Macha's recent activity
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Comment on Looking for a low-profile desktop gaming PC in ~tech
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Comment on SEL thread: Teachers, how did your school year go? (Optional sentence stems in the comments) in ~talk
Macha Link ParentI find the maths thing interesting as someone who learned programming at an early age myself, the point that my introduction to functions was PHP before maths, and I remember translating stuff...I find the maths thing interesting as someone who learned programming at an early age myself, the point that my introduction to functions was PHP before maths, and I remember translating stuff like the sum operator to for loops to explain it to myself during revision.
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Comment on Explain Linux controversies to me in ~tech
Macha Link ParentWindows 8 Metro and iOS7 had the same reception so I don't think it was even Linux specific.Windows 8 Metro and iOS7 had the same reception so I don't think it was even Linux specific.
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Comment on Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins have jumped ship from 'Dungeons & Dragons' to 'Critical Role' in ~games.tabletop
Macha Link ParentI think the people who follow the ttrpg industry enough to know who Crawford and Perkins are were already the types into ttrpgs enough to try other games, so it's probably not unlocking a huge...I think the people who follow the ttrpg industry enough to know who Crawford and Perkins are were already the types into ttrpgs enough to try other games, so it's probably not unlocking a huge amount of marketing power that Critical Role didn't already have.
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Comment on The "standard" car charger is usually overkill in ~transport
Macha Link ParentI think the main argument against the standard car charger is the increased electrical standards for the higher voltage results in a more difficult/expensive renovation and you can get by with...I think the main argument against the standard car charger is the increased electrical standards for the higher voltage results in a more difficult/expensive renovation and you can get by with less.
If you're doing a new build, maybe it just makes sense to have the larger charger anyway since the wiring is being put in anyway.
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Comment on Protect your site with a DOOM CAPTCHA in ~tech
Macha Link ParentSome amount of that is everyone is struggling with the AI crawler load in the small-to-mid-sized website area while the largest websites might be able to handle the load but they want to make it...Some amount of that is everyone is struggling with the AI crawler load in the small-to-mid-sized website area while the largest websites might be able to handle the load but they want to make it hard for the AI crawlers anyway so they can sell exclusive access to content and/or are developing their own competitor.
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Comment on LLMs and privacy in ~tech
Macha Link ParentDoes llama.cpp support splitting data across system RAM and VRAM? From my experiment using ollama, which as I understand is a wrapper around llama.cpp, I have a 6900XT with 16GB VRAM. I can run a...Does llama.cpp support splitting data across system RAM and VRAM? From my experiment using ollama, which as I understand is a wrapper around llama.cpp, I have a 6900XT with 16GB VRAM. I can run a 7B model on there and it runs reasonably fast. But once I go for a bigger model (like say a 12B model) ollama tells me it's running on the CPU and performance absolutely falls off a cliff.
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Comment on Contemplating getting a digital piano to relearn how to play in ~music
Macha LinkSo a couple of months ago I decided to try out playing piano/keyboard. At the time I checked r/keys for advice and basically found two chains of thought: Anything below €800 is garbage and you...So a couple of months ago I decided to try out playing piano/keyboard. At the time I checked r/keys for advice and basically found two chains of thought:
- Anything below €800 is garbage and you need to spend that to start or scrape the used market
- If you can't afford an electric piano, better to get a midi keyboard than a no name model.
I looked at thought 1 and €800 was too much for a whim, so I thought screw that and got the MIDI keyboard. Specifically I got the Akai MPK Mini Plus for €150.
I don't regret that decision, and I think having a cheaper option to get onboarded was absolutely useful in making me feel confident that this wasn't something I was going to get bored of after a month and to spend a bit more, and as cheaper midi keyboards go the MPK Mini Plus is relatively generous with 37 keys. It served its purpose as I learned basic notes and scales and super beginner melodies.
