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49th issue of Andrei Neagoie's must-read monthly Python Newsletter: Python Errors, Tools in Python Land, Architecting Monorepos, and much more. Read the full newsletter to get up-to-date with everything you need to know from last month.

Looking at the options for blocking ads, people usually first look at browser extensions. Google's plan is to disable adblock extensions in 2024. The alternative is usually an app (on phones) or a "VPN" that does filtering for you. All these methods are quite heavyweight, and require installing software on your phone or PC. What is less known, is that you can you DNS-over-TLS or DNS-over-HTTPS for ad blocking. What is DNS-over-TLS and DNS-over-HTTPS Since Android 9, Google has provided a setting calledPrivate DNS. Traditional DNS is unencrypted UDP so anyone can monitor your requests and/or return false records. With private DNS, DNS-over-TLS or DNS-over-HTTPS is used to guarantee the DNS request is sent to the server you configured. Which Google hopes is of course Google's own public servers. If you do so, your ISP and hotspot providers no longer can monitor, monetize and enshittify your DNS requests - only Google can do so. Subverting private DNS for ad blocking This is where AdGuard DNS comes useful. By setting the AdGuard DNS server as your "private DNS" server following the instructions,you can start blocking right away. Note, on PC you can also configure the Adguard DNS server on the Browser settings (Firefox -> Enable secure DNS and Chrome -> Use Secure DNS) instead of configuring a system-wide DNS server. Blocking via DNS, of course, limits effectiveness to ads distributed from 3rd party servers. Other uses for AdGuard DNS If you register for Adguard DNS, you get your "own", customizable DNS server address to point to. You can, for example, create your own /etc/hosts style records that are now available to all you devices you have connected to the Adguard DNS server - whether your a are home or not. Of course, you choose to use the personal DNS server, your DNS query privacy is in the hands of AdGuard. Going further What else is ruining the web than Ads? Well commercial social media. An article ("Ei näin! – Algoritmiähky") from the latest Finnish Magazine SKROLLI (mainos: jos luet suomeksi, Tilaa skrolli!) hit a chord for me. The algorithms of social media sites are designed not to serve you, but to addict you. For example, If you stop to watch a hateful meme image, the algorithm will record "The user spent time watching this, show more of the same!". It doesn't help block or mute - yeah that spefic hate engager will be blocked, but all the dozens similar hate pages will still be shown to you. Worse, the social media sites are being overrun by AI-generated crap. Unfortunately the addictive nature of the algorithms works. You reload in vain, hoping this time the algorithmic god will show something your friends share. How do you cure addiction? By blocking yourself out:

Epilogue I didn't block myself out of Fediverse - yet. It's not engineered to be addictive, which is also probably why it isn't as popular as the commercial alternatives...

From Shopping Carts to Conversions: Why Drupal Commerce Should Be Your Top Choice kanapatrick Sat, 12/30/2023 - 09:39

When it comes to building an e-commerce website, choosing the right platform is crucial for success. With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to decide which one is the best fit for your business. However, if you want a flexible and powerful solution, Drupal Commerce should be at the top of your list.

Explore the best Drupal hosting solutions! Our guide helps you navigate the options, find the perfect match, and optimize your project's performance. Make an informed choice for seamless Drupal hosting.

Recently, I presented an online session for the TechCohear community at Infosys, focusing on the Schema.org Blueprints module. This module developed by Jacob Rockowitz simplifies building structured websites. It's a significant leap for Drupal in managing and distributing structured data.

In Drupal, the default behaviour of entity reference fields allows us to select unpublished content if the content creator has permission to view unpublished content, which can be useful in specific scenarios where we need to establish relationships even with unpublished content. However, in many cases, we want to refer only to published content. The problem arises when we add references during content creation without verifying whether the referenced items are published. This can lead to confusion later when we wonder why the referenced contents are not visible when viewing the content. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to use a Drupal view to filter the values appearing in an entity reference field

Adaptability and swift implementation of feature requests from business owners are important for successful digital ventures. When faced with the challenge of meeting the dynamic demands of the operations team and ever-changing business requirements, relying solely on native implementations can lead to prolonged deployment times and missed opportunities. Learn how we have leveraged no-code, low-code solutions and Drupal to quickly deploy a feature that made a media portal's lead management process efficient.

ICFOSS and Zyxware Technologies organized the 5th season of the "Back-To-Work" program for women, with the topic being "Building digital experiences with Drupal". As part of the event, The Director of Programs at the Drupal Association, Von R. Eaton, gave a presentation covering various aspects of Drupal, Drupal.org, and the Drupal Association, followed by a question and answer session with participants. The questions addressed topics such as the cost of Drupal, the necessary skills to work in the Drupal Association, mentoring opportunities, and payment for freelancers contributing to Drupal.

This article discusses 4 Drupal modules useful for implementing standard features required by public sector websites.

Drupal Earns Digital Public Good Status: Recognized by the UN for Helping Achieve Sustainable Development Goals. Drupal's recognition as a Digital Public Good by the DPGA is a significant achievement that invites more governments and non-profit organisations to explore the benefits of using Drupal.

Learn how to improve your website's conversion rates by conducting a digital marketing experiment using Drupal and a website personalization engine.

The "Back to Work for Women" program is a residential training program organised by ICFOSS (International Centre for Free and Open Source Software) designed to help women who took a career break due to personal commitments to re-enter the workforce by acquiring new skills in the free software domain—the 5th edition of the program which was centred around using Drupal to develop digital experience platforms. The program was organised by ICFOSS, with support from various organisations such as Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission (KKEM), Kerala Development and Innovation Strategy Council (K-DISC), and as part of the Gender & Technology initiative by the government of Kerala. Zyxware Technologies, a leading digital transformation firm, participated in the program by providing training on Drupal technology to expand the talent pool of Drupal developers and the Drupal community in general.