Privacy Matters

At the beginning of this year I couldn't sit still anymore and so I started a new project. I decided to deploy a chatmail service for new Delta Chat users. Obviously, it's not restricted to new users, as even existing ones may benefit from the service that's dedicated to being speedy and private by design. I got inspired by folks who develop DC and by the project itself. chatmail strives to be fast, easy to use and private. I can attest it is indeed fast, even though it's still good old email under the hood. It's also easy to use for the end user: you can set up an account in just a few seconds by scanning the QR code visible on the main page. Finally, it's private because it doesn't really collect any identifying information and requires messages to be encrypted end-to-end. I will focus on the onboarding experience in a moment. For now though, let's talk about some technical aspects I had to go through.

I launched mailchat.pl on January 2nd so it's been running for over a month now. And it's been super smooth and stable. I have to be honest though, I encountered a few bumps at the very beginning. These were mostly related to gaps in my knowledge. So I took this opportunity to learn something new. Here's what I learned. Apparently you can now deploy a whole stack using Python scripting. I didn't know it at the time so I was confused as to how I was supposed to run the scripts. Long story short, you need a quite recent Linux distro (like Ubuntu 22.04) as your workstation. You will deploy from here. Then you need to rent a VPS with a relatively recent distro (again, Ubuntu 22.04 in my case). You'll also need a domain name. The official guide is there to help you with the installation. The deploy scripts provide details as to how to set up DNS entries and make sure everything runs as it should. Like I said, it can be a little confusing at first. Just remember that the scripts must be launched on your local machine. Oh, by the way, this will only work if you have SSH keys set up properly. Once you get used to the process it kinda makes sense. For my service I had to translate the contents of the homepage and come up with a simple privacy policy.

Still, there was one thing I had to figure out: updates. chatmail is in active development and devs are working hard (or rather smart) to fix any outstanding issues. Thankfully, we have this thing called The Internet so I was able to find a working solution to my problem. At some point I even asked ChatGPT (or was it Bard?) to help me with updating a Git project. Let me present this secret knowledge then.

1. Open terminal and go to the chatmail folder,
2. type git stash, this will stash or save any changes that you've made so far, like configs or translations,
3. git pull to pull the most recent changes from the GitHub repo,
4. git stash apply to apply those changes without destroying your local files.

Of course it's always wise to backup local files before making any changes. In point 4 you may need to inspect some files and resolve any conflicts. It happened to me once or twice when I changed files in /www/src directory. So there you go, my little journey.

Finally, let's go back to the title of this post. chatmail makes it easy for new and existing Delta Chat users to register an account and start texting people. Sure, you can still use DC with your own email account. However, if for some reason you can't do that, chatmail can be a good solution. Here are some examples for when it could work: – your email provider is not supported – your messages are delayed – you want to encourage your friends to use DC – you'd like to have a separate account just for DC – you care about your privacy.

I'm sure there are other reasons why people would choose to go this route. For me it's simplicity. You can get an anonymous account that consists of some random letters. Alternatively you can choose your username. The first option is super quick and suitable for most people, especially if they don't care about fancy usernames. All it takes is to scan an invite code. The second option is available in Delta Chat for more advanced users. Here you can type your username and password in the app itself. If the name's not taken, it will be given to you. Just like that. Now, to text people you'll have to share your invite code: this ensures full encryption. Sidenote: sharing codes is not always necessary, e.g. when you and your contacts use the same server.

I hope you enjoyed reading this little behind-the-scenes story. Plus, if you haven't already, explore Delta Chat and its ecosystem of decentralized mail servers.

