I've been trying to set up a reliable lightweight solution for high quality, low-latency webcam (v4l2) streaming from Linux server to browsers, allowing for small (1-5) number of concurrent viewers.

The obvious choice here is WebRTC, which when used through browser APIs, works wonderfully. It has low latency and automatic quality adjustment depending on network performance.
I also checked out RTSP and RTMP, which are not supported without browser plugins. Next candidates were DASH and HLS, but while they provide high quality, they also have high latency.
For a while I used MPEG1 streaming through Websockets (using jsmpeg library), which worked and had low latency, but the video quality was bad.

Back to WebRTC - It seems like reliable, lightweight and maintained projects are really hard to find. So far I've found a few WebRTC media servers, but they're overkill for my use case:

• Janus
• MediaSoup
• Kurento (unmaintained)

I also tried implementing this functionality using low level Gstreamer elements in Python using PyGObject, but that's proving to be rather complicated with a ton of extremely low level implementation details.

If anyone has tried doing something similar, I'd really like to hear what (if any) problems you had and if you found any sane solutions. Next thing on my list is using headless Chromium in combination with Puppeteer, but I'd really prefer more lightweight solutions.

Previous threads:

What DE and distro do you use and why?

What's your OS and how does it look?

What does your desktop look like? What tools do you swear by?

I've recently switched to Arch and today, it's finally done! You have no idea how hard it was to even turn it off. So I wanted to make another OS/screenshot thread, especially since it's been quite a long time since the last one, and Tildes population increased inbetween, so we might find something interesting again :-)

What's your OS, what do you love about it and how does it look?

Disclaimer: I'm on Windows 10

I keep hopping between text editors because I can't find one that suits my needs. I need something simplistic, non-bloated, beginner friendly, open source, and preferably with Dracula theme. I'll list off the ones that I've tried that I don't like too much:

• Atom
• Vim
• Emacs
• Notepad++
• VS Code

Honestly, I'd really like something that's like very similar to Sublime but FOSS. Is there one like that?

My pick is Perl5. Even though a lot people (mostly those who’ve never touched Perl) say it’s a “write only” language, I think it does a lot right. It’s easy to prototype with, and it gives you a lot of freedom in how you want to solve a problem; which I think is one of the most important features of a programming language.

I’d like to know what your picks are!

I've recently started taking some IT and programming classes at a local college because I've always been interested in IT as a career but I've never had any sort of professional experience in the field. Are there any skills that I need to definitely know, or any sort of certifications that I can get in order to get my foot in the door and start applying for IT focused jobs?

As someone who is not mainly a web developer, I can barely grasp the immensity of options when it comes to writing a web application.

So far everything I've written has been using PHP and the Slim microframework. PHP because I don't use languages like Python/Ruby/JS that much so I didn't have any prior knowledge of those, and I've found myself to be fairly productive with it. Slim because I didn't want a full-blown framework with 200 files to configure.

I've tried Go because I've used it in the past but I don't see it to be very fit when it comes to websites, I think it's fine for small microservices but doing MVC was a chore, maybe there's a framework out there that solves this.

As for the frontend I've been trying to use as little JavaScript as possible, always vanilla. As of HTML and CSS I'm no designer so I kind of get by copying code and tweaking things here and there.

However I've started a slightly bigger project and I don't fancy myself writing everything from scratch (specially security) besides, ORMs can be useful. Symfony4 is what I've been using for a couple of days, but I've had trouble setting up debugging, and the community/docs don't seem that great since this version is fairly new; so I'm considering trying out something more popular like Django.

So this is why I created the post, I know this will differ greatly depending on the use-case. But I would like to do a quick survey and hear some of your recommendations, both on the backend and frontend. Besides I think it's a good topic for discussion.

Cheers!

I’ve recently gotten to speak with a few folks who work at an enterprise security company. I asked what their security researchers set as company rules for allowed laptops. My one datapoint so far is “Dell or Apple.” So for example, no Thinkpad X1 Carbon, which is arguably the best work laptop.

I am curious what other large security companies (or any of you security minded folks) set as rules for trusted laptops. Can anyone share their lists and theories as to why I heard Dell and Apple? BIOS is more trustworthy?

