Grzmot's recent activity
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Comment on Epic Games Store Roadmap in ~games
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Comment on Epic Games Store Roadmap in ~games
Grzmot Link Parent I'll give it a try. 1: Data Security When creating an Epic account, they don't even manage to send out confirmation email reliably.. Which means that there's a good number of Epic accounts out...I'll give it a try.
1: Data Security
When creating an Epic account, they don't even manage to send out confirmation email reliably.. Which means that there's a good number of Epic accounts out there vulnerable to hijacking. All you need is their email. A company which doesn't manage to have something so basic working well doesn't get any of my other, more sensitive data like credit card numbers. In the fairly short time they've had an internet presence, their forums and account systems have suffered at least 3 major data breaches (2016, 2018 and more recently in January 2019). For me personally this is reason enough to not give them any of my personal data ever, or at the very least until I see significant change.
2: Exclusives
This is the major sticking point for some people, and another reason for me to not want to support them. I dislike exclusives in the console world already. Arbitrarily making me use a clearly inferior store (see point 1, 3) because Epic decided to throw some Fortnite cash at publishers makes me dislike the company immensely, as they aren't interested in competing by creating a viable product, but by forcing consumers to flock to their store because they don't have any other choice.
Adding to this, Epic (and the publishers, by an extent) are clearly willing to advertise their products on Steam and later pulling them for exclusivity (such as with Metro: Exodus), where the time frame was extremely short.
3: An inferior store
The Epic Store itself is extremely barebones and has a fraction of the features that Steam has. This is to be expected, as they haven't been a player in this business for as long as Valve has, but considering the money they are making and clearly willing to throw at publishers to build a consumer base, they could've invested that money into actually building a viable product. There are no forums, which has lead to hilarious occasions where Epic users turn to the Steam forums for support.. Another example. It also has no achievements. The support is garbage. And so on and so forth. Steam, Origin, Humble Bundle, even Uplay are all much better storefronts.
I could probably add more to this list if I sat on it longer, but that's all I have for now. The exclusivity is obviously what stings the most, because I wouldn't have to bother with the store at all and could simply ignore it, but this way Epic is forcing me to be vocal about these things.
EDIT: Also, the Epic CEO is a dick and a hypocrite, who has previously spoken out against exclusivity when he was attacking Microsoft for it. He's another reason I dislike the company.
9 votes -
Comment on Epic Games Store Roadmap in ~games
Grzmot Link Parent Epic's store has already been caught reading data from the Steam folder, information about your friends and recently played games. They created an encrypted file on your hard drive of it and...Epic's store has already been caught reading data from the Steam folder, information about your friends and recently played games. They created an encrypted file on your hard drive of it and claimed they only send it to their servers if you wish to import your Steam friends, but they always create the file, doesn't matter if you choose to do so. Completely ignoring the fact that Steam has APIs made exactly for this purpose, which you should use instead of snooping through the PC of the user. So there already is evidence of Epic going through your files.
5 votes -
Comment on What is the VPN that works best for you? in ~tech
Grzmot Link I personally use NordVPN, because I got a pretty great deal of 3 years of it for around 100$. I don't use it all the time though, only their proxy services for torrents.I personally use NordVPN, because I got a pretty great deal of 3 years of it for around 100$. I don't use it all the time though, only their proxy services for torrents.
4 votes -
Comment on Hear what a genderless AI voice sounds like—and consider why it matters in ~tech
Grzmot Link Parent Do you think that's because of the perceived lack of gender or because it sounds more realistic? I find the default digital assistant voices fairly fake sounding, so perhaps that's a factor.Do you think that's because of the perceived lack of gender or because it sounds more realistic? I find the default digital assistant voices fairly fake sounding, so perhaps that's a factor.
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Comment on Christchurch mosque shootings: 'Manifesto' deemed objectionable in ~news
Grzmot Link Parent I think I didn't express myself well in my earlier post. I don't think that harsh(er) crime sentences are a good thing. An approach where rehabilitation is the focus of a sentence, to allow...I think I didn't express myself well in my earlier post. I don't think that harsh(er) crime sentences are a good thing. An approach where rehabilitation is the focus of a sentence, to allow someone back into society when they're "fixed" is a much better way forward.
I don't think anyone who's simply reading this thing will be ever convicted of any crime. This is more to stop it's distribution in society (not just over the internet) similarly how yelling nazi paroles on a public square anywhere in western Europe will get you arrested and charged, and to show that NZ society as a collective shuns the manifesto and everyone who supports it.
I think the upper limit is set so high to allow for discretion during a ruling. While I don't expect it to be ever maxed out, I think there are cases where it could be, for example if a copy-cat is caught during preparation of another attack. I don't know if you can really compare this case to marijuana posession laws in the US, because I think that those are a bad example of arbitrarily delivering justice in court while this is a case where a large range of discretion is justified.
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Comment on Christchurch mosque shootings: 'Manifesto' deemed objectionable in ~news
Grzmot Link Parent What would your choice for a maximum sentence be? I think the particularly high one in this case is more to deter individuals than to actually put them in prison for 10 years. While higher...What would your choice for a maximum sentence be? I think the particularly high one in this case is more to deter individuals than to actually put them in prison for 10 years. While higher sentences don't mean a reduction in crime, I don't know if the same logic applies here.
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Comment on Hear what a genderless AI voice sounds like—and consider why it matters in ~tech
Grzmot Link Parent What was your reaction to the voice? I think most people will still prefer something they know, i.e a voice with a clearly assigned gender. It's simply human. Even if the robot has no sex, we...What was your reaction to the voice?
