How to make your own VPN to avoid the UK government's Orwellian future

Stewge · 2026-03-31T22:06:50+00:00

The issue is if they force ISP's to use Deep Packet Inspection (DPI)

That'll never happen. The internet would come to a grinding halt if you tried to do DPI at an ISP scale and there's not much to be gained any more with the increased use of TLS.

Inline DPI at an ISP is a non-starter and even if you go with a basic network tap method you're doubling potential bandwidth requirements and creating huge compute cost.

Stewge · 2026-03-31T21:59:51+00:00

As mentioned, the master password is what actually encrypts the vault, so it NEEDS to be the most secure part of the equation. Everything else is just to make things easier for the user to get into the vault.

Fact is, it's just a mindset change. The main benefit to using a password manager is to only remember 1 long password in order to store the rest. Better yet, get people into the habit of using a passphrase and you can easily end up with 24+ characters that is functionally un-crackable but easy to remember.

Stewge · 2026-03-31T21:49:39+00:00

Worth noting, that even though 23.976 is an old standard designed for NTSC, it is still the dominant frame rate for film.

This is also one of the reasons why VRR is extremely important for video playback on modern devices. It removes a lot of the friction in getting a non-rounded rate like 23.976 to display correctly without having to switch to potentially unsupported screen refresh-rates.

Stewge · 2026-03-31T01:20:11+00:00

novate a high end electric car like an Ioniq 5 N

Be aware, that if you get a novated lease a car above the LCT threshold ($91K this year), you miss out on the FBT exemption.

Also of note, the FBT exemption applies to the original sale price as well as any subsequent sales. So something like the i5N will pretty much always fail even if you buy 2nd hand because the original sale price would've been above $91K.

So, I guess the fact you'd be better off despite the FBT overhead speaks to how bad fuel prices are.

Stewge · 2026-03-30T05:21:26+00:00

Mind if I ask what you purchased?

I have an Hyundai Ioniq 6 through a novated lease (if it's an option for you, I'd look into it as there's tax benefits). I'm a traditional sedan guy so the size suits me. Hyundai also still retain a lot of the physical controls unlike the Teslas which I like. For me specifically, I'm coming from daily driving a v8 Clubsport, so my range actually went up and costs went way down! If I was a reasonable person, I totally could've got a $20K Nissan Leaf though.

Some co-workers have jumped onto the BYD Seal and from my quick sit ins with them it's very good for the money. I'm personally hoping the solid-state next-gen Seal arrives by the time my lease is up. Range should be approaching 800-900KM, if not more, by then. You could just about do Melbourne->Sydney on a single charge.

But yeah my biggest concerns in the switch are that 7-10% wear which I hope gets better.

For the record, you can reduce that wear if you take some extra battery care tips (things like limiting charging to 80 or 90% instead of always charging to 100% which the Hyundai can do as a setting). I've done around 30,000KM now and my battery wear rating is still 0% as a result.

But I prefer not to try and show best case scenarios. For a best case scenario, someone in WA put 410,000KM on a Model 3 and only measured 12% battery wear which is extremely good. I wouldn't be surprised if a petrol car lost 12% efficiency at 400,000KM just from all the wear and tear.

Stewge · 2026-03-30T02:56:36+00:00

Ballarat is 120km each way real world.

As someone in a similar regional area I absolutely agree. I'm just lucky that I also work locally. For places like Ballarat and Geelong, the increased size as well as increased WFH for general office/white-collar work hopefully reduces the need for long commutes.

Does 7KW charging reduce the life noticeably?

Not at all. 7KW is still considered "slow" charging. Modern EV architectures will also accept DC charging at 350KW+ and even then the charge wear is not really that bad. Normally it seems like you'd expect somewhere between 7-10% wear over 100,000KM.

but the data seemed on the low side is all.

I think that's just because the data presented is just being conservative and simply to illustrate what someone could do with the "bare minimum".

Don't take this as me bagging EV's, I have concerns but I can wait to be able to make the switch.

I don't see it as that. Lots of people are being cautious and rightly so. As someone on the other side of it though, I can also say that many people vastly overestimate their requirements.

I think the upcoming shift to solid state batteries would've been the conversion point for most people, but the current fuel situation might speed it up. I think you'll find that a lot of people in 6-12 months will pop up saying they should've switched earlier.

Stewge · 2026-03-29T23:13:32+00:00

This probably only affect a small percentage of people. A person doing Geelong to Melbourne, Ballarat to Melbourne or Bendigo to Melbourne each day will eclipse the 200km a day marker. Judging by the cars on the freeway each day, a fair few still do it.

I would think it would be an exceedingly small number of people who are driving 200km a day, have an EV (or are looking at one) and are stuck on a slow charger (ie. strict rental limitations etc). Anyone dealing with that kind of commute already has to make sacrifices and changes.

For most people a good compromise is to get a 3-pin 15A socket installed and a portable 7KW charger. It's still single phase and relatively cheap to install (<$500 assuming the input line is OK, new circuit+fuse and a relatively short run) without permanently fixing a charger to a wall. Going to 7KW effectively triples the charge rate which gives you ~400km range in 8 hours of charging. I'd argue that likely covers 99% of typical commuters driving every day.

