nahkoots's recent activity
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Comment on Could a space traveler accelerate at 1g forever? in ~space
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Comment on Are there more chairs than tables? in ~life
nahkoots Link ParentToo bad they require a Google account to sign up, seems pretty cool. (Leaving a comment partly to remind myself to check back later in case they change it.)Too bad they require a Google account to sign up, seems pretty cool. (Leaving a comment partly to remind myself to check back later in case they change it.)
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Comment on Where are the small phones? in ~tech
nahkoots Link ParentThis sounds like approximately the same thing, except chargers are more expensive and don't work as fast. I usually do; when I'm at my desk, I keep my phone on a wireless charging stand. But every...why not just have a few portable chargers that hold multiple full charges
This sounds like approximately the same thing, except chargers are more expensive and don't work as fast.
What prevents you from staying plugged in
I usually do; when I'm at my desk, I keep my phone on a wireless charging stand. But every so often I'll want to leave the house and my phone isn't charged (maybe it's evening and I've already been out all day, or maybe I forgot to put my phone on the dock), and in those cases it's nice to just top up to 100 as I walk out the door and not have to think about carrying a brick around or looking for an outlet while I'm out. It doesn't happen often, since my battery normally lasts me over a day, but I'm quite grateful to be able to swap it when I need to.
why not use USB-C headphones
Valid point. I like the mechanics of the 3.5mm connector more than USB-C and I would be annoyed at having to buy a dongle for my earbuds and my car, but those are minor inconveniences. If I had to replace my phone, the jack would be one of the first things I'd compromise.
These seem like minor hurdles to me... Why not make some small workflow changes to get a modern (not to mention secure) device?
It's not that I couldn't, it's that I have no reason to. My phone can already handle texting, web browsing, taking videos, etc., so buying a new phone with a bunch of minor compromises wouldn't be an upgrade for me. The S4 got its last security update last year (exactly a year ago, as of today); while it's unlikely to receive another one, Android 11 is modern enough for my tastes going forward, and I'm not worried about getting pwned because I don't have many apps and almost all of them are free software. The other reason is that I sort of resent companies for taking those features away. IR blaster and no camera bump, maybe not so much, but removable batteries and media are objectively good for the usability and longevity of a device. Samsung made snarky ads blasting Apple for not having the removable battery, then removed it on their own phones with the S6 (and I don't want to hear about water resistance, because the S5 was already IP67). They're infuriatingly transparent. Since my phone works fine, I'm happy to vote with my wallet and wait it out until the industry fixes itself, which it seems to (slowly) be doing.
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Comment on Where are the small phones? in ~tech
nahkoots Link ParentHey, it's me, that's my dream phone, except it also needs to have an OLED screen and an unlockable bootloader. I don't want to carry something massive around because I'm not on my phone all the...Hey, it's me, that's my dream phone, except it also needs to have an OLED screen and an unlockable bootloader.
I don't want to carry something massive around because I'm not on my phone all the time. I just want to be able to text friends, look things up occasionally, and watch movies on the plane (using my wired earbuds - I never want to have to think about whether my earbuds are charged).
I need the SD card because I take a lot of videos with my phone and I don't want to ever have to think about deleting things to make more room, and it's very quick to transfer shows/movies to removable media (although I don't watch things on my phone that much).
I need the removable battery because I never want to have to think about what I do if my battery runs out. If my phone's low before I leave the house, I put a fresh battery in. I also keep a fresh battery in my backpack and car. They're cheap (~$10 each), so I can have a bunch of them. Instant charging > fast charging, imo.
I could live with a camera bump and no IR blaster. I like having the IR blaster but I don't use it that much. You didn't list it, but I also don't care about water resistance because I'm not a child and I've never dropped my phone while scrolling tiktok on the can.I feel like all the things you listed are pretty reasonable if you're the type of person who needs a phone but doesn't use it that much and doesn't want to think about replacing it all the time. My Galaxy S4 has all the things you listed, it Just Works, and I'll never need to replace it until 4G goes away, at which point hopefully the cell phone industry won't be such an embarrassment and I can buy something that's an upgrade over the phone I got 10 years ago.
