Danie van der Merwe

The Fairbuds noise-canceling earbuds have an easily swappable battery

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 19:26:53 +0200

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

Fairphone, the makers of the ultra-repairable Fairphone 5, have launched a new pair of easy-to-repair wireless earbuds. Instead of tossing away your earbuds when the batteries eventually die, Fairphone’s new Fairbuds let you replace the batteries inside the buds themselves and their charging case.

In addition to replacing the batteries, you can repair or exchange the left or right earbud, the silicone ring, earbud tips, the charging case outer shell, and the charging case core. The new buds also come with a standard two-year warranty, but you can add one extra year if you register them online.

Certainly, these objectives should be embraced by all manufacturers. I will never forget my first (and only) Apple AirPods and their batteries failing just a month past the warranty period ended. They were super expensive, and I vowed to never again pay so much money for a disposable product.

The downside though with Fairphone products is they are not the cheapest around, so many are still going to buy cheap disposal earbuds. They are very likely not as good as the top end earbuds are either, but I'd be interested to see some reviews around the sound quality.

One would have to assume these could last at least two or three times longer than any earbuds which have non-replaceable batteries (batteries are usually the component that fails). But the cost of any batteries being replaced also needs to be factored in.

I'd hope though if there is enough support and sales, that these prices could actually get cheaper over time too.

See The Fairbuds noise-canceling earbuds have an easily swappable battery

These buds are meant to last more than just a few years.

#technology #earbuds #environment

technology environment earbuds

Modder made an IRC client that runs entirely inside the motherboard's BIOS chip

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 15:48:22 +0200

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

Phillip Tennen, developer of the open-source axleOS, has recently decided to use what he learned from that project to create an IRC client that runs entirely within the UEFI pre-boot environment, with no operating system required. This "UEFIRC" is nearly fully functional, with a graphical interface and a TrueType font renderer, and it's all written in the Rust programming language.

Wow! It does suggest two things to me:
1. IRC is really the lightest weight social chatting app of them all...
2. IRC users are a bit different...

Technically I suppose any text based micro-blogging type service could work. Twitter or Mastodon without videos and photos may also work. But the nature of how IRC still works today, means you can get a pretty close experience to the real thing even in the BIOS.

See Modder made an IRC client that runs entirely inside the motherboard's BIOS chip

"I told a friend I was making a joke project, then explained. She said she wasn't sure when to laugh. I'm not sure either."

#technology #IRC #BIOS

technology BIOS IRC

Solved e-mail not working in luckyBackup app with smtp-cli app

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 15:42:49 +0200

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

I love the free and open source luckyBackup app for doing rsync backups of my user data, as rsync is fast and reliable, and you can easily verify seeing your files that are backed up. I've been using luckyBackup for many years now, despite it no longer being supported from about 12 years ago (little has changed with regards to rsync, which it uses, and rsync updates still).

The only problem I, and many others had, was when Google tightened up their SMTP access for sending of mail. We started getting authentication errors for SMTP logins with app passwords. But I'd seen many complain but no easy solution was ever mentioned for luckyBackup, which executes a command line execution to send the logs via e-mail.

This week it became critical as I noticed my backups stopped running a few days ago, and of course, I got no error e-mail. I looked to using Duplicati backup now which is really excellent and saves masses of space, but it is horribly slow, especially on the first run. For my 1.1 TB of data it has now been running nearly 24 hours and it has 230 GB still to go!

So, a renewed effort on luckyBackup finally found a breakthrough. I looked at alternative CLI mail command apps and actually got ssmtp to work, by adding an option `AuthMethod=LOGIN`. This got me to realise that of course GMail's (and some other SMTP servers) are not always standard. But the ssmtp app does not execute properly from within luckyBackup.

Then I came upon a comment in a post where someone said they had created an open-source app called smtp-cli for the command line, and it also did some diagnostics along with some optional parameters including also an option `--auth-login`. And it worked, including inside of luckyBackup!

The app only had updates done 5 years ago, but I see various issues have been closed, and more than once it was said no update was actually required as users can use the numerous parameters to control various issues. It also has a `--verbose` option to give lots of feedback on its progress or issues.

