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alp
alp@nostrplebs.com
npub175nu...g6w0
Muslim, Turkish man living in Germany, Internet veteran, husband and father. My Projects: ✨ #NoorNote, a premium Linux & MacOS desktop Nostr client: https://noornote.app/ ✨ #NoorSigner, a CLI Linux & MacOS desktop Key Signer: https://github.com/77elements/noorsigner Book "The White Ram Lamb": A dystopian Muslim cyberpunk science fiction novel https://mslmdvlpmnt.com/the-white-ram-lamb/ Other small projects: - Muslims Follow Pack: https://following.space/d/bsb40kv9nwr4 - ZapStar πŸ’« - Find out who zaps you the most: https://mslmdvlpmnt.com/zapstar/ - Search npubs by keywords: https://mslmdvlpmnt.com/SearchInNpub/ - Relay Inspector: https://mslmdvlpmnt.com/tools/relay-inspector.html
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alp 1 month ago
You know what I also love about Nostr? There are all these different bubbles here, like various friend circles or groups. If you sketch them out schematically, they're basically these clusters of users who interact a ton with each other. If you really keep an eye out, you'll notice that every now and then, two big bubbles merge together. You can totally see it happening. A pack leader from one bubble connects with the pack leader from another, and all of a sudden, new followers from Bubble A start following folks from Bubble B, and the other way around. I always find that kinda stuff fascinating. It's like in ancient Arabia, two tribes teaming up because two people from different ones got married. πŸ˜„
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alp 1 month ago
I'll be showcasing some of the #NoorNote features over there every now and then. And if you have questions about NoorNote, feel free to send them that way too. View quoted note β†’
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alp 2 months ago
It's finally here! I've been nagging you guys about this like forever, now it's out and ready to download. Ladies and gentlemen... πŸ’« #NoorNote! Together with #NoorSigner! πŸ’« image For Linux and Mac. Download it here: Here's a snippet from the feature list: 🌟 Spotlight-like search - Search by Event, Username, npub and full-text. With built-in browsing history. Quick access to anything with CMD+K/CTRL+K 🌟 Search in npub - Search for keywords within a specific user's posts 🌟 Rich Bookmarks - Drag & drop sortable lists with folder organization 🌟 Custom Bookmarks - Bookmark any URL, just like in a browser 🌟 Mute Threads - Say bye to hell threads 🌟 Follow lists - With mutual badges and zap balances 🌟 Quoted reposts - Shown in note's replies 🌟 Article notifications - Get notified on new articles per user 🌟 Analytics per note - See who liked, reposted, quoted, replied, or zapped 🌟 Thread mention alerts - Get notified when someone replies to a note you were mentioned in 🌟 Local list backups - Manual NIP-51 list management, never lose your follows, bookmarks, or mutes again 🌟 Multiple NIP-05 support - Add multiple verified addresses to your profile 🌟 Safe NWC string storage - Stored in keychain (macOS) or Secret Service (Linux) And here are a few screenshots: First release, let me know about any bugs. Hit me up right here on Nostr or on GitHub, whatever. I'm gonna go party first. image Jumu'ah Mubārak! Ψ¬Ω…ΨΉΨ© Ω…Ψ¨Ψ§Ψ±ΩƒΨ©
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alp 2 months ago
I decided to drop Windows support for #NoorNote/#NoorSigner after all. I know I bragged about making it work, but I've got technical, economic, and moral reasons for it. 1. Technical friction: For communication between NoorSigner and NoorNote, Windows needs separate code paths for IPC (named pipes versus Unix sockets), file system handling, and media uploads (WebView2 CORS restrictions). Every platform difference brings in potential bugs that are tough to reproduce and debug. 2. Code signing costs: Without a paid certificate (around 300 to 400 bucks a year per app), Windows users get "Unknown Publisher" warnings that scare them off from installing. That expense just isn't worth it for an open source niche app. 3. Target audience: Nostr draws in tech savvy early adopters who are mostly on macOS and Linux. The average Windows user who wants a one click install is probably going to find the setup (key management, Zap/Lightning wallet etc.) way too complicated anyway. And NoorNote has (and will have, insh'Allah) A LOT OF features normies are unfamiliar with. 4. Maintenance burden: Every Windows specific bug takes 3 to 4 times longer to fix because of VM testing and long feedback loops between builds. The moral reasons are: It spies on its users like crazy. I mean, screenshots of your whole desktop every few seconds and telemetry you