Japanese tourist deported for waving Chinese flag in Taipei
The National Immigration Agency said in a press release it launched an investigation immediately after learning of the video. It confirmed that both individuals involved were Japanese nationals who had entered Taiwan visa-free.
The NIA said the men violated Article 18, Paragraph 1, Clause 13 of the Immigration Act, which bars actions that “endanger the interests of the nation, public safety, or public order.” It ruled the incident required compulsory deportation and follow-up entry control.
Local media reported that one of the men is an online influencer and the other a Japanese-language teacher. Their actions were suspected to be an attempt to boost online traffic and influence among Chinese viewers.
☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆ likes this.
Is there still any hope for privacy phones? 2025 and beyond
Google has been trying to make Android proprietary for a few years now, and that's not news, as many AOSP default apps have been abandoned over time in favor of proprietary Google ones. This was never a huge problem for me, as you can still use those apps without network access or use open source alternatives like Fossify on a custom ROM.
However, the situation is quickly getting worse, now that Google is actively trying to prevent the development of custom ROMs and taking a page from Apple's book by forcing developers to beg them for permission to release apps on the Android platform, even outside of the Play Store - giving Google full control.
Is there still any hope left for privacy respecting Android ROMs?
What do you think will happen next? And what would be your suggestions for those looking for a phone in 2025?
If you have a different perspective on the situation, also please comment below!
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Unbound as DNS resolver on a Linux laptop: tips/experiences?
[Edit: this question came out of my confusion. I thought Unbound could somehow substitute DNS servers (like CloudFlare), but it can't. Apologies for my ignorance.]
I've often heard about Unbound, and the possibility of using it as a DNS resolver on my laptop. So, to be clear, not as a DNS resolver in a local network; just in a single machine, also because I'd like to use it no matter where I bring my laptop.
The instructions given in the second link above seem quite complete. Does anyone here have other tips or experiences to share? I'm with Ubuntu on a Thinkpad.
Cheers!
Selhosted P2P File Transfer & Messaging
IMPORTANT NOTES (PLEASE READ!):
* These are NOT products. They are for testing and demonstration purposes only.
* They have NOT been reviewed or audited. Do NOT use for sensitive data.
* All functionality demonstrated is experimental.
* These are NOT meant to replace robust solutions like VeraCrypt, Simplexchat, Signal, Whatsapp, wetransfer. It's a proof-of-concept to show what's possible with browser APIs.
* Cyber security is full of caveats, so reach out for clarity on any details if they can't be found in the docs.
Aiming to create the worlds most secure messaging app.
positive-intentions.com/docs/p…
- Open Source
- Cross Platform
- PWA
- iOS, Android, Desktop (self compile)
- App store, Play store (coming soon)
- Desktop
- Windows, MacOS, Linux (self compile)
- Run
index.htmlon any modern #browser
- Decentralized
- Secure
- No Cookies
- P2P E2EE encrypted
- Forward secrecy
- No registration
- No installing
- Messaging
- Group Messaging (coming soon)
- Text Messaging
- Multimedia Messaging
- Screensharing (on desktop browsers)
- Offline Messaging (in research phase)
- File Transfer
- Video Calls
- Data Ownership
- SelfHosted
- GitHub pages Hosting
- Local-only storage
For more information on "how it works", check out:
positive-intentions.com/blog/d…
(Degoogled links to the apps)
- P2P Chat: chat.positive-intentions.com/
- P2P File: file.positive-intentions.com/
- Encrypted drive storage: dim.positive-intentions.com/?p…
More:
- GitHub: github.com/positive-intentions
- Mastodon: infosec.exchange/@xoron
- Reddit: reddit.com/r/positive_intentio…
Decentralized Microfrontend Architecture
In the ever-evolving landscape of digital communication, decentralization has emerged as a powerful concept with diverse interpretations and applications.xoron (positive-intentions)
its a work in progress and hope to get to a point its comparable to Signal and OnionShare.
for now, the purpose is to present open-source code to demonstrate a concept. like mentioned in the post it isnt ready to replace any existing tools.
Debian, encrypted boot, how to increase password attempts?
Since Debian 13 (Trixie), when using the default FDE which uses grub to decrypt the luks partition, I have a single attempt
When the password is mistyped there is a long pause (over 10 seconds) and then the error appears.
I already tried increasing the max tries, which seems to be set to 1 when a keyfile is used.
The config/script seems to be in /usr/share/initramfs-tools/scripts/local-top/cryptroot.
I copied that to /etc/initramfs-tools/scripts/local-top/cryptroot and replaced the value CRYPTTAB_OPTION_tries=1 with 10 using find/replace (ansible stuff).
I think this has no effect though and doing so (might be a different issue) breaks boot entirely 💀
More info:
- by default when legacy boot (BIOS) is available, Debian will install grub to the MBR. This is where it happens
- when forcing or prioritizing legacy boot and using GPT, debian somehow boots from a 300MB efi partition, the same happens though, one attempt
After you updated the config did you update-initramfs or update-grub (I forget which flags might be needed off hand).
Since this is happening pre-boot it isn't reading from /etc.
Hm, I only ran update-grub
Ran update-initramfs from the chroot trying to repair it
Found that there is a cleaner way in /etc/default/grub with grub commandline arguments. But that wants a source= variable which is weird to me as that hardcodes a drive in there that wasnt there first?
Tbh I will try this on a secondary laptop now, I reinstalled that thing like 5 times now and am a bit traumatized XD
Luckily we have more than enough
[Question] Community maintained free IP geo lists
I'll be self-hosting a service with user submissions soon, so I'm worried about the howto.geoblockthe.uk/ situation.
Based on this I've wondered, are there any community maintained geo block lists that might be useful? All database options I found are either 1. an on-demand online service which seems questionable for privacy reasons, or 2. IPv4 only, or 3. have weird terms of use with a gag clause regarding the entire company making it and other weird stuff.
I'm not a fan of geo blocking in general, but the situation is what it is.
PS: Please don't discuss the Online Safety Act itself too much in the comments, or whether somebody should be using a geo ip to handle this. While I might appreciate useful input on that, I'm hoping this post can remain a resource for those who are looking for such a database for other reasons as well.
Ukraine responds to Polish president’s initiative to ban Ukrainian red and black flag
So... Poland is finally admitting that the hate symbol used by hate group is a hate symbol yet is still showering that group with money, weapons and other support.
Typical fucking Poland, mistaking enemy for an ally.
UI regression in KDE Arianna - How can I back up and restore specific version of Flatpak package?
All I could find is how to make a list, and reinstall flatpaks from that list, as well as backup app data, however all of that assumes I want to do updates.
Meanwhile what I want is akin to extracting APK of a stable version of some app, backing it up and using it for years to come. For example that's how I joined these 2 screenshots, using JointPics from 2014 which isn't even on Play Store anymore, and targets API so low that it has to be installed via ADB. (Yeah, I am too dumb for GIMP)
As for the regression, you can see. On left is older Flatpak, on right is version from Arch repo. The Flatpak I originally installed as a hotfix for update that broke it completely at one point on Arch.
You can see the older version nicely fits the screen, splitting up text into columns.
Meanwhile the new version just does smaller page in middle of screen that doesn't even work properly with Breeze Dark theme, causing different background for text sections.
The only improvement is ability to flip pages rather than use arrows, but that's minimum.
Well, and maybe the progress keeping got fixed, but I didn't test that much.
Don't pay attention to the taskbar. I wish it could flip to vertical with different screen orientation. Yeah, the icons' clickability is a dice roll of what you tap.
If you already have the correct version of the flatpak installed, you can try flatpak build-bundle.
flatpak build-bundle LOCATION FILENAME NAME where
- LOCATION is the path of the repo on disk. Run flatpak info -l org.kde.arianna, and copy the part before /app
- FILENAME is the output file name, preferably .flatpak. Eg: arianna.flatpak
- NAME is the name of the app, here org.kde.arianna
The generated file can be installed with a double-click, or with flatpak install <file>
This is the equivalent of an Android .apk. It contains the app but depends on a runtime. If you want to install it in a few years, odds are the runtime will no longer be available. You can backup the runtime the same way with the --runtime option.
flatpak build-bundle --runtime LOCATION FILENAME NAME where
- LOCATION same as earlier
- FILENAME eg arianna-runtime.flatpak
- NAME is the name of the runtime, which you can get with flatpak info --show-runtime org.kde.arianna
This takes a while, for some reason. Maybe it's compressing stuff?
The runtime is installed the same way as the app: double click or flatpak install.
Note: I only did this once, and not specifically on Arianna. Hope it works.
