News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

ptcampbell

Re:The Complete Hypercard Handbook (1988) on Saturday May 08, 2021 @03:06AM (#27084674)
That is a cool story, thanks for sharing.
I live in the US now but miss having an avenue to pursue if unjustly treated as a consumer. A watchdog with a modicum of actual power is a good thing. A small example: at one point it felt as though mere mention of the ombudsman was enough to sway dodgy phone carriers to acquiesce on minor matters such as billing, misleading advertising etc.
I like System 76 and I use Pop OS on a desktop PC. I don't know how else to say this but crikey, these machines are ugly.

Edit: I expect to be downvoted, and this is just my unhelpful, subjective opinion. But the font on those keys looks like one you'd get from a 90s shareware kit of 100 free fonts.

Re:Hockey goalies are too big now on Friday March 12, 2021 @03:01AM (#26433273)
This quote does not support your argument.
Wow. Do you have an example of this happening?
Re:Game Design Perspective: Stardew Valley (2020) on Saturday January 23, 2021 @05:04PM (#25886573)
I get the point you're trying to make but regarding the hotel analogy, I expect a lot more from a hotel than a video game. The trappings of a dodgy hotel are more universal than the subjective shortcomings of games whose tropes align to specific genres. For example, I have a soft spot for the aesthetic vision of the original StarFox but the game itself is incredibly linear, repetitive and one dimensional. According to your criteria it would ruin the magic, but I don't really see it that way.
Re:Could Google Really Leave Australia? on Friday January 22, 2021 @10:38PM (#25879379)
My guess is Australians would continue to use a non localised version of Google. Bing and by extension DDG is awful for Australian results in my experience.
Re:Why can’t you buy a good webcam? on Tuesday December 22, 2020 @06:30PM (#25512707)
As pointed out by others, a cheap HDMI to USB converter unlocks many possibilities. I use a Sony RX100 on a tripod plugged into a $20 eBay dongle. Works flawlessly cross platform, no drawbacks except there is no mic.
Re:Cyberpunk 2077 Refunds on Friday December 18, 2020 @07:07PM (#25473649)
Can you elaborate on this?
Re:Cyberpunk 2077 Refunds on Friday December 18, 2020 @07:04PM (#25473624)
Anyone know if GOG will process refunds? My cloud-sync has been munted from the get-go. Via Geforce Now the files have gone missing between sessions. Not to mention the numerous bugs I've encountered making certain missions unplayable (unable to advance, AI stuck behind cover etc.)
Re:Ultra-processed foods and the corporate capture of nutrition on Thursday December 17, 2020 @11:39PM (#25463935)
I started baking bread when I moved to the US cos it was so hard to find any without sugar.
Re:Moving from Macbook to Linux on Friday November 20, 2020 @03:25PM (#25164557)
You are correct, I am very sorry.
Re:Moving from Macbook to Linux on Friday November 20, 2020 @03:14PM (#25164438)
I did the same thing last year for similar reasons. Unfortunately there are some deal breakers for me and I’ll be going back to Mac.

Easily the worst part for me, and it’s the same with Windows: Mouse scrolling, touchpad feel and gesture experience. Line scrolling without inertia feels ridiculous to me. Linux gesture replacements I’ve tried feel like hacky proof of concepts.

Integrations like iMessages, Facetime, AirDrop, AirPlay are also hard to give up.

I've lived in the US for around 6 years. When I served on the board of a co-operative apartment building, I was taken aback by the level of detail tenants and some board members made for themselves in the event of a major catastrophe.

How gleefully some sprung into action with their N95 masks and crank-powered radios when the pandemic struck! Unfortunately their foresight did not extend to the more pressing existential issues in the building, such as mould, fire safety, security, insurance etc.

