Rudism's recent activity
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Comment on What’s a point that you think many people missed? in ~talk
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Comment on Doppi, the nicest player for your music files in ~tech
Rudism LinkIf anyone reading this thread is disappointed that the mentioned app is iOS only and wants an Android recommendation, the one I use and recommend is PowerAmp. Very pretty, highly functional, good...If anyone reading this thread is disappointed that the mentioned app is iOS only and wants an Android recommendation, the one I use and recommend is PowerAmp. Very pretty, highly functional, good out of the box but also customizable, and has an option to purchase it direct from the programmer and use it on devices without Google Play.
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Comment on The "why does this movie exist" scene in ~movies
Rudism Link ParentI tend to agree with you that the plots of most movies are boring/predictable/samey, but I still watch and enjoy them because I enjoy experiencing the craft behind the films--visual world...I tend to agree with you that the plots of most movies are boring/predictable/samey, but I still watch and enjoy them because I enjoy experiencing the craft behind the films--visual world building, composition of scenes, camerawork, performances and choices by actors. I still get bored by movies, but it happens more with stuff like the MCU where there's no real artistic direction other than make them as bland looking as possible and have 50% of it be CGI instead of real people on screen. Give me a movie with a generic or boring plot, but from a great director with a great cast and crew, and I probably won't even notice.
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Comment on Pebble Round 2 announced in ~tech
Rudism Link ParentYeah I'd be interested to hear your opinion on its quality after you try it out.Yeah I'd be interested to hear your opinion on its quality after you try it out.
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Comment on Doppi, the nicest player for your music files in ~tech
Rudism LinkI'm curious, does anyone actually use the subscription option for apps that also offer a one-time price? I've never really understood the appeal, or why someone would choose that option. I imagine...It is paid, with a subscription option (USD 1.69/month) and a lifetime license (USD 16.99).
I'm curious, does anyone actually use the subscription option for apps that also offer a one-time price? I've never really understood the appeal, or why someone would choose that option. I imagine that someone who owns an iPhone is probably not in a position that they couldn't afford the $15 difference, and presumably someone who wants to shell out for an app would, in their mind, expect to be using it longer than 10 months and realize they'd be saving money by avoiding an ongoing subscription. Is it because iOS does not have a good trial or refund policy, so you'd treat the subscription as sort of a paid trial period before either cancelling or buying the app? Or is there some other justification that I'm blind to?
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Comment on Pebble Round 2 announced in ~tech
Rudism Link ParentI'll also throw my hat in as a satisfied Pebble 2 Duo user for a few months now. I don't use a smart phone so it's in airplane mode 99% of the time--the things I use it for are the vibrating smart...I'll also throw my hat in as a satisfied Pebble 2 Duo user for a few months now. I don't use a smart phone so it's in airplane mode 99% of the time--the things I use it for are the vibrating smart alarm, a tea timer, and an app I wrote for it that lets me define on-watch repeating reminders using crontab-like syntax for stuff like taking meds, changing air filters, birthdays I don't want to forget, stuff like that. I think I probably have to charge it a couple times per month, so not really something I've had to think or worry about.
What watch band(s) do you use with yours? I've been meaning to look into replacements but not looking forward to sifting through the dozens of brands/options (in the past for my non-smartwatches I usually go with cheap nato straps, but don't want to cover up the sensors on this one).
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Comment on What's something you're "in too deep" on? in ~talk
Rudism (edited )Link ParentThis sounds incredible--like the realization of a pipe-dream project I've fantasized about many times but don't have the gumption to actually tackle, I'm very envious. The closest I've come to...This sounds incredible--like the realization of a pipe-dream project I've fantasized about many times but don't have the gumption to actually tackle, I'm very envious. The closest I've come to scratching that kind of reliving-media nostalgia itch is to set up a couple radio streams that cycle through old radio shows that I used to listen to while falling asleep when I was younger (mainly Coast to Coast AM from back when Art Bell was the host). I've also set up what at this point is essentially a private old time radio streaming service (it is exposed publicly but I'm probably the only person who uses it). I had a whole suite of scripts that would take OTR episode collections from archive.org and build a database of episode details (air date, episode name, etc.) and organize everything in a clean, consistent manner--I thought that was a lot of work, but what you're describing is next level.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Rudism LinkMostly I've been playing Donkey Kong Bananza since I picked it up around Christmas. It's fun, but not nearly enough to justify the price tag. The digging gimmick lost its novelty after the first...Mostly I've been playing Donkey Kong Bananza since I picked it up around Christmas.
It's fun, but not nearly enough to justify the price tag. The digging gimmick lost its novelty after the first hour or two and now it's pretty repetitive and playing like pretty much any other game of this ilk. Prior to this I figured I'd always do PC gaming + Nintendo for portable/console gaming because I've always enjoyed their exclusives, but this game with the day 1 DLC bringing the price tag up to like $100 has made me deeply regret not picking up a Steam Deck instead of the Switch 2--this will likely be the last console I ever purchase.
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Comment on Amazon to allow EPUB and PDF downloads of DRM-free Kindle titles in ~books
Rudism LinkMaybe they figure they've captured enough of the market as Kindle exclusives that they can finally throw us this bone. Personally I don't really care anymore--if a book is only available through...Maybe they figure they've captured enough of the market as Kindle exclusives that they can finally throw us this bone. Personally I don't really care anymore--if a book is only available through Amazon it's the same as not existing to me, I'll find something else to read.
