bpl

Ῥωμανία, #unix_surrealism, NetBSD and OpenBSD fan. In this order.
I barely understand computers.

Public Key

npub1r76cd2gywmvq6seryp4k3f7gm5wkuem7xyngcdn8g7zum3kmq0hsmhdnsz

NIP-05 Address

bpl@snac-bsd-cafe.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqspldvx4yz8dkqdgv3jq6mg5lyd68twvalrzf5vxen50pwdcmds8mcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsdtz8sf

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1r76cd2gywmvq6seryp4k3f7gm5wkuem7xyngcdn8g7zum3kmq0hsmhdnsz

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Last Notes

2026-08-03 10:14:31 UTC

Overview of file systems on #OpenBSD and #NetBSD and mutual accessibility.
FFS (in kernel)
OpenBSD - v1+2, no journaling, no softdeps, OpenBSD does not recognized NetBSD's FFS
NetBSD - v1+2+2ea, has journaling and softdep, recognizes OpenBSD's FFS (but can mount only in ro mode)
Ext2/3/4 (in kernel)
OpenBSD - can create and mount ext2 in rw mode, ext3/4 mounted in ro mode (ext4 has to be 32bit)
NetBSD - same as above
FAT32 (in kernel)
OpenBSD - works flawlessly, file size limit: 4GB - 1B
NetBSD - ditto
ZFS (in kernel)
OpenBSD - no
NetBSD - yes, allows for root on ZFS if boot partition is FFS
NTFS (in kernel)
OpenBSD - mounts in ro mode, works well
NetBSD - theoretically allows for ro mounting, but I was not able to achieve that :(
See ntfs-3g for rw mounting
Honorable mention - exFA(r)T (as FUSE) - can be recognized as NTFS, use mount.exfat, slow
Wanna transfer data from OpenBSD to NetBSD? Mount FFS in ro mode and siphon data off.
Wanna transfer data from NetBSD to OpenBSD? newfs_msdos is the answer or use exFAT/NTFS+ntfs-3g if you are patient.
Minor tip for those using FAT32 - command split(1) allows to cut tar archives into smaller parts which can be placed onto FAT partition. To merge them, use cat(1).
You probably know all that stuff.

2026-07-31 15:58:49 UTC

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the fragmented world of #BSD.
Huh
Is there something equivalent in the OpenBSD world, perhaps under another name?
chroot (8), vmm (kinda)
What, if any, are the LLM policies of OpenBSD and FreeBSD?
OpenBSD has Schroedinger LLM policy - Theo said no (due to copyright issues), but there is no interest to implement that and latest opinion is "no OpenBSD dev cares about your whining regarding LLM code in the source". As for FreeBSD LLM code is already in the source, but I do not recall if there was stated any policy.
- Has anybody tried audio production in BSD?
No idea, but for sure you will need to spend some time on manual configuration of OSS/sndio.
(I have been informed by an anonymous source that "BSD jails" are in fact what they put you in if you use the software without a valid BSD license. I am not sure this is correct.)
That is not correct, jails are used for software isolation, no matter what is the license. It is like better chroot (FreeBSD folks would eat me for saying that).
The most Linux-user-friendly BSD is FreeBSD/GhostBSD. The next one is NetBSD and last one is OpenBSD.
CC: @nprofile…7ryy

2026-07-27 14:53:55 UTC

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Thank you, but I do not live in USA, so no luck this time.
@nprofile…qcqq @nprofile…h7ag @nprofile…ykfs

2026-07-27 14:38:40 UTC

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I am always wondering where people find those free computos.
@nprofile…h7ag @nprofile…ykfs

2026-07-22 11:06:38 UTC

Tiny tip for people using #NetBSD and yt-dlp to download videos/music from YT:
if you need to use ffmpeg to merge video with music, you can symlink ffmpegX
(where is X is version of installed software) and ffprobeX to ffmpeg and ffprobe
respectively in /usr/pkg/bin, then yt-dlp will be able to find binaries.

