norb's recent activity
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Comment on How Europe is gearing up to follow Australia's teen social media ban in ~tech
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Comment on Finally making the jump to a custom router so I can have all my outgoing traffic over mullvad but that brings with it two questions for me in ~tech
norb Link ParentThis is absolutely doable with a (professional/enterprise level) next-gen firewall. What they do is decrypt the original packet, inspect it, and then re-encrypt it with their own certificate. That...No firewall really exists (or can exist) to man-in-the-middle that handshake without breaking a lot of things (like certificates), it would also be pretty computationally expensive to do.
This is absolutely doable with a (professional/enterprise level) next-gen firewall. What they do is decrypt the original packet, inspect it, and then re-encrypt it with their own certificate. That certificate needs to be trusted on the endpoints, but to the end user it is seamless and basically unnoticeable. Of course, an end user can inspect the certificate and see that it doesn't match the source, however if the firewall's certificate is trusted the user won't see anything in the browser to indicate it's been tampered with (like a missing lock icon).
In my experience managing one of these devices, the vendor also supplies certain groupings for sites so that you can choose to decrypt only certain sites' traffic and not others, so for example you can say "do not decrypt known banking sites, shopping sites, or medical sites." This will allow for some level of user privacy for certain things, but allow the system to check encrypted traffic for other sites.
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Comment on White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt now has a family connection to a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest in ~society
norb Link ParentNone of the above. She's her brother's ex. Speculation is that the family turned her in.None of the above. She's her brother's ex. Speculation is that the family turned her in.
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Comment on US Senate suddenly passes the Jeffrey Epstein bill just hours after it cleared the House in ~society
norb Link ParentThe bill itself has some ways that they can weasel out of doing much of anything. There's a good write up here on how they can get around releasing much of anything. A relevant quote from that...The bill itself has some ways that they can weasel out of doing much of anything.
There's a good write up here on how they can get around releasing much of anything.
A relevant quote from that article:
The bill, after demanding that “No record shall be withheld, delayed or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary,” goes on to undermine all of that.
The bill says that if the Attorney General “makes a determination that covered information may not be declassified and made available in a manner that protects the national security of the United States, including methods or sources related to national security, the Attorney General shall release an unclassified summary for each of the redacted or withheld classified information.” As in, the Attorney General would get to decide what to release and how to characterize it.
So I think there's a certain amount of political cynicism going on here amongst GOP leadership. They can let Congress vote on passing this thing, then let Trump and Bondi take all the heat for what happens next. I'm guessing a lot of the GOP is fine with this as they know Trump is a sinking ship and they need to survive in the post-Trump world. They also know the unshakable portion of their base won't fight against whatever it is Trump does. For people that do not like Trump, they're already primed to assume Trump is all over this thing and it being released won't change their opinion either. IMHO, none of this really changes much of anything in the near term. Longer term it might be harder to tell the impact, but midterms are a year away and most people will have forgotten this by then as Trump and co. drum up other things to distract people with.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
norb Link ParentI picked up Arc Raiders late last week and it's quickly taken over all my free time (and lunch breaks lol). I have never tried an extraction shooter before, so this is new territory to me, but I...I picked up Arc Raiders late last week and it's quickly taken over all my free time (and lunch breaks lol).
I have never tried an extraction shooter before, so this is new territory to me, but I would echo all of your comments about the overall friendliness of the playerbase. I also feel like it's early in the game lifecycle, and I wonder if it will stay that way or not. With the large influx of players (I'd heard maybe 2 million copies sold in the first week across all platforms?) it'll be interesting to see how it goes. In my completely uninformed opinion, I think the fact that the PvE stuff is actually dangerous it helps keep some of the PvP aspects from getting out of hand. But I have been shot in the back while trying to leave more than once and have had to just log off and come back the next day.
I started out solo and that was tough but then had a couple friends show me the ropes and get me going and now I'm totally comfortable going out solo even with a somewhat better loadout. There is a pretty steep learning curve to this game, and I'm assuming it's to this genre, but now that I have a better handle on what loot is good, what I need to look out for on a run, and what areas are generally more sweaty than others, I find I can hop in and out with relative ease. I have found that even just enabling the "party fill" option before you join is worthwhile if you want to group up. The randos I've matched with have all been helpful, seem to use voice chat, and overall have been fun to play with.
Speaking of voice chat, proximity chat has been a lot of fun, especially with the voice changer (raider voice). I have talked my way out of some scrapes already and if you approach people with a "Hey raider!" and don't surprise them, they seem to leave you be. I have also found out that as the rounds go in the last 10 or 5 minutes, people are way more likely to shoot first and ask questions later because they don't want you to shoot them by that point.
I've hit level 21 or 22 so I think I've unlocked all the things. I am unsure about some of the late game stuff and am still working on upgrading benches in town, but overall I think I'll be playing this for awhile.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
norb Link ParentJust finished the quest that showed me these things last night, so yeah I think I'll be going this route instead. I did do some random grouping and it was way more enjoyable that way. All in all...Just finished the quest that showed me these things last night, so yeah I think I'll be going this route instead.
