First and foremost, I'll get this out of the way: I abhor all commercial social media. I don't trust them, I know users are the product, and - ultimately, I feel they're nothing but a cancer on society.

But, I also have to acknowledge that, for one or two use cases at least, they seem pretty unavoidable.

For me, that one use case is Facebook Marketplace. Here in Australia, there's simply no better alternative if you want to reach a large number of potentially interested buyers (or even buy some stuff yourself). The supermarket noticeboard is no more; the Trading Post was bought long ago and died on the vine; and Gumtree has devolved into a cesspool of nothing but scammers and fuckwits.

So, I use FB Marketplace. My FB account isn't in my name, uses a throwaway email address, and has no followers or friends. It's only a member of the local buy/sell groups that I'm interested in, and it performs no "social" activities (posts, likes, etc) at all.

Until now, I generally only use FB marketplace with a "clean", dedicated browser on my computer, running in private mode and via a VPN. But, it means I frequently miss messages from interested parties when I'm away from my computer.

I also sometimes use the mbasic.facebook.com site from a private Firefox tab on my iPhone, but FB has just started telling me I need to use Chrome (no. fucking. way.) or Safari (maaaaaybeeeee?) after October 28th.

When I was on Android, there were a few wrapper apps that I was able to use but, so far, my searches for an equivalent on iOS have turned up nothing.

So, knowing full well this may lead to nowhere, I thought I'd ask this community: does anyone have a good, privacy-friendly way to use FB on iOS?

Thanks in advance for any useful tips or suggestions.

Does anyone know if the 2024.5 Companion App update for iOS removed the ability to control entities from the widget? I've read the release notes but there's no mention of any features being removed.

I could absolutely swear that I had a working widget with most of my lights on it, a solitary button for each light, that I could single tap to toggle said light.

Then, a few months or so back, I noticed the widget didn't seem to be working. The entity icons had change to black, round shadows, and tapping them did nothing.

I deleted the widget, thinking it got corrupted somehow and have never been able to get it back exactly as described above.

Now, it seems that only thing I can do with widgets is use Actions. Some Actions have been auto-created by the Companion App for each scene on my server, and I can obviously create my own Actions, to trigger automations.

But, I don't want to have to frig around with Actions (using input_booleans and automations) to do something as simple as turning a light on or off.

Am I dreaming? Did the iOS widgets never have this ability? Or am I missing something really obvious to configure entities onto a widget?

Thanks in advance for any useful advice.

UPDATE: well, I've belatedly realised I've left out a key piece of information. I need to buy a pair of locks - one for a regular wooden entrance door, and one for a security screen door in front of it.

Turns out hardly anyone (reputable) makes a decent smart lock for screen doors, except the Yale Unity range, but those aren't Z-Wave compatible.

Guess we're sticking with keys for a while longer...

Hey folks - the time's come for me to consider diving into smart locks.

I've been running HA for many years now, and have resisted the urge so far, but a few recent incidents have me thinking smart locks are the next upgrade I need to think of.

My requirements, equal in priority, are:

• Must be usable via HA (automating my locks is the primary reason I'm considering this move)
• Key lock backup (I'm petrified of flat batteries stopping me from entering)
• Ability for HA to report on battery level (see above)
• Local network only (prefer IP, but will consider Z-Wave - anything that calls home in the cloud is a hard no)
• Code and/or fingerprint entry (unique code per person, at least 6 codes)

I say "consider Z-Wave" as I don't currently utilise any Z-Wave devices. The main reason for this is that I run HA (Home Assistant) on a (heh!) HA (high availability) Proxmox setup, and I hadn't sat down to think through how that would work with a Z-Wave USB hub across two nodes.

But, after some cursory research, it seems there's enough options out there that will let me control Z-Wave remotely via MQTT, so I can use one of my RasPis to host a Z-Wave hub just fine.

There's been plenty of positive comments on other posts regarding Schlage's locks, so I'll probably start my research there. But I'm very keen to hear of anyone's experiences with any smart lock brands - good or bad - to help guide my research.

While I'm at it, I'm open to recommendations on a Z-Wave hub. I have zero Z-Wave experience, but I gather it's reasonably straightforward to use. Simple enough requirements:

• Usable on a RasPi running Rasbian
• Decent enough range - has to reach the smart locks through a couple of internal walls, from the garage to the front door (about 6m/20ft)

Cheers in advance for any advice offered!

Right wrist (I'm a leftie): Garmin Instinct Crossover Solar Tactical (with generic glass screen protector and silicone case)

Front left pocket:

• A leather pocket organizer, holding:
  • Victorinox SKA (Cyber Tool M edition)
  • Fisher bullet space pen, brass
  • Olight AAA white led torch

Front right pocket: my iPhone 15 Pro Max in a black Spigen Tough Armor case

Back right pocket: a large handkerchief (I get bloody noses and my engine runs pretty hot - I can sweat a lot at times)

Back left pocket: reserved for my minimalist EDC wallet when I carry it (not the exact model, I don't always carry, as I can use my phone for everything, including digital driver's licence)

Belt, right side:

• Leatherman Surge stainless, using the pocket clip, but on my belt
• A spring clip carabiner, on a belt loop, holding
  • My house keys and a trolley token release tool, in a black leather Orbitkey
  • My car fob

Belt, left side: RAE Gear sheath for Leatherman bit kit, holding:

• Dual bit kit
• After-market bit kit extension (simply cannot get the Leatherman ratchet extension ANYWHERE!)
• Leatherman saw blade (file lives on my Surge)

When I go camping/offroading, I'll often put the Leatherman into a Toolbro holster, holding my Wuben L50 rechargeable torch.

