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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: October 18th, 2023

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  • So this is my third go at replying. First attempt was damn near collage level. Second attempt found me rewriting the Internet for Dummies book that originally taught me about how the internet works when I was 10. Seriously, if you can find a copy of that particular edition, give it a read. It’s the third edition from 1995. You may need help from [email protected] to find it though.

    Honestly, the Fediverse has the same problem that the internet itself has. That is that it is far easier to just use than it is to explain what it is but the fediverse and the internet itself work almost exactly the same way, at least at the user level.

    I’m going to completely ignore everything under the hood for the sake of simplicity. Additionally I’m going to over simplify to the point of inaccuracy, because it gets really complicated really quickly once you scratch the surface.

    Imagine a spider web. Each point where the web interconnects is a server. Each server on that web can communicate with every other server on that web (don’t ask how, that’s part of the bit we are ignoring).

    Now each fediverse service is kinda on its own web. Lemmy is on one web, Mastodon is on another, Pixelfed another, websites, email, Matrix, NextCloud, XMPP, IRC, Gopher, Usenet, and a million more are each on their own little webs.

    It doesn’t really matter which Lemmy server you pick to join the conversation on Lemmy but your account is only with that server. But because that server is a part of the Lemmy web you can talk to anyone that is also on that web.

    That’s the best Eli5 explanation I can give. It’s not particularly accurate because anything, any system, involving more than about 3 people will contain more exceptions than rules. And the fediverse has a lot more than 3 people in it.

    My advice for new users on the fediverse is, once you have decided what service (Lemmy, Mastodon, Pixelfed, email, or whatever) either join a server that is most in line with your interests, or look up the largest servers of that service and pick one from the lower end of the top 20.





  • Depends what you call tech. I’ve been looking for a salt nic vape (say 10 watts) in the 1 ohm range with a easily replaceable battery for the last year. Bonus points if it doesn’t leak to hell and gone. Haven’t had a whole lot of luck with that so far.

    Pretty much any portable device with a standard type, user replaceable battery. God bless Ryobi and the other power tool companies for building weird but useful tools beyond power drills. All with replaceable batteries.

    At one point I was looking for any type robust portable storage media that had reasonable storage capacity and good shelf life (2+ years), and was large enough to actually write on a label what was on it. So far the closest I’ve seen since 2005 have been the portable SSDs and the newish USB m.2 enclosures but that’s still not quite what I’m looking for. Too large and non-standardized. Gave up on it several years ago and built a publicly accessible Nextcloud server. Yes I’m an old fart, dislike cloud storage and miss the floppy, Zip and Mini-Disk storage formats. I currently have a dozen mystery jump drives sitting on my desk in a 3d printed rack with only the vaguest clue whats on any of them. Most of them so small you can’t even put a key tag on them. I hate it.

    A reliable multi port (4 or more) USB-C charger that can output 65+ watts on all of its ports at the same time.

    A reliable source for 100w USB-c 3.x PD cables that don’t cost an arm and a leg. Anker makes good PD cables but tops out at USB 2.whatever.

    Pretty sure more would come to mind if I sat and though about it for a while, but I’ve got to head to work now.