Blatantly stealing from the excellent post by /u/judah, I figured I'd make a sysadmin version because sysadmins tend to be underrepresented in tech discussions. Please keep your answers as cross-platform as possible without being uselessly generic.

I'll start. Realize that the system is going to go down, and accept that reality. Accept failure. How you respond to failure is how people who aren't sysadmins will see and value you.

Just a bit curious. Currently, mine looks like this. It runs Elementary OS, however considering hijacking it to Bedrock Linux, mainly to get cutting edge software from the AUR (for stuff like Firefox and GIMP) without losing all my data. I think I'll wait for Bedrock to go stable first, though.

It uses the ePapirus icon theme, which is just Papirus with better support for Elementary's UI. GTK theme is (if I remember correctly) Qogir and the Plank theme is the GTK one. What do yours look like?

Does anyone have any experience working as a contractor in the IT field? I have 4 years of experience in the IT industry, all of it as a full time direct hire. I may have an opportunity to work for a very large company on a 2 year contract at fairly reasonable salary increase. The most important part to me is that I will be getting some experience off of the service desk as well, which I can use to continue my career going forward.

My main concern is that I am unfamiliar with contract work. I do know that I get health benefits / 401k / sick days, but I assume there must be a drawback to being a contractor, right? I feel like being a contractor is inherently more unstable than being an actual hire. The position I am being considered for is a 2 year contract, but I worry that the position could simply disappear a few months in and I'd be out of a job. Is this a fair feeling, and is there any way I can gauge how true this might be for my position? Is there something I could discreetly ask in my interview that might help me understand if this is a stable position?

If anyone has any experience as a contractor, I'd love to hear it.

Hi guys,

I'm really stumped and looking for a nudge in the right direction for how to utilise the ghoneycutt/pam module in puppet. Relatively new to this but got what I'd like to think as most the basics down.

I've configured a few things using modules such as NTP, SSSD and NSSWITCH but I'm just stuck on how I can use this module and pull info from Hiera into it.

So, lets start with

.yaml file:

        ### nsswitch.conf authentication configuration

        nsswitch::passwd:     'files sss'

        nsswitch::shadow:     'files sss'

And then looking at the nsswitch.pp file:

        ### nsswitch.config setup

        class profile::linux::base::nsswitch {

        # Get heira values

          class { 'nsswitch':

            passwd    => [lookup('nsswitch::passwd')],

            shadow    => [lookup('nsswitch::shadow')],

Simple enough to call the values I want and works how I want, now I'm trying to do the same type of thing for PAM using the ghoneycutt/pam module and there doesn't seem to be much info on how to use it, or it's just not sinking in for me.

Some of my PAM Heira values:

        pam::pam_auth_lines:
          - '# Managed by Hiera key pam::pam_auth_lines'
          - 'auth        required      pam_env.so'
          - 'auth        sufficient    pam_fprintd.so'
          - 'auth        sufficient    pam_unix.so nullok try_first_pass'
          - 'auth        requisite     pam_succeed_if.so uid >= 500 quiet'
          - 'auth        sufficient    pam_sss.so use_first_pass'
          - 'auth        required      pam_deny.so'
        pam::pam_account_lines:
          - '# Managed by Hiera key pam::pam_account_lines'
          - 'account     required      pam_unix.so'
          - 'account     sufficient    pam_localuser.so'
          - 'account     sufficient    pam_succeed_if.so uid < 500 quiet'
          - 'account     [default=bad success=ok user_unknown=ignore] pam_sss.so'
          - 'account     required      pam_permit.so'
        pam::pam_password_lines:
          - '# Managed by Hiera key pam::pam_password_lines'
          - 'password    requisite     pam_cracklib.so try_first_pass retry=3 type='
          - 'password    sufficient    pam_unix.so sha512 shadow nullok try_first_pass use_authtok'
          - 'password    sufficient    pam_sss.so use_authtok'
          - 'password    required      pam_deny.so'

Some things I've tried:

