All posts by kobaan

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War in Ukraine – Ideas for sanctions against Russia

I collected a list of sanction ideas, to punish Putin and his elites for invading ukraine.
Hopefully some companies and individuals will pickup these and also contribute more ideas.

Protest against Putin’s war against Ukraine https://standwithukraine.live/peace-protests 

  1. #Apple #iphone / #Google #android – mobile phones, prohibit updates and cloud services (appstore/maps/voice/music/backup), but hey they can switch to trusty #Huawei
  2. #Microsoft #Windows / #Apple #macos #ios – prohibit software updates, makes russia vulnerable to foreign cyberattacks, but hey they can switch to trusty #RedFlagLinux
  3. Open Source mirrors at #CDN and universities and #linux distributors like #RedHat #SuSe #Canonical #Ubuntu – block russian internet networks, makes russia vulnerable to foreign #cyberattacks
  4. cloud providers like Amazon #AWS / Microsoft #Azure / Google #GCP – block russian internet networks, eliminates russian usage of cloud services
  5. DDoS protection providers like #Akamai #Cloudflare – cancel contracts with russian companies, makes russia vulnerable to foreign #cyberattacks
  6. #Microsoft #Windows – deauthorize russian licenses, send russia back to trial “democracy” mode
  7. AntiVirus companies like #Avast #Bitdefender #McAfee #Norton #TrendMicro – block pattern updates for russian internet networks, makes russia vulnerable to foreign #cyberattacks
  8. car makers like #Audi #BMW #Ford #GM #Honda #Hyundai #Jaguar #Kia #Mercedes #Nissan #Porsche #Tesla #Toyota #Volkswagen #Volvo – send bricking software updates to russian luxury cars, annoys the rich russian population
  9. game stores like #Epic #Origin #Steam #Ubisoft – block russian internet networks, annoys the rich russian population
  10. video platforms like #Facebook #Instagram #Periscope #Snapchat #TikTok #Twitch #Vimeo #Youtube – block russian internet networks, annoys the rich russian population
  11. network equipment companies like #Arista #Aruba #Cisco #Extreme #Juniper #Nokia – prohibit software updates, makes russia vulnerable to foreign cyberattacks, but hey they can switch to trusty #Huawei
  12. various countries – prohibit flights to/from russia, refuse refueling, same for seaports, no vacation for the rich russian population
  13. various countries – cancel overflight rights for russian aircraft for your airspace, leading to more expensive routes for russian airlines
  14. expel russian students from western universities the same way russian war now has forced foreign students in #ukraine to leave universities
  15. video streaming services like #Disney+ #AppleTV #Hulu #HBO #Prime #Netflix – block russian internet networks, annoys the rich russian population
  16. various countries – seize yachts of rich oligarchs in your national waters/ports until russian aggressors redraw
  17. south korea, japan and taiwan – limit food variety in russias supermarkets, no asian snacks/sweets for the wealthy russian population during war against ukraine
  18. western companies should refuse to prolong any maintenance contracts software/hardware/license/support for russian companies
  19. car makers like #Audi #BMW #Ford #GM #Honda #Hyundai #Jaguar #Kia #Mercedes #Nissan #Porsche #Tesla #Toyota #Volkswagen #Volvo – stop shipping replacement parts, annoys the rich russian population
  20. VPN providers like #ExpressVPN #CyberGhost #PrivateVPN #VyprVPN #Windscribe #ZenMate – block outound russian internet networks, annoys the rich russian population

Hardware

Switching to Seagate 8TB IronWolf NAS disks

Time to replace my NAS disks, as storage space runs low, and my 6TB Western Digital drives are now out of guarantee. And I know they die on a regular basis.

This time I decided to go with Seagate IronWolf disks filled with helium,
lets see. at least they seem to also provide good RMA just in case.

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===

Model Family:     Seagate IronWolf

Device Model:     ST8000VN004-2M2101

swapping each disk one by one and resilvering the whole ZFS pool:

root@storage:~ # zpool replace storage /dev/gptid/ca518adc-dae2-11ea-b242-ac1f6bb1f010 /dev/gptid/1116da63-800d-11ec-a9d7-ac1f6bb1f010

root@storage:~ # zpool status storage

  pool: storage

 state: DEGRADED

status: One or more devices is currently being resilvered.  The pool will

continue to function, possibly in a degraded state.

action: Wait for the resilver to complete.

  scan: resilver in progress since Fri Jan 28 08:38:19 2022

132G scanned at 2.70G/s, 3.06G issued at 64.0M/s, 17.3T total

0B resilvered, 0.02% done, 3 days 06:45:13 to go

config:

