bret's recent activity
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Comment on If you had to buy a car today, what would you buy? in ~transport
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Comment on Apple restricts Pebble from being awesome with iPhones in ~tech
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Comment on Does anyone want to talk about stocks/options? in ~finance
bret LinkIm invested pretty much exclusively in an SP500 index fund (SWPPX) and a Korea index fund (EWY).Im invested pretty much exclusively in an SP500 index fund (SWPPX) and a Korea index fund (EWY).
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Comment on I hate 2FA in ~tech
bret Link ParentI think my frustration is more towards the fact there is no "standard" everyone is using that is easier to use than having to pull up my email or phone every time I log in somewhere. If websites...I think my frustration is more towards the fact there is no "standard" everyone is using that is easier to use than having to pull up my email or phone every time I log in somewhere. If websites all started to support using passkeys or something similar I wouldn't mind as much, but right now it's a mish-mash of different methods. Email, text, passkey, authenticator apps
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Comment on I hate 2FA in ~tech
bret Link ParentI use Bitwarden. Is there something about 2FA I don't understand? I have a bitwarden passkey but it doesn't (as far as i can tell?) support the vast majority of websites I use. Most websites still...I use Bitwarden. Is there something about 2FA I don't understand? I have a bitwarden passkey but it doesn't (as far as i can tell?) support the vast majority of websites I use. Most websites still send a code to my email or phone.
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I hate 2FA
I get that it’s supposed to make things more secure, but it feels like a constant chore every time I try to log in somewhere. Grab a code from my phone. Check my email. Open an authenticator app....
I get that it’s supposed to make things more secure, but it feels like a constant chore every time I try to log in somewhere. Grab a code from my phone. Check my email. Open an authenticator app. Repeat this process for every single account, over and over.
I know there are tools like YubiKey that are supposed to make 2FA easier, but the reality is that most websites don’t even support them.
I already use a password manager, and all my passwords are long, randomized, and secure. Is there something I am missing that makes this easier, or is this just as infuriating for everyone else?
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Comment on CES 2025 in ~tech
bret Link ParentI couldn't tell you with certainty which one is better or worse than the other here, but with I think I canI don't think it's any more confusing than inspiron, latitude, precision, and XPS, but I don't know that it's any less confusing....
I couldn't tell you with certainty which one is better or worse than the other here, but with
“Dell,” “Dell Pro,” and “Dell Pro Max.”
I think I can
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Comment on Outdoor CCTV recommendations? in ~tech
bret LinkI'm not too sure on brands for wifi cameras because I've only dealt with wired cameras and eufy cameras, but for your specific requirements it sounds like a decent outdoor wifi ip camera with...I'm not too sure on brands for wifi cameras because I've only dealt with wired cameras and eufy cameras, but for your specific requirements it sounds like a decent outdoor wifi ip camera with ONVIF support would do. There is a lot of ONVIF software you can run on a local computer or NAS to save continuous recordings from your ONVIF cameras if you wish
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Comment on Nvidia announces four next-gen RTX 5000 GPUs in ~tech
bret Link Parentdoesn't an APU definitionally have a GPU lol"your AMD APU doesn't actually have a GPU".
doesn't an APU definitionally have a GPU lol
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Comment on Nvidia announces four next-gen RTX 5000 GPUs in ~tech
bret Link ParentThe performance leap from 1080 to a 5090 is huuuge. I think you'll be happy with it :)The performance leap from 1080 to a 5090 is huuuge. I think you'll be happy with it :)
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Comment on Any Tildeans who have lived in China or Russia and the West? What were the differences in the daily lives of average people? in ~life
bret Link ParentWhat city do you need 500k USD to live comfortably in?What city do you need 500k USD to live comfortably in?