1:

        class profile::linux::base::pam {
          # resources
          class { 'pam':
            password-auth-ac  => [
              lookup('pam::pam_auth_lines')],
              lookup('pam::pam_account_lines')],
              lookup('pam::pam_password_lines')],
              lookup('pam::pam_session_lines')],
           }

2:

	
	      passwd  => [
	
	      lookup('pam::pam_auth_lines'),
	
	      lookup('pam::pam_account_lines'),
	
	      lookup('pam::pam_password_lines'),
	
	      lookup('pam::pam_session_lines'),
	
	      ],
	
	  }

        include ::pam

	class profile::linux::base::pam {
	
	  # resources
	
	    include ::pam

	         lookup('pam::pam_auth_lines')
	
	}

I've tried a few other ways and can't get it to work as I want it to. Can anyone help?

Thanks

I'm curious as to what the Tildes Linux/BSD community (and I suppose other answers like Windows or MacOS would be acceptable, though they may feel a bit more dry) use for their desktop. I imagine that Ubuntu and Gnome will dominate the answers as you would expect, but maybe you'll surprise me. Personally, I'm on Arch Linux with i3-gaps. I use Arch because I enjoy the DIY aspect of Linux as well as the aur and slim nature of Arch. I'd also be lying if I didn't say I use it partially just because I like the "pacman" pun.

As for i3-gaps, I think that WMs are generally more customizable and good for 'ricing', plus they go with my workflow and are convenient in that they load faster and the likes, though I have to admit I have only ever used i3 (I've been considering trying out bspwm). So, what do you guys use? You can also of course share more information such as your shell or DM if you wanted, though I highly doubt anyone cares what display manager you us or anything.

I've been thinking about this but based on the current rulings in the Oracle v. Google court case, it would seem that APIs are indeed copyrightable.

This would mean that Wine would be infringing on Microsoft's copyright of the Windows API and system calls. Of course it wouldn't matter until Microsoft actually does something about it. But as Wine gets better and better and its market share higher and higher, I worry that Microsoft might set their sights on Wine now that they have the law on their side.

One of the people in an IRC channel I frequent pointed out a site I've been building uses CDNs that are IPv4 only. I never realized this, I just assumed every major provider had deployed IPv6. Oh, how very wrong I was. A quick check of some major (to me) sites shows a shocking lack of IPv6, including:

• Bootstrap (stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com)
• Discord
• FontAwesome (use.fontawesome.com)
• GitHub/GitHub pages
• GitLab/GitLab pages (self-hosted supports IPv6, but officially hosted GitLab only supports IPv4 due to Azure limitations)
• jQuery, IF you use code.jquery.com (some tutorials use ajax.googleapis.com, which does have IPv6, but an unfortunate amount use code.jquery.com, including the getting started page for Bootstrap)
• Parts of Amazon/AWS (Amazon is IPv4 only, some of AWS is IPv4 only, including S3)
• Reddit
• Stack Overflow/Exchange/etc
• Twitter

An honorable mention goes to Angular's websites because the websites themselves are IPv4 only but the libraries are hosted on ajax.googleapis.com, which is IPv6 accessible. I checked npm, PyPI, RubyGems, and Tildes, and they all support IPv6.

I can understand why companies like Amazon have partial support (upgrading can be a PITA if you're a cloud service provider with uptime requirements), but then you have services like Discord (launched in 2015 with no obligation to maintain service) that only support IPv4. At the very least, I'd expect CDNs referenced by thousands (if not millions) of webpages to be on IPv6 by now.

Am I missing something? CDNs are pretty static, it's just a matter of choosing one that supports IPv6, you don't even need to update your application if you just change the DNS entries.

There seems to be a trend lately of people switching over to BSD operating systems. Having read some blog posts on the matter and now given the recent system-d controversy, I'm genuinely curious to give FreeBSD or OpenBSD a go as my main OS.

For those who have switched over to BSD, what are some problems you've encountered and/or what are some things you miss?

