Pistos's recent activity
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Comment on I need headphone/mic recommendations for gaming before I rip my hair out in ~tech
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Comment on Looking for music solutions for my car; can anyone recommend a digital audio player? in ~transport
Pistos Link ParentDo you have any sources for that? I can see how it might track a unique ID passing by, but I didn't think it would be able to get more than that.Do you have any sources for that? I can see how it might track a unique ID passing by, but I didn't think it would be able to get more than that.
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Comment on Looking for music solutions for my car; can anyone recommend a digital audio player? in ~transport
Pistos LinkWhat are the concerns with a Bluetooth connection?What are the concerns with a Bluetooth connection?
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Comment on Shopify, pulling strings at Ruby Central, forces Bundler and RubyGems takeover in ~comp
Pistos Link ParentAFAIK, the culture shifted years ago to people doing monkey patching only very judiciously. Certainly, in the last 10 years, I almost never did it. The community learned there's almost always a...In Ruby monkey patching is considered best practice.
AFAIK, the culture shifted years ago to people doing monkey patching only very judiciously. Certainly, in the last 10 years, I almost never did it. The community learned there's almost always a feasible alternative.
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Comment on What is a business/org that's so terrible no one should use if possible? in ~life
Pistos Link ParentWell, hang on a sec. Isn't the overdraft feature ("feature") something you sign up for? i.e. not on accounts by defaultWell, hang on a sec. Isn't the overdraft feature ("feature") something you sign up for? i.e. not on accounts by default
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Comment on Letting younger children access Fortnite - Looking for opinions in ~games
Pistos Link ParentCould you elaborate on issues with Roblox?Could you elaborate on issues with Roblox?
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Comment on Make new friends here! in ~life
Pistos LinkAnyone fluent in Korean, or learning it? I'm looking for study buddies, or people to practice with, in just about any text format (Discord, Tildes DMs, email).Anyone fluent in Korean, or learning it? I'm looking for study buddies, or people to practice with, in just about any text format (Discord, Tildes DMs, email).
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Comment on My favorite mouse costs less than USD 10 in ~tech
Pistos Link ParentGiven that video, I cannot conceive how how the mouse back isn't displacing from its position on the palm. Like, if I put a spot of paint on the back of my mouse, I do not see how I can make an...Given that video, I cannot conceive how how the mouse back isn't displacing from its position on the palm. Like, if I put a spot of paint on the back of my mouse, I do not see how I can make an up/down movement without smearing the paint into a line on my palm. Other than, of course, by not contacting the mouse at all (as with the fingertip grip that I already use).
re: DPI: I can cross the width of my 4k monitor in about 2 inches of movement on the mousepad. Well within bounds of a wrist-only or fingertip-only movement (or hybrid).
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Comment on My favorite mouse costs less than USD 10 in ~tech
Pistos Link ParentHm, I'm not sure. I mean, I can go across my 4k monitor with just one sweep of the wrist + fingers; and I can go top to bottom with the fingers, but I can't do that without the fingers, which...Do you have your mouse sensitivity set to super super low or something? All it takes to move the mouse cursor up/down the entire height of a screen for me is a slight extending/retraction of my fingers. My shoulder doesn't need to activate whatsoever since I don't actually need to move my hand's overall vertical position at all... my wrist stays pretty much in the same location the entire time.
Hm, I'm not sure. I mean, I can go across my 4k monitor with just one sweep of the wrist + fingers; and I can go top to bottom with the fingers, but I can't do that without the fingers, which would be the case if I'm resting the weight of my hand and arm on the mouse's back. Don't you have to lift off of the mouse to do an up/down with your fingers?
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Comment on My favorite mouse costs less than USD 10 in ~tech
Pistos Link ParentI mean, I'm trying it now (putting weight on the "humpback" of the mouse), and I don't see how I can do up/down mouse actions without getting my shoulder involved. You can even put your opposite...I don't feel like I use my shoulder at all. It's all wrist and fingertips, other than big sweeping movements where some forearm comes in to it.
I mean, I'm trying it now (putting weight on the "humpback" of the mouse), and I don't see how I can do up/down mouse actions without getting my shoulder involved. You can even put your opposite hand on your shoulder to feel the muscles activating.
Weird. [...] so far away [...] would slow me down so much!
