Unfortunately I already read the headline, is there anywhere I can offload this now unnecessary excitement?

Python in Excel would be great, but nerfing it with some ridiculous cloud dependency is crazy. They could still paywall the feature if they really wanted while still running the Python interpretation locally.

I suppose we should be grateful they hadn’t also stuck ChatGPT on to it too so it could (badly) write the Python for you. Tech by buzzword will be the death of us I’m sure.

They both have security features to lock out unauthorised users. But there has been a cat and mouse game of hackers finding exploits to bypass the device locks, and platform developers patching them to secure the devices again. There have also been various schemes using rogue employees of phone companies to get illegitimate access to official tools that can unlock devices.

So sometimes the phones can be unlocked. But failing that, there is also a thriving black market for phone parts salvaged for stolen phones.

Nope, "Thread" and "Matter" are smart device protocols. "Threads" is a microblogging platform by "Meta", the owner of Facebook and Instagram. Tech companies suck at naming things.

Neither are to confused with the delightfully grim 1984 movie "Threads" about a nuclear apocalypse, or maybe they should be considering the possibly doomed trajectory both may be headed for.

A company that builds tools for remote working, doesn't believe in remote working? That doesn't seem a great look.

With Google search results increasingly swamped with SEO-laden drivel, I've found the gap between Google and alternatives like Qwant and DDG has shrunk a lot recently. The little guys have improved a bit, but Google has also got worse.

Yeah, you would think a company that would promote remote working would be company that creates tools for remote working.

Twitter is now X as the little blue bird disappears

I thought the the new logo was the X11 logo at first, they are bit similar.

Also a bit ironic seeing as Musk wants Twitter X to be an "everything app", while X11's cruft and bloated featureset have led to it being replaced by Wayland.

The aftermarket shells can be very good quality these days, if the original shell is badly scratched up I would just replace it.

Interactive photo booths that printed photos and stickers called purikura became very popular in late 90s Japan. There was also a lot of hype about digital cameras at the time, and new capabilities digital photography could offer, although the tech wasn’t quite ready yet.

Plus Nintendo has long been a company to take risks on unusual applications of technology in general.

It's not entirely untrue. Electric vehicles tend to be heavier than petrol or diesel vehicles, and heavier vehicles cause more wear to road surfaces than lighter ones.

That isn't to say electric vehicles are bad idea because of that though.

Science has gone to far! You wouldn't download a cat...

Yes, if there is one lesson we should have learned from Reddit it's that internet points aren't great for fostering real discussion and debate.

Still, with so many new link aggregation platforms appearing to fill the Reddit void, hopefully we still end up with something better.

Successfully monetising a platform means doing it in harmony with the the user base though, at least to some degree. A platform can't make money from users if it scares them all away. Social media platforms are especially vulnerable too because they rely on users to create their content. Nobody comes to Twitter to marvel at the system infrastructure, they come to read tweets.

The way certain tech companies are behaving currently is too knee-jerk and heavy handed. They are panicking and damaging their platforms in the process.

The internet used to be more decentralised. There were lots of smaller websites, blogs, forums etc, which people discovered via word of mouth, search engines, and forgotten things like webrings. It's only recently that big monolithic social media platforms took hold.

Tech is often cyclical, we could now be swinging back to a more decentralised web, but with the benefit of newer technologies. Right now it's almost a new "wild west" as new platforms appear and new ideas like federation are experimented with. Some will rise, some will fall, some will go off in the corner and do their own thing. While all that happens it's going to be a bit messy, much like it was in the 90s with the initial rise of the web.

I’ve noticed a lot of German language fediverse content too. Does anyone know why German speakers are so keen on the fediverse?

My Steam Deck experience has been very positive, it’s a great way to play games away from the desk. For me the controls are great, and game compatibility continues to surprise me.

I would say the only problem with the Deck is the size - it’s big. When I got mine it seemed a lot bigger than I realised, and that was after watching/reading a lot of reviews. Depending on your hands the size might be an issue. If you know anyone else with a Steam Deck I would recommend trying it out for size before buying.

Never mind zero stars, the Reddit app (and new Reddit in general) deserves negative stars.

Thankfully there is plenty of innovation in the market for fediverse apps.

The Amazon checkout has become a real maze for non Prime subscribers, about time something was done.

I cancelled Prime a while ago, and the few times I’ve used Amazon since I got multiple checkout stages with pre-selected Prime signups and trials.

Federation is arguably the whole point of the fediverse however. Decentralisation is the solution to the problems created by centralised, proprietary platforms like Reddit and Twitter, but it can only survive if users are invested in it. If everyone joined one main instance, its admins could easily remove federation, add proprietary extensions etc and become yet another walled garden.

Trying to build the fediverse without onboarding users about federation would be like trying to build a democracy without educating citizens on the function and value of voting.

We should not shy away from sharing the concepts of federation, we just need to be better at sharing them.

PiVPN is a simple home VPN solution that's worth exploring.

Is you are interested in smart home/home automation Home Assistant is an open source home automation platform and makes a great Pi project.