ButteredToast's recent activity
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Comment on DroidDeck - new project to bring SteamOS to Android in ~games
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Comment on I can kinda see why social media sites use divisive topics to solicit engagement in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentA ban of targeted advertising specifically might be the approach that is the most surgical while producing most of the intended result. Non-targeted ads aren't nearly as lucrative and are much...A ban of targeted advertising specifically might be the approach that is the most surgical while producing most of the intended result. Non-targeted ads aren't nearly as lucrative and are much more difficult to build things like social media around.
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Comment on If you use your computer in a dark environment, buy a monitor light! in ~tech
ButteredToast LinkI have an articulating desk lamp with a warm white bulb I’ve been using for the purpose. It’s got its head turned to face the wall behind the desk to make for a nice soft indirect glow most of the...I have an articulating desk lamp with a warm white bulb I’ve been using for the purpose. It’s got its head turned to face the wall behind the desk to make for a nice soft indirect glow most of the time, but when I’m building a keyboard or cracking open a laptop or something where I need more light I’ll turn it to face the desk surface.
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Comment on #YesAllMen #NotAllMen #MaybeSomeMen How to be better? in ~life.men
ButteredToast Link ParentI don't agree the use or implication of #YesAllMen deserves blocking, but the quoted paragraph presents an interesting angle which I hadn't considered previously. Power dynamics between men very...But that didn't help much in my 20s and 30s, because when you're in the situation where you might be the man who stops himself or another man from being a toxic moron, you mostly react from the gut. If you want to be able to do the right thing, you gotta have a strong foundation to push that action from. You have to be mentally strong, confident, most likely also physically strong, and you have to have your life in order. Having fuck you money doesn't hurt, in case you have to act against your employer or something like that
I don't agree the use or implication of #YesAllMen deserves blocking, but the quoted paragraph presents an interesting angle which I hadn't considered previously.
Power dynamics between men very obviously factor into how we behave around and toward each other in day to day life, but somehow this had never crossed my mind.
Thinking back through my 20s and 30s I've almost always felt that I was at a disadvantage in this regard; I've rarely had the confidence to be assertive with other guys unless the topic in question falls immediately within the purview of my domain of expertise, and this feeling ironically intensified as I became more conscious of the challenges faced by women, LGBTQ+, and other minorities, which came along with a larger humbling realization of how little I knew and how wrong I had been on many topics. The only time I felt empowered to be loud was when I was a socially inexperienced dumb kid who was too clueless to have any idea how clueless he was.
This makes me wonder if there's a larger pattern of men who are the best positioned to be allies ultimately not speaking up either because they feel disempowered or that it's somehow not their place to do so. It may even be happening without the individuals in question being conscious of it, much like how people often unconsciously defer to the gregarious extravert of the group without realizing it. Please note that I am not condoning or justifying this behavior, but rather intend to pick apart the mechanics driving it in order to better understand it.
Thankfully I've not often been put into situations where there's been misogyny or similar that needs pushing back against (most of my time spent with others over the years has been with more conscious folk), but I now have a new blind spot to watch out for.
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Comment on YouTube is looking to expand into audiobooks in ~books
ButteredToast Link ParentI think there can be very specific ways that these things intersect that make sense, like I've been known to listen to e.g. synthwave/retrowave playlist/mix videos on YouTube, which serve dual...I think there can be very specific ways that these things intersect that make sense, like I've been known to listen to e.g. synthwave/retrowave playlist/mix videos on YouTube, which serve dual purposes of something curated to listen to with little effort and exposure to new songs.
Those don't need any special treatment or a dedicated section of the site or anything, though. People were posting such videos back in YouTube's earliest years when it was nothing but online video hosting with comments (many of which remain to this day). They can just remain in the enormous amorphous blob of videos until users go searching for them.
It's services going after new categories in the more general sense that's undesired. As you note, I've already selected other services for those use cases that do the job better.