2026-07-22 08:32:26 UTC

This might be interesting for people running old computers and by various
reasons do not use corporate web browsers. Of course if you use simple web
browser like #Dillo, #Links2, #Lynx, #w3m and any other, you may still want to block
connections with 3rd party sites. If you run #OpenBSD or #NetBSD then you have
few options:
(1) Use PiHole, Blocky, Gravastar - but this will not help if you are out of
home.
(2) Use unwind - if you are running OpenBSD.
(3) Use hblock or tblock.
Hblock and tblock are bash/python scripts which update /etc/hosts file using
blocklists available in the Internet. Hblock depends only on bash, so it will
work after some tweaks even on OS/2. Tblock depends on python and few its
modules, so on BSDs it needs manual installation, but it is a little more
user-friendly. Refer to: https://github.com/hectorm/hblock and
https://codeberg.org/tblock/tblock for more information! Remember: running
tblock in aggresive mode on Atom N210 will drain computing powers
enough to block your Internet conenction totally.

2026-07-17 11:42:00 UTC

Okay, #NetBSD on main computo, attempt no 2. I was able to get 1920x1080 resolution thanks to wsfb and gop. I need to accept that fetchmail is not going to work, but I would like to ask for your help.
(1) I am looking for GPU which will work out of box and give acceleration to web browser and tetris. I am going to review bsd-hardware.info and dmesgd.nycbug.org, but if someone is aware of good card I will happily take any advise. No new cards, no big power usage, HDMI. Currently I have RX550
(2) If anyone archives e-mails on own computo, could you share what software do you use for that?

2026-06-28 17:52:23 UTC

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Logitech K400 should work, I have Ergo K860 and it works on OpenBSD. There are two problems:
(1) BIOS might not be accessible,
(2) It is not possible to do pairing with receiver on BSD, this can be worked around by running HirensBoot from USB.
CC: @nprofile…6cws @nprofile…x8ne

2026-06-20 12:24:49 UTC

Here it is. Asus Eee PC 1005HA running #NetBSD 10.1. Desktop looks awful and that's fine, I do not need "ricing". I have changed HDD to SSD and put new fan. RAM upgraded to 2 GB which is more than I need. Runs dillo and aerc. Cost? ~40 USD.
https://snac.bsd.cafe/bpl/s/post-2b1daf40813db98ba896f80cb83d94c3.png

2026-06-14 12:19:19 UTC

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@nprofile…z6zj
How crazy can be a history, the cake named after queen of Italy and Montenegro...

2026-06-14 12:02:39 UTC

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@nprofile…z6zj
There is no better panem than one with amore

2026-06-11 12:35:12 UTC

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Is this memory-safe?

2026-06-10 09:11:40 UTC

I am looking for small computo, requirements are:
small screen, max 10 inchruns #OpenBSD or #NetBSD
has a keyboardcan connect to Internetit worksprice is reasonableI am aware of:
MNT Reform Pocket (if I will be super rich one day, then I will take entire stock)HP Jornada (especially 720, but availability is not great)Zaurus machines (availability is almost zero and might not fill condition "it works")If you have any respond for me, the prize is guaranteed!

2026-06-09 07:10:38 UTC

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Looking at website address my initial thought was: is this Fsck-As-A-Service-Over-Internet?

2026-06-08 19:40:33 UTC

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Not sure if this makes sense, but I see jokes as reference point of understanding a language.

2026-06-08 19:37:22 UTC

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Sadly web browser = everything for many computo users.

2026-06-08 17:57:42 UTC

Who does not like backups? For sure everyone who run dd against root or home partition love them. You might be missing Pear's Time Machine or GNU/systemd's Time Shift. There is another - look here: https://xosc.org/timemachine.html. There you will find instruction how to make Time Machine-like encrypted backups installing only rsnapshot from ports. If you are smart - I am sure you are - you can easily modify the process to your needs. Have fun!
#OpenBSD

2026-06-08 17:42:28 UTC

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Black Helicopters (tm)

2026-06-08 10:22:32 UTC

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So either it was a curse or quantum physics.

2026-06-08 09:04:39 UTC

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Low air pressure or someone cursed your coffee.