Sadly, it looks like WJMake is no longer selling on Etsy (where I got the Toolbro), which is a real shame. They sold some really nice, handmade EDC accessories, and were happy to customise to suit my exact needs.

Mine has the extra elastic loop on the side to hold my Space Pen, an extra pocket on the front to hold the Leatherman saw blade, and they swapped out belt loops for a pair of belt clips, so I could wear/remove without having to undo my belt - a really important (to me) capability when camping and offroading.

I host a Plex server for our household, which includes a couple of teenagers. All members of the household (myself included) have a PIN protected managed user profile on our Plex server.

The problem is, if I let the teenagers have my Plex account password to login to our Plex server, it automatically logs them in with the Home Admin profile, whereas I'd much rather it force them to select from the list of profiles on our server (eg. just like Netflix does).

This means that, every now and then, I have to manually go to whichever new device they want to run Plex on (such as a Playstation) and handle the login process myself, so I can be certain they're logged in with their own user profile - not the Home Admin profile.

I've set a PIN on the Home Admin profile, but that doesn't help unless you've already logged in first, then go to use fast user switching to select a different profile. On very first login, Plex will always auto-select the Home Admin profile.

I've searched high and low, but can't find any info or settings that help me change this behaviour.

So, my question is simple: is it possible to prevent auto-login as the Home Admin profile, and force selection from the list of managed users instead?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: I should have provided more details about what I've tried so far. We have tested out using a separate Plex user account for the oldest kid, as all the reading I did suggested she would "inherit" my server's Plex Pass rights when streaming from it.

But, we found that the iPhone app could still stop playback after a minute. Plus we couldn't log her account onto the shared Chromecast TV, so she could watch her shows on the house TV. So we ended up moving her back to a managed user profile on our server.

EDIT 2: after some more reading, it now seems the mobile app must either be logged in with a Plex Pass account (mine, in our case) or the user has to pay a once-off fee to unlock it.

I could've sworn it was different when I first read about it a year or two back, where the app would "inherit" the server's rights, but I guess that's either faulty memory or they changed the rules. The once off unlock fee isn't a big problem, so that's one hurdle overcome.

The second problem is how to use multiple Plex accounts on the Plex app for Chromecast, so the kids can enjoy their content on the big screen when they want to. Has anyone cracked the code on how to achieve that?

IMO, this is yet another government initiative that's turning out to be an absolute joke.

My 9yo daughter has been hounding our household to not throw our 10c deposit containers into the council bin. Instead, she wants to collect them and cash them in using the CDS Vic scheme. As she puts it, we get money AND the containers get recycled properly, rather than what happens with our commingled recycling bin.

The problem is, every time I go to one of the reverse vending machines in my area, they're out of order, or there's only one receiver working, with about six people in line, all with several bags or boxes each.

Then the CDS Vic app itself says the same operator is running an over the counter collection at our local netball club, but someone was dreaming when they put that into the app. I've never seen anyone collecting recycling there, and I drive past it at least twice daily.

The operator in our area (Return-It) should lose their contract for being fucking useless.

This has been going on for so long now, that I'm now holding an estimated 400-600 bottles and cans, which my daughter is begging me to not toss out, so we can get rid of them "the right way".

I'm all for doing the right thing, and making sure recyclables are, well, recycled properly, but when the personal inconvenience level is so high, all it does is cost more taxpayer dollars without moving the needle on our recycling performance.

/rant

Can't even take a short break from 3D designing stuff. Glad I'm switching over to FreeCAD. All I wanted was to grab some dimensions from an old model.

cross-posted from: https://reddrefuge.com/post/189022

Obligatory note for those that haven't read/retained the news: Simple Mobile Tools was sold to ZipoApps - an Israeli company that specialises in buying and monetising popular apps.

Fossify is the fork of the Simple Mobile Tools repos, and they're gradually getting through each app and re-releasing them under the new name.

cross-posted from: https://reddrefuge.com/post/189022

Obligatory note for those that haven't read/retained the news: Simple Mobile Tools was sold to ZipoApps - an Israeli company that specialises in buying and monetising popular apps.

Fossify is the fork of the Simple Mobile Tools repos, and they're gradually getting through each app and re-releasing them under the new name.

Obligatory note for those that haven't read/retained the news: Simple Mobile Tools was sold to ZipoApps - an Israeli company that specialises in buying and monetising popular apps.

Fossify is the fork of the Simple Mobile Tools repos, and they're gradually getting through each app and re-releasing them under the new name.

So, after nearly 10 years of faithful service, my shitty ol' Wanhao i3 Plus is finally ready for retirement. Steppers are buzzing, occasional collisions with the bed, and the heat block just doesn't... heat as quickly as it used to.

Talking to a mate who does a lot more printing than I, it seems I can't pass up the Ender 3 V2. The right price for what I typically do, and is backed by a mature community.

I've ordered the auto-level kit with it, but nothing else. My i3 already sits in a Lack Rack I made, and it should comfortably take the new printer.

I have a couple of functional print projects on the backburner that were waiting for me to make a move, but wanted to get some advice on mods and upgrades first, that might make the first experience with the Ender even better.

So, asking the more experienced Ender owners out there: are there any essential upgrades, preferably 3D printed, you think I should look at first?

Cheers in advance!