Loopdriver's recent activity

  1. Comment on Looking for movies that combine religion mythology and supernatural elements in ~movies

    Loopdriver
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    uhm... the movies from the Conjuring universe should fit your description even if they tend to be more about religion than supernatural. For a more lightweighted story, maybe "Good Omens", the...

    uhm... the movies from the Conjuring universe should fit your description even if they tend to be more about religion than supernatural.

    For a more lightweighted story, maybe "Good Omens", the first season i quite enjoyable in my opinion.

    4 votes
  2. Comment on What are creepy, spooky or scary places you've been? in ~talk

    Loopdriver
    Link Parent
    Uhm... yes... i think i have to pay more attention when i write down things at night considering english is not my language :) To explain it a little bit further... on the other side of the road...

    Uhm... yes... i think i have to pay more attention when i write down things at night considering english is not my language :)

    To explain it a little bit further... on the other side of the road there was another old building where they somehow managed to create a parking garage. It was used mostly for executives. So they could come to the downtown, park the car, take a lift and be in the office instead of dealing with buses and whatnot.

    The garage somehow crossed the street, 3 stories below, and touched the building i was working in, i suppose that the garage served both of the buildings then, but i never figured it out.

    For "guardians" i meant that there were some little rooms (very small) probably used by security guards (there were old crt monitors showing the garage and the road outside the building...) and some changing rooms (maybe used by janitors? i dunno...). I clearly remember that the room with the crt monitors had a little window with frosted glass that opened on the garage and it was kept half open so that we could see what was on the other side (car :).

    ...i admit that in foresight having some photos would have been cool but it happened 15 years ago and smartphones weren't that good at shooting photos back then so they would have looked even creepier :)

    3 votes
  3. Comment on What are creepy, spooky or scary places you've been? in ~talk

    Loopdriver
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    Maybe not exactly creepy but maybe eerie and luminal in its own way. I used to work for a compay and its main quarter was in a very very very old building (800 years old give or take). Most of the...

    Maybe not exactly creepy but maybe eerie and luminal in its own way.

    I used to work for a compay and its main quarter was in a very very very old building (800 years old give or take).

    Most of the offices has been renovated around the 80s / 90s so moving there was strange because they were not old as the building but they were aged nonetheless. It was like they were froze in time... in between.

    Anyhow, the building had 4 stories underground and we were always curious about what was there so one day, during the lunch break, we decided to explore... and believe it or not it wasn't that hard... you only had to go down some stairs. No security or anything. We could go down and see what was there.

    Archives of... stuff.

    One floor was full to the ceiling of old fornitures. Some of them probably had already 100 years or more, abandoned, with chairs on top of them, there was a chandelier in a corner, a rusty safe in another one full of ancient books, some dusty covers that probably protected mirrors but we didn't push our luck to touch them.
    It was straight from resident evil.

    Another floor probably hosted a kitchen in the past because it was all covered in small white tiles and had gutters on the floor. Only that now the kitchen was no more and the room was full of machines, i think they were air conditioning units they had to install in the underground since they couldn't put them on the outside of an old building.

    The third floor down... looked more like a mechanics office. It was connected to an underground garage and there were some little rooms maybe for the guardian? And every time we changed the floor it was like we were passing through a portal in another time. In the beginning we were in the 80s but then we landed around the 50s? I suppose the kitchen had been build around the 20.. and the mechanic office was probably timeless :)

    Then we heard some noise and we run as fast as we could upstairs, again, to see the light... as they say.

    I still ask to myself what the fourth floor could hide :)

    4 votes
  4. Comment on What happens when the internet goes out at your work? in ~tech

    Loopdriver
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    i think... everything stops and then ppl go to have a coffee. If it doesn't work for an hour i suppose most ppl call it a day and go back home :) Internet is not the flesh and bones of my...

    i think... everything stops and then ppl go to have a coffee. If it doesn't work for an hour i suppose most ppl call it a day and go back home :)
    Internet is not the flesh and bones of my workplace but it is definitely the connective tissue.

    ...anyway i remember i was working during 11/9 and when the news stroke the internet everything started to sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow down a lot, and so did the work in the office. It took us more or less 15 or 20 minutes to open the page of a news outlet online and check what was the cause because we thought of a server crash (or that someone severed a cable on the bottom of the ocean).

    I expect something like that. Maybe more because now we are even more dependant on the internet (everything is on the cloud, we do not use landlines anymore, etc...)