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Comment on Popcorn! What's the best way to make it? in ~food
ButteredToast LinkI don't know if it's really superior to other methods, but for the past decade when I get the occasional itch for popcorn I'll usually break out an air popper, pop the corn with it into a large...I don't know if it's really superior to other methods, but for the past decade when I get the occasional itch for popcorn I'll usually break out an air popper, pop the corn with it into a large bowl, then drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle salt over it, periodically moving the bowl in manner that's hard to describe (kinda "tosses" the popped corn) but is very effective at rotating it out for better topping coverage.
Spray olive oil may work better, but I haven't seen the brand I buy (which is selected to avoid the adulterated/rancid oil issues common to most commercially available olive oil) available in that form.
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Comment on Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ finally breaks Mariah Carey’s all-time record for weeks at US no. 1, eclipsing ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ in ~music
ButteredToast Link ParentI'm in a similar position with Swift's music. Have probably heard it many times over the years, but wouldn't be able to name any of her songs even if my life depended on it and probably wouldn't...I'm in a similar position with Swift's music. Have probably heard it many times over the years, but wouldn't be able to name any of her songs even if my life depended on it and probably wouldn't be able to identify a song as hers if it were played in my vicinity.
In my case it's because I was abroad for the late 00s and early 10s and thus out of the western popular media loop almost entirely during that period, and then when I came back my music interests had been pulled in a more EDM sort of direction (think Madeon and Porter Robinson) and my only exposure to pop music is what came on by chance in public or on occasion on the radio during uber rides.
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Comment on Who gets the Steam Frame? Did Valve pick you for the first wave? in ~games
ButteredToast LinkWaitlisted on the 256GB. I’m more than ready to be done with Meta and their nonsense. The Frame might not be perfect but if it’s even 80% of the Quest 2 for PCVR purposes (and it sounds like it’s...Waitlisted on the 256GB. I’m more than ready to be done with Meta and their nonsense. The Frame might not be perfect but if it’s even 80% of the Quest 2 for PCVR purposes (and it sounds like it’s better), that’s good enough for me.
I would’ve pulled the trigger on a Bigscreen Beyond 2, but the lighthouse and controller situation there isn’t great if you’re not already set up for the SteamVR ecosystem. The Frame solves both of those nicely.
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Comment on A three-year-old's metastatic cancer disappeared after two doses of CAR T-Cell therapy, genetically engineered immune cells that target cancerous cells in ~health
ButteredToast Link Parent$50k is still up there, but within reach of many with some stretching. A lot of folks in the US spend more than that for vehicles and such, and potential cancer eradication is worth so much more...$50k is still up there, but within reach of many with some stretching. A lot of folks in the US spend more than that for vehicles and such, and potential cancer eradication is worth so much more than a big truck.
And it'll only get cheaper from here. Incredible.
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Comment on LG smart TVs caught logging audio with screen off and snooping on local devices in ~tech
ButteredToast LinkAll the TV manufacturers engage in spyware in some capacity, even if it's "just" automated content recognition. It's a good reason to keep them offline, to buy brands that aren't as egregiously...All the TV manufacturers engage in spyware in some capacity, even if it's "just" automated content recognition.
It's a good reason to keep them offline, to buy brands that aren't as egregiously bad, and to select TVs for the OS they run — something running Android TV for example is going to be easier to reign in than something running webOS, Tizen, or Roku OS for example because you can use the exact same set of tools you'd use to debloat an Android phone to do the same on the TV.
As an example, it's pretty easy to use ADB (Android Debug Bridge) on a laptop to disable/remove the ACR packages on a Sony TV, after which you're left with just plain old Android. Disabled/removed packages along with no internet connection is about the best one can achieve in a smart TV these days, as far as I'm aware.
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Comment on What are your current pain points with Linux? in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentMicrosoft could probably pull it off, but it'd require something akin to Classic Mode in the early releases of OS X (a paravirtualized minimal old Windows build tweaked so programs play nice with...Microsoft could probably pull it off, but it'd require something akin to Classic Mode in the early releases of OS X (a paravirtualized minimal old Windows build tweaked so programs play nice with host window/task management) for "old world" compatibility. The bones are even already there with WSL.