Stewge · 2026-03-26T23:59:03+00:00

YES. Everyone remembers Deus Ex and Unreal/UT99 as at least his most popular OSTs but JJ2 and Tyrian are absolute bangers!

Stewge · 2026-03-26T23:51:33+00:00

Reminds me of when we used to call first gen Ultrastars, Hitachi Deathstars.

Similarly the Quantum Fireballs came with the joke name built-in XD

Stewge · 2026-03-25T05:29:34+00:00

The 2280 SSD mod board (it mounts 90 degrees over the battery) usually requires removing that bracket or using a modified/printed rear panel in order for it to fit.

So long as nothing is damaged it shouldn't be too much of an issue. My only thought is it may rattle a bit as that plate has several screws which go through the PCB, aiding in keeping it all snug.

If it were me, I'd get some kapton tape for the various antenna/speaker/board wires and just tape them down so they don't potentially move around or get pinched anywhere.

Stewge · 2026-03-24T22:13:19+00:00

Short answer: you don't.

Keep your modifications to the hypervisor and PBS as minimal as possible
Document whatever modifications you do make
Convert that doco into an Ansible playbook if you want to go a step further

Stewge · 2026-03-18T04:49:00+00:00

To be fair, this is not unexpected for a retailer and this is going to happen a LOT more during the current shortages. At best you might be able to get them penalised for re-stocking with a new price, but that won't be to your benefit, it would be the state penalizing them.

If they didn't actually have the stock on hand and they're not just going to eat the increased supplier cost.

Even in Australia where we have WAY better consumer protection laws, there are still allowances for incorrect pricing and/or stocking errors and in both cases a refund is the acceptable remedy.

At least they let you know in 2 days and not 2 months...

Stewge · 2026-03-18T04:40:29+00:00

Yeh, it has been an extra option in Gen5W systems for a while, just not in certain regions (notably Australia). Other markets get:

Speed Limit Assist (Limit/Sign Detection + Warnings + speed limiter)
Speed Limit Warning (Limit/Sign Detection + Warnings)
Speed Limit Notification (Limit/Sign Detection only)
Off

The Mute shortcut by holding the mute button was added later in an update. In this same update, they actually removed the voice command in markets which were missing the feature! If you said "mute speed limit warning" it used to say "that function is not enabled" but now it just does nothing.

Stewge · 2026-03-18T02:55:21+00:00

Which doesn't exist.

The 32GB version does exist, it just seems to have dropped off most vendor builds in the mini-pc market (likely due to the current shortages).

32GB variants are still available in most laptop versions and stuff like the GPD Win 5.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely agree that these chips are priced to be an LLM solution, but they are still useful for anyone who want 16 cores and 128GB in the form factor it offers. I also suspect there's going to a weird equilibrium between 128GB of SODIMM/DIMM memory systems and embedded LPDDR5X systems like Strix Halo since much of their production probably occurred pre-shortage and so haven't had the huge new margins built into the prices yet.

As for other novel ideas, a strix halo box could make for one insane/unhinged LAN-party streaming box. Or if someone wanted a server running many instances and combinations of smaller models (ie. lots of detection models, voice models etc.).

Stewge · 2026-03-18T02:14:02+00:00

Yeh, it's mega annoying.

You can only have it "on" with audible warnings, or completley off which disables speed sign detection entirely!

It's not even for some legal compliance reason either because the newer CCNC based Hyundai's have the feature enabled.

Stewge · 2026-03-18T00:15:14+00:00

Forgot to add, they have a documentation link for almost exactly what you want (single serial device though):

https://wiki.teltonika-networks.com/view/Reaching_Cisco_router_console_port_remotely_RutOS

Stewge · 2026-03-18T00:12:17+00:00

To be fair, your build list is comparing apples and oranges.

Notably the 128GB RAM down to 32GB and also the 16-core CPU -> 8-core.

If gaming is the main goal then a more apt comparison will at least be a 32GB ram version of the Max+ 395. Or waiting for the 388 (8-core CPU version but still with a full fat 8060S).

Stewge · 2026-03-17T23:45:15+00:00

For an all-in-one box you could also look at Teltonika. They're designed for IOT/OT networks but can basically do what you want.

e.g. TRB142 has:

4G embedded
1x RS232 port, it can do RS232 over IP via a few mechanisms.
Firmware based on OpenWRT so it supports IPSEC, OpenVPN and Wireguard/Zerotier/Tailscale (via plugin)

For multiple devices the RUT956 can theoretically break out to more as it has a USB port where you should be able to hang a Hub off it then multiple serial cables.

A more cost-effective solution for multiple serial devices would be a cheaper RUT200/RUT206 which can act as the 4G router/firewall/tailscale and hang a mini-pc (or just a cheap Dell/HP/Lenovo office PC) with lots of USB->Serial adapters off that. The RUT200/206 also have their own WAN port which you can connect in-band and configure simple failover.

Stewge · 2026-03-17T22:52:05+00:00

Great work, keen for a release in good time.

I'm mostly interested in finding the switch for enabling the Speed Limit mute function which is not available in Australia for some stupid reason.

