FOSS General Talk

Lounge
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To not pollute Random thoughts and finds with software talk, I thought it would be interesting to have a general FOSS topic to discuss various things.

Recently I have self hosted a SearxNG instance and learned that its creator created another kind of self hosted engine, this time as a kind of “self crawler” where you can store data about every web page that you’ve been to, and also add local files and documents, a kind of more advance knowledge base.

I’ll set it up later today and connect it to my notes, it seems really powerful.

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I’m curious how it works out. Seems really cool but also seems like it could bloat quickly.

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Yes, I think it’s supposed to be the opposite of a curated list, hence the strong search capabilities

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I am allergic to the word “agentic”

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MCP is just an API that agents can use. The app itself does not have to use AI.

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Interesting. That sounds particularly useful for websites that the main search engines suppress, or that don’t get the top listings.

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…but can’t see where anyone else used it…

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“self-“ anything is the definition agentic.

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With “MCP” etc we are on our way towards it.

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Unfortunately, we can’t escape it much longer :frowning: Even darktable will be ‘agentic’ in the next release due to MCP protocol being added. Granted, it’ll be a separate binary much like darktable-cli, but still. I feel like software should just have solid APIs and then third parties could add whatever protocol they want, this all feels very backwards.

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we absolutely can (in general) just by not using that stuff. they want you to feel like it is inevitable so you’ll give in and use it.

It is totally avoidable the same way you avoid crypto, blockchains, the metaverse, facebook, and getting hit by a car.

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Of course. I meant avoidable as in, avoiding having those protocols built into the software, not avoidable using them.

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all you can do is make your opinion known… and if you feel strongly enough then be ready to walk away

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I have the feeling ‘Yet another AI topic’ would be a more fitting name. :frowning:

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Perhaps we may add a new tag “no general AI spin-offs please” :grin:
Have a nice day all of you :wave::sun_with_face:

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“It is unavoidable” they say.

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I’ve posted a few weeks ago about an e-ink device that was easy to sync. Well a few days ago I saw that the Xteink X4 was on sale for 52 euros and grabbed it. I was ready to pay the 23% VAT + the new 3 euro tax, but it passed customs for some reason, so that is the final price.

It’s a cool device, originally intended to be magnetically attached to the backs of phones, but works well as a standalone. No touchscreen, it has 7 buttons, the screen is low res 480x800. It uses an esp32. I have installed the FOSS crosspoint reader firmware and so far so good.

I expected to have trouble reading due to the constant line jump, but I feel like it’s even easier to read than a regular book for some reason. I feel like I need to get a better font than the Noto Sans it ships with.

I have setup Kavita with OPDS and pulling books that way works fine, but the mobile app seems even faster, I will try that out later with some articles.

Edit: With the Send to X4 extension, you just put the e-reader in file transfer mode, and the extension directly transfers the article as an epub into it, it’s fantastic.

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I almost grabbed the X4 as well, but I already have a kobo running koreader, which is fantastic. It looks like a cool little device though.

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Oh ay. I have a cousin who was just standing at a bus stop, minding her business, completely devoid of any wish whatsoever to invest in crypto, when ETH crashed into her at full speed and put her into a hospital for months and left her walking with a stick for the rest of her life. She could totally avoid it. Totally.

Worth remembering, folks: it isn’t only techbros who say the most bizarre s&*t ever.

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I’d agree that ETH is near lethal, yes.

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