    2 votes
  5. Comment on An AI that turns any book into a text adventure game in ~books

    Loopdriver
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    I have tried Harry Potter in cyberpunk sauce. It's very good and hilarious fit the first 3 or 4 pages then... it gets boring because it's getting you in circle. You start to see how the machine...

    I have tried Harry Potter in cyberpunk sauce. It's very good and hilarious fit the first 3 or 4 pages then... it gets boring because it's getting you in circle. You start to see how the machine cuts the text... and how every sentence is enhanced with ad hoc expressions. A smile becomes a neon grin, a door becomes a firewall, etc...

    But for a couple of minutes it is fun. More over... I think it could be useful on vacation if I forget to take a book with me :)

    2 votes
  6. Comment on Microsoft is plugging more holes that let you use Windows 11 without an online account in ~tech

    Loopdriver
    Link Parent
    Thanks! I will try it too. I kind of like the idea of an immutable image too...

    Thanks! I will try it too. I kind of like the idea of an immutable image too...

    1 vote
  7. Comment on Microsoft is plugging more holes that let you use Windows 11 without an online account in ~tech

    Loopdriver
    Link Parent
    Thanks, I will try it out. Just the fact is based on fedora makes me love it :)

    Thanks, I will try it out.
    Just the fact is based on fedora makes me love it :)

    1 vote
  8. Comment on Microsoft is plugging more holes that let you use Windows 11 without an online account in ~tech

    Loopdriver
    Link
    Recently i have bought a refurbished elitebookG8 (with amd) and as soon as it arrived i wiped out the windows 11 installation and installed Fedora42. For basic needs is just perfect, doesn't get...

    Recently i have bought a refurbished elitebookG8 (with amd) and as soon as it arrived i wiped out the windows 11 installation and installed Fedora42. For basic needs is just perfect, doesn't get in the way... and it's just beautiful. But most important thing... i feel i'm in control, not the other way around.

    In all honesty i think that if someone does not need special applications that run only on windows (so 90% of the people who goes to a mall and pay for a laptop) linux is ready... and can offer them a better experience.

    Said so... i still have windows 11 on my gaming rig but every single day i think about wiping it clean and install one of those "gaming distro" because it's getting worse than ever. Every now and then it reset the configuration i've done... and in the beginning i just fired up the pc, 5 seconds and i was into steam with big picture... now after the last windows update it takes 1 good minute to go there. i have not been able to figure out why :/

    6 votes
  9. Comment on My guess and opinion on the common blockers to Linux adoption in ~tech

    Loopdriver
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    i dunno... i give you two cents on the topic. Brace yourself, it's going to look a lot like a "old man yells at clouds" rant. Recently i have decided that i wanted a new laptop. Actually i decided...

    i dunno... i give you two cents on the topic. Brace yourself, it's going to look a lot like a "old man yells at clouds" rant.

    Recently i have decided that i wanted a new laptop. Actually i decided i wanted a laptop - full stop - because the only one i have is literally broken and unusable considering it's just too old to run anything beyond windows xp.

    So I started to look for a new machine and i decided i wanted to use linux because i kind of hate windows 11. I have it on my desktop that i use as a gaming console (i turn it on, fire steam... and that is it) and despite this fact i feel i'm not in control. Every now and then i have to go to the settings and turn off (again) some parameters or it just breaks something with its updates (recently Steam stopped to be be launched as soon as the machine is turn on and now i have to wait 1 minute... and i have not idea how to fix it, maybe i will have to just reinstall the os...). So I thought... let's use linux...

    ...after all my needs are basic. I need something to surf the internet, be able to watch videos, listen to the music, use a word processor. Really basic stuff. I didn't need anything super powerful either because i didn't plan to play anything on that. And i do not use special programs.
    And because of this i wanted this laptop to be cheap.

    So I started to look on Amazon, Ebay, the local electronics shops and i have made a bit of research to see if i were lucky enough to find a laptop with linux pre installed... because i thought that it would have been better than installing it myself. The idea was that if someone "professional" chose a particular distro for that machines... maybe it was because it was 100% compatible? I also thought that maybe it would have been cheaper because you don't pay for the windows license.
    Dunno... I am naive, i know.

    The result are depressing at least. I would say that 100% of the laptops out there are windows machines or chromebooks. And are expensive as hell for what they offer (most of them "cheap ones" at least).
    I would say that the laptops can be sorted in two groups... on a side you have machines that are good enough to run tests at NASA and CERN, with GPU so powerful that probably the town lights flicker when you plug them into the electric socket. On the other side you have garbage you are lucky enough if they are able to run firefox with a couple of tabs opened.

