Andy Piper

This week’s show features our friend ePredator - AKA Ian Hughes, a retired tech luminary! Michael R and Ian get to spend the time talking a lot about gaming and some of the good, bad, and interesting activity going on in the space

OK everyone, This Week in Matrix is out... 👀 Amandine writes about the 🇪🇺 DC-EDIC; 🚀 8 more MSCs enter FCP; 🏛️ The Matrix Conference is just days away; clients and homeserver updates; and more! #MatrixConf #Malmo matrix.org/blog/2026/10...

"The call is coming from inside the house." Reuters has confirmed that the White House gave the order to disrupt Starlink so Russia could attack Kyiv with no advanced warning. Trump’s a traitor--a Russian asset who is using US military technology to help our enemy. www.reuters.com/world/europe...

e571 – Rando Blocko e571 with Andy and Michael R: lots of bricks and blocks (LEGO, and Minecraft), podracing, and random typefaces.

Dear friends who don't speak German: Go to YouTube ASAP, turn on subtitles → autogenerated translation and watch this video! TL;DR: #WSocial is posting legal names, nationalities and approx. birthdays of verified users as a public record on the Atmosphere. Confronted, they claim it's "by design" 🤯

Excited to hear the Luxembourg Minister for Digitalisation and Higher Education speaking about the use of #Matrix at the heart of LuxChat, used across Luxembourg public sector and other services. #OSCL26

I’ll be part of a panel discussing the Digital Commons EDIC at Open Source Conference 2026 in Luxembourg #oscl26 today at 2pm, and otherwise roaming the event to talk #matrix and interoperability - looking forward to reconnecting with the community here. pretalx.com/open-source-...

e570 with Michael R and Andy: stories about an #AI driven micro #fishtank, human scale #Minecraft #hotel crafting, crowdsourced #gamified #MapUpdates, #inebriatedAI and a whole lot more!

Just a few weeks until The Matrix Conference arrives in Malmö (with our hackathon to follow, in Copenhagen) 🎉 We think the schedule is looking exciting! 😎 Do you have your ticket? What are you looking forward to the most? #MatrixConf conference.matrix.org/schedule/

e569 with Andy, Michael and Michael who explore flight and world #simulators, #VRglasses that burn temples, #sideburns, #IcePrinting, #CameraRobot, audio optimized venues and a whole lot more!

Happy Friday, everyone! This Week In Matrix 🗞️ delivers a video about FluffyChat; news on several other client apps; the return 🎇 of the MSC progress report; a community blog post series; and, the latest on the Matrix Conference. 🥁 #Matrix #TWIM #MatrixConf matrix.org/blog/2026/09...

Interested in the next OggCamp? We're on hold, for the moment... but, you can help! www.oggcamp.org/posts/oggcam...

I've got a lot of work to do today but I'm getting absolutely nerdsniped by the new Flock dataset. You can download it here. It's all of the Android partitions extracted from a Flock device ddosecrets.org/article/floc...

NEWS! Anil Dash will be keynote speaker at the next FediForum Oct 6-7! Anil is a technologist, writer and activist advocating for ethical, inclusive tech. He'll talk about lessons learned working on open standards, community and what's to come. More details & registration:

Michael and Michael discuss #AIVision #invisibility techniques, set flavors to stun with #LeCruset #StarTrek inspired #cookware, enjoy #LEGOIdeas projects, review #AudioIntelligence features and a whole lot more!

It is Friday, and here is your regular This Week in Matrix 📰 update - a Matrix Conference preview, and a range of homeserver, client and framework updates. 🥳 #MatrixConf #TWIM matrix.org/blog/2026/09...

We are pleased to announce we have been selected as the Council's preferred operator for Rochford Freight House, subject to final lease agreement etc. We'll be working with the community and other organisations to make the best use we can of the whole building. www.rochford.gov.uk/councillors-...

statsbadge v2.3.0 released, with a new "amsterdam" clock face, the ability to style all clock faces with theme colours, and some bugfixes to the macOS pairing flow (turns out I never tested it wireless 🤦‍♂️). github.com/pimoroni/sta...

The schedule of talks and workshops for The Matrix Conference is now available. We can't wait to meet up with the Matrix community and ecosystem again, in Malmö - get your tickets now! 🎟️ cfp.2026.matrix.org/matrix-confe... #MatrixConf

e567 with Michael M and Andy - Stories and discussion on #Xteink #reader mods, #PONG, #mathematical #innovations for #dice, #WalledGarden vs open #VibeCoding, #WorldModels, #AIProductivity and a whole lot more! www.gamesatwork.biz

This Week in Matrix is out! 📰 Matrix Live features news on FITKO Neo (via the Matrix Community Workation); The Matrix Conference 2026 drops more session titles (get your 🎟️); Synapse 1.160.0 shipped; new Voyager app for Android; even more at matrix.org/blog/2026/09... #Matrix #TWIM #MatrixConf

e566 with Michael M and Andy - making #fetch happen with #AI #podcast search and #NewsAggregation, spoof computers (#Mactini & #MacBookWheel), #Doom ports & mods, #FlyingToasters, falling #Acme #anvils and a whole lot more!

The US State Department has designated A/I, a small Italian provider of open source infrastructure for political activists, as a global terrorist group. They will reach into our very homes to grab us — if we let them. www.state.gov/releases/off...

For those mourning the loss of #XCancel and #Nitter - I've written a guide to retrieving Tweets without using the Twitter API. shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/04... You can use that to get individual posts + whatever they were in reply to. Enjoy!

