Carrow's recent activity

  1. Comment on Women should be able to open things in ~life.women

    Carrow
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    Oh my god, me too, this just became an issue in my house. I can't open the pickles for my partner any more, we had to wait for a guest to come by and open up a jar before. I've even started to...

    Oh my god, me too, this just became an issue in my house. I can't open the pickles for my partner any more, we had to wait for a guest to come by and open up a jar before.

    I've even started to struggle with Gatorades as the article refers to, they hurt my hands now, in part bc they're softer as well.

    I found our rubber grippies for helping with jars, but I should get into our home gym.

    9 votes

  2. Comment on PC upgrade vs replacement in ~tech

    Carrow
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    Even with those specs, another 8GB is probably gonna do you wonders, especially on windows. Though a general upgrade would do you well across the board, assuming you're doing things more intensive...

    Even with those specs, another 8GB is probably gonna do you wonders, especially on windows. Though a general upgrade would do you well across the board, assuming you're doing things more intensive than like indie/retro gaming and YouTube. If that's your use, I probably wouldn't bother beyond the 8GB DDR4 tbh.

    I've never entirely replaced a PC. Instead, I usually alternate between upgrading motherboard+RAM+CPU and GPU. Helps me not break the bank all at once and I eventually ship of Theseus my way into a "new" computer and upgrades for my server/friends.

    Edit: I see your motherboard has an AM4 slot, you can get an OK upgrade there with something like the ryzen 5 5500 for <100 and not needing to upgrade the motherboard + buy DDR5 -- nothing stellar or future proof, but maybe a frugal midpoint in this economy.

    7 votes

  3. Comment on TV streaming sticks rent out the user's Internet connection and engage in ad fraud in ~tech

    Carrow
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    Ah OK, thank you! The article could be made more clear about that. Makes sense since H96's site seems like it targets wholesale bulk purchasers. I'm also wondering if there's some folks buying in...

    Ah OK, thank you! The article could be made more clear about that. Makes sense since H96's site seems like it targets wholesale bulk purchasers.

    I'm also wondering if there's some folks buying in bulk, putting the nasty software on those, then presenting as H96 merchants on Amazon and the like.

  4. Comment on TV streaming sticks rent out the user's Internet connection and engage in ad fraud in ~tech

    Carrow
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    That's what I thought, but the device shown is $38 and browsing the H96 site, they don't make mention of such services. Are they referring to a subset of these devices modified by a third party...

    That's what I thought, but the device shown is $38 and browsing the H96 site, they don't make mention of such services. Are they referring to a subset of these devices modified by a third party for piracy sale?

  5. Comment on American Red Cross declares second-ever national blood supply crisis, urges immediate blood donations in ~health

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    Thanks for the heads-up, I've scheduled for a "power red" donation of my O+ on Monday!

    Thanks for the heads-up, I've scheduled for a "power red" donation of my O+ on Monday!

    7 votes

  6. Comment on Curing concrete - improving the carbon costs of an essential material (gifted link) in ~enviro

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    Here's your vital equation for concrete and climate: CaCO3 + heat = CaO + CO2 or Calcite* + heat = Lime** + carbon dioxide *calcite is the principal mineral in most limestone **lime is the main...

    Here's your vital equation for concrete and climate:

    CaCO3 + heat = CaO + CO2

    or

    Calcite* + heat = Lime** + carbon dioxide

    *calcite is the principal mineral in most limestone
    **lime is the main ingredient in cement

    Every kg of lime generates ~0.8 kg of carbon dioxide, before considering how temps of 2700°F are maintained. I'd read some studies of labs doing the process using far less energy using electrochemistry, though I don't recall the details, but it certainly wasn't at scale.

    Blue Planet has an interesting approach, curious if that gains traction, but doesn't really help the concrete situation. Sure, it can substitute aggregate that hasn't captured atmospheric carbon, but doesn't change the above equation or method of making concrete.

    I'm having a hard time buying these energy storage claims work out practically, but I don't imagine MIT attempts to commercialize ideas to be proven wrong.

    It's a hard problem of climate change, if not one of the hardest, and doesn't get discussed too often. This article goes over a lot of the work going into it. Thanks for posting!

    3 votes

  7. Comment on Once you hear it, the 'Gen Alpha melody' is everywhere in ~music

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    APT by ROSÉ feat. Bruno Mars Cupid by FIFTY FIFTY After School by Weeekly pporappippam by SUNMI start a war by JENNIE According to this Spotify playlist, there's more kpop on there too, it's a...

    APT by ROSÉ feat. Bruno Mars
    Cupid by FIFTY FIFTY
    After School by Weeekly
    pporappippam by SUNMI
    start a war by JENNIE

    According to this Spotify playlist, there's more kpop on there too, it's a long list. I know the first couple, know of the others, don't really listen to kpop though. Googling gen alpha melody songs gives several alternatives too.

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5LF1VGZdTKEoFT9WVR7Pwm

    2 votes

  8. Comment on GOG confirm they are working towards GOG Galaxy on Linux in ~games

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    Installs through GOG Galaxy are still DRM free and can be run directly from the executable. Key practical features include cloud saves and automatic updates, the latter was nice when I played...

