ButteredToast's recent activity
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Comment on AI friends too cheap to meter in ~tech
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Comment on The pathetic life of an internet "alpha male" in ~life.men
ButteredToast Link ParentSimilarly when I was young, DBZ and Pokémon were off the table (the former because of all the fighting, the second because it had been deemed "demonic" on internet mom forums), when in reality on...Similarly when I was young, DBZ and Pokémon were off the table (the former because of all the fighting, the second because it had been deemed "demonic" on internet mom forums), when in reality on average the content of just about any Don Bluth animated movie (which were all a-ok and got rewatched countless times) had more edge to it than either.
Fully agreed on #2. Good role models haven't had spotlight positions in commercial media in quite some time, and I don't know if they've ever had them in small/independent media (YouTube, etc). I attribute this largely to the culture of cynical indifference that has throughly taken root. Kindness and consideration are now binned as idealistic fantasy or even deception.
Another reason why bad role models have become popular is due to how much more difficult it's become to achieve a modicum of financial success. What used to be average is no longer average and increasingly out of reach, which I believe encourages a selfish, everyone for themselves, money-driven materialist mindset due to the sense of scarcity it creates — when the gulf is so wide, it starts to look like the only path to "success" is through doing whatever it takes, including discarding common decency and stepping on anybody within reach.
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Comment on Tablet suggestions? in ~tech
ButteredToast (edited )LinkMy tablets of choice are iPads for reasons outlined in a sibling reply, so I can't necessarily give a recommendation, but I can share my experience. I have a couple of Android tablets I use for...My tablets of choice are iPads for reasons outlined in a sibling reply, so I can't necessarily give a recommendation, but I can share my experience.
I have a couple of Android tablets I use for app dev/testing:
- Lenovo Tab M10 Plus 3rd Gen
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+
The first is intended as a stand-in for a crappy cheap Android device, for which it's quite suited. It's quite slow and plods along with just about any imaginable task. The display is surprisingly decent for its original price point, but the 16:9 aspect ratio is for practical purposes only usable in landscape mode because in portrait, it's awkwardly skinny and doesn't fit printed documents like PDFs or manga without either horizontal scrolling or a big chunk of vertical empty space. Bundled crapware is present but not overbearing. It might have accessories like keyboard covers for it but I think those would be a waste of money given the assuredly short useful lifetime of the device (OS/app requirement creep will bog it down even further with time). Overall I'd recommend spending a bit more on something nicer even for basic usage.
The S8+ is a much higher end device. Display is great which is no surprise with Samsung being one of the premier OLED panel manufacturers. It's speedy enough that most users would be hard pressed to find issues with performance. Its 16:10 aspect ratio is less lopsided than the Lenovo's 16:9 and is a much closer fit to paper documents, but at its size it still feels awkwardly tall. Accessory ecosystem (keyboard covers, etc) is vastly more robust. Its biggest negative point though is the trademark dump truck of crapware that Samsung is famous for… this can be disabled if you're a little handy with a terminal and disable packages via
adbwith a computer, but not an amazing out of the box experience.I don't own one and have never used their products, but on the Android side of things, OnePlus' Pad lineup has caught my eye on multiple occasions. The Pad 3 (13") and Pad Go 2 (12") in particular look like the closest thing to Android clones of iPads without crossing into brands where availability may be limited (Xiaomi, etc). Their more square 7:5 aspect ratio is nicely balanced and practical for portrait use while still being wide enough for multitasking in landscape, and they sell a case with integrated KB+trackpad for the Pad 3 which should make it quite laptop-like.
Windows tablets are an utter mystery to me because nothing I've seen indicates that the Windows pure touch experience is anywhere near as good of that as "real" mobile operating systems, and the Intel based options (which are the most interesting for perfect software compatibility) are all markedly hotter, noisier, and more power hungry than their ARM counterparts.
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Comment on Leaving Apple behind after eighteen years in ~tech
ButteredToast (edited )LinkKudos for finding a setup that works for you, because man I don’t think I could. The section on laptops nails it. Everything that’s not a MacBook is rife with compromises of one sort or another,...Kudos for finding a setup that works for you, because man I don’t think I could.
The section on laptops nails it. Everything that’s not a MacBook is rife with compromises of one sort or another, and the overwhelming majority can’t come close to approaching MacBook battery life or their ability to perform at plugged-in levels of performance while unplugged and still get many hours of life. And there’s the fan noise, chintzy enclosures, screens with weird DPIs… and adding Linux into the mix makes some of that worse.