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As a GrapheneOS user, I've witnessed minimalism from the get-go. It's been a refreshing experience to be completely honest. The difference between the stock OS and GrapheneOS lies mostly in improved security and privacy in case of the latter. But, as I soon learned, it's also about its minimal approach. You might have heard or read something along the lines “fewer apps mean smaller attack surface”. And I completely agree with this sentiment. However, this isn't what I wanted to highlight today. The minimalist in me actually enjoys the sparse number of apps. More than that, these apps are quite bare-bones to begin with, which means fewer distractions for the end user. They won't try to pull you in. Ok, I've gotta admit, sometimes I wish they looked nicer, had brighter colours and had the 'wow effect'. But then I remember: I don't want to be slave to my smartphone. It's supposed to be a tool, like any other. This realisation is also why I started to look for minimalist launchers or home screens.

Enter Unlauncher.

Over the years I've become a fan of minimalistic design. User interface should be utilitarian and allow me to get things done. For some time I was under the spell of the Light Phone 2. I even got one but soon discovered it was way underpowered for my needs. Still, the whole principle of a phone being just a tool stayed with me. So I began the process of 'decluttering' my digital spaces. You know, standard stuff like uninstalling apps I no longer needed, etc. There was just one element that didn't fit the puzzle: the home screen. So I performed a quick search. I typed 'launcher' on F-Droid. I figured I would start with simple, privacy respecting launchers. I installed several of them but one stood out: Unlauncher. It's an extremely simple and lightweight launcher for Android devices. In short, it transforms your smartphone into a feature phone. All Unlauncher does is present a list of up to 6 apps / tools and the rest stays hidden below. You can of course access all of your apps with a swipe up. There are shortcuts for dialer, settings and camera. If you wish, you can even disable them. The latest version offers several colour themes and can set the wallpaper based on the selected theme. Like I said, it's very, very simple and minimalist.

I realise that minimalism is not everybody's jam. But if you're like me and you want to simplify your device(s), give Unlauncher a try. The only side-effect you might notice after a few days of usage is less screen time for your eyeballs. But is it really something you should worry about?

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As it happens, I came upon a little problem. I needed to shorten an awfully long URL. I remembered using bitly.com in the past but then I realised I had closed my account. I just didn't use it often enough. So my first instinct was to find a self-hosted solution. I looked through a Yunohost app catalog and voila – there are 4 URL shorteners: Lstu, Shlink, Shuri, and Yourls. I thought, well, let's have a look, do a little research. And so I did (a very short research) as I didn't want to spend the whole morning on such a silly task. As I was reviewing the options, none of them really impressed me. Then it struck me: do I really need to run my own URL shortening service just to 'process' one link? Of course I don't! At once I felt lighter and somehow liberated. But the problem persisted. Thankfully, the solution wasn't far away. I listen to many podcasts, quite a few of them technical. Recently, one of them mentioned this new URL shortener called pnqk.me. So I opened the site and learned that the service is much better in terms of privacy than most other link shorteners. It cleans your links and, if possible, archives the contents, which is neat considering that some links might stop working in the future. Without wasting any more time I decided to give it a go. I can now report that pnqk.me works as expected, with a small caveat: it doesn't seem to offer any statistics or insights about your links. Not a problem for me, but if you care about this stuff you'll need to look elsewhere. So, short story... shorter: always look for the simplest solution. Privacy doesn't have to be difficult.

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I'd like to talk about hackers. Not the kind of hackers that you often hear about in the media. These are most probably common criminals, or, to be precise, 'cybercriminals'. I don't want to talk about those. But it's important to distinguish between the two. Now, before I move on I need to note that this post has been inspired by a recent conversation with my wife. I suddenly realised that I might call myself a hacker, even though I'm not an engineer of any sort. All I have done is troubleshooting hardware and software bugs. In fact, that's one of the misconceptions people have about hackers. You don't need a degree to become one. And you certainly don't have to be a criminal.