But as I got into chords and two handed melodies, the three octaves and mini keys proved quite limiting. It felt like it wasn't a good idea to build my initial chord muscle memory on the mini keys and three octaves is just a little too limiting at times (for example, one idea of a track I had to learn was the FF prelude, but that covers four octaves).
So I've bought a Roland FP-10. It cost me about €450 new, it's still in the "budget" end of electric pianos but basically the reviews of that is that the key action is better than the budget yamaha (and basically the same as the next few models up in the roland series) but the onboard speakers are garbage. So that's fine for the next phase of my learning, I'll just use my headphones and the midi features. It should be arriving later this week.
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Comment on What are you growing in your garden this year? in ~hobbies
Macha LinkI had been thinking of planting some stuff myself this year. I have what's an above average garden by local standards, but is probably a small garden by the standards of anywhere living anyway...I had been thinking of planting some stuff myself this year. I have what's an above average garden by local standards, but is probably a small garden by the standards of anywhere living anyway rural. The back lawn is about 50m^2 and wondering what to do with that's a little more interesting. I'm in Ireland so it's a temperate climate, and I guess what I'm looking at:
- Not super worried about growing stuff to eat
- I have pretty bad hay fever, so nothing with too much pollen
- Would be nice to have something a bit colourful.
Longer term I've been thinking about maybe planting some type of tree, but I want to have some experiences with some stuff a little smaller before I dig into that.
I'm probably admittedly a bit late in the year to be thinking about growing stuff, we're pretty much in the middle of the sunniest portion of the year here, which will probably last for another month or two, but it's normally reasonably warm until October.
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Comment on Billions of AI users…? in ~tech
Macha LinkMeta made the primary message search in whatsapp also an AI message suggestion feature. Whatsapp has checks over a billion users. It doesn't mean a billion users sought out Meta's AI toolsMeta made the primary message search in whatsapp also an AI message suggestion feature. Whatsapp has checks over a billion users.
It doesn't mean a billion users sought out Meta's AI tools
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Comment on New York Times, Amazon unveil AI content licensing deal in ~tech
Macha Link ParentHasn't that always been the commercial publisher argument against AI? That the AI providers didn't pay for rights so are basically pirating the content.Hasn't that always been the commercial publisher argument against AI? That the AI providers didn't pay for rights so are basically pirating the content.
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Comment on Record $322M Memorial Day weekend: ‘Lilo & Stitch’ dancing to $180M holiday high, ‘Mission: Impossible 8’ $77M in ~movies
Macha Link ParentThere was stuff we watched back then that didn't age in people's minds and so got forgotten (antz, osmosis jones, a lot of disney's direct-to-video releases, including the animated lilo and stitch...There was stuff we watched back then that didn't age in people's minds and so got forgotten (antz, osmosis jones, a lot of disney's direct-to-video releases, including the animated lilo and stitch sequels, thunderpant).
It's certainly possible that some stuff benefits from early exposure, but it's not automatic.
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Comment on Record $322M Memorial Day weekend: ‘Lilo & Stitch’ dancing to $180M holiday high, ‘Mission: Impossible 8’ $77M in ~movies
Macha Link ParentSpoilers for live action Lilo and Stitch So a quick Google reveals: Captain Gantu is gone Jumba is the villain Pleakley's gender non-conformity is gone Nani leaves Lilo behind to go to uni in the...Spoilers for live action Lilo and Stitch
So a quick Google reveals:
- Captain Gantu is gone
- Jumba is the villain
- Pleakley's gender non-conformity is gone
- Nani leaves Lilo behind to go to uni in the end (I'm sure it's not portrayed that way, surely even Disney can't be that tone deaf to the theme of the movie, but that's the fact of the ending)
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Comment on Mozilla will shut down Pocket and Fakespot in ~tech
Macha Link ParentI used pocket briefly back when it was ReadItLater. It was fine, but bookmark sync did everything I neededI used pocket briefly back when it was ReadItLater. It was fine, but bookmark sync did everything I needed
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Comment on The effect of physical fitness on mortality is overestimated in ~science
Macha Link ParentPersonally I would expect fit people to die in accidents more frequently - it's harder to get run over or involved in a traffic collision or fall off a cliff or drown while swimming if you stay...Personally I would expect fit people to die in accidents more frequently - it's harder to get run over or involved in a traffic collision or fall off a cliff or drown while swimming if you stay indoors all day.
