Which Linux desktop theme can be more perfect and nostalgic than Windows 95? Only Steam 2003! Nothing new, kinda trend on Reddit. But when I switch from work theme to my "home" theme, it makes me feel peaceful and earthy every time I look at my desktop :).

If we dig a little deeper, before Steam, there was the Microsoft Plus! 95 theme with similar calm colors. That's one I remember vividly:

Getting back to my modern Linux setup:

• GTK/XFCE theme Nashville96-Steam
• QT compatibility: qt5ct with Windows style and steam2003.conf Color Scheme
• QMMP theme Winamp Fallout - Pip Boy 2000
• Font tahoma.ttf/Share Tech Mono
• Wallpaper #2A3730/The Next Day
  • Know nothing 'bout the game, love wallpaper
  • 
• Vivaldi theme
• IceWM HDPI theme
  • Hey, anybody also using IceWM?
• Icon theme, can't decide between:
  • Chicago95 for authentic feel
  • Faenza, which is now retro itself (contrasts nicely on neutral Steam colors)
• Fastmail/Telegram/any-app-that-supports-custom-colors:

#OldShool #Nostalgia #Windows95 #Windows98 #Vivaldi #MilitarishAesthetic

Security cameras are a type of product especially prone to enshittification, and Wyze is a notable case study of this phenomenon. Introduced as super-affordable, reliable cameras with free cloud storage, they immediately won the love of millions. Then the company kind of realized that the low-margin/free-service business model was unprofitable from the start (surprise!), and tried all types of annoying monetization. That failed (obviously), and the quality of app and service dropped dramatically, angering once loyal users even more. Especially telling is that /r/Wyze recently changed their slug from "Never Wonder" (official Wyze motto) to "Always Wonder" :).

But there's hope in the great battle vs enshitification! An alternative firmware called Thingino, which makes Wyze cameras useful again, as well as dozens of other cheap (but somehow flawed) security cameras. Just go and star⭐ Thingino repo right now to support the cause against enshitification! That firmware is, of course, not the first of its kind, as getting a video feed on a local network is a trivial task. The most important questions are how do we get remote access, event notifications, and where recordings will be stored if the camera goes offline or is stolen. And in the best spirit of open source, Thingino provides multiple ways to achieve that:

• You can access your camera remotely over your local network, via a static IP, or through a VPN using a solid web interface or the tinyCam Monitor Android app.
  • The web interface works well, it becomes less convenient when managing many devices.
• If you’re running a WireGuard VPN, the camera can be configured to connect directly to it for secure remote access.
• If you’re comfortable building custom firmware, you can install tools like Tailscale or ZeroTier, which provide a more flexible remote connectivity solution.
• The camera can also upload clips via FTP, send them by email, upload to Google Photos or push notifications through services such as ntfy.sh

But in this article, we will use the most convenient way, and get notifications/store our recordings at Povel Durevs expense at Telegram. He claims it's super-duper-secure, of course ;)

I found the process of setup kind of unobvious, but worth it.

It's becoming increasingly difficult to find a simple phone for calls, and I blame HMD. Attaching the Nokia brand to garbage phones was probably an excellent marketing strategy, but consumers bought into it, allowing HMD to push decent-quality phone companies out of the market. It turns out that slapping reputable names like Nokia 3310 or Nokia 8110 on dime-a-bucket knock-off phones is enough to trigger nostalgia. HMD don't even try to adapt the design or match the color of the original—not to mention the features. The Nokia brand alone appears to be enough to sell.

The problem is that people who review these phones, in fact never use them. They write a quick review - "this cute nostalgic funny looking thing, pbly good for Digital Detox™ or smth" - then get back to their 8 GHz/1 TB RAM Androids.

Then there's r/dumbphones with threads like "Screentime bad - suggest me a simple dumbphone. No unnecessary features! Just WhatsApp, a-a-and Spotify, a-a-and Uber, a-a-and navigation with real-time traffic data, a-a-and dream analyzer, a-a-and mood light that changes color based on stress levels, a-a-and projector...". This is why overpriced phones like the Light Phone, Mudita and the Punkt exist, leaving even less of a market for reliable, reasonably priced, simple phones.

Because of all that, it's extremely hard to find a phone that just works as a phone. Phones from 2000 are dying breed where I live because 2G is being actively replaced by 4G. You might think there are a lot of modern dumb phones on the market, but most of them, even those produced by Nokia, are 2G. New 4G phones usually come with "updated" software and unremovable pay-per-play games. That wouldn't be as bad; I think I have the willpower to ignore your $4 Racin Attak garbage, but with "evolution," we also get lower-quality software with breaking bugs.

