ButteredToast's recent activity

  1. Comment on Dollar General warns low-income Americans' finances are getting worse in ~finance

    ButteredToast
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    The trouble is, there’s not really any foreign markets that aren’t also going to be impacted by the US economy losing its dominance, at least as far as I’m aware. I guess the real question is, in...

    The trouble is, there’s not really any foreign markets that aren’t also going to be impacted by the US economy losing its dominance, at least as far as I’m aware. I guess the real question is, in the long term, which markets will be the ones to rebound?

    1 vote
  2. Comment on USA asks Sweden for help in the egg crisis in ~food

    ButteredToast
    Link Parent
    They’re used in a ton of recipes too, many of which are not particularly compatible with egg substitutes (and even for those that are, substitutes can yield undesirable texture changes in the...

    They’re used in a ton of recipes too, many of which are not particularly compatible with egg substitutes (and even for those that are, substitutes can yield undesirable texture changes in the resulting food).

    4 votes
  3. Comment on The future is Niri in ~comp

    ButteredToast
    Link Parent
    Cognitive load likely varies widley depending on the person in the question and their preferred way of working. For me, tiling never worked because it seems like the WM can never size or position...

    Cognitive load likely varies widley depending on the person in the question and their preferred way of working.

    For me, tiling never worked because it seems like the WM can never size or position windows in a way that works for me. This is at least partially due to some of the programs I use, which tend to include a lot of palettes, inspectors, etc and don’t leave much screen space for others to use, leaving odd-sized scraps at best. It’s also probably because with floating WMs I frequently use the ability to let windows overlap, with only the important/relevant portion of some windows showing sometimes - while most tiling WMs have an optional floating mode windows can be opted into that can enable this, it’s an extra step and causes friction.

    Conversely, floating WMs are where my cognitive load is lowest, assuming a competent desktop environment. I make heavy use of multiple monitors and virtual desktops and arrange windows the way I like on each, and then mix and match desktops between monitors to yield the desired combination. After that initial bit of management, I’m done and windows live in those positions 99% of the time. Almost zero management, manual or otherwise.

    This is only possible on macOS and some Linux DEs, though. Windows with its subpar virtual desktop implementation and odd incapabilitities with multi-monitor setups can’t do it.

    3 votes
  4. Comment on The future is Niri in ~comp

    ButteredToast
    Link Parent
    Interesting, if I have time and remember I might try to reproduce the text bug. I run Fedora so it’s possible that the issue has been patched in the packages I have installed.

    Interesting, if I have time and remember I might try to reproduce the text bug. I run Fedora so it’s possible that the issue has been patched in the packages I have installed.

    1 vote
  5. Comment on The future is Niri in ~comp

    ButteredToast
    Link Parent
    Wayland hasn’t caused me any trouble, but the machine I run it on only has an Intel iGPU which might make a difference. Quality of protocol implementation probably makes a difference too, and that...

    Wayland hasn’t caused me any trouble, but the machine I run it on only has an Intel iGPU which might make a difference. Quality of protocol implementation probably makes a difference too, and that of KDE and GNOME seem solid.

    4 votes
  6. Comment on Mozilla sees surge in Firefox users thanks to EU’s Digital Markets Act in ~tech

    ButteredToast
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Syncing troubles usually come down to devs not understanding the iOS background processing model. With it, devs need to request a background task at some point in the future, which iOS will then...

    Syncing troubles usually come down to devs not understanding the iOS background processing model. With it, devs need to request a background task at some point in the future, which iOS will then run roughly adjacent to the requested time based on how well behaved the process is (processes that are too resource-intensive, take too long, don’t provide clear signals of success/failure, crash, etc don’t get run as often). Things like availability and quality of network connections among other things also influence scheduling to help conserve power and make it more likely for the process to succeed. The process is then given the opportunity to do its thing, clean up, and close in a timely manner.

    This is very different from models on desktop and Android (though less so more recently on the latter) where devs have something much closer to carte blanche and there are few or no rules, and so it confuses a lot of devs, especially those who have little experience writing for iOS (as is commonly the case for FOSS projects).

    KeePass clients across the board have always felt kinda dodgy to me. Even on Mac where things are less restricted it seems like there’s a revolving door KeePass client projects in which the one that's most actively maintained and “best” is always changing, which turned me off from that ecosystem.

    As for TOTP, at minimum Step Two allows straightforward export of data. It just dumps an RTF file wherever you ask it to.

