TheJorro's recent activity
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Comment on Activision Blizzard employees are walking out in protest in ~games
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Comment on Wu-Tang Clan vs. Lord of the Rings - Enter the Fellowship [Full Mixtape] in ~music
TheJorro Link ParentOh yeah, they've been on my radar for a while!Oh yeah, they've been on my radar for a while!
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Comment on Wu-Tang Clan vs. Lord of the Rings - Enter the Fellowship [Full Mixtape] in ~music
TheJorro Link ParentThanks for these other suggestions! I've discovered the El Michels Affair thanks to a surprisingly unorthodox Spotify recommendation and really enjoyed those, but I had no idea someone did a...Thanks for these other suggestions! I've discovered the El Michels Affair thanks to a surprisingly unorthodox Spotify recommendation and really enjoyed those, but I had no idea someone did a Hendrix mashup.
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Comment on Wu-Tang Clan vs. Lord of the Rings - Enter the Fellowship [Full Mixtape] in ~music
TheJorro LinkUsually these kinds of mashup mixtapes are just kind of fun experiments and entertaining for the novelty. But this one is a real cut above, I haven't felt this pulled in by a mashup mixtape since...Usually these kinds of mashup mixtapes are just kind of fun experiments and entertaining for the novelty. But this one is a real cut above, I haven't felt this pulled in by a mashup mixtape since then-little-known DJ Danger Mouse dropped The Grey Album in 2004.
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Wu-Tang Clan vs. Lord of the Rings - Enter the Fellowship [Full Mixtape]
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Comment on Dune | Official main trailer in ~movies
TheJorro Link ParentThere was a soldier who was falling for the alarmist punditry but they were definitely portrayed as in the wrong.There was a soldier who was falling for the alarmist punditry but they were definitely portrayed as in the wrong.
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Comment on Dune | Official main trailer in ~movies
TheJorro Link ParentInterestingly, the movie of his that could have most easily fallen into that sort of thing, Sicario, still was decidedly the complete opposite of it. The man's a true talent and I'd say he's...Interestingly, the movie of his that could have most easily fallen into that sort of thing, Sicario, still was decidedly the complete opposite of it.
The man's a true talent and I'd say he's knocked it out of the park with every movie he's put out. I don't think he's missed once so far.
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Comment on Sophisticated exploits used to breach fully-patched iPhones of journalists, activists, as detailed by Amnesty International's Security Lab in ~tech
TheJorro Link ParentEnterprise enrollment is not a mass market solution, and it is not set up by Apple (or Google/Samsung on Androids). Again, if Apple actually was trying to offer a level of security that would...Enterprise enrollment is not a mass market solution, and it is not set up by Apple (or Google/Samsung on Androids).
Again, if Apple actually was trying to offer a level of security that would protect against multimillion dollar individually targetted cyberattacks, they would be offering a whole other specialized service. I can't see why anyone would think Apple is promising this level of protection with their current mass market offerings.
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Comment on Sophisticated exploits used to breach fully-patched iPhones of journalists, activists, as detailed by Amnesty International's Security Lab in ~tech
TheJorro (edited )Link ParentI don't think Apple could even pretend to offer that level of security with a mass market solution without exposing themselves legally. There's really no way to do it without personalized...I don't think Apple could even pretend to offer that level of security with a mass market solution without exposing themselves legally. There's really no way to do it without personalized solutions and more restricted devices than stock configurations, which Apple can't really offer in mass out-of-the-box production. If anything, this would have to be a very premium white glove service of sorts.
At the very least, I can't find anything in Apple's security pages detailing what levels of threat they can really protect you from, only how they design for security in general.
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Comment on Sophisticated exploits used to breach fully-patched iPhones of journalists, activists, as detailed by Amnesty International's Security Lab in ~tech
TheJorro Link ParentThen the campaign staff should prioritize their IT more because clearly they aren't doing it enough there. This isn't an exclusive phenomenon. There's poor IT everywhere you look. You can (and...Then the campaign staff should prioritize their IT more because clearly they aren't doing it enough there.
This isn't an exclusive phenomenon. There's poor IT everywhere you look. You can (and will) find stories like this about IT in every single industry in the world, but it will never mean that it's somehow Apple's fault for not offering enough security in their universal security offering to protect against targeted and concentrated cyberattacks.