My Nokia 215 4G fails to sync the network time. This results in the call and SMS history being randomized. The fancy thread-like SMS interface is clearly not intended for the screen size. This makes it extremely cumbersome to use. It has no service in places where there is service. It does not work on all advertised network bands. It quietly loses calls and SMS, as I found out the hard way when I missed deliveries. I've gone through multiple recent Nokias, and they all have some kind of fatal flaw. Compared with other cheap knockoffs, though, at least Nokia seems to be malware-free. Yes, noname dumbphones can have preinstalled malware that will quietly drain your account with paid SMS.

Another problem is that 4G feature phones are getting bigger with each model, slowly swelling to a size comparable to smartphones. I really miss how tiny the relatively recent Just 5 Surf was. The reason for their growing size is that it is cheaper to design and produce larger PCBs than smaller ones. This is especially true when the number of devices produced is small compared to the pre-smartphone era.

Marketers hope that by putting a larger screen on devices, you will buy that stupid game or at least launch YouTube Shorts (the manufacturer will get a couple of cents for preinstalling YouTube, Facebook, or other undeletable crapware). Bigger sizes are sometimes falsely justified as being more convenient for seniors, but the screen font size rarely matches what the elderly can comfortably read. Marketers also try to reach "those who cannot afford real smartphones" by introducing bigger screens and features, which is silly because the cheapest smartphones and 4G dumbphones cost around $50.

So after getting fed of Nokia BS, I've ventured on a quest to find a new phone. And I think I found a dumbphone that's ok!

I also like to use different straps all the time, so that when I look at watch, it looks fresh and doesn't get too mundane.

#PhotoOfTheDay #survival #gear #prepper #MilitarishAesthetic #travel

To my shame, previosly, I used Google for tag functionality, clicking on tag lead to a Google search like www.google.com/search?q=site:developer.run+%22%23DIY%22. And I was looking for a better search solution just for my blog.

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The Nixie Tube Clock is an example of geek luxury. It's rare, it looks cool, and there are only a limited number of tubes left in the world, adding to the elitism. And it gives your lab that evil genius vibe. But with the right knowledge and skills it is easily obtainable.

A set of 6 new tubes will cost you around $60, the closer you live to Eastern Europe - the cheaper. Just search for nixie IN-12B on Ebay. Used tubes are even cheaper, but bear in mind that they have a limited lifespan (5-10 years). And by "new" I mean made in the 1980s, because around that time mass production stopped.

Created 3D printable STLs for mounting keycap sized rotary encoder (EVQWGD001). Because every keyboard needs a scroll wheel. In Alice-like layout you can put encoder in the middle, the regular keyboard - replace Caps Lock. Cable raceway for Alice-like layout attached as well.

Grab on Thingiverse!

#DIY #MechanicalKeyboards #STL #3Dprinting

I did not have time to build a full mechanical keyboard (and I'm happy with X-Bows Lite), so I built myself the macro pad. Extra buttons are always useful, especially a knob for volume control.

Buttons are mapped to: Play/Pause, Next Song, Start/Stop Pomodoro, and one for later use.

I've even found a practical application for an OLED display:

• When I'm playing fullscreen games, display shows GPU/GPU temperature and overheat warnings to not overcook the chips. And the current time so I don't overcook my brain by forgetting to sleep.
• When media is playing, display shows title of currently playing song or Youtube video.
• When rotating the knob, the display shows the percent of volume. The trick is that it shows the actual OS volume, so it will be correct even in case the volume is changed by other means (like os interface). This is achieved by sending the current system volume to the device when handling volume keypress in Linux.
• When idle, the display shows some awesome monochrome logos I've shared previously. Just like the way it looks.

To communicate with the display made a script to send any text, or show logo or progress bar on the macro pads display. On the receiving end is some QMK trickery, of course.

Wire with fancy "aviator connectors" goes to a custom Scroll Wheel I've put in the center of a keyboard. This is an evolution of my QMK Scroll Wheel project by adding some extra functionality to Raspberry Pi Pico.

As this is my personal blog, and Pinterest views are over the moon, I've decided to occasionally share cool photos I am making.

My faithful radiation detector Radiacode 102 is super tiny and convenient, but not as cozy looking as the iconic CDV-700. So I think I made a perfect lock screen wallpaper for the phone!

#PhotoOfTheDay #survival #gear #prepper #MilitarishAesthetic

Let me share my Spotify playlist, primarily inspired by the soundtrack of the best computer game of all time - Space Rangers 2, and other space exploration games like FTL. Turns out this music is perfect not only for playing these games but also for programming.

My Space Rangers playlist contains 89+ hours of psytrance and similar beats. Thats two full 8x5 work weeks of music (or four days if you listen 24x7), and if you enable shuffle - even more! You may wonder what is the difference from Space Station Soma? Difference is that this playlist, is curated to avoid boring ambient-only tracks (where you got 10 minutes of barely audible hum). Also avoiding "dharmic" tracks that are too trippy. So most of the audio contains alive beats that will keep you awake and productive.

And if this type of music is not up to your taste, my another go-to recommendation for work is Rekt FM online radio.

Space Rangers playlist on Spotify

#Spotify #Audio