riQQ's recent activity

  1. Comment on UN says world will miss its climate target, warming must be reversed in ~enviro

    riQQ
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    According to the article, some of the leaks have been easy fixes yet there are states not even responding to alerts :(

    According to the article, some of the leaks have been easy fixes yet there are states not even responding to alerts :(

    The UN Methane Alert and Response System (Mars) sent 192 alerts of methane plumes to Turkmenistan in the last year. The country had three of the six worst leaks detected in the world by Mars in last six months, and nine of the top 50.

    Turkmenistan responded to about 20% of the alerts with on-the-ground information about the leaks and potential plans to fix them. In contrast, the US was sent the second highest number of alerts – 138 – but responded to none and had fixed no leaks in the last year. Other nations that failed to respond to any alerts were Iran, Russia and China.

    5 votes

  2. Comment on GPS tracker for an interstate move in ~tech

    riQQ
    Link
    Meta: Shouldn't this be moved to ~tech? I don't have the moving privileges to do it myself.

    Meta:
    Shouldn't this be moved to ~tech? I don't have the moving privileges to do it myself.

    3 votes

  3. Comment on Industry Standard Tools in ~life.home_improvement

    riQQ
    Link Parent
    Not a lot of information, but it does say the following below the blue scrolling banner:

    Not a lot of information, but it does say the following below the blue scrolling banner:

    Est. 2026

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Motorola’s GrapheneOS phones will launch in 2027 priced higher than Pixels in ~tech

    riQQ
    Link Parent
    Which Pixel do you have?

    Which Pixel do you have?

    3 votes

  5. Comment on Motorola’s GrapheneOS phones will launch in 2027 priced higher than Pixels in ~tech

    riQQ
    Link
    I'm a bit sad to see this, as I wasn't looking to buy a flagship smartphone but rather a Pixel a-series replacement.

    I'm a bit sad to see this, as I wasn't looking to buy a flagship smartphone but rather a Pixel a-series replacement.

    11 votes

  6. Comment on Motorola’s GrapheneOS phones will launch in 2027 priced higher than Pixels in ~tech

    riQQ
    Link
    The Mastodon comment the article is based on:

    Several months ago, Motorola and the makers of GrapheneOS announced a team-up that would expand support for the privacy-centric OS to beyond Google’s Pixel phones. The announcement, however, was bereft of details. Now, the creators of the OS have taken to Mastodon (naturally) to provide an update. Moto’s GrapheneOS phones are on track to launch in 2027, but they’ll cost a pretty penny.

    According to the GrapheneOS team, the upcoming Moto phones will be premium flagship devices. The team expects pricing to be even higher than Pixel phones, which is saying something. The current Pixel lineup starts at $900 for the base model Pixel 11, a $100 increase from last year. The Pixel 11 Pro XL price has gone up to a whopping $1,300 this year.

    While Motorola makes plenty of budget devices in the Moto G line, those devices aren’t a viable option. GrapheneOS has supported Pixels because Google’s Tensor chips provide the necessary security features, but not all Qualcomm chips offer the same capabilities. Only Qualcomm’s most expensive 8-series processors are comparable from a security standpoint, and those only go in expensive flagship smartphones.

    The Mastodon comment the article is based on:

    The initial devices with GrapheneOS support should be available in 2027. The initial devices will be flagships so they'll be higher end hardware than Pixels at a higher price. Lower end devices will take more time to meet our requirements since the updates and security features aren't as good. It's mostly due to how Qualcomm handles it. The latest Snapdragon flagships have the best security features. We'll also need Motorola to start paying them for longer updates below flagships.

    7 votes

  8. Comment on Fixing a Framework laptop bricked by a BIOS update in ~tech

    riQQ
    Link Parent
    This is the least that they can do. Sad that it took media coverage to force their hand.

    This is the least that they can do. Sad that it took media coverage to force their hand.

    Framework’s statement to Ars says:

    … in addition to replacing in-warranty Mainboards, we are making exceptions for out-of-warranty replacements where we can confirm a stable-release BIOS update caused the board to become non-bootable.

    Framework is also introducing a “Crisis Recovery Mode” BIOS functionality to enable a path for failed updates to be directly recoverable.

    “Our latest Framework Desktop BIOS release includes this functionality, and we are actively bringing it to Framework Laptop 12, 13, and 16 in our upcoming BIOS release cycles for each,” Framework said.