On operating systems, I try to stay abreast of the current state of desktop Linux out of personal interest and regularly use Android for work. Both frustrate me in some capacity. Under Linux this comes down to there being no true Mac-like environments where I’m productive (just Windows and iPadOS styles) and general lack of coherence, and Android just doesn’t click with my brain and feels wrong in ways that are difficult to describe (and newer versions intensify this feeling; Android 9 is a lot more comfy, if still not perfect). Android also has zero support for IMAP, CardDAV, CalDAV, etc for mail, contacts, and calendars, requiring the user to patchwork their own thing together for those which I find supremely weird, coming from Apple platforms where the built in standards abiding vendor agnostic apps are actually pretty decent.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that I wish I were wealthy enough to spend all day crafting my perfect Linux distro and AOSP fork, and maybe some day start a laptop company that “gets it” (which as an aside, Framework is closer than most but IMO still misses the mark). I don’t foresee that happening, though.
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Comment on Rapid swings between pro-EV and anti-EV US policies have disrupted long-term planning, forcing Ford, GM, and Stellantis to scramble to reshape their strategy in ~society
ButteredToast Link ParentSounds similar to the defunct BMW i3 REX. Do you know if EREVs eliminate the complicated and failure prone automatic and CVT transmissions with a simpler system like well-designed hybrids such as...Sounds similar to the defunct BMW i3 REX.
Do you know if EREVs eliminate the complicated and failure prone automatic and CVT transmissions with a simpler system like well-designed hybrids such as the Prius do?
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Comment on Anime: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~anime
ButteredToast Link ParentI'm just as down for the hype moments that a good shounen delivers as anybody else, but other things are fun to watch too for different reasons. It's similar to how most people can appreciate a...I'm just as down for the hype moments that a good shounen delivers as anybody else, but other things are fun to watch too for different reasons. It's similar to how most people can appreciate a good dessert as much as they can a good main course, and it's hard to imagine getting stuck eating nothing but cookies when there's so many other types of food on offer.
It'll be interesting to see how newer fans' tastes change (or don't) over the coming years.
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Comment on Anime: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~anime
ButteredToast Link ParentProbably true, but unfortunate since it's not as if I have many real life connections to talk about anime/manga with, even with both being as popular as they've become.Probably true, but unfortunate since it's not as if I have many real life connections to talk about anime/manga with, even with both being as popular as they've become.
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Comment on Anime: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~anime
ButteredToast (edited )LinkI mostly stuck to seasonals this year, of which there were many good entries. I'll post my thoughts on them later. One gripe I'd like to air is the direction fandom seems to have taken in recent...I mostly stuck to seasonals this year, of which there were many good entries. I'll post my thoughts on them later.
One gripe I'd like to air is the direction fandom seems to have taken in recent years where people seem to silo themselves off into a single genre or two. While I'm not able to claim the same sort of street cred as westerners who began watching back in the 80s and 90s, I started back in the early-to-mid 00s where anime was starting to climb in popularity, but was still niche enough that you didn't really have the luxury of being able to stick to a single genre because if you did, you'd have practically nothing to watch. As such, even going into 2026 I'm equally likely to pick up shows across a wide spectrum — Wotakoi, Horimiya, Sono Bisque Doll, Nozaki-kun, Steins;Gate, Clannad, Psycho-Pass, Sanda, Gurren Lagann, Iron-Blooded Orphans, Legend of Galactic Heroes, Frieren, Dungeon Meshi, Lain, Welcome to the NHK, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, CITY, Violet Evergarden, and Uramichi Onii-san among several other scarcely related entries are examples. I've of the mind that great anime transcends genre and has something to offer and that shows and movies that excel only on a single axis or are exceptionally well-rounded despite not standing out can be enjoyable, even if they don't belong to a category that'd immediately spring to mind as a favorite.
The practical impact is that it's a lot more difficult to get a feel for anime and manga from online sentiment than it used to be. Online opinion these days is much more weighted towards the holder's preferred genres, and in some cases disproportionately negatively weighted based on content/subject matter — shows and movies will often not get even middling marks unless they cater to the holder's every little whim which in my opinion makes for impossibly high standards that only the tiniest handful of material has a shot at meeting. The 8 and 9/10s of yesteryear are often now, to quote the kids, "mid".