I think most people will still prefer something they know, i.e a voice with a clearly assigned gender. It's simply human. Even if the robot has no sex, we still like to assign it one simply because it's easier for us to process, or because we prefer a more natural sounding voice.
3 votes -
Comment on Hear what a genderless AI voice sounds like—and consider why it matters in ~tech
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Comment on Christchurch mosque shootings: 'Manifesto' deemed objectionable in ~news
Grzmot Link Parent I personally don't have anything against censoring the manifesto, I'm only questioning if banning it will have the desired effect. Ultimately, you can most likely find it if you want to (haven't...I personally don't have anything against censoring the manifesto, I'm only questioning if banning it will have the desired effect. Ultimately, you can most likely find it if you want to (haven't tried as I'm not interested). My guess is locally in NZ there's some heavy (social) discouragement pushing people away from it already, so all the ban does is effectively put more attention on it.
Question is if having more attention on it now due to the ban is worth it, and if it will really lead to it being more difficult to find later on. If not, one might just not bother.
1 vote -
Comment on Christchurch mosque shootings: 'Manifesto' deemed objectionable in ~news
Grzmot Link This simply means that posession of the manifesto carries possible time in prison (up to 10 years) with it while distributing it up to 14. People who legitimately need to study the text (for...This simply means that posession of the manifesto carries possible time in prison (up to 10 years) with it while distributing it up to 14. People who legitimately need to study the text (for example journalists, etc.) can apply for an exception.
I'm conflicted about this. Obviously on reddit it hasn't received fairly well (Americans love their 1st amendment), but I think declaring it illegal will only make more people aware of it's existence and give them the desire to read it (forbidden fruit, anyone?) after the NZ government has done such a good job of minimizing coverage of the shooter and the manifesto since the attack has happened.
5 votes -
16 votes
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Comment on The Outer Worlds won't launch on Steam, will be an Epic Games Store and Microsoft Store exclusive in ~games
Grzmot Link Parent I mean, the Epic Store is no different (except it is, because it's way, way worse than any other launcher out there, from a technical standpoint). Except Epic has dat Fortnite money to buy out...I mean, the Epic Store is no different (except it is, because it's way, way worse than any other launcher out there, from a technical standpoint). Except Epic has dat Fortnite money to buy out publishers. We'll see how long that will last, but I don't think Epic can keep up this amount of spending forever.
3 votes -
Comment on It’s not enough for J.K. Rowling to say her characters are queer. Show it to us. in ~lgbt
Grzmot Link Parent Gotta sell those books in the countries were it's illegal/lowers sales if you openly feature LGBT characters. I don't really think that JKR is like that, I think she just wants to stay relevant,...Gotta sell those books in the countries were it's illegal/lowers sales if you openly feature LGBT characters.
I don't really think that JKR is like that, I think she just wants to stay relevant, or she wants a bit of that worldbuilding pie that GRRM and Sanderson have made fairly popular recently, but has none of the skill to support it.
7 votes -
Comment on r/Piracy receives official warning from Reddit Legal about 74 copyright infringements in ~tech
Grzmot Link The mods of the subreddit say that no admin has actually removed anything as by their modlog. This means that either those infrigements are bullshit, the admins can remove things without it...The mods of the subreddit say that no admin has actually removed anything as by their modlog. This means that either those infrigements are bullshit, the admins can remove things without it appearing in the modlog, the admins are lying or the mods are lying. The last one would be a little strange.
But then again, it would make sense with reddit's recent strategy to try and clean itself up for advertisers. A piracy subreddit, even if nothing actually illegal is ever posted there (at least not without the mods removing it very quickly) doesn't look good on your resume when you're pitching yourself to ad networks. Reddit has notoriously never really made any profit and sustained itself on investments. The redesign, removal of undesirable subreddits is probably all part of the course. The question is if reddit will become another Digg and fall into irrelevancy (a viable option, as reddit is mostly browsed by tech people, at least in my country) due to those changes, or if it will be able to make the jump and become a "legitimate" social network.
They are definitely trying to suck up more of your data, the redesign has encouraged users to enter more of their information.
23 votes -
Comment on Triple Frontier has released yesterday, what are your thoughts? in ~movies
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Comment on Apple denies Spotify's "unfair play" claim in ~tech
Grzmot Link Parent Apple's blog post is just very good at deflecting the problem and casting blame at Spotify without addressing their claims. It's a good PR bullshit post, but nothing else really.Apple's blog post is just very good at deflecting the problem and casting blame at Spotify without addressing their claims. It's a good PR bullshit post, but nothing else really.
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Comment on Johnny Depp was abused by ex-wife Amber Heard, new evidence shows in ~movies
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Comment on Johnny Depp was abused by ex-wife Amber Heard, new evidence shows in ~movies
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Comment on Johnny Depp was abused by ex-wife Amber Heard, new evidence shows in ~movies
Grzmot Link Wouldn't surprise me if she used the biased justice system to her own advantage. The article mentions that she staged some attacks on herself, but we'll have to see how much of that is true.Wouldn't surprise me if she used the biased justice system to her own advantage. The article mentions that she staged some attacks on herself, but we'll have to see how much of that is true.
6 votes
We have yet to see Valve's real reaction to the Epic Store. The things they've done so far, like the dev pricing, the new incoming overlay, the update to allow Steam devs access to the internal Valve global network, have all been in development for years. Ultimately, I'd say that there's a chance that Epic will force Valve to improve on Steam, but in all honesty, I'm very satisfied with it. Anyone but Valve would've already abused their monopoly position to maximize profit. The people at Valve aren't directly driven by the shareholders lighting up fires under their asses, so they have some leeway on how to really improve Steam for customers and developers.