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Comment on Whatever happened to _____? in ~talk
Rudism Link ParentI'm only in season 2 on my current B5 rewatch, but I'll let you know once I get there.I'm only in season 2 on my current B5 rewatch, but I'll let you know once I get there.
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Comment on Markdown/inline links don't work unless URL starts with http(s) in ~tildes
Rudism Link ParentIn my head I always thought of that syntax as still being a relative url--just relative up one level to the scheme instead of any part of the domain name.In my head I always thought of that syntax as still being a relative url--just relative up one level to the scheme instead of any part of the domain name.
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Comment on Looking for a non-smart watch recommendation in ~tech
Rudism Link ParentI bought a PineTime a while back, and had it working for exactly one day before I unrecoverably bricked it somehow during firmware flashing. So word of advice for anyone who decides to get one:...I bought a PineTime a while back, and had it working for exactly one day before I unrecoverably bricked it somehow during firmware flashing. So word of advice for anyone who decides to get one: resist your tinkerer tendencies as much as possible because software-wise these things can be fragile.
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Comment on 99-year-old Dick Van Dyke reacts to his life in photos: 'Mary Poppins,’ 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' in ~movies
Rudism LinkThis statement kind of broke my brain: I got anxiety about my parents being in their 70s, can't even fathom what it would be like to have kids in their 70s.This statement kind of broke my brain:
My kids are in their 70s now.
I got anxiety about my parents being in their 70s, can't even fathom what it would be like to have kids in their 70s.
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Comment on Looking for a non-smart watch recommendation in ~tech
Rudism Link ParentI saw that thread, and couldn't muster up the mental energy required to read and parse all the posts and counter-posts and comments and get emotionally invested one way or the other. Correct me if...I saw that thread, and couldn't muster up the mental energy required to read and parse all the posts and counter-posts and comments and get emotionally invested one way or the other. Correct me if I'm way off base, but at a bird's-eye glance it didn't seem like either side was making a particularly strong case over the other (it smelled strongly to me of your typical FOSS drama-du-jour pissing contest).
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Comment on Looking for a non-smart watch recommendation in ~tech
Rudism LinkYou could look into the "new" Pebbles. I picked one up and have only connected it to my tablet a handful of times (to get a watchface that I like and update the firmware). Out of the box, with no...You could look into the "new" Pebbles. I picked one up and have only connected it to my tablet a handful of times (to get a watchface that I like and update the firmware). Out of the box, with no apps and in airplane mode, it tells time, counts daily steps, gives you stats on how long/well you slept each night, and has smart alarms that can wake you up when you come out of deep sleep within 30 mins of the time you set. Battery life is decent, I need to charge it maybe once every week or so (and they claim they're going to improve that in the future with more firmware updates).
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Comment on Strange YouTube watch-tracking behavior in ~tech
Rudism LinkI have completely disabled watch history for a long time now and YouTube has become way, way, way less painful to use as a result. I highly recommend giving it a try. The main annoyance (for me)...I have completely disabled watch history for a long time now and YouTube has become way, way, way less painful to use as a result. I highly recommend giving it a try. The main annoyance (for me) was having to remember where I left off in longer videos if I wanted to resume later, but if that feature is as broken as this thread makes it sound then maybe that's for the better anyway.
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Comment on Project Hail Mary | Official trailer in ~movies
Rudism LinkCan't really confirm (for obvious reasons), but I haven't watched the trailer yet on advice from a friend who said it spoils some major plot points for anyone who hasn't read the book yet, and I...Can't really confirm (for obvious reasons), but I haven't watched the trailer yet on advice from a friend who said it spoils some major plot points for anyone who hasn't read the book yet, and I still plan on reading the book before seeing the movie.
Just a word of caution to anyone else in the same boat.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Rudism LinkI finally caved and picked up a Switch 2 as a birthday present to myself, and paid the $10 for the Tears of the Kingdom upgrade. I've owned TotK since it came out, but when I got it I was already...I finally caved and picked up a Switch 2 as a birthday present to myself, and paid the $10 for the Tears of the Kingdom upgrade. I've owned TotK since it came out, but when I got it I was already so burned out by putting hundreds of hours into BotW that I never really put my heart into TotK before abandoning it. I vaguely remember discovering some item duplication glitch and using that to max out my energy cells and then using a hover bike build to bypass the whole map and hyperfocus on getting all the map towers, shrines, and light roots, and mostly ignored the story.
So now that some time has passed I'm getting back into it, starting over and playing it properly this time, and it's fun. Not a mind-blowing experience like BotW was, but it's basically like getting to play BotW over again with enough new mechanics and things to do/explore to keep it interesting. It could also be my poor memory, but the graphical upgrade when playing docked on my big TV actually is kind of mind blowing--the draw distance in the game is absolutely bonkers... I'll throw a marker on some tower I can see plainly in the distance and decide I'll go there next, only to discover that it's on the other side of the map and would probably take me hours to get there at this stage in the game.
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Comment on Part of me wishes it wasn't true but: AI coding is legit in ~tech
Rudism LinkI suppose if you're building something generic that's already been done a million times in the training data, and using a ubiquitious language like Javascript, