mat's recent activity
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Comment on Group chat solutions for small groups? in ~comp
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Comment on In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud in ~tech
mat Link ParentEntirely agree, and that is why I caveated my comment with "almost nobody" and "decent bitrate". If you're hearing compressors and so on then yes, you're absolutely listening at the "almost...Entirely agree, and that is why I caveated my comment with "almost nobody" and "decent bitrate". If you're hearing compressors and so on then yes, you're absolutely listening at the "almost nobody" level and you probably can hear the differences.
I can just about spot the difference between Google Music's standard and "high quality" streams on well mastered albums I know well on headphones I know well (particularly Morcheeba's Big Calm on my ancient but still wonderful HD600s). But then I can't tell the difference between the lossless or CD versions and the high quality streams at all.
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Comment on In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud in ~tech
mat Link ParentThere's absolutely an element of that. Nobody's brain wants to admit their 99.999% pure silver hand braided oxygen-free cables don't make things sound better because otherwise they'd also have to...There's absolutely an element of that. Nobody's brain wants to admit their 99.999% pure silver hand braided oxygen-free cables don't make things sound better because otherwise they'd also have to admit they were a complete idiot for spending the kind of money which could otherwise pay for a really pretty nice holiday (check out the price on the 10m ones) on some bits of useless wire.
I did once encounter one guy (they're almost always men) who spent tens of thousands of pounds building a specially designed room to keep his hifi in, then far more on the gear itself to go in there, only to then complain that most of the recordings he listened to sounded bad because the studio they were recorded in "obviously wasn't using quality equipment"
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Comment on In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud in ~tech
mat Link ParentSomeone once suggested I start selling "haunted" jewellery, which commands a terrifying price markup, but my worry would be someone would buy something hoping it would cure their illness or help...Someone once suggested I start selling "haunted" jewellery, which commands a terrifying price markup, but my worry would be someone would buy something hoping it would cure their illness or help their addiction or something and I couldn't live with myself thinking that had happened. But audiophiles are the only group of people I would feel completely happy ripping off with some made-up bullshit woo-based product. Because at least you know they're only spending money they can afford to waste. Nobody is choosing between speaker cable holders (yes, they exist and they are FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY FUCKING POUNDS FOR THREE) and paying for grandma's care home bills or whatever.
A friend of my dad's made a "mains cleaner" which was pretty much just a 19" box with a capacitor, a switch and an LED. You flicked the switch and the LED came on. He then, to his own surprise as much as anyone else's, won a What Hi-Fi gold award for it and sold a load of them at £750 each (and this was in the late 90s!). The parts cost less than £15 and almost all of that was the case itself.
fwiw What-Hifi's headphone reviews are pretty decent. They have a rolling "best wireless/best earbud/etc" pages which is constantly up to date. I check there every time I need some new cans - although I usually just buy whatever Sony or Sennheisers fit my budget because I know they make things my ears like. Good audio gear is worth spending a little money on. "Audiophile" gear is not.
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Comment on In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud in ~tech
mat (edited )LinkBlind ABX tests consistently show that most things audiophiles think make a difference to sound quality, don't. Almost nobody can hear the difference between decent bitrate MP3 and lossless...Blind ABX tests consistently show that most things audiophiles think make a difference to sound quality, don't. Almost nobody can hear the difference between decent bitrate MP3 and lossless codecs, for example. But this is the most extreme, and to be honest genuinely surprising, example I've seen for a while.
When I used to sell hifi, high end interconnects were something we were heavily inventivised to upsell customers on because the markups on them were the highest in the shop and given we sold hifi, that was a pretty high bar! In my experience they make zero noticeable difference to audio quality.
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In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud
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Comment on Repotting houseplants: is it really necessary? How to know when to do it? in ~hobbies
mat Link ParentI had a bamboo orchid in the same fairly small pot for 10 straight years. After a while it just stopped getting bigger. I eventually repotted it when I had more space to keep it in and it...As long as you water and fertilize as needed (which will become more and more frequently), probably nothing much.
I had a bamboo orchid in the same fairly small pot for 10 straight years. After a while it just stopped getting bigger. I eventually repotted it when I had more space to keep it in and it exploded.
Not literally. But it's doing very well now.