2026-06-08 07:38:36 UTC

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b u s i n e s s
https://snac.bsd.cafe/bpl/s/post-42362a80ab5747e8eb9b8dabdb44a71c.png

2026-06-05 16:30:30 UTC

Remember, sending even 5 monies helps.
#OpenBSD
Direct donations
Official merch
#NetBSD
Merch
#somafm
Direct donations
Merch
#unix_surrealism
Direct donations
Merch

2026-06-05 16:12:42 UTC

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https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=l5aZJBLAu1E

2026-06-05 13:06:43 UTC

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I bought such camera, accessible through web browser, Android app or Windows desktop app.

2026-06-05 10:01:41 UTC

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:(
CC: @nprofile…h3v3
https://snac.bsd.cafe/bpl/s/post-c6b39685d7e1f74236939bb5d214943a.webp

2026-06-05 08:19:43 UTC

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Well, NetBSD removed that unfortunate tmux slop code (at least I was not able to find it in the source code). That's my opinion - NetBSD says "no with loophole" and remove LLM code from source, OpenBSD says "no" and there is no interest to remove that stuff from their tmux. BUT I still give Fish Linux benefit of doubt because there are more examples of rejecting LLM code than inheriting it. In terms of (my) trust Net is a level higher than Open and both are much higher than Linux. Policies can be changed, so I think that the only thing which we left with is a trust.
CC: @nprofile…2zg0

2026-06-05 04:42:25 UTC

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For such thing the bar is not set low, is not even buried in the ground, it actually does not exist.

2026-06-04 19:33:46 UTC

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I am not able to find e-waste :/

2026-06-04 18:04:47 UTC

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AI in kernel/base system in one thing, AI in additional software is another and the room for alternatives is getting smaller.

2026-06-04 17:10:21 UTC

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It is not easy for BSD users too:/

2026-06-04 17:00:53 UTC

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Why do you read my mind?

2026-06-04 15:15:58 UTC

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Unfortunately, browser choice was rational, not heartfelt.

2026-06-04 14:25:32 UTC

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Thank you, that's not a big deal.
CC: @nprofile…6cws

2026-06-04 14:15:11 UTC

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As I read about DIMS there is no one-size-fits-all solution, for one what helps is increasing FOV in game, for another it is decreasing FOV. For one tearfree option helps, for another not.
Did you have a chance to follow what people wrote in this forum topic? https://forums.ghostbsd.org/d/256-trying-to-fix-screen-tearing

2026-06-04 13:48:08 UTC

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There is no cloud! At least right now, there is no cloud on the sky!

2026-06-04 11:06:49 UTC

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From some time I am wondering why I might need to have bigger font size, what changed in the meantime? Except of more scars made by the time.

2026-06-04 07:39:15 UTC

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Did Safari drop Manifest V2?
CC: @nprofile…g7ec

2026-06-04 07:33:37 UTC

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Don't ask, just pour.

2026-06-04 07:31:53 UTC

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uBlock or the other?
CC: @nprofile…g7ec

2026-06-04 04:18:49 UTC

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Start with killing it in your heart

2026-06-03 13:41:00 UTC

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I want to be Quercy.

2026-06-03 10:11:56 UTC

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Hhh
https://snac.bsd.cafe/bpl/s/post-382f31e30a5284b14b77b70e8d4ca5e2.gif

2026-06-03 08:09:13 UTC

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Well, great part of those deps come from ffmpeg. I do not get why it brings e.g. libXaw (it is 2026, not 1996) or urw-fonts, but there is not much what can be done to decrease number of deps. Manual compilation of ffmpeg seems to be the only way, probably not worth losing time.

2026-06-03 07:50:22 UTC

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Maybe I was not clear earlier, but the only really needed ("hard") dependencies are python, js interpreter and ffmpeg. The first two have very little or none their own dependencies, the last one may have more, but it would be hard to convert/work on videos without stuff like dav1d or opus. IMO it does not seem to be a bunch of stuff.

2026-06-03 07:37:38 UTC

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Well, yes, you can, but you do not have to, if you do not like installing all those dependencies. There is a choice.

2026-06-03 07:21:55 UTC

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The most dangerous part is "Introducing".

2026-06-03 07:19:55 UTC

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Finally headset in my size

2026-06-03 07:15:43 UTC

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To run yt-dlp against YT you need python, deno/quickjs/bun and ffmpeg (not needed if you need to download audio only) and that's it. I followed this instruction - https://dalliard.ch/bsd/ytdlp/ - and works like yt-dlp from ports. In fact, it will still work without js interpreter, but list of downloadable formats will be limited.