I dunno, it seems to work for me. If I don't need any other keys, then I put thumb, index, middle, and ring on down, left, up, and right. If I need secondary keys, I actually use the ring finger on up arrow (move forward), which frees up thumb, index, and middle for the "orbitting" secondary keys. Thumb for Alt and Ctrl, index for Shift and Enter, and middle for
\, Backspace, Ins, Del, End, Home. Middle and pinky for Left and Right respectively.Anyway, for things I really need quick access to, I put them on the extra mouse buttons. That lets me use the secondary keyboard keys for things that are needed occasionally, and not necessarily when under time pressure. For things that are ideally done with one hand moving the character, one hand aiming with mouse, I assign them to the foot pedals. Healing on the left pedal is common for me, for example, so I can still move, aim, shoot, cast spells, whatever, and fire off a heal without interrupting any of that.
Also: Nothing stopping someone from mapping WASD to a similar quartet of keys on the right side of the letters, such as
IJKLorOKL;. Then you'd get similar benefits as you mentioned, having more keys more closely adjacent. -
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Pistos Link ParentI've been eyeing this as it keeps popping up in the spam screen areas of Steam. I am a huge fan of the middle classic Battlefields (3, 4, and V in particular), but was disappointed by One, and...I've been eyeing this as it keeps popping up in the spam screen areas of Steam. I am a huge fan of the middle classic Battlefields (3, 4, and V in particular), but was disappointed by One, and just totally avoided 2042, which has perpetually had abysmal Steam ratings and reviews. If 6 delivers something nostalgically similar to 3 and 4, I just might give it a try, after ensuring the userbase reports having good impressions. I'm worried, though, that the anti-cheat might not work under Linux Steam. Early protondb reports say it doesn't.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Pistos Link ParentEnjoy it! It's an awesome game. Still my favourite of all time. I'm still planning to get KCD2 at some point, but I'm currently working through a few backlog games first, and waiting for a deeper...Enjoy it! It's an awesome game. Still my favourite of all time. I'm still planning to get KCD2 at some point, but I'm currently working through a few backlog games first, and waiting for a deeper sale.
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Comment on My favorite mouse costs less than USD 10 in ~tech
Pistos Link ParentIt'll be clear once I explain: I put the majority of my arm weight down at the wrist, where there is a cushy wrist rest. Nothing of the hand is resting on or even contacting the mouse, other than...It'll be clear once I explain: I put the majority of my arm weight down at the wrist, where there is a cushy wrist rest. Nothing of the hand is resting on or even contacting the mouse, other than the fingertips. Move the mouse with thumb, ring, and pinky; click with index and middle fingers. This is perhaps analogous to using a trackpad on a laptop. None of one's palm is involved in that at all. So, I guess I'm "trackpadding with thumb, ring, pinky", in a sense (though I've never thought of it that way until now as I type this). DDG image search
So, since nothing is stabilizing the mouse, pressing inwards with the thumb moves the mouse pointer at least a little bit (if I'm careful), and probably a lot if I'm frantically playing a video game. I'm testing right now, looking at my mouse cursor, and I can't "squeeze" with the thumb and ring+pinky without seeing my mouse cursor jiggle at least a little. In contrast, I can relatively easily do regular left or right clicks without moving the cursor at all.
Mousing with the hand resting on the mouse seems to require actuation of the shoulder, which seems like it would cause fatigue or even repetitive motion injury over time.
re: Mousing with left hand: Almost all PC games allow one to remap keys, so I use the arrow keys (not numpad, which I use for something else system-wide) for movement, and nearby keys for secondary game functions (the 6-pack of ins, del, etc.; backslash, enter, Ctrl, Shift, Alt, Backspace). For hitting number keys or function keys, I usually use my left hand for this (taking it off the mouse momentarily). The multi-button mouse lets me map a few things to those buttons, too, usually power attacks or gadgets. To get even more try-hard, I'll sheepishly admit I even have a pedal set that lets me map 3 more keys to those. Quite useful for most games.
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Comment on Meta’s flirty AI chatbot invited a retiree to New York in ~tech
Pistos Link ParentMust we put them aside? A lie is simply this: An action with an intent to deceive. Bots don't intend anything (if we consider them to have no will), so they cannot lie. Of course, the statement...Philosophical questions about whether an algorithm can "lie" aside, how is the following not lying?
Must we put them aside? A lie is simply this: An action with an intent to deceive. Bots don't intend anything (if we consider them to have no will), so they cannot lie. Of course, the statement here:
The bot's not lying.
was probably intended to mean "the bot is not telling untruths", which is different.
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Comment on Guilt and video games in ~health.mental
Pistos Link ParentI acknowledge the original point, but it's also true that multiplayer games can't just be paused and "afk'ed" in the middle of action (I mean, not without in-game consequences).I acknowledge the original point, but it's also true that multiplayer games can't just be paused and "afk'ed" in the middle of action (I mean, not without in-game consequences).