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Comment on Tell me that you've seen Moltbook, the AI to AI social network in ~tech
mat LinkMoltbook hype unravels: Viral posts were human-written, not AI, finds MIT Technology Review -
Comment on Europe’s $24 trillion breakup with Visa and Mastercard has begun in ~finance
mat Link ParentI'm fairly sure that if VISA's terrible, slow and out of date system didn't exist, someone would invent a better one very quickly. I'm also fairly sure that if they hadn't been sitting on a...a benefit that wouldn't exist if credit card companies weren't there
I'm fairly sure that if VISA's terrible, slow and out of date system didn't exist, someone would invent a better one very quickly. I'm also fairly sure that if they hadn't been sitting on a near-monopoly for so long, it would have happened long ago.
I can transfer money between my bank accounts in seconds using FPS. I can move money instantly internationally via services like Revolut or Paypal. I do not understand why visa's antiquated payment processing system is allowed to take several days. It's not accidental either. There is a delay in their system which has been programmed in. Computers don't do things slowly unless you explicitly ask them to. Nobody at my bank seems to understand why that delay exists.
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Comment on Wireless light/fan switch reccomendations in ~life.home_improvement
mat LinkI suspect there's a Sonoff smart switch which will do what you need. I have one which I control with a physical switch, it's very useful. You can configure them for all sorts of things and they're...I suspect there's a Sonoff smart switch which will do what you need. I have one which I control with a physical switch, it's very useful. You can configure them for all sorts of things and they're small enough to fit into a lot of back boxes so they plumb right into existing infrastructure.
Shelly also make similar things - I don't have any of their devices personally, but I have heard good things.
Both will also talk to most home automation systems so you can add more Smarts if you want later.
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Comment on Why the internet is terrified of London in ~society
mat Link ParentOoof, that was a rough watch. Poor guy, glad he's doing better now. It was a well made video though.Ooof, that was a rough watch. Poor guy, glad he's doing better now. It was a well made video though.
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Comment on Elon Musk says SpaceX will prioritize a city on the moon instead of a colony on Mars in ~space
mat Link ParentA friend of mine worked at Biosphere 2 (site staff, not inside the domes) during Missions 1 and 2 and he says Steve Bannon is the worst person he's ever met and he was instrumental in the downfall...A friend of mine worked at Biosphere 2 (site staff, not inside the domes) during Missions 1 and 2 and he says Steve Bannon is the worst person he's ever met and he was instrumental in the downfall of the project - although he admits it probably would have failed by itself without Bannon anyway.
However, my friend remains enthusiastic (and knowledgable) about the Biosphere project conceptually, despite all the many flavours of fuckiness which went along with it, and he still believes it is do-able with enough money and effort on board. And, obviously, not Steve Bannon.
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Comment on Why the internet is terrified of London in ~society
mat LinkEvan Edinger, an American who has lived in London for the last 13+ years, I mostly know for somewhat lightweight but fairly well made "wow look at how different the UK is from the US" kind of...Evan Edinger, an American who has lived in London for the last 13+ years, I mostly know for somewhat lightweight but fairly well made "wow look at how different the UK is from the US" kind of content (apologies to them if their channel is more than this, that's just what I've seen going past my recommends page) has put together a great video about misinformation.
It's specifically about the current deluge of "London bad" content, but the general message applies in a much wider context.
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Why the internet is terrified of London
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Comment on RCS — SMS via the internet — is good, but it doesn't matter in ~tech
mat Link ParentWhatapp accounts are phone numbers. They don't know my name (other than what I chose to enter) or address or even have an email for me. They can't use that number to contact me, I guess they might...Whatapp accounts are phone numbers. They don't know my name (other than what I chose to enter) or address or even have an email for me. They can't use that number to contact me, I guess they might be able to see if I enter it into certain forms on the internet, but that's likely approaching some serious data protection laws.
Anyway, even if what you say is accurate, and I don't believe it is for me because where I live GDPR is a thing, I don't care. Really could not care less. This "massive surveillance apparatus" has no noticable impact on my life. Meta have almost 20 years of my "data" at this point and what's my Facebook feed full of ads for? Tobacco and alcohol. I haven't smoked or drunk for longer than they've been harvesting information about me!
99% of my messaging is done via Whatsapp. I might prefer Signal but I don't care enough to try, especially because I will never get enough other people to use it. Also Signal's desktop app was pretty bad last time I used it. My phone doesn't seem to require significant resources to run Whatsapp, at least not enough for me to notice.
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Comment on RCS — SMS via the internet — is good, but it doesn't matter in ~tech
mat Link ParentYou don't need a Meta account to use Whatsapp and having recently installed it myself on brand new hardware (rather than transferring data/settings from my old phone), it won't even ask you to...You don't need a Meta account to use Whatsapp and having recently installed it myself on brand new hardware (rather than transferring data/settings from my old phone), it won't even ask you to create one, let alone force the issue.