First, let's discuss hacking in terms of curiosity. Hackers are essentially tinkerers, masters of DIY. They need to know how stuff works, inside and out. They enjoy solving problems and pushing technology to its limits. If something doesn't work they will find a way to make it work. You might have heard about Kevin Mitnick (rest in peace) or Linus Torvalds. The former specialised in exploiting human vulnerabilities to gain access to various systems. He went from being a 'grey hat' to a 'white hat' hacker. His actions were shady at first but later he contributed greatly to the society by running a company and writing several books on social engineering. BTW, I highly recommend reading “The Art Of Deception”. My second example, Linus Torvalds, is best known for creating the Linux kernel. This time we're talking about a proper software engineer who wanted to make a truly free and open source operating system. He followed the principle: my computer, my rules. Importantly, he's still true to his ideals. Both hackers tried to push the boundaries of what's possible in a constructive way.

Second, hacking is about problem solving. If you're a hacker you'll do your best to find a solution to the problem at hand. It doesn't really matter if the problem is technical or not. What matters is the attitude. This in itself is a valuable skill which can help advance your career. Earlier I mentioned the term 'white hat' hacking. It refers to ethical hackers who employ their skills to improve the cyber security of various organisations. They play a crucial role in safeguarding our digital infrastructure.

Ultimately, hacking is often a community effort. There's a strong sense of community among hackers. Many of them are part of open source projects, hacking away and improving code so that we can later benefit from their actions. When you find yourself in a hacker group you are bound to improve your technical and social skills. In this setting, hacking is about sharing knowledge, and doing it responsibly. Ethical hackers often publish their findings and contribute to open source projects, which benefits the whole community.

To sum up, I wanted to make it clear that hackers are not inherently bad. The term 'hacker' is often used to describe anyone who uses their computer skills to commit crimes. But this is inaccurate and misleading. Sure, there are bad apples but let's call them accordingly: cybercriminals. They are the ones who harm people. If you enjoyed this short article please share it with others, hackers or not ;)

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When I first heard about Delta Chat and the idea of instant messages sent through email I was both thrilled and confused. I remember thinking to myself: how would it work? In my mind, email was quick but it was hardly instantaneous. It turns out that the good, old email can be indeed used to deliver short messages, just like any other IM does. I mean, Delta Chat is a bit different in this respect since it doesn't use a single provider (like Signal or WhatsApp) and this fact alone can be baffling to some people. It can also affect your experience with the app because it relies on your email provider. And trust me, the whole email landscape can be messy. But knowing the limitations we can still enjoy sending sweet, short messages to our friends and family. They don't even have to use the app themselves: the messages will still arrive in their inboxes. That's the beauty of interoperability.

Sending your first message

So how do you get started? Well, if you have an email account, and I assume you do (be it Gmail or work account), you should first check the compatibility: https://providers.delta.chat There's a good chance that your current inbox will do the trick. Unfortunately, some secure email providers like Proton or Tutanota are not supported because they use non-standard connection protocols. If you have one of those (I use both) you'll need to look elsewhere. And if you don't mind paying a few euros per year I know for a fact that Posteo is an excellent choice.

Once we have the provider covered, now it's time to download Delta Chat. I've got some very good news: it's available for every major platform, including Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS, and Linux. I recommend starting with one device, e.g. your Android smartphone. Later on, you can set up a second device, like your laptop, similar to what other messengers offer. Ok, with the app installed you'll log into your email. Don't worry, your credentials won't be sent to DC servers because... there aren't any. What you do here is logging directly to your email account. After providing your email and password you should be ready to go. In most cases, the app will detect the required server configuration so you don't have to hunt for specific instructions. In the rare event that it doesn't, you can always set it up manually (which I've never had to do). You should now be able to send your first message. Who will be the lucky recipient? =)

The good and the bad

I'm trying to be completely honest with you so here are some loose thoughts about Delta Chat. Let's start with the positive. The app uses email as its 'back-end' so it's the most universal IM out there. Almost everybody has an email address so you can message people from the get-go without even asking them to install additional software. Your message will simply appear in your contact's inbox. Here's the (small) problem. By default, email is not encrypted so if you use DC and your contact doesn't, then your messages will be in plain text. I know, it's not ideal. But if you're not discussing anything confidential you might not care. If you'd rather make use of automatic encryption then you'll have to convince your contacts to install DC. So yeah, you cannot beat the universal aspect of this system, maybe with the exception of mobile numbers, but that's a different story.