Dollar drops after Trump fires Fed's Cook
cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/35025047
What Trump’s move to fire Fed governor means for central bank’s independence
The US president has said he is firing Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations – a move experts view as a means to exert more controlHeather Stewart (The Guardian)
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Relatable
There are plenty of great reasons to act privately, but I admit, it's also a hobby for me.
(it's also a good answer if there was a specific reason)
No, you don't want to hire "the best engineers" — I think this might be the meanest thing I've ever written.
cross-posted from: programming.dev/post/36758698
::: spoiler Comments
- Hacker News.
:::
No, you don't want to hire "the best engineers" — I think this might be the meanest thing I've ever written.
::: spoiler Comments
- Hacker News.
:::
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Protests as newborn removed from Greenlandic mother after ‘parenting competence’ tests
A Greenlandic mother’s one-hour-old baby was removed from her by Danish authorities after she underwent “parenting competence” tests – despite a new law banning the use of the controversial psychometric assessments on people with Greenlandic backgrounds.
The “parenting competence” tests, known as FKU (forældrekompetenceundersøgelse), were banned on people with Greenlandic backgrounds earlier this year after years of criticism by campaigners and human rights bodies, who argued successfully that the tests were racist because they were culturally unsuitable for people from Inuit backgrounds. As the law came into force in May, campaigners are asking why Brønlund was still subjected to a test.
Brønlund was told that her baby was removed because of the trauma she had suffered at the hands of her adoptive father, who is in prison for sexually abusing her. The municipality told her she was “not Greenlandic enough” for the new law banning the tests to apply, despite her being born in Greenland of Greenlandic parents.
Protests as newborn removed from Greenlandic mother after ‘parenting competence’ tests
Danish authorities take one-hour-old infant despite law banning the tests on people with Greenlandic backgroundsMiranda Bryant (The Guardian)
I'd say there's a difference between assessing people's fitness to have children, and their fitness to raise children. The latter is a lot less eugenics-related, and clearly necessary in some form to protect children from being abused by their parents.
Though of course it isn't always done perfectly or even well.
What’s new with Firefox 142
cross-posted from: programming.dev/post/36758792
::: spoiler Comments
- Hacker News.
:::
What’s new with Firefox 142
::: spoiler Comments
- Hacker News.
:::
What’s new with Firefox 142
cross-posted from: programming.dev/post/36758792
::: spoiler Comments
- Hacker News.
:::
What’s new with Firefox 142
::: spoiler Comments
- Hacker News.
:::
Bazzite has gained nearly 10k users in 3 months while other Fedora Atomic distros remain fairly stagnant
Generated via github.com/ublue-os/countme
10k added users since last post. Here are upstream Fedora numbers only
GitHub - ublue-os/countme: countme
countme . Contribute to ublue-os/countme development by creating an account on GitHub.GitHub
I also said ublue is free to do what they want, why are you attacking me for suggesting I want to put something back the way it was? I never asked for your attention, I'm not pestering the developers about it, instead I attempted to author a fix for anyone who also is not a fan of the change.
Yes, I dont like a core system tool not being part of my desktop, I dont want my updates to fire via a timer, and I have updated my ostree via discover on my bazzite box. I understand a lot of your target audience does want those things, an appliance type experience - I even suggested 2 posts up that perhaps bazzite was no longer for me as the target audience.
I appologise for drawing your ire
edit: FYI I'm not some bad faith poster, having defended bazaar - Also my particular bazzite box has been rebased between Fedora and Aurora, probably accumulated some artifacts in the process, which may explain why my discover had not been previously hobbled. Have a good night
What’s new with Firefox 142
cross-posted from: programming.dev/post/36758792
::: spoiler Comments
- Hacker News.
:::
What’s new with Firefox 142
::: spoiler Comments
- Hacker News.
:::
Request, US Border Crossings, Privacy Guides
Hello,
I am trying to gather some information on steps, procedures, and options for increasing privacy while crossing into the US.
My girlfriend goes to school in Canada and crosses the borders frequently throughout the year for; long weekends, extended holiday breaks, semester breaks, and summer breaks.
She'll be going back to Canada for this next year and with everything happening she's asked me to help her find ways to limit her exposure to data being reviewed or stored as she's studying a more Social/Liberal Arts degree which could flag her as a target because of the current political climate.
I've also suggested possibly limiting border crossing instead of coming back as often as she used to.
I'm working through articles and finding things from EFF and ACLU, but would happily taken suggestions, guidance, or any direction from anyone willing to share.
I've considered trying to find a way for her to backup her devices, maybe store those backups in the cloud, create "decoy" states of her devices (elaboration below), then restore the original state of the devices once she's safely past the border.
Devices:
iPhone 11 [18.6]
MacBook Air 13 [Possibly Sequoia 15.5, as stated in her iCloud, she doesn't have it with her right now]
For "decoy" device states, I mean having some apps and data on the devices, but nothing identifying/or that might otherwise give agencies data to further search (online account names/services, stored passwords, large collections of contacts/message histories, etc.)
I've suggested trying to switch to android/PC devices to provide alternative privacy/security options, but her family pays for the devices so it's just the same brand as whatever they have. So, that's not an option at this point, but any statements regarding increased effectiveness, or even lack thereof, by switching to different brand devices may help with any future transition considerations.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read through my post and any guidance you might be able to provide is highly appreciated.
This article is from The Guardian:
On the advice of various experts, people are locking down social media, deleting photos and private messages, removing facial recognition, or even traveling with “burner” phones to protect themselves.In Canada, multiple public institutions have urged employees to avoid travel to the US, and at least one reportedly told staff to leave their usual devices at home and bring a second device with limited personal information instead.
It seems like you already know what you’re doing and I agree with everyone else: backup your data and reinstall later. Create an iCloud account specifically for travel purposes.
This article mentions someone who opted to delete their social media accounts before coming to the US. So don’t be surprised or offended when some of us start deleting our comments, lol. Good luck.
EDIT: As long as you have a travel account you shouldn’t need Advanced Data Protection but perhaps after you/she reaches her destination.
Burner phones, wiped socials: the extreme precautions for visitors to Trump’s America
Horror stories about detainments at the border have also soured some from visiting during Trump’s second termJosie Harvey (The Guardian)
Three basic options exist:
1) Burner: Take a device that isn't a normally used device for each category. Make sure it has nothing you care about on it, no incriminating web history, no accounts logged in or saved as cookies that are incriminating, etc, etc. This is simplest, most expensive, but also most fool-proof against all possible threats.
2) Wiped: Wipe the device before travel, possibly backing things up in the cloud to download after arriving. You'll have to back up again with any changes you make and wipe again before traveling back then at your final destination again restore the device from backups. If you have serious fears of close inspection or forensic analysis then it would behoove you to use a secure erase feature on the drive and reinstall the OS rather than just trying to delete problematic files. For smartphones especially doing this and restoring from a cloud back-up can be pretty easy, for laptops it's more of a pain.
3) Mail ahead: Take the devices to a package service, UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc ahead of time, mail them ahead of or just behind you so they arrive just before or slightly after you. For this to work you need a fixed accommodation that can accept packages and which you trust to store them and give them to you. This technically doesn't prevent mail interception but unless you're a high value target that's unlikely at present as its kind of a multi-agency intentional effort thing. Still I'd mail the device in a fully encrypted state.
No other feasible options exist. You can encrypt yes and if you are a US citizen you cannot be denied re-entry (non-citizens can be not only denied entry but barred for years after for refusing to decrypt a device/cooperate) but they can seize your device and hold it for up to a year while trying to crack it and you'll have to expend effort to get it back at the end of that period. They can also put you in a holding cell for hours or hypothetically up to a couple days if they really want to press it accuse you of something and be unpleasant during that time.
Adding Plasma Discover to Bazzite via Systemd Sysext
Instructions to add Plasma Discover package manager back into Bazzite using a Systemd Sys-Ext. Based on Travier's Fedora Sys-Ext work at travier.github.io/fedora-sysex… and relies on his base images on quay.
I'm really excited about the application of SysExts to bridge the gap many perceive in adopting atomic distros! This seemed like a fantastic solution to adding this tool back for those who want it, without the overhead of package layering
GitHub - mmcnutt/Bazzite-Discover-Sys-Ext: Instructions to add Plasma Discover package manager back into Bazzite using a Systemd Sys-Ext
Instructions to add Plasma Discover package manager back into Bazzite using a Systemd Sys-Ext - mmcnutt/Bazzite-Discover-Sys-ExtGitHub
The issue with them right now is there's no update mechanism. If you use something as a system extension that depends on a library in the image, and that library gets updated, you could have an unbootable system or at the very least a non-functioning application until you can update your system extension manually.
