If you think Apple's $29 tracker is worth it, you may want to stop and rethink. Eufy has just released an AirTag alternative that actually does more, costs you less, and supports Android devices. The Eufy Security SmartTrack Link supports Apple's Find My network. This means that it behaves just like an AirTag in terms of location updates and piggybacking on other Apple devices. As additional bonuses, it offers a QR code print that includes your contact information, a hole for keyrings, and sharing support.

So it will leverage off the Apple network if you have an Apple device to register it with, otherwise it uses the Eufy Security Android app (which I imagine would need other passing phones to have the Eufy Security app also installed). But even so, with the Eufy Security app you will be notified if you have left the tracked item behind somewhere.

See https://www.xda-developers.com/eufy-new-airtag-alternative/

#technology #Eufy #AirTag #Android #tracker

Many remote (and even local) commands can executed so much quicker when using Bash instead of graphical user interfaces, but for newer users, Bash can be an unfriendly and cumbersome environment.

In this video I show how, with the installation of just three applications and some alias commands, we can make working with Bash much faster, easier, and prettier!

See https://youtu.be/OR2G9OSlmVI

#technology #Linux #Bash #tips #productivity

I also still see lots of confusion and questions from many new users flooding into Mastodon, and then wondering whether they must also have an account on Pixelfed, etc. The other issue is, that you can't just use a handle on it's own, as you must also identify which instance it belongs to, much like a street address is associated with a town it belongs in. The Fediverse is much bigger than just Mastodon, and you may only need one account in one place, to connect to everywhere else, and that account need not be on Mastodon, or even the one big original Mastodon server instance.

Fediverse is shorthand for federated universe. But what does federated really mean in this context? It's important to remember that the vast majority of applications in the picture (in linked article) can be installed thousands of times over and each of these instances, or servers, be of many different sizes. Each of these have their own rules and ownership, and make up their own corner of the Fediverse.

It is good for all users of social networks to realise there is a bigger picture context, and to understand more about their options going into the Fediverse one day, if they so wish. Some good FAQ at the linked article below.

See https://axbom.com/fediverse/

#technology #fediverse #socialnetworks #mastodon

Programmer and lawyer Matthew Butterick has sued Microsoft, GitHub, and OpenAI, alleging that GitHub's Copilot violates the terms of open-source licenses and infringes the rights of programmers.

GitHub Copilot, released in June 2022, is an AI-based programming aid that uses OpenAI Codex to generate real-time source code and function recommendations in Visual Studio. The tool was trained with machine learning using billions of lines of code from public repositories and can transform natural language into code snippets across dozens of programming languages.

There are lots of different open-source licenses, like the GPL, Apache, and MIT licenses, that require attribution of the author's name and defining particular copyrights.

Microsoft, as a mostly proprietary software company (and one which uses others' copyrighted code), should be fully aware of the conditions of use for open-source licensing. It is not just a free-for-all scenario. They also own GitHub and are very aware of the different types of open-source license provided for there. Copilot can still work, but it needed to factor in the different license types, and deal with them appropriately.

See https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/microsoft-sued-for-open-source-piracy-through-github-copilot/

#technology #opensource #licensing #GitHub #Copilot

When you’re watching a relaxing YouTube video, the last thing you need is an obnoxious autoplaying video or a loud notification blasting into your ears from another open tab. If muting all background tabs is not the best option for you, try Volume Master, a Chrome extension that lets you individually control the audio levels of each tab.

Why? I'm not sure really to be honest, but it could be very useful to someone who has this need. It is usually quite easy to adjust sound levels between different applications, but not for individual browser tabs.

See https://lifehacker.com/you-can-adjust-the-volume-of-individual-tabs-in-google-1849737905

#technology #browsers #extensions #audio #tabs

Nvidia GeForce Now leverages cloud technology to stream PC games from powerful GeForce-powered servers at ultra-low latency.

Users can stream titles they already own from digital gaming stores such as Steam, Epic, Ubisoft, and Origin without needing a powerful gaming PC.

“This partnership will ultimately enable millions of South African users to get the best gaming experience, without the need to invest thousands of rands for the latest graphic cards,” Rain said in a statement.

See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/gaming/467485-rain-launching-nvidia-geforce-now-first-cloud-gaming-platform-in-south-africa.html

#technology #southafrica #gaming #GeForceNow

Xiaomi’s new concept phone allows a full size Leica camera lens to be attached to the back of a prototype version of its 12S Ultra. The version of the smartphone released earlier this year is already notable for having a 1-inch-type camera sensor on its rear, which is far larger than those typically used in phones and more in line with what you might find in a compact standalone camera. Xiaomi’s new concept gives it both a secondary 1-inch sensor, and a full size lens to match.

I do like the way it has a solid mount, as most clip-on after market lenses suffer from not being positioned exactly correctly. A bigger sensor always means better capture. But the pity is that Xiaomi has shown concepts before which never made it into production.

Of course, such a lens is not going to be found in the bargain bin.

See https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/2/23436401/xiaomi-12s-ultra-leica-m-series-camera-lens-concept

#technology #photography #Xiaomi #Xiaomi12SUltraConcept

The costs associated with paying for mobile phone data in many African countries are often incredibly high, making it prohibitive for lower income readers to access news. As our mission is to bring high quality news on mobile phones to underserved communities, we set out to create a new product for Scrolla.Africa which is light on data use. The new platform is called Scrolla Data Lite.

Our core readers are pay-as-you-go mobile users, who make up about 75% of the market in South Africa. We found that people on these expensive pay-as-you-go data services were extremely cautious about downloading anything or surfing online. So beyond using data for messaging services, the idea of browsing on mobiles for news is regarded as a privilege.

Alongside data costs, language is an additional barrier in South Africa, so we publish in Zulu as well as English.

See https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/google-news-initiative/how-scrolla-is-making-news-more-accessible-to-south-africans/

#technology #southafrica #scrolla #Zulu #news

Android phones around San Francisco’s Bay Area buzzed with an alert on Tuesday morning: A 4.8 magnitude earthquake was about to hit. “You may have felt shaking,” some of the messages read. More than a million Android users saw the alert. And for some, it arrived seconds before the ground even started moving.

Google has also turned individual phones into miniature earthquake sensors. All smartphones have accelerometers that can pick up signals of an earthquake. If triggered, the phone sends the message to a detection server, along with rough location data, like the city a device is in. The server then pieces together where the earthquake is happening from data collected on multiple phones and beams out the relevant alerts.

Stogaitis says phones only pick up the waves when plugged in and locked. That helps to avoid confusion from phones jostling around in bags and pockets.

I suppose it is debatable about how a few seconds may help someone, and of course many may have their phones on silent, etc. But I imagine if it only helps a few people even, it can serve a useful purpose. It does demonstrate though that crowd-sourcing some data can be used for good purposes.

See https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/10/how-google-alerted-californians-to-an-earthquake-before-it-happened/

#technology #earthquakes #android #crowdsourcing