nocut12's recent activity
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Comment on Oscar-nominated actor Graham Greene dead at 73 in ~movies
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Comment on Spotify is adding direct messaging to their music streaming app in ~tech
nocut12 Link ParentI don't think the solution to a product getting worse because of growth incentives is another product from another company. Any replacement will have the same incentives to do the same thing (if...I don't think the solution to a product getting worse because of growth incentives is another product from another company. Any replacement will have the same incentives to do the same thing (if the company does well). If Spotify's changes bother you, I think you have to avoid paying for products like it in the first place.
I think the real competitor is buying (and/or pirating) music and playing those files.
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Comment on Avatar: Fire and Ash | Official trailer in ~movies
nocut12 LinkIt's fun seeing more stuff (the jellyfish hot air balloons) from the original 90s treatment come back. It's wild to think how long of an effort it's been to make these movies happen. I think...It's fun seeing more stuff (the jellyfish hot air balloons) from the original 90s treatment come back. It's wild to think how long of an effort it's been to make these movies happen. I think that's where they really excel -- simply feats of film production. It's always incredible to see talented people making things at this level.
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Comment on Studios decry cinemas’ ad-filled preshows as AMC warns of “25-30 extra minutes”: Here are the consequences for movie biz in ~movies
nocut12 Link ParentTheaters seem to do pretty consistent amounts of preroll. If you just time it a couple times you can get a decent idea of how late to get there. Depends on if its a theater with reserved seats...Theaters seem to do pretty consistent amounts of preroll. If you just time it a couple times you can get a decent idea of how late to get there.
Depends on if its a theater with reserved seats though (or I guess how popular the movie is)
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Comment on Explain Linux controversies to me in ~tech
nocut12 Link ParentYeah, I'm with you. I especially love using gnome on a laptop -- multitouch swiping around feels great. I'm a little less into it on a desktop, but after mapping the workspace switching and...Yeah, I'm with you. I especially love using gnome on a laptop -- multitouch swiping around feels great. I'm a little less into it on a desktop, but after mapping the workspace switching and overview thing to my extra mouse buttons I don't really mind it.
The theming thing is a bit weird, but honestly custom themes really do break things all the time on every environment I've ever used. Throw in a few little annoyances around theming flatpak apps and I just stopped caring. Especially since many of the apps I use every day (firefox, VS code, discord, etc) aren't ever gonna match anyway...
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Comment on Explain Linux controversies to me in ~tech
nocut12 LinkI read something about the "whys" of Gnome 3 a little while ago that was pretty interesting. I'm not 100% sure this is true, but it all makes some sense... The basic idea of this "controversy" is...I read something about the "whys" of Gnome 3 a little while ago that was pretty interesting. I'm not 100% sure this is true, but it all makes some sense...
The basic idea of this "controversy" is that Gnome was a pretty typical, sort of windows-y desktop interface in versions 1 and 2, but version 3 (released in 2011, with development starting in 2008ish) was a pretty significant departure. A lot of UI elements that users expected were gone (no list of open windows, no minimize/maximize buttons, no start menu type thing, no system tray, etc), which just made it all feel... weird. There were some pretty cool ideas going on, but the changes were drastic and turned a lot of people off. Over time, people generally got used to this stuff and Gnome is the default for a lot of distros -- it definitely still has its detractors, but it's pretty well liked by now.
As for the (supposed) reasoning: Gnome is largely developed/supported by Red Hat, who ship it as part of their enterprise distribution. At the time, Red Hat's main competitor was Novell, who shipped KDE by default on their competing distro. Early in the process of development on Gnome 3, Microsoft and Novell made a deal to cooperate on patents. Microsoft, of course, holds lots of patents on foundational desktop UI concepts. The story goes that Red Hat was concerned about legal action over Gnome from Novell (now that they could use MS patents), so they encouraged a more radical design that wouldn't risk infringing.
I'm not sure how true this is, and the big shifts in design could easily be explained by a desire to rethink UI ideas that had been pretty stagnant. It makes a lot of sense that designers seeing new mobile phone interfaces, new touchscreen PCs, etc might want to do something new. I think this is the usual story you see, but the patent thing easily could have been an influence. After all, those discussions probably would have stayed within Red Hat and wouldn't really be public info today...