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Comment on Sophisticated exploits used to breach fully-patched iPhones of journalists, activists, as detailed by Amnesty International's Security Lab in ~tech
TheJorro Link ParentTheir IT departments. Politicians aren't handling their own IT security, especially elected ones. After all, they're not civilians by IT security standards, they're high priority government...Their IT departments.
Politicians aren't handling their own IT security, especially elected ones. After all, they're not civilians by IT security standards, they're high priority government targets. They're given specifically configured devices by government IT, and are subject to those usage policies. Personal IT breaches that happen at that level usually only happen when they circumvent government IT standards or practices. The unelected ones usually have an IT department from their party. I can't really speak to the quality of that as it differs greatly by region and party but there is generally something in place.
I can't speak to the journalism industry but ideally there ideally should be something in place with their IT departments that would help them with their IT security in a similar fashion. They are less regulated than government when it comes to IT process and equipment so there's probably more personal maintenance required, but at that point we should start to talk about the prerequisite skills to be in such a field at all.
It's just not Apple's prerogative to make sure absolutely everyone has ironclad protection. It shouldn't be anyway, true full protection isn't a one-size-fits-all initiative. If you're in any position to be targeted by state-sponsored actions, it would be an incredibly bad idea to rely on a free, automated, one-stop shop security solution meant to help out people who would otherwise have none.
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Comment on Sophisticated exploits used to breach fully-patched iPhones of journalists, activists, as detailed by Amnesty International's Security Lab in ~tech
TheJorro Link ParentBut the question should be why civilians were targetted that way, not why Apple isn't providing a much higher level of security than should be necessary for civilians. Anyone who believes they...But the question should be why civilians were targetted that way, not why Apple isn't providing a much higher level of security than should be necessary for civilians.
Anyone who believes they need higher degrees of security shouldn't be offloading it entirely to automated solutions in the first place, especially if they are known and accepted targets for state-sponsored security breaches.
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Comment on Sophisticated exploits used to breach fully-patched iPhones of journalists, activists, as detailed by Amnesty International's Security Lab in ~tech
TheJorro (edited )Link ParentApple was never promising extremely high level security that would protect users against coordinated state-level attacks. They're offering consumer-grade privacy and security focus and basic...Apple was never promising extremely high level security that would protect users against coordinated state-level attacks. They're offering consumer-grade privacy and security focus and basic protection because most people, left to their own devices, basically have none.
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Comment on Steam Deck - Valve's Switch-style portable gaming PC, starting at $399 USD and shipping in December 2021 in ~games
TheJorro Link ParentAh, well sure, they're in a business where DRM and security is integral to function at the scale and scope that they do. Steam couldn't be what it is if it was open source but a few components of...Ah, well sure, they're in a business where DRM and security is integral to function at the scale and scope that they do. Steam couldn't be what it is if it was open source but a few components of it and other Valve products are.
Open source is a great ideal but it's more of an extreme when it comes to opening technology up than many believe, especially for a corporation that has many legal interests around the world. Keeping SteamOS free to use and sharing patents and R&D around virtual reality is more the kind of level where Valve operates openly. They're not really a company for locking down IPs and trade secrets compared to, say, Facebook and Oculus.
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Comment on Steam Deck - Valve's Switch-style portable gaming PC, starting at $399 USD and shipping in December 2021 in ~games
TheJorro (edited )Link Parent8K/60Hz is VESA certified in DisplayPort 1.4 spec thanks to Display Stream Compression.This is... something. How is it USB 3.2 if it supports 8K 60Hz? How is it DisplayPort 1.4? Neither of those are fast enough for 8K 60Hz. That's only available through DisplayPort 2.0, USB4, and Thunderbolt.
8K/60Hz is VESA certified in DisplayPort 1.4 spec thanks to Display Stream Compression.
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Comment on Steam Deck - Valve's Switch-style portable gaming PC, starting at $399 USD and shipping in December 2021 in ~games
TheJorro Link ParentNot sure what you're getting at with that, but it is specifically addressed on their SteamOS page.Not sure what you're getting at with that, but it is specifically addressed on their SteamOS page.
