largepanda's recent activity
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Comment on SSL.com is evil and deceptive: Don’t do business with SSL.com in ~tech
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Comment on Ffmpeg and AV1 for HTML5 streaming in ~comp
largepanda Link ParentYou can install a browser extension like h264ify to force YouTube to only stream h264. You will, of course, lose the "1080p Premium"/1440p/2160p quality settings, but the regular...You can install a browser extension like h264ify to force YouTube to only stream h264. You will, of course, lose the "1080p Premium"/1440p/2160p quality settings, but the regular 144p/360p/480p/720p/1080p will be available.
I do the same thing on my 2015 Retina MBP I use sometimes. I miss the higher quality settings (especially since it's got a ~1440p screen), but I'll still take that over the like 50% CPU utilization for VP9 software decode.
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Comment on Ffmpeg and AV1 for HTML5 streaming in ~comp
largepanda (edited )LinkAV1 adoption is steady but there's still lots of holdouts, and I wouldn't deploy it with no fallback today, unless this is an internal corporate environment and you know what client devices are...AV1 adoption is steady but there's still lots of holdouts, and I wouldn't deploy it with no fallback today, unless this is an internal corporate environment and you know what client devices are being used.
Consider that AV1 software decoding is very intensive on older hardware, far more so than h264 or vp9 software decoding, and forcing clients without hardware decoder support to do so in software will make for a very bad experience as their CPU usage shoots way up.
However, VP9+opus in a webm container is well supported today thanks to a decade of use by YouTube. VP9 software decoding places only a moderate load on older hardware, and VP9 hardware decoders have been around for nearly a decade, starting with Intel 7th gen (2016), AMD GCN 3 (2015), and Nvidia Pascal (2016) on desktop. VP9 will net you significant video savings, and Opus over AAC will cut your audio track sizes in half (not that they were likely large to begin with...).
YouTube is still serving h264 alongside VP9, but only up to 1080p. 1440p/2160p streams, as well as "1080p Premium", are VP9 only, with videos of any popularity also receiving AV1 encodes.
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Comment on MIG-Switch dumper review in ~games
largepanda Link ParentThis is no more of a risk than you can already do from a hacked Switch, which are readily available to anyone who wants one.This is no more of a risk than you can already do from a hacked Switch, which are readily available to anyone who wants one.
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Comment on Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender has been renewed for two more seasons in ~tv
largepanda Link ParentThe original show was also 3 seasons, so they're just following the source material. Mostly that statement is a commitment to not try and extend it past the original story.The original show was also 3 seasons, so they're just following the source material.
Mostly that statement is a commitment to not try and extend it past the original story.
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Comment on The Amazing Digital Circus getting an additional nine episodes in ~tv
largepanda LinkThe first episode was fantastic, so I'm looking forward to this. Between The Amazing Digital Circus, Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss, Lackadaisy, and others, it really feels like we're in a golden age...The first episode was fantastic, so I'm looking forward to this.
Between The Amazing Digital Circus, Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss, Lackadaisy, and others, it really feels like we're in a golden age of indie animation.
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Comment on Side projects that were actually good? in ~music
largepanda Link ParentI'm a huge fan of Porter Robinson—Nurture is one of my favorite albums of all time—and Virtual Self does not disappoint. I hadn't heard he might be coming back to it, now I'm excited!I'm a huge fan of Porter Robinson—Nurture is one of my favorite albums of all time—and Virtual Self does not disappoint.
I hadn't heard he might be coming back to it, now I'm excited!
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Comment on Alternative or fun ways to donate to charity? in ~talk
largepanda Link ParentIf you crash, you don't just start over. You get towed back to Tuscon, in real time, at a significantly slower speed than you were driving to Vegas.If you crash, you don't just start over. You get towed back to Tuscon, in real time, at a significantly slower speed than you were driving to Vegas.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tv
largepanda LinkAfter watching the trailer, I'm hesitantly looking forward to this. I'm still far more excited about the upcoming Avatar Studios animated movies, which are supposed to be new storylines instead of...After watching the trailer, I'm hesitantly looking forward to this.
I'm still far more excited about the upcoming Avatar Studios animated movies, which are supposed to be new storylines instead of rehashing ATLA Season 1 for the third time.
But this show looks like it was put together with at least some thought and care, and the trailer doesn't immediately scream red flag, so I'm hopeful it's not going to be awful.