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Comment on What is the best way to discover and listen to music? in ~music
nocut12 LinkTwo things I like doing: Go to concerts and show up for the opening acts. Shows where a bunch of local/smaller bands play are great too Get on one of the good private bittorrent trackers for music...Two things I like doing:
- Go to concerts and show up for the opening acts. Shows where a bunch of local/smaller bands play are great too
- Get on one of the good private bittorrent trackers for music and pay attention to staff picks, user recs, etc.
I think one of the key things for finding recommendations for music/movies/whatever is to find the people who are more obsessive about that thing than you are. I think the kinda-sorta exclusiveness of private trackers is a real shortcut to this and it'll expose you to more interesting stuff than streaming service recommendations.
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Comment on Scientists have bred "Woolly Mice" on their journey to bring back the mammoth in ~science
nocut12 Link ParentMaybe here? I don't know enough about ecology or whatever to know if it's as silly as it seems or not, but it is pretty fun to read about...Maybe here? I don't know enough about ecology or whatever to know if it's as silly as it seems or not, but it is pretty fun to read about...
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Comment on Reddit will lock some content behind a paywall this year, CEO says in ~tech
nocut12 Link ParentI sort of suspect this is less of a "parts of Reddit that are free now will become paid" and more of a competitor to the "join my Patreon to get access to my Discord" type of thing. Probably less...I sort of suspect this is less of a "parts of Reddit that are free now will become paid" and more of a competitor to the "join my Patreon to get access to my Discord" type of thing.
Probably less bad for users, but I'm not sure I think that fits the relatively impersonal model of Reddit-like sites. On a Discord server I find myself recognizing usernames pretty fast. On a site like Reddit (or this one) I never really notice usernames and think more about "posts" and "comments" than people. Feels like a weird fit for that monetization model to me...
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Comment on Framework (2nd gen) event: 25th February in ~tech
nocut12 Link ParentNow that Linux on aarch64 is legit usable, I kinda wish there had been an 💪 in there...Now that Linux on aarch64 is legit usable, I kinda wish there had been an 💪 in there...
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Comment on Bluetooth receiver with a sane low-battery warning? in ~tech
nocut12 Link ParentHuh, I guess the software must be pretty different between their models, that's annoying. I've been happy with mine, but yeah, it is kinda pricey — a BTR5 might be pretty overkill depending on the...Huh, I guess the software must be pretty different between their models, that's annoying.
I've been happy with mine, but yeah, it is kinda pricey — a BTR5 might be pretty overkill depending on the headphones you were gonna use it with...
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Comment on Single most useful program you daily use? in ~tech
nocut12 Link ParentThat's really slick — the searching and filtering looks awesome and I love the idea of blurring the line between open tabs and bookmarks. Personally, I prefer sticking to open source stuff when I...That's really slick — the searching and filtering looks awesome and I love the idea of blurring the line between open tabs and bookmarks. Personally, I prefer sticking to open source stuff when I can, but this looks really well done.
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Comment on Single most useful program you daily use? in ~tech
nocut12 Link ParentI haven't tried it — I guess haven't had enough issues with TST to look for an alternative. Really the only thing that bugs me is that the sidebar isn't open by default when you open a new private...I haven't tried it — I guess haven't had enough issues with TST to look for an alternative. Really the only thing that bugs me is that the sidebar isn't open by default when you open a new private browser window, though I think that's just an issue with how firefox handles sidebars in general.
Looks nice though, might be cool to check out.
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Comment on Single most useful program you daily use? in ~tech
nocut12 Link ParentPretty close to the default settings. I do prefer the "Promote all children to the parent level" option when a tab with children is closed, and I like the option to always add new independent tabs...Pretty close to the default settings. I do prefer the "Promote all children to the parent level" option when a tab with children is closed, and I like the option to always add new independent tabs at the end.
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Comment on Single most useful program you daily use? in ~tech
nocut12 LinkIf an add-on counts, I'd say Tree Style Tabs for Firefox. The nesting makes it way more useful than other vertical tab things and has totally changed the way I organize my web browsing, especially...If an add-on counts, I'd say Tree Style Tabs for Firefox. The nesting makes it way more useful than other vertical tab things and has totally changed the way I organize my web browsing, especially for more researchy/reference-y things.
Since this thing has made my browsing so much better and I have a browser open basically 100% of the time, I don't think it's a stretch to say that add-on changed my computing life more than anything else.
