The gecko in the house doesn’t bother me at all, quite the opposite. What worries me more is one detail: I’ve known these animals since I was born, as they’ve always been quite common in my native area, but around here, you never used to see them much. Just like other animals, typical of more southern regions, that are starting to adapt here as well.
Since yesterday, we have a new roommate at home. He decided to come in, knows exactly how to get out, and doesn’t seem afraid of us. We saw him wandering around last night and again this afternoon, but tonight he hasn’t shown up yet. His name is Jack, and he’s a gecko. Since today is Friday the 13th (even though in Italy it’s not considered a "special" day), a little good luck charm is exactly what we needed :-)
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?
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?
A small compendium of the Fediverse platforms I use/know well.
In the past few days, I revisited some of my old Fediverse instances since some friends asked me to help them set up a new one. I also took the chance to perform maintenance on some leftover instances. Here's my experience:
Akkoma: My oldest instance still running, opened in 2022. It was offline for a few months (3/4). I updated everything to the latest version and restarted it. I’m not sure why, but it’s extremely slow, with a heavy load on Postgres and many queries just to open the main page. I like Akkoma - I'll investigate further.
GoToSocial: I updated a friend's instance - GoToSocial itself was up-to-date, but the underlying system wasn’t. I noticed that once it exceeds 2000 followings, it becomes a bit slow. The database is PostgreSQL, but that's not the issue. The GoToSocial process becomes somewhat heavy on the VPS. Still, it's very usable and a software with great potential, in my opinion. The Mastodon API is implemented quite well and works with the major software.
Mitra: It seems well-built. The person had around 1000 followers and followings on a Mastodon account, which they moved from a large instance. No speed issues, though sending a message makes the server “heavy” for a bit, but it’s temporary. The Mastodon API is partially implemented, but the software is advancing quickly, and I find its native interface quite pleasant.
Snac2: I've always had a soft spot for Snac2. The lack of a database and some design choices make it an excellent solution for small instances. For example, sending posts to all known instances increases visibility and interaction. Its basic, JavaScript-free interface is very clear, though it might not be the best for those used to Mastodon. But the Mastodon API is improving version by version, and I think the developer is doing an excellent job. It struggles a bit with larger numbers, but that's due to the underlying file system, not the software itself. If "move" support (both in and out) were added, I would recommend it to anyone starting self-hosting for single-user or small community instances because "move" is one of the options that gives the most freedom in Fediverse software.
Mastodon: My “old” personal instance was stuck at version 4.1.x and had been offline for a few months. I updated the FreeBSD Jail and upgraded Mastodon to 4.2.12 and then to 4.3.0-beta1. No issues. I also helped a friend (who had an old Pleroma-based instance they barely used) migrate. This user has around 5000 followers and followings - Mastodon is running on FreeBSD on a VPS (arm64) for just over 3 euros a month, with no significant issues (apart from media storage, but that's not Mastodon’s fault). Mastodon is sometimes said to be heavy, and that's partly true, but its modularity ensures that even in cases of overload, queues may slow down, but navigation and the local timeline remain reasonably fast. I think this is a good thing for any larger-scale use of an instance.
In short, I think things are moving in the right direction, and the software is evolving nicely. Well done, devs!
A small compendium of the Fediverse platforms I use/know well.
In the past few days, I revisited some of my old Fediverse instances since some friends asked me to help them set up a new one. I also took the chance to perform maintenance on some leftover instances. Here's my experience:
Akkoma: My oldest instance still running, opened in 2022. It was offline for a few months (3/4). I updated everything to the latest version and restarted it. I’m not sure why, but it’s extremely slow, with a heavy...
By far my favourite option. Without snac2 and the ability to self-host it very easily, I would not be on the Fediverse today. Bonus points for the main developer being very easy to get in touch with, and very reactive when problems are reported.
Keeping in mind that I am not coming from Mastodon or Twitter. Snac2 is my first experience as an active contributor to the Fediverse and more generally to micro-blogging.
I've always had a soft spot for Snac2.
By far my favourite option. Without snac2 and the ability to self-host it very easily, I would not be on the Fediverse today. Bonus points for the main developer being very easy to get in touch with, and very reactive when problems are reported.
This morning, I took my wife to the hospital for routine blood tests that had been scheduled for some time. Everything was going smoothly: check-in, number, waiting room. Suddenly, everything came to a halt and shut down. I was connected to the hospital’s public Wi-Fi and noticed that my connection also went down.
Having managed a couple of similar facilities, I immediately understood what had happened. I saw the staff panicking and calling the technicians, but they quickly reorganized within 10 minutes. They managed to process everyone who already had a number and then proceeded with the others in the order of their arrival. Despite the ten-minute delay (even though people started complaining right away), they were extremely efficient.
I later confirmed that the entire booking, check-in, and queue system is “in the cloud.” The hospital experienced a connectivity interruption, and all related services stopped. The staff no longer had access to anything, so a technician sent the lists to a manager via another channel, and everything resumed manually.
For years, I’ve insisted that certain things MUST be local. The healthcare facilities I manage have all the necessary systems for the operation of the facility internally, including patient records. External services like websites, emails, etc., are secondary.
Everything essential must always be accessible locally and, in special cases, it should be possible to physically access the servers and connect directly to them, bypassing any network/switch failures.