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Comment on Steam Deck - Valve's Switch-style portable gaming PC, starting at $399 USD and shipping in December 2021 in ~games
TheJorro Link ParentIt's just not in Valve's nature to lock things down. They're basically as close to open as a multibillion dollar gaming company will get. I doubt they'll re-use the same branding approach with...It's just not in Valve's nature to lock things down. They're basically as close to open as a multibillion dollar gaming company will get.
I doubt they'll re-use the same branding approach with Steam Box since that didn't work out well (for other reasons as well), and Valve's very good about learning their lesson when it comes to consumer behaviour. It seems they're much more interested in having SteamOS be available freely for anyone to use.
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Comment on Black Widow review and discussion in ~movies
TheJorro (edited )Link ParentI was confused why Yelena would even believe this when her and Natasha had a conversation in Budapest that implied that Yelena was familiar with her relationship with (specifically) "Clint". I...Did the Avengers know that Natasha had a sister? How did Val know that Hawkeye was the person who "killed" her? Is there a leak on the Avengers?
I was confused why Yelena would even believe this when her and Natasha had a conversation in Budapest that implied that Yelena was familiar with her relationship with (specifically) "Clint".
I guess they're setting up for a heel face turn but it seems odd to do it with a character who we've already seen and know is good. It's like seeing the whole "secret sibling who misunderstood the situation and is trying to get revenge but eventually finds out the truth and switches side" trope from the other side, and it reminds me of this Simpsons meme image.
I'm still also confused why they fought in Budapest in the first place.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TheJorro (edited )LinkI recently sat down and played Paradise Killer in just a couple of sittings. That almost never happens to me anymore with any game. I had barely even heard about this game before. It's one of the...I recently sat down and played Paradise Killer in just a couple of sittings. That almost never happens to me anymore with any game. I had barely even heard about this game before.
It's one of the most unique games I think I've ever played. The closest analogue to it is probably Outer Wilds, though it's still an extremely different game. At its heart, this is a murder mystery game. The ruling Council has been murdered and the island of Paradise's cycle of rebooting has been halted until the killer is caught. You're an investigator brought in to figure it out.
Paradise exists in an alternate pocket dimension after a great religious schism around 1000 AD where there was a rebellion against the Lovecraftian gods of this story. The faithful, who are now the Syndicate, were brought into Paradise to serve and become closer to the gods, except the gods were all physically killed, so their purpose is to revive the gods into corporeal form. They can't do this by themselves, so they bring in humans to basically do all the crap jobs and essentially run as perpetual energy machines. But, invariably, demons somehow get into Paradise so they have to wipe and start it over every time. This involves Ritual Sacrifice, in which all the humans are slaughtered so their blood can be splashed around the slaughter room to hopefully appease the gods, and then all the demi-gods of the Syndicate move to the new Paradise island and get a fresh batch of humans from the "real world" (that's what they call it in the game).
You play as Lady Love Dies, the investigation freak. That's her title. That's also her actual name, everyone has a strange name in this game. She used to head up the Paradise Psycho Unit, effectively the investigation force, until she was tricked by the god Damned Harmony somewhere in the 19th island cycle and was exiled for 3 million days... until now. The Judge (another Syndicate member and also literally the only one with a normal sounding name) has brought her back to solve this murder before the remaining Syndicate members can move onto the new island, Perfect 25. It seems the Grand Marshal already has someone in custody, a demon-possessed human named Henry Division who was found at the scene with a knife and a bellyful of the Council's blood. But is all as it seems?
So with this premise, how would such a game stand out in a medium filled with anime murder mystery visual novels with strange stories and settings? First of all, this isn't actually an anime game—it's British. Secondly, it's the piece of media with the most accomplished vaporwave visuals style I think I've ever seen. Every component of this game's visuals should be garish as hell but there's actually a coherent beauty to it all. It's a great looking game, and a world I was fascinated to explore. The in-game screens and interface has that MS Paint look to it, the UI is constantly tinged with the teal and hot pinks of those late 80's/early 90's windbreakers. There's no such thing as a clean background, only a maximalist use of low res graphics and many, many cheap looking Windows 95/98 era looking wallpapers. Combine this with that Lovecraftian dark world I described above and you get a very, very strange world to explore.
