Android
Why I prefer using Instapaper on the web over their Android app
The Instapaper app for Android has several issues, but its mobile web app is mostly okay. I chose the latter even though link-saving is more difficult.
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Networking
Scaleway seems too good to be true
The French VPS provider Scaleway doesn’t deliver promised features like IPv6, reverse DNS, or Linux distribution availability.
Distributed web
DNSLink and IPNS availability survey
I surveyed millions of websites to discover which domains were set up with an DNSLink address for the IPFS peer-to-peer alternative to the internet.
Android
Contour Diabetes app, Bluetooth, and why we can’t have nice things
The Contour Next glucose monitor and its companion app communicate with each other over Bluetooth. Well, they try to anyway.
Distributed web
Why we need the distributed web
The web has become too centralized. The distributed peer-to-peer (P2P) web can help tear down the walled gardens erected by big tech companies.
Mobile Apps
Not getting much done with Microsoft To-Do
Microsoft To-Do app is slow and requires frequent reloading. It doesn’t sync with Outlook, Cortana, and other Microsoft task list apps.
Web Analytics
New browser extension lets you opt-out of Google AMP
A new browser extension for Firefox and Chrome that gives people the choice to opt-out of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) in favor of the open web.
Copyright
Combat article theft by delaying RSS feeds
I tried and succeeded in fighting back against news feed (‘RSS’) content scrapers by slightly delaying the publication of my feeds.
Microsoft Windows
Cheapo Windows licenses openly sold as “pirate keys” on Amazon.ca
Amazon Canada sells dirt cheap copies of Microsoft Windows 10. The product listings openly advertise “pirate key” as a product feature!
Podcasts
Flattr launches podcast and YouTube micro-subscriptions
Flattr users can now use their subscriptions to contribute to podcasts and YouTube creators. Creators get access to a new recurring revenue stream.
Privacy
Extension enhances privacy of all embedded YouTube videos
Ensure better privacy for YouTube videos embedded around the web with this new Firefox browser extension.
Web Browsers
Web Reading Mode: A bad reading experience
Browser reading modes are inconsistent and readers never know what they’ll get when clicking on the Reading Mode button.