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Today's follow-up #FreeSoftwareAdvent entry is vi/vim.

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  • Today's follow-up entry is vi/vim.

    Which I use depends on the situation. Classic vi/nvi tends to be lighter weight and start faster, while vim offers extra features that I find particularly useful). I usually just type `vi` which gets me `vi` on OpenBSD, `nvi` on FreeBSD, and `vim` (or `vim-tiny`) on most flavors of Linux. If I specifically want vim features, I'll invoke it as such directly.

    I could go on for ages about favorite features, but a select few:

    • the ability to keep my hands on the home row and not use a mouse is helpful for preventing RSI symptoms

    • it's a language¹ of editing, involving counts, verbs/commands, and objects/motions, so I can express my editing *intent* and then use the period command to re-issue that same editing *intent*

    • the :global or :substitute commands can make massive-yet-precise edits across huge files

    • the :*do commands extend that power across multiple files, allowing me to precisely edit millions of lines across thousands of files with targeted precision

    • it's ubiquitous—even as some Linux distros have started removing ed(1) from the base installs , relegating it to packages, I can always type `vi` on any Unix-like/POSIX system and be editing with a powerful editor. And with builds for Windows and my phone, I can use it everywhere. No need to install anything

    • they work just fine over a SSH connection without a GUI, and use minimal resources so they work even on that old hardware from the 90s.


    ¹ https://gist.github.com/nifl/1178878

  • stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafeundefined stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe shared this topic on

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  • Making Glasses That Detect Smartglasses

    [NullPxl]’s Ban-Rays concept is a wearable that detects when one is in the presence of camera-bearing smartglasses, such as Meta’s line of Ray-Bans. A project in progress, it’s currently focused on how to reliably perform detection without resorting to using a camera itself. Right now, it plays a well-known audio cue whenever it gets a hit.
    Once software is nailed down, the device aims to be small enough to fit into glasses.
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    As mentioned, Ban-Rays eschews the idea of using a camera to perform this. [NullPxl] understandably feels that putting a camera on glasses in order to detect glasses with cameras doesn’t hold much water, conceptually.

    The alternate approach is to project IR in a variety of wavelengths while sensing reflections with a photodiode. Initial tests show that scanning a pair of Meta smartglasses in this way does indeed look different from regular eyeglasses, but probably not enough to be conclusive on its own at the moment. That brings us to the second method being used: wireless activity.

    Characterizing a device by its wireless activity turned out to be trickier than expected. At first, [NullPxl] aimed to simply watch for BLE (Bluetooth Low-Energy) advertisements coming from smartglasses, but these only seem to happen during pairing and power-up, and sometimes when the glasses are removed from the storage case. Clearly a bit more is going to be needed, but since these devices rely heavily on wireless communications there might yet be some way to actively query or otherwise characterize their activity.

    This kind of project is something that is getting some interest. Here’s another smartglasses detector that seems to depend entirely on sniffing OUIs (Organizationally Unique Identifiers); an approach [NullPxl] suspects isn’t scalable due to address randomization in BLE. Clearly, a reliable approach is still in the works.

    The increasing numbers of smartglasses raises questions about the impact of normalizing tech companies turning people into always-on recording devices. Of course, the average person is already being subtly recorded by a staggering number of hidden cameras. But at least it’s fairly obvious when an individual is recording you with a personal device like their phone. That may not be the case for much longer.

    hackaday.com/2025/12/09/making…

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