iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 14/10/2026

So, Zoom allow you to send meeting invites to any email. Which means spammers are now sending meeting invites that can't be unsubscribed from. So now I'm wondering, what mechanism has to happen for them to prevent this? * Reputation damage to the point […] [Original post on mastodon.me.uk]

Screenshot of email reply, abridged:
Zoom
Hello,
Thank you for your report. Based on our review, it appears these messages were sent from the user ... directly, not through Zoom's systems.
To prevent further communications from this sender, we recommend using the blocking functions available
in your email client and calendar application.
...
it appears the sender is simply including a Zoom webinar registration link within communications sent
through external channels.
Best regards,
Zoom Trust and Safety

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

Thanks to AI, Spam is better written and therefore harder to filter and block. Sometimes I get emails related to my youtube channel that really are relevant and useful. This is not one of them.

Screen shot of an email that reads:
Kitchen design showroom visits

From: Linda Espinoza
To: me

Hi Steve,

You design, supply and install kitchens from your Faversham showroom, and your
tutorials have helped over 200,000 people online. That mix of hands-on craft and
reach is rare.

I'm Linda from Ritual OS. We make personalized astrology software with real-time
star charts and daily alignment tips.

That might sound like an odd pairing, but the design and event side of your
showroom is what got my attention.

Would you be open to a quick reply with your thoughts?

Best,

Linda

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 02/09/2026

So it looks like my Christmas project is migrating my small business away from 1password Time to start experimenting with the alternatives myself so I can pick what will be right for us.

1password subscription page showing a 9 user account that renews in February 2027

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Kit Bashir @unixbigot.aus.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/08/2026

“Incoming hail, Captain.” “On screen Ms Darta.” “Aye, Captain” “What is this, I said on screen!” “I’m sorry Captain the ads are unskippable since the last firmware update” “I’ll be in my ranting room” #Tootfic #MicroFiction #PowerOnStoryToot

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James Smith 💾 @floppy.org.uk · 15/08/2026

“Black academic hounded to death by the press for plagiarism allegations started by a known racist” versus “AI companies owned by white billionaires pushing industrial plagiarism machines down everyone’s throats whether they want them or not” I don’t see the lawyers or academics who let and LLM […]

mastodon.me.uk

Original post on mastodon.me.uk

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 29/07/2026

Yes Docusign, because if a document is important enough to pay your service to show proof I've read it, then I'm sure an AI LLM probability engine summary will be fine as a substitute to reading it properly🙄

Docusign web site pop up reading:
"Summarise this agreement"
"Generate a summary so you can focus on
the highlights."

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Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 20/07/2026

I have to pay increasing attention to what my phone does to pictures it takes. For example, my new Motorola phone includes a super zoom feature that actually uses generative AI to fill in details as it crops in! I turned it off, but others might not notice and upload such digitally created […]

scicomm.xyz

Original post on scicomm.xyz

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 21/07/2026

Whoever here shared clues with Sam, thanks for the brain worm. I've been addicted for the last 3 weeks and finally managed to get a 100% solve. I solved the daily #CluesBySam, Jul 21st 2026 (Easy), in less than 7 minutes 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 Clues by Sam cluesbysam.com > A daily […]

mastodon.me.uk

Original post on mastodon.me.uk

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All Europeans 🇪🇺 @ueeu.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 08/07/2026

France launches an alternative to Google Maps #France is retiring Géoportail in favor of cartes.gouv.fr, a free platform that consolidates multiple state mapping services into a single, mobile-friendly alternative to Google Maps and Street View. “The goal is to create a go-to site for public […]

social.vivaldi.net

Original post on social.vivaldi.net

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Raj 🇬🇧🇪🇺💻🖥(🌻🇺🇦;🇵🇸) @realcainmosni.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 02/07/2026

UK Tax returns have gone digital, which is fine in principle. What is not fine is that pretty much only paid solutions are acceptable for submitting a return. If electronic tax returns are mandatory, the government should be providing a cost-free means […]

mastodon.me.uk

Original post on mastodon.me.uk

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Kit Bashir @unixbigot.aus.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/05/2026

“I don’t know why you don’t link your domes—“ “houses” “—i don’t want to get nutrient fluid—” “rain, love” “—on my envirosuit—” “dress” “—yesterday I even got splashed by growth medium—“ “*snrk* mud” “—YOU PLANET PEOPLE HAVE TOO MANY WEIRD PLANET WORDS OKAY!?” #Tootfic #MicroFiction […]

aus.social

Original post on aus.social

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everton137 @everton137.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 21/05/2026

Interesting post by the author of @allaboutberlin on how AI is killing his awesome website. #AI #OpenKnowledge #Berlin

AI is killing All About Berlin. When you Googled something, you used to get a link to my website. Now you get an AI-generated answer trained on my work.

