Ctrl blog

The distributed web isn’t ready for Runet cutoff from the Internet

Update (2020-09-23): The Dat protocol has since become the Hypercore Protocol and no longer relies on a centralized tracking server.

Linux on Lenovo ThinkPad T14: great except the webcam/mic

Update (2020-09-09): Several people have written to me asking about the microphone recording level. I’m soft-spoken and didn’t realize the recording volume was lower than expected. This is a driver issue and is expected to be fixed in Linux kernel version 5.8.

Embed XMP sidecars into image files with embed_xmp

Update (2020-09-02): I’ve now uploaded the source repository and opened an issue tracker for this project on Codeberg.

Review of Firefox “Daylight” for Android

Article updated at 2020-08-27.

Software downloads now contain unique tracking identifiers

Update (2020-08-20): I didn’t discuss the security implications of this when I wrote this article. It turns out that people have found ways to append entire executable Java programs on Windows in this way. As far as Windows was concerned, it wouldn’t see any problems with executing the entirely wrong and unsigned program as long as the main portion of the program file was signed. Ouch.

The hoops I jump through to be an Amazon customer in Norway

Update (2020-08-04): It’s just a day after I wrote this article, and Amazon has announced they’ll open in Sweden and Norway, according to Shifter (in Norwegian). This article was written before the announcement.

Which CDN providers support stale-while-revalidate?

Update (2020-07-29): Cloudflare has been added to the table. It supports RFC 5861 even on its free tier, but only when the Origin Cache Control feature is enabled.

Reduce the bandwidth requirements for keeping Fedora up to date

Article updated at 2020-07-24.

I’d welcome usage reporting in Fedora Linux

Update (2020-07-15): Canonical has announced it will remove popcon from the default Ubuntu installation image. The system had fallen into disrepair and didn’t see much use.

Keep worthless ads off your website with AdSense Ad Balance

Update (2020-07-01): Google has stopped supporting the ad balance option. They’ve not published any details explaining the change. The article is left unchanged for those interested in how this featured worked historically.

Navigate around dead links with the Wayback Machine browser extension

Update (2020-07-01): The Wayback Machine extension is no longer available in the Google Chrome Store. There are other extensions available with similar functionality.