Aral Balkan @aral@mastodon.ar.al
Cyborg rights activist, developer, designer.
Fuck you, Erdoğan, fuck you very much.
PS. I stand by every word I said. Tyrants come and go. I will visit the land of my birth again one day. https://2018.ar.al/notes/my-speech-at-general-assembly-in-berlin-november-2017/
PPS. Remember this next time you feel like booking a holiday to Erdoğan’s Turkey.
Introducing Gnomit: a simple Git commit message editor for @gnome, inspired by the excellent Komet app on macOS
https://ar.al/2018/08/15/introducing-gnomit-a-simple-git-commit-message-editor-for-gnome/
I don’t know what your development processes are like but I like to introspect what I’m building and use an empirical approach to shape my algorithms. All that scaffolding is then deleted, though, so if you just see the resulting code it can look like someone worked it all out in their head somehow. I wonder how much this contributes to the perception of code as some cryptic “magic” art. Maybe we should be sharing the “ugly bits” and our processes more to lower the perceived barrier of entry.
How to install the Vala Reference Manual into Devhelp using the apt package manager
Feudalism to Freedom
Drop by Udsigten at 4PM today at #smukfest for a short talk from me followed by a conversation with Nikolaj Sonne and you about how we move beyond the surveillance capitalism of Silicon Valley tech giants like Google and Facebook.
Going Dutch #smukfest
Hey, Mozilla, what exactly does your tracker protection do if uBlock Origin, loaded up with the @better block rules finds 36 trackers to block even though your tracker protection is on?
(For extra irony, note the domain of the site being visited. *smh*)
Flying to Denmark tomorrow. Excited to see Nikolaj again and chat with him on stage at Smukfest on Wednesday – also excited to show off how far the free and open world has come and focus on the ethical alternatives to surveillance capitalism: https://www.smukfest.dk/musik/kunstnere/verden-ifoelge-vaerten-overvaagningskapitalisme-er-vejen-til-helvede-brolagt-med-likes
Getting your iCloud contacts on GNU/Linux
https://ar.al/2018/08/05/getting-your-icloud-contacts-on-gnu-linux/
(With the caveat that photos in contacts do not work. CC @gnome)
Using iCloud calendars on GNU/Linux
https://ar.al/2018/08/05/using-icloud-calendars-on-gnu-linux/
Since iCloud uses an open standard called CalDAV, you can synchronise your calendars to your other devices on other operating systems like GNU/Linux. That said, the process is not well-documented … this post aims to help with that.
Multiwriter Dat could power the next Web (Video + blog post)
https://ar.al/2018/08/04/multiwriter-dat-could-power-the-next-web/
How to enable the Browse Files setting in GSConnect (and a suggestion for adding a principle to the @gnome design principles section of the human interface guidelines: Your application should work by default.)
https://ar.al/2018/08/03/how-to-enable-the-browse-files-setting-in-gsconnect/
If this is GDPR compliant, then let's scrap the GDPR. If not, it sounds like we need volunteers to report @buzzfeed to their national information commissioners.
Surveillance capitalism is evil. Nowhere is this more clearly visible than in the 'choice' it gives people with disabilities: either forgo access or resign yourself to having your human right to privacy violated. See as long as we see what you see, hear as long as we hear…
Crafting a continuous-client desktop/mobile experience on Linux with GSConnect
“I’ve found sending files between my devices easier to use and more reliable than AirDrop.”
Workaround for npm install error on Lineageos 15.1
https://ar.al/2018/07/30/workaround-for-npm-install-error-on-lineageos-15.1/
Web development on a phone with Hugo and Termux
https://ar.al/2018/07/30/web-development-on-a-phone-with-hugo-and-termux/
Out of the frying pan and into the fire
https://ar.al/2018/07/30/out-of-the-frying-pan-and-into-the-fire/
My response to Mariana Mazzucato’s article in MIT Technology Review titled “Let’s make private data into a public good”
Let’s not.
You cannot base a public good on a normalised systemic violation of human rights.
Broadcasting your phone’s screen to web browsers using Screen Stream
https://ar.al/2018/07/29/broadcasting-your-phones-screen-to-web-browsers-using-screen-stream/
Fix for: “No Bluetooth Found” error after wake from sleep
https://ar.al/2018/07/29/fix-for-no-bluetooth-found-error-after-wake-from-sleep/