Ideally that update mechanism needs to be a part of bootc so if your system extension is part of your boot process it can be updated ahead of time before the image is loaded.
We've looked at it since it's inception and it's something we really want, it's just nowhere near ready yet.
I've never had issues with Discover on Fedora KDE and then even when I moved to Kinoite. I didnt have any issues using it on my Bazzite machine. I wanted it back, I also wanted to see if it was something I could do with a SysExt, which as I said is something I'm excited about, as I have started using them to add stuff on my Kinoite work machine.
It doesn't take Bazaar away, it just puts the items back for anyone who wants it. Spoiled for choice
You won't be missed
I changed my main machine over to Linux in the beginning of April, setting it up on its own NVMe so I could keep my other drive with Windows 10 intact and dual boot when needed.
I've been having a blast - ricing hyprland, better workflows, great gaming experiences.
Then yesterday I realized that I hadn't actually bothered to dual boot once since testing out the Windows entry in my systemd-boot menu when I first set it up.
Guess who just gained a 1TB drive to install more games?
I wiped out the Windows drive with no remorse. Damn, that felt good.
Goodbye Windows, you won't be missed.
1st ssd has 512MB partition for both Windows and Linux bootloaders and rest of the storage for data, games etc.
2nd ssd has both Windows ans Linux OS on different partitions and some more partitions for data.
Does Google keep logs of my text messages(RCS)?
In the past, I've heard about how Google can keep records of all your Google phone's past locations and text messages.
What about RCS messages which supposedly are encrypted from Android to Android? I know that it's possible that they secretly keep a log behind the scenes, but as far as the regular consumer knows is there any record being kept with regard to the contents of these RCS messages?
Okay, so, originally, I was going to look it up to prove you wrong, but after looking it up across multiple sources, it seems that you're right and I'm wrong.....mostly.
How-To Geek, Proton, and CloudFlare all mirror what you say.
However, the Wikipedia page section "Definitions" does back me up somewhat. It says:
The term "end-to-end encryption" originally only meant that the communication is never decrypted during its transport from the sender to the receiver.[23] For example, around 2003, E2EE was proposed as an additional layer of encryption for GSM[24] or TETRA,[25] ... This has been standardized by SFPG for TETRA.[26] Note that in TETRA, the keys are generated by a Key Management Centre (KMC) or a Key Management Facility (KMF), not by the communicating users.[27]Later, around 2014, the meaning of "end-to-end encryption" started to evolve when WhatsApp encrypted a portion of its network,[28] requiring that not only the communication stays encrypted during transport,[29] but also that the provider of the communication service is not able to decrypt the communications ... This new meaning is now the widely accepted one.[30]
(Relevent text is embolded.)
So, I'm not misunderstanding, just misinformed that the definition changed.
Make no mistake, of course: I do appreciate you correcting me as I hadn't realized the definition had changed. Lol.
Is there any animal you wish Ubuntu used for its naming convention?
Are there any Linux distros that handle updates similarly to FreeBSD and OpenBSD?
Lately I've been exploring FreeBSD and OpenBSD. One of the more interesting things about them is how they handle OS and package upgrades.
On FreeBSD, the freebsd-update command is used for upgrading the OS and the pkg command is used for managing user packages. On OpenBSD, the syspatch command is used for upgrading the OS and the pkg_* commands are used for managing user packages.
Unlike Linux, these BSDs have a clear separation of OS from these packages. OS files and data are stored in places like /bin and /etc, while user installed packages get installed to /usr/local/bin and /usr/local/etc.
On the Linux side, the closest thing I can think of is using an atomic distro and flatpak, homebrew, containers, and/or snap for user package management. However, it's not always viable to use these formats. Flatpak, snap, and containers have sandbox issues that prevent certain functionality; homebrew is not sandboxed but on Linux its limited to CLI programs.
There's work being done to work around such issues, such as systemd sysext. But I'm starting to feel that this is just increasing complexity rather than addressing root problems. I feel like taking inspiration from the BSDs could be beneficial.
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I think of those as BSD thoughtful and pondered, and Linux as fairly fast and maybe thoughtless (in the jouyful sense that things have to go forward). In the end BSD is definitely cleaner, but behind, and Linux is much messier but is at the front of what's going on.
And I'm sayin this as someone who's worked with both systems for decades and even though I prefer Linux on the desktop or on servers, on embedded systems, where you'd need some really clean code to poke at, BSD really shines.
Of course BSD works fine (mostly) everywhere. It's almost as good today as it was in 2000.
Coming back full circle after 30 years.
Back in the early days of 1995, I picked up a Slackware CD from the computer shop I worked at in lieu of payment with no idea what it was or how to use it. This was my first foray into the world of Linux. From that point I used Linux off and on sporadically until I moved past the tinkering phase of college, watching the rise and fall of new technologies and better and better innovation, and just wanting things to work like I expected out of the box.
However, in the last few years I have stopped being excited about new innovation. Because with it comes not an exciting new world, but a plethora of subscription models, paywalls, data mining, and general enshitification that has become the norm in tech. Things have stopped working like I expect out of the box. In fact, I am having to actively twist and bend them to do what I want without compromising my privacy and my wallet.
Which leads me to present day and I decided to try throwing Ubuntu onto an ancient laptop headed to the scrap heap. It worked flawlessly right out of the box. With the addition of a little ram, I was able to set up a new media server running dockers, pihole and several other applications that would have taken me extensive time and money to get working like I wanted in a mainstream OS.
I found myself excited again about technology.
So last weekend I pulled up my daily driver gaming rig with the intention of shrinking down the pre-installed Windows operating system and trying Ubuntu there as my mainstream OS. Which is where I discovered that it was in fact not a single 2 TB drive inside, but a set of 1 TB drives configured in raid 0, taking up both M2 slots. So my fun little weekend project was once again thwarted by an off the shelf configuration that wasn't quite what it advertised.
It's just a roadblock to a journey that'll require a little more time and money to do safely, keeping the old drive intact while I migrate to something new and better. But that's okay. Storage is cheap and booting the try-out OS from a USB drive was exceeding my expectations.
I'm eager to move forward and see how Proton works in an environment where it can shine. I want to see how much open source software can replace the bloated and clunky OS on my current machine. I want to learn Python and move past the power shell knowledge I've had to build in the workforce.
See you all again real soon.
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Back in the early days of 1995, I picked up a Slackware CD from the computer shop
Hit me right in the feels. Good times that. Honestly back then I chose Slackware because of the name haha.
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How can one consume media these days with any sort of privacy?
With a privacy protecting setup, the mainstream internet is almost unusable. To sign up for social media or even a gmail account, one has to provide a phone number for verification. Youtube doesn't work when not signed into a Google account, or if one is connected to a VPN. Even downloader programs like yt-dlp and freyr have been rendered useless by the strict access controls of the major platforms. There is a vast amount of community, DIY, and educational material of all sorts behind these platform walls, so how can someone who doesn't want to be tracked access any of it these days?
There are alternatives like archive.org and peertube which are wonderful but have nowhere near the amount of content that people have been uploading to YouTube over the years. For example, if I need to fix a washing machine and there is a tutorial on YouTube, how can I see it while still preserving a modicum of privacy online?
Google will require developer verification for Android apps outside the Play Store
cross-posted from: jlai.lu/post/24787719
Starting next year, Google will begin to verify the identities of developers distributing their apps on Android devices, not just those who distribute via the Play Store.
Google will require developer verification for Android apps outside the Play Store
Starting next year, Google will begin to verify the identities of developers distributing their apps on Android devices, not just those who distribute via the Play Store.
Google will require developer verification for Android apps outside the Play Store | TechCrunch
Google will ask all Android developers to verify their identity starting next year.Sarah Perez (TechCrunch)
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The Fed Has Never Been Independent
Judge Says Trump’s Use of Troops in L.A. Is Illegal
The federal judge found that the deployment exceeded legal limits that generally prohibit the use of the military for domestic law enforcement.
adhocfungus likes this.
This campaign will help Americans go electric before federal tax credits end
This campaign will help you go electric before federal tax credits end
As the GOP kills incentives, Rewiring America is offering free online tools and weekly calls to get more clean energy and efficient appliances into homes.Canary Media
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Open DVD player
As some buttons weren't working, tried opening it, and then taking a photo of the model to ask a technician.
It came out surprisingly aesthetic, me thinks.
Therapists are secretly using ChatGPT. Clients are triggered.
