*banned 4 MarkDown love* @design_RG@qoto.org

Oh, the Joy of seeing the REAL large limit for Toots now showing in Pinafore as well!!

💕those two gorgeous #BlackCats

#CatsofMastodon #Mastocats #meow #xp
---
RT @CatDisapproval
Watching you watching me watching you.
https://twitter.com/CatDisapproval/status/1219322146096394241

Verifying that the Update is done?

Windows Key -- Updates -- View Update History.

In the list, you should see an entry similar to this one. The KB (Knowledge Base) number could be different, as it is a different patch and KB issue for the different sub-versions currently out there.

* Regarding the Windows 10 January Vulnerabilty and the Importance of patching it! *

The NSA came out in public to announce this vulnerability, a sign of their concern and how serious this could potentially be.

Microsoft has made patches for the various versions of Windows affected.

However -- it's possible that your own machine hasn't received the update yet, as there sometimes other pending updates, etc and things might get blurry.

A user has posted a direct link to the Microsoft Advisory page for this, and the page has links to each of the correct fixes to be downloaded and applied, depending on what version of Windows you have running, the patch level, processor type (x86 32 bits, or x64 64 bits ones)

Please consider checking your own system - and manually getting and installing the proper patch if not installed yet.

Steps I would suggest :

1. Find out the current Windows version you have running. This might very even if you do have Windows 10 running. Open a commmand line --> Windows button, then type "Winver", which will run a Windows Version program, that displays on a new window your current system info.

2. Write down the Version and processor type. E.G., version 1809 64 bits, or 1903 32 bits, etc.

3. Open the Microsoft Advisory page here : https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-0601

4. Locate the proper version of patch for your system -- based on the current version level you are running.

5. Click on that type, and a new window will open, offering download options. Select the file with the proper processor architecture to match yours; either x86 which is for 32 bit versions, or x64 for 64 bit versions (more likely on newer computers and laptops).

6. Click on the correct file and it will download. It is a LARGE file, so wait until it's completed.

7. Once the download is completed, you can click on the file and allow it to install as a "manual update".

8. Since the patch files are fairly large, the installation will take a bit of time. Wait for it to finish, you can do other tasks while waiting.

9. Once it completes installing, it will prompt you for a Restart. Do it. Now.

10. Done? It will reboot, installing the patches during the shutdown process.

11. Verify the Install? You can go into the Windows -- Updates -- Show Update History list, and you should see a new update with today's date installed in the list.

Good luck, and please make sure to have all your home and work machines updated ASAP...

A good read and with a surprising Scientific analysis.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/01/letting-slower-passengers-board-airplane-first-really-is-faster-study-finds/

And it's official -- the Release version of Microsoft Edge browser, the new branch which uses the Chromium rendering engine, is ready for Downloads.

In Windows, iOS, Mac OSX, Android versions.

See it at : https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge

ES 🇪🇸

Y ahora es oficial - la nueva version del navegador Edge de Microsoft está pronta para quien quiserla.

En Windows, iOS y Android para los telemoviles, Mac OSX también.

Veer a : https://www.translatetheweb.com/?ref=TVert&from=&to=es&a= https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge

#QotoJournal is being launched.

We had a suggestion made and considered, and a discussion thread posted at our Discourse Forums - see : https://discourse.qoto.org/t/special-hashtag-to-highlight-serious-posting-at-qoto-org/180

The idea is to have a default hash tag that can identify more serious posting, articles, blog pages, etc being produced by members of our instance.

The discussion has been opened for two weeks, and I feel it's time to launch - so here it goes, we are adopting this as our tag.

* For the tag, the text case doesn't matter -- QOTOJournal, or QotoJournal will give the same results.

Will prepare a separate post later with suggestions and guidelines for posting content, to create a bit of a Style we can identify at a glance.

Thank you to my friend who sent this idea, and to all who supported it, participating in previous discussions here in the Local feed or at the forum post.

My thoughts on the matter were disclosed also on my blog at : https://write.tedomum.net/rgx/special-hashtag-to-highlight-serious-posting

** This post was edited via "Delete/ReDraft" to incorporate a suggestion of using QotoJournal -- without underscore, as it seems a good idea.

Found on the #Windows7 hashtag traffic. 😜

"Your vehicle is now connected to Microsoft.

Upgrading to Windows 10. 38% done. Estimated remaining time: 150 years."

#humour #french #tech

** Windows Update -- important security risk, read and patch ASAP. **

The NSA has notified Microsoft of a serious vulnerabilty in Windows 10, and some of the Server versions, which is related to the authentication of secure web connections.

Ars Technica has an article, it's also all over the Tech press probably.

For the NSA to come out and give away this (an exploitable error) is an indication of how serious it is.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/patch-windows-10-and-server-now-because-certificate-validation-is-broken/

I came across a post by sheer serendipity a few minutes ago, while looking at a user profile in a different instance.