2026-06-03 07:06:20 UTC

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Wondering why such demeanour is not called AARDcoding...
CC: @nprofile…hr7n

2026-06-02 19:56:56 UTC

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First two are available, from torrents there is qbittorrent, deluge and transmission, they run okay I think.

2026-06-02 19:45:07 UTC

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And how humble!

2026-06-02 19:44:45 UTC

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I get it, my experience is that even if you check theoretically for every piece in ports, in practice something will pop up, so test machine/vm allows to avoid disappointment. If you already know BSD things then I believe you will appreciate Fish Linux's design.

2026-06-02 19:34:50 UTC

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This is the life of responsible person!

2026-06-02 19:32:34 UTC

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For sure it is worthing testing on another PC, it needs time to get it.

2026-06-02 18:37:59 UTC

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Not bad, I almost completed revert to OpenBSD, waiting only for HDD to come.

2026-06-02 14:39:12 UTC

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Duh
https://snac.bsd.cafe/bpl/s/post-488cac376eade0be01c1dcebe5a725a9.jpg

2026-06-02 12:54:13 UTC

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THE ONLY BASH TRICK WHICH YOU NEED
pkg_delete bash

2026-06-02 12:52:10 UTC

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No. It depends on why one needs a phone. If someone uses laptop/PC for such apps then they will not have any problem.

2026-06-02 12:22:38 UTC

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Understood, I think that without practicing, it is hard to learn that. For sure there is plenty of information in books and internet, but practice is more important. I bake breads and they are not always great, but after few years it goes better.

2026-06-02 11:54:58 UTC

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If you will try, you could learn something even if result will be okay.

2026-06-02 11:49:38 UTC

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BAD -> BSD + DAD

2026-06-02 10:47:50 UTC

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Give them to your favorite OS maintainers!

2026-06-02 10:46:07 UTC

Home sweet home.
#OpenBSD
https://snac.bsd.cafe/bpl/s/post-c06623598556c3f847edda44e2b2133d.jpg

2026-06-01 18:34:27 UTC

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If it will not boot, threat it by dd or the cosh, every OS will give in to their power :)

2026-06-01 18:27:33 UTC

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Success!

2026-06-01 15:50:16 UTC

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Sorry, I am not able to test that in FreeBSD right now to confirm detailed steps.

2026-06-01 12:38:09 UTC

Reminder: if bad guys get in your way, use mount_mfs command to bust them in RAM, then mv to /dev/null to wipe them out.
#FreeBSD #OpenBSD #NetBSD #badjoke

2026-06-01 11:36:11 UTC

People in work can call you "rockstar" and use other epithets, but at the end of the day what matters is digits.

2026-06-01 10:25:18 UTC

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You have always yourself at hand. I know that you will not be able to stop yourself all the time, but there is no one else who always will be available. And this thing can be (or probably should be) exercised, but needs time. Falling down can happen any time to every one, but more important is to stand up and go further.

2026-06-01 10:15:36 UTC

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I hear you, I think that almost everyone could say similar thing. Hopefully things will take a turn for the better, time heals all wounds.

2026-06-01 09:59:57 UTC

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Often I shoot first then ask, do not be like me :) Be like Moriarty.
https://snac.bsd.cafe/bpl/s/post-69fa50fd7050bc5a5d551fb4ee91bf9e.gif

2026-06-01 09:42:52 UTC

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Shorter trip sounds better for sure. Be understanding of yourself and do not forget that every storm ends.

2026-06-01 09:19:37 UTC

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Understood, hopefully something good will grow up on this decision.

2026-06-01 08:56:08 UTC

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Was there a reason to cancel the trip? 250 euros is not something what lays on the every corner of the street.

2026-05-31 19:42:08 UTC

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If I recall correctly, installer will create those directories, but they will be part of root partition, not their own. Root partition can have max. 4 GB by default allocation.

2026-05-31 19:29:09 UTC

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Is this legal?