Maybe I'm just turning into the old man yelling at clouds, though.
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Comment on Leave the phone, take a camera in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentIn addition to the resulting photos looking "cleaner" than what is typically achievable on a smartphone, I find that photos from dedicated cameras also tend to feel "deeper" and less "processed"...In addition to the resulting photos looking "cleaner" than what is typically achievable on a smartphone, I find that photos from dedicated cameras also tend to feel "deeper" and less "processed" (even though RAWs take a lot of manual processing). Even some old DSLRs that the community doesn't think much of can outperform smartphones in this way.
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Comment on Turtle WoW's remake of World of Warcraft using Unreal Engine is reportedly cancelled in ~games
ButteredToast Link ParentThat will likely work for a while, but it's bound to hit a wall eventually when the gap between the old software and what the OS supports becomes too wide. DirectX 9 support won't remain in...That will likely work for a while, but it's bound to hit a wall eventually when the gap between the old software and what the OS supports becomes too wide. DirectX 9 support won't remain in Windows forever, for example.
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Comment on Turtle WoW's remake of World of Warcraft using Unreal Engine is reportedly cancelled in ~games
ButteredToast Link ParentOne issue that it would've addressed though is how the current Vanilla/TBC/WotLK clients are eventually going to stop being able to run on modern operating systems. Already cracks are starting to...One issue that it would've addressed though is how the current Vanilla/TBC/WotLK clients are eventually going to stop being able to run on modern operating systems. Already cracks are starting to form, with certain hardware exhibiting stuttering in the 1.12.1 client for example.
There's the possibility of switching private servers over to the Blizzard Classic client, but some will find that unsatisfactory due to its nature of being derived from the Legion client originally (and having been rebased on newer retail clients since then). Tooling around the original three expansions is much more capable/mature too, which is crucial for servers looking to add new content.
I'd speculate that eventually the community will build a Vanilla/TBC/WotLK client replacement that's true in feel to the original three, but is comprised of modern internals and is accompanied by more robust developer tooling than is possible with reverse engineering. The best way to accomplish this would probably be to take a page out of the book of private server projects and bill it as a generic open source MMORPG client that just so happens to be compatible with WoW client data (or can be easily made compatible with a separate addon) to create some legal insulation.
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Comment on The iPhone 16e is good, actually in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentThey've become a lot more fast and capable during that time, too. The original iPhone had its impressive points but came with even more limits, which is part of why people balked at its price back...They've become a lot more fast and capable during that time, too. The original iPhone had its impressive points but came with even more limits, which is part of why people balked at its price back then. These days the line that separates them from much larger computing devices is quite thin.
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Comment on Volvo’s quest for safety has resulted in this new, ultra-legible in-car typeface, Volvo Centum in ~design
ButteredToast LinkThe focus on font legibility and general suitability in UI fonts in recent years has been nice and has produced some great fonts. It's just too bad that it didn't come alongside a resurgence in...The focus on font legibility and general suitability in UI fonts in recent years has been nice and has produced some great fonts. It's just too bad that it didn't come alongside a resurgence in legibility and usability in the UI designs that incorporate those fonts…
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Comment on Five browser extensions to make every website more useful in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentWith the online university I'm currently enrolled, many professors/graders will send your papers back for revision if you haven't both run it through Grammarly and "fixed" everything it points...With the online university I'm currently enrolled, many professors/graders will send your papers back for revision if you haven't both run it through Grammarly and "fixed" everything it points out. This drives me crazy because the way it wants to write is so diverged from how I usually write, and grammatically there's usually nothing actually wrong with my writing. It's almost but not quite like having ChatGPT take a pass over the paper.
My personal preference is to just use the built-in Mac spell/grammar check in browsers, Pages, etc. It's adequate and doesn't try to herd me into any particular writing style.
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Comment on EU drops 2035 combustion engine ban as global electric vehicle shift faces reset in ~transport
ButteredToast Link ParentAll the legacy automakers (save for maybe Nissan) have been patterning themselves after Tesla with their full EV models, which is why they’re all doing the “luxury” iPad-on-wheels thing. The...All the legacy automakers (save for maybe Nissan) have been patterning themselves after Tesla with their full EV models, which is why they’re all doing the “luxury” iPad-on-wheels thing.