    1 vote
  7. Comment on Mozilla sees surge in Firefox users thanks to EU’s Digital Markets Act in ~tech

    ButteredToast
    Link Parent
    That’s true, but iOS has had a default browser setting for almost 5 years by now (it debuted in iOS 14) and so with the greater bulk of iOS users using one of the two most recent major iOS...

    That’s true, but iOS has had a default browser setting for almost 5 years by now (it debuted in iOS 14) and so with the greater bulk of iOS users using one of the two most recent major iOS versions, it’s outlived its usefulness by at least two or three years. I can see maybe leaving it enabled for stragglers on iOS 13 or below (if Google still targets iOS versions that old) but for 14+ it should just respect the default browser setting instead of pestering the user.

    3 votes
  8. Comment on Mozilla sees surge in Firefox users thanks to EU’s Digital Markets Act in ~tech

    ButteredToast
    Link Parent
    I don’t know about on iOS but on macOS, uBO on Orion is clearly doing something because I’ve seen it display the “link blocked” page when opening URLs with trackers embedded. I haven’t verified...

    I don’t know about on iOS but on macOS, uBO on Orion is clearly doing something because I’ve seen it display the “link blocked” page when opening URLs with trackers embedded. I haven’t verified the extent of its functionality, but I don’t think it’s nonfunctional.

  9. Comment on Mozilla sees surge in Firefox users thanks to EU’s Digital Markets Act in ~tech

    ButteredToast
    Link Parent
    I like where Zen is going. It’s the good parts of Arc without the iffy ones (like Arc’s decision to do away with bookmarks) and without the looming threat of enshittification that comes with...

    I like where Zen is going. It’s the good parts of Arc without the iffy ones (like Arc’s decision to do away with bookmarks) and without the looming threat of enshittification that comes with venture-funded startups like The Browser Company.

    It also makes use of OS window translucency (Vibrancy on macOS, Mica on Windows) which is a nice touch and makes Zen feel more native and desktop-integrated than Firefox does.

    2 votes
  10. Comment on Mozilla sees surge in Firefox users thanks to EU’s Digital Markets Act in ~tech

    ButteredToast
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Yeah, the percentage of mobile users who have any idea of what “web engine” means is small. It only drives decisions for the technically inclined (and I suspect within that small segment, the half...

    Yeah, the percentage of mobile users who have any idea of what “web engine” means is small. It only drives decisions for the technically inclined (and I suspect within that small segment, the half that’s more technical yet).

    UI/UX is pivotal, and that of mobile Firefox (both iOS and Android) is not great, especially on tablets. For the mobile version of Chrome specifically I think much of its popularity can be attributed to Google’s incessant pushiness to use Chrome that’s peppered throughout other Google services and apps. Every time you tap a link in Gmail for iOS for example, instead of just opening your default browser it asks you if you want to open it in Chrome instead even if you don’t have it installed.

    7 votes
  11. Comment on Mozilla sees surge in Firefox users thanks to EU’s Digital Markets Act in ~tech

    ButteredToast
    Link Parent
    There’s also a bunch of ad blocking extensions for Safari which in my experience work adequately well. The ones I’ve tried are Wipr 2, 1Block, and Purify.

    There’s also a bunch of ad blocking extensions for Safari which in my experience work adequately well. The ones I’ve tried are Wipr 2, 1Block, and Purify.

    2 votes
  12. Comment on New policy changes for Southwest Airlines in ~travel

    ButteredToast
    (edited )
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    Will concur that some of the stuff I’ve seen people bring aboard as carry-ons in the past few years has been rather absurd, to the point that I’m shocked that the staff allowed it and didn’t make...

    Will concur that some of the stuff I’ve seen people bring aboard as carry-ons in the past few years has been rather absurd, to the point that I’m shocked that the staff allowed it and didn’t make them check it in.

    It’s a bit mystifying. I usually carry a midsize backpack (fits under seat) and/or smaller-leaning midsize rolling luggage depending on the trip and have been looking for opportunities to trim that down.

    4 votes
  13. Comment on Looking for lighthearted action anime in ~anime

    ButteredToast
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    I wasn’t able to deal with it personally. Made a note to read the manga at some point and moved on.

    I wasn’t able to deal with it personally. Made a note to read the manga at some point and moved on.

  14. Comment on RMK (Rust keyboard firmware) in ~comp

    ButteredToast
    Link Parent
    Saved your blog post for reading later. My interest in designing and building my own board has been increasing lately after years of building kits. Something that’s a bit interesting to me is that...

    Saved your blog post for reading later. My interest in designing and building my own board has been increasing lately after years of building kits.