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Comment on Why autonomous trucking is harder than autonomous rideshare in ~transport
largepanda Link ParentAbsolutely, most places don't have rail sidings. No-one is realistically suggesting to get rid of trucks completely. Keep the trucks between the railyards and the local businesses. Stop sending...Absolutely, most places don't have rail sidings. No-one is realistically suggesting to get rid of trucks completely. Keep the trucks between the railyards and the local businesses.
Stop sending trucks across the country. Last mile delivery will remain trucks for a very long time, but the idea of "last mile = trucks, therefore every mile = trucks" is absurd.
This solves the issue of autonomous trucking by eliminating nearly every use case for it. If trucks are limited to being local runabouts instead of long haulers, that's work that already has to be done by humans, you can't have a fully autonomous truck trying to deliver to the mall. Truckers can gain intimate knowledge of their local roads rather than constantly driving between unseen towns, making them more familiar and safer.
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Comment on Why autonomous trucking is harder than autonomous rideshare in ~transport
largepanda LinkWhat if we put the trucks on some sort of closed roads? They could be run far more efficiently, no collisions to worry about except ones that would already be known. You could even run them on...What if we put the trucks on some sort of closed roads? They could be run far more efficiently, no collisions to worry about except ones that would already be known.
You could even run them on metal tracks, which would be far more efficient than rubber tires on asphalt. Actually, you know how some trucks have two trailers? What if we give them more like 100 trailers in this system? Then you wouldn't need to coordinate so many tiny worker drones, instead just handfuls of large ones.
Oh wait I'm describing trains again aren't I?
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Comment on Why more PC gaming handhelds should ditch Windows for SteamOS in ~games
largepanda Link ParentGiven how rocky these companies' Windows tools are, I'm not sure I want them trying to make Linux tooling. SteamOS 3 is very far from "Linux that boots straight into Steam Big Picture", and has...Given how rocky these companies' Windows tools are, I'm not sure I want them trying to make Linux tooling.
SteamOS 3 is very far from "Linux that boots straight into Steam Big Picture", and has been tuned and optimized to be as efficient and capable as possible. The
gamescopecompositor reaches into the end of the game's rendering pipeline to bypass normal window manager overhead (reducing latency). The near-instant suspend/resume is nothing short of magic, especially given how rock solid reliable it is.Valve even got HDR working, something that is (currently) otherwise impossible on Linux, by modifying every piece of the display pipeline to make it happen.
Yes, someone like Asus or Ayaneo could probably recreate these things, but would they do so competently? Or open source? Valve has open sourced nearly every piece of SteamOS 3 that isn't Steam itself; I doubt most other companies would do the same unless obligated by the GPL.
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Comment on Xbox's Phil Spencer considers PS5 and Nintendo Switch players part of the Xbox community in ~games
largepanda Link ParentI feel like the only appeal to buying an Xbox these days is Xbox Game Pass, or if you really want one of the exclusive games and don't own/want a gaming PC.I feel like the only appeal to buying an Xbox these days is Xbox Game Pass, or if you really want one of the exclusive games and don't own/want a gaming PC.
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Comment on Smart home automation - tip, tricks, advice? in ~life.home_improvement
largepanda LinkWhen I moved into my current place I decided to go big with home automation. Every single light is smart, a lot of the switches are smart, got a bunch of sensors, etc. Everything I have is tightly...When I moved into my current place I decided to go big with home automation. Every single light is smart, a lot of the switches are smart, got a bunch of sensors, etc.
Everything I have is tightly integrated into Home Assistant running on a computer in the corner. My things are all wifi or Z-Wave; I hate my wifi smart bulbs I wish they were a zigbee or zwave mesh instead.
I live in Seattle so my thermostat most of the year is "do I open the windows or not"—so I haven't done much in that department. My air conditioner is a portable unit I had to buy myself, I use an IR blaster to control it.
Highlights
- Turning on most of the lights when the front door opens
- Turning off all the lights when no-one is home
- Running the robot vacuum automatically when I leave for long enough; plus ending the vacuum early if it's still running when I'm almost home
- Adaptive Lighting: make your lights cool and bright during the day and warm and darker at night; very tweakable, plus you can make multiple instances of it with different settings (my bedroom changes differently from my living room changes differently from my bathrooms)
- "In Bed" button: turn off all the lights, turn off the TV if it's on, set my bedroom to a low warm light
- "Awake" button: turn on bedroom light to a medium cool light, turn on hallway lights
- "Media controlled lights": when enabled, watch for play/pause on the TV and turn the lights off/on accordingly
- I got a Zooz Scene Controller and replaced the light switch by my sofa with it, it has five buttons and can control my living room lights, my kitchen lights, my TV, and more.
