at rest (encrypted and not in RAM). This is for a state-actor threat level, and less about advertisers.
    • I prefer pin codes to unlock my device and don't use biometrics. Graphene has a feature to randomize the pin pad every time to protect against a recording of the pin be entered. Specifically where the numbers aren't picked up on the video but the pattern your hand makes can be seen. Again, more of a state-actor threat level.
  • Less public / archived spaces as well. Videogame lobbies were rampant with Trump / MAGA messaging in 2019. Not sure what its like now as I quit all online gaming. Anyone 14-17 during that period who are now of voting age has likely gotten a massive dose of right wing propaganda.

  • No. Its all text file config. You wouldn't use live CD mode. You define your own how you want it to work.

    Its a steep learning curve so if looking for off the shelf solutions, don't use nix. If you need something custom but through a single config paradigm, nix is awesome.

  • Soap boxing here but I feel these kinds of use cases is what NixOS is built for.

    Declarative config to setup the system, users, and apps.

    Declarative and customizable impermanence exactly how you want it.

    I use Tails as well but NixOS is my daily driver. Anything not marked explicitly to persist is dropped each reboot. I'm the only user so I keep the last 30 days of non persisted data for like a power outage but that's something I had to go out of my to setup for my use case.

  • 1000% this. I'm now rediscovering my rather fluid gender identity and attraction to both genders that started in my late 30s. Looking back, all the signs were there, I just kept things private as it wasn't socially acceptable. Had some outlet with the teen goth scene, which was nonexistent in college. Grew up in a heavily catholic influenced region.

    Have an awesome wife who is supportive and revealed she is (now was) also closet bi from the same generation.

    We moved away from there, but when I visit family all the churches are run down and closed. I smile every time knowing their grip is loosening. All the LGBT hate today just tastes like desperation.

  • There is anonymity and pseudonymity.

    Do you need your opsec to be resistant to state-level actors (oppressive regime, censorship, illegal activities)? Well then you need to make sure you don't introduce anything that will deanonomize you.

    Are you trying to be resistant to mass data collection efforts used for profit? Being on the pseudonymity spectrum is a good step.

    Dealing with the latter is like dealing with a bully. Make it not worth their time. They just want to put you in bucket X so they can estimate the most likely way to influence you for reason Y. Pseudonymity is about having multiple aliases that get put into different buckets so their privacy invasive efforts are less effective.