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Comment on What is the policy on discussing emulation in ~games? in ~tildes
nahkoots Link ParentDeimos said it's not allowed. https://tildes.net/~books/jq9/e_books_at_libraries_are_a_huge_hit_leading_to_long_waits_reader_hacks_and_worried_publishers#comment-48qs -
Comment on E-books at libraries are a huge hit, leading to long waits, reader hacks and worried publishers in ~books
nahkoots Link ParentDefinitely, and I certainly wouldn't ever do that. "No copyright violations" is already in the terms of use though, so whether or not it's obvious is irrelevant. Posting links to pirated content,...Definitely, and I certainly wouldn't ever do that. "No copyright violations" is already in the terms of use though, so whether or not it's obvious is irrelevant. Posting links to pirated content, on the other hand, doesn't violate copyright law (at least I hope not, otherwise Google's in a lot of trouble right about now), so unless a website owner doesn't indicate in their terms of use or in their replies to comments that it's not allowed, there's no way to know.
Of course, banning legal discussion isn't anything new or unusual. For example, Tumblr bans nudity and adult content and Reddit bans discussion of dark web marketplaces, neither of which are illegal but both of which (apparently) look bad to advertisers. There's nothing wrong with Deimos doing the same, and he's already said he doesn't intend for Tildes to be a bastion for free speech. I didn't want to make assumptions for Tildes based on those sites, though, since Tildes is different in that it doesn't need to cater to advertisers.
Side note: Deimos, does that link to the image of Google linking to pirated content also break Tildes's rules (and would your answer change if, instead of displaying the link as "thepiratebay.org > torrent > Frozen 2", Google included the actual link in text in the search result)? I'm not trying to be intentionally obtuse, but I'm not entirely sure where to draw the line.
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Comment on E-books at libraries are a huge hit, leading to long waits, reader hacks and worried publishers in ~books
nahkoots Link ParentLink removed. Is that requirement listed anywhere in the terms of use? I checked before I posted and didn't see it, but I might've just missed it.Link removed.
Is that requirement listed anywhere in the terms of use? I checked before I posted and didn't see it, but I might've just missed it.
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Comment on E-books at libraries are a huge hit, leading to long waits, reader hacks and worried publishers in ~books
nahkoots (edited )Link ParentYou can download Blowout from Library Genesis here (edit: link removed at Deimos's request, but it's not difficult to find). I’ve tried checking out e-books from my university’s library and never...You can download Blowout from Library Genesis here (edit: link removed at Deimos's request, but it's not difficult to find).
I’ve tried checking out e-books from my university’s library and never bothered reading more than a page or two before downloading the book elsewhere, because even if it’s immediately available, the library usually requires me to access it through a slow web interface or by downloading proprietary software, either of which are both irritating to use compared to viewing an epub with dedicated software on my computer and not really practices I want to support anyway. The whole issue is yet another example of DRM only hurting paying customers. You go out of your way to abide by the arbitrary restrictions imposed by publishers and get a time-consuming, frustrating experience for your troubles while anyone who pirates their books gets to sidestep those hassles entirely. Until we as consumers show publishers that we won’t accept their inane practices, nothing will change, so I encourage everyone to pirate their books (and digital media in general) until it becomes the less convenient option.
Of course, if you do want to support the current system, you can still download the book in good conscience. The publisher will never know that you were able to read it a few months before they were going to let you.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
nahkoots Link ParentI wish that were the case. Nowadays, I expect all proprietary software and hardware I'm forced to use to send every byte of my personal information it can get its hands on back to its parent...You just don't expect a printer to collect personal data beyond what's necessary for debugging
I wish that were the case. Nowadays, I expect all proprietary software and hardware I'm forced to use to send every byte of my personal information it can get its hands on back to its parent country/the NSA/China. That they sometimes give me the option to disable their tracking is of little reassurance. Even if I dutifully uncheck all their boxes, who's to say they don't collect a little more data they didn't deem worthy of being disabled? What if they re-check the boxes while you're not looking, or just ignore them entirely? If I can't see what it's doing under the hood, I have no (practical) way of knowing, and certainly no reason to trust them given their financial incentive to take whatever they can get away with.
The only devices I connect to the Internet are my computers. Everything else can get its data through them or not at all.
This is the topic of Tau Zero by Poul Anderson. The novel follows a vehicle and its crew that set off on a mission to reach another planetary system, by accelerating at 1g for several years, but for reasons become unable to slow down and are forced to accelerate indefinitely. The novel solves the issue fraughtGYRE mentions of the thin interstellar gas becoming a significant obstacle at relativistic speeds by having the vehicle capture/reroute the hydrogen atoms to be used as reaction mass, thereby also addressing the issue of needing infinite fuel. It also discusses the effects of time dilation and CMB temperature shifting. I'm not qualified to say whether the mechanism is scientifically plausible, but it's an interesting (if pulpy) read.