tl;dr: A notable marketshare of multiple browser components and browsers must exist in order to properly ensure/maintain truly open web standards.

It is important that Firefox and its components like Gecko and Spidermonkey to exist as well as maintain a notable marketshare. Likewise, it is important for WebKit and its components to exist and maintain a notable marketshare. The same is true for any other browser/rendering/JavaScript engines.

While it is great that we have so many non-Google Chrome alternatives like Chromium, Edge, Vivaldi, etc., they all use the same or very similar engines. This means that they all display and interact with websites nearly identically.

When Google decides certain implementation/interpretation of web standards, formats, behavior, etc. should be included in Google Chrome (and consequently all Chromium based browsers), then the majority marketshare of web browsers will behave that way. If the Chrome/Chromium based browsers reaches a nearly unanimous browser marketshare, then Google can either ignore any/all open web standards, force their will in deciding/implementing new open web standards, or even become the defacto open web standard.

When any one entity has that much control over the open web standards, then the web standards are no longer truly “open” and in this case becomes “Google’s web standards”. In some (or maybe even many) cases, this may be fine. However, we saw with Internet Explorer in the past this is not something that the market should allow. We are seeing evidence that we shouldn’t allow Google to have this much influence with things like the adoption of JPEG XL or implementation of FLoC.

With three or more browser engines, rendering engines, and browsers with notable marketshares, web developers are forced to develop in adherence to the accepted open web standards. With enough marketshare spread across those engines/browsers, the various engines/browsers are incentivized to maintain compatibility with open web standards. As long as the open web standards are designed and maintained without overt influence by a single or few entities and the open standards are actively used, then the best interest of the collective of all internet users is best served.

Otherwise, the best interest of a few entities (in this case Google) is best served.

Alerts, notifications, person recognition, object recognition, motion detection, two way audio, automated lights, event based video storage, 24/7 video storage, automated deletion of stale recorded video, and more can all be accomplished 100% locally.

Granted, much of this functionality is not easily accomplished without some technical knowledge and additional hardware. However, these posts typically are made by people who state to at least have an interest in making that a reality (as this one does).

What security benefits does a cloud service provide?

Your options will depend on how much effort you are willing to put in and what other services you have access to (or are willing to run).

For example, do you have a Network Video Recorder (NVR) or something like Home Assistant that can consume a Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) or Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) video feed? Can you modify your network to block all internet traffic to/from the doorbell? Are you comfortable using a closed source, proprietary app to setup the doorbell? Is creating your own doorbell feasible?

I’m not aware of a doorbell that you can buy which meets all of your requirements without at least one of the items I mentioned above. Additionally, I believe the only doorbell that meets all your requirements is building your own doorbell. However, some other brands that will get close to meeting your requirements are Reolink and Amcrest.

This is a “simple” question, but unfortunately the answer isn’t as simple. Much of this isn’t necessarily Google “individually and directly attacking people”, but instead Google providing others with the (otherwise unavailable) means to do so.

Regardless, is this an example that you were looking for? https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/google-tracked-his-bike-ride-past-burglarized-home-made-him-n1151761

Would something like this work for the web or Teams versions of Excel?

Regardless, I agree. The license and remote only execution are horrible.

That’s true. It wouldn’t solve the dependency issue though (eg - I’m using Pandas v1.5.3, you’re using Pandas v2.0.3) and I’m not sure how well it would work for some platforms like the web or Teams.

The code storage for Python is no different than regular Excel functions (eg - VLOOKUP(), SUM(), etc.), meaning that it is stored within an Excel cell. The only differences are that Python code is run remotely vs Excel functions running locally and the location of Python’s code matters vs Excel’s functions are location agnostic (ie - Python code runs in cells located left-to-right, top-to-bottom but Excel’s functions can dynamically determine the calculation order/location).

I’m not sure that this new Python integration changes much about this use case (except for another way to accomplish the same/similar tasks).

I agree with all your points about Excel being capable. However, I’m struggling to think of examples where this newly announced Python integration within Excel would be helpful (with the exception of new/different visualizations) - especially for the reasons you stated about modern Excel.

Are there any use cases that you can think of where someone who knows Excel well would resort to “adding a little Python to patch up any issues”?

This integration won’t allow you to do that. Python will not run locally, but instead on Microsoft’s platform (likely Azure).

If you’re just reading some simple data from Excel, there are several ways of accomplishing this already. For example, Pandas has read_excel() and there is also openpyxl. You could even use those tools to write the results back to Excel. Things get more complicated though if the Excel file is something more than just a simple list.

I agree! I’m not sure why you’re being downvoted either.

This new integration just allows you to do data analysis and data visualization of existing data within an Excel file via Python. The output of your Python scripts is limited to the Excel file. The Python environment itself is also limited as it runs on Microsoft’s platform and is controlled by Microsoft.

The (Excel) problem that people already using Python for data analysis/visualization is that they have to use Excel files. Reading/writing Excel files via Python can sometimes be tedious or limiting. Utilizing Python inside of Excel via this integration may help in some scenarios, but they won’t be able to use custom libraries built internally, control the Python environment (eg - must use specific version of Python or Python library, can’t utilize all Python libraries available on pip, etc.), connect to all necessary external data sources via Python, and utilize proper VCS tools like git.