As for usability: Delta Chat has all the essentials that modern IMs offer, without the ability to place calls (natively). I believe you can set up an external voice service but I haven't experimented with that. I treat DC as my text-based messenger. However, it can do more than just text. You can send images, videos, emojis, voice notes and even share location. You can have 1:1 chats or groups. The latest, and still experimental feature let's you create broadcast lists, which resemble Telegram channels or good ol' email newsletters. Want more? If both contacts use DC you can enable 'disappearing messages', just like in Signal or WhatsApp. Finally, there's the killer feature: Webxdc, or apps / games that work within chats. Just to mention a few: TimeTracking, CrappyBird, Snake, Reactle (Wordle clone), Tic Tac Toe, Poll, Calendar, and more. I've had lots of fun with these mini apps.

Now let me mention some not-so-great aspects. I've already told you about the encryption, or lack thereof if your recipient doesn't use DC (yet). Maybe it won't matter to you but I find it problematic. The app may not be as streamlined and intuitive for some people who are used to centralised IMs (again: Signal, Whatsapp, Telegram). BTW, the whole idea of decentralisation (and email is decentralised, at least in principle) can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand it's great: no single point of failure, yay! On the other hand: not all email providers play by the rules, and so we have deliverability problems. So I'm putting a warning here: you might experience delayed, or even missing messages. It all depends on your (and your contact's) email provider. There are ways to get around this problem, like using your own email server, but it's beyond the scope of this post. The last thing I want to discuss is message retention / storage. I know it can be pretty confusing for new DC users. You might think that your chats will clutter your inbox. Thankfully, that's not the case. Delta Chat moves your short messages into its own folder on the server. This allows you to use one email account for both traditional emails and chat messages. By default, DC doesn't delete anything from the server (smart move IMO). So if you'd like to free some space you can either 'clear' individual chats or just delete the contents of “Delta Chat” folder on the server. There's an option to auto-delete messages from the server (and/or app) but I don't recommend it. Better safe than sorry.

Want to learn more?

Thanks for reading! This post is a bit longer than usual. I admit I’m quite passionate about the topic ;) Now go and share the knowledge! If you'd like to know more about Delta Chat, check their FAQ. It's available both online and in the app itself (also offline!). Happy chatting!

Reply to this on the fediverse: @michal@101010.pl

You might have heard or even used an app from Mozilla called Pocket. It's a service that allows you to save online articles for later consumption. Pocket has been relatively successful because of its integration with Firefox. Apparently this integration is now tighter than ever as the app requires a Firefox account to log in. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. If you use Firefox as your main browser you may find Pocket really useful. I know I did for a few years. It's been a very pleasant experience. Whenever I found something interesting to read online I would press the Pocket button and voila – now I could read the contents on all my devices. I usually used my smartphone or tablet to read the saved articles. I must admit: it's a really convenient way to read and process online content. But... if you're like me and prefer open source solutions with superior data portability, there's a better solution on the market. It's called wallabag.

Now, wallabag, in contrast to Pocket, is fully open source and offers quite a few synchronisation options. What does it mean? Well, with Pocket you rely on Mozilla's infrastructure (i.e. their servers). With wallabag you can actually choose where you store your data. You can change 'providers', so to speak. So how does it work? How can you set up an account? Read on.

