Pistos's recent activity
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Comment on World's biggest machine capturing carbon from air turned on in Iceland – operators say the Orca plant can suck 4,000 tonnes of CO2 out of the air every year in ~enviro
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Pistos LinkWell, I did it. I achieved in Kingdom Come: Deliverance. There are a handful of other achievements I can try for, but I think I'm done with this game, at least for now. Next time I need to wander...Well, I did it. I achieved
" 'Tis but a scratch "
Finish the game in Hardcore Mode with all negative perks.in Kingdom Come: Deliverance. There are a handful of other achievements I can try for, but I think I'm done with this game, at least for now. Next time I need to wander about a forest and take in the peaceful sights and sounds, I'll return. Over 500 hours recorded in Steam.
The above achievement seems to be the 3rd rarest achievement, according to Steam. 0.6% of players have achieved it.
This is possibly my favourite game of all time, and I'm not being hyperbolic. Go check it out if you are at all interested in history, medieval settings, RPGs, and the like.
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Fire rainbow over West Virginia
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Comment on Open source alternatives to Slack, Google Drive and Google Docs in ~tech
Pistos LinkThese seem a little opposed. Could you talk about your stance in a little more detail? One of the reasons I self host as much as I can as it minimizes the privacy footprint: I limit my trust...I am just interested in [...] privacy. EDIT: I am not interested in self-hosting.
These seem a little opposed. Could you talk about your stance in a little more detail?
One of the reasons I self host as much as I can as it minimizes the privacy footprint: I limit my trust circle to a VPS provider, my ISP, and intermediary infrastructure providers. If I let a random third party manage the software and data store through which my private data flows, I have to trust them, too -- but they are in a much better position to zero in on said private data.
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Comment on Open source alternatives to Slack, Google Drive and Google Docs in ~tech
Pistos LinkZulip is usually the one suggested as a FLOSS alternative to Slack. If your needs are modest, self-hosted XMPP or even IRC could do the trick. For cloud stuff, I recommend Nextcloud, but it may...Zulip is usually the one suggested as a FLOSS alternative to Slack. If your needs are modest, self-hosted XMPP or even IRC could do the trick.
For cloud stuff, I recommend Nextcloud, but it may not meet your needs if you need many features of Google Docs. I've never tried it (yet), but Nextcloud + Collabora seems to claim to offer a Google-Docs-like experience.
Cost-wise, you can throw Nextcloud on a VPS of your choice. For example, Linode offers 80 GB storage at 20 USD monthly, then just +1 USD monthly for additional 10 GB increments of storage. That's what I set up for a client of mine.
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Comment on You're probably not using the web's best browser (Vivaldi) in ~tech
Pistos Link ParentExactly the reason why I eventually abandoned Opera, despite being a fan for many years (despite it having like < 3% market share for most of its life).Exactly the reason why I eventually abandoned Opera, despite being a fan for many years (despite it having like < 3% market share for most of its life).
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Comment on Any tips for dealing with games that make you too uncomfortable? in ~games
Pistos LinkIt seems odd to me that someone would want to subject themselves to a specific game that elicits such a strong negative response in them, but, that aside: Have you considered playing with no...It seems odd to me that someone would want to subject themselves to a specific game that elicits such a strong negative response in them, but, that aside:
Have you considered playing with no sound? Perhaps the game's audio settings has a separate slider for sound effects.
If sound is critical to success in the game, you might be able to somehow pass the audio through some audio filters which would key in on the geiger counter sound, and lower or mute it. Perhaps the "tick" sound is a very specific frequency, and so then you can apply an EQ filter to mute that frequency.
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Comment on Introducing the PineNote, a high-end e-ink device from Pine64 in ~tech
Pistos Link ParentNo worries! :) Everyone does this kind of thing now and again.No worries! :) Everyone does this kind of thing now and again.
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Comment on Introducing the PineNote, a high-end e-ink device from Pine64 in ~tech
Pistos Link ParentPardon the interjection, but wouldn't that be "around 2Hz" instead? 1000 ms per second / 450 ms per refresh = 2.22(2....) refreshes per second450ms is the stated update time for grayscale. So that's around 0.5Hz.
Pardon the interjection, but wouldn't that be "around 2Hz" instead? 1000 ms per second / 450 ms per refresh = 2.22(2....) refreshes per second
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Pistos Link ParentThank you for doing your part by recognizing a constant vehicle threat, and deploying to deal with it.Thank you for doing your part by recognizing a constant vehicle threat, and deploying to deal with it.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Pistos Link ParentDangit. I promised myself I would never pre-order another Battlefield after getting BF1 (I waited a bit after release to get BFV). But now your comment almost makes me want to break that promise,...it's basically Battlefield 4 but newer
Dangit. I promised myself I would never pre-order another Battlefield after getting BF1 (I waited a bit after release to get BFV). But now your comment almost makes me want to break that promise, because I consider BF4 the high point of the franchise, and have been eagerly awaiting the next instalment that is set in modern or near future times, and BF2042 fits the bill.
I was questioning whether I'd be willing to pay full price for BF2042 (or any game, really), but if I watch enough post-release gameplay vids on Twitch and Youtube to assuage my fears, I may well indeed buy it at full price. It would be a first for me since switching (from being a years-long Playstation player) to PC.