I believe the author is theorising a phenomenon not a conspiracy.
What a depressing, callous analogy. You are comparing the IP of an entertainment product to a drug of significant consequence to the health of citizens throughout the world. Well done.
Re:Windows 10 live tiles reportedly getting killed by Microsoft on Wednesday February 26, 2020 @01:57AM (#22420962)
The tank was empty introducing it. I don’t think removing it reflects poorly.
Only one half of you needs to be.
Is voice chat always on?
Re:ThinkPad T480 is my new main laptop which runs FreeBSD on Friday February 07, 2020 @08:28PM (#22273045)
I've found the "CPU Power Manager" add-on pretty good for battery life. I flick between the profiles depending on what I'm doing. Could be better, but I still get at least 4 hours on the "Multimedia" setting.
Re:ThinkPad T480 is my new main laptop which runs FreeBSD on Friday February 07, 2020 @08:24PM (#22273017)
I was using an add-on to enable experimental scaling but it's noticeably slower and my remote desktop client doesn't adjust its scaling accordingly. But you're right – browser scaling gets you half way.
Re:ThinkPad T480 is my new main laptop which runs FreeBSD on Friday February 07, 2020 @04:46PM (#22271323)
Mac user here. Still use a desktop Mac mini daily, but have replaced my 13" Macbook Pro for a 14" Thinkpad running Ubuntu.

So far so good. Haven't had nearly the amount of hardware issues reported in this thread. Only the fingerprint scanner does not work, despite best efforts to install its drivers.

The hardest thing for me so far has been customising it to behave like macOS. The muscle memory of keyboard shortcuts is too hard to shake. But I've changed most of them.

Another thing to point out. The display scaling sucks. I have found anything between 100% and 200% unstable.

Edit: mine is a budget L380 model. Pretty good value for under $500 (current clearance price).

Re:The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets on Sunday January 26, 2020 @05:22PM (#22155214)
I thought this was going to be about US healthcare.
Re:Barr’s Encryption Push Is Decades in the Making on Thursday January 23, 2020 @07:20PM (#22133975)
I am not advocating a blanket ban on all guns. Rifles, sure. For hunting, sport, farming etc. But semi-automatic AR-15s have no place in a civil society. Preventing access to them seems like a sensible compromise, and it has been demonstrated to be effective in other countries. My friend's son had active-shooter training at school. He is six. That is an unacceptable situation.
Re:Is Venture Capital Worth the Risk? on Thursday January 23, 2020 @01:23PM (#22130152)
It sounds like you just disagree with its contention. I don’t see anything gratuitously provocative here at all.
Re:Barr’s Encryption Push Is Decades in the Making on Sunday January 19, 2020 @05:16AM (#22090568)
> Their laws prevent it. That's the problem with these comparisons. You have to compare apples to apples.

Oh, OK. Different then. Had better move on.

> I'm sure they have pretty good gun control in North Korea. There's an app for that.

But this glib comparison with North Korea makes a lot more sense.

> No. People don't answer the question because the only honest answer exposes the fallacy in their thinking.

Well, firstly, the questions just aren't very good. It would be like if I had asked

"Do you not believe children should go to school free from the fear of a mass shooting?"

"Do you think believe people have a right to feel safe?"

But I wouldn't be asking them in good faith.

> This is equivalent to: "I have a flat tire. OK, let's change the engine!"

No it isn't. It's generally considered one of many things governments around the world can do to reduce gun violence.

Problems have multiple causes and solutions.

More guns, more homicide.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/firearms-research/guns-an...

Re:Barr’s Encryption Push Is Decades in the Making on Saturday January 18, 2020 @03:13PM (#22086825)
> If you can guarantee a society without weapons then everyone is comfortable not having any. Introduce asymmetry and the arms race begins.

I haven't seen any evidence of an arms race in Australia or NZ, for example.

> This is a software problem. Brains. Not hardware.

So it's the "guns don't kill people, people kill people" argument performed in staccato with additional tedious rhetoric. Could it be that no one has satisfactorily answered your hypothetical questions because despite you obviously thinking that you've cornered someone with your brilliant socratic method, that you've actually just thrown up a few straw men that are not worth delving into?

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