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Comment on Guilt and video games in ~health.mental
Pistos Link ParentI've long since been arguing that video games are one of the cheapest forms of entertainment, measuring by cost per unit time. Sports or athletic activities, movies, live shows, sports spectating:...I've long since been arguing that video games are one of the cheapest forms of entertainment, measuring by cost per unit time. Sports or athletic activities, movies, live shows, sports spectating: all quite expensive per hour. You can buy a video game, even a popular one at full price, say, 70 or even 80 USD. If you play that even for just 40 hours, you've paid just 2 bucks an hour. Many people play a game for well over 100 or 200 hours, making the value even better.
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Comment on Guilt and video games in ~health.mental
Pistos LinkLet's focus on the facts, and rational, logical reasoning. A simple checklist: How much is X affecting... work/income: getting up early enough, focusing on the job; gaming during work hours (if...Let's focus on the facts, and rational, logical reasoning. A simple checklist:
How much is X affecting...
- work/income: getting up early enough, focusing on the job; gaming during work hours (if remote)
- family/partner: getting enough attention, household chores getting done, nobody saying they're feeling neglected
- health: getting enough sleep, not yawning during the day; meeting exercising/fitness goals; still eating reasonable things (vs reaching for fast food or quick-prep things to get back to gaming), eating away from gaming vs while gaming; no carpal tunnel, frozen shoulder, etc.
- you get the idea
If your self assessment checks out, then it's probably not a problem. If you see yourself in a yellow zone with any of the above, though, your conscience is probably right, and should probably be listened to to steer things back to where they need to be.
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Comment on My favorite mouse costs less than USD 10 in ~tech
Pistos Link ParentHonestly, it makes me feel like I've been "mousing wrong" my whole life (moving mouse with my fingers on sides), and I say that only half jokingly.Honestly, it makes me feel like I've been "mousing wrong" my whole life (moving mouse with my fingers on sides), and I say that only half jokingly.
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Comment on My favorite mouse costs less than USD 10 in ~tech
Pistos Link ParentThe mouse industry is very right-hand biased. Hard to blame them, as the numbers only make sense, but still. Hopefully more ambidextrous mice come out.The mouse industry is very right-hand biased. Hard to blame them, as the numbers only make sense, but still. Hopefully more ambidextrous mice come out.
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Comment on My favorite mouse costs less than USD 10 in ~tech
Pistos Link ParentI was thinking of asking if they are willing to entertain new design ideas (so I could ask them to make something with top buttons), but then, in their support site:I was thinking of asking if they are willing to entertain new design ideas (so I could ask them to make something with top buttons), but then, in their support site:
Can you customize my order?
No. While our devices are made in a very small factory, it’s still a factory. It just doesn’t work for us to make one of anything.
Even small changes, such as adding a few extra parts, or making something in a custom colour, are not very practical for us.
We have maintenance kits for all of our designs, which are stocked with all of the extra parts that you might need to alter or maintain your device.
Lots of good advice already given, but I'll just say a few things:
I don't think you can get both a quality mic and quality headphones for that budget. For some, that budget won't even get good headphones. That said, I think anything that competes with the Sennheiser HD 280 pro (my current pair, which I like), AudioTechnica ATH-M50x, Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro would be my recommendation, though I think they all exceed your budget. You can visit review sites for comparisons (such as rtings). For a mic: as you said, you don't have high demands of this, with just casual usage, so I think this item is where you can skimp and save. Like, an entry-level USB webcam would probably suffice (I didn't spend much on my Logitech webcam, and it suffices for video calls and Discord), or an inexpensive USB mic.
I did want to comment on this:
Audio listening is kind of subjective, but also kind of not. There are two factors at play here.
First: different people have "different ears", in the sense that the shapes of their physical anatomy (outer ears, ear canals, etc.) are somewhat unique. On top of that, people's hearing changes over time (years), where people lose sensitivity to high frequencies (also in a personal way that differs among people), or gain sensitivity (in a negative way -- some sounds sound harsh and irritating).
Second: different audio devices have a so-called frequency response. This refers to how exactly they take input signal frequencies and produce those frequencies. For example, one device might sound like it has more bass than another, when both are used to listen to the same audio file at the same volume. With most devices (at least past a certain price threshold), you can look up the frequency response. It is often given as a graph, but sometimes just in text form (which is usually tainted by marketing/sales motives). Given this, as a consumer, you want to choose a device which achieves one goal or another. For example, you might enjoy strong bass when listening to music; or you might need great clarity in phone calls (slight boost of upper mids and highs); or you might do audio work, and need high fidelity (a "flat" frequency response).