Remote
Alec Perkins
@alec@perkins.pub
mastodon
4.6.5
Designer with a coding problem.
K2XAP from FN20XQ.
360
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503
Following
26
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Joined April 15, 2022
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Posts
Liberty looking at an upside-down flag seems a little on-the-nose. #July4th
Replying to
@0xabad1dea@infosec.exchange
@0xabad1dea@infosec.exchange I can’t decide if it feels like we’re living in scifi, with a computer we can talk to, or fantasy, with these magical wards against intruding spirits.
Replying to
@davidmarsh@mastodon.au
@davidmarsh@mastodon.au thanks yeah it feels like a good way to demark the coverage areas in a privacy-preserving way, and I’m personally a sucker for a good hex grid
Replying to
@alec@perkins.pub
Also the choice by MeshMapper to use red for no coverage is dreadful and makes the map hard to use. #MeshCore
@sycophantic@infosec.exchange I mean the infrastructure works as a mesh itself, so it counts I think. It’s also the only way to get wide area coverage like this.
Replying to
@alec@perkins.pub
In that vein, also building another thing. Chat-oriented, multiple nodes and protocols, config management for a wide-area mesh context. Shedding all the less useful features to really focus on this usecase. Not overloading the term “Acknowledged”, demonstrating that Meshtastic has all the same capability as MeshCore. Got about 30 users locally and getting lots of great feedback. #Meshtastic #MeshCore
Replying to
@alec@perkins.pub
MeshMapper et al exist, but it’s kind of off-putting that issues in the UK forced different settings upon us. Some of the region proposals also don’t necessarily make sense globally. I would rather do a more distributed style. Each mesh community can figure out what works best for it. Feels like a comparison between Mastodon and Bluesky.
#Meshtastic #MeshCore
Replying to
@alec@perkins.pub
Once it’s polished up a bit the server and the apps will be open source so groups can run their own instances. I’m open to some kind of hosting service to make it more turn-key, but I want to shy away from a centralized tool.
The thinking is to support communities building their own networks (plural), rather than feeding a singular protocol-specific gigamesh. Let communities produce a map of all the networks they have. The RF networks should follow the human networks.
#Meshtastic #MeshCore
Building a thing. Currently Meshtastic-only but it will also support MeshCore (probably, hopefully, if we ever get a MeshCore mesh going around here).
RE: @jezhiggins@mastodon.me.uk
I feel attacked.
Replying to
@nullagent@partyon.xyz
@nullagent@partyon.xyz this paragraph seems a little off, missing a word?
Replying to
@alec@perkins.pub
@linux_mclinuxface@fosstodon.org though FWIW Meshtastic and MeshCore are nearly identical (despite what boosters of either would like you to believe) so it’s not too much effort to make an app that supports both simultaneously. I’m working on one now.
Replying to
@linux_mclinuxface@fosstodon.org
@linux_mclinuxface@fosstodon.org there is only one MeshCore firmware—which to be clear is open source and MIT licensed. The split (as of now) is at the higher level organization, which website and discord are “official”. This split literally just happened this morning and I think people are still waking up to it.
Meshtastic and MeshCore use a lot of the same hardware but are not compatible with each other. I don’t know of any closed-source Meshtastic pieces given the GPL nature of its protobuf library.
Replying to
@linux_mclinuxface@fosstodon.org
@linux_mclinuxface@fosstodon.org two of the MeshCore devs make their own proprietary software (Mesh OS, Ripple) on top of MeshCore’s open source firmware. MeshCore.co.uk is controlled by one dev (who makes Mesh OS), MeshCore.io is controlled by another (who makes Ripple), and the split _just happened_ so dunno how it’s going to shake out exactly. There are two Discords even.
Meshtastic is a similar, older, and entirely separate project with a GPL base.
Replying to
@py2toz@mastodon.radio
@py2toz@mastodon.radio the issue is it was the other way around, the closed source binary (Ripple) was incorporating Meshtastic’s GPL code. They probably could have figured out a way to have an open base and separate the proprietary portions, but decided to roll their own protocol instead—which also let them break compatibility and leave behind the legacy stuff.
Replying to
@py2toz@mastodon.radio
@py2toz@mastodon.radio IIRC MeshCore exists at all because Meshtastic’s GPL made it incompatible with Ripple’s closed-source model.
Replying to
@marcoarment@mastodon.social
@marcoarment@mastodon.social it is extremely satisfying and empowering to be able to think “this thing should exist” and in short order have the thing.
Replying to
@markmetz@sfba.social
@markmetz @ColesStreetPothole the company behind it, in operation for nearly two decades now: http://ecovative.com I get so frustrated whenever I get something that uses polystyrene because this is such an obviously better solution.
Edit: actually I don’t know if there’s a relationship between Ecovative and the Magical Mushroom Co, but Ecovative has been making this stuff near Albany since 2008.
Replying to
@reesecommabill@gardenstate.social
@reesecommabill thankful they don’t have a crypto sponsor anymore
Replying to
@sue@glasgow.social
@sue so far LLMs have been most effective for me as a review step, catching basic mistakes or inconsistencies, even deficiencies in docs. It’s very good at essentially pointing out where my code deviates from the average, and as the author I can then decide whether or not those deviations are intended. This of course relies on me having built the mental model so I can easily reject its erroneous suggestions.
Replying to
@mattblaze@federate.social
@mattblaze@federate.social reminds me of a joke about how if the building isn’t standing still, you shouldn’t either
And we’re live! Snagged a Purple Air sensor with help from @paku@indieapps.space’s discount code. There aren’t many sensors in our area so this will help fill a little data gap. I’d like to mount it out front so its little LED indicator is useful to passersby, but that requires figuring out a power connection so for now it’s in the back where a receptacle is available.