Developers don't intentionally set out to build applications that aren't accessible. The problem is that they usually don't know how to test them. There aren't many blind Linux users, so there aren't many people testing the accessibility of applications and providing feedback. Therefore, developers don't produce accessible applications, and they don't get many users. And so the cycle continues.

This is one thing we hope to tackle with the Fegora project. We want to create a Fedora remix that's user-friendly for visually impaired and blind users. We hope it will attract more users, and that those users start discovering issues to report, which will hopefully be solved by other developers in the open source community.

So why are we doing this? Well, it's important to point out that Fedora is not an inaccessible distribution by design. It does have many accessibility tools available in the form of packages. But these aren't always present from the beginning, and there are a lot of small things which need to be configured before it can be proficiently used. This is something that can be discouraging to a beginner Fedora user.

We want Fegora to be as friendly and predictable for a blind user as possible. When a user launches a live image, the screen immediately starts being read as soon as a graphical user interface appears. All environment variables needed for accessibility are loaded and configured correctly.

See https://opensource.com/article/22/9/linux-visually-impaired-users

#technology #Linux #opensource #accessibility #Fegora

Pushover is a simple push notification service that integrates easily into web apps like IFTTT, network monitoring systems, security cameras, shell scripts, IoT devices, and anything else that needs to send alerts.

Especially on iOS, it is not easy to implement push notifications for small developers as it costs real money and dev accounts etc. Apps that poll for updates on iOS also get "put to sleep" by the OS.

So Pushover is actually quite a practical solution for small developers as the end user (individuals) pays a once-off cost per platform and then no further usage costs, with Pushover providing the actual push notification service. Devs can push from their app using command line, Python, Ruby, Go, Perl and PHP (examples given for these, but others can be possible too). Each user can receive up to 10,000 messages per month for free.

Pushover itself is not open source, but for a greater variety of push mechanisms via other 3rd party services such as Telegram, Discord, e-mail, IFTTT, Matrix, Pushbullet, Pushover as well, Mattermost, RocketChat, Slack, Teams, and more the free and open source Shoutrrr can be used. Shoutrrr is free and can be self-hosted and most of the services it pushes to are free too.

See https://pushover.net/

#technology #programming #pushnotifications #pushover #shoutrrr

Created by Jasper St. Pierre, the site, noclip, is unassuming at first. Once it loads, you’re greeted by an almost entirely blank screen, save for a list of 75 games in the top left, categorized by system.

There are no NPCs, enemies, items, or any of the like, here. These are the areas in an empty form, as if you just finished developing them in the game engine. What you’re here to do is explore, to experience these areas as you couldn’t on your N64, Wii, PS2, or whatever system you remember them from. Using the WASD keys on your keyboard and your cursor, you can fly around the area, inspecting different parts of the map from above or below.

Now if only it also had War Thunder, SnowRunner, etc too...

See https://lifehacker.com/use-this-site-to-get-a-deeper-look-at-your-favorite-vid-1849526185

#technology #gaming #gamemaps #Noclip

You can use it to easily collaborate on notes, graphs and even presentations in real-time. All you need to do is to share your note-link to your co-workers, and they’re ready to go.

It is inspired by Hackpad, Etherpad and similar collaborative editors.

You can install it manually or with the Docker image they provide.

See https://docs.hedgedoc.org/

#technology #opensource #collaboration #markdown #HedgeDoc

Swappiness is the kernel parameter that defines how much (and how often) your Linux kernel will copy RAM contents to swap. This parameter's default value is “60” and it can take anything from “0” to “100”. The higher the value of the swappiness parameter, the more aggressively your kernel will swap.

Linux usually has a default swappiness set at 60, which means when the RAM utilisation reaches 40% capacity, it starts swapping to disc (which is a slower operation). Today, with most PC's having 16 GB or 32 GB or more RAM, there is no need to be so conservative with this setting.

Many recommend changing this setting to 10 which means it will utilise 90% of the RAM before starting to swap to disk.

See https://opensource.com/article/22/9/swappiness-startup-linux

#technology #Linux #swappiness #performance #memory

The measuring is done by playing a "chirp" sound that sweeps across all frequencies and recording how loud each frequency comes out of the speakers. A good microphone is needed, with a wide frequency range and preferably with a flat frequency response.

The equalization itself is not provided; It can be performed by an equalizer of your choice, such as EasyEffects for Linux, Equalizer APO and Peace for Windows, or eqMac for macOS.

It's an interesting concept and the basics should work quite well, but a lot does depend on at least having a fairly decent microphone. As this is an automated type of adjustment, what is missing is your own hearing impairments you may have.

See https://github.com/erdewit/HiFiScan

#technology #audio #equalization #HiFiScan #opensource

LEGO appeals to every kind of builder. Type-A architects may like to purchase sets and follow the instructions to the letter, while more free-form designers may prefer to amass random pieces and see what inspires them. If you fall somewhere between these two categories, Brickit may be the app for you.

As Fast Company reports, Brickit is a free app that tells you what you can build using whatever LEGO pieces you have at home.

See

#technology #Lego #Brickit

You can use a new "Backtrack" feature if you have a Series 6 or later. Backtrack uses GPS to record the path that you take, so if you get lost, you can find your way back later. ‌watchOS 9‌ is available on the Apple Watch Series 4 and later, and it can be downloaded now.

This is actually quite useful for if you have no other GPS device (or it has died), to be able to instantly do a backtrack without having done any prior setup or preparation.

It's just a pity that of course an Apple Watch does not have terrific battery life (as in a week). But that said, I do get two days of use out of mine, and this is not something you'd have to have on the whole time (get your bearings, and glance at it once in a while). It is really intended as a backup when all else has failed.

See https://www.macrumors.com/2022/09/12/watchos-9-updated-compass-app/

#technology #AppleWatch #backtrack #navigation #compass

This is interesting as I've never actually looked at, or used, Traefik Hub. I've generally called DuckDNS to monitor the chnaging of my home public IP address, and pointed my domain name to the DuckDNS URL, and then routed incoming traffic via router port forwarding to Nginx Proxy Manager which redirects it.

Traefik Hub seems to do much of this as an integrated solution, and is probably a lot simpler to set up for many newbie self-hosters from home. It is also going to help isolate your home's own public IP address.

The example given is for how to set it up with Home Assistant and a Raspberry Pi, but at the end of the article, there is also a link to learn more about Traefik Hub itself.

See https://opensource.com/article/22/9/home-automation-traefik-raspberry-pi

#technology #raspberrypi #homeassistant #selfhosting #homeautomation