diff --git a/homepage/blah.html b/homepage/blah.html index 77cb9c6..5c21e03 100644 --- a/homepage/blah.html +++ b/homepage/blah.html @@ -16,6 +16,78 @@ ideas' witlessness; ideas' witnesses; ideas- +2022-07-06 + + Duo, most lingual + + I today managed to bring my Duolingo "streak" (being a marker of how +many days in a row I've used the app) to 14 - two whole weeks. Duolingo is +proprietary software and not even very good for accurate language learning but +I enjoy it. + + I have a new phone: the Punkt MP-02. I purchased it from monado for +$180 with shipping which is a good deal on the manufacturer price of $379 +(seriously). I couldn't recommend this phone to anyone. + The "Pigeon" Signal messenger client, which is a direct fork of +SignalApp's official Android app, is a poor experience that so far has been +unuseable for me and is far out of date from the current application. You can +see for yourself the source code for Pigeon, which legally has to be provided +by Punkt as requested as per the terms of the GNU Public License under which +the original Signal app is allowed to be modified and distributed. Six git +commits change a hundred thousand lines of code put together and the commit +names aren't really relevant to the changes - which makes me think this was a +hasty legal compliance rather than any actual development of Pigeon in the +open. This repository is available here: + <https://github.com/Punkt-Tronics-AG/Pigeon> + I planned to modify the client to make it work for my uses but learned +this phone uses Android (based on the Android "Open-Source" Project) which is +based on archaic Java technology, and indeed Pigeon is written in Java. Setting +up the build environment isn't worth my time - I would just use the official +app but it isn't useable [without modification]. From the official Pigeon +manual, available here: + <https://www.punkt.ch/repofiles/Manuali/MP02/26702-MP02%20-% + 20Pigeon%20User%20Manual%20%28EN%29.pdf> + <https://web.archive.org/web/20220707011516if_/https://www.p + unkt.ch/repofiles/Manuali/MP02/26702-MP02%20-%20Pigeon%20User% + 20Manual%20%28EN%29.pdf> +(I took the liberty of adding actual hyperlinks because the URLs are so long + they wrap lines. The Internet Archive link is there because I expect Punkt to + eventually get rid of and bury Pigeon when they're embarrassed enough.) + +>When the request is received by Signal, there may +>be a requirement to negotiate a 'Captcha' test in +>order to demonstrate that it is a bona fide +>registration attempt. The test requires the +>registrant to select from a range of images, +>according to a specific instruction. Use the 2, 4, 6 +>and 8 numerical keys to a) locate all the images +>that have been sent (not all will be visible on the +>screen at once) and b) highlight an individual +>image so that it can be selected by pressing the +>Punkt. key (or the 5 key). If the images fail to load, +>press the 0 key to refresh. (This can also be done if +>a 4x4 image test is loading; there is a possibility +>that the replacement will be the easier 3x3 format.) +>When all the required images have been selected, +>press the 6 and 8 keys to move down to highlight +>what may either be 'Verify' or 'Continue' +>(depending on which version of the Captcha test +>has been sent) and press the Punkt. key + +This is verbatim from page 7 (item 6 in "Installing the software and +registering with Signal"). In practice the items are not highlighted (so you +have to remember where your cursor is - hopefully your keypad keys are +responsive, which is an uncommon but recurring issue with many of the phones) +and maybe half of the images show up because the phone doesn't have enough +memory. So getting through Google's ReCAPTCHA requires a lot of effort and +usually at least three tries. + I should know. I've done this half a dozen times trying to use Signal. +Even when I get through it won't even connect to the network! I've given up. +Damn Pigeon and damn Punkt for making this the selling point of their phone. +I have other complaints but I'm going to go to sleep again and save them for +another, grumpier time. + + 2022-06-30 O, posts unwritten