Issac Dowling
@issacdowling.com
FOSS enthusiast, software developer, tell me about cool technology things.
The Warrington bus interchange seems to use Linux for their displays (which sounds like an obvious decision, but you see tons of public displays with windows messages on them nonetheless). Cool
November 20, 2025 at 8:36 AM
The Warrington bus interchange seems to use Linux for their displays (which sounds like an obvious decision, but you see tons of public displays with windows messages on them nonetheless). Cool
I wish we would give up on digital ID stuff. I hope this doesn't go ahead
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Keir Starmer to announce plans for digital ID scheme
The prime minister believes a new scheme would help crack down on illegal working in the UK.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 25, 2025 at 4:39 PM
I wish we would give up on digital ID stuff. I hope this doesn't go ahead
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Every AMD GPU seems to be the same. Buy it, it'll use lots of power, undervolt/underclock it, you'll get anywhere from -10/+10℅ performance while reducing energy usage by 40℅.
Just upgraded, I've an inadequate PSU since it's old and doesn't handle transients well, and undervolting's my lifeline.
Just upgraded, I've an inadequate PSU since it's old and doesn't handle transients well, and undervolting's my lifeline.
September 11, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Every AMD GPU seems to be the same. Buy it, it'll use lots of power, undervolt/underclock it, you'll get anywhere from -10/+10℅ performance while reducing energy usage by 40℅.
Just upgraded, I've an inadequate PSU since it's old and doesn't handle transients well, and undervolting's my lifeline.
Just upgraded, I've an inadequate PSU since it's old and doesn't handle transients well, and undervolting's my lifeline.
Android apps already need digital signatures, so "blocking" installation seems very heavy-handed as opposed to just doing a Windows Smartscreen-style "this app isn't trusted, are you sure" popup that shows for any non-Google-attested apps.
android-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/elev...
android-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/elev...
A new layer of security for certified Android devices
Starting in 2026 and in select countries first, Android apps must be registered to a verified developer in order to be installed.
android-developers.googleblog.com
August 26, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Android apps already need digital signatures, so "blocking" installation seems very heavy-handed as opposed to just doing a Windows Smartscreen-style "this app isn't trusted, are you sure" popup that shows for any non-Google-attested apps.
android-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/elev...
android-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/elev...
Interesting. I've always used the Firefox Flatpak, so never knew that the native OpenSUSE Firefox package sets "OpenSUSE Search" as the start page. It actually sends the search straight to the engine you choose, so no privacy issues, and helps find distro resources. Odd, but cool search.opensuse.org
July 8, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Interesting. I've always used the Firefox Flatpak, so never knew that the native OpenSUSE Firefox package sets "OpenSUSE Search" as the start page. It actually sends the search straight to the engine you choose, so no privacy issues, and helps find distro resources. Odd, but cool search.opensuse.org
For my fellow UK Citizens, I strongly suggest you look at the Stop Killing Games UK Petition before it's over and consider signing it. More protections for customers that have bought games which rely on network-connected DRM / remote services would be good.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...
Petition: Prohibit publishers irrevocably disabling video games they have already sold
The government should update consumer law to prohibit publishers from disabling video games (and related game assets / features) they have already sold without recourse for customers to retain or repa...
petition.parliament.uk
June 26, 2025 at 6:37 PM
For my fellow UK Citizens, I strongly suggest you look at the Stop Killing Games UK Petition before it's over and consider signing it. More protections for customers that have bought games which rely on network-connected DRM / remote services would be good.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...
I've wanted it forever, but had no idea it finally happened. Disposable vapes now banned from sale in the UK!
So many fewer perfectly good Lithium batteries will be needlessly used once and thrown away (though, I can no longer build battery backups from all of those I'd find littering the streets)
So many fewer perfectly good Lithium batteries will be needlessly used once and thrown away (though, I can no longer build battery backups from all of those I'd find littering the streets)
June 3, 2025 at 5:18 PM
I've wanted it forever, but had no idea it finally happened. Disposable vapes now banned from sale in the UK!
