DistractionRectangle's recent activity

  1. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    DistractionRectangle
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    So apparently there's a page of tips with dubious benefit I think the big ones are at the very bottom of the page: from bta launcher, install corgis performance fix and multi cpu rendering reduce...

    So apparently there's a page of tips with dubious benefit

    I think the big ones are at the very bottom of the page:

    • from bta launcher, install corgis performance fix and multi cpu rendering

    • reduce props in urban environments

    • change the steam launch option to mesa_glthread=true %command%

    I really need to get back to Battletech. It was such a joy discovering new mech parts and Frankensteining various monstrosities that were a sneeze away from catching fire. I played near launch when mods were in their infancy, so I imagine the community has greatly increased the scope of BattleTech content.

  2. Comment on Controllers that work well with CachyOS? in ~tech

    DistractionRectangle
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    It has been a minute, but you may need to go into steam controller settings and explicitly opt in for generic/switch/Playstation controller support. Edit: arch wiki link + snippet

    It has been a minute, but you may need to go into steam controller settings and explicitly opt in for generic/switch/Playstation controller support.

    To enable Steam Input for a controller, go to Steam > Settings > Controller > External Gamepad Settings. Here you will find toggles to Enable Steam Input corresponding to your controller.

    Edit: arch wiki link + snippet

  3. Comment on Controllers that work well with CachyOS? in ~tech

    DistractionRectangle
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    I just add everything as a non steam game and let steam input handle it. Getting big picture overlay to work sometimes takes a little fiddling (looking at you, Dolphin Emu) but it usually all just...

    I just add everything as a non steam game and let steam input handle it. Getting big picture overlay to work sometimes takes a little fiddling (looking at you, Dolphin Emu) but it usually all just works.

  4. Comment on Not sure if coincidence or I should give up (on USB flash drives) in ~tech

  5. Comment on Not sure if coincidence or I should give up (on USB flash drives) in ~tech

    DistractionRectangle
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    I really, really like enclosures + Intel optane drives. A decent enclosure is $15-20 and the drives can be had for $3-10 on ebay (for 16GB). Certainly expensive by flash drive standards, but you...

    I really, really like enclosures + Intel optane drives. A decent enclosure is $15-20 and the drives can be had for $3-10 on ebay (for 16GB). Certainly expensive by flash drive standards, but you get what you pay for. High speed, high endurance drives.

    One thing of note, and probably someone else knows the answer, I'm uncertain how long SSDs/nvmes can go unpowered before bitrot sets in.

    4 votes
  6. Comment on Upgrade desktop to win11 when hardware isn’t supported? in ~tech

    DistractionRectangle
    (edited )
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    It's been a minute, but you could update so long as the CPU supports sse4.2 and popcnt instructions Just use Rufus to create the install media and select the relevant options Overview of the...

    It's been a minute, but you could update so long as the CPU supports sse4.2 and popcnt instructions

    Just use Rufus to create the install media and select the relevant options

    Overview of the situation:

    https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-upgrade-your-incompatible-windows-10-pc-to-windows-11-2-free-options/

    Edit: as others pointed out, extending windows 10 support is also an option. The win 10 IoT ltsc gets support through 2032 and is an in place upgrade.

    Re: upgrading with Rufus, you can perform an in place upgrade with Rufus, you just have to mount the install media with windows running and run the setup from the usb. If you boot from the install media, afaik you have to do a clean install. Should go without saying, backup the files + application data (E.g. Bookmarks) before you try any of the workarounds we're suggesting.

    3 votes
  7. Comment on Looking for feedback on a homelab design in ~tech

    DistractionRectangle
    Link Parent
    I like VMs, and by extension Proxmox, as they offer a nice abstraction for backups. VM backup/restore procedures are consistent and very batteries included. IaC and podman are great, but then you...

    I like VMs, and by extension Proxmox, as they offer a nice abstraction for backups. VM backup/restore procedures are consistent and very batteries included. IaC and podman are great, but then you have to write bespoke backup/restore procedures for each stack and often people make the blunder of A) not pinning their images B) not including the current on-disk images in the backup.

    4 votes
  8. Comment on Microsoft warns that Windows 10 reaches end of support today in ~tech

    DistractionRectangle
    Link Parent
    That's a good call out, that wasn't default last time I did a fresh win 11 install. Considering a lot of installs are win 10 converts with bit locker off and support ftpm which is toggleable via...

    That's a good call out, that wasn't default last time I did a fresh win 11 install. Considering a lot of installs are win 10 converts with bit locker off and support ftpm which is toggleable via the bios, I can't imagine they'll try and force a conversion in an update.

    That tpm support isn't constant, but a toggleable firmware feature makes relying on it for the OS flaky. If you're launching software, you can require it because worst case it just doesn't run, but making the OS unbootable without the user doing something technical (it's a low bar, especially for tildes demographic, but users never cease to amaze) is just support/pr nightmare.

