Having a mouse pointer captured as part of a desktop being streamed, is quite easy. But I wanted to have various images and videos superimposed over that desktop view in OBS Studio, and the mouse pointer then disappears behind those images or videos. I've noticed this happening with some videos I've done, and although I'm seeing the mouse pointer on the screen I'm capturing, it is hidden from viewers by the superimposed images I added via OBS Studio. Searching for solutions kept bringing back to how to capture the mouse pointer with a basic desktop streaming capture.

So I thought of this really simple solution by just creating a new source from a suitable image, and manipulating it on the OBS Studio monitor screen. The effect is seamless for viewers, who then see the "pointer" moving and pointing to whatever I'm discussing. It hardly warranted having this video done, but may save some others a few minutes of head scratching.

Watch https://youtu.be/W5VjuH9RlcI

#technology #OBSStudio #OBS #pointer #cursor

We learned more details about the second LastPass hacking incident last week — a malicious party installed a keylogger onto a senior engineer's home computer through an exploit in Plex, the personal cloud service for movie storage and streaming, and was able to break into corporate-level caches as a result. But it turns out that the engineer had a big part to play in this major failure as well.

Plex has revealed that the exploit in question took advantage of a vulnerability that was disclosed back on May 7, 2020. The company tells PCMag that, for some reason, the LastPass employee never updated their client to apply the patch.

So one very valid concern about remote workers, working from home, is whether they are actively patching and updating their computer system. Usually in a corporate environment desktop and portable computers are being managed and updated by central IT, but this is often not the case for home users, especially if they are using their own personal computers from home.

What possibly makes patching and updating even worse, is using Windows OS as the individual apps are not updated as part of the OS's daily updates check. With Linux, usually the OS as well as all installed apps are checked daily and updated from the update manager, regardless of whether the installed app is being opened or not.

What we already know about most end users (just think of pasword1234) is that they tend not to be scrupulous and disciplined about applying the best security practices...

See https://www.androidpolice.com/lastpass-breach-plex-update/

#technology #security #patches #updates #remotecomputing

This announcement is noteworthy for a variety of reasons, starting with the obvious: it offers an alternative to Microsoft’s (and to a lesser degree Google’s) near monopoly when it comes to enterprise ready collaboration software. Until now, your choices have basically been Microsoft with SharePoint and MS Office, and Google with Drive and Workspace. Now there’s Nextcloud, with the one-two punch of it’s new SharePoint replacement capabilities and Nextcloud Office.

The fact that Nextcloud Enterprise comes with support (including the migration services for removing the pain of moving your data to its new home) at a fraction of the cost of maintaining Microsoft licensing, makes making the move to Nextcloud something of a no-brainer for some.

It’s also available for free, for individuals, small companies, and even enterprises that want to forego support and use the community help and documentation that’s available on Nextcloud’s website.

“Nextcloud’s initiative to offer a digitally sovereign, open-source alternative to Microsoft SharePoint is to be welcomed,” Ralf Sutorius, the lead IT architect for the City of Cologne’s official website said in a statement.

MagentaCLOUD currently hosts the data of about 2 million active users who are working with over 2 billion files containing more than 6 petabytes of data.

See https://fossforce.com/2023/03/nextcloud-gaining-regulatory-upper-hand-over-microsoft-and-google-in-germany-and-the-eu/

#technology #opensource #nextcloud #Germany #MagentaCLOUD

Free Software gives everybody the right to use, study, share and improve software. This right helps support other fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press and privacy.

• Tax Savings - Similar applications don't have to be programmed from scratch every time.
• Collaboration - Major projects can share expertise and costs.
• Serving the public - Applications paid by the public should be available for everyone.
• Fostering innovation - With transparent processes, others don't have to reinvent the wheel.

See https://publiccode.eu/

#technology #publiccode #opensource #EU

Buster is a browser extension which helps you to solve difficult captchas by completing reCAPTCHA audio challenges using speech recognition. Challenges are solved by clicking on the extension button at the bottom of the reCAPTCHA widget.

The incredible irony of this is that a reCAPTCHA is supposed to test for a real human, but an extension can be used to automate this verification!

See https://github.com/dessant/buster

#technology #CAPTCHA #browsers #extensions

Taking essential steps to improve your digital privacy is pointless if you continue using Google's apps. Using open source alternatives is key to keeping your data secure, as none of your data within the app can be tracked or shared without your knowledge.

Google Calendar is an excellent calendar app. Still, there are plenty of open source alternatives available for Android. If you're willing to sacrifice some functionality, these apps should fulfill most of your calendar needs. If you've just picked up a new Android phone, install one immediately to keep your data secure.

DAVx⁵ is also listed, which does a good job syncing to/from a self-hosted NextCloud server.

See https://www.androidpolice.com/android-open-source-calendar-alternatives/

#technology #privacy #android #calendar

I was looking for a mobile app that would globally delete notifications (from desktop view too) and be able to display a feed filtered on a combination of hashtags (so I can watch for posts about my interests). Although Tusky is a beautifully rendered app, it lacked these options.

Then I found Subway Tooter! It's not as pretty, or as slick, as Tusky, but it is far more functional and customisable. So power users may well want to consider using Subway Tooter. This video will give a feel for it looks like, how the columns, filtering, posting, etc work. I also delve into the app privacy notice a bit, as it was clear some were put off from installing it, after seeing such a lot of text.

See https://youtu.be/BAT66wJZTgQ

#technology #mastodon #subwaytooter #android #opensource

On Monday, a German Redditor named c-wizz announced that they had found a very rare 66-year-old Librascope LGP-30 computer (and several 1970 DEC PDP-8/e computers) in their grandparents' basement. The LGP-30, first released in 1956, is one of only 45 manufactured in Europe and may be best known as the computer used by "Mel" in a famous piece of hacker lore.

Whatever the grandparent used the LGP-30 for, it appears there might be a relationship between it and the PDP-8/e units found nearby. In another comment, c-wizz wrote, "There seem to be some instructions on how to transfer code written for the LGP-30 to the PDP8\e."

Apart from it possibly being irreplaceable vintage computing, it may well also be worth a lot of money.

See https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/11/redditor-discovers-legendary-1956-computer-in-grandparents-basement/

#technology #retro #vintage #PDP8 #LGP30

Some take the emulation route, but others demand a solution that’s closer to the original hardware. Following the latter path, [iNimbleSloth] is answering the question as to whether it’s possible to build a Sinclair ZX81 from all-new parts in 2022.

From here in 2022 the original Ferranti ULA chip that contained all the logic is unobtainable except by raiding another ’81, so he’s using a design that has the same functionality in 74 series logic. The PCB is the same size as the original, and he’s paired it with a keyboard PCB using tactile switches. The video below the break is the first of what is to be a series, and he will be looking at a readily available 3D printed ZX81 case and the re-manufactured membrane keyboard.

I wouldn't really want to use a ZX81 today (what would it even connect to) but I have a pretty fond place in my heart for the ZX81 as it was the first computer that I actually bought, and of course I had to type all the BASIC code (or sometimes hex code) in to actually play anything on it. That automatically exposed you to ideas about hacking code.

See https://hackaday.com/2022/11/10/building-a-sinclair-zx81-in-2022-with-all-new-parts/

#technology #retro #ZX81 #Sinclair