This has a devastating impact on traffic. It's hard to fund my work with 70% fewer visitors. In another year, it will be impossible. Instead of writing new guides, I spend my days preparing for that future.

Yesterday, Google announced two things: AI-generated answers will completely replace search results, and AI-generated answers will soon contain ads.

This is the future of the web. I don't know where All About Berlin fits in that future.

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Ko Simon toku ingoa :tinoflag: @simonchulse.mastodon.nz.ap.brid.gy · 23/05/2026

Škoda have invented a bike bell designed to penetrate noise cancelling headphones to reduce cyclist/pedestrian collisions on shared routes, and then *released the design for free* so anyone can make it and more people can be kept safe! www.welovecycling.com/wide/duobell

welovecycling.com

How to Convert Watts into Calories Burned on the Bike

### How to Convert Watts into Calories Burned on the Bike

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Kit Bashir @unixbigot.aus.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/04/2026

“Frankly it’s fucking remarkable how long we had Transporterators before somebody thought of beaming extra oxygen into an athlete’s bloodstream” “Ha, if you think that’s new I’ve got a starbridge to sell you, I heard from someone in the know that there’s a whole *fleet* of Ferengoid oreluggers […]

aus.social

Original post on aus.social

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 01/04/2026

I love this ❤️ kagi.com @kagihq home page today. It took me straight back to 1996 when I first started using the internet. Netscape Navigator, Yahoo directory to find sites of interest. I especially loved the slow loading images.

Screenshot of the Kagi.com home page on 1st April 2026. It recreates how a home page looked back in 1996. Lot sof blue links and pixelated images that load slowly.

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Raj 🇬🇧🇪🇺💻🖥(🌻🇺🇦;🇵🇸) @realcainmosni.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 24/03/2026

UKGov wants age-verification for child safety, but they don't be doing anything to validate the safety of the *commercial* services that will be performing the task of verification...

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 13/03/2026

A local pedestrian underpass has been refurbished (great work) Quote "I’m really excited to see it happen, although there are still issues with flooding and we couldn’t do the ceiling because it’s too wet." That's quite a flood problem we have there 😂

Article from online newspaper:

Ward councillor Mel Dawkins (Lab) says she has been pushing for something positive to happen with the tunnel for some time.

photo: The Hackington Place tunnel in St Stephen’s Walkway in Canterbury before its facelift

She said: “Over the past few years, I’ve had meetings with the community safety unit, enforcement officers, police, Network Rail and KCC to try and make improvements to its safety and appearance.

“So I’m really excited to see it happen, although there are still issues with flooding and we couldn’t do the ceiling because it’s too wet.”

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 22/02/2026

My longest ever run* 🎉 and I'm too tired to do the maths, but that 1km pace could be terminal velocity when in free fall from 🛩️ (* Run, stop, walk, hobble, question life choices, be grateful I was running that one moment my wife drove past) #running #marathontraining

screenshot of my running tracker that reported 1km travelled in 5 seconds, and a new longest distance of 33.16km

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 16/02/2026

I know we all know this, but using 'AI' [that is, LLM predictive text] replies to email are just so awful I despair. If there is an advantage for suggesting a reply (EG we used to call pre-prepared answers 'Canned Responses') then surely the logic could be […] [Original post on mastodon.me.uk]

Screen shot of an AI suggest reply reading as follows:
Hi Francesca,

Thanks for sending this over.

1) OK on the bases being 750mm, no extra sides needed.
2) OK on the tops being 750mm.
3) Yes, the desk top needs extra support on site, the two supports you added are fine as a starting point.
4) Yes please confirm the two switches.

Will check the rest of the PDF now.