It mentioned a hashtag that was suggested for using on reporting and recommending blocking or banning other Fediverse instances. It uses the hash "fediblock" -- and I avoided using the # in this case to not have this post added to it, unintended.

Reading thru I found mentions to various instances, and reasons people had for suggesting their banishment. Was suprised by finding a mention to a Pleroma instance where I have joined, and also a mention that "Qoto people had alts there". 😎

The poster then proceeded to criticize the Pleroma admin and even his personal project called Husky, a fork of the popular "Tusky" android mastodon client.

Husky's goal is primarily to provided support for advanced Pleroma features like Rich Text Formatting -- which Pleroma users can use in their Toots, via html tags, MarkDown or even BBcode.

While I see this as a sign of progressive thinking, and the willingness to take on a project, the author of the critical post was adamant that Husky would or could allow Gab users to use it for their own needs; which Tusky has blocked on their own client.

I have informed the admin and developer of this, and he was aware and didn't mind.

It does bother me, the small mindedness I see in such petty fediverse politics.

"The solution to the plastic waste crisis? It isn’t recycling", byJohn Vidal.

Excellent article, right on point.

"The plastic makers and supermarkets are rightly held to account, but it is the voracious “take-make-dispose” industrial model identified by people such as Ellen MacArthur that has led directly to the state we are now in. The plastic waste crisis is just the symptom of a single-use culture."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/14/plastic-waste-crisis-recycling-consumption-environmentally-friendly

Suprised no one has mentioned *ScrapeGate* in here yet.

Big hubbub in various instances atm. Fediverse is irked.

E.G. : https://docs.google.com/document/d/15jikK6wetE-H31VROgvF0a0ABqaNdbtH1JK16PMyrcY/edit#heading=h.qa9zsu3xkbxh

A gorgeous gravure that I have always liked, here in a pristine version which Mocambo has just posted at Todon.nl.

I did a search for the artist's name (believing it to be Nicholas Flamel) but it turns out its first publication is way more recent than I expected, and author is unknown.

"The Flammarion engraving is a wood engraving by an unknown artist, so named because its first documented appearance is in Camille Flammarion's 1888 book L'atmosphère : météorologie populaire ("The Atmosphere: Popular Meteorology").[1]

The wood engraving has often, but erroneously, been referred to as a woodcut. It has been used as a metaphorical illustration of either the scientific or the mystical quests for knowledge. "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flammarion_engraving

* Using Lists on Mastodon - guide posts *

...and then you discover someone who's cool and has interesting posts, simply by following a hashtag on which one of her posts showed up.

Serendipity is a lovely thing. Thanks @snow , your post lead me to find @twistylittlepassages - Amazey.

Amazey has some interesting posts and notes -- and a pearl I am going to link to here.

"Using Lists in Mastodon" -- is something I have seen when passing by the Preferences controls panel, but never quite understood. And I don't think it's well documented either.

So, we depend on luck in figuring it out ourselves, or finding someone who did and shares - like she did.

A neat feature, she explained it succinctly in two short posts.

** Linky : https://weirder.earth/@twistylittlepassages/102730541724191409

TY, Amazey! :smiley:

Phoebe is too pretty to pass - sorry for yet another Cat post, last of the day. Promise.

This gorgeous little girl was once in a pet shelter, now a stunning lady cat.

#mastocats #CatsofMastodon #meow #xp
---
RT @Miss_Phoebe_Lee@twitter.activitypub.actor
Hip hip hoorah
It’s my gotcha day today!🙀😻🎉

2 years ago this day, mommy walked into the humane society and fell in love with a fuzzy little kitten . . . the rest is history . . .…
https://twitter.com/Miss_Phoebe_Lee/status/1216426401131388931

#introverts Be Like...

* How To Write A Blog Post People Read *
by Rachel Thompson, @BadRedheadMedia

https://medium.com/the-1000-day-mfa/how-to-write-a-blog-post-people-read-441b9e8bbd82

"Unsure how to structure your blog posts? Here’s a quick guide to get you started!

Writing a blog post people will read isn’t rocket science, yet it does take some skill. As I work with writers new to blogging, many are stumped by how to go about structuring a blog post."

A nice read, recommend it for anyone interested in writing and blogging in special. Thank you, Rachel!

A good page of the Mastodon Documentation explains how to set up Filters to get rid of unwanted contents.

I just shared some tips with users in another instance, and plan to write a blog on this. But for now, here's the link:

https://docs.joinmastodon.org/user/moderating/

Example on Screenshot below, which removed some particularly annoying posts from a local user there.

#Geopolitics , censure and #tech news. #xp
---
RT @DanielDumbrill@twitter.activitypub.actor
Twitter banned the president of Syria and an Iranian leader.

Now an Iranian & American ambassador are arguing with each other on Weibo... In Chinese.

The Chinese internet has become the most uncensored environment for international political discussions.

#irony
https://twitter.com/DanielDumbrill/status/1215165980281753600