@mez@mastodon.nz cover
@mez@mastodon.nz avatar

mez

@[email protected]

Making: Web & software development 🧑🏼‍💻

Playing: Ultimate (retired?) 🥏, climbing 🧗🏼, tramping 🏕, D&D 🧙🏼‍♂️

My header is from the Oregon on the US west (best) coast.

That's Guster in my profile pic with me. He's a good pupper, but couldn't move to New Zealand with me.

He/Him, wouldn't be fussed by They

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

mez ,
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hissingmeerkat pageflight Expanding on "Drivers spending time accepting fares instead of driving. " and physical layout:
It's better for bus timing and passenger efficiency too. You can now board and disembark from the back or front of the bus because it just doesn't matter any more. You aren't required to slowly board up front to pay the driver. An in->out flow may be nicer, but dropping the requirement will still help and speed things up.

mez ,
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@jaredwhite@humansare.social avatar jaredwhite The penguin has a bellybutton 😳

@techlore@social.lol avatar techlore , to random

This, while Linux seeing big surges? WHO or WHAT could be driving this 😱

mez ,
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@tante@tldr.nettime.org avatar tante , to random

We keep seeing startups who want to replace something valuable (therapy, counseling, tutoring, artistic expression) with some tech bullshit under the banner of democratization. But why do we need to invest so much in bad tech that doesn't work instead of just giving people access to what they need?

This is a sign for how fucking atrophied our mental muscles are. How limited our space for thinking about how things should be.

You want to democratize "going to therapy"? Make it "free" as in paid by socialized healthcare. You want to democratize "making art"? Give people money and free time to express themselves.

None of these things are meaningfully addressed through tech. It's always about the political struggle to give people what they need and deserve.

mez ,
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@tante @alice The amount of money being poured into data centres and the rest of AI could have actually solved so many of these issues if the money actually went to those things!

@miclgael@hachyderm.io avatar miclgael , to random

go get a library card

mez ,
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@miclgael slaps card This thing can checkout more books than you could read in a lifetime!

@aral@mastodon.ar.al avatar aral , to random

Can someone who knows @rbreich please tell him to add alt text to his posts (I don’t think he reads replies here.)

It’s not progressive to exclude disabled people, Robert.

mez ,
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@aral @rbreich Yo, @samreich can you help your dad with this? People here would love it and he’s reach more people! 🙏🏼

@techlore@social.lol avatar techlore , to random

Goodbye Skype: Microsoft has officially shut it down 👋 While Skype revolutionized communication, it had some privacy issues:
• No E2EE by default
• 3rd-party data sharing
• Cooperation with surveillance programs
• Closed-source

This shutdown is the perfect opportunity to migrate to more secure, privacy-respecting alternatives!

mez ,
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@techlore But none of these will allow you to call an actual phone number, which was a major benefit of Skype. That piece seems to be consistently missed when discussing the shutdown. I guess calling cards are going to make a comeback.

@techlore@social.lol avatar techlore , to random

In light of recent Firefox discussions, I discussed Zen Browser and some of the progress they've made that I'm pretty excited about. Still has a long ways to go, but the progress is there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZR4-ui-2NQ

mez ,
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@techlore At the risk of being that fedi guy of “but why not this other FOSS thing?” I’m curious for your take of LibreWolf. As opposed to what can often come off as trying to be hip and hot new thing, like other alt browsers, it just bills itself as Firefox, but pre-configured for privacy with telemetry ripped out.
As a fork, it has the same problems as all the others (inc. Chromium), but how they go about that feels better AND more sustainable.

@golgaloth@writing.exchange avatar golgaloth , to bookstodon group

Bookshelves in front of your bookshelves, suspended on barn door hardware with castors at the bottom. The individual shelves can be moved to access those at the back.

Not that I'm trying to give you all ideas, or anything.

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

Bookshelves in front of other bookshelves, suspended on barn door hardware with castors at the bottom.
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mez ,
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@golgaloth bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group So the hidden room behind the bookshelf is just more bookshelves?
😍

@aral@mastodon.ar.al avatar aral , to random

Oh, for fuck’s sake, it’s apparently not the only non-existent book the little shit is telling people I wrote.

PS. It’s “human rights”, you dimwit, not “user rights”.

https://mastodon.social/@edwin/113828414820631316

Screenshot: Under a Type to Siri box, there is a ChatGPT response: Aral Balkan is a designer, technologist, and advocate for user rights, best known for his work on privacy and digital rights. He has authored books like "Designing for Privacy and its Legal Framework" and "The Web We Deserve." These works explore the intersection of design, technology, and privacy, offering insights into creating ethical digital experiences. For more detailed information, you might consider visiting his personal website or publisher's page.
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mez ,
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@aral Ha! “user rights” is just shit icing on the cake!

@FediTips@social.growyourown.services avatar FediTips , (edited ) to random

Lots of questions about :PixelFed: Pixelfed right now! 😅

The most common Pixelfed questions are answered on the Fedi.Tips website at this link:

➡️ https://fedi.tips/pixelfed-photo-sharing-on-the-fediverse

If you want to find people to follow on Pixelfed, there's more info here:

➡️ https://fedi.tips/finding-people-to-follow-on-pixelfed

Here's how to import your data from Instagram to Pixelfed:

➡️ https://fedi.tips/how-do-i-import-my-instagram-account-data-to-pixelfed/

If you want to receive DMs from strangers on Pixelfed, you need to activate that option:

➡️ https://fedi.tips/dms-arent-getting-through-to-me-on-pixelfed-what-do-i-do

mez ,
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@FediTips “You end up with two separate accounts”
But don’t You end up with that anyway? You need to create an account on a Pixelfed server regardless.

mez ,
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@NoOnesRival @FediTips Right, so if I want to actually use Pixelfed, for either nicer image type post viewing or creating, I need the separate account on a Pixelfed server. I can’t use the Pixelfed app or web app with my Mastodon account.

I don’t know the protocol enough to know why not though. I thought the AP entities for Pixelfed and Mastodon were basically the same, just with differences in creation and what part of the post was highlighted.

mez ,
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@AguiarPhys @NoOnesRival @FediTips But I can use gmail.com or Thunderbird to send emails from my gmail account. It’s a different interface. How come I can’t use Pixelfed (the app) to send and look at image content from my Mastodon account. Is the content actually different between the two services?

@mez@mastodon.nz avatar mez , to random

Timeline lining up. @jaredwhite @davidrevoy

Screen shot of two boosted toots. The top one is the Tintin meme of captain haddock looking exhausted and saying “what a week, huh?” With tintin next to him saying, “Captain, outta only Wednesday” next to them Snowy looks surprised at Haddock’s drink. The second toot is the same meme but using David Revoy’s Pepper&Carrot characters.
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vkc , to random

[Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

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    mez ,
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    @vkc @lightweight Which of course first redirects to x.com, because they haven’t stayed up to date, for another layer of chaos!