ProdigalFrog

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Since Taler isn't operating in the same way as the wild-west of crypto, and needs to secure the adoption of existing banking institutions, its rollout is going to be much slower.

It hasn't been widely adopted yet, but the big change that occured is it only just recently released a stable 1.0 version that makes wider adoption possible, and passed some essential security audits, including for iOS.

In addition to recently being approved and available in Switzerland, it is also planned to be added to a Ko-fi-like payment/donation system thanks to a grant by the NLnet foundation, which will hopefully enable it to gain wider adoption by creators or youtubers, as an example. In the future, it could become a replacement for Zelle if more banks adopt it (I suspect credit unions would be more likely to give it a try, if they became aware of it by their membership, and it was requested a lot).

There's a bit more discussion of it over at [email protected], if you're interested.

It likely does have more representation and mind-share here on lemmy since it aligns with the ideals of many users here in particular, we're going to be more tuned into alternatives like that compared to the wider population.

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ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

GNU Taler is an anonymous digital cash, but it's not yet widely adopted, I think only a few banks in Switzerland are using it. Hopefully if continues to gain momentum.

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ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

As horrific as it was in all other ways, the 'big beautiful bill' removed the tax stamp on suppressors, SBR's (Short Barrelled Rifles) and SBS's (Short barrelled shotguns), which goes into effect Jan 1st of 2026.

All 3 of those would still need to be registered though, it only does away with the $200 tax stamp.

ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

Seconding the piefed recommendation. It's much lighter to host than Lemmy, and has some nice user facing features that Lemmy lacks, which you can read more about here (scroll down to comments):

https://slrpnk.net/post/24141955/16757434

ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

The replicas from Uberti and Pietta (who also make regular smokeless powder firearms) are very well made fully functional and safe firearms, and would be highly preferable in functionality, capability, and durability compared to a single shot homemade firearm.

If a homemade option is someone's only choice, then fair enough, but at least in the US, replica revolvers are an incredibly accessable option to obtain a repeatable multi-shot firearm with a very low barrier to entry.

To build even a simple homemade blackpowder firearm, you would need to source an appropriate barrel, find a way to attach it securely to a stock, devise a safe and reliable trigger mechanism, attach a primer nipple to the barrel, attach sights, determine a safe powder charge for the specific barrel you acquired, and finally sight in the firearm (if it's not just a short range shotgun). You would also need the tools and knowledge to use those tools before even beginning.

This is in contrast to going to a sportsman's supply store, adding a complete $300 revolver to your cart, and pressing purchase.

There are also highly accurate single shot hunting black powder rifles with modern designs available from the same outlets.

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ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

In addition, Black Powder firearms in most states aren't considered firearms legally, and can be purchased online directly to your door.

The best handheld option is an 1858 Remington New Army Sheriff .44 caliber revolver replica, made by either Pietta or Uberti. The steel framed version is stronger, and can even accept conversion cylinders that allow you to use regular cartridges instead of cap and ball, so avoid the brass ones if you plan to go that route. For more money, you can get one with target sights, which makes it much easier to be accurate at distance.

If you stick with cap'n'ball, you can purchase multiple cylinders and reload them fairly quickly (bit finicky, takes practice).

A .44 cap'n'ball with a full charge is roughly equivalent in power to a modern 9mm pistol. The .36 caliber options are roughly equivalent to a .380acp.

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ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

I think they may have misspelled it. Try [email protected]

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ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

My first tech was a Sega Genesis and the family's 486 DX2 computer running Windows 95.

While I had access to new genesis games by renting them, getting new games for the 486 was a rare event due to how expensive software was back then, and there were few places we would visit that sold it (mostly what Costco had available). That meant rotating through a lot of the same games for quite a while, which meant I would eventually get bored of them for a while until I would try them again a month later.

The effect of that is it seemed to encourage me to find other ways away from the tech to entertain myself, like play with legos, or head outside to invent games with the neighbor's kids.

I don't want to assume that type of exposure to tech is ideal just because it's what I experienced, but I wonder if an artificial software limit may be a good idea today for young kids to encourage them to find new ways to solve boredom with their imagination instead of it being done for them exclusively.

I've also seen parents start their kids off with 90's tech and games, and slowly introduce them to newer tech/games each year, which is an interesting idea.

I think I'd start them off with a raspberry pi running a retro emulation os and a small selection of the best games from the 90's, a small camera, an mp3 player, and a Linux PC without internet access, but with access to some edutainment games (humongous entertainment, some point'n'clicks, etc), and programing tools with kids appropriate teaching material.

Once they're old enough, I'd give them internet access, and eventually a phone so they can keep in touch with their friends.

ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

Hell yeah, TWRP!

ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

Pretty sure that's ai.

ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

Update on the migration script blockers! :D

https://codeberg.org/rimu/pyfedi/issues/712#issuecomment-6732367

ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

Krita, especially now that it has G'mic built in, is s pretty solid Photoshop replacement.

ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

There are very few dedicated passenger liners left in the world that aren't luxury travel cruises. The only one I'm aware of that has a US route only goes across the atlantic from NY to the UK.

The only sea based options to get to China from the US would be to try to get passage on a cargo ship going the same way, or charter a small vessel for the voyage, which would likely cost thousands.

It would be nice to tax plane travel heavily, and then subsidize sail travel to make that more viable, along with mandatory consecutive monthly vacation time for all jobs, like the EU has.

ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

There's an open issue for migration script blockers on the codeberg. It looks like there might be more movement on that front now that 1.1 has been released.

Also @[email protected]

ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 3mo ago

I put together this short list of benefits Piefed offers to regular users in response to one of our members at slrpnk asking about our future migration to it.

ProdigalFrog @slrpnk.net 4mo ago

I got that notification for the first time today as well, guessing it's just a tactic to get people to create accounts they can data mine to sell to AI companies.