I did do some random grouping and it was way more enjoyable that way.
All in all it seems like a good game and I'm sure I'll spend some time on it.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
norb Link ParentThis is what I'd heard about this as well, but I'm not sure if I got unlucky or not playing yesterday. I'm new to this genre of game (played plenty of FPS's over the years though) and I got...in solo queue you can actually find a good amount of people that aren't out to shoot you in the back and take all your stuff
This is what I'd heard about this as well, but I'm not sure if I got unlucky or not playing yesterday. I'm new to this genre of game (played plenty of FPS's over the years though) and I got blasted in the back three games in a row playing solo last night - all three times while I was trying to end a round in the lift thing. Pretty much turned me off playing anymore for the rest of the night. I guess I need to find people to play with, because I'm not too interested in grinding for 20 or 30 minutes just to get shot in the back and lose my loot. At least you keep the XP so you can level your character, but losing the loot is frustrating.
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Comment on A quarter of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is gone in ~society
norb Link ParentYes, I was just going to post this. A constitutional convention is a double edged sword, and the Project 2025 people have been preparing for years for it so they will be more organized and...Yes, I was just going to post this. A constitutional convention is a double edged sword, and the Project 2025 people have been preparing for years for it so they will be more organized and probably have an easier time getting what they want, while the rest of us are disorganized and fighting amongst ourselves.
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Comment on ‘Predator: Badlands’ officially rated PG-13, meant to be “boundary-pushing” in ~movies
norb Link ParentAnd that is also by design, but they did spill some beans a number of years ago. (For the non-native English speakers, "spill some beans" means "let loose some secrets" more or less).I'm not entirely sure of the inner workings
And that is also by design, but they did spill some beans a number of years ago. (For the non-native English speakers, "spill some beans" means "let loose some secrets" more or less).
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
norb LinkMy son and I played Lego Voyagers over the weekend. It was a really fun little co-op puzzler! It probably took us 4ish hours to complete the story, but we have more achievements to get. He was...My son and I played Lego Voyagers over the weekend. It was a really fun little co-op puzzler! It probably took us 4ish hours to complete the story, but we have more achievements to get. He was very upset by the ending though, so if you have young kids maybe be ready for that.
Lego Voyagers Story Spoiler
The basic gist of the story is that a rocket ship crashes while taking off, so your two little brick characters go off to find it. By the end, you rebuild the ship, do some space training (surprisingly hard little mini games), and then one of the characters blasts off in the rocket, leaving the other one behind. This is what upset my son so much.The other game I have been playing a lot the last week or two is Deadzone: Rogue which is a really fun FPS/roguelike mash up. It really needs to be played with others to get the most out of it, but I've had good luck just joining random games. Once you get a handle on the builds, you can get very OP which is fun. The shooting mechanics are good - they remind me of Destiny quite a bit. I linked to the Steam store for it, but it's available on consoles and is cross-platform. I play on PS5.
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Comment on The Mandalorian and Grogu | Official trailer in ~movies
norb Link ParentI did really want a "monster/planet of the week" type show out of this, and we got way more lore than I expected. I guess that is kind of Filoni's thing though...I did really want a "monster/planet of the week" type show out of this, and we got way more lore than I expected. I guess that is kind of Filoni's thing though...
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Comment on The Mandalorian and Grogu | Official trailer in ~movies
norb Link ParentI think it's probably got do with Pedro Pascal and his time more than anything else. He was publicly complaining about this before the last season came out. I also think a movie is a good way to...I think it's probably got do with Pedro Pascal and his time more than anything else. He was publicly complaining about this before the last season came out. I also think a movie is a good way to end this run or story arc or whatever. The last Mandolorian season was a bit plodding and confused at times so less runtime will probably lead to a better overall story (I hope anyways).
It will leave the option open to have Mando cameo in other Star Wars things, or be part of an ensemble cast, but not carry something and not be as demanding as a TV series.
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Comment on Oracle, Silver Lake consortium to control 80% stake in TikTok in US in ~finance
norb LinkThis article leaves out a bit that I found in another one that says the algorithm will still be owned by China. If the original fear that caused the ban to be put in place in the first place was...This article leaves out a bit that I found in another one that says the algorithm will still be owned by China.
If the original fear that caused the ban to be put in place in the first place was that the Chinese were controlling what US persons were seeing, and thereby pushing some narrative, then we've not fixed that at all. I'm not surprised in the least, but I find that much more interesting than whatever oligarch Trump has signed up to get the money out of this thing.
