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Joined 8 months ago
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Cake day: November 7th, 2023

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  • Handwriting hurts my wrists. My handwriting became super sloppy after what, like 40 years in front of a screen. Can’t index or search my notes. I had one of those pens that record everything using a camera on special, dotted paper, but no OCR can process my writing, and you need special paper.

    But yeah, the idea seems interesting. I like dedicated devices these days. It have to carefully think about what I’ll be doing, pick an activity and then venture out to do the thing, packing the dedicated device that is suited for the task. I’m more focused that way, more productive.

    However, that device here is not what I am looking for. Tiny keyboard, non ergonomic, colors too flashy.



  • You are correct. It was probably not perfectly clear from my response, but I do not want to blame the individual here.

    Naturally, the “Backup all my files” setting should not be opt-out, and when opting in, there should be easy and succinct explanations of what the implications are.

    Lemmy as a whole is apparently a very technical community, so we often tend to forget that an understanding of these implications does not come naturally to all users, and that there are people that need a phone just like everyone else, but might not be in a position to acquire the knowledge required to make an informed decision.

    I am fully with you regarding your conclusion, up to a point where I applaud regulatory action that protects customer interests, including privacy. I do not believe that companies will sort out these problems (or in any form of liberal “self regulation”, really) on their own, since it’s not in their interest to do so.

    I guess I wanted to express that while things are obfuscated and software is full of malicious anti-patterns, we do have to take extra care to protect ourselves, and, as was the topic here, our kids. I still actively try to work on changing the current status though, politically or by making political decisions, e. g. looking at open source / projects that are more aligned with what I’d consider to be in the best interest of users, and I’d encourage everyone to do the same.


  • No, but it’s opt-out, and it is your responsibility to ensure that stuff like this doesn’t happen - full disclaimer, that is my personal opinion. Pictures of third parties that did not give explicit consent for each and every picture shouldn’t be uploaded to cloud providers etc., let alone pictures of kids and other parties who are unable to give proper consent.

    My wife is incredibly careless with these things. She wants to know how to properly operate her smartphone and wants to care about e. g. privacy, and on paper, she does - but in practice, we do a 2 hour long session, I explain all the settings to her, where to find them, why they are important, what implications certain actions / options have for security, safety and even keeping her phone in working order, yet as soon as she walks out the door, she no longer cares one bit, will blindly click to accept all kinds of EULAs and default options, never investigate what the notifications about failed backups mean, never delete obsolete / already backed up data etc. up to a point where her phone no longer works and she then instructs Google Photos to upload multiple years of family pictures full of private moments, multiple children etc. to Google.

    The UI is crappy enough so you’ll spend a significant amount of time deleting the pictures remotely, absolutely infuriating. I was furious, in particular because I can’t say that removing the pictures will also reverse all the potential consequences of sharing all your pictures with Google.

    For reference, Google Photos does offer facial recognition, stores and estimates locations and even estimates activities based on media content.

    IMHO, being this negligent is not excusable in this day and age.









  • Think about it like this: you don’t have to go to the Australian outback and survive there for a week with nobody being around.

    Start with a one day hike so that you can pack and carry enough gear that will ensure you can spend the night and figure it out from there. Take a note of stuff that you missed and add it to the list of items you’ll research and buy. Drop stuff you didn’t need after a while (emergency supplies exempted).

    You’ll probably need clothes, a tent, a sleeping bag and mat, a flashlight, a stove & fuel, lighter, plus kitchen utensils / cutlery, water bottles, food, toiletries, toothbrush, a towel, first-aid kit, some insect repellant, sunglasses, your phone (solar charger), some money or credit card, and potentially maps and a compass if you’re planning a longer hike and there might not be any reception (or you lost your phone). There are apps (e. g. Locus) that have dedicated “outdoor” map types and allow map downloads, so they work offline and provide more useful information about the terrain.

    Look at camping / hiking communities where people post their minimal loadout pictures to get an idea of how little gear really is needed to get around and add stuff you’d like for comfort from there. There is a whole “ultralight” movement out there that will give you an idea of the absolute basics you’ll need, people typically post overhead pictures of their gear there and add descriptions.

    Regarding your specific question for drinking water: there are solutions to filter water so it can be safely consumed, search for “portable water treatment”, e. g. LifeStraw, Geopress etc., plus chemical additives that purify water.

    Yes, you can make bacon&eggs, you’d typically crack the eggs at home and seal them in a bag to carry them along. A camping stove will allow you to fry food and boil water, plus you can always start a fire (where legal!).

    Sleeping bags will be rated for certain temperatures, get one that matches the climate you plan to sleep in, then optimize for weight and cost - we can’t tell you how to weigh each factor since that depends on destination, group setup (load distribution) and naturally, your financial situation.

    If you want to get more serious about being self sufficient, you might want to look into “bushcraft” later on, although I do consider this an advanced topic separate from camping / hiking, and it won’t work in every corner of the world. Still, there are decent books about it and the topic is interesting either way. A good starting point could be: https://www.amazon.com/Bushcraft-Boxed-Set-Advanced-Gathering/dp/1507206690/

    Overall, don’t overthink things and start with small, short trips, you’ll learn as you go.








  • You can admire the rock. You can just hold the rock, meditate over its roundness. The rock can become your friend, your little secret, a comfort you can take anywhere. The rock is eternal. If you cradle it for a lifetime, you might contribute a miniscule amount to its perfect shape. Your life can have meaning.