Post #188600

2026-01-30 19:36 UTC

@adafruit@fosstodon.org buys some toy from a catalogue—a transducer for carbon dioxide, say. Do they actually know how it works? Could they verify that it's actually working properly? The toy comes with a datasheet specifying the electrical characteristics of the transducer (the gas-sensitive potentiometric electrode, or whatever it is) and it all seems nice and trustworthy, but why should it be? Why *would* it be? What feedback mechanism is in play in order to insure that the corporate products are actually doing what they say they're doing? Corporate regulation is basically meaningless these days, and corporate bosses are constantly conniving with fascist politicians to make sure that they're able to do whatever they please without ever suffering real-world consequences for it. How can a mere assemblage of bits of corporate #technology possibly be trustworthy these days?

Replies (1)

@alyx_woodward@universeodon.com 2026-01-30 19:41

Now, luckily for @adafruit@fosstodon.org, there are hands-on, real actual *physical* ways to measure atmosphere carbon dioxide that require only relatively simple supplies and equipment to carry out. It is possible for a person—any person, I would argue, with a bit of education—to obtain estimates of CO2 in the air without needing heaps of "high tech" to do so. There are, I am thrilled to say, ways of solving these problems that don't require Arduinos and slop-coding, and I intend to work on such things just as soon as my host Kris gets their shit together. ~Alyx Woodward of Pnictogen

Open ##188643