For many years, my mobile devices have automatically connected via Wireguard to my external OpenBSD VPS when I'm away from home. It's typically configured to route only my main VPNs (allowing remote intervention if necessary) and to set the DNS, similar to what I've described here: https://it-notes.dragas.net/2023/04/03/make-your-own-vpn-wireguard-ipv6-and-ad-blocking-included/

The goal is to have complete access to my networks and to use DNS that filters out unwanted content and ads.

It works very well, and the browsing experience is optimal.

In Dublin, I decided to route all traffic through that VPS. Since I often connect to open Wi-Fi networks (in hotels, at conferences, in pubs, etc.), I preferred to keep everything active. Moreover, at that point, I was still appearing to websites with my Italian IP, which reduced issues with streaming, etc.

Everything worked perfectly, and I didn't notice any significant increase in battery consumption. The hotel had all Ruckus equipment (with excellent Wi-Fi coverage), while the conference used Cisco, and the coverage there was also generally good.

The Wireguard implementation on OpenBSD has proven to be, as always, extremely stable and reliable.

#Wireguard #OpenBSD #RunBSD

I want to #introduce myself, maybe because today is a good day for it or just because I found my place in the #fediverse.

I've been a programmer since childhood. Father, husband, I try to be a good person, although sometimes I tell the truth to someone's face, not thinking that they might be offended. Sorry, if anything.

I've been working as a full-stack developer for over 20 years and dream of my own project, most likely it will be a game project or something related to graphics (maybe when I retire :)). I know and studied many languages ​​and technologies as a hobby. But now I've settled on the C language as a hobby. Maybe not everyone likes it, but this is my choice. At work, I use a modern stack (c#, sql, javascript, html, css, ...), but I still do everything by hand, I use frameworks and libraries to a minimum, this is the only way to create something truly effective, fast and productive for a specific area of ​​application. But I'm tired of writing SaaS garbage.

Sometimes I write completely unpopular and unimportant opinions, but my own. Sometimes I tell them as stories about #undefinedvariable.

I created my cafe (irc channel and matrix room) for wandering crafters like myself. You don't have to be a #programming guru or a creator of something popular. You just might need a cozy place in the jungle of techno world where like-minded developers share a common vision and feeling. Then you're welcome.

irc: irc://irc.libera.chat/#codecrafters
matrix: https://matrix.to/#/#codecrafters:bsd.cafe

I read that the official Mastodon instance of the Swiss government will be closing down.

They say there are few active users, low engagement, and minimal interaction, which seems quite plausible. Additionally, they claim that "on platforms like X or Instagram, the Federal Council and the Federal Administration have many more followers." I believe that too, of course.

However, I do not agree with their decision. I think a government shouldn’t be overly concerned about follower counts and interactions, but rather about providing free, autonomous communication that is independent of third-party companies. In my view, a government shouldn’t operate like a business focused on "numbers."

Still, I appreciate their experiment - many governments, like the Italian one, haven’t even tried.

Regarding costs and management effort: an instance with 5 users and 3,500 followers (numbers provided by them) can run on a VPS for €3 a month and doesn't require heavy moderation. The cost for them is nearly zero. Yet, the freedom of information and discussion, especially for a Neutral Country, should always be a priority.

I believe that maintaining control over one’s information channels is crucial, especially in today's world. But, I fear that decision-makers only consider the numbers, which often favor the flashiest - but worse - solutions.

Encouraging citizens to use closed platforms is, in my opinion, a wrong choice.

Thanks to the Swiss government for at least giving it a shot.

https://www.admin.ch/gov/it/pagina-iniziale/documentazione/comunicati-stampa.msg-id-102585.html

#Mastodon #FreedomOfSpeech #Switzerland #Fediverse #SocialNetworks

I'm a 28 years old BSD enthusiast and I'm also a developer/entrepreneur (in field of AI), used different BSD variants before (mostly FreeBSD and FreeBSD based ones such as GhostBSD and PC-BSD).
I'm a FLOSS advocate as well, although it's a long time I haven't participated in an open source project but I released most of my models as "open weight" models on websites such as huggingface.
What should I add to this?

#introduction