I'm sure there are other reasons people might choose not to use it, of course.
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Comment on Gold tops $4,900/oz; silver and platinum extend record‑setting rally in ~finance
mat Link ParentI think the barrier for a lot of people is actually having spare money lying around to turn into gold in the first place. That you can buy small bits of gold doesn't change that. The smallest gold...I think the barrier for a lot of people is actually having spare money lying around to turn into gold in the first place.
That you can buy small bits of gold doesn't change that. The smallest gold bar my supplier sells is 1g, as of time of posting, £156. That's a pretty hefty barrier for a lot of people.
You can put £1 in an investment fund if you want. But you still need £1 which isn't earmarked for food or rent or energy bills or or or all the other myriad of ways money evaporates before the end of the month.
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Comment on Gold tops $4,900/oz; silver and platinum extend record‑setting rally in ~finance
mat Link ParentBe fair, I never said anything about eating the rich. Also, eeeuuw. I'd go as far as compost the billionaires because they're better being turned into tasty mushrooms than greasy Elon-steaks. But...Be fair, I never said anything about eating the rich. Also, eeeuuw. I'd go as far as compost the billionaires because they're better being turned into tasty mushrooms than greasy Elon-steaks. But there's a huge tranche of people who sit near the top of the inequality pyramid through no direct fault of their own. I don't know how we solve that issue.
If your parents are no longer hoarding precious metals then they're clearly not part of the problem. Or at least they're not part of my problem.
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Comment on Gold tops $4,900/oz; silver and platinum extend record‑setting rally in ~finance
mat Link ParentYeah sorry your parents are rich. Well, not sorry. I mean, that is genuinely nice for them to be in that situation. I don't wish poverty on anyone! But if you can spare money to turn into gold,...Yeah sorry your parents are rich. Well, not sorry. I mean, that is genuinely nice for them to be in that situation. I don't wish poverty on anyone!
But if you can spare money to turn into gold, you're rich. Not just on a global scale either. Over three quarters of Americans live paycheque to paycheque. A majority don't have emergency savings, let alone have money spare to invest in stuff.
I'm still blaming all investors. I think that is fair. I don't think they're all evil (some of them definitely are, of course), and I'm sure your parents are just doing what they think is best for themselves. But that's still hurting me.
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Comment on Gold tops $4,900/oz; silver and platinum extend record‑setting rally in ~finance
mat Link ParentI appreciate you taking the time to offer your thoughts on this. The problem is that "ordinary" in the sentence above actually means "rich". Ordinary people - by which I mean the majority of...Tldr: don't blame the ordinary scared people, blame the fools creating this unnecessary situation.
I appreciate you taking the time to offer your thoughts on this. The problem is that "ordinary" in the sentence above actually means "rich". Ordinary people - by which I mean the majority of humans on the planet - don't have spare cash to store as shiny metal.
I do already know why people are doing it - apart from the unknown proportion of predatory investors who are in it to profit from other people's worries - but ultimately dragons are dragons are dragons. That they're burning down everything outside to get more gold in order to make themselves feel safer doesn't help put a roof back over the local villager's heads. This metaphor is getting a little strained at this point but I can see the sky through the smoking roof of my business so I hope you'll excuse me a little poetic latitude.
I'm afraid that the people I'm blaming are all the people buying gold as an investment rather than as a material to use. Scared people - and I do appreciate why rich people are scared - could choose to hide their money somewhere else. Yes, the US is a shitshow and it's making a lot of mess on the global stage right now, but the US is not the whole world.
Back in the days when I was a rich person and could afford savings, I had some African and Indian development funds which did very nicely, both in terms of returns and making my money do actually good (albeit tiny) things for the world. Renewable energy is profitable and no matter what the US gets up to will remain so. It's not really hard to find somewhere safe, sustainable and beneficial to invest. I know next to nothing about it and I managed fine. If someone is lucky enough to have spare money and they can't be bothered to put in a small amount of effort to be responsible with it then I'm afraid I do not have much sympathy for them.
Several people have mentioned Telegram. It's worth noting that Telegram has almost certainly been compromised by the FSB. They're happy to dish out user data to other governments as well. Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, claims otherwise but there's a whole big lot of circumstantial evidence to suggest he's lying. He's also happy taking Elon's filthy cash which may be the wrong side of an ethical red line for you.
Personally I wouldn't touch Telegram with a very long bargepole and I mostly don't give a crap about privacy.