    3 votes
  9. Comment on Nanoparticle vaccine shows cancer prevention and immunity in mice in ~health

    DistractionRectangle
    Link Parent
    I got my undergrad degree in nanoengineering (w/ EE focus, so the medical aspects are a bit beyond me), so I can speak a little to the "nano" aspect of this. Essentially, they have two essential...

    I got my undergrad degree in nanoengineering (w/ EE focus, so the medical aspects are a bit beyond me), so I can speak a little to the "nano" aspect of this. Essentially, they have two essential components required to invoke the immune response, but they aren't stable together (which they refer to as the adjuvants). What they do, essentially, is package them in "bubbles". Lipids have a hydrophobic and hydrophilic end, and when enough are present they tend to self assemble lipid bilayers (think two concentric spheres), where the lipids align themselves so the external and internal surfaces are lined with the hydrophilic ends, and the hydrophobic ends are between them. A picture is worth a thousand words

    And they're easy to form. We did a lab where you basically prepare a solution of whatever you want to package, introduce lipids, mix it, and then you can force the solution through filters to select for the size you want ( I forget all the details, this was over a decade ago and I ended up not pursuing work in that field/academia, but it wasn't a big deal to do). You can mix other things with the lipids to allow them to be activated/coalesce with other cells/release there contents when they encounter specific compounds/conditions.

    So you do this for both adjuvants, and then you can extract the encapsulated adjuvants and mix them together. This allows them to be stably stored together, as well as create a targeted release/delivery method (such that the compounds does degrade/undergo side reactions with other compounds before it reaches the desired place(s) in the body.

    I can't speak to the cancer/treatment aspects, but this is really cool as a storage/delivery method and broadly applicable.

    4 votes
  10. Comment on This site is fast in ~tildes

    DistractionRectangle
    Link Parent
    They're used to separate metal from some kind of liquid stream or flow of solid aggregate. E.g. The plastic vendor here should have used magnetic filters to extract metal bits from their aggregate...

    They're used to separate metal from some kind of liquid stream or flow of solid aggregate. E.g. The plastic vendor here should have used magnetic filters to extract metal bits from their aggregate before shipping.

    So think industrial flows like food processing, recycling, etc.

    4 votes
  11. Comment on Microsoft warns that Windows 10 reaches end of support today in ~tech

    DistractionRectangle
    Link Parent
    I'd argue the opposite, but it's all armchairing on my part. IMO, this was just a move to drop support for really old hardware and sell more licenses. There's not a lot fundamentally different...

    I'd argue the opposite, but it's all armchairing on my part. IMO, this was just a move to drop support for really old hardware and sell more licenses. There's not a lot fundamentally different from win 10 and win 11, aside from some features, Win 11 has dropped support for CPUs that don't support SSE4.2.

    The Tpm requirement is mostly for 3rd parties. They can safely require a TPM + secure boot now and it'll "just work" on the majority of win 11 installs. If you went out of your want to circumvent this, that's a you problem. Windows by itself doesn't have a real reason to enforce this requirement, and breaking installs over it doesn't serve a purpose for Microsoft.

    5 votes
  12. Comment on Microsoft warns that Windows 10 reaches end of support today in ~tech

    DistractionRectangle
    Link Parent
    You can, and you can get extended support for anywhere to 1-7 years depending on what you want to do. Even if you do nothing, it's not going to be vulnerable or obsolete overnight. You can enroll...

    You can, and you can get extended support for anywhere to 1-7 years depending on what you want to do. Even if you do nothing, it's not going to be vulnerable or obsolete overnight.

    You can enroll for extended updates for a year for free.

    You can go as far as enrolling in the win 10 IoT ltsc, and get updates through 2032.

    6 votes
  13. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of October 12 in ~games

    DistractionRectangle
    Link Parent
    Huzzah! I don't think we've directly interacted on Tildes as I mostly lurk, but I just wanted to say your presence (and absence) is noticed and felt. I'm truly glad to hear you're trending upward!...

    Huzzah! I don't think we've directly interacted on Tildes as I mostly lurk, but I just wanted to say your presence (and absence) is noticed and felt. I'm truly glad to hear you're trending upward!

    No game for me, my back log is massive and my time to play them non existent. Craving out time for this month's CGA will be a small miracle in and of itself.

    3 votes
  14. Comment on Help choosing a new linux computer? in ~tech

    DistractionRectangle
    Link Parent
    It appears it's a well documented thing (between the reddit link, YouTube guide, and general discussion there you should be pretty well taken care of). Edit: The one in the YouTube guide has a...