can't even turn off? That's way over the line. That's actually unacceptable. It's totally incompatible with NoorNote's privacy promise. With NoorNote, I don't store any data on my side, I don't even run it on a server so I'm not even subject to Europe's GDPR, I'm don't even ship it with a relay (I leave that to other, way more intelligent folks) and I secure everything as best I can... only to ship it for Windows? That would be a joke, that'd be a huge contradiction. That just doesn't work, I can't do that. MacOS is still kinda shaky on the edge. It has some crappy defaults, but you can turn off all the integrated AI and cloud stuff pretty easily. Not as bad and controlling as Windows. If that changes for the worse down the line, then no more MacOS support either. Simple as that. The IT and Internet landscape is shifting hard right now. Its users are at a crossroads. Either the cyberpunk path (Bitcoin payments, Linux, GrapheneOS, open source, and Nostr) or the old fiat path (Instagram/YouTube, AI slop, fiat payments, Android and iOS, KYC, and proprietary systems like Windows). The middle ground is disappearing more and more. MacOS (the desktop OS) survives technically thanks to its FreeBSD base, even if it's not 100% GNU/Linux. But it at least allows GNU tools. Even if the business side seems different, they leave a door open at least. We'll see how long Apple can keep up this balancing act.
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alp 2 months ago
I did it, I tamed it, alhamdulillah. Just for you, my dear @AlsatiaTheDRK πŸ¦βš”οΈπŸŒ‘ , haha. Nah, kidding. It was a workout. Two whole days of workout. I had no clue about the state of Windows 11, since I haven't touched Windows since XP. This is what you have got to do now if you want to download and install unsigned software on Windows: (Sorry, screenshots are in German) Step 1: You download the software like normal. image Step 2: Even though you've already downloaded it, the browser doesn't write it to your hard drive. It yaps about "trust" and stuff. You have got to click "Show more." image Step 3: Only then do a trash icon and a three dots icon show up in the download bar, but just on mouseover. image Step 4: If you click the three dots icon, a context menu pops up, and one of the five options is "Keep." image Step 5: But that's still not it. Another popup comes up where you have got to click the three dots next to the "Delete" button. image Step 6: There, a pulldown menu opens with "Keep anyway" in the nicest design. image Step 7: NOW it finally writes the file to your downloads folder and generously lets you run it. image So you run the setup. But hey, Windows isn't done yet. Step 8: A blue window pops up yapping about "Defender Smartscreen" with only a "Don't run" button. It's the same blue as the Blue Screen of Death. If it wasn't, they'd probably make it flash red and orange. image Totally user friendly and logical, right? You have got to click the "More info" link... Step 9: ...so the "Run anyway" button shows up. image Step 10: And only then does the setup program start. image That's some top notch dark UX. So, what's the deal? I didn't buy a code signing certificate. That costs about 300 to 500 Euros a year. A year! That's why my app got this special treatment. At the same time: - Windows 11 Copilot/Recall takes screenshots of everything you do - Telemetry is almost impossible to fully turn off - Cortana, OneDrive, Microsoft Account get shoved down your throat Apple's got a similar system: Gatekeeper plus Notarization - Unsigned apps: "Can't be opened because the developer can't be verified" - User has to right click Open or allow it in System Settings Costs: - Apple Developer Account: 99 bucks a year - With that, you can sign AND notarize (Apple checks the app automatically) Difference from Windows: - One time 99 bucks a year for everything (not per certificate) - Notarization is automated (no hardware token needed) - Easier to integrate into CI/CD But: - Apple reserves the right to remotely block apps - M1/M2 Macs are even more restrictive - For open source, Apple's actually a bit cheaper and easier than Windows. But it's the same principle: Pay up or your users see warnings. Ubuntu Linux has a warning in its app center too, but it still lets you install the software easy. And 'sudo dpkg -i filename.deb' still works in the terminal with no warnings. image It's 2025. This is the state of our home computers. --- View quoted note β†’
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alp 2 months ago
This is a super interesting, raw Nostr client. Maybe not so much for regular users, but a great tool for other Nostr developers View article β†’
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