Therapists are secretly using ChatGPT. Clients are triggered.
Some therapists are using AI during therapy sessions. They’re risking their clients’ trust and privacy in the process.Laurie Clarke (MIT Technology Review)
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A group of more than 85 scientists find errors in a new Energy Department climate report
DOEresponseSite
On July 29, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a report from its Climate Working Group (CWG). This report features prominently in the EPA's reconsideration of its 2009 Endangerment Finding.sites.google.com
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mensileOSM 4 (agosto 2024)
mensileOSM 4 (Agosto 2025)
🚨 Edizione straordinaria 🚨 mensileOSM raddoppia, da questo mese, su ispirazione del Mapper of the Month belga, ogni mensile ospiterà una chiacchierata con un membro della comunità italiana.OpenStreetMap Community Forum
AOL announces September shutdown for dial-up Internet access
After decades of connecting Americans to its online service and the Internet through telephone lines, AOL recently announced it is finally shutting down its dial-up modem service on September 30, 2025. The announcement marks the end of a technology that served as the primary gateway to the World Wide Web for millions of users throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
AOL announces September shutdown for dial-up Internet after 34 years
Around 175,000 households still use dial-up Internet in the US.Benj Edwards (Ars Technica)
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The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
This newsletter is brought to you by Medical Bridges.
Medical Supplies for Ukraine’s Hospitals. Partnering for global health equity.
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Infantrymen of the operational battalion of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, “Khartiia,” practice airborne skills using an American M113 tracked armored personnel carrier in Kharkiv Oblast on Aug. 29, 2025. (Viacheslav Madiievskyi / Ukrinform / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ukraine liberates village of Novoekonomichne in Donetsk Oblast, General Staff says. Ukrainian assault groups spent two weeks fighting to liberate the settlement, raising the national flag in the village center on Aug. 31, according to the General Staff.
Russian front-line advances have slowed down in August, monitoring group says. The pace of Russia’s advance in Ukraine dropped by 18% in August, with Russian forces occupying 464 square kilometers of territory.
Russian strikes hit Kyiv, Sumy, Odesa oblasts, causing fires and casualties. In Kyiv Oblast, a Russian drone strike hit the Bila Tserkva community, killing one person and wounding others, Secretary of the Bila Tserkva City Council Volodymyr Vovkotrub said.
Russian forces allegedly preparing major assault toward Siversk in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine’s military says. Siversk, Russia’s new potential target, lies about 10 kilometers (6 miles) west of Russian-occupied territory and just south of the contested Serebrianskyi Forest.
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Zelensky to reportedly meet European leaders in Paris on Sept. 4. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pledged to broker a swift peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, is not expected to attend the Paris meeting at the moment, a source told AFP.
Ukraine’s SBU files in absentia notice of suspicion against Kadyrov for war crimes. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on Sept. 1 that it had charged Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov in absentia with war crimes against Ukrainian soldiers.
Russian map behind top general hints at ambitions to seize Ukraine’s Odesa, Kharkiv. While Moscow has publicly insisted on full control of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, the map indicated possible plans extending to Odesa and Kharkiv, neither of which had been included in earlier demands.
Zelensky announces faster air defense deliveries after deadly Russian strikes. “We are accelerating the supply of additional air defense systems to enhance protection against missiles,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Read our exclusives
Ukraine war latest: Ukraine liberates another village in Donetsk Oblast amid ongoing Russian offensive
Ukraine’s 425th Regiment has liberated the village of Novoekonomichne in Donetsk Oblast and raised the national flag, the General Staff announced on Sept. 1.
Photo: Anadolu via Getty Images
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Russia-Ukraine naval drone arms race could ‘usher in a new era of warfare’
After a string of devastating Ukrainian strikes that crippled much of its Black Sea Fleet, Russia is now turning to naval drones in a bid to rebuild its presence and adapt to a new phase of maritime warfare.
Photo: Stringer / AFP via Getty Images
As Putin shakes hands with Modi, Xi, here’s the state of Russia’s allies
After three years of international isolation, Russian President Vladimir Putin is back at the forefront of the global stage.
Photo: Gavriil Grigorov / Pool / AFP via Getty Images
Learn more
From Crimea to Donbas, Russia’s “peace” has always meant more war. We’re here in Ukraine to give the world a reality check. Support independent journalism in this critical moment.
Human cost of Russia’s war
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,083,790 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022.
The number includes 800 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
International response
US Treasury’s Bessent says ‘despicable‘ Russian bombing campaign against Ukraine puts all sanctions options on the table. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Sept. 1 that the Trump administration is considering new sanctions on Russia after Moscow intensified strikes on Ukraine despite recent peace talks.
Slovak PM Fico plans meetings with Putin, Zelensky this week. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced on Sept. 1 that he will visit China to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, followed by a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Slovakia.
Key Chinese bank reportedly halts Russia payments after EU sanctions.
Heihe, a small rural lender, was one of the last Chinese banks willing to process transactions for Russian non-sanctioned credit organizations after larger Chinese banks cut off such services.
EU considers tighter rules to block Russian gas after 2027 ban, Bloomberg reports. The plan specifically raises concerns over gas shipped through TurkStream, the pipeline linking Russia with Southeast Europe.
Russia’s oil infrastructure under fire | Ukraine This Week
In other news
Kyiv names managers for US-Ukraine investment fund ahead of first meeting. The announcement sets the stage for the fund to become functional after four months of preparation by America’s International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Ukraine’s Support Public-Private Partnership Agency (PPP Agency).
Suspected Russian jamming hits von der Leyen’s plane during Bulgaria visit. “We can confirm there was GPS jamming, but the plane landed safe,” European Commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta confirmed for the Kyiv Independent.
Kim Jong Un travels to China to join Xi, Putin at WWII anniversary events. Photographs published by North Korean media showed Kim with senior officials, including Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, inside his dark green armored train.
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Chinese social media platforms roll out labels for AI-generated material
Major social media platforms in China have started rolling out labels for AI-generated content to comply with a law that took effect on Monday
Chinese social media platforms roll out labels for AI-generated material
WeChat, Douyin and Weibo are among those deploying label requirements to comply with a new law.Kris Holt (Engadget)
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Apertus (Switzerland’s first large-scale, open, multilingual language model)
Apertus: a fully open, transparent, multilingual language model
EPFL, ETH Zurich and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) released Apertus today, Switzerland’s first large-scale, open, multilingual language model — a milestone in generative AI for transparency and diversity.ETH Zurich
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Yup, I see pretrain data on their GitHub, cool to see it released
github.com/swiss-ai/pretrain-d…
GitHub - swiss-ai/pretrain-data: Pretraining data reconstruction scripts for Apertus
Pretraining data reconstruction scripts for Apertus - swiss-ai/pretrain-dataGitHub
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¡Y'arrrrr matie! ¿¡But do you pirate this harRrrrRrRrRrd?!"
junglecruisednbBoatParty-20250830
homie @ollyjunglist got the homies together for @junglecruisednb Boat Party - Singe, A.N.T., OllyJunglist, Corrine / @junglecruisednb, @khariszmaOdysee
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!drumandbass@lemmy.world
Or
!jungle@lemmy.world
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Meet the Silicon Valley Donors Backing California's Redistricting Push
The move is the latest underscoring how Silicon Valley’s deep-pocketed executives are increasingly wielding influence in California politics and beyond.
unghie schifose piegate nel dentro dell’anima persa
Ieri sera ho avuto un attimino di tempo per tagliarmi le unghie dei piedi, ma per il resto sono completamente intrappolata… dentro un IDE, al punto che nell’immediato non ho nulla di interessante da poter scrivere, rest in maccheroni. Quindi, anche stamattina sono costretta a parlare semplicemente di un altro piccolo fattore dello schifo speciale […]
octospacc.altervista.org/2025/…
unghie schifose piegate nel dentro dell'anima persa - fritto misto di octospacc
Ieri sera ho avuto un attimino di tempo per tagliarmi le unghie dei piedi, ma per il resto sono completamente intrappolata... dentro un IDE, al punto che nell'iminioctt (fritto misto di octospacc)
China plans to outpace Neuralink with a state-backed brain chip blitz — seven ministries, a 17-point roadmap, and clinical trials where patients play chess
Plan aims to streamline approval by bringing regulators in at the beginning, potentially shaving years off the lab-to-market timeline.
Scottish government trial of four-day week improves productivity and staff wellbeing
Increased productivity and improved staff wellbeing were among the results of a year-long trial of the four-day week by the Scottish government.Staff at the two organisations reported less work-related stress and greater satisfaction with their jobs and work-life balance.