    I eventually decided that nothing suited me, so I have bought a refurbished laptop on ebay, a model I was uhm.... mostly confident was compatible with linux, at least the main distros.
    It was shipped with a windows 11 on it, because... naturally :)

    First thing i did was to make a clean install of Fedora 42.
    I don't open the terminal for anything, install what i need from the software store, update the machine from there too... install some eye candies for Gnome and uhm... this is is. I'm writing you with that. I'm pretty happy with what i have and i'm pretty sure most of the people out there with basic needs like mine wouldn't care their laptop has linux, windows or potatoOS as long as it works, it's fast and it doesn't break.

    But my story has a twist... I can look for infos out there, i can decided i want linux, look for the different distros and pick the one i like the most without being mentally freezed by the choice (and the problem with linux is that are simply too many choices)... and install it because i know how to create a bootable usb, boot the pc from the usb and press 10 times the continue button during the installation process.
    Most of the people with needs similar to mine just want to click the order button on the online shopand they're perfectly happy with anything that is shipped to them.

    They - i guess - would buy a linux computer but... it's simply not out there for them. Not at a fair price anyway. They can discover (maybe) some vendor but i don't know why linux pc / laptops are sold as they are "special". They focus on upgradability, materials, compatibility, power, etc... all good stuff but at the end of the day this means the target of the possible customers is a niche of people that would have been able (as me) to install linux... but they chose to buy a pre-installed machine because it looked way cooler.

    The majority of people don't even know system76 is out there and even if they knew why should they choose this vendor instead of lenovo, hp, etc... for them it sounds strange more or less like the unknown brands on Ali express.

    So... long story short. For linux to be vastly adopted we need a vendor (a big one) with a line of cheap, reliable laptops / pc that are sold to normal people with basic needs. After a while programs will come to them too because there is enough critical mass to pull the interest of the software houses.

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

    Loopdriver
    Link Parent
    I felt in love for Sekiro. It was a soul game that really pushed me out of the comfort zone. Tell me what u want about dark souls, but at the end of the day, with the levelling and the shield,...

    I felt in love for Sekiro. It was a soul game that really pushed me out of the comfort zone.
    Tell me what u want about dark souls, but at the end of the day, with the levelling and the shield, there are no really hard encounters.
    If things get tricky... you level up a bit, you use the shield, and you are good. But not in Sekiro, where skill matters for real.

    Funny story.... when i reached the last boss, I watched a ton of videos where they told u it's very difficult and showed you how to cheese him.
    ... I tried those methods a lot of times... never managed to take him to half of his health bar.
    So i decided to use the skills learnt during the game... killed him at the 5th try.
    I suppose there is a lesson here...

    1 vote
  11. Comment on Hollow Knight: Silksong will cost $20, releases Thursday at 7 am PDT/10 am EDT in ~games

    Loopdriver
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    Hollow Knight is a wonderful game I lost myself into... back in the days. I am very surprised by the price of silksong because I thought they were going to put a bigger tag, considering the hype...

    Hollow Knight is a wonderful game I lost myself into... back in the days. I am very surprised by the price of silksong because I thought they were going to put a bigger tag, considering the hype and the weight of its name.

    ... so my idea was to wait for a discount in a year or two... now I am not more sure anymore... could it be the game I will buy on day one?

    10 votes
  12. Comment on Humble Choice - July 2025 in ~games

    Loopdriver
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    Neo Cab is an intriguing game. I would describe it as a sort of visual novel cloud punk.... only that you do not really drive and most of the story unfold during the different conversations you...

    Neo Cab is an intriguing game. I would describe it as a sort of visual novel cloud punk.... only that you do not really drive and most of the story unfold during the different conversations you have with your customers.
    Not really long (5 hours maybe...?) and absolutely not re-playable because of the twists of the story... and that is quite sad because you won't be able to talk to everyone just in one run.

    Anyway... it's 2 euros in steam right now. At that price I absolutely recommend it. Inside the full batch of the humble bundle... I dunno.

    2 votes
  13. Comment on Tildes Game Giveaway: June/July 2025 in ~games

    Loopdriver
    Link Parent
    I'd take "call of cthulhu" with pleasure and ease you burden :) I love the work of lovecraft and I really like to see how the myth has been implemented in different games ... for what I've read...