I just received a mail from my own e-mail address, hosted on Gandi on my own domain name. It said that the sender has hacked me, used malware, keyloggers and RDP to get my passwords and copy all my files to his own computer, and took videos of me while watching adult content using my webcam (I never noticed the light turning on for it). Claims they've been doing this for a few months. Gives a bitcoin address and wants $1000 (a sum I can't and won't give, don't even have a fraction of it) in 48 hrs, or else will share the videos with my contacts. It said something about a pixel the message included.

I viewed the message from K-9 mail on android (which didn't tell anything about pixels or whatnot), and when I went back on my computer to check the headers and stuff, the message was deleted.

Now, is this some sort of phishing or or have I really been pwned? I feel like it's just phishing, but the message deleting itself kinda gave me shills of fear. I promptly changed my password for the mail account.

I don't know what is the correct word in English, but I'll be one of those guys who will teach a "class" consisting on answering questions and guiding them through the exercises.

The content is very basic algorithms in C, so things like functions, pointers, and structs are off the scope. Here is the repo I made with the solutions for last semester. I'm starting in the second semester, so I have everything fresh in my memory.

I welcome anything you can give but I'm not necessarily seeking technical advice since the teachers have that covered. What I'd really like to know is what you consider to be some good examples, attitudes, and approaches for this particular position. Thanks.

Recently, Ian Lance Taylor, one of the most productive contributors to Go and, IIRC, the original author of gccgo, has written a very interesting comment on his view of the language:

(…) Go intentionally has a weak type system, and there are many restrictions that can be expressed in other languages but cannot be expressed in Go. Go in general encourages programming by writing code rather than programming by writing types. (…)

I found this distinction, writing code vs. writing types, very insightful. In my experience, in a language like Rust or (modern fancy) C++ the programmer is constantly forced to think about types, while when I program in Go or C, I almost never think about them. Types are, in fact, almost always obvious. It is also interesting that languages like Haskell and Idris explicitly expect the programmer to program with types.

What do you think?

I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard a manager complain, “The HR department included ‘must have college degree’ in the job req even though I don’t care” or “They asked for 5 years of experience in a technology that’s only been around for 3” or “I have no idea why they rejected this candidate without even contacting me.”

Still, in many cases you don’t have a choice. If you want to hire someone, you need to deal with HR, at least to a small degree – especially if you work in a big company.

So I’m writing a feature story for technology managers, collecting real-world advice from people who learned their lessons the hard way. Here’s the questions I’d like you to answer:

• Tell me about a frustration you had with the HR department (in regard to hiring). That is, tell me a personal story of HR-gone-wrong. Because we all love schadenfreude, and that gives me an emotional example with which to begin.
• Let’s say you have a new opening in your department. In what ways do you involve HR? (That could be anything from, “give them general guidelines and let them choose the best candidates for me to interview” to “I do the search myself, and use HR only for on-boarding.”) What makes you choose that path? How much choice do you have in the matter?
• What weaknesses have you discovered in your HR department’s ability to serve the needs of a tech-focused department?
• What have you done to cope with those weaknesses? Which of those efforts worked, and which failed?
• What do you wish you knew “n” years ago about dealing with your company’s HR department?
• So that I can give the reader some context: Let me know how to refer to you in the article (at least, “Esther, a software architect at a Midwest insurance company”), and give me some idea of your company size (because the processes appropriate for a 70-person company aren’t the same for one with 7,000 employees).

You don’t have to answer all those questions! I asked these to get the conversation going. Tell me as much or as little as you like.

Please don’t assume that I think HR always sucks. However, there isn’t as much to learn from “why HR is your friend.” The idea here is to help techie managers cope when HR doesn’t offer what you hoped for.

In the rare chance you haven't heard of Flutter, here's the link: https://flutter.io

Flutter just officially left beta with v1.0 December 4, last year. The code is written in Dart, and deploys on Android, and iOS (and will run natively on the rumored Fuchsia OS).

So for those of you that have used Flutter or are currently using Flutter.

• What are you working on?
• Why'd you choose Flutter?
• What do you like about Flutter?
• And what do you dislike about Flutter?