Almost all workers (98%) at SOSE believed the four-day week trial improved motivation and morale, while there was a decrease in workers taking time off sick and a 25% fall in those taking sick days for psychological reasons.
Scottish government trial of four-day week improves productivity and staff wellbeing
Employees at two public bodies reported less work-related stress and one organisation had drop in sick daysJoanna Partridge (The Guardian)
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Yet the Nerd-reich wants to bring back feudalism.
commondreams.org/opinion/big-t…
The Techlords and Their Ideology Are Mortal Enemies of Humanity
The techlords intend to bring humanity to the brink of collapse and then, in a magic trick, rise to power, saving the species or themselves as the last specimens.joao-camargo (Common Dreams)
Malawi set to run out of TB drugs in a month after US, UK and others cut aid
Malawi is facing a critical shortage of tuberculosis drugs, with health officials warning that stocks will run out by the end of September.It comes just months after the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that the country had successfully reduced tuberculosis (TB) cases by 40% over the past decade.
But the health ministry, which was already badly hit by the cuts in aid from the US, UK and other donors, has been forced to warn the public of low stocks of first-line TB medicines across Malawi, which means patients may find their treatment disrupted or ended.
Dr. Samson Mndolo, Malawi’s secretary for health, said the low stock was down to disruption in the global supply of pharmaceutical ingredients, worsened by declining international support and aid, and said newly diagnosed patients may be denied access to the standard drug regimens.
Malawi set to run out of TB drugs in a month after US, UK and others cut aid
Gains in cutting deaths from tuberculosis at risk as health officials warn clinics forced to ration drugs and testingGuardian staff reporter (The Guardian)
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Nvidia Sales Jump 56%, a Sign the A.I. Boom Isn’t Slowing Down
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Share drops 3% amid good sales
Increasing talk about an AI bubble
‘It’s almost tragic’: Bubble or not, the AI backlash is validating what one researcher and critic has been saying for years
Gary Marcus told Fortune that AI valuations remind him of Wile E. Coyote. “We are off the cliff.”Nick Lichtenberg (Fortune)
The stock market is vibes based these days. Posting investors screeching about a bubble isn't some argument.
Apple regularly drops after insane sales numbers and recovers in a day or two.
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crandlecan
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •like this
Maeve likes this.
idefix
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •passepartout
in reply to idefix • • •Fairphone 6, especially with /e/os is not an option atm from a security standpoint. But then again, no phone is except iPhones and Pixels (and more recent Samsung phones).
Regarding privacy, Murena is shilling their own proprietary Apps as alternatives to Google.
Taken from the Graphene OS forum
Voice to Text feature using Open AI
/e/OS communityunexposedhazard
in reply to idefix • • •Any device and OS that uses standard google play services (and therefore its device integrity system) will be restricted from now on. So either go with AOSP+microG or just plain AOSP like lineage os.
e/os is lineage+microG so shouldnt be affected. Lots of apps like banking stuff are starting to prevent their apps from running on on google certified devices however. You will have to test case by case.
cerebralhawks
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •Not on Android. People love to stan for Android because "it's open source," but Android would have gone nowhere if Google didn't buy it, and Google wouldn't have bought it if they weren't convinced it would let them scrape more personal data than Gmail. (And Andy Rubin made Android because he heard Steve Jobs say the iPhone would run OS X, and he thought he could probably whip up a Linux distro to run on a phone.)
You could get an iPhone and not run any apps by Google, Meta, Microsoft, X, or any of the other privacy-opposed companies. You'd also better change the default search off of Google. DuckDuckGo is an option. Ecosia might be. Not sure. The issue is, while Apple says they're all about privacy, that's based on them being a computer/hardware company first (and Google being a data company first). However, Apple is heavily leaning into services now — Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple News+, and more — and there are rumors they want their own search engine. So while Apple may be privacy strong now, you don't know what they'll be a year from now, or three, or five.
It's like Tim Cook (Apple CEO) said about Facebook when they introduced the tracking limiter. "You can still give Facebook permission to track you all over the web, they just gotta get your permission first." That's true of privacy. You can still use Google, Meta, Microsoft, X, TikTok, and other privacy-violating companies' products, but what you share is entirely up to you. You can use some of those services in Safari and block some tracking, or you can install the apps and allow it all. It's up to you.
Or, you can buy a Pixel and reward Google's business model, and put GrapheneOS on it. That is probably better, privacy-wise, than using an iPhone. But you're still rewarding Google's business model. And if they're making so much money off your data that opting out isn't even an option, why does the Pixel cost the same the iPhone does (and more, considering the Pixel Fold)? You are getting more RAM, but RAM is cheap. You're not getting a better processor — Apple has won that race for years. Camera tech is about 50/50. Screen is up in the air — I think Apple's is better, but Google et al use higher resolutions. Apple buys from the same companies but screens are made to spec which is why Apple's are better than those by companies they buy from. Their spec is more demanding. "Good enough" is what passes in Android — it's like how iPhones use NVMe and Androids use UFS. NVMe is more expensive, and it's faster on paper, but in the real world? UFS is good enough. You wouldn't see a difference, or a significant one, in real world usage. So what are you paying for in a Pixel? The lower specs plus the privacy/data factor should make the Pixel significantly cheaper... except Google is a publicly traded company, so they can't sell it that low.
Apple may not be the best option, but they're advertising that they are (with regards to privacy). And I think they're trying. I'm not saying they're saints. They are doing better than Google though. And you have to decide if that's worth your money. And dealing with a crappy keyboard. The keyboard sucks.
0x0
in reply to cerebralhawks • • •Did you not get the memo? That might not be an option in the near future, that's the whole point of OP asking.
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cerebralhawks
in reply to 0x0 • • •Memo about custom firmware? No. I did see the bit about Google blocking sideloading. True, I don't follow Google/Android news as closely as I follow Apple news due to that being what I use.
That said, I know a fair bit about Android and used to do custom firmware. I know it's never been easy, largely due to the carriers getting involved. I thought Pixels were unlocked though, at least those bought direct. In the early days when they were Verizon exclusive, the carrier bought ones were locked (this was 2016). Custom firmware in the last 5-10 years? I know a lot less about that.
ragebutt
in reply to cerebralhawks • • •Apple has a search engine, it’s just not publicly accessible. They’ve had a web crawler for many years and their internal search engine is likely what powers things like siri suggested sites and information for apple maps. It is correct they could enter the search and advertising game at any moment, though unlikely because it would destroy their brand integrity.
That said apple is no saint for privacy. For one they actively enable google; they take billions from google to fund safari development in exchange for prioritizing google as built in search and feeding google user data. For a company like Mozilla this is an ethical conundrum; without googles money they’d likely be done. For a company like apple it is inexcusable. the few billion, while a tremendous amount (I think 18 billion?) is a pittance to them.
Further to your point of “active permission” with the tracking limiter this is not always the case. Apple is aware and does not do anything to reform. Part of the reason companies want you to use their app on ios is because then you will be far more likely to open links via the in app browser, which is still safari/webkit, but now escapes sandboxing and allows for far more precise tracking and fingerprinting even if you utilize the tracking limitations built into ios.
Notice how only sketchy games with tons of blatant ads will prompt the “ask ad not to track” box.
Instagram, twitter, youtube, reddit, etc generally don’t because they don’t need to track you through permitted routes. Apple has long been aware of this and continue to do nothing (forcing links to open in safari or another browser, limiting traffic on in app browsers, etc). Lord knows what other tricks scumbags like facebook have to circumvent systems and track everything you do. Apple is well aware it happens without user consent but tolerates it and then has the gall to say their hardware and software is “privacy oriented”
cerebralhawks
in reply to ragebutt • • •Ulrich
in reply to cerebralhawks • • •I mean it can be both? Android has been awesome for many years precisely because it was open source. It's the reason we have had and continue to have so many custom ROMs. It was open source so it could be run by Samsung, Motorola, LG, etc. while Google collected all the data. It also meant that independent developers could create their own OSs without any of Google's BS in it. And that was fine, because us nerds are not even 1% of the market. But something seems to have changed because they're very suddenly clawing back control of the entire OS. Pretty much the beginning of the end for private mobile devices. This trend is likely to continue faster than the community can create workarounds.
Cricket [he/him]
in reply to Ulrich • • •Wait, it being open source should have no effect on this? It could just as easily be closed source as long as Google offered licenses for manufacturers to use it.
Ulrich
in reply to Cricket [he/him] • • •Offering licenses means they could take back their permissions at any time.