I suspect that the bigger challenge would not be technological but rather with PR. Microsoft has burned a lot of trust in the past decade and change, and so the first thing that will come to the minds of many if they attempt to properly secure the OS (breaking legacy compatibility in the process) is the possibility that they're aiming to lock down the ecosystem, regardless of their actual intent. Threading that needle would be an extremely delicate operation that I'm not convinced they'd be able to pull off if recent PR blunders are anything to go by.
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Comment on What's a show you love that's from before your time? in ~tv
ButteredToast (edited )Link ParentSimilar here. Back in the early 90s, I caught a few episodes of TNG syndicated on one of the few TV stations that came in over the air at my house. The station aired it late (around midnight I...Similar here. Back in the early 90s, I caught a few episodes of TNG syndicated on one of the few TV stations that came in over the air at my house. The station aired it late (around midnight I think) and I was very young though, so it didn't become a staple. I saw enough for it to be somewhat familiar, so when my family rented the TNG movies later in the 90s I wasn't totally lost, but all in all I think I might've seen like 5% of the whole show when it was airing.
During the first dot-com boom in the late 90s we bought the TOS movies on VHS for cheap from some online video store that was no doubt furnishing its discounts (and free pack of microwave popcorn in each shipment) with VC money, so those served as my introduction to the original crew. By then I was old enough to properly take interest in things and became a bit obsessed, but those movies had become old by then.
Missed the boat on DS9 and Voyager entirely because we didn't have cable and the OTA channels we got never picked either up. The next Trek I'd see while it was airing was some of Enterprise, but we dropped that during the mediocre first season or two.
I made a point of filling the gaps back around 2017-2018, when I marathonned through all the treks. It was almost all enjoyable in one way or another but the 90s treks were particularly great at being great to come home from work to. They were just good TV.
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Comment on Saner macOS keybindings with skhd-zig in ~tech
ButteredToast LinkIf the Tildes poster and post author are one in the same, I offer the following clarification regarding the "App Shortcuts" section of System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts. It allows...If the Tildes poster and post author are one in the same, I offer the following clarification regarding the "App Shortcuts" section of System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts.
It allows the user to map or remap the key shortcut to any menu item in any application, even if the app in question is third-party. This is possible because nearly every application hooks the system-owned global menubar, contrasted to Windows and Linux where there are more ways to implement (or in the case of most GTK apps, not implement) a menubar as there are stars in the sky and thus there is no universal hook.
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Comment on 1Password wades into a right-wing mess after funding a Linux project in ~tech
ButteredToast LinkThey also just announced that they're killing sync support for 1Password 7, which is the last version that resembled AgileBits' handcrafted indie Mac app roots. With v8 they went all in on a new...They also just announced that they're killing sync support for 1Password 7, which is the last version that resembled AgileBits' handcrafted indie Mac app roots. With v8 they went all in on a new bloated, buggy Electron client with an enterprise slop look and feel that fits in better with the likes of Salesforce and JIRA.
So disappointing. I've switched to Bitwarden for now, but am aware of concerns with it too, and its UI isn't as nice as that of 1Password 7.
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Comment on 1Password wades into a right-wing mess after funding a Linux project in ~tech
ButteredToast (edited )Link ParentLast I looked at Keypass, it had an issue with something of a perpetual game of musical chairs going on with its clients, with the current "preferred" option that is maintained and secure...Last I looked at Keypass, it had an issue with something of a perpetual game of musical chairs going on with its clients, with the current "preferred" option that is maintained and secure periodically rotating, with some platforms being worse than others. Has that settled down yet?
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Comment on What are your current pain points with Linux? in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentI think as long as you set aside hardware caveats (poorly supported hardware will torpedo anybody's experience), the group that desktop Linux is actually weakest for are people sitting in the...I think as long as you set aside hardware caveats (poorly supported hardware will torpedo anybody's experience), the group that desktop Linux is actually weakest for are people sitting in the middle in terms of technical capability.