I'll start:

I'm working on a niche art app. I myself do not do that type of art, but knowing people that do, I wanted to create a tool to fill in the lackluckster market for Chromebooks and Android.
I chose Flutter because:

• I wanted to try something new, and what newer than something that was (at the time) in beta?
• Custom Views in Android are a hassle.
• I will be able to release on both Android and iOS (semi-)natively without having to code it twice.

Here's what I like about Flutter:

• Layouts are really simple.
  (though you can easily let it get clustered if you don't think too much about it.)
• Design isn't an afterthought.
  Animations are built in (and simple), themes aren't hard-coded, and Material Components get more attention here. (Still waiting for Shapes on Android)
• It's fast by design.
  Flutter uses its own custom rendering engine (Skia). I've never experienced any stutter with the built-in components, and when I caused lag (with heavy I/O) Flutter/Dart had tools in place for me to narrow down exactly what was causing it.

What I don't like about Flutter:

• It has poor mouse/trackpad support.
  Right clicks, not a thing. I can workaround this with a double-click/long-click, but for a desktop OS, this isn't optimal. Scrolling, that's panning, this should be differentiated. There's a difference between using a scrollwheel and moving finger around on the screen. According to Flutter there is not. There's also currently no support for mouse hovers which I have needed very much.
  There is a pull-request for adding support for all of these, but the developer hasn't done anything since code review.
• Keyboard support, while there, is lackluster.
  Ctrl, Shift, Alt. These have to be gotten with the meta code. There's no built-in function for checking those. Text fields don't support the tab key to navigate. And text formatting (bold, italic, etc.) isn't possible with text fields without the use of a library (or making it yourself).

I was trying to think of a third dislike, but I can't. My complaints are on missing APIs for Chromebooks. That's it. I really like Flutter, I plan on using it more, and if they won't add support for mouse/keyboard, maybe I'll have to contribute.

I'd love to hear what your thoughts about it is.

I have just graduated from uni, and am preparing for masters next fall. I'm a humanities student, but have some programming knowledge. Currently I'm looking for literary translation jobs, but should I fail that, I want to find some light freelance work (so that I can spare more time to my studies), and looking at e.g. freelancer.com, Wordpress is still quite popular.

What are some good introductory material for Wordpress and PHP, that preferably does not assume total beginner to programming? How much can I expect to make, for how much effort? I'd be content if I could make $200-250 w/ 3-5hr work per day, or a couple full days a week, that's all I really need and such hours would mean that I could keep on doing such work even when I'm writing my thesis. I'm in Turkey, FWIW.

Hi all, Hope ya'll doing good. I am done with windows. So I want to switch to linux. I have used it a few times. I just wanted to know, how long will it take to have it setup? Also, I am learning data science. Will switching to linux have any serious implications? Thanks

I'm currently researching the cheapest off site backup system and it looks like leaving a hdd at a friends house is the best option. The only thing I am stuck on is how to access it remotely. I need a system on a chip that I can plug in to the hdd and Ethernet and that provides ssh access. My first thought was a raspberry pi with a sata to usb cable but since I will only be doing weekly backups it makes no sense to keep the drive spinning 24/7. I need some way to turn off the drive and then back on over the internet. From what I understand there are linux programs that can do it but only directly over sata because the command doesn't work on usb sata controllers.

What I need is a cheap linux SoC that has sata and ethernet. Does anyone have any ideas?

If you have built from source, then you know the relief when nothing interesting comes out of ./configure && make && make install. In fact, the less interesting the output of these commands, the better.

But occasionally, the source build process is so horrifying that you end up having to modify the configure script or makefile yourself.

So far I have only been able to do this when I was lucky enough to find some poor, destitute stranger who had pretty much the same problem as me ( most recent I can think of is GNUTLS, where I had to adjust the version requirements for nettle ) and that is a problem -- there must be some way to learn this myself.

Is this just something that comes with time and experience, or does anyone have a reliable guide or resource for modifying makefiles and configure scripts? I would appreciate advice / discussion: I am tired of "getting lucky" with these!

I was looking for preferences on 120/140mm case fans. RGB is a want, but not at the expense of quality fans.

I'm pretty new to the topic and not super familiar with the technical side. So open to reading more in depth too.

Thanks!

