Esme Povirk @madewokherd@computerfairi.es
Joined Aug 2018
Esme Povirk
boosted
7222e800 "memdmp" [@ #revisionparty2025]
robotgirl is updating.
- please don't go too far away from it until it's done
- please cuddle it
- it may beep weirdly
- do not power it off manually
- it will automatically reboot when done
Esme Povirk
boosted
Microsoft is putting privacy-endangering Recall back into Windows 11
Snapshotting and AI processing a screen every 3 seconds. What could possibly go wrong?
https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/04/microsoft-is-putting-privacy-endangering-recall-back-into-windows-11/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social
linux(-)
A kernel update broke my wifi driver today (and the bug also caused stutters, I think). Which is my first major issue from an update since starting to use Arch 4 months ago. Which is not long at all so I guess I should expect a lot of this.
I've used Manjaro for longer, and I don't think I've encountered anything similar yet there, so that seems like a stability difference.
Arch was also harder to set up and has shown no clear advantage so I will continue to recommend it to no one.
Anyone else get the feeling that capitalism is propped up by one huge lie, namely that material wealth will naturally, and without effort, produce happiness, and if you aren't happy then you need more material wealth?
Esme Povirk
boosted
For the record:
- The *cryptography* in Signal is probably fine; a practical attack would be a big surprise.
- Signal lacks specific features required for classified systems, such as security labels, certified identities, revocation, etc.
- Signal runs on uncontrolled, insecure platforms connected to the Internet, rendering it unsuitable for classified even if it had the above features.
- Adding classified features to Signal would make it unusable for most purposes for which it's intended.
the moment I realized how absolutely bonkers hyperrogue sounds to people who haven't played it
"a dragon followed me into the dungeon. but I had orb of domination so the dragon was an ally. so I tried to get it to dive the dungeon with me because it could fly out, but it wouldn't stop attacking the unkillable skeletons so I had to just leave"
Esme Povirk
boosted
OH: *looks at a lesbian couple* so, which one of you is the car and which one is the cdr
Esme Povirk
boosted
:agenderFlag: :transgenderFlag:
Here’s a few ideas I had to make electric cars better.
Firstly, we should give electric cars dedicated lanes. As these vehicles need to be promoted over fossil fuelled counterparts, giving them their own lanes makes them seem more exclusive.
Secondly, we could then outsource the electrical power to an overhead cable system, and each car could have a pickup.
This would mean each car would then become lighter as they wouldn’t need batteries. Plus we could drive even more power to each vehicle, therefore increasing the efficiency.
Thirdly, we should replace the low-resistance rubber tyres on electric vehicles with steel, and lay “tracks” in their dedicated lanes.
Now, with all these out of the way, we have made these vehicles much more efficient. Therefore we have capacity to actually make these vehicles bigger so they can carry more people. This would make them EVEN MORE efficient because now each vehicle is carrying more people per kW of electricity used, now that we have outsourced the power supply.
In fact, this leads to another efficiency: we could link these larger electric vehicles together, and only the lead vehicle needs to have a driver, freeing up the other drivers. This reduces the overall drag on the vehicles in a “chain” thereby making it EVEN more efficient to drive.
Any takers on my idea? We can call it an “steelroader” due to the steel tracks involved.
Esme Povirk
boosted
It's been eight years to the day since Lance Ulanoff, the storied Tech and Social Media Expert and an award-winning tech journalist, decided that Mastodon won't survive because William Shatner couldn't find him on here.
Eight years on, Mastodon stubbornly survives:
https://rys.io/en/177.html
Please join me in celebrating the annual Mastodon Won't Survive Day, right here on fedi. 
Spent most of my work day yesterday debugging Mono's JIT in an arm32v5 environment. Conclusion: it's super broken and needs a lot of work. Also I'm going to do it because if Debian still supports it then so can I.
Esme Povirk
boosted
Everything you need to know about bird flu
H5N1 influenza’s origins stretch back to the 1990s.
https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/04/everything-you-need-to-know-about-bird-flu/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social
Why does the most fun way to play a game always involve so much bookkeeping?
Esme Povirk
boosted
US Pol (disappearance of Xiaofeng Wang and is wife)
I don't understand why this isn't front page news. YouTube has basically two videos about it from a few hours ago, one that doesn't even mention the fact no one can reach them, the other touching on that incredibly disturbing part of the story for a barely a second before moving on.
Esme Povirk
boosted
"carbon footprint" was bs made by oil companies to get you to blame yourself instead of them The oil is going to be made whether or not you buy it.
Stopping production is the only solution, and we don't need another decade of their protection to know the state is not our ally on this.
Anyway, none of this is general advice, I don't have everything figured out, other people will be in different situations, value different things, enjoy different things, and have different strategies and that's fine. I'm approaching this from a relatively privileged place. Just putting all that out there in case it helps someone make better use of the resources they have in accordance with their values.
Maybe part of what makes me feel I need less is inner work? I don't need "distraction" because actually my mind is a very pleasant place to be now, and I don't need to be distracted from it. I'm sufficiently in touch with my feelings that I can query them and get a pretty good answer about whether something is worth it.
I've started seriously asking myself: will this (purchase) make my life noticeably better? I find that I have too much stuff, and I will be looking to give much of it away to someone who will enjoy it more. I don't really enjoy food, so I can go for cheaper options without being less happy. It's not even a question of whether I "need" the things I'm supposed to consume, I don't really want them that much. I'm full, thanks.
It makes me question "saving for retirement". Granted, I'm also questioning how long any assets I have now are likely to hold value in the future, but also: what is that money doing now? Maybe I should donate more to worthy causes. Or friends who need it.
And maybe for what I do invest I should prioritize positive impact over individual return. I think that needs to be much broader than "do I think this company is ethical?" (it almost certainly isn't). It should make money by doing good.
It does lead me to a strong anti-advertising, especially adtech, stance. It represents small and unfairly distributed income to publishers. It does a lot of processing, on everyone's devices, wasting energy and making the web slower and worse. It invades privacy. It leeches attention, taking away individual agency over it. It helps people who have money make more money. It enables scams and malware to find their victims.
So: I block ads, pay to avoid them, and support creative people directly.
This doesn't lead me to slow down my own paid work because I believe the work I do creates a net benefit. I would probably be doing something similar if I didn't get paid.
Joined Aug 2018