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Comment on Netflix intensifies ‘VPN ban’ and targets residential IP-addresses too in ~tech
Pistos Link ParentYep, yep. I acknowledge that your point is about it being a relative comparison.Yep, yep. I acknowledge that your point is about it being a relative comparison.
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Comment on What’s a mistake many people do not know they are making? in ~talk
Pistos Link ParentNever trust what atoms say. They make up everything.Never trust what atoms say. They make up everything.
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Comment on Netflix intensifies ‘VPN ban’ and targets residential IP-addresses too in ~tech
Pistos Link ParentWell..... that depends. Yes, it's basically zero to open your phone app or GarageBand on your Mac, and press the Record button. However, a lot goes into a standard-quality track that is worthy of...music production costs are basically zero
Well..... that depends. Yes, it's basically zero to open your phone app or GarageBand on your Mac, and press the Record button. However, a lot goes into a standard-quality track that is worthy of being competitive on Spotify, iTunes, etc. Even setting aside the time and effort involved in a band or singers actually practicing the song to get good, there are costs like:
- hiring musicians (if necessary)
- paying a music producer to make an instrumental track (for a solo singer artist) -- this can be anywhere from 1k to 2k USD, or more
- paying for studio time (or buying equipment to get the same kind of quality, like soundproofing, good mic and pop filter)
- paying for editing, mastering, and/or post-production to do things like autotuning, high and lo pass filtering, taking care of hiss, crackles, fixing minor performance mistakes, EQ, effects (e.g. reverb), compression, normalization, balancing tracks (multiple vocalists, multiple instrumentalists)
- distribution costs are low, but still non-zero (services like DistroKid and CDBaby)
I would agree though that all these costs are probably generally lower compared with the usual amount spent to produce a good TV show or movie.
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Comment on How has the pandemic changed you? in ~talk
Pistos LinkI used to be on the fence or unsure about vaccines, but the COVID vaccines have shown me that, at least in some cases, they are legit.I used to be on the fence or unsure about vaccines, but the COVID vaccines have shown me that, at least in some cases, they are legit.
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Comment on Cleveland Indians change name to Guardians in ~sports
Pistos LinkI support the change. That wordmark is a bit hard to read though.I support the change. That wordmark is a bit hard to read though.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Pistos LinkOut of the Park Baseball 22: Continuing my manager's career in this one. Winning record so far. It's fun and interesting dealing with the decisions and problems a manager has to face, like...Out of the Park Baseball 22: Continuing my manager's career in this one. Winning record so far. It's fun and interesting dealing with the decisions and problems a manager has to face, like compensating for injuries, tailoring lineups, shifting fielders, ensuring players are not overtaxed, calling up promising minor leaguers, and sending down underperforming players.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance: Spending time here and there to advance this last playthrough, where I have all Hardcore negative perks. The negative perks can be annoying from time to time, but they're not as debilitating as I thought they might be.
Fantasy Strike: There was a recent big update to this game in mid July, though I don't really feel or see a big difference. I'm maintaining my low Gold (Gold E) rating for this season. There seems to be a big difference between Silver level play and Gold level play. I might fall to Silver A after one mini-tourney, but I can quickly climb back up to Gold E in the next mini-tourney. High Gold (and above) players consistently defeat me, but it's interesting to watch their play. I hope to learn from them.
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Comment on Its still rough, but I made a really busy tildes theme in ~tildes
Pistos Link ParentThat's a fair point, and I don't disagree, but, in my case (with a 4k monitor) I just use a larger font and an unmaximized browser window.That's a fair point, and I don't disagree, but, in my case (with a 4k monitor) I just use a larger font and an unmaximized browser window.
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Comment on Hashing Phone Numbers For 2-Factor Authentication in ~comp
Pistos Link ParentI see. I think it would help for the article to be reworded to emphasize that this is a benefit from the perspective of the service provider, not per se the end user. It gives the provider perhaps...I see. I think it would help for the article to be reworded to emphasize that this is a benefit from the perspective of the service provider, not per se the end user. It gives the provider perhaps some deniability, and also protects the phone numbers in the event of a provider-side breach. To be clear: It doesn't help the end user hide their phone number from an untrusted provider.
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Comment on Hashing Phone Numbers For 2-Factor Authentication in ~comp
Pistos LinkFirst: The myriad incorrect uses of capitalization and punctuation riddling the article were extremely distracting for me. If this were some kind of psychological experiment, to test how many...First: The myriad incorrect uses of capitalization and punctuation riddling the article were extremely distracting for me. If this were some kind of psychological experiment, to test how many people found it jarring, well, I think it totally succeeded doing just that.
Second: (unless I've misunderstood the proposal) This isn't how 2FA works. If all we're asking services to do is check a computed hash (in the present) against a stored hash (acquired in the past), then that is essentially just a password. There wouldn't be any mechanism whereby ownership of the phone is confirmed. That's what standard 2FA is: two-factor. One: something you know (password), and, two: something you have (such as a phone with a uniquely-configured app, or usb dongle). The proposal boils it down to just the "know" part; two passwords.
Third: to hedge against the original issue (third party acquiring your precious legit phone number), you have to avoid actually giving it. As such, the hashing needs to be done client-side, such as by a local app on the computer or mobile device. And then only the hash should be transmitted to the third party. Sending the unhashed phone number to the third party to have it do the hashing defeats the original purpose.
Am I the only one who thought: "Um, so why didn't they just name it Orka?"