Between the recent discussions on the Useful Shell Scripts thread, and some of the tangents on the Desktop Usability thread, I thought it might be an interesting idea to have a desktop screenshot sharing / unixporn thread where we talk about our setups, preferred applications, and share some pointers. This doesn't specifically have to be a Unix circlejerk though. If you have a Windows/Android/ChromeOS/TempleOS setup with some novel innovations, you're more than welcome to share too.

Disclaimer: Don't run scripts offered to you by randos unless you trust them or review it yourself

I use this constantly, it just plays music by file name, specifically matching *NAME* with case-insensitivity. Requires bash 4.something.

# play -ln SONGS ...
# -l don't shuffle
# -n dry run
mpv_args="--no-audio-display --no-resume-playback \
          --msg-level=all=status --term-osd-bar"
shopt -s globstar nullglob nocaseglob

shuffle=true
dry=false
while [[ "$1" == -* ]]; do
    if [[ "$1" == "-l" ]]; then 
        shuffle=false
    elif [[ "$1" == "-n" ]]; then
        dry=true
    fi

    shift 1
done

if [[ "$shuffle" == true ]]; then
    mpv_args="--shuffle $mpv_args"
fi

songs=()
while [[ "$#" != 0 ]]; do
    songs+=( ~/music/**/**/*"$1"*.* ) # change this to match your music directory layout
    shift 1                                               # could probably use find instead
done

if [[ "$dry" == true ]]; then
    if [[ "$shuffle" == true ]]; then
        printf "Shuffle mode is on\n"
    fi

    for song in "${songs[@]}"; do
        printf "$song\n"
    done
  
    exit
fi

if [[ ${#songs[@]} != 0 ]]; then
    mpv $mpv_args "${songs[@]}"
fi

I make no claims to the quality of this but it works!

I know there are at least fifteen threads on ~comp alone about mechanical keyboards, but, this one is mine.

I recently had a run in with tendinitis, which taught me the importance of ergonomics, but I still wanted the clickety clack of a mechanical keyboard, so I decided to consider buying an ergonomic mechanical keyboard.

The first one that I looked at was the ErgoDox EZ (it was the first one I saw). It had a split layout, open source firmware, and a positive review from Linus Tech Tips.

The second one was the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard (I saw the Hacker News thread). I was interested in it for the Trackball Module.

These two keyboards are different enough from each other, so it's hard to compare them.

In conclusion, why should I choose one over the other?

Hello everyone!

I've recently got an idea for a Database as a Service I'd like to create. The only issue is - I don't know how to create or host a database!

I've only ever used Mongoose/mLab with Javascript, and a minimal amount of Postgres with Python.

If I'm looking to create a database that will, eventually, be able to store images, songs, and videos, where should I start my homework?

I can create the backend and the frontend with no issue - just stuck on this part here. If it's of any relevance, I most frequently use the MERN stack.

Hey Tildes, I got a job directly supervising a small team of 4 software developers. I'm very excited at the prospect and would like to put my best foot forward. To that end, I would like to have a discussion around a few topics. Feel free to expand the scope if you believe the conversation would be beneficial. I'm sure I won't be the last person to be in this position. I've done research, read, and watched videos regarding several of these questions; however, since Tilde prioritizes high-quality discussion, I thought it would be a fun opportunity to chat with others about these topics.

• As a member of a software development team, what are things that your supervisor has done that has had the greatest (a) positive and (b) negative impact?
• Supervisors, when you joined your new team, what was your methodology for reviewing the team, projects, and processes? What was the scenarios behind your review and the outcome? What would you do differently?

I'm currently looking for a new monitor and I have the ASUS MG279Q, the ASUS PG248Q and the ASUS MG278Q. Now, my setup is not the highest end, but decent with an i7 and a 1060 3GB, and there are three concerns I have currently not found an answer for:

1. The (potential) difference in quality between the MG279Q's IPS panel and the MG278's TN panel
2. And the delay difference, the TN panel having a 1ms response time and the IPS' 4ms
3. If my setup can even handle 1440p/144Hz (I don't need to play on the highest settings, nor do I need to reach those 144 FPS), in which case I would tend more towards the PG248Q

I'd love to upgrade towards 1440p as the screen real estate would be good for working (which I do a lot on the PC) and I would, I could later upgrade my GPU if the performance in games isn't satisfactory. I think my setup wouldn't have any issue handling day to day tasks and if need be I can play on lower resolutions or lower graphic settings. Also I wonder how large the difference between the IPS and TN panel is and if it's noticeable, particularly with colours.