OEMs want open source for the same reasons as everyone else.
Cricket [he/him]
in reply to Ulrich • • •The HUAWEI ban: Everything you need to know - Android Authority
C. Scott Brown (Android Authority)Ulrich
in reply to Cricket [he/him] • • •Cricket [he/him]
in reply to Ulrich • • •How does it have nothing to do with Google, if Google did it, even if it was by order of the US government? Regardless, this still clearly demonstrates that AOSP being open-source has no bearing on an OEM being able to use the full Android system or even the name "Android".
Contrast that with a fully open system like Linux, where this wouldn't be possible. No OEM would get banned from using Linux, even if the US government ordered it.
Ulrich
in reply to Cricket [he/him] • • •Because Google has zero control over it. You're REALLY reaching here...
Cricket [he/him]
in reply to Ulrich • • •We seem to be having a communication problem. I was originally addressing this specific statement:
Those OEMs could run Android and let Google collect all the data regardless of whether it were open-sourced or licensed, and the Huawei case demonstrated that "Android" is licensed. It's only AOSP minus Google services that is open-sourced. I don't understand what's so controversial about what I'm saying.
Ulrich
in reply to Cricket [he/him] • • •We are not having a communication problem. We have a failure to understand. If you want to challenge the entire definition of open source, that's not something that I'm going to entertain. You can take that up with OSI. Every other open source project is susceptible to the same legal shitfuckery.
These are not the same. And it's preposterous to suggest such a thing. It's like saying licensing movies from Amazon is the same as owning them. The implications are completely different.
Again, only as much as every other open source project is "licensed", as in it's susceptible to legal regulation.
Cricket [he/him]
in reply to Ulrich • • •It's either failure to understand or you're intentionally twisting my words. I'm not challenging the definition of open source and I'm not claiming open source and proprietary software is the same.
Let me restate and clarify what I'm saying:
- For giant corporate OEMs like you listed, all else being equal, it makes not much difference to them in their choice to use Android on their phones whether Android is open source or proprietary. The only significant difference between the two is that open source allows them to further customize and perhaps contribute back to the OS source, if they desire to do so. If Android were proprietary and had the same market and lack of fees (or even reasonable fees to allow them to still be profitable), they would still use it.
- The complete Android system has a unique vulnerability to attacks like the one on Huawei (compared to another open source OS like Linux), because of its deep dependence on Google's (proprietary) play services and mobile services. The Huawei case illustrated that GPS and GMS are proprietary, are licensed, the licenses can be pulled, and Android is pretty useless to a giant corporate OEM without those two proprietary components. That's why I'm sometimes using "open source" in quotes, because Android being open source is only useful to an OEM as long as they agree to Google's GPS/GMS licensing.
I hope you understand my points now. If you still want to argue either of them, I think we've reached a dead end.
Google's proprietary software bundle on Android platform
Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)Ulrich
in reply to Cricket [he/him] • • •Yes you are. You are claiming that open source and "licensed" are the same thing, because the government can get involved and take away someone's right to open source.
GPS and GMS are not components of AOSP. They are proprietary Google apps.
Cricket [he/him]
in reply to Ulrich • • •That's not at all what I'm saying. Please point out where I said that open source and licensed (i.e., proprietary licensed) software are the same thing? First, I'm not saying anything about AOSP, which I recognize is fully open source and which I use myself. I'm talking about full Android, the trademarked, licensed product, which includes AOSP (open source) plus GPS and GMS (proprietary) components. We're talking about Android phones here, before you go "but but but".
From the link above:
"The "Android" name, the Android logo, the "Google Play" brand, and other Google trademarks, are property of Google LLC and not part of the assets available through the Android Open Source Project."
"Use of the "Google Play" name and the Google Play Store icon is allowed only in association with devices licensed to access Google Play. For a list of devices licensed to use Google Play, refer to Supported devices."
Second, a combination of open source and proprietary components is not fully open source, do you agree with that at least?
It very much does matter in the case of Android because AOSP without the proprietary components is limited to a market niche. Show me one really popular phone or phone brand which does not use Google's proprietary Play Store. Maybe there's some edge case that doesn't, I don't know, but it would be the exception that proves the rule.
Both had to either develop their own app store or rely on a 3rd-party app store, I don't know. But they're definitely not using Google's Play Store, and thus are limited to market niches like I mentioned above.
Brand guidelines
Android DevelopersUlrich
in reply to Cricket [he/him] • • •When you suggested that Android is licensed because the government restricted who could use it, that's what you said. I don't understand why this is confusing. Any other open source project is susceptible to the same fate, ergo they're the same thing. I already explained this.
AOSP is Android. This seems to be where you're getting confused.
Cricket [he/him]
in reply to Ulrich • • •That's not what I said. What I said was that the fact that Google blocked Huawei's ability to use Android's Google Services on their devices at the government's orders meant that the they had a mechanism that allowed them to do so. Namely, the proprietary license for the Google Services. Do you dispute this exact thing, not some twisted version of what I said? I don't understand why this is confusing either.
How so? Do you have any examples of an organization blocking someone from using a common open source license like GPL, MIT, or Apache License, with the possible exceptions of GPL license violations or export controls for things like cryptography, etc? The fact that Google didn't block Huawei from using AOSP most likely means that it was easier for them to ban Huawei through their proprietary license to Google Services than through the Apache License for AOSP.
This seems to be where you're getting confused too. I've already explained multiple times that what I mean by "Android" is the full suite (AOSP + GPS + GMS) that an OEM would need for a mass-market phone. AOSP is not enough for that. No OEM in their right mind would try to market a mass-market phone with pure AOSP and no Google Services.
cerebralhawks
in reply to Ulrich • • •The open source thing is largely a myth, though. AOSP is what's open source. The version of Android on Pixel phones and Nexus before them was forked from that and bundles a lot of closed source stuff, like Google Play Services, Gmail, and more. But it's close enough to AOSP that devs can target it and it should run on most/all Android forks.
So then Samsung and others take AOSP and they fork it and make their own OS that is based on Android. They are required per licensing to use Android branding if they want Play Store access. There are other rules, like Chrome and/or Google has to be on the main launcher page, Play Services has to be included... if they don't play by the rules, they can still fork Android, they just can't use the name Android... like Fire OS and Switch OS. (It's unclear if modern Switches use any Android code. Before they were released they were rumored to have forked Android. Switches absolutely do not run Android apps, but the OS borrows several cues from Android design language.)
Ulrich
in reply to cerebralhawks • • •You say it's a myth, then say it's not a myth. Which one is it? Is it open source or not?
cerebralhawks
in reply to Ulrich • • •Ulrich
in reply to cerebralhawks • • •Auli
in reply to cerebralhawks • • •monovergent 🛠️
in reply to cerebralhawks • • •Keep in mind that every Apple phone is also an AirTag, even if "powered off". This isn't the case with most Android phones, and you can get one with a removable battery to ensure it. Sure, there's Faraday bags, but they are easy to mess up, while you can't go wrong with just pulling the power at the source.
Also, you don't have to buy from Google. There's the second-hand and discount reseller market.
We shouldn't live life settling for the "lesser evil", we need more hardware to support things like GrapheneOS.
Cricket [he/him]
in reply to monovergent 🛠️ • • •This can easily be disabled in settings though.
☂️-
in reply to Cricket [he/him] • • •Cricket [he/him]
in reply to ☂️- • • •cerebralhawks
in reply to monovergent 🛠️ • • •It's the other way around, it's down to GrapheneOS to support other hardware. They simply choose to focus on Pixels.
You're onto something with the AirTags but you haven't got it quite right. Every Apple device participates in the Find My network, which means any Apple device marked as lost will have its location reported, anonymously, by every other Apple device it can communicate with. This is a good thing, unless you're being stalked via an AirTag placed on your person, but Apple has taken pains to mitigate this issue. One shoe company recently released shoes with AirTag compartments so parents could track their kids, and the placement should mitigate the beeping they can emit. Honestly the AirTags and Find My network do more good than harm, the impact to devices participating in the Find My network is minimal, and if it's your device that's lost, you don't want people opting out so thieves can get away with stealing your stuff.
0x0
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •Development of Linux on mobile will ramp up.
EU or similar wrecking Google over being monopolistic would be nice but unlikely.
Same but targeting phone manufacturers.
comrade_twisty
in reply to 0x0 • • •like this
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Ulrich
in reply to comrade_twisty • • •comrade_twisty
in reply to Ulrich • • •Auli
in reply to comrade_twisty • • •comrade_twisty
in reply to Auli • • •timbuck2themoon
in reply to comrade_twisty • • •NKBTN
in reply to timbuck2themoon • • •lemonySplit
in reply to comrade_twisty • • •Even just forcing them to stop blocking access on the website when they detect a phone would be nice.