NAME                                              STATE     READ WRITE CKSUM

storage                                           DEGRADED     0     0     0

  raidz1-0                                        DEGRADED     0     0     0

    gptid/34eb0c58-d274-11ea-ab94-ac1f6bb1f010    ONLINE       0     0     0

    gptid/2d6266b8-0266-11e8-9491-001517d34dc1    ONLINE       0     0     0

    gptid/fa76d2f6-7ed4-11ec-b5c0-ac1f6bb1f010    ONLINE       0     0     0

    replacing-3                                   DEGRADED     0     0     0

      1500263774321294681                         OFFLINE      0     0     0  was /dev/gptid/ca518adc-dae2-11ea-b242-ac1f6bb1f010

      gptid/1116da63-800d-11ec-a9d7-ac1f6bb1f010  ONLINE       0     0     0

errors: No known data errors

root@storage:~ # zpool status storage

  pool: storage

 state: DEGRADED

status: One or more devices is currently being resilvered.  The pool will

continue to function, possibly in a degraded state.

action: Wait for the resilver to complete.

  scan: resilver in progress since Fri Jan 28 08:38:19 2022

2.02T scanned at 5.10G/s, 61.8G issued at 156M/s, 17.3T total

13.9G resilvered, 0.35% done, 1 days 08:09:11 to go

config:

NAME                                              STATE     READ WRITE CKSUM

storage                                           DEGRADED     0     0     0

  raidz1-0                                        DEGRADED     0     0     0

    gptid/34eb0c58-d274-11ea-ab94-ac1f6bb1f010    ONLINE       0     0     0

    gptid/2d6266b8-0266-11e8-9491-001517d34dc1    ONLINE       0     0     0

    gptid/fa76d2f6-7ed4-11ec-b5c0-ac1f6bb1f010    ONLINE       0     0     0

    replacing-3                                   DEGRADED     0     0     0

      1500263774321294681                         OFFLINE      0     0     0  was /dev/gptid/ca518adc-dae2-11ea-b242-ac1f6bb1f010

      gptid/1116da63-800d-11ec-a9d7-ac1f6bb1f010  ONLINE       0     0     0  (resilvering)


After that the available space did automatically jump from 20.3TB to 29.1 TB, due to zpool autoexpand feature turned on.

Instruments, Music

Akai Force DAW hardware

Tired of sitting in front of a computer twisting knobs with my mouse, I decided to buy the Akai Force as a PC/Mac-less digital audio workstation DAW.

The best part is I can use it for looping, and can simply license multiple instrument plugins with the Force, which can also be used on the mac (one at a time).

The arranger is fantastic and offers so much more compared to a simple launchpad.

most likely I’ll not place it on top of my Yamaha DTX drums

For now, I’ll try to keep it “cable clean” in my shelf above my Technics piano.

Apple, Hardware

Apple Magic Keyboad with Fingerprint Sensor

I really did hesitate a long time due to the high price for that Apple Keyboard with fingerprint sensor, a.k.a. Touch ID.

The Apple Magic Keyboard with Fingerprint Sensor has become indispensable for me, thanks to its seamless blend of security, convenience, and elegance. The fingerprint sensor—integrated into the Touch ID/power button—is a game-changer for authentication. Gone are the days of typing passwords across countless apps and websites; now, a simple touch logs me in instantly. This is especially transformative with Passkeys, Apple’s passwordless login system. My fingerprint replaces clunky passwords for iCloud, Safari accounts (like Google or Microsoft), and third-party services, making security feel effortless. No more memorizing complex strings or fumbling with two-factor codes—just a tap to unlock my digital life.

The sensor’s placement is perfect, nestled into the right-side function keys, so it feels natural while typing. Even in low light, I never miss it. Beyond convenience, Touch ID ensures biometric data stays encrypted on-device (via Secure Enclave), giving me peace of mind that sensitive info isn’t stored online or shared with apps.

The keyboard itself is a joy to use: crisp key travel, whisper-quiet mechanics, and the sleek aluminum build typical of Apple peripherals. Whether coding, writing, or browsing, the tactile feedback keeps me productive for hours without fatigue. Pairing it with my Mac is instant via Bluetooth, and the battery lasts weeks on a single charge.

For anyone juggling passwords daily—or embracing Passkeys—the Magic Keyboard’s fingerprint sensor isn’t just a luxury; it’s a productivity upgrade that redefines how we interact with our devices securely. I’ll never go back to traditional keyboards.