Thanks

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Andrew @acamp.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 15/02/2026

Mastodon seems like somewhere that would appreciate a good second-hand book sale. If you're near Chelmsford, Essex next weekend 1st Broomfield scouts host an epic one. I know we don't like Facebook but the event page is linked below […] [Original post on mastodon.me.uk]

A flyer for the 1st Broomfield scouts second-hand book sale, telling you that it takes place on Saturday and Sunday 21st-22nd February, 10am to 4pm. Free admission. Refreshments available. 1st Broomfield Scout HQ, School Lane, Broomfield. Postcode CM1 7DR.

A panoramic photo of last year's book sale showing thousands of books across a tables and shelves, crammed into a scout hall. Thousands of books.

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Matt 🔶 (LordMatt) @lordmatt.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/02/2026

@tg I just read (and loved) your essay about Phantom Oblications. You put into words several thoughts and feelings I've been dwelling on. It inspired me to add a different type of RSS reader to a project I'm working on. It won't be ready any time soon, but I thought you'd like to know that your […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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James Bilsbrough @jsbilsbrough.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 02/02/2026

Question for my #email nerd friends. I'm writing an update to a guide on mail rules and forwarding. Is it generally true that for true automated rules they need to be setup server side? Do modern email clients (e.g. Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple mail) sync their rules back to the mail server, or […]

mastodon.me.uk

Original post on mastodon.me.uk

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\ˈthē-ˈˈärd-ˌvärk\ @theaardvark.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 10/01/2026

Evening! I'm looking for a small favour.... The first track from my new #AarDHD project has an official release on 19th Jan, but the YouTube video is up on a private listing ahead of that date. I'd be really grateful if some of you could go and give it a play so it already has some numbers on […]

mastodon.me.uk

Original post on mastodon.me.uk

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Steve Bellovin @stevebellovin.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy · 29/12/2025

@mattblaze What's really funny to me is this 1853 book that Ches and I quoted in the first edition of "Firewalls", about whether it's proper to discuss vulnerabilities in locks.

The full text is too long for the alt-text. Briefly, it says that there's been a debate about the propriety of discussing flaws in locks. The author of this book, Charles Tomlinson, points out that crooks already know this stuff, and it's important for the public to understand it. He analogizes to a discussion on adulterating milk, pointing out that producers, honest or not, were already aware of this.

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 10/12/2025

Maybe it's me being cynical, but Trustpilot saying 'we're all about human content so we sell AI to companies to write their replies' seems a little a contradiction. However, I'm sure it's true and it's way faster than copy/pasting from a set of time built […] [Original post on mastodon.me.uk]

A screenshot from the trustpilots website reading:
Title: May use Al-assist with replies Read less
Body: At Trustpilot, it's all about human content. This business can also access
our Al-assisted response tool which helps them draft replies.

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 10/12/2025

Ahh, that feeling when fault finding a server and your internet search returns: Your own question on a forum post 3 years ago 😂

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James Smith 💾 @floppy.org.uk · 18/11/2025

"The Internet routes around damage" Ah, you sweet summer child. #Cloudflare

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 18/11/2025

@futurebird At a recent factory visit I learnt that, for that manufacturer (high end) their UK sales of hobs was >95% induction. For other regions it was more gas (India iirc). I can't recall the USA split. I did learn that USA hobs need a metal armoured cable protection which made them obvious […]

mastodon.me.uk

Original post on mastodon.me.uk

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 18/11/2025

@futurebird b) For ovens, most designs we do/see are for built in ovens. 60cm wide x 60cm high (or 46cm high for compact) and installed around waist height to save bending. That's about 24 inches wide and it has become a defacto standard in europe. we occasionally see 30"/76cm USA size ovens but […]

mastodon.me.uk

Original post on mastodon.me.uk

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 18/11/2025

@futurebird UK kitchen designer here: a) USA power is 120v, Europe is 230/240v. So induction (and electric kettles) have more power available and thus work better for us (power = volts x amps, and most induction hobs we sell are 32Amp version) However, most of the time you're only using the full […]

mastodon.me.uk

Original post on mastodon.me.uk

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 18/11/2025

How to tell the longevity of design software: discovering a graphic for a Windows XP SP2 CD Also - teletext in Italian. It looks like this was a screen grab from 2006 This made me smile as I work through a room design.