I have to enable desktop mode on ironfox since ~2 years ago for my bank. Then the scaling is terrible and its hard to click buttons
matlag
in reply to comrade_twisty • • •Right now the EU regulation is pushing banks to require more of Google or Apple because it's unclear and banks won't take a chance of getting fined.
Among the requirements are: ensure the device and the OS were not "altered". What does that mean exactly? Answer: [crickets].
But that's why many banks just go with the Google Play Integrity API.
Cat_Daddy [any, any]
in reply to 0x0 • • •Goodlucksil
in reply to Cat_Daddy [any, any] • • •0,1% of Android users care enough about privacy or foss to switch to Linux if Ndroid is enshittified too much.
This may not seem like a lot, but that is (I estimate) 10 times more than the current number of people daily driving Linux on their phones.
Zerush
in reply to 0x0 • • •e · GitLab
GitLabeldavi
in reply to Zerush • • •i was going to do this until i discovered that their non-pixel devices have poor network coverage in the united states.
also doesn't /e/os has the same problems that other projects like grapheneos has when it comes to google locking down android?
Zerush
in reply to eldavi • • •eldavi
in reply to Zerush • • •Didn't Google recently require all app developers to register w them?
Zerush
in reply to eldavi • • •It's like with Chromium, there are forks which simply patch their logo on it and those which use de-googled forks (Brave (?), Vivaldi, de-googled Chromium and also EDGE (with it's own tracking APIs from M$) )which are not phoning home to Google.
eldavi
in reply to Zerush • • •absolutely ture in a purely foss environment; but we're talking about android phones whose manufacturers are locking down the bootloaders in lock step with google's efforts to lock down android.
both lineageos and e/os/ are going to be difficult to maintain going forward without projects like murena making their own phones.
VicSquid
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •like this
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Ŝan
in reply to VicSquid • • •We first need Linux phones to be reliable daily drivers; so far everyone I've encountered who has a linux phone says it's usable... wiþ caveats.
We have to eliminate þe caveats in at least a handful of phones, first.
Auli
in reply to VicSquid • • •generator
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •"Linux phones will skyrocketed" by who? Nerds, the comum user doesn't care if Android is proprietary or opensource, they don't even know.
There's already other mobile OS but have the same issue, no apps or developers interested on making apps for it.
FirefoxOS, Ubuntu touch, something else Linux based, it's for some nerds play on a secondary phone.
Comum people don't stop using Windows or macOS because it's proprietary or a privacy nightmare. EU didn't stop selling iPhones because it's proprietary.
It's the device vendors that decide which OS would ship, and people will use it
like this
YoSoySnekBoi likes this.
traceur201
in reply to generator • • •Auli
in reply to traceur201 • • •☂️-
in reply to traceur201 • • •Soot [any]
in reply to generator • • •☂️-
in reply to Soot [any] • • •AssortedBiscuits [they/them]
in reply to generator • • •I read it as co-mum.
timbuck2themoon
in reply to generator • • •And yet Linux usage on desktop is rising.
Not as much as it should be IMO but it's fallacy to think things won't change.
Or is IBM still top dog?
generator
in reply to timbuck2themoon • • •Because the main apps used on other systems work on Linux, and also games.
Linux phones now is more Linux in early 2000, a few apps that kinda work, you don't have banking apps, games, android auto like, streaming apps or any of most common apps used by users
Mrkawfee
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •I hear good things about this.
unplugged.com/products/up-phon…
UP Phone
Unpluggedmonovergent 🛠️
in reply to Mrkawfee • • •antrosapien
in reply to Mrkawfee • • •Ulrich
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •jeff_hykin
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •Yes, absolutely there is hope.
Phones that don't support Google play services (AKA any hardcore privacy phone) will not be directly effected by Google restricting sideloading. The restriction is only for phones that use the Google suite. (source: 9to5google.com/2025/08/25/andr… "This requirement applies to 'certified Android devices' that have Play Protect and are preloaded with Google apps.") Graphene OS isn't going anywhere, AOSP is open source, even if Google tried to make that change in the OS, the community would hard-fork AOSP instantly and continue like nothing ever happened.
Realistically this is going to squeeze people "in the middle" towards fully-google controlled Android (one exteme) and towards fully-de-googled Android (the other extreme). Its just elminating the middle. Which is bad for people trying to gradually de-google their life, but not as dire as it might seem.
On the bright side, this is an opportunity for play-services spoofing to become commonplace and easy, and could cause more apps to avoid google play services. The EU also has a shot at forcing google to allow sideloading, since they've recently been forcing Apple to move in that direction.
So, while not a bright future, its far from hopeless for privacy respecting Android phones.
Google will require developer verification to install Android apps, including sideloading
Abner Li (9to5Google)GreenShimada
in reply to jeff_hykin • • •This is the point, isn't it?
Lock down their own ecosystem because they're jealous of how Apple does it, so they can herd all users into their walled garden. Then close the gates behind them. There's no easy way out, you can't just wander back and forth anymore. You have to scale a wall in the dead of night and shed a tear as you look back and see everyone else having a lovely life, then set off into the dark forest of privacy on your own.
People hate friction in the first place. This is as much friction as they can realistically make on their own without triggering anti-trust cases and EU fines.
ramble81
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •Said this in another thread
☂️-
in reply to ramble81 • • •majster
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •Schlemmy
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •The EU. That's where my hope lies.
ianbrown.tech/2024/04/03/my-ev…
My evidence to the European Parliament on the DMA’s third-party app/app store provisions
www.ianbrown.tech☂️-
in reply to Schlemmy • • •Schlemmy
in reply to ☂️- • • •Fredrik
in reply to ☂️- • • •I live in EU, and that shit drives me nuts.
Stop spying on your citizens!
matlag
in reply to ☂️- • • •Renohren
in reply to Schlemmy • • •spacemanspiffy
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •monovergent 🛠️
in reply to spacemanspiffy • • •spacemanspiffy
in reply to monovergent 🛠️ • • •I am satisfied with it. Calls/SMS/MMS all work fine. Internet and the few apps I use work fine.
I will admit though that many (most?) others might not agree.
Banking apps, GPS navigation, these are things I don't care about.
I have gripes with the L5 but I am never, ever going back. My next phone will probably be Purism's next phone, if they have one.
That Weird Vegan
in reply to spacemanspiffy • • •shortwavesurfer
in reply to That Weird Vegan • • •ScoffingLizard
in reply to spacemanspiffy • • •Is all the talk about not recieving phones ordered and the poor customer service just a smear campaign or is there truth to it?
How do you like the kill switch?
What country/service are you on?
Have you heard any rumors regarding the inventory issues? They do not have US modem version of their phones in stock, even if you get the really expensive one or a refurbished option.
spacemanspiffy
in reply to ScoffingLizard • • •For context, I am probably as much of a Purism fanboy as you are likely to find...
There is a lot of truth to it, but I do think there were a few very loud voices making it sound worse than it was.
I got mine in June 2023, and I was one of the last people on the "preorder" list.
I hear a few people mention not receiving theirs still every now and then. The cases I saw mostly came down to emails landing in Spam/Junk folders on the customers end.
But I do think Purism's support was very lacking in past years.
In recent months I have seen some new faces in their Matrix and forums and the new people are really great and responsive.
I do not blame certain past Purism employees who were in the firing lane for these issues. Rather I blame Purism's handling of the refunds for drawing up enough ire to make Purism's support reps sound like the bad guys.
The refund thing was less than great, for sure. I feel they are improving.
Love em.
I wish the modem powered on faster but that is nit the fault of the switch, or really a big problem. It takes like 20-30 seconds maybe. The Wifi powers on in a few seconds.
US, Mint Mobile. AT&T also worked for me in the past.
Hmmm, maybe?
I know there was supposed to be stock of new Liberty Phone main boards this year, and there was hope they would go on sale as a sort of L5 upgrade path. This either did not happen, or Purism is waiting for something to announce it.
I don't own any other Purism hardware, and so I do not pay much attention to the L14 stock or the Mini or anything.
ScoffingLizard
in reply to spacemanspiffy • • •spacemanspiffy
in reply to ScoffingLizard • • •monovergent 🛠️
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •Until substantially more people join the fight for privacy or something else fundamentally changes, I think there is a very real possibility of Google completely clamping down on Android while governments and workplaces mandate apps that only run on phones with all of Google or Apple's bells and whistles.