    Something that’s a bit interesting to me is that it seems that low profile switches are almost exclusively seen in the ergo/ortho/split circles within the larger mech board sphere. I wonder why that is, I’d like build a low profile board with an HHKB-ish layout (which is by far my favorite) but you rarely see anybody doing even tsangan/60% low profile builds, let alone anything larger or more niche. Consequently, the number of staggered keycap sets with legends that work on low profile boards is extremely small, mainly consisting of cheap OEM replacement sets.

    2 votes
  15. Comment on Build it yourself in ~tech

    ButteredToast
    Link Parent
    My metrics for judging when to hand-roll vs import are more or less: How much value is being added? How likely is it that this library will screw things up (e.g. throw compiler errors) in the...

    My metrics for judging when to hand-roll vs import are more or less:

    • How much value is being added?
    • How likely is it that this library will screw things up (e.g. throw compiler errors) in the future?
    • If it does eventually break something, how confident am I that I’ll be able to crack it open, navigate its code, and fix it in a timely manner?
    • How many other dependencies is this library roping in?

    Generally speaking, this has lead me to only pull in libraries when they’re little more than syntactic sugar wrapping things that come with the language/platform or when they’re adding a big chunk of functionality that I’m not likely to implement quickly or well (think HTML manipulation or IMAP server interaction). Otherwise, whenever feasible I write my own.

    5 votes
  16. Comment on US Department of Justice again files demand to break up Google’s search monopoly in ~tech

    ButteredToast
    Link Parent
    Google has spent a substantial amount of money pushing Chrome, too. There’s been several random unrelated Windows software installers I’ve run over the years that try to install Chrome by default...

    Google has spent a substantial amount of money pushing Chrome, too. There’s been several random unrelated Windows software installers I’ve run over the years that try to install Chrome by default along with whatever else, for example.

    This feeds the search monopoly, and the search monopoly feeds Chrome’s monopoly (anybody who’s used Google in a non-Chrome browser has seen those stupid “this is better in Chrome” in-page popups).

    That’s what makes this all so bad. It’s practically impossible to compete against.

    5 votes
  17. Comment on Windows 11 Cleanup/Configuration Script(s)? in ~comp

    ButteredToast
    Link Parent
    For older releases (Win9x/2k, probably XP) danger of litigation is probably pretty low at this point. Probably true for 7 too, given how much popular design language has changed. Regardless, if...

    For older releases (Win9x/2k, probably XP) danger of litigation is probably pretty low at this point. Probably true for 7 too, given how much popular design language has changed.

    Regardless, if one wanted to be safe there’s tricks that could be used. For newer releases where the look/feel is more intricate, it wouldn’t be that difficult to design new themes that that carry the spirit/feel/general impression of Luna, Aero, etc without being 1:1 copies, and if you design the DE’s apps, settings panels, etc to use metrics (sizing, spacing, fonts, etc) similar to those of Windows, then users can then apply third party 1:1 clone themes to get a “true” experience if they so wish to do so.

    A bunch of original UI artwork would need to be created anyway to support HiDPI displays so might as well take the opportunity to bake in just enough originality to reduce chances of litigation.

    2 votes
  18. Comment on Windows 11 Cleanup/Configuration Script(s)? in ~comp

    ButteredToast
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I think the biggest thing holding a lot of people back from Linux is the fact that there’s no DE that makes a best effort to closely resemble Windows of various eras. Correctly configured KDE,...

    I think the biggest thing holding a lot of people back from Linux is the fact that there’s no DE that makes a best effort to closely resemble Windows of various eras. Correctly configured KDE, Cinnamon, XFCE, and LXQt can get kinda-close-ish, but are still more unique/quirky than especially non-technical users are comfortable with. In fact my theory is that they might actually be worse for that type of switcher than macOS is, because where macOS just isn’t Windows and doesn’t try to be, a lot of Linux DEs fall into an “uncanny valley” of sorts.

    I also think that a Windows-clone DE would make Linux a much easier sell. “Remember having to reluctantly give up Windows 7? Install this Linux and you’ll get to keep it as long as you like!"

    3 votes
  19. Comment on To those who have been trying out Kagi: what do you think of it? in ~tech

    ButteredToast
    Link Parent
    Same here, prioritization/block is for the most part reserved to technical usage. The exception of course being Pinterest, because screw Pinterest for making image search useless.

    Same here, prioritization/block is for the most part reserved to technical usage.

    The exception of course being Pinterest, because screw Pinterest for making image search useless.

    2 votes
  20. Comment on Discord in early talks about IPO in ~tech

    ButteredToast
    Link Parent
    Search is among Discord’s weakest points, no argument there.

    Search is among Discord’s weakest points, no argument there.

    8 votes