So many fewer perfectly good Lithium batteries will be needlessly used once and thrown away (though, I can no longer build battery backups from all of those I'd find littering the streets)
So many fewer perfectly good Lithium batteries will be needlessly used once and thrown away (though, I can no longer build battery backups from all of those I'd find littering the streets)
Adding onto my previous #neovim post, even the most basic config things are actually super exciting. I was worried that I might need to tiptoe around existing binds for my custom ones, but no default keybinds begin with , so I get this whole blank canvas for any binds that I want?? Awesome.
May 25, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Adding onto my previous #neovim post, even the most basic config things are actually super exciting. I was worried that I might need to tiptoe around existing binds for my custom ones, but no default keybinds begin with , so I get this whole blank canvas for any binds that I want?? Awesome.
I started "really" using vim with Kickstart, as I enjoyed the simple config (made modifying it more approachable than the full distros), but I still didn't really "get" how neovim configuration worked fully, so I've started one from scratch, only adding features as I need them, learning as I go.
May 25, 2025 at 11:49 AM
I started "really" using vim with Kickstart, as I enjoyed the simple config (made modifying it more approachable than the full distros), but I still didn't really "get" how neovim configuration worked fully, so I've started one from scratch, only adding features as I need them, learning as I go.
This is just awesome stuff. A dual-GPU Graphics Card in 2025, from Intel.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8MW...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8MW...
Intel Arc B60 DUAL-GPU 48GB Video Card Tear-Down | MAXSUN Arc Pro B60 Dual
YouTube video by Gamers Nexus
www.youtube.com
May 19, 2025 at 3:39 PM
This is just awesome stuff. A dual-GPU Graphics Card in 2025, from Intel.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8MW...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8MW...
Despite the changes to the privacy policy, I hope a significant number of people don't move away from Firefox, especially since FOSS-ness proves that its toggles for data collection do work. At the very least, if you move, move to Zen. More browsers/users using the underlying Gecko engine is good.
May 8, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Despite the changes to the privacy policy, I hope a significant number of people don't move away from Firefox, especially since FOSS-ness proves that its toggles for data collection do work. At the very least, if you move, move to Zen. More browsers/users using the underlying Gecko engine is good.
I keep thinking of switching to Neovim for programming (I already use it for tiny text editing instead of nano), but it always seems like too much hassle once it's time to manage plugins, settings, and learning motions. Been on Zed for 8 months, I want to not use my mouse, not sure what to do
April 28, 2025 at 8:27 PM
I keep thinking of switching to Neovim for programming (I already use it for tiny text editing instead of nano), but it always seems like too much hassle once it's time to manage plugins, settings, and learning motions. Been on Zed for 8 months, I want to not use my mouse, not sure what to do
I hadn't paid attention to MCU stuff for the most part since Endgame, but conveniently last week randomly decided to re-watch the old stuff, then this week got the chance to see #thunderbolts early.
For what my opinion on a film is worth, and without spoiling anything, it was pretty exciting.
For what my opinion on a film is worth, and without spoiling anything, it was pretty exciting.
April 25, 2025 at 8:29 PM
I hadn't paid attention to MCU stuff for the most part since Endgame, but conveniently last week randomly decided to re-watch the old stuff, then this week got the chance to see #thunderbolts early.
For what my opinion on a film is worth, and without spoiling anything, it was pretty exciting.
For what my opinion on a film is worth, and without spoiling anything, it was pretty exciting.
For the first time, after switching the nozzle on my 3D printer, I finally accidentally ran it into the bed during a test print
April 16, 2025 at 11:30 AM
For the first time, after switching the nozzle on my 3D printer, I finally accidentally ran it into the bed during a test print
I thought I made a good decision by buying a hardened steel nozzle for my 3D printer, since it was a bit more money but much more durable.
I had no idea (I should've done more research) about the much worse thermal properties that make it hard to use cleanly, so I'll be re-buying brass 0.6 nozzles
I had no idea (I should've done more research) about the much worse thermal properties that make it hard to use cleanly, so I'll be re-buying brass 0.6 nozzles
April 11, 2025 at 8:50 PM
I thought I made a good decision by buying a hardened steel nozzle for my 3D printer, since it was a bit more money but much more durable.
I had no idea (I should've done more research) about the much worse thermal properties that make it hard to use cleanly, so I'll be re-buying brass 0.6 nozzles
I had no idea (I should've done more research) about the much worse thermal properties that make it hard to use cleanly, so I'll be re-buying brass 0.6 nozzles
I've spent a while looking for ways to get fully open and local IOT stuff that works over WiFi, but it seems that it's actually much much easier to just use Zigbee stuff with homeassistant and bypass any internet connectedness. Z-wave seems technically better (800mhz), but hard/expensive to buy for
March 23, 2025 at 10:05 PM
I've spent a while looking for ways to get fully open and local IOT stuff that works over WiFi, but it seems that it's actually much much easier to just use Zigbee stuff with homeassistant and bypass any internet connectedness. Z-wave seems technically better (800mhz), but hard/expensive to buy for
The computer science exam board I'm with encourages answers that claim recursion is generally more intuitive to program than iteration. Besides tree traversal, when does anybody here agree? (I generally strongly disagree, but I also admit to not giving recursion a fair chance normally)
March 16, 2025 at 10:04 PM
The computer science exam board I'm with encourages answers that claim recursion is generally more intuitive to program than iteration. Besides tree traversal, when does anybody here agree? (I generally strongly disagree, but I also admit to not giving recursion a fair chance normally)
Spent today getting familiar with using Image Segmentation Models, since I want to make an alternative to Resolve Studio Magic Masks. We'll see whether this is a "zero polish, abandoned repo, but technically I got it to work before ending it" project, or an "I'll actually make this good" project.
March 8, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Spent today getting familiar with using Image Segmentation Models, since I want to make an alternative to Resolve Studio Magic Masks. We'll see whether this is a "zero polish, abandoned repo, but technically I got it to work before ending it" project, or an "I'll actually make this good" project.
Me and my teammate always explode the Git history when working together in #Godot, does anyone have any best practices specific to Godot and Git, or is this _purely_ a skill issue
March 4, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Me and my teammate always explode the Git history when working together in #Godot, does anyone have any best practices specific to Godot and Git, or is this _purely_ a skill issue
Now done archiving all of the Fediverse posts. Apologies for the spam
March 1, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Now done archiving all of the Fediverse posts. Apologies for the spam
Posting my old Fediverse threads here just to keep them up:
Hello from FreeBSD
Hello from FreeBSD
March 1, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Posting my old Fediverse threads here just to keep them up:
Hello from FreeBSD
Hello from FreeBSD
I know it's available online, but I got a physical copy of The C Programming Language to read on paper and keep, and it's got signatures at the start from people who had this copy 5 years before I was born (or earlier, since only the 3rd person dated theirs). Hoping it's as good as I've heard
February 28, 2025 at 11:22 PM
I know it's available online, but I got a physical copy of The C Programming Language to read on paper and keep, and it's got signatures at the start from people who had this copy 5 years before I was born (or earlier, since only the 3rd person dated theirs). Hoping it's as good as I've heard
I'm enjoying #Godot a lot for the college project I'm doing, and I'm considering using C# for any future scripts I write, so I'm curious about your general experience with C# in Godot, as I'm concerned about slow compilation and whether types could be weird with GDscript still used too. Thoughts?
February 26, 2025 at 11:25 PM
I'm enjoying #Godot a lot for the college project I'm doing, and I'm considering using C# for any future scripts I write, so I'm curious about your general experience with C# in Godot, as I'm concerned about slow compilation and whether types could be weird with GDscript still used too. Thoughts?
Just wasted the whole night trying to flash ESPHome to an old, cheap smart plug via UART, then tried tuya-convert (which would've done Tasmota instead) since it was theoretically supported but that didn't work either. Looks like I'll just be buying something I know can work
February 26, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Just wasted the whole night trying to flash ESPHome to an old, cheap smart plug via UART, then tried tuya-convert (which would've done Tasmota instead) since it was theoretically supported but that didn't work either. Looks like I'll just be buying something I know can work
Trying to build a monitor-mounted USB hub with #FreeCAD. As I'm still having speed issues with Orca, Cura is still my preferred slicer, and I had no idea that it also supported printing multiple objects one after another.
February 24, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Trying to build a monitor-mounted USB hub with #FreeCAD. As I'm still having speed issues with Orca, Cura is still my preferred slicer, and I had no idea that it also supported printing multiple objects one after another.