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Comment on Eurovision 2025: Austria's JJ wins with "Wasted Love" in ~music
Macha Link ParentI think if it survived last year with the Israeli song being initially overtly political then hastily rewritten, Israel also using ads to promote last year too, along with the Joost...I think if it survived last year with the Israeli song being initially overtly political then hastily rewritten, Israel also using ads to promote last year too, along with the Joost disqualification scandal, I think this year is not going to have as big an impact on Eurovision's credibility.
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Comment on How do you decide when to buy a new computer, smartphone, etc.? in ~tech
Macha LinkFor phones, it tends to be about 4-5 years. After that, the battery life is usually quite noticeably diminished, security updates are stopped and also the cosmetic wear and tear starts to become...For phones, it tends to be about 4-5 years. After that, the battery life is usually quite noticeably diminished, security updates are stopped and also the cosmetic wear and tear starts to become quite noticeable.
For laptops my last purchases were in 2012, 2017, 2022 and 2024. However, I now have two laptops in service. The 2022 laptop was a framework 13, which is light, decent battery, I've installed Linux on it, and is still my primary laptop. However, the one thing it doesn't have is any gaming horsepower, since it just has the Intel 12th gen igpu. So the 2024 laptop is a sort of single purpose device for gaming. I guess that means I'm basically on a 5 year cycle for laptops too, as I don't see an urgent need to replace the framework any time soon.
For desktops, I'm basically on two alternating 5 years cycles. On one cycle I upgrade my CPU/motherboard/RAM and the other cycle I upgrade my GPU. With that said, my 5900X is coming up on 5 years and I'm not super in a rush to upgrade this soon. The 9950X3D is nice and tempting, but I don't really need it, so I'm probably going to give it another generation there.
Also my old CPU/RAM/etc get recycled into my home server anyway.
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Comment on Kingdom Hearts Missing Link is cancelled in ~games
Macha Link ParentMy experience of CoM is really Re:COM. Honestly, my biggest problems were (a) the combat and (b) how slow the plot is I could imagine CoM being better than Re:COM with just a basic card battle system.My experience of CoM is really Re:COM. Honestly, my biggest problems were (a) the combat and (b) how slow the plot is
I could imagine CoM being better than Re:COM with just a basic card battle system.
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Comment on Kingdom Hearts Missing Link is cancelled in ~games
Macha Link ParentKHUX was also the game that killed gachas for me. I didn't have a life ruining amount of money being spent, but there definitely was a realisation after about 2 months and €100 that I could have...KHUX was also the game that killed gachas for me. I didn't have a life ruining amount of money being spent, but there definitely was a realisation after about 2 months and €100 that I could have had two games with more detailed gameplay than swipe the character portraits occasionally for that, and the story I'd gotten through was still 90% retreading the OG game just with your OC instead of Sora.
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Comment on Kingdom Hearts Missing Link is cancelled in ~games
Macha Link ParentThe first three games being KH1, Chain of Memories and KH2? Because Chain of Memories really doesn't hold a candle to birth by sleep and ddd, which are basically mainline entries in all but name.I feel the same way about Kingdom Hearts in regards to the first three games being the best
The first three games being KH1, Chain of Memories and KH2?
Because Chain of Memories really doesn't hold a candle to birth by sleep and ddd, which are basically mainline entries in all but name.
If you're doing retro gaming and media ripping, then it's possible you might have an optical drive which will play into your "tower on the side" discussion as most internal PC optical drives will not be designed for rotated use.