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Comment on Bluetooth receiver with a sane low-battery warning? in ~tech
nocut12 LinkI use a Fiio BTR5, which seems pretty close to what you want. There's a noise that plays once when the battery is low (I think at like 15%? not really sure...) with no other alerts until the...I use a Fiio BTR5, which seems pretty close to what you want. There's a noise that plays once when the battery is low (I think at like 15%? not really sure...) with no other alerts until the battery dies. IIRC the volume of the alerts is kinda loud if it's connected with the SBC codec, but I use LDAC or APT-X pretty much exclusively and it's fine on those.
The amp in it is surprisingly nice too and it can drive beefier headphones than you might expect.
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Comment on Bluesky advertises itself as an open network, they say people won't lose followers or their identity, they advertise themselves as a protocol ("atproto"). These three claims are false. in ~tech
nocut12 Link ParentYou can write other "app views" in ATProto, and some exist (here's one: https://frontpage.fyi/). I think that's really the key difference in design here: you could think of Mastodon as a network...You can write other "app views" in ATProto, and some exist (here's one: https://frontpage.fyi/). I think that's really the key difference in design here: you could think of Mastodon as a network of peers exchanging messages, while you could think of Bluesky/ATProto as an architecture for building social networks in public with composable/replaceable parts.
As for the blockchain mention, I was specifically talking about identity. As far as I know, Mastodon identities and content are tied to the instance, and account redirects and moves are effectively relying on whoever operates that instance to cooperate. Account migration seems like the big sticking point for both ActivityPub and ATProto — ActivityPub seems to basically not have a solution for the data part, and ATProto's is hamstrung by the DID thing...
They both have kind of the same goal (be a better, more open twitter). IMO, they're both close to that goal, but both have roadblocks stemming from their respective designs.
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Comment on Bluesky advertises itself as an open network, they say people won't lose followers or their identity, they advertise themselves as a protocol ("atproto"). These three claims are false. in ~tech
nocut12 LinkI agree that calling Bluesky "decentralized" is be a bit much — and I don't think it's great to pitch it that way — but I think there's some good stuff about it in important places. It isn't...I agree that calling Bluesky "decentralized" is be a bit much — and I don't think it's great to pitch it that way — but I think there's some good stuff about it in important places. It isn't really decentralized, but there are some pretty good off ramps built into it. Another company, motivated group of users, or even publicly funded service provider could step in and provide a replacement. You probably couldn't do it yourself though.
The PDS idea and supporting domains as user IDs helps make it easier to take your content elsewhere while keeping your identity consistent. The feed generator and content labeler ideas make it pretty doable to replace important chunks of the functionality, which helps with the "CEO goes crazy" situation Twitter had. I think those are both real benefits over the usual approach to building this kind of thing. The DID issue is real though, and I hope they can improve things there. It honestly seems hard to come up with an actually decentralized solution that doesn't involve some blockchain stuff, which I suspect the userbase would find distasteful. Even with the DID caveats, I think this kind architecture is pretty good step forward — sure, it's not really decentralized, but you aren't so locked in.
I think this kind of semi-centralized approach has come out on top in other areas too. Truly decentralized file sharing schemes exist (GNUtella, DHT peer exchange stuff, etc), but regular BitTorrent uses centralized trackers. Even though trackers are a little more fragile, they're a lot more convenient, and it's not like the actual data is lost when they go down. Guess which scheme people use more?
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Comment on With Core One, Prusa's open source hardware dream quietly dies in ~tech
nocut12 Link ParentI agree that it doesn't mean this is suddenly an evil company or something, but "being open source" is a feature and changing that is eroding one of their big differentiators. It's not making the...I agree that it doesn't mean this is suddenly an evil company or something, but "being open source" is a feature and changing that is eroding one of their big differentiators. It's not making the product better for the people buying it — it's not really better for anyone but the company. The sky isn't falling, but I don't think this is the right direction to be moving.
I work at a company that has been making dubious changes to our (formerly) open source offerings, and let me tell you, it doesn't feel great. It's hard for me to imagine this kind of decision coming from a company with a healthy decision making process and a pro-customer point of view.
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Comment on Seeking an Android podcast app without subscription. Impossible? in ~tech
nocut12 Link ParentI think it's automatic, but you only get the web/desktop client if you bought specifically the web app back when they were selling it. You don't get that if you just bought one of the phone apps....I think it's automatic, but you only get the web/desktop client if you bought specifically the web app back when they were selling it. You don't get that if you just bought one of the phone apps.
https://support.pocketcasts.com/knowledge-base/lifetime-access-to-pocket-casts-plus/
I'd totally recommend checking out Clearcut, an under-discussed movie with a great performance from him.