This app is also pretty useful if you're having any issue with e-mailing from cron jobs as it will handle that job pretty well too.

I just wish I'd come across this app sooner!

See GitHub - mludvig/smtp-cli: The ultimate command line SMTP client

The ultimate command line SMTP client. Contribute to mludvig/smtp-cli development by creating an account on GitHub.

#technology #opensource #smtp #luckybackup

technology opensource smtp luckybackup

Magnets are switching up the keyboard game with an additional keystroke setting

Sun, 07 Apr 2024 21:18:01 +0200

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

These keyboards rely on magnets and springs and activate by sensing changes in the magnetic field. Popularized by Dutch keyboard startup Wooting, these switches rely on the Hall Effect and have actually been around since the 1960s.

You can change how far you need to press down to register the keystroke, as well as for the release point.

The one thing you can’t change, though, is the switch’s resistance. Despite all the talk of magnets, that’s still handled by the spring inside the switch, after all (for the moment, until the xyz is released).

But interestingly, this also means with temperature differences, you may also have to "calibrate" your keyboard. The price point for the Akko MOD007B PC Santorini keyboard at around US$110 to $150 is certainly not more expensive than many mechanical keyboards.

See Magnets are switching up the keyboard game | TechCrunch

The next big thing in mechanical keyboards is magnetic switches. Mechanical keyboards quickly went from a niche product to mainstream during the pandemic,

#technology #keyboards

technology keyboards

How to update the firmware on Raspberry Pi

Sun, 07 Apr 2024 20:54:11 +0200

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

Essentially, firmware is a form of low-level software that instructs hardware on how to operate and interact with other devices and components. For instance, firmware tells a computer to turn on when you press the power button, and it also tells a Raspberry Pi how to read micro-SD cards and USB drives.

Depending on what you do with your Raspberry Pi, you might never need to update its firmware. Aside from the occasional bug fix, you only have to update your Raspberry if you upgrade a project with new processors, memory chips, or printed circuit boards. You probably won’t need a firmware update if you only use the Raspberry Pi to power a mini RC rover, but if you feel like adding a bit more processing power to a device running Windows 11, you’d better install new firmware.

So, this may mostly not really be required, but it is handy to know if you plan to re-purpose your Pi with newer hardware.

See How to update the firmware on Raspberry Pi

Even when you use a Raspberry Pi to serve as a fridge controller or game console, you might need to update the device to keep it working.

#technology #raspberrypi

technology raspberrypi

Starlink in Zimbabwe: Techies Find Ways to Disguise Kits, Evading Authorities to

Sat, 06 Apr 2024 13:56:09 +0200

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

In a country choked by high internet costs and limited options, Zimbabweans are turning to remarkable ingenuity. Facing arrest and equipment seizure for using Starlink, tech-savvy individuals have devised a way to disguise the kits.

One such individual who communicated anonymously with us here at Techzim has said he’s helping people hide their Starlink terminals from the authorities.

They modify the terminal so that it looks like a solar panel, or just a light. They are also able to make it work without the indoor router, removing any evidence of the presence of a Starlink connection, even if the authorities suspect, or a neighbour snitches.

It now seems to be a sort of business helping do this via kits that can be purchased. It is certainly also needed in countries where the Internet is itself censored (LOL yes also including Australia).

It's just really sad also where suppliers can get away with not having enough innovative competition for them to lower their prices through a competitive market. Governments too are not always putting their citizens first as licensing seems to have some other objectives. Ask citizens, and they're probably going to just say they want to have choices.

See Starlink in Zimbabwe: Techies Find Ways to Disguise Kits, Evading Authorities

In a country choked by high internet costs and limited options, Zimbabweans are turning to remarkable ingenuity. Facing arrest and equipment seizure for

#technology #Zimbabwe #Africa

technology Zimbabwe Africa

This Asus PC case monitors your dust filter so you don't have to

Sat, 06 Apr 2024 11:09:36 +0200

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

Traditionally, one would have to periodically check the status of the dust filtering on a PC case, but that's not the case (pun intended!) with the Asus ProArt PA602. This chassis has a fancy infrared (IR) sensor behind the front-facing dust filter. Should this detect a set layer of dust covering the filter material, a small LED will illuminate on the side of the case. It's tastefully done. No alert on an LCD screen, no obnoxious sound. With this activated, you will know to clean the filter (and give the inside a quick air blast) next time the system has been shut down.

Quite a thoughtful case, apart from having the dust filter warning, it also has wheels to move it more easily.

But it does show also, is that even cases can innovate as well. I'd like to see more of these and maybe have the sensors also on the other dust filters (my case has one underneath as well), as IR sensors themselves are not very expensive to incorporate.

See This Asus PC case monitors your dust filter so you don't have to

This PC case has a killer unique feature.

#technology #cases #dust

technology cases dust

German state of Schleswig-Holstein ditches Windows, Microsoft Office for Linux and LibreOffice

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 20:18:28 +0200

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

Schleswig-Holstein, Germany's most northern state, is starting its switch from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice, and is planning to move from Windows to Linux on the 30,000 PCs it uses for local government functions.

The announcement (in German) was made yesterday by the state's Minister-President Daniel Gunther, who has served in that position since 2017. According to a translated version of the announcement, independence was a key motivation for switching to open source software.

This is unlike the reasons that were given by Munich and Lower Saxony which were stayed to be cost savings, and then Microsoft discounted their services. Back when LiMux started, it was mostly seen as a way to save money. Now the focus is far more on data protection, privacy and security. Consider that the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) recently found that the European Commission's use of Microsoft 365 breaches data protection law for EU institutions and bodies."

See German state switches to LibreOffice, promises Windows move

'Complete digital sovereignty' ... sounds familiar

#technology #opensource #datasovereignty #Germany

technology opensource Germany datasovereignty

Android’s Find My Device network settings FINALLY start going live for some users

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 20:03:06 +0200

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

Nearly a year ago at Google I/O, the new “Find My Device” network for trackers was announced for Android, but then delayed indefinitely for the benefit of iPhone users. Now, finally, the network is starting to roll out – sort of.

The Find My Device network piggybacks off of all Android phones with Google Play Services to help users find lost items including phones and smartwatches, as well as trackers, headphones, and more. Google first announced the network in May 2023 with the goal of rolling it out in the months to follow, but the company later announced a delay.

Yes, the hold-up was supposedly Apple refusing to implement their part of the deal, to warn Apple users that an Android tracker was following them. And yes, this despite Google having long ago implemented the warning for Android users. A whole lot of new trackers for Android were supposed to be based on this new standard.

So, I've been sitting with a set of AirTags that warn me daily that they are following me around, because I could not yet buy the new trackers for Android. Let's just hope this now moves ahead with some speed. No-one wants to buy outdated trackers that only work with Samsung, or Tile, or whoever. The new standard will allow any Android device to find your lost tag, which is how Apple's AirTags work for any iOS device passing by.

See Android's Find My Device network settings start going live for some users

Nearly a year ago at Google I/O, the new “Find My Device” network for trackers was announced for Android, but...

#technology #trackers #Android

technology Android trackers

UK govt office admits ability to negotiate billions in cloud spending curbed by vendor lock-in

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 19:51:22 +0200

Danie van der Merwe

gadgeteer@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

It's one of the points I've been making since the beginning of enterprise cloud services. It's not to say necessarily that a cloud service is bad, but you have no control (and often no easy way out) if prices jump (remember Microsoft changing their SQL database licenses from per CPU to per core - think it was that way around).

Quite often too, cloud providers use their own proprietary formats inside their cloud, so all works wonderfully, but what went out of the window was many governments' requirements around open data standards. There was one very good reason for open data standards, and that was for easy portability to any other service, e.g. using ODF document standard and then moving from LibreOffice to, or from, FreeOffice.

Combine both of these and you're in a tightish spot. You may also have very few skilled IT staff left, because all your services now sit in someone else's cloud.

So, you just want to factor all of this in very carefully when considering whether to go into a cloud or not. We won't even mention the UK govt's experiences recently with Oracle...

See Vendor lock-in hurts UK govt ability to negotiate spending