The problem is that they’ve been doing it rather poorly. Instead of realizing that the software is just as much of a core component of this kind of EV as the powertrain is and adjusting their processes accordingly (keeping a robust in-house team full of skilled seniors to develop this software), they’ve been trying their damnedest to make it business as usual and continue to contract those bits out to the lowest bidder.
This gets you a results like VW/Audi infotainment which is an awful, buggy mess and not luxury at all.
They’d be better off building solid low-tech EVs since they refuse to get good at the “tech” part, but you can’t reasonably mark up such a vehicle so they don’t do that.
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Comment on Leave the phone, take a camera in ~tech
ButteredToast LinkI've had a bit of an itch to grab a nice dedicated camera for a while. There's a DSLR in the closet I used back in college, but it's not a particularly good model (to the point that it's...I've had a bit of an itch to grab a nice dedicated camera for a while. There's a DSLR in the closet I used back in college, but it's not a particularly good model (to the point that it's practically given away in the used market), only has the stock kit lens, and isn't worth investing in with how much nicer even compact options are these days.
I'm more inclined towards a nicer model, though. The point in the blog post about photos not being made into posters is salient, but I really just love the look and feel and moods that can be struck with a midrange-to-high-end DSLR body or mirrorless body, which are difficult to replicate with point and shoots (though point and shoots are often better than smartphone cameras in this due to not being nearly as physically restricted). This isn't very wallet friendly though which is why I've held back so far, lol.
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Comment on Proposed amendments to Denmark's laws on copyright and broadcasting would see VPNs limited for common uses under changes to combat access to illegal streaming services in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentTo keep it short, some form of totalitarian control will inevitably develop in any place where the infrastructure to allow it has been put in place. It won't look the same on the surface, but the...Where have I stated that I'm for totalitarian states and dictatorships having free reign to manipulate and suppress their populations?
To keep it short, some form of totalitarian control will inevitably develop in any place where the infrastructure to allow it has been put in place. It won't look the same on the surface, but the practical difference is negligible.
All the safeguards in the world won't make a difference, because there's always a way through or around them, always a justification. All it takes is for those with abusive intentions to come into power.
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Comment on Proposed amendments to Denmark's laws on copyright and broadcasting would see VPNs limited for common uses under changes to combat access to illegal streaming services in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentI think there’s valid grounds for some level of copyright protection, because it truly is a boon to smaller creators when used correctly. It’s clearly gone overboard, though. And yes, that’s the...I think there’s valid grounds for some level of copyright protection, because it truly is a boon to smaller creators when used correctly. It’s clearly gone overboard, though.
And yes, that’s the funny thing about using VPNs to access foreign streaming services: it’s not piracy in the classical sense, because the viewer is going out of their way to pay to view the media because no licensor in their region has seen it fit to make that media available. They’re trying to do the right thing! Really, it’s in a completely different category from actual piracy like sketchy streaming sites and torrents.
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Comment on The Windows 11 crisis in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentThe Steam overlay with TDP limits and all that is extremely cool and would be incredibly useful on gaming laptops and even sometimes on desktops when you e.g. want to run a game without spinning...The Steam overlay with TDP limits and all that is extremely cool and would be incredibly useful on gaming laptops and even sometimes on desktops when you e.g. want to run a game without spinning up your fans. It's kind of crazy that it hasn't been built into Windows for years already with how popular gaming laptops have become.
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Comment on Proposed amendments to Denmark's laws on copyright and broadcasting would see VPNs limited for common uses under changes to combat access to illegal streaming services in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentWe'll just have to agree to disagree, then. I see this all as an indictment of how severely our systems are broken and a call to arms to fix those systems. I also just generally find it...We'll just have to agree to disagree, then. I see this all as an indictment of how severely our systems are broken and a call to arms to fix those systems.
I also just generally find it unconscionable that not the government (which would be bad enough) but random private entities can decide what I can and cannot consume and that I'm just supposed to pretend that these shows, movies, music, etc I see people online talking about but aren't licensed locally don't exist. The idea is more absurd than I can properly express.
If they had the skills in the first place. At least in the US parents generally have done little to foster that sort of development, so learning how to navigate that world came down to the teen or young adult fumbling around and bumping into things through the required interactions of daily life until they figured it out. Today, much of that interaction is no longer required (or even actively avoided) and the chances of people making it well into adulthood not having a clue about romance, initiating, etc is much greater, and at that age, societal forgiveness for the awkwardness of learning is greatly reduced. For somebody in that situation, a chatbot might feel like the only realistic outlet.