    Installs through GOG Galaxy are still DRM free and can be run directly from the executable. Key practical features include cloud saves and automatic updates, the latter was nice when I played Witcher 3 at launch. The idea was for it to work as your unified launcher. It features a plugin system that allows for integration of other storefronts, though I'm not sure how well that has worked out in practice. A table I found suggests there are quite a few, but that they're somewhat limited.

    https://github.com/Mixaill/awesome-gog-galaxy

    I'd say the key difference from third party launchers is they don't have the cloud save functionality, which also seems to apply to GOG integrations. A Linux launcher with a plugin system would be huge. While Lutris supports a decent amount of launchers, it doesn't have a plugin system.

    PS: I use a 3070 and Bazzite, it works well with the worst part is the steam big picture interface having some visual glitches and lag, everything else is good.

    8 votes

  9. Comment on Keep Android Open in ~tech

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    That's sweet! I bet those apps would be appreciated by many if you felt like sharing. I could see my grandma being interested in the jigsaw one in particular. Does it connect to a server you host...

    That's sweet! I bet those apps would be appreciated by many if you felt like sharing. I could see my grandma being interested in the jigsaw one in particular. Does it connect to a server you host or do you update the app?

    Did you make the launcher too, or "just" customize another? I'm ceaselessly impressed by what less technologically-inclined folks can do and how they interact with tech. We've got systems knowledge, but folks that haven't built that up just look at it differently, like how someone that hasn't learned algebra would approach solving an equation.

    1 vote

  10. Comment on GOG confirm they are working towards GOG Galaxy on Linux in ~games

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    I've used Heroic and Lutris, both seem to do more or less accomplish the job the same way, Heroic has a nicer presentation. Lutris is so close to being my ideal launcher given its coverage, except...

    I've used Heroic and Lutris, both seem to do more or less accomplish the job the same way, Heroic has a nicer presentation. Lutris is so close to being my ideal launcher given its coverage, except for the main thing a centralized launcher ought to have -- one screen to search across all providers. The central screen they've got is only for the games you already have installed, searching for owned games not installed happens on the screen for each app.

    So my next solution to check is going to be the NonSteam Launchers decky plugin. It'll at least help centralize games I've installed into my steam library so I can run them from game mode without extra trouble, even if using the launchers themselves is a step back in convenience.

    https://github.com/moraroy/NonSteamLaunchers-On-Steam-Deck

    5 votes

  11. Comment on GOG confirm they are working towards GOG Galaxy on Linux in ~games

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    Full response
    Full response

    I want to say this very clearly: I’m sorry.

    Those symbols should not have been used in a GOG email. Whatever the intention was, and whatever the internal explanation is, the final result was wrong. I completely understand why people were shocked, angry, or hurt by it, especially people who have very real, personal reasons to be afraid of fascism and Nazism.
    And I also want to say something very honestly, as one of the people behind GOG.

    The idea that GOG would support Nazism, fascism, antisemitism, transphobia, or any kind of hate is so far from who we are that I think this may actually be part of why the first response was so bad. Maybe people here thought it was so obvious that it did not need to be said out loud.

    But it did need to be said.

    So let me say it clearly: no, GOG does not support Nazism. No, we are not fine with fascism. We are not fine with antisemitism, racism, transphobia, homophobia, xenophobia, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, fanaticism, or any other destructive “ism” that turns people against each other and treats some human beings as less worthy than others. And we are also not fans of hate on the internet, no matter which side it comes from.

    This is not the kind of environment we want to foster. Not in our company, not in our community, and not around games.

    We are a Polish company. Nazi and Soviet crimes are not distant, abstract history for us. They are part of the history of our country, and in many cases part of our own family histories. Almost everyone in Poland has some family story connected to that trauma, if not from the Nazis, then from the Soviets, and often from both. So seeing people conclude that GOG is somehow okay with Nazism is honestly painful, because it is not true. But, and this is important, that does not excuse the mistake.

    We messed up. We should have caught it. We should have apologized more clearly and faster. And our first explanation should have been more human, more direct, and more responsible. I’m sorry for that too.
    At the same time, I want to ask for a little care in how we judge situations like this. Calling out a serious mistake is fair. Being angry about it is fair. But jumping from “GOG made a hurtful and stupid mistake” to “the people at GOG support fascism” is something else. That can hurt real people too, especially when the full context is missing.

    Accusing us of supporting Nazism, after we have apologized for a mistake, is a very heavy label to put on real people. And if we take a step back, this kind of dynamic can start to resemble the mechanisms we see in many destructive forms of fanaticism and other “isms”: creating divisions between people, turning a mistake into an identity, and building walls instead of trying, in good faith, to build bridges.

    That does not mean people should not criticize us. They should. We deserve criticism when we mess up. But please, let’s leave some room for good faith. A serious mistake is still a mistake. It does not automatically mean bad intentions, or that the people behind it support the worst possible interpretation.

    We will review how this happened, improve our checks, and try to do better, both in what we publish and in how we respond when we get something wrong.