Let's start with the easiest option. Go to https://www.wallabag.it and create an account. You can test the service for 14 days. After that, if you decide to stay, you'll have to pay a small fee (11 EUR per year or 4 EUR per 3 months). I've been a user myself for about 6 months now and I've been really happy with the service. Once you set up an account you'll need to install some apps / extensions to enjoy the full experience. To save web articles it's best to install a browser extension. The configuration may be kinda disorienting because you need to generate an API key. But once it's done it just works. As with Pocket, you'll see a wallabag button among your extensions. Once pressed, the article will appear in your wallabag collection. To complete your experience you'll need to install a mobile app. I downloaded the Android app from F-Droid but it's also available on Play Store. This time the setup process should be much easier since the app will automatically generate and fetch the API key for you. Tada! You can now enjoy ad-free reading experience on your smartphone or tablet.

The other option I want to present is self-hosting wallabag on your local machine or on a VPS. Alternatively, you can ask a tech-savvy friend to set it up for you. The route I took was to set up a Yunohost server. Yup, I know, it's a recurring theme on my blog. I happen to manage a local machine (Raspberry Pi 4) and a VPS (Hetzner FTW). I can attest that both options will be an excellent choice for a Yunohost / wallabag combo. I believe I don't have to mention that this option is not for the faint-hearted. But of course I wouldn't be myself if I didn't pick the harder path.

Long story short, I exported my saved articles on wallabag.it (in .json format) and then imported them all on my instance. In fact, it wasn't the first time I did this so I know it works perfectly well. I also set up a wallabag instance for my family so they too can enjoy a Pocket-like experience for free. From the user's perspective, the only hurdle with this approach is that you need to manually enter your instance address when setting up the app and/or browser extension.

Have you heard about wallabag before? Would you consider using it or recommending to friends? For me it's become a must-have app so naturally I spread the news. Feel free to save this post in your wallabag collection just to see how it works ;)

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In the previous post I wrote about the benefits of password managers: convenience and security. Right after publishing that post I realised there's more to say about Bitwarden specifically. I suppose it shows just how good the software really is. So without further ado, I present 2 more features that make Bitwarden a very useful tool every day.

The first feature that's perhaps not unique to Bitwarden is the password generator. I mentioned last time that the master password is the only password that you need to remember. But what about other, regular passwords? Here's where the generator comes in. It can generate strong, unique passwords for you. You can specify the length and the type of characters: letters, numbers, and special signs. Now, here's the deal. Humans are terrible at creating and remembering strong passwords. So do yourself a favour and start using random, generated passwords from now on. Ok, I can sense you wondering: “But I won't be able to remember such passwords”. Actually, it doesn't matter. Like I said, you just need to know your master password. All the others? They are safely stored in your vault and you don't even have to know them. I certainly don't know 90% of my passwords, and that's fine. The few ones I decided to memorize are for accounts where I can't easily paste them from my Bitwarden vault (e.g. at work, on a shared computer). Even then, I could just look them up on my phone and enter them manually. Summing up, whenever you need to come up with a new password (or change the existing one), use the generator. For example, all of my passwords are at least 16 characters long and include all types of characters.

The second feature I'd like to discuss is called “Send”. In short, it allows you to share sensitive data (plain text or attachment) with a recipient. Let me give you an example. Say you want to send some documents to your lawyer. The documents contain sensitive information like your address or social security number (PESEL in Poland). In this scenario, you can utilise “Send” to share the documents, protect them with an agreed upon password, and even set the expiry date. It surely beats sending critical data over unencrypted email, or, worse still, on Messenger (you know which one). I admit that I don't use this feature often but when I do I'm glad I have the option.

That's it for today. Thank you for reading and I hope you'll find this information useful.

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Today I want to give you 2 reasons why you should start using a password manager. I realise that there are many similar articles online but here I'm going to focus on my use case thus giving you a unique perspective on the topic. Once we're done with the why I'll briefly discuss how to begin your journey with password managers. Yup, there are many of them but don't be intimidated just yet. Let's get started.