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Comment on Donald Trump vs Kamala Harris: Who is leading in the US presidential election polls? in ~society
bret Link ParentI absolutely think kowtowing to the hard left would've been even more disastrous, absolutelyI absolutely think kowtowing to the hard left would've been even more disastrous, absolutely
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Comment on Honey did nothing wrong in ~tech
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Comment on Honey did nothing wrong in ~tech
bret (edited )LinkSo, a few things here. Virtually noone wants this. The scandal here is largely about being scummy behavior, not necessarily legally actionable behavior. The lawsuit is actually about the behavior...So, a few things here.
if a user wants to install a browser extension that replaces all the affiliate codes in links they click...
Virtually noone wants this.
If we admit some right to control the user's browser's behavior on the part of affiliate marketers, why would that right stop at interference by Honey? Wouldn't any extension interfering with the sanctity of the affiliate marketing referral data then be a legally actionable offense?
The scandal here is largely about being scummy behavior, not necessarily legally actionable behavior.
While there are now lawyers involved, it isn't because the action of replacing affiliate links is inherently illegal, it is because they lied about what they were doing (e.g. telling consumers they were getting the best deal available while simultaneously telling their partners very specifically their consumers wouldn't be getting the best deals available).
The lawsuit is actually about the behavior of replacing the affiliate links, which does actually seem inherently illegalBut I don't think they did anything wrong by overriding affiliate links, and I think it's dangerous to let people convince you otherwise.
Again, it's not inherently wrong - it's a scandal because noone knew that's what they were doing, along with their entire business model being incredibly scummy.
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Comment on Christopher Nolan’s next film is an adaptation of Homer’s ‘The Odyssey,’ Universal reveals in ~movies
bret Linkohh man i cant wait. i hope hans zimmer is on board tooohh man i cant wait. i hope hans zimmer is on board too
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Comment on What are favorite holiday themed TV episodes? in ~tv
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Comment on What possession(s) do you have that continue to delight you every time? in ~talk
bret Linkthis chef knife brings a smile to me everytime i use itthis chef knife brings a smile to me everytime i use it
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Comment on What have you spent "too much time" trying to fix or streamline? in ~talk
bret LinkThe most recent bug at work. In a nutshell, I have an excel file. In column A, each row corresponds to a line of XML code. I created a VBA macro to iterate through each line, update values, and...The most recent bug at work.
In a nutshell, I have an excel file. In column A, each row corresponds to a line of XML code. I created a VBA macro to iterate through each line, update values, and write it to an XML file. Then I use a tool in our application to upload the XML and create a bunch of assignments in our software.
The XML it created didn't have any errors parsing, but for some reason the assignments it created had some corrupted artifacts. After a lot of trial and error, I found something very weird.
If I instead copied everything from column A onto column B, and used the XML from column B, everything suddenly worked fine. If I literally copy-pasted what was then on column B back onto column A, and used the XML from column A - nope, didn't work again.
I tested this multiple times. Same results. I copied into two XML files, one from column A, and one from column B, and compared line by line. Same exact code. I even put it through AI to see if there were ANY differences, including things like leading or trailing spaces or anything like that. Zero difference between the files. Still, the column A file works and the column B file didn't.
After a full day of examining this, I simply updated the macro to copy everything on column A onto column B and use that.
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Comment on Great shows with interesting premises? in ~tv
bret Link ParentJust wanted to let you know I checked out Counterpart because of this post and so far it is absolutely fantastic (just finished s01 ep09).Just wanted to let you know I checked out Counterpart because of this post and so far it is absolutely fantastic (just finished s01 ep09).
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Comment on What’s your “I didn’t know I needed that” item? in ~life
bret (edited )LinkTwo purchases really surprised me how much I really loved them after buying them: Anker 120w charger - I really love the fact one compact device can fully replace my laptop charger, phone charger,...Two purchases really surprised me how much I really loved them after buying them:
Anker 120w charger - I really love the fact one compact device can fully replace my laptop charger, phone charger, and pretty much anything else I have.
ROCO Minimalist Wallet - had this wallet for YEARS and it holds up incredibly and is just so satisfying. I have not seen anyone with a slimmer wallet, and I just like it
I don't know yet but I've been thinking about what to replace my Tesla Model Y with, for obvious reasons... Probably a Kia. I want something with a quieter cabin than what we have now though.