Per-circuit power tracking
The usefulness of this will vary depending on how your place is wired, but I bought a Emporia Vue 2 with all the probes, immediately reflashed it with ESPHome, and installed it in my breaker panel. It gives me circuit-by-circuit breakdowns of everything consuming power. My washer, dryer, and dishwasher all have their own circuits, so simple automations to detect when they are or are not drawing power and I can get notified when they finish running. My dryer has a separate vent for it, controlled by a smart switch, that turns on when the dryer is drawing power and stays on for a few minutes after it stops.What I would do differently
- Smart dimmer switches not smart bulbs. I'd get LED bulbs that skew warmer as they dim ("dim to warm").
- If I do get smart bulbs, just get warm/cool ones, not full RGB ones. I never ever use the colors on them.
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Comment on Xenia Canary, a Xbox 360 emulator, will beep annoyingly and blames user of piracy if the user uses an ISO file in ~tech
largepanda LinkI'm reminded of my time circa 2017-2018ish spent helping folk in the RPCS3 discord. We had/have a bot that will automatically parse users' uploaded log files to print out their settings and detect...I'm reminded of my time circa 2017-2018ish spent helping folk in the RPCS3 discord. We had/have a bot that will automatically parse users' uploaded log files to print out their settings and detect common issues, but it also detected common pirated copies of games.
When it detected an obviously pirated copy—because the source of the copy had edited the game's title to say the name of the site uploaded it to—it wouldn't print any diagnostics and instead print a warning not to pirate games.
Depressing that Xenia Canary couldn't find a reasonable solution like this and instead had to build in something to harass its users and get them bad press.
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Comment on Silo demonstrates seven lessons in how not to do an upgrade in ~tech
largepanda LinkThe biggest thing I noticed was failure #8: the Silo's generator was a massive single point of failure, for a piece that could've extremely easily been made redundant. Though I guess the creators...The biggest thing I noticed was failure #8: the Silo's generator was a massive single point of failure, for a piece that could've extremely easily been made redundant. Though I guess the creators of the Silo (avoiding getting into any book/show spoilers here) couldn't be bothered to build more than the minimum required.
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Comment on How scientific conferences are responding to US abortion bans and anti-LGBTQ+ laws in ~science
largepanda LinkI miss the days when states with backwards views were just unpleasant to be in, rather than actively hostile to my presence as they are today.I miss the days when states with backwards views were just unpleasant to be in, rather than actively hostile to my presence as they are today.
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Comment on What are some of your favorite cheap, easy and healthy recipes? in ~food
largepanda Link ParentPonzu is so good! My friend introduced me to it recently and I've been in love with it.Ponzu is so good! My friend introduced me to it recently and I've been in love with it.
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Comment on How Apple's new Mac Pro completely misses the point in ~tech
largepanda Link ParentIndeed. The Mac Pro is a lower volume product for specialized users. The article talks about needing GPUs for machine learning, for which macOS isn't remotely in use. If you're doing ML beyond...Indeed. The Mac Pro is a lower volume product for specialized users.
The article talks about needing GPUs for machine learning, for which macOS isn't remotely in use. If you're doing ML beyond what the accelerated portion of the M2 chips can do, you're already building a separate box running Linux, or maybe Windows, to handle the load.
Apple and Nvidia have a massive rift between them that isn't being amended anytime soon, even if the new Mac Pro did support GPUs they'd only be AMD ones under macOS, which already turns away basically all GPGPU workloads for lack of CUDA.
If you're doing "Movie FX rendering" you're either doing it at a small enough scale that your M2 laptop can handle it, you splurged on a Mac Studio to churn through it, or you have access to a render farm running regular Linux boxes full of GPUs.
If you don't see any use to PCIe slots other than GPUs—as this article does—this product isn't for you, it never was.
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Comment on What are some of your favorite cheap, easy and healthy recipes? in ~food
largepanda LinkMy go-to lazy food is a freshly made bowl of rice with an egg dropped into it. The heat of the rice cooks the egg, and adding some seasoning makes for a tasty meal. I've been adding ponzu lately...My go-to lazy food is a freshly made bowl of rice with an egg dropped into it. The heat of the rice cooks the egg, and adding some seasoning makes for a tasty meal. I've been adding ponzu lately (soy sauce with citrus), but regular soy sauce or tamari sauce works well too.
That doesn't even mean you can't have TLS. You can just not forcibly redirect http clients to https, plenty of sites do that for retro support.