The Why

There are many reasons for using a password manager. For me, the most obvious one is convenience. Let me elaborate. I first wrote my logins and passwords on a piece of paper which I then kept in a drawer. It was a long time ago and password managers weren't even on the horizon. It wasn't the most elegant solution but it worked at the time. Later, I remember that browsers started implementing basic password storage mechanisms. So I decided to jump on the bandwagon. It was definitely more convenient. It turned out, however, that you couldn't move your passwords between browsers. There weren't separate apps that would, well, manage your passwords. It later turned out that it wasn't the most secure way to store your credentials. Then, about 4-5 years ago (around 2018) I finally discovered real password managers. Over time, I tried 2 options: KeePass and Bitwarden. Both with their pros and cons. Long story short, I settled on Bitwarden. Why? Convenience. It encrypts your passwords locally and then stores them in the cloud, allowing for synchronisation between different devices. You have access to your credentials on any device and you can easily fill in password fields in browsers and apps. In my opinion, there's no better solution right now.

Another major reason is security. You might think that your drawer or safe is the best place for sensitive data. It might be for some high profile individuals. But for most of us out there a password manager is secure enough AND it prevents your data from being destroyed. Let's assume that your physical safe goes up in flames or is otherwise unavailable. If it was the only place where your passwords lived and you didn't memorise them, you're in trouble. In contrast, if you have your passwords and other sensitive data stored in a cloud-based password manager, it only takes one device (typically your smartphone) to recover the data. Don't worry, the so-called cloud, or the provider of the service, can't see your data: it's end-to-end encrypted. To put it simply, password managers offer superior security. They would be out of business if they didn't.

I'm sure there are many other reasons for opting to use a password manager but the ones I mentioned should be convincing enough. Now, let's talk about where to start when it comes to password vaults.

The How

If I were you, I'd start with a free Bitwarden account. You can always upgrade to a paid version if you think you need it. It's only 10 USD per year so it's very cheap and it's a great way to support the company. Setting up an account should be rather straightforward. In short, you register on their website using your email and a master password. Your email can later be used as 2FA (second factor authentication with one-time codes). Your master password is the only password that you'll ever need so it must be both long and easy to remember. I recommend using a passphrase that's at least 16 characters long. One way to come up with such a complex passphrase is to pick some random words from a dictionary, stack them together and add some special characters and/or numbers. For example: pearcatslavewoman!

The other method is to take a quote, use the first letter of each word and add some extra characters here and there. Can you guess the quote behind this password? HgttgSlatfatf42. Hint: the first couple of letters refer to the book and the rest is about the quote.

After creating an account you can install Bitwarden apps or extensions on any device / OS. Fun fact: once synchronised, your passwords are always stored in a local vault even if “the cloud” is temporarily unavailable or your device is offline. One final tip I'd like to give you concerns the browser extension. By default, your vault is locked once you close the browser. You'll need your master password to unlock it (security, remember?). If entering a long passphrase is too cumbersome you can set up a PIN to unlock the database. I did that because of extra convenience. I'm not sure about the security aspect though. So proceed at your own risk when it comes to PIN unlock.

Self-hosting

A note for advanced users: Bitwarden offers excellent data portability so you can export your credentials and then import them into another password manager. Or you can take your data and host your own Bitwarden instance. My suggestion is to look into Vaultwarden since it offers a light back-end and is fully compatible with Bitwarden apps.

Your turn

You should now see the benefits of password managers. The most serious advantages are convenience and security. Due to strong encryption your data remains yours alone. Even if you end up not enjoying Bitwarden you can export your vault and take it elsewhere. That's the beauty of portability. Thanks for reading and until next time!

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In this post I'm going to give you some technical advice on how to launch your own blog. Note, however, that this is more of an overview than a step-by-step guide. I want it to be rather high-level since specific instructions change from time to time. I will include 2 approaches: one for beginners and one for technical freaks like me. With this in mind, let's begin.