But the folks at GrapheneOS, Calyx, and Murena seem to be a devoted and resourceful bunch, so I am hopeful that they can give something for us to work with, even if Google pulls the plug, whether it's a fork of Android or rebasing to mobile Linux.
If that all falls through, I'll look for whichever phone supports Linux best and eventually move everything over. The vast majority of the apps I use regularly on my GrapheneOS phone aren't very demanding and have a decent alternative on Linux. And whatever apps are forced on me by other people will reside on a dedicated Android phone, ideally with a removable battery.
For this year, I'd still recommend a secondhand or reseller Pixel with GrapheneOS. Everything just works on it.
☂️-
in reply to monovergent 🛠️ • • •we need the devs who make lineageos to come up with something, because that's what most people have access to. and their stance is that they won't be doing anything to bypass any of google's restrictions.
that's if unlocking is still a thing in the near future.
irmadlad
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •☂️-
in reply to irmadlad • • •yeah i can see this kinda thing becoming the resistance by the looks of it. i'm already wondering to myself if it could be practical to use something like this with postmarket or aosp.
i wonder if i could make it thinner and more ergonomic if i desoldered unused io.
SlartyBartFast
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted
in reply to SlartyBartFast • • •Weary traveler, I beseeth thee to not harken down this path.
I hear tales of dark spirits haunting those old byways. Ones of greed, with an emotionless façade, and hunger for gold from too-eager souls.
ScoffingLizard
in reply to EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted • • •EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted
in reply to ScoffingLizard • • •doubtingtammy
in reply to SlartyBartFast • • •Ardens
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •upstroke4448
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •who
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •Related: Has anyone here used Pretty Good Phone Privacy (PGPP)?
invisv.com/pgpp/
usenix.org/system/files/sec21-…
PGPP
invisv.comTeam Teddy
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •ScoffingLizard
in reply to Team Teddy • • •Team Teddy
in reply to ScoffingLizard • • •ScoffingLizard
in reply to Team Teddy • • •WhatGodIsMadeOf
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •angband
in reply to WhatGodIsMadeOf • • •Sailor88
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •Schwim Dandy
in reply to Sailor88 • • •Sailor88
in reply to Schwim Dandy • • •That's true but it's either that or accept a Google or Apple phone. It's what I do and I love not having instant reply expectation placed on me.
It's like the good ole days before cell phones. 😂
It also allows me to significantly improve my personal privacy.
Schwim Dandy
in reply to Sailor88 • • •PGPP
invisv.comScoffingLizard
in reply to Schwim Dandy • • •Daemon Silverstein
in reply to Sailor88 • • •I'd really love a Linux phone (personally, I have a Linux PC and I use Arch, btw) so don't get me wrong when I question: what about the banking and government apps? Yeah, because finance systems are getting increasingly digital around the world and every payment will eventually need to involve banking apps, and you guessed it: just Android (Google) and iOS (Apple), no Linux, no KaiOS. One will eventually need apps to pay for rent and consumer bills, even for buying groceries, as fiat currency will get more digital and less physical.
And, no, European Union won't fight against it because, in fact, the same European Union is seeking to digitalize EUR (see "ECB publishes third progress report on the digital euro preparation phase", published by European Central Bank on 16 July 2025). It's not a matter of if, but when physical currencies will become ruled out, and "For Our Security™", Linux (alonside other alternative OSes) will either be ruled out from internet banking altogether or it'll be forced to comply with "security requirements" that, in practice, would turn Linux indistinguishable from Android and iOS.
And this seems to be where everywhere is headed, it's not just an European or USian phenomenon. The future is bleak.
shortwavesurfer
in reply to Daemon Silverstein • • •You will use Monero or Parrish.
No, seriously though, the circular economy is growing and by contributing to it, you are giving the middle finger to these fuckers.
ScoffingLizard
in reply to shortwavesurfer • • •shortwavesurfer
in reply to ScoffingLizard • • •Shayeta
in reply to shortwavesurfer • • •shortwavesurfer
in reply to Shayeta • • •mnemonicmonkeys
in reply to Daemon Silverstein • • •Use the browser versions. Not everything has to be done through apps
Daemon Silverstein
in reply to mnemonicmonkeys • • •I'm Brazilian and many Brazilian banks require apps, be it for generating a unique code (e.g. Itaú's iToken) to authorize/authenticate, to scan a QR code every time the Web client requests an action (e.g. Mercado Pago and Santander), or even to do mobile-only transactions such as Pix (Brazilian instant payment/transfer) because our Central Bank (BACEN, who created and maintains Pix nationwide) requires banks to limit Pix in a per-device basis. The latter is crucial because Pix became the main payment method around here, and it can't be done through Web browsers.
Then, there are the "safety measures" inherent to these banking apps, so they refuse to work outside rawdogged Android/iOS. Even enabling "Developer mode" or having some apps installed (such as Termux; apps can see which other apps you have installed) is enough for some banks to refuse logging in (and certain banking apps won't even tell why, just some generic error message).
Also, depending on where a person works, the employer may require the employee to receive their paycheck at a specific bank, which in turn will require an app if the employee is willing to use their own paycheck to pay their bills. Banks have been trying to push their mobile internet banking to their customers, with many banks (such as Bradesco) closing many of their physical branches so people have no nearby ATMs to do banking things.
Finally, even browser-based internet banking (e.g. Caixa Econômica Federal) sometimes require the installation of software akin to kernel-level anti-cheat because "muh security", and some will support neither Linux nor virtualized Windows (most (if not all) virtualization hypervisors can be easily detected by techniques such as the Red-Pill).
So it's not as easy as "use the browser versions", unfortunately.
int32
in reply to Daemon Silverstein • • •EDIT: I momentarily forgot about waydroid...
Daemon Silverstein
in reply to int32 • • •int32
in reply to Daemon Silverstein • • •Bronstein_Tardigrade
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •Ilandar
in reply to Bronstein_Tardigrade • • •Bronstein_Tardigrade
in reply to Ilandar • • •Ilandar
in reply to Bronstein_Tardigrade • • •HiddenLayer555
in reply to Bronstein_Tardigrade • • •Bronstein_Tardigrade
in reply to HiddenLayer555 • • •graymess [he/him]
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •sudoer777
in reply to graymess [he/him] • • •graymess [he/him]
in reply to sudoer777 • • •DupaCycki
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •As of right now, it's looking like GrapheneOS will be unaffected, and Google has yet to lock down the bootloader. So this should remain a valid option for at least 2 years.
Other than that:
Honestly there probably isn't any good, long-term solution. Personally I'm somewhat shocked we've gone this many years with reasonably open smartphones. Next step is probably closing bootloaders in new laptops, as part of the switch to ARM (which is already undergoing).
StarMerchant938
in reply to DupaCycki • • •DupaCycki
in reply to StarMerchant938 • • •I'm a huge fan of Pine64, but I wouldn't expect the PinePhone to be a great replacement for an Android smartphone. Personally I have quite extensive experience with PineBook Pro, PineTime and PineBuds Pro. I haven't had the chance to try the PinePhone, but I'd definitely go for the Pro.
Even then, prepare for a junky experience and forget about lixuries such as good camera, nice screen, smooth UI/UX. Their devices are great, and the ideas behind them more so. But unfortunately they rarely work well, perhaps with the exception of PineBuds Pro.
deprecateddino
in reply to DupaCycki • • •A Quick Community Update on PinePhone Pro and What’s Next
PINE64DupaCycki
in reply to deprecateddino • • •Well, that sucks. So I guess the better move here would be to wait for something new? I don't think the regular PinePhone is at all viable as a daily driver.
PigeonEnjoyer
in reply to DupaCycki • • •StarMerchant938
in reply to PigeonEnjoyer • • •locahosr443
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •Linux phone will hopefully become realistic thing.
But the more this goes on the more my attitude has changed. I now do far less on my phone, I'm more careful about what I expose to it. As a result I spend very little time on it and that's been great.
To be clear I hate what's happening, it's just been working out to improve my time.
myfunnyaccountname
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •ftbd
in reply to myfunnyaccountname • • •CodenameDarlen
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •I think you still can have a Linux phone with GNOME, there's a GNOME version for mobile.
After all, what is a smartphone? Just a convenient computer that can make calls.
Linux + GNOME will do that for you.
This is from 2022 and it looks pretty good to me: blogs.gnome.org/shell-dev/2022…
GNOME Shell on mobile: An update
Jonas Dreßler (GNOME Shell & Mutter)eelectricshock
in reply to unfinished | 🇵🇸 • • •