If there was a Tech Against Racism conference/gig in your local area with some cool bands and nice people, would you consider going? Should it be a march? Is that even viable or no? Just wondering about ways to push back against the current mainstreaming of outright racism in our industry.

Before you say positive things about DHH because of Omarchy, a reminder that it's been like 3 weeks since he published a blog that compares Roma people to the wolves Denmark eradicated in the 1800s. He's an open, virulent racist and always has been. Everything he touches should be radioactive.

Reneging on open data would be an utter disaster. Don’t do this, government.

Lately I have noticed anti-immigrant rhetoric from #WSocial users - as well as posts containing hate speech that are NOT moderated. Thankfully I subscribe to @blackskyweb.xyz moderation and I want to thank @jdot.blacksky.team and his team for labeling one of the worst W accounts. #WSocialPics

Niepokojący wątek o #Wsocial CEO tej platformy otwarcie zaprasza Alice Weidel (liderkę niemieckiego AFD) do Wsocial. W tym samym wątku wskazane są także inne niepokojące relacje i sympatie z prawicą.

How is this possible? #WSocial hosts 26k accounts but only 5.4k have provided ID verification (and thus can post). Of those, only 2450 people (as of this AM) have EVER published a SINGLE post or reply. By comparison, on Eurosky (26k accounts) EVERYONE can post. No ID required #WSocialPics

Why so few people verify their accounts on #WSocial? I think there is a mix of curiosity (grabbing a username but never following through with verification) and also difficulties in using #WIdentity. The app, on the Google Play Store for example, has an average rating of 1.2 stars! #WSocialPics

On September 11-13, we’ll be temporarily docking our spaceship at @c-base.org station for Berlin FediDay! Together with us, there will be many DWeb friends and adventurers. Join us! Tickets presale ends on Aug 24.

e564 with Andy, Michael and Michael - Stories and discussion on #Invisible #PromptInjection in #LegalBriefs & #resumes, #AI #watermarking, #PodcastGames, #LEGO and a whole lot more! #MinasTirith wasn’t built in a day!

We've been a bit quiet on here, but still going! More meetups later in August and in September, and looking forward to getting to some other maker-related events around the UK as well. More at hackwimbledon.org

Here's our Starter Pack of Hopeful Technologists on Bluesky

Hello, everyone! A little about us: We are a solidarity network that: 1) Strengthens and activates Hopeful Technologists, so more people can make, advocate for and stand-up for the technology they believe in and want.

e564 with Michael, Andy and Michael - a #spider filled episode with #AdTech and #lifesaving #robotic implications, #VR #MarioKart, #quantum #LawnMowing, #IdentityManagement and a whole lot more!

e563 with Michael, Michael and Andy - @GamesAtWork game, and a cornucopia of games: #Haex, #PathbindQuest, a physical #cockpit for #HalcyonDawn, Chris Pirillo’s #UFOgame from his #Arcade and a whole lot more!

I love this design! Hope you'll join us in Malmö?

😱 Today is the final day to order your Matrix Conf merch! Look at this exclusive design for this year's event 😍 The shop for merch pre-orders will close TONIGHT at 23:59 CEST! If you want a Matrix Conf T-shirt, hoodie, beanie, or pair of socks, order today! conference.matrix.org/register/#ti...

e562 - Field Notes with Andy and Michael M - #EMFCamp recap, whole lot of #LEGO love, the #GameOfLife, a #Playdate #miniMMO, #AR assisted #murals with #sketchar.io and a whole lot more!

brief notes on #EMFCamp lbj20.blogspot.com/2026/07/elec... huge thanks to everyone who made it happen, especially orga

Do you like #emfcamp? Do you you like world-o-techno? Introducing, Badge-o-techno. youtu.be/vewKeE6lWM0?...

Dear @wsocial.eu, I found evidence of a spam account posting on your network: @tiktok.wsocial.eu (which is also doing brand impersonation). This account has been verified by a government ID (otherwise it would not have been able to post); it has been labeled as "spam" by @bsky.app. #WSocial

e561 with Michael, Andy and Michael - #ArialAquatic #robotic #locomotion, #Puffin #wingspan, #e-ink mini #PDAs, #MakerMarketplaces such as #Tindie, #Lectronz and #SmallRun, custom #vinyl, #cooperative #LLMs and a whole lot more!

🎉 Hey everyone, it's spec release day! Matrix 1.19 is officially here. 🚀 There are 6 new MSCs, with some highly anticipated features including: ✨ Native custom emoji support (image packs) 🔐 Encrypted room history sharing ➡️ Read the full announcement: matrix.org/blog/2026/07... #Matrix

Following recent disruptions at Tindie, 129 stores migrated to Lectronz. Here's what the data reveals: 956 orders, 31 countries, and why many makers decided to stay. lectronz.com/u/lectronz/a...

UK Tax returns have gone digital, which is fine in principle. What is not fine is that pretty much only paid solutions are acceptable for submitting a return. If electronic tax returns are mandatory, the government should be providing a cost-free means. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...

e560 with Andy, Michael and Michael - #stickshifts & #PhoneHandsets with #IanBogost, camping at #EMFCamp2026 & #MountainQuest2026, #BrainCooling, #DwarfLemurs, #WorldCup2026 #USMNT #ThreeLions #tokenpocalypse and a whole lot more!

There's ONE WEEK LEFT to nominate your favourite non-commercial, artistic, poetic, silly, frivolous website of the past 12 months for the 2026 Tiny Awards! We've had 100s of nominations so far but would like more, please - entries are free, please help us celebrate the Good Internet: tinyawards.net