First, an easy, turn-key solution would be to register an account with a service provider, i.e. a blog hosting platform. My recommendation is to start with a platform that respects your privacy and gives you full control of your data. That's why I chose writefreely in the first place. Fortunately, you don't have to set up your server and deal with any technical stuff. There are many writefreely instances (or servers) out there and you can simply join one of them. For a Polish blog, writefreely.pl is a good place to start. When you visit the site, it may look like the registrations are closed but that's just to prevent spam. You can join with an invite that's mentioned on the front page.

Still on the topic of easily accessible solutions: wordpress.com. I mention it here because WordPress has become a staple in the blogosphere and beyond. Apart from blogs there are even e-commerce sites based on the app. It's quite easy to run and extend but it might be too much if you just want to have a text blog like me. Still, as a long-time WordPress user, I'm sure it will be an excellent choice for many people. And again, you don't have to be a nerd to set up an account on wordpress.com and start blogging. If you are a nerd though, you can also install WordPress on a web server and have more control over your data and settings. More on that later.

Now, let's briefly discuss some hardcore solutions. These are meant for advanced users. So, if you're technically savvy you can follow my path and set up your own single person writefreely instance. I went with Yunohost because it offers one-click installs of popular software. It's based on Debian so it's super stable and lean. It can be run both locally (say, on a Raspberry Pi) or 'in the cloud' (on a VPS). I'm not going to tell you how to set up Yunohost today because there are many guides online, including the official wiki.

Next, I mentioned you can install WordPress on any web server. So why not use something that we already have. Yes, you guessed it: Yunohost is a perfect solution once again. Just remember: when you go this route you are fully responsible for your data. Yunohost gives you more control and a custom domain, which may me crucial for some people or businesses.

Lastly, I'd like to touch upon the idea of static site generators. True, these are best suited for static sites like your digital portfolio, but once mastered you can employ them as blog engines. I'd only recommend them to people who know what they're doing and to those who really care about security (hard to hack a static webpage) and speed (your browser only loads static content like HTML, CSS, and optionally some JavaScript). For example, I've built my personal homepage with Hugo which is a well established generator. I takes some getting used to but it's optimal for very simple sites (though they might be complex as well).

To sum up, I wanted to give you some ideas on how to start your own blog. If you're a beginner, go with a hosted writefreely instance. WordPress is also good if you prefer something more mainstream. If you're not afraid of self-hosting spin up your own Yunohost server and install some blogging / publishing apps. You can always choose the one that suits you best.

Thanks for reading this short overview. Would you like me to cover some of these topics in more detail? Let me know on the fediverse or drop me an email: blog@m33how.it

Reply to this on the fediverse: @michal@101010.pl

I'm not entirely sure I know how to start a blog. I mean setting up a writefreely instance was easy enough (BTW, a big shout-out to Yunohost). It's the writing part that might prove difficult over time. The plan is to write a simple how-to or a guide every 2 weeks or so. It's not that I don't have any experience in the matter. I used to run a blog about Linux and open source software a few years ago. Since then I managed to lose the associated domain and most of the posts. I don't really care because the knowledge would be out-of-date by now anyway. So yeah, I'm starting anew. I'm going to write in English as it happens to be the language of the Internet. However, as time goes on, do let me know if you prefer to read in Polish. For now, and for simplicity's sake, let's stick to English. Here are some of the topics I'd like to cover: – privacy – security – self-hosting – data sovereignty – open source software (incl. Linux)

With the rise of AI tools and chatbots I'd like to assure you, dear reader, that whatever you see here is 100% human made. Recently, I find myself utilizing ChatGPT in doing research but that's about it. I just can't bear to publish anything that's been regurgitated by a machine. Even if said machine claims to be somewhat intelligent. Anyway, I think this should do it for the 1st post. Until next time!

PS. Do you know how to start a blog? Let me know! ;) You can follow this blog on the Fediverse: @m33how@blog.m33how.it

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