    Big hugs to everyone, and a shamanic Aho!
    Let’s play games, enjoy life, and be a little slower in judging each other. Let’s build bridges, not walls.

    Michal
    GOG Founder

    28 votes

  12. Comment on Keep Android Open in ~tech

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    As it currently stands, you'd only be doing the steps once with only one 24hr cooldown, then free to install your games without issue :) it is still worrying for the future with what they could...

    As it currently stands, you'd only be doing the steps once with only one 24hr cooldown, then free to install your games without issue :) it is still worrying for the future with what they could opt to do, it'd be good to see the phone OS duopoly broken.

    What have you made for her? That's sweet and cool you've done that.

    4 votes

  13. Comment on From millionaires to Muslims, small subgroups of the population seem much larger to many Americans in ~society

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    Yeah, me too, I was just seeing numbers yesterday putting it closer to 50% of folks reading a book in the past year around the same time as this survey. There's no way I can square that circle of...

    Yeah, me too, I was just seeing numbers yesterday putting it closer to 50% of folks reading a book in the past year around the same time as this survey.

    There's no way I can square that circle of folks thinking 30% of the US pop lives in NYC, I struggle to accept folks have that bad an understanding of percents and proportions.

    2 votes

  14. Comment on Shower thought: good RNG stoplights in ~talk

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    And trying to speed ahead doesn't do you any favors.

    And trying to speed ahead doesn't do you any favors.

    1 vote

  15. Comment on Pepsiman Recompiled Webport in ~games

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    Browser based static recomp project is cool to see, but why that game? I'm guessing it's because it's simple compared to classics. I'd like to see an associated blog post!

    Play Pepsiman online in a modern browser through a WebAssembly-first static recompilation of the original PlayStation game, with optional visual and quality-of-life features. Bring your own legally obtained Pepsiman disc files; the open-source BIOS is included.

    Built with PSXRecomp. Static recompilation translates the original executable for modern hardware; unlike a full source-code decompilation, it does not recreate the game as a conventional source port.

    Browser based static recomp project is cool to see, but why that game? I'm guessing it's because it's simple compared to classics. I'd like to see an associated blog post!

    6 votes

  16. Comment on Atari makes Universal movie deal for ten iconic game properties in ~movies

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    Yeah I had a snide remark, but remembered what a creative can do like Gerwig with Barbie so I held my tongue -- didn't know about this Tetris movie, that actually seems good?

    Yeah I had a snide remark, but remembered what a creative can do like Gerwig with Barbie so I held my tongue -- didn't know about this Tetris movie, that actually seems good?

    2 votes

  17. Comment on Introducing XBOX backward compatibility on PC in ~games

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    Yeah, good point, so a real backwards compatibility push would necessitate releasing an external reader (but this is more intended to highlight how ridiculous calling it backwards compatibility is...

    Yeah, good point, so a real backwards compatibility push would necessitate releasing an external reader (but this is more intended to highlight how ridiculous calling it backwards compatibility is rather than a legitimate proposition).

    4 votes

  18. Comment on Introducing XBOX backward compatibility on PC in ~games

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    It isn't backwards compatibility if I can't stick my Xbox disc in and play it, I'd say they've really lost the script if I didn't think they'd been intentionally misleading consumers by warping...

    It isn't backwards compatibility if I can't stick my Xbox disc in and play it, I'd say they've really lost the script if I didn't think they'd been intentionally misleading consumers by warping the phrase for ages.

    These are subject to (re)licensing agreements, and we've seen how that limiting that can be with Nintendo's retro offerings. There's about zero chance of iconic titles like, say, Need For Speed Underground getting this treatment due to being an EA game, not to mention the cars and music.

    11 votes

  19. Comment on How do you live simply/save money? What does your lifestyle look like? in ~talk

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    One way to still hang out with your far friends could be through "friend slop" games, they tend to be easy enough to pick up for non-gamers and have lower system requirements. Meccha Chameleon is...

    One way to still hang out with your far friends could be through "friend slop" games, they tend to be easy enough to pick up for non-gamers and have lower system requirements. Meccha Chameleon is the newest hot one, some folks try to hide and MS paint their lil guys and then other folks try to find them, we've been having fun with it. It's less about the game itself and more about having something to do together for us, I can list off some recommendations if this sounds vaguely of interest.

    4 votes

  20. Comment on Web flash support arrives in LineageOS in ~tech

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    I had been curious about installing LineageOS since my Samsung S20 FE 5G (absurd name) doesn't get updates but is mostly in great shape and performs well. Two hang ups though -- my exact model...

    I had been curious about installing LineageOS since my Samsung S20 FE 5G (absurd name) doesn't get updates but is mostly in great shape and performs well.

    Two hang ups though -- my exact model number isn't on their list, I'd need to compile my own build (kill me). And the one part that isn't in good shape is... the USB-C port. I'm full wireless between charging and a "QR-LAN" file server I made that lets me file transfer over WiFi by scanning a QR code on my desktop (I know there's stuff like KDE connect but this has less friction, more flexible).

    1 vote