Posts categorised ‘Technology’
How I Integrated Webmentions Into My Hugo Static Site
Since I moved my blog over to Hugo, I’ve been wanting to do a little series of posts about various aspects of my set-up, just in case they help anyone else thinking of doing the same. This first post is about how I’ve enabled Webmentions, an important building block of the IndieWeb. As you might notice, my blog posts don’t have conventional comment forms underneath them. Instead, ā¦
You Already Don't Need Google Search
Even though a compromise seems to be emerging, Australian media is still abuzz with the possibility (or threat) that Google will block our country from using their search engine. Now, if you’re a small business currently relying on Google to refer customers to you, I could see that being a real but short-term problem (until you figure out how to optimise your ranking in whatever search ā¦
Opened up Firefox today and it’s reset my entire profile š Can’t wait to reinstall all my extensions, reset all my “top sites” to what I want them to be, recreate all my containersā¦
Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time peering at this machine, setting my blog up how I want it. MacBook Airs may not be the beefiest, but they feel very nice to work on, and coming from a Linux background I appreciate the Unix-ness! (#mbfeb)
Experimenting with Gemini
Gemini is a relatively new internet protocol, aiming to offer a much lighter-weight, text-oriented experience than the modern web. Gemini pages can make use of only very limited formatting: three levels of headings, lists, blockquotes, links (one per line only), and raw/unformatted text. On the bright side, this makes Gemtext formatting straightforward and intuitive. You also can’t browse ā¦
Upgrading My iPhone
After using my trusty old iPhone SE for 3Ā½ years, yesterday I took the plunge and switched over to an iPhone 12 mini. The phone I replaced was my first-ever iPhone, and while I don't think I was *immediately* like, āWow, iPhones are so much better than Androids!ā over time I came to be super impressed by how its performance never deteriorated (except the battery capacity, but a replacement fixed that) and the steady stream of security *and* feature updates, all direct from Apple and not held up for months, years or maybe forever by whoever keeps doing that for Android updates.
An eight-year-old blog post on many points of internationalisation developers screw up, including date formats, timezones, and the 20+ currencies all called dollars. Why are so many sites so ambiguous? Most of the post is still relevant today.
Moving My Journal from Notion to Standard Notes
Everyone likes the idea that when you put your data into an app, you’ll be able to get it out again easily. Unfortunately, the reality is that many apps' import and export functions fall way short of what you’d hope for, leaving you with a ton of manual work to do if you’re determined to switch apps. So today, you get a gnarled tale of me trying to move my archive of journal ā¦
Algorithmic Discrimination
I came across an excellent (if disturbing) article today on the hidden algorithms that trap people in poverty. The examples given are US-specific, but the issues raised would be relevant in many other countries. It talks about two major types of algorithms that screw people over:
- credit scores, and broader “worthiness scores”, that can determine access to housing, employment, etc. ā¦
Jessica Smith is a left-wing feminist who loves animals, books, gaming, and cooking; sheās also very interested in linguistics, history, technology and society.