Events are at the heart of social life and deserve to be treated accordingly in the Fediverse. […]
In addition, we will also investigate the Fediverse Auxiliary Service Provider Specifications (FASPs) for discoverability and filtering of public events.
Remarkable advance in basic chemistry: Researchers have created hexanitrogen, composed of six bound nitrogen atoms. It's the most energetic molecule ever made!
If it can be made & stored in bulk (big if) it could be a powerful rocket fuel or energy storage material.
Compared to carbon, nitrogen is very stubborn about forming complex molecules with itself. But when it does, the results are unstable, energetic, and potentially explosive.
@rexi Don't worry about that. This fuel would be extremely expensive and explosive, and there's no way to make the cryogenic fuel tanks fail safe. All failure modes, including simply sitting there doing nothing while warming up, end in a huge deadly explosion.
Yeah, what could possibly go wrong with bulk storage of "the most energetic molecule ever made"? (I'm thinking of Pepcon's 'little accident', personally.)
This is very interesting! Looking up the specific energy of HMX, twice that is still less than hydrogen-oxygen rocket fuel. But it could be a bit better than hydrolox overall due to better density (meaning smaller fuel tanks, and thus lighter fuel tanks).
It could be a great fit for one of my favorite ideas - harvesting fuel using orbital atmospheric scooping. One problem - Earth's upper atmosphere has no hydrogen. But it's got LOTS of nitrogen.
And this also ties in with one of my more unconventional ideas, "Hypersonic Skyhitch". This idea uses a reusable suborbital rocket to boost a payload partly to orbit, where it meets up with a reusable rocket that slows down via atmospheric braking to meet up with the payload and boost it the rest of the way to orbit. It's like a TSTO except the mass of the upper stage does not need to be lifted by the first stage.
But it needs the orbital rocket to refuel in orbit...
@Canageek Liquid nitrogen temperatures are pretty easy compared to liquid hydrogen temperatures. And we do have serious ideas of mining lunar ice to process into liquid hydrogen fuel.
@Canageek I'm not an expert but I think liquid nitrogen is easier to deal with all around than liquid hydrogen.
I think the most "help" pressure can give you with liquid hydrogen is to pressurize it up to the critical point? 33K? That's still way lower than the normal boiling point of nitrogen (77K).
I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me why metallic hydrogen could ever be a potential rocket fuel. The presumption would have to be that it might remain metastable once formed, which I see no reason to think likely.
"If it can be made and stored in bulk" is carrying an awful lot of water here. Let me know where they are working on it so I can be in another state, far far away.
the developers said their system does not need any aerial vehicle to carry a signal repeater, which is easily detected by the enemy. Instead, it relies on a mesh network of ground-based nodes that provide data exchange between the unmanned platform and its operator. The product was designed specifically for ground robotic systems mindful of their unique features, in contrast to other existing solutions that were initially developed for air drones. The Phantom 3.0 version, slated to be ready to enter service by the end of 2025, supports up to five connection nodes in one group, is resistant to jamming and natural interference, and features adaptive FHSS. The creators stress on its modularity and ease of integration into existing platforms. Among other specifications expected by the end of development is the maximum data transmission range of 80 km and frequency range of 150 MHz to 1.6 GHz.
Are you attending a protest sometime soon? Here are EFF’s tips for how best to prepare one’s digital devices and oneself while exercising your First Amendment rights. ssd.eff.org/module/attending-p…
45 likes, 0 comments - efforg on June 13, 2025: "Are you attending a protest sometime soon? Here are EFF’s tips for how best to prepare one’s digital devices and oneself while exercising your First Amendment rights. You can learn more at ssd.eff.
Tariffs on parts but not new devices? That’s a double standard. More people will choose replacement over repair. That means more e-waste, fewer domestic repair jobs, and more dependence on imported tech.
We need policies that fix the system, not punish fixers.
(Notwithstanding the rumored retaliatory tariffs, which are TBD.)
National security. To prevent foreign businesses simply setting up shop and importing parts from Asia where they are made. The US needs to have full control of production to ensure the integrity of the devices being sold. This mostly includes the chips on the circuit boards and the operating system and other associated software on the device. Trump wants manufacturing jobs to return also. Once entire handsets can be built in the US, tariffs on imported completed handsets will follow
tariffing parts? this will lead to HUGE increase in prices. a 10% tariff on parts will lead to a small 300% increase in price, and that is something as simple as a pencil. this is because even simple devices have more things that goes into them than most people realize. more complex items (eg: computer) can see MUCH greater increases from the same tariff increase.