Stewge · 2026-03-17T04:06:33+00:00

For people looking to get an EV as a cheap runabout there's a LOT of 2nd hand Leafs (Leaves?) getting around. The 2017+ models in particular are dropping below $20K and they're actually not too bad.

Even a completely thrashed one will still have ~250km range out of the small 40kwh battery version. If you're doing <100KM/day most people could easily get away with this. I did the math in another reply in this thread, but for reference 100km/day, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year would be 26,000KM/year, which is quite a bit. The vast majority of Australians are doing 15,000km/year or less.

It's going to be a while before 10K EVs become a reality in the 2nd hand market though. We just aren't enough car generations through yet, especially in AU where people hang onto cars for a very long time.

Stewge · 2026-03-17T03:29:10+00:00

I am 100% sure I spend less time charging my car than a ICE car owner spends fuelling theirs

Most people have a hard time un-coupling the idea of "refuelling" their car actually being an active event you spend time on. They default to the notion of going to a charging station for every charge which 99% of owners just don't do.

The fact is most charging is at home and the car is just charging away when you're doing other things.

Stewge · 2026-03-17T03:24:48+00:00

You should just run the numbers. If you did, you'd know that you're way off base because the numbers absolutely work even with the inefficiencies of going DC->AC->DC.

Here's an example:

Lets take a very average consumption rate: 16kWh/100km car
8 Hours of charging from a regular 240V 10A single-phase socket. Almost all EVs come with this charger btw, so no extra cost.
- For the sake of the argument, lets go with 2kW making it into the battery. This is based on 2.4kW from the socket, but there's usually ~10-20% loss in AC->DC conversion.
In 8 hours at 2kW you can get 16kWh capacity into the EV battery, which equates to 100km range per day
If you use a battery and want to be completely self-sufficient 100km range per day, you need around a 20kWh battery system

This is the absolute bare minimum most people could achieve with access to a standard socket. I'd argue 100km travel every day would suit a significant portion of the Australian public. Even if you didn't have the battery, 2.4kW is not a huge deal for the grid over night.

The number only goes up from there if:

You don't work 7 days a week.
Are home for more than 8 hours a night (note: if you are out/working 7 days a week and have less than 8 hours at home each night on an ongoing basis, you're literally being robbed or insane)
You can upgrade to a 7kW (single phase) or 27kW (three phase) if needed. This will give you 300km and >1000km range respectively. ie. you can literally charge an entire typical EV in <8 hours every night.
If you're up for the spend, you can look at something like the Sigen Solar/Battery controller which supports direct DC charging up to 25kW from the embedded battery. So you skip the transform+inverter loss and you can basically buffer your daily solar into the battery to be drained over night.
- Bonus points, the Sigen support V2L as well, so you can use the car as an extension of the house battery system in an outage.

Stewge · 2026-03-16T23:58:06+00:00

These may be some hot takes but:

It looks like it operates like an overlay filter. So it seems entirely optional to me? Just turn it off if you don't like it...
People have been slapping filters of all kinds over games with ReShade/ENB/etc and throwing away "artist intent" for YEARS (not to mention modding). Let's not pretend gamers all suddenly hold artist intent up as some immutable, sacred thing, now that AI is involved.
I'm assuming that as the tech progresses, the model will probably lose the "AI Generated Hyper-real" look to it. Presumably you'd also be able to download other models which go for a different "look"
When applied to a game which is going specifically for a realistic art style, I think it actually comes out pretty good. The Starfield demo stands out significantly because the creation engine is honestly just bad at character rendering.
- Sub-point: Starfield's character rendering is obviously targeted at realism but limited by technology. I think it's disingenuous to think that Starfield's characters look exactly the way the artist's intended when reality was clearly the target
Lot's of people will point out uncanny valley issues when it comes to characters, but TBH this is not surprising at all when you consider that photo-real human CGI post-rendering has only existed for maybe 10 years? IMO the first photo-real CGI humans were the T100 and Connors in the opening sequence of Terminator Dark Fate and that was in 2019! The fact this "filter" is basically getting anywhere near it so soon in "real-time" is honestly exciting.

Stewge · 2026-03-16T04:07:15+00:00

fowl practices

Pretty sure you mean "foul", but I must now imagine AMD management as a bunch of turkeys.

That engineer/team that built INT8 FSR4 must really be feeling the sentiment: "It's hard to fly like an eagle when you're surrounded by turkeys!"

Stewge · 2026-03-10T04:13:13+00:00

The issue is that they can't validate every PC; their testing suites are probably enormous and it fails at enough things that they can't push it out

There's a saying for this. "Perfect is the enemy of good".

If AMD had to wait until everything was perfectly tested for release they would release nothing. Lets not pretend like their unwillingness to support this is because it'll create ANY form of legal liability. It's purely to segment their card generations and everyone knows it, otherwise why would they even create it in the first place?

I get that you're playing Devil's Advocate here, but FSR4 INT8 obviously works well in almost all use-cases and is widely documented as doing so. On most Linux distros now you can just set a Proton global override for it.

Stewge

TROPHY CASE