There has been only one interruption in the past, due to human error. Today, we have redundant servers (not HA on virtualizers, but two machines running the same software with replicated databases - on separate power lines) so such an issue shouldn’t happen anymore.
Not everything can be anticipated, but history is a great teacher. The Internet connection will eventually be interrupted :-)
When it comes to the health and survival of people, there are no compromises.
This morning, I took my wife to the hospital for routine blood tests that had been scheduled for some time. Everything was going smoothly: check-in, number, waiting room. Suddenly, everything came to a halt and shut down. I was connected to the hospital’s public Wi-Fi and noticed that my connection also went down.
@stefano about 6 years ago a doctor asked me the best way to set up his new office and patients files. I recommended a server that was not connected to the internet to keep his patients records. The program on the web he wanted to use we could basically restyle to suit his needs. He found that idea unacceptable and went with a cloud based company. I often wonder how many times he goes down or needs to tell patients their files have been compromised.
@stefano I couldn't agree more. Choose whichever architecture you wish (IDK -even periodical local copies of cloud repositories if nothing else is available our supported by management) but ask yourself if critical services are really autonomous or else can be brought down by not-so-extreme circumstances and render basic vital information inaccessible. If I depend on a single wire (literally or figuratively speaking) I'm likely to run into trouble.
Yah my work moved their accounting/job/invoicing system to the cloud. It is annoyingly slow and I wish they just done hybrid but apparently they were never given that option.
But yeah, people aren't generally aware of how fragile infrastructure is.
After successfully installing the Mastodon 4.3 beta on a FreeBSD Jail (I’ve taken notes for some changes I’ll make to my blog post, but that will be when it's officially stable), I tried updating an old instance that started with Mastodon 4.0.x and was currently offline and stuck at 4.1.x. I upgraded to 4.2.12 and now it’s on the 4.3 beta. Everything seems to be running smoothly.
In the coming days, I’ll test replicating the changes from BSD Cafe (default theme, character limit increase, more options for polls), but I don't anticipate any issues.
The BSD Cafe instance will be upgraded when everything will be considered officially stable.
After successfully installing the Mastodon 4.3 beta on a FreeBSD Jail (I’ve taken notes for some changes I’ll make to my blog post, but that will be when it's officially stable), I tried updating an old instance that started with Mastodon 4.0.x and was currently offline and stuck at 4.1.x. I upgraded to 4.2.12 and now it’s on the 4.3 beta. Everything seems to be running smoothly.
Woop! Check it out! My new #website just went live!!! Thanks to Efir Media for their fantastic work making this look so cool! https://emma-briant.co.uk/
I'm glad to meet you! I'm the main administrator of the bsd.cafe instance (and other projects), a computer science enthusiast who's been fascinated by technology since childhood. I'm a big supporter of open-source solutions and enjoy working with #BSDs and #Linux systems. I enjoy #music and #photography. I've been an avid traveler and am now looking forward to getting back to traveling.I'm married to a wonderful wife and strive to live each day with a positive attitude,making the most of every day to improve our lives.
I like writing blog articles, especially tech ones (https://it-notes.dragas.net) and, from time to time, some of them are widely appreciated, especially in the open-source community.
Thank you for passing by and reading my introduction, enjoy your stay here in the #fediverse
I'm glad to meet you! I'm the main administrator of the bsd.cafe instance (and other projects), a computer science enthusiast who's been fascinated by technology since childhood. I'm a big supporter of open-source solutions and enjoy working with #BSDs and #Linux systems. I enjoy #music and #photography. I've been an avid traveler and am now looking forward to getting back to traveling.I'm married to a wonderful wife and strive to live each day with a positive attitude,making...
I mainly use this account to read and stay updated, but when I can, I like to post positive things. The world is always so full of negativity that we need something cheerful now and then.
Boosts and likes are on things I enjoy, and the content is my own. My avatar is the sun because I hope to bring a bit of light to your day, whoever you are, because everyone deserves a little sunshine on their face from time to time.
@justine I’m happy they’ve already arrived and that you like them! I’ll bring some to #EuroBSDCon, and there will be a few other surprise 'gadgets' from BSD Cafe, suitable for the location 🙂
In Italy, there's currently a political situation that I’m refraining from commenting on. The only remark I’ll make is that, unfortunately, no one has pointed out that the person who recorded videos in Montecitorio (the building housing the Italian Chamber of Deputies) did so using Ray-Ban Meta glasses. In other words, not only did they film in areas where filming is prohibited (by exploiting the fact that the rule bans cellphone use for recording), but the videos captured by Ray-Ban Meta glasses are all routed through Meta’s servers. This means they implicitly sent footage of private areas within Italian government buildings to Meta.
In my view, this is a very serious issue, and the lack of discussion about it highlights the unfortunate ignorance regarding privacy among journalists and the general public.
In Italy, there's currently a political situation that I’m refraining from commenting on. The only remark I’ll make is that, unfortunately, no one has pointed out that the person who recorded videos in Montecitorio (the building housing the Italian Chamber of Deputies) did so using Ray-Ban Meta glasses. In other words, not only did they film in areas where filming is prohibited (by exploiting the fact that the rule bans cellphone use for recording), but the videos captured by Ray-Ban Meta glasses...
Gregory's Server