“‘Sol voyeur’ energy problems with solar!”* *(Warning: does not work^ at night, so get your kicks—shutter clicks?—while you can!) ^(Well, not without batteries. But then you’re getting devices for self-illumination…)
A growing number of apps are using the Play Integrity API to enforce installation from the Play Store. This is clearly highly illegal anti-competitive behavior. It doesn't impact GrapheneOS users installing apps with the sandboxed Play Store but does impact other install sources.
This is being done alongside Google recommending app developers forbid installing their apps from the Play Store on operating systems not licensing Google Mobile Services. The combination of these feature ends up blocking users from easily using the apps without modifying them.
We're going to add a secure way of working around this without breaking the app source security model. We'll be adding support for having the OS automatically verify the Play Store signing metadata and then inform Play services those apps were installed from the Play Store.
It's worth noting Android has a standard hardware attestation API for verifying the hardware, firmware, OS and app. This supports alternate roots of trust and non-stock operating systems if apps choose to support it. Apps could perform stronger checks while allowing GrapheneOS.
Android's hardware attestation API has anti-competition issues due to the official verification libraries hard-wiring the Google roots and encouraging only permitting the stock OS. However, it does fully support any other OS with verified boot and can be used with other root CAs.
Google's Play Integrity API is quite different and only supports verifying devices licensing Google Mobile Devices with the stock OS. It has support for enforcing installing apps from the Play Store. None of this has anything to do with security. It's purely anti-competitive.
Google Play Integrity permits highly insecure devices with years of missing High/Critical severity security patches. They pretend any device licensing Google Mobile Services is secure while running the stock OS and anything else is insecure. This is a lie to lock out competition.
There's no security value to enforcing using devices licensing Google Mobile Services. The vast majority of those devices are highly insecure. Software-based attestation (device integrity) is also highly insecure and easy for attackers to bypass. This is only hurting competition.
Hardware-based attestation can be secure, but the way the Play Integrity API uses it is also highly insecure. It can be bypassed via leaked keys from the most insecure Android devices in the ecosystem. Secure way to use it is pinning, not trusting everything chaining to a root.
Even if apps insist on doing these kinds of integrity checks, they can still permit GrapheneOS. We provide a guide on verifying GrapheneOS via hardware attestation at grapheneos.org/articles/attest…. They can still fall back to Play Integrity API for insecure devices without this.
Multiple prominent banking apps in Europe have already implemented support for GrapheneOS via hardware attestation. The pace of apps adopting the Play Integrity API is unfortunately currently faster than apps adding support for GrapheneOS. This is due to Google marketing it.
If you run into apps banning using GrapheneOS with Play Integrity, make a Play Store review with no links asking to stop banning a more secure OS. Next, make a customer support request linking grapheneos.org/articles/attest…. Multiple apps have permitted GrapheneOS due to these efforts.
@edinburgh_man This is the usual consequence of an app marking their Play Store entry as requiring the device or strong integrity levels from the Play Integrity API.
Maintained Compatibility List for International Banking Apps
This list includes banking apps that have been tested, submitted, reviewed, and verified as compatible.
@sparklepanic Yes, that's caused by the app marking their Play Store listing as requiring the Play Integrity API with the device or strong integrity level. The app may not actually require it and may work without it if installed from elsewhere. However, the app may check install location and enforce installing it from the Play Store.
If they properly implement the Play Integrity API, their services will check that the app passes it to use the services. Many apps are missing doing this though.
@sparklepanic If they enforce checking it for their services as was always intended from the beginning, there's no workaround. GrapheneOS shows a notification when an app uses the Play Integrity API so it's very obvious when it's the reason an app is blocking using it. Note the app triggers using it locally but their server fetches the result from Google's server itself and verifies the result there. However, some apps only enforce it via the Play Store toggles which don't do that.
@AudraTran That's one other way to install apps from the Play Store from other sources, but not the only one. If apps implement this, the app developers officially releasing builds outside of the Play Store won't work either. Google is convincing app developers this is a security feature but it isn't one and is being done to reinforce the Play Store Android app store monopoly. Google is going to face severe antitrust consequences for these actions but justice moves slowly and we need it quickly.
@AudraTran That's one other way to install apps from the Play Store from other sources, but not the only one. If apps implement this, the app developers officially releasing builds outside of the Play Store won't work either. Google is convincing app developers this is a security feature but it isn't one and is being done to reinforce the Play Store Android app store monopoly. Google is likely going to face severe consequences for these actions but are moving fast and the consequences are slow.
I've started to experienced this with a number of apps in the last week or so, and don't believe it was after a known OS or play services update, so suspect something has changed somewhere, probably Google defaulting it!
yes I just ran into this when I updated an app and then it refused to launch because I didn't install it from the Play Store. The funniest thing was messing with Play Store permissions occasionally allowed it to open; the lock wasn't even fully working!
