Latest Comments

Here's a list of the most recent comments. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to say something!

Comment on Getting Audio Visualizations working with Web Audio API:

To get audio visualizations working with the Web Audio API, start by creating an AudioContext to process your audio. First, load the audio file using the AudioBufferSourceNode, then connect it to an AnalyserNode, which will provide real-time frequency data. Use the getByteFrequencyData or getFloatFrequencyData methods to retrieve audio data in the form of an array. Once you have the data, use JavaScript’s Canvas API or WebGL to visualize the audio. Map the frequency values to visual elements such as bars, waves, or circles. With careful manipulation of the data, you can create engaging, dynamic audio visualizations. For more Information: https://qamarsharif.com/

Comment on Getting Audio Visualizations working with Web Audio API:

Getting audio visualizations working with the Web Audio API is easier than you think. The Web Audio API allows developers to create dynamic, interactive audio experiences by processing and visualizing audio data in real-time. To start, use the AudioContext to analyze sound and the AnalyserNode to extract frequency data. From there, you can create visual effects by mapping this data to HTML5 canvas elements. By adjusting parameters like gain, frequency, and waveform, you can create stunning audio visualizations for music, podcasts, or interactive applications. With some coding knowledge, the Web Audio API makes adding audio visualizations to your website simple and efficient. https://sunshinesolarsystems.tech/

Comment on What's going on with User Agent strings?:

User Agent strings, which identify browsers and devices to websites, are undergoing significant changes to enhance privacy and streamline functionality. Traditionally, these strings contained detailed information about the browser, version, operating system, and device, often exploited for fingerprinting and tracking users. To address privacy concerns, browsers like Chrome and Firefox are moving toward a more simplified or standardized User Agent format. For example, Google’s “User-Agent Client Hints” provides specific information only when requested, minimizing unnecessary data exposure. These changes aim to balance compatibility for developers while protecting user privacy, marking a step forward in creating a safer online environment. https://sunshinesolarsystems.tech/

Comment on What's going on with User Agent strings?:

User Agent strings, which identify browsers and devices to websites, are undergoing significant changes to enhance privacy and streamline functionality. Traditionally, these strings contained detailed information about the browser, version, operating system, and device, often exploited for fingerprinting and tracking users. To address privacy concerns, browsers like Chrome and Firefox are moving toward a more simplified or standardized User Agent format. For example, Google’s “User-Agent Client Hints” provides specific information only when requested, minimizing unnecessary data exposure. These changes aim to balance compatibility for developers while protecting user privacy, marking a step forward in creating a safer online environment. Read It For More Information!

Comment on What's going on with User Agent strings?:

User Agent strings are becoming more streamlined and less detailed due to privacy concerns and evolving web standards. Browsers and platforms are reducing the amount of information shared to protect user privacy, making it harder to track individual behavior. As a result, many user agents no longer include as much data about the device, operating system, and browser version. This shift is driven by regulations like GDPR and growing awareness around data privacy, leading to changes in how websites and advertisers collect and utilize user data for analytics and personalization. For more Information: https://dynaamx.tech/

Comment on What's going on with User Agent strings?:

There is a method for identifying browser/platform that is much more reliable than UA/CH headers. It’s browser fingerprinting via feature testing. One needs not look much further than the MDN compatibility tables to devise a method of detecting specific browsers. I’m willing to bet that there’s multiple bits of information unique to Chromium on Windows 11 too.

See: https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/

The EFF’s panopticlick is opensource and the anti-fingerprinting code of browsers is opensource. There’s likely many relevant projects easily discoverable on Github as well. For proprietary methods, spending some time reverse engineering WAFs such as Cloudflare can’t hurt. Cloudflare goes as far as to weigh low level networking protocol parameters into it’s bot score rating system,i.e., TCP and TLS properties such as cipher parameters and protocol extensions (signature algorithms). The browser/platform/CPU combination of your system will result in different TLS configuration and Cloudflare does a good job at using AI to learn/filter it’s traffic.

Some random site (https://amiunique.org/fp), correctly identifies the Linux kernel version I’m using, etc. etc. I also think Nmap deserves a mention.

There’s more than enough information to correctly identify the browser/platform. There may very well be enough information to make fingerprinting more reliable than IP addresses.

Comment on Getting Audio Visualizations working with Web Audio API:

I am having the same issue as Ollie.

I can’t get this to work for an MP3 stream. I was able to get it working with a static MP3 file stored on my server. This problem exists only on Safari.

createMediaElementSource() seems to be buggy in Safari. Specifically, the frequencyBinCount() returns just an array of zeroes.

Is anyone else experiencing this? I will try using the adapter.js shim, but I was hoping for a native Safari solution.

Comment on Changelog (7.10 - 7.12.1):

Hey Andre, I think about it a lot actually! There’s a lot in the source though, some of which I don’t really want to make public. Some career/salary information, some personal pages for family, stuff like that (some of that stuff is stored in the database, but I have some custom pages with the data in the source).

I was thinking about pulling out different parts of the project, making them their own repos, and open sourcing those. I’ll definitely write about it if I decide to do it.

Comment on Changelog (7.10 - 7.12.1):

Never thought about publishing the source of your “server”? I just came along your site while I was thinking what my next steps for my personal site will be.

Especially I was looking for solutions which support webmentions out of the box and this is why Google led me to your site.

Comment on Re: Are Outdoor Mask Mandates Still Necessary?:

I agree with all of these points! Especially about wearing them to protect from pollen. It looks like the CDC is going to release new guidance soon on wearing masks outdoors, so it’ll be interesting to see that. I’d prefer if people just continue wearing them out of an abundance of caution, there doesn’t seem to be any harm in doing so.