The problem that people automating tasks via Python have is that there is no Python library nearly as capable of reading or manipulating Excel files as VBA is. This new Python integration does not change that.

The problem that Excel users have is that they want more advanced (or simple/easier) data analysis and data visualization capabilities. However, with Excel’s dynamic array formulas, LAMBDA formula, Power Query, and Power Pivot, Excel is becoming much more capable than it ever was. If those tools cannot meet your needs, you likely need to move to something like R, Python, or some other tool. Embedding Python into Excel like this integration does still limits Python with all of Excel’s current restraints (size, performance, etc.).

I’m not a fan of it either, but I’m not sure how else this could work seamlessly. How would you ensure that everyone you share your Excel file that utilizes Python has the expected Python setup on their machine? What if they have an older version of a library you used that breaks your script? What if they don’t have Python installed at all?

While this will only work on Windows desktop at first, Microsoft plans to roll this out to “other platforms” over time. Is there any other way for this integration to work for Excel for web, iPad, and/or Teams?

That would be nice, but I think this is more “Power Pivot via Python”.

Will this actually automate your workflow?

It seems that this Python integration expects that the source data already exists within the Excel file and Python can essentially just be used to create either visuals or new tables within the same Excel file.

If that’s accurate, then this is intended exclusively for data analysis and not process automation. I don’t think this will allow people to enhance their existing Python based ETL jobs or create new ones because of this new integration. This does not seem to be a replacement/substitute for VBA or OfficeScripts. It also does not seem to be an alternative to Power Query. If anything, this seems to be most similar to Power Pivot.

Sorry, just want to make sure others read this properly. I think you meant

The clients aren’t closed open source.

They are closed source forks of Element’s desktop/mobile/web apps.

I believe the features you’re referring to (Raise Wrist and/or Shake Wake within the Wake Up settings) don’t keep the watch screen on. Instead, I think they just trigger the watch screen to turn on and it stays on for however long the Display timeout setting is set to.

The only way I’m aware of to extend the Display timeout is to touch the watch screen while its on, a notification to come through, or certain apps like the stopwatch to be active. I also experienced issues with apps closing due to notifications coming through so relying on an app to keep the screen on may not be reliable.

If the screen turns off (even for a split second to allow one of the Wake Up settings to trigger the display back on), the watch will stop recording the heart rate and take another 5+ seconds to start recording the heart rate again.

The only way to suppress the Wake Up settings is to either manually disable them or turn on the “night mode” you mentioned.

Sorry if I’m wrong in any of this. I’m not certain how it all works. This has just been my experience with it.

There are a few recommendations for the PineTime in this thread. It is a great privacy focused smartwatch, but I don’t think you would be happy with it based on your requirements. It is not a device that allows you to go for a run and keep your phone at home.

The storage on the device is extremely limited, which prevents you from playing any audio (eg songs, podcasts, etc) directly. The device does not have any wireless connectivity (outside of Bluetooth) so it cannot stream any audio either. I’m not certain if you can even connect it to wireless headphones. It does not have any speakers either.

The watch has some apps, but there are no apps that are well suited for fitness. It does count steps well, but it does not directly calculate distance, pace, etc. It also does heart rate, but, currently, the watch screen must be on for it to record the heart rate. I think the longest the watch screen will stay on for is 30 minutes without any interaction, which may be too short for long runs or bike rides. Additionally, I’m not aware of any GPS/location tracking functionality.

Lastly, since the apps are limited and there is no advanced wireless functionality, you can’t use it for things that you may be used to for on the go activities. For example, you won’t be able to use it to pay for a drink half way through a run or call someone if you hurt your ankle a few miles from your destination.

With all that said, I still highly recommend the PineTime as a privacy focused, FLOSS, smartphone companion, smart watch. I don’t think you’ll find these features in any other device, particularly at this price point. However, you will be extremely disappointed with it if you’re getting it so you can take it on runs while leaving your phone at home.

Jitsi isn’t really a Slack alternative. Instead, it’s more of a Zoom alternative.

However, Matrix is a great Slack alternative. Slack channels are similar to Matrix rooms, which can be organized into Matrix spaces. Matrix supports threads, replies, attachments, and formatted text like markdown or HTML. Slack’s snippet functionality is not as great on Matrix and Slack’s integrations with other services are likely easier to setup. There is likely a bunch of other pros/cons to Slack/Matrix depending on your use cases. The caveat is that you’ll need to use a Matrix client and Matrix homeserver that support the Matrix functionality that you want.

The classic triathlon event:

• Swimming
• Biking
• Running The Runs

I’m not aware of any great FOSS/FLOSS Tasker alternatives. There are a few options, but they will be less capable, functional, extensible, user friendly, or modern.

More direct alternatives

• Automation - Gitea repo / F-Droid
• Easer - Github repo / F-Droid

Requires a server to run automations/dcripts

• Home Assistant - Github repo / F-Droid

Requires scripts and may require a server and/or additional add-on apps

• Termux - Github repo / F-Droid
  • Termux:API - Github repo / F-Droid

Thanks for confirming.

XMPP really needs better clients - even the good ones feel dated. Hopefully the timeline was not pushed back too much, if at all, and that this redesign can be the start of modernizing XMPP clients.