It's great for basic use (email, YouTube, editing docs, etc) and it's great for people who live in terminals and can write code in their sleep, but it's likely to be frustrating for people who are just technical enough to get themselves into trouble or are capable enough but just don't have the patience to sort out the problems they encounter.
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Comment on What are your current pain points with Linux? in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentI share your frustration with IMAP mail clients. Thunderbird may be the strongest contender but I've never really liked it much; it's somehow always felt clunky even relative to behemoths like MS...I share your frustration with IMAP mail clients. Thunderbird may be the strongest contender but I've never really liked it much; it's somehow always felt clunky even relative to behemoths like MS Outlook (the old native Office app, not the newer electron monstrosity) which is really weird, because contemporary Firefox felt comparatively light and snappy.
My personal needs aren't crazy, I really just want OS X Mail.app (minus some more recent UI degradations) except on Linux, but no such thing exists. Geary was looking promising for a bit, but development stagnated before it could mature.
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Comment on What are your current pain points with Linux? in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentYep, many times over the years. There are ways it’s more Mac-like than KDE, but for someone deeply familiar with macOS the resemblance is skin-deep. When you start digging in there are more...Yep, many times over the years. There are ways it’s more Mac-like than KDE, but for someone deeply familiar with macOS the resemblance is skin-deep. When you start digging in there are more differences than similarities.
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Comment on What are your current pain points with Linux? in ~tech
ButteredToast LinkI’ve been dabbling in Linux for a long time, starting in 2000-2005 with Yellow Dog Linux (Red Hat for PowerPC) and Ubuntu. In the early 10s I had a short stint where I daily drove a few distros...I’ve been dabbling in Linux for a long time, starting in 2000-2005 with Yellow Dog Linux (Red Hat for PowerPC) and Ubuntu. In the early 10s I had a short stint where I daily drove a few distros including Mint, Crunchbang, and Sabayon. Currently I have a secondary laptop that runs Fedora, a home NAS/server running Mint, and a secondary Fedora partition on the gaming tower plus a Steam Deck running SteamOS.
It’s never stuck as my main OS because it’s always had a degree of awkwardness of some sort or another that shifts around depending on what distro and DE/WM/etc I’m using that is difficult to get past. Stuff like things that’d have a System Settings prefpane in macOS requiring packages that aren’t installed and upon attempting to install them, throwing errors or having clunky, error-prone setup UX.
That’s why as far as desktop use is concerned, I use Linux only in a secondary role. Basically as long as whatever I do works within the confines of a default install, the experience is great, but the more I stray from standard the hairier it becomes.
It also annoys me that there is no Mac paradigm desktop environment. The best that can be achieved is a half-functional facsimile by enabling the global menubar in a KDE install and tweaking a few settings, but tons of details are wrong and can’t be fixed without forking the project and something like half or two-thirds of apps won’t populate the global menubar.
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Comment on What are your current pain points with Linux? in ~tech
ButteredToast Link ParentThere’s also a surprising number of things that depending on your distro/DE/etc, there isn’t a UI (or good UI) for configuration and you’re pointed at arcane CLI incantations (which unlike in the...There’s also a surprising number of things that depending on your distro/DE/etc, there isn’t a UI (or good UI) for configuration and you’re pointed at arcane CLI incantations (which unlike in the BSD world, are wildly inconsistent and share no conventions) or editing a config file buried somewhere.
Unironically, I wish I could quit my job and just tinker on my own DE (or maybe even a whole distro) day in and day out because I find current options have lots of little blind spots like this that are obvious to longtime commercial platform users but don’t even register as a potential problem to *nix vets.
It bodes well for a tiny, silent ARM box hooked up to a TV for use as a sort of “omni-console”. It might not run the latest AAAs but it’d be enough for a huge swath of gaming history, which is enough to keep many people entertained for a very long time.