Does anyone of you have experience with the subject or with the monitors named in particular?

I have been interested in making the gradual career change to software development from my current humanities field. This stems from a handful of different places. Of course the pay and flexibility are strong drivers but I like the idea of a field that is somewhat of a creative expression; one where you can manifest your knowledge and experience into something tangible.

I have no experience with programming other than SQL use in ArcGIS and am hoping to gain some knowledge about the field; so anything would be helpful. Whether what to expect from this line of work, where someone with no experience should look to get started and what to expect, personal journeys, etc.

Cheers!

Hey y'all, first time actually posting something here! Just curious what editor people use, whether its for coding, writing, or just the occasional note, whatever. I've gone through most of the well-known ones (vim, emacs, atom, vs code for starters), but only ever really messed around with vim enough to like it, and I've also been trying out gedit for the last little while and really liking it, but I'm curious to see what other people use!

I've been thinking a lot about dark mode lately, now that macOS and Windows 10 both officially offer some implementation of it. I think dark modes make a compelling case for eye strain prevention, but the dealbreaker for me is revealed when switching between apps and one of them isn't dark. That jarring flash of bright light completely ruins whatever gentleness the dark environment provided in the first place. So despite my curiosity I've kept everything in light mode for years, tempered by f.lux to keep myself sane after sundown.

Anyway, now that there's official OS support I'm reconsidering. I think there's a growing pro-dark movement that was just waiting for that formal recognition. Today the programs I use most all offer dark modes so I'm taking an experimental plunge. My goal: 90% elimination of white flashes while in my normal workflow.

The biggest obstacle is, not surprisingly, the web. There are some beautiful dark browser themes available but that really only affects the UI elements around the page, not the page itself. I want to darken the web too. I have a few thoughts about this:

• Plugins like this one try to automate a dark mode for every site you visit. This is hit-or-miss, resulting in ugly color combinations, sometimes unreadable text. Some methods just invert the page colors, which can lead to all sort of other visual wonkiness. I haven't found a plugin like this that isn't fiddly and annoying.
• This plugin looks interesting. From what I can tell, it uses some kind of server-side heuristics to determine the optimal way to darken every page you visit. I haven't actually tried it because I'm concerned about the privacy/security implications of sending all my web activity to this unknown third party. Or what kind of performance hit that would involve. Also, they bury this information on their site, but this is a paid service with an annual subscription.
• I'm aware of Stylish and its huge library of user-maintained custom site styles. This seemed like a good approach, except that following a recent acquisition, the new owners of Stylish betrayed their users' trust in a very shady way so I'm afraid to go near it now. If there's a credible alternative with a decent style library I'd love to know about it. Especially if there's a way to automate style application so I don't have to manually activate it for every site I visit.
• Tangentially, the W3C is having an interesting conversation about adding CSS media query support for recognizing user dark-mode preferences. This could absolutely be the future of the web(!!), but I suspect it won't because it puts the responsibility on designers to basically double the amount of work they have to do. Speaking as someone in that field, I would not want to have to add this to my already-long list of design considerations.

Are there any other good web darkening methods I've overlooked? How do you deal with the white flash problem? Should I just give up and go back to black-on-white? Interested in any and all thoughts on the matter.

Anybody here have a good setup for batch-downloading articles/news from several sites you specify, similar to youtube-dl but for general websites? I'm sure it could be scripted with not too much effort but I'm interested what polished solutions there are.

The idea would be so people with rare internet access could go to a hotspot weekly or something and sync that week's worth of content.

Those that have pursued a career that deals with any type of computer science, what advice would you give to students before they get a job in it? What do you do on a daily basis? What would you have wanted to know before you started?