Software screen selecting graphic images, and one of the images is a Windows XP service pack 2 CD ROM

Another graphic image from the design software appears to be a screenshot, like the UK teletext service but in italian. It's a black background with colour text showing a 'sport' title and words that I think is a timetable for sports being broadcast on TV in 2006

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\ˈthē-ˈˈärd-ˌvärk\ @theaardvark.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 16/11/2025

Range anxiety? What range anxiety?

Photo of a car dashboard display showing a top-down view of a white car with both front doors open in red. The display shows 4636 mi on the left, and on the right a battery icon at 1% with 5 mi of range remaining. The screen has a dark blue gradient background, photographed from the driver's seat with the windscreen and bonnet visible at the edges.

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Kit Bashir @unixbigot.aus.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/11/2025

The thing about immortality is the perspective; over the course of eighty billion years we watched the universe expand and thin, dimming as more and more galaxies accelerated beyond the visible horizon. Those of us who didn’t give in to ennui or retreat into simulations eventually saw the words […]

aus.social

Original post on aus.social

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\ˈthē-ˈˈärd-ˌvärk\ @theaardvark.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 10/11/2025

Spent the day staring at frequencies and arguing with maths to make a song. The result is 8 minutes of 87 BPM downtempo stuff in A minor. It's supposedly for focus, but mostly it was an exercise in seeing if I could create a tune with binaural beats embedded throughout without my brain melting […]

mastodon.me.uk

[Audio] Original post on mastodon.me.uk

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 05/11/2025

Help please @hacks4pancakes I hope you don't mind me asking, I've searched your past posting and can't see you've mentioned it, so, would you have any advice/recommendations for a small business doing own IT and deciding whether to renew EDR/Antivirus please? In the past we were Eset/nod32 […]

mastodon.me.uk

Original post on mastodon.me.uk

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Bruce Lawson ✅ ♫ ♿ ✌️♂️✊ @brucelawson.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 04/11/2025

75 years ago today, European nations signed this Convention, so the Holocaust could not be repeated. Beware those who want this to end.

Right to life.

Prohibition of torture.

Prohibition of slavery and forced labour.
Right to liberty and security.

Right to a fair trial.

No punishment without law.

Right to respect for private and family life.
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
Freedom of expression.

Freedom of assembly and association.

Right to marry.

Right to an effective remedy.

Prohibition of discrimination.

Prohibition of abuse of rights.
EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

75 YEARS (1950 - 2025)

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Lesley Carhart :unverified: @hacks4pancakes.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy · 03/11/2025

The problem of reaching some moderate level of fame and success is that everyone thinks you’re great✨, all the time. Your life must be glamorous. Nobody ever checks on you. Nobody ever compliments your work. You’re never the award or prize winner. Nobody mentors you. Never again. You must be✨super.

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Markus @strflt.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

"That's no ballroom"

Vita huset med ett pågående byggnadsarbete som ser ut som en dödsstjärna.

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Michael Thomas @michael.mstdn.thms.uk.ap.brid.gy · 22/10/2025

LOL. Thames water pouring tons and tons of raw sewage into rivers and sea: that’s OK. A lady pouring some coffee down a drain: a criminal offence. What a ridiculous country this is sometimes… www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg435gg…

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Micr0byte @micr0.wetdry.world.ap.brid.gy · 15/10/2025

I made a thing called Wellness Ping because someone I care about went silent and it took too long for anyone to notice. You get regular check-ins via email. If you don't respond, your emergency contacts get notified. Built it for anyone who might go missing and needs someone to notice […]

wetdry.world

Original post on wetdry.world

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2025

What can I say, #framework @frameworkcomputer support is amazing. I wish all the manufacturer support services I use from time to time were this good. I couldn't buy the battery online as no stock, so I asked support for help. I didn't realise but they checked, the battery was under warranty so […]

mastodon.me.uk

Original post on mastodon.me.uk

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Steve Root @sroot.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2025

A sign I'm getting old: I appreciate the flurry of added #2fa #security when logging into websites but I'm also feeling the annoyance of waiting for said SMS/email to confirm that it is me and I can log in.

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