    It appears it's a well documented thing (between the reddit link, YouTube guide, and general discussion there you should be pretty well taken care of). Edit: The one in the YouTube guide has a liquid AIO, but general servicing + fan headers should be largely similar (afaik, the bios/CPU behaves differently if you use the CPU water pump header, so be mindful which headers are used in your build).

    It's just not plug and play like normal builds, because holy proprietary parts batman.

  15. Comment on Help choosing a new linux computer? in ~tech

  16. Comment on Help choosing a new linux computer? in ~tech

    DistractionRectangle
    Link Parent
    A problem with prebuilt PCs is they often use components with proprietary form factors, connectors, and mounting holes. You should verify if the board in your current computer can actually be...

    A problem with prebuilt PCs is they often use components with proprietary form factors, connectors, and mounting holes. You should verify if the board in your current computer can actually be mounted in a off the shelf pc case. Or you can post what model you have and someone can check for you

    As an aside, your comment suggests your initial issue is cooling. If that's the true, switching cases/fan might not solve the issue as it could simply be time to reapply thermal paste. It's hard to say without knowing more.

    1 vote
  17. Comment on Data removal services? in ~tech

    DistractionRectangle
    Link
    They'll all work to a degree. There's others like Optery, Kanary, etc. The problem is removals generally aren't permanent. At some point your information will be readded/index from whatever...

    They'll all work to a degree. There's others like Optery, Kanary, etc. The problem is removals generally aren't permanent. At some point your information will be readded/index from whatever sources they got it from to begin with. That's why they're subscription services.

    If you're from a place with privacy laws with some teeth (E.g. USA, CA), removals are a lot more effective, semi permanent.

    You can do most of it yourself for free, working through a data broker opt out list like this one: https://inteltechniques.com/workbook.html

    And then sign up for a free trial of Optery or Kanary to snipe some of the stragglers//ones giving you trouble.

    If you're technically savvy, you can use a residential IP proxy to pretend you're from a state with privacy laws.

    Some of the sites make profile searching a major pain in the ass. They drag it out for several minutes and try to upsell you at the end (or grab your email before giving you the results). There's usually a few ways around that. Some offer a phone book like lookup, where you select the first letter(s) of the last name you want to lookup, followed by several sub pages where you select the rest of the name + first name. Or something like that.

    E.g. https://www.spokeo.com/people/S0001

    Other way is to Google "site:<base domain> <Common Name>". This usually surfaces a url you can then edit to your name/location.

    E.g. https://www.spokeo.com/John-Smith/California

    10 votes
  18. Comment on Why does this happen? in ~tech

    DistractionRectangle
    Link Parent
    That's probably suggestion algorithms at work. Things like geolocation, language, user specific curation if your logged into Instagram, etc. Basically think of the other stories like...

    That's probably suggestion algorithms at work. Things like geolocation, language, user specific curation if your logged into Instagram, etc. Basically think of the other stories like recommendations/ads. They aren't necessarily going to be the same for every person, or even the same if you reload the page. What you see and what the crawler sees are often not exactly the same.

    I have this problem with reddit results in Google. Often some suggested/trending post title will hit my search terms perfectly, and then I'll click the result to find nothing related to my query anywhere in the page (because it was part of a recommendation, and I'm not seeing what the crawler saw).

    10 votes
  19. Comment on Why does this happen? in ~tech

    DistractionRectangle
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    Basically search engines index whatever is on a page at the time it was crawled, and present a mini summary showing bits of the page that contained your search terms. In this instance, part of the...

    Basically search engines index whatever is on a page at the time it was crawled, and present a mini summary showing bits of the page that contained your search terms.

    In this instance, part of the page contained the photographers name, and another part contained the word "morto". This other story was present on the page at the time the page was crawled/indexed, likely it was trending/suggested/related, etc.

    13 votes
  20. Comment on I tried to protect my kids from the internet. Here’s what happened. in ~tech

    DistractionRectangle
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Once it's outside the network, it's game over. If you threat model it, the adversary has physical access on unsecured networks. Even still, I don't know the age children get chromebooks at school,...

    Once it's outside the network, it's game over. If you threat model it, the adversary has physical access on unsecured networks. Even still, I don't know the age children get chromebooks at school, but that's probably an age where you can't realistically protect them from the internet. They'll have access at friends houses, their friends phones, libraries, etc etc.

    My comment is mostly a thought experiment, geared towards younger children that don't have their own devices, but perhaps you want to give them some autonomy to safely interact with the web.

    At a certain age, it can't be helped, it's a matter of trust and having conversations, like most parenting.

    Edit: I suppose, to more directly answer your question, I'd setup wireguard to route all traffic through the home router + firewall. This makes the per device configuration minimal, you just need to figure out how to install wireguard as an always on VPN and lock it down so the user can't disable it.

    3 votes