It's bright, colourful, and looks like a happy wonderland. It's an absolute treat for the eyes. It also makes it all that much more jarring when you enter a room and remember this is a Lovecraftian universe that seems to revolve around blood very much. Or when you go to the garden of gods and see all the rather freaky looking busts and statues all over it and realize that these gods are entirely designed like Lovecraftian monsters.
The music is not vaporwave, by the way. It's instead an amazing collection of energetic jazz and pop. It's a hell of a soundtrack and even with 16 or so tracks, I never got bored of it. It's a good collection with some reminding me of Persona, and others still reminding me of Kid A era Radiohead.
And exploring it is a ton of fun. Going in, I thought this would be a visual novel. Instead, this is where those Outer Wilds comparisons come in. You explore this entire island in first person view, with a heavy dose of platforming and lots and lots of exploration. You really do have to investigate the crime scenes in this game, and collect evidence. Years of AAA titles have really deprived me of a true investigation experience, where Witcher 3 and Read Dead Redemption instead give you a coloured circle to mill about in and won't let you leave until you find all the clues. In this game, it's entirely possible to miss a huge piece of evidence simply because you didn't inspect the area close enough or follow clues to find new areas to investigate.
The island is on the small but dense side of things. It's eclectically designed but with a purpose behind it all. It looks like a confusing mess when you start but nothing here is based in reality at all. This is entirely a manufactured island, and as you explore around it, it all comes together. There's a ton of verticality to it, and you have no fall damage. If you find certain unlocks in your exploration, you get to double jump and do a mid-air dash to improve the movement even more. Soon you could be zooming up and down the island. You'll need to do that to collect all the evidence, relics, and lore items around the island, and talk to all the various NPCs.
The characters are all fairly fun, if a little 2D (also quite literally—all the NPCs in this game are 2D sprites in a 3D world). They all have distinct personalities and fit into the overall lore and story very well, all of them. With how bizarre and off-kilter the world is, and the fluid metaphysical nature of it all, there are some interesting things to discover and investigate between them and their surroundings.
Reading up on this game, I got the impression that it is designed so that you "make your own truth". In fact, you can start the trial at any point in the game. Indeed, this game is 80-90% evidence gathering and exploration, and then the final stretch is the trial where you resolve all the mysteries and make your accusations. The impression I got is that it's possible to change the plot and how things unfolded (see: the 1985 movie Clue's three sensible endings). But it's not that, I don't know why so many reviewers were purporting it as such. That's certainly the impression the game gives you but it's not like the plot changes if you do what is basically a bad job of investigating. The order of events is the same no matter what, the game is about if you can discover what it is. And honestly, that's fine for what's basically a small-budget indie game. It's already way more than I expected it to be, and then some.
I got interested in this game because the more I tried to find out what it was, the more confused I became. Often, that's a good sign. That usually means the game is going to be something unlike anything else. It's impossible handful of writers to be incapable of creating a good picture of an established concept after all, no matter what you think about their quality. One of the first games I remember feeling this way about back in the day was Devil May Cry and sure enough, that game proved to be completely unlike any action game before it. If you're into weird, daring games that try to do something unique and interesting, this is one to check out.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
TheJorro (edited )Link ParentYakuza 0 was basically designed to be an entry point into the series for new players. It's an extremely plot heavy series, and Yakuza 0 is a prequel to the rest of the games, so there's no...Yakuza 0 was basically designed to be an entry point into the series for new players. It's an extremely plot heavy series, and Yakuza 0 is a prequel to the rest of the games, so there's no requirement of prior knowledge as everything else follows from this one. In fact, the remakes of the first two games (Kiwami 1 and 2) revise their plot to work with 0's better as the series wasn't exactly fully planned out when the original versions of those two were made.
I really hope this sticks. I'm so used to gaming controversies essentially being flash fires, where they're gone as soon as they start. It seems like most people have already forgotten about Ubisoft's lack of addressing their many sexual harassment issues in favour of another shiny coat of paint on Far Cry.
But Blizzard have really been banking up the ill will in recent years. Not that it means a company should be knocked down a peg just for putting out subpar products, but with how fickle gaming consumers are, and the nature of how badly Blizzard have screwed up their products, I'm hoping this compounds with the anger towards these new allegations and we see some real change happening.
Unfortunately it seems like Call of Duty will always be around to keep ActiBlizz afloat but with Blizzard's usual cash cows drying up, it might hopefully force some change.