2026-05-31 18:58:21 UTC

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The thing is that I am very wobbly and looking for non-existent OS which will run all software which I need, under hardware which I have and will not be affected by LLM miasma, but on the other hand I cannot decide how I want to use computo and what I want to do with my life. 9front is not able to run software which I need, but it fully rejects machine code. It is a longer story.

2026-05-31 12:21:44 UTC

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I do not think that mass Linux adoption will ever occur. But if it will, it rather will not be a sudden event, but "organic" change. Having compatiblity layer might change situation for home users, but (non-IT) companies will rather not switch to Linux due to unclear OS support (except for IBM-related distributions).
CC: @nprofile…w0fz

2026-05-31 11:17:02 UTC

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Ah yes, I had struggles with it too and had to make minor fixes from shell, not the smoothest experience.

2026-05-31 11:11:37 UTC

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dkctl?

2026-05-31 10:57:07 UTC

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Nothing wrong with OpenBSD, but I was trying to switch it to NetBSD, one of the disks with data seems to be flawed and I am not able to restore all files which sit there.

2026-05-31 09:56:26 UTC

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Good luck! I am currently devising how to not lose too much data due to recent meddling with OpenBSD.

2026-05-31 09:51:56 UTC

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It will, but this needs some time.

2026-05-31 04:20:04 UTC

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I am wondering what Linux will be if it will not get as much interest as currently, let's say, its market share will stay at 1-2% and there will be no "year of desktop linux".

2026-05-31 04:07:49 UTC

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9front

2026-05-30 19:19:54 UTC

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You are really teasing me to check the 9

2026-05-30 17:27:19 UTC

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How to empty moon?

2026-05-30 14:54:48 UTC

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Another Elizabeth Holmes?

2026-05-30 13:26:34 UTC

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Yes, if POWER OVER ETHERNET will go into ETHERNET OVER POWER, then you will get ETHERNET OVER ETHERNET which is final boss of network adminstrator

2026-05-30 12:42:41 UTC

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Let's see, hopefully transfer will end today...

2026-05-30 12:39:17 UTC

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ANTIQUATED: Using feather and parchment, then paying bellman to annouce writing publicly like it's 70

2026-05-30 12:33:56 UTC

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Thank you, I am trying to copy ~1.4 TB of data from disk to disk and I have a feeling that tar is slower than cp, but that's only gut feelings.

2026-05-30 11:54:07 UTC

@nprofile…6cws - I read your article about transferring OpenBSD from one disk to another and I am wondering why you used tar to copy data, is there any advantage of going this way instead of using cp?

2026-05-30 11:47:52 UTC

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Agreed, no doubts that quality will go in pair with current changes. My anxiety concerns availability - if there will be less people interested in distributing knowledge, then it will be harder to find it. Here LLMs do not help at all - if one has a choice to get answer quickly (if it is correct is another story, but answer sounds plausible), then one will have no big interest in spending more time on searching through blogs or similar places.

2026-05-30 11:38:09 UTC

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There is no other (still) working YT downloader than yt-dlp. At least on OpenBSD you can run it having installed only python and js framework (deno/quickjs/bun) - https://dalliard.ch/bsd/ytdlp/. Probably it will work on FreeBSD too.

2026-05-30 11:28:35 UTC

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Well, I cannot see how LLMs will make writers being more personal, less academic. If someone has their style, they will not change it because of increasing LLMs usage. And even if their writing is boring, the fact that they described something means that at least they had to think for a second about it or even execute on their machine. LLM has no experience with things which it plucks out.
IMHO "small web" will become more hermetized (due to decreasing interest in reading and learning) and more exotic. And I do not think that this will encourage people to write more, whom they will be writing to?

2026-05-30 09:00:46 UTC

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The more I look at this map, the more doubts I have:
(1) On map key there is a value "Depnding on Religion/Region", but on map there is no country/region marked with chequer.
(2) This map says that in Spain it is right hand.
(3) Map seems to be based upon this article which text seems to be a little bit illusional.

2026-05-30 08:10:24 UTC

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Everything has its place in grand scheme of things.

2026-05-30 08:04:22 UTC

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Agree, unfortunately I am not aware of any simple ersatz for this thing.

2026-05-30 07:56:54 UTC

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The suggestion came from Paolo Bonzini, distinguished engineer at Red Hat
Oh