    3 votes

  9. Comment on Dutch regulator fines Uber $966m for automating driver suspensions in ~transport

    riQQ
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    The Dutch data protection authority has fined ⁠Uber €825m ($966m) for deactivating driver ⁠accounts through automated systems without adequately informing them, according to a 17 August decision.

    The penalty would be the second-largest issued yet under Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

    It is behind only a €1.2bn ($1.4bn) fine ⁠imposed on Meta by Ireland in 2023 for unlawfully transferring European Facebook users’ data to the United States. Meta is appealing.

    Uber said it would also appeal.

    26 votes

  11. Comment on Fixing a Framework laptop bricked by a BIOS update in ~tech

    riQQ
    Link Parent
    Especially because it seems to be caused by a bug in their BIOS updater software.

    Especially because it seems to be caused by a bug in their BIOS updater software.

    16 votes

  12. Comment on Fixing a Framework laptop bricked by a BIOS update in ~tech

    riQQ
    Link Parent
    Not all the mainboards have two BIOS flash chips.

    Not all the mainboards have two BIOS flash chips.

    7 votes

  13. Comment on Fixing a Framework laptop bricked by a BIOS update in ~tech

    riQQ
    Link

    For three years, the laptop has served me well, until Framework suggested via newsletter to install the latest BIOS3 update, version 3.20, with a bunch of security fixes. Unfortunately, the system hung and displayed a corrupt image on the screen, signifying a failed BIOS flash.

    Naturally, I reached out to Framework support, who told me to unplug the laptop, let the battery drain, and power it back on again afterwards, hoping the laptop would recover by itself. Unfortunately, it never did, and after giving Framework a bunch of information, they informed me that since my 1-year warranty has expired, I have no option but to purchase a new Framework motherboard, which will cost at least CA$500.

    A quick search revealed that many people had issues with BIOS flashes with this specific BIOS update on the Framework forums, even those in warranty, and on a different thread, people have been having similar issues with BIOS flashing in general on this model since at least March of 2025. To my knowledge, Framework has never acknowledged the issue or offered any indication that the problem was fixed, so buying a new motherboard would simply be playing Russian roulette if I ever wanted to update the BIOS again, on top of spending CA$500+ through no fault of my own.

    Thus, I opted against buying a new motherboard and embarked upon a journey to flash the BIOS myself. I documented this journey in excruciating detail so that hopefully, by following along, you’ll understand exactly how you might fix similar problems.

    As the owner of a Framework laptop who wants to benefit from the upgradability down the line, I would like to see Framework clean up their act and deliver on the promise they made when they sold the product. As such, I call upon Framework to:

    1. Immediately stop encouraging any users out of warranty to update their BIOS until the updater is fixed;
    2. Fix the BIOS updater as soon as possible;
    3. Provide immediate relief to any out-of-warranty customers whose laptop was bricked through a BIOS update, either through motherboard replacement like warrantied customers, or the free delivery of a toolkit and detailed guidance to perform the repair;
    4. Provide official documentation for BIOS flashing, raw BIOS images, and instructions to restore the serial numbers and UUIDs;
    5. Design all future motherboards to be easily recoverable from bad BIOS flashes; and
    6. Immediately cease any unnecessary data sharing with third parties.
    33 votes

  15. Comment on GOG confirm they are working towards GOG Galaxy on Linux in ~games

    riQQ
    Link Parent
    Firefox mobile on Android here.

    Firefox mobile on Android here.

    1 vote

  16. Comment on GOG confirm they are working towards GOG Galaxy on Linux in ~games

    riQQ
    Link Parent
    Ah, I didn't even notice at first. As I checked the behavior now, I noticed that they also show up when you zoom into a post via the zoom gesture on mobile. As the page does not have responsive...

    Ah, I didn't even notice at first. As I checked the behavior now, I noticed that they also show up when you zoom into a post via the zoom gesture on mobile. As the page does not have responsive design I had to zoom in when reading. They also show up when tapping a post.

    1 vote

  17. Comment on GOG confirm they are working towards GOG Galaxy on Linux in ~games

  18. Comment on How Die Zeit built a searchable database of Nazi party members in ~humanities.history

  19. Comment on A hacker's arrest reveals Microsoft can track users via a Windows device ID in ~tech

  20. Comment on How did I miss Pay Per Crawl? in ~tech