For a really long time I have wanted a world with this in it: - Self-host Signal server under my desk or in a network-near dc (

GitHub

GitHub - signalapp/Signal-Server: Server supporting the Signal Private Messenger applications on Android, Desktop, and iOS

Server supporting the Signal Private Messenger applications on Android, Desktop, and iOS - signalapp/Signal-Server

) - Install Signal app from whatever store - Open up app and select my alternative server - Ask friends/family/colleagues to open up their apps and do the same

Reading paragraphs like these in front page mainstream media gives me hope tickles: "Dr Corinne Cath-Speth, the head of digital at human rights organisation Article 19, said: “We urgently need diversification in cloud computing. The infrastructure underpinning democratic discourse, independent journalism and secure communications cannot be dependent on a handful of companies.”

the Guardian

Amazon Web Services outage shows internet users ‘at mercy’ of too few providers, experts say

Crash that hit apps and websites around world demonstrates ‘urgent need for diversification in cloud computing’

#datasovereignty #selfhosted #decentralisation

Way too many bytes in one basket makes for one very big single point of failure. This is the cost of an absurdly hyper-centralised fast-food-like data center culture. Signal++ down, sucks, but it's seeing fundamentals like banks & public sector services break that stings most. But hey, maybe this is what it tales to push more govs to actual #datasovereignty, investing in locally owned data centers or building out their team & hosting on-prem #decentralisation #amazon #aws

Interesting article citing research finding that US coal demand has increased 20% on last year, in large part due to datacenter growth. The majority of that growth is of course attributed to the 'AI' industry, however I was not aware of the 2024 Morgan Stanley finding (referenced in article) projecting that by 2030 datacenters will "triple the emissions that would have occurred without the development of generative AI technology." BigAI is #climate poison.

Coal making a comeback as US datacenters demand power

: High gas prices and surging AI demand send operators back to the dirtiest fuel in the stack

This is mind-blowing. "Scientists soon knew they were witnessing something both unexpected and profound: seeds and plant scraps, trapped underground for more than a century, had roared back to life." Vast, mass-regeneration potential waiting to be unlocked in soil. It's like cryo but without the cold.

the Guardian

Creatures buried in soil for over a century burst back to life in Toronto waterfront

A project to restore coastal wetland leads to astonishing discoveries of a host of life: seeds and plant scraps, as well as water fleas, worms, lar...

#regeneration #rewilding #soil #conservation