    I'd take "call of cthulhu" with pleasure and ease you burden :)
    I love the work of lovecraft and I really like to see how the myth has been implemented in different games ... for what I've read this game looks quite cool :)

    2 votes
  14. Comment on You're going to use Gemini on Android whether you like it or not in ~tech

    Loopdriver
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    Naive question: is it deployed in the same way in Europe or, thanks to GDPR, users must give a specific consent? Because the idea that you just give Google the ability to read everything in your...

    Naive question: is it deployed in the same way in Europe or, thanks to GDPR, users must give a specific consent? Because the idea that you just give Google the ability to read everything in your phone, even inside proprietary apps "that boost e2e cryptography" doesn't sound right...

    3 votes
  15. Comment on Reddit in talks to embrace Sam Altman's iris-scanning Orb to verify users in ~tech

    Loopdriver
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    Suggestions for the countries that want to push age verifications... do not simply say you want that, give also the solution they may have to implement. Otherwise, more often than not, the...

    Suggestions for the countries that want to push age verifications... do not simply say you want that, give also the solution they may have to implement. Otherwise, more often than not, the solution found and pushed by social media and other sites won't be ideal and well and well attuned to your legislation.

    5 votes
  16. Comment on Why handwriting matters in ~humanities.languages

    Loopdriver
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    Gen x here. I write notes everyday because I find that the simple act of writing stuff down on paper helps me to retain information. More over, even if it is way slower than typing (and I can be...

    Gen x here. I write notes everyday because I find that the simple act of writing stuff down on paper helps me to retain information. More over, even if it is way slower than typing (and I can be quite fast for I had a class about how to use typewriters back in the days...) it is flexible, I can write sentences, then switch and draw something, then put a side note, etc... I know u can do something similar with an app but the flow is not really good.

    Said so, while I have learnt how to write cursive (actually that was the way you were expected to write during the tests or when you made your homeworks) I have seen that I really suck at that nowadays... I can be incredibly fast at writing letters in cursive but then I struggle to understand what I wrote if I try to read me back after a couple of days...
    So maybe... the youngsters are not wrong :)

    9 votes
  17. Comment on Seeing infrared: scientists create contact lenses that grant ‘super-vision’ in ~science

    Loopdriver
    Link Parent
    That would be really useful too. There are a lot of uses... Only inside your house, wanna see where the electric cables are inside your walls when you are hammering a nail? Put on the lenses and...

    That would be really useful too. There are a lot of uses... Only inside your house, wanna see where the electric cables are inside your walls when you are hammering a nail? Put on the lenses and voilà :)
    Were you always curious about where the hot water pipes run? Thermal vision! :)
    Is your remote broken? Strap on your infrared goggles and see if cast the ray.

    3 votes
  18. Comment on Google's new AI video tool floods internet with real-looking clips in ~tech

    Loopdriver
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    Eventually as these tools are adopted some people will not pursue their passion into a career... because they will just think "why bother?". Like a self fulfilling prophecy these tools will be...

    Eventually as these tools are adopted some people will not pursue their passion into a career... because they will just think "why bother?".
    Like a self fulfilling prophecy these tools will be used because they are good enough, cheap... and because some people will have just give up deleting the human alternative.

    14 votes
  19. Comment on Fiction with great “plot devices” in ~misc

    Loopdriver
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    I'd add TALES FROM THE LOOP to the bucket, a show hosted on amazon. More or less in every episode there is a particular gizmo that gives the characters special abilities (they can swap their minds...

    I'd add TALES FROM THE LOOP to the bucket, a show hosted on amazon. More or less in every episode there is a particular gizmo that gives the characters special abilities (they can swap their minds and live each others lifes, stop the time, travel in another dimension, etc)... from there the show delves more on the consequences and the way everyone reacts. Its a really good show.

    4 votes
  20. Comment on Fiction with great “plot devices” in ~misc

    Loopdriver
    Link Parent
    Outer wilds is a videogame about exploration and a grand solar system wide mystery that you must solve in order to see the ending(s). The main character (you) is given the ability to reset the...

    Outer wilds is a videogame about exploration and a grand solar system wide mystery that you must solve in order to see the ending(s).
    The main character (you) is given the ability to reset the time once is dead... which happens a lot not only because of your mistakes but also because the sun becomes a supernova after 22 minutes you started to play. So you are basically trapped in a loop unless you break it in the end.
    One of the best games out there IMHO.

    5 votes