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Comment on Oracle, Silver Lake consortium to control 80% stake in TikTok in US in ~finance
norb Link ParentYou went down the MUCH higher road to get to your destination than OP was going for, I think Mostly a reference to his egg shaped head:...You went down the MUCH higher road to get to your destination than OP was going for, I think
Mostly a reference to his egg shaped head: https://media.newyorker.com/photos/59096d4cebe912338a3768f4/master/w_2240,c_limit/150518_r26512.jpg (link borrowed from u/hungariantoast)
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Comment on Bill under consideration by US Congress would make it easier to revoke or deny US passports to citizens in ~society
norb LinkThere isn't a "value" the Republican party espouses to "hold in the highest regard" that they aren't willing to toss aside as soon as they are in power. It might be the most infuriating thing...There isn't a "value" the Republican party espouses to "hold in the highest regard" that they aren't willing to toss aside as soon as they are in power.
It might be the most infuriating thing about the time in which we are living -- the blatant hypocrisy is just astounding.
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Comment on Pentagon authorizes up to 600 US military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges in ~society
norb (edited )Link ParentI totally agree, but the whole point here is to just get these court cases over with as quickly as possible to start removing people as quickly as they can. When Trump first announced his...I totally agree, but the whole point here is to just get these court cases over with as quickly as possible to start removing people as quickly as they can.
When Trump first announced his deportation goal of millions of people, a lot of observers said something to the effect of "Well good luck getting them all through the courts" and that's what they're doing here.
It's just another instance of them subverting our normal processes to meet their own ends. This isn't about helping to keep anyone here or give anyone the true due process we all expect from our system of justice and government; it's about putting the veneer of "legality" over their operations so that they can point to the courts and say "See? We did what we're supposed to do so this is all above board."
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Comment on Spotify is adding direct messaging to their music streaming app in ~tech
norb Link ParentI think the struggle in this space is the licensing costs required to provide a competing service. If you didn't basically invent the service model (Spotify) or have massive amounts of cash to get...I think the struggle in this space is the licensing costs required to provide a competing service. If you didn't basically invent the service model (Spotify) or have massive amounts of cash to get going (Apple, Tidal, YouTube, etc.) I don't think you can break in. Bandcamp might be the closest we have to that, and they still have corporate masters and you have to individually pay for anything you want to stream in their app (I know you can stream a lot of things from their website but to use their app like any other streaming music service you do need to pay for the songs or albums first).
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Comment on Spotify is adding direct messaging to their music streaming app in ~tech
norb Link ParentI also made this switch after being a paying Spotify user since the very first day it became available in the US. It took me a couple weeks to get used to, but now I am happy I did. No more...Also happily switched to Apple Music. It is basic but it does no more than it needs to.
I also made this switch after being a paying Spotify user since the very first day it became available in the US.
It took me a couple weeks to get used to, but now I am happy I did. No more skipping past podcasts or audiobooks. No more paying more money for those same features I don't want. I was able to upload old albums that I've ripped from CDs that aren't available to stream and sync those across devices. And I get lossless audio out of the box (also without any additional subscription fees - which is what I expect Spotify to do if/when they actually get lossless audio).
Apple isn't perfect by any means, but I think they just get how these services should be separated to be a better overall experience.
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Comment on Spotify is adding direct messaging to their music streaming app in ~tech
norb LinkIt's great that all these companies are more than happy to open up more avenues for scammers. DMs turn into cam girl or crypto grift delivery pipelines as soon as they are stood up. Hope they're...It's great that all these companies are more than happy to open up more avenues for scammers. DMs turn into cam girl or crypto grift delivery pipelines as soon as they are stood up.
Hope they're building good blocking and reporting tools....
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Comment on US government snaps up 10% of Intel for $8.9B in ~tech
norb Link ParentA struggle I have on here is trying to make my point without pointing fingers at/offending the OP. I need to work on that. I addressed it to "you" which is part of my issue. I mean the royal "you"...A struggle I have on here is trying to make my point without pointing fingers at/offending the OP. I need to work on that.
I addressed it to "you" which is part of my issue. I mean the royal "you" as in people in general. Trump gets me worked up and I vent which doesn't help.
And I 100% think this isn't a good thing, because on the whole Trump is verifiably awful.
So this is where I struggle on these issues. On the one hand, I think there is a lot of harm that comes out of social media - constant, pervasive bullying, FOMO, sexting/sextortion and recently AI enabled fake nudes using real people, child predators, and probably a lot more I'm not aware of or can't conceive of myself.
But on the other hand, people like yourself find communities and groups to feel included in, feel not so alone, or feel like they have people that do understand them.
So which takes precedence? I think the human reaction is to focus on the negative and not the positive. Maybe that's because we avoid negative consequences so it's easier to "quantify" those and ban things than it is to see the positive outcomes as those are mostly below the surface or harder to see.
In your instance, are you better off (even with your self described mental state) having had that space online or would you be in a much worse space today without them? (This is a question I ask knowing nothing about you and please don't take it the wrong way.)
At the end of the day I think that the only thing that helps kids is trusted adults teaching them how to navigate our society, how to build resilience against the negatives of these platforms, and managing access based on the needs/maturity of any given child. Blanket banning things from the top feels like the wrong approach to me, but I can understand the desire for people to feel like they're doing something.