Email is the cockroach of the internet - it outlives every wave trying to kill it. Forget Slack, forget Discord, forget chat apps. Email is universal, decentralized, and asynchronous. It's not sexy, but it's the ultimate survivor.
Just gave a talk on the project I've been working for six months: Start Your Own Internet Resiliency Club
Short version: collect a group of networking experts in the same city, buy them all LoRa radios and power banks, install Meshtastic, and pick a channel to communicate on. If you lose all power and communications, you can communicate over LoRa to bootstrap the recovery of the real internet
A RIPE Meeting is a five-day event where Internet Service Providers (ISPs), network operators and other interested parties from all over the world gather.
we've explored this, but it seems like if you're in a relatively hilly area like we are, the signal propagates so poorly LoRa has not enough range to be meaningfully usable
in theory sounds good, in practice Meshtastic in Europe (London) is on the border of unusable due to terrain (you really want LoS at 800MHz), limited duty cycle and limited tx power.
"So, when we first hear about the Insurrection Act, it may trigger our alarmism. But better to face it now, before it comes, than learn about it on-the-fly."
NASA’s Curiosity rover has found the longest chain carbon molecules yet on Mars It’s a significant finding in the search for alien life. arstechnica.com/science/2025/0…
Tell me truly, I implore! Is there anything at this store From foreign lands Or within these shores That e’er again I might afford? Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”
If you look at the systems that are supposed to be used for classified communications, the underlying cryptography isn’t particularly different from Signal (the AES cipher can be used to protect classified material). That’s not what failed here.
The difference is that systems like Signal are designed to *facilitate* communication with anyone. Classified systems are designed to *limit* communication to authorized recipients.
Both are sensible for their respective - very different - purposes.
"Signal" was Hitler's magazine published by the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany from 1940. Recently Putin renamed his death squads Africa Corps same as the Nazi killers. Historical references names and dates are a favorite of the wanted war criminal Putin.
I hope the same name for "Signal" is just a coincidence.
Notwithstanding the "oops we accidentally included a reporter in our top secret war planning", it kinda bothers me a little that the "You must return to office, if I don't see you working you're a slacker" crowd appears to themselves wholeheartedly embrace the kind of communications tech they don't want other people using. I mean, if you don't need to be in a conference room to discuss *how to invade a country*, it seems silly to require RTO for other things.
I think the officials on the chat probably think that it also provides protection from the USG itself, so conversations can be held without being recorded.
Look, they named it the "small group", so don't go calling it a large group just because so many people were in it that nobody noticed the journalist even as Hegseth boasted of being OPSEC clean. You're making valid points and that is unfair.
If a journalist like Jeff Goldberg was “accidentally” added to the group where Vance, Hagseth, etc., were discussing highly sensitive and obviously classified foreign policy and security issues, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Russians and Chinese had access to it without any trouble. What a disgraceful level of professionalism. I doubt anyone is even considering resigning over this. 🙄
Matt Blaze reminds us that Signal provides: "No protection against certain common usage mistakes (accidentally including a reporter in your large group war planning chat)." -- @mattblaze
Next minute:
"White House inadvertently texted top-secret Yemen war plans to journalist
In extraordinary blunder top Trump cabinet members added Atlantic editor to chat discussing strikes on Houthis"
But not authorized by DOD to communicate operational information. These guys were in charge of DOD and they don’t follow the rules? A military officer would possibly be court martialed and/or discharged.
🤣🤯scary and funny at the same time. I watched several news about it because I thought it was fake, commedy or satire. But it was not and now I am stuck in a state between scary and funny.
it also facilitates: - adding journalists to your group on purpose, to show power/get a headline. - hurting Zucks feelings not using facebook, insta or whatsapp
😂 and it was my Signal group where I learned about this very 'special' Signal group and their war plotting and planning. Oh the layers and being 🇨🇦 , quite disturbing.
A timely read. It becomes apparent that Elon Musk is a showman, nothing more. He's not an engineer. The whole thing is an act. planetearthandbeyond.co/p/star…
Thought I'd write an #introduction for all those #newhere from the Musk exodus:
I'm an analytical chemist. I've hosted my own #Friendica node (instance) at my home since 2018, shortly after the Cambridge Analytica scandal. From there, I got bit by the #selfhosting bug and am now hosting my own #opensource replacements for many FAANG services.
Welcome all to the #fediverse ! If you are thinking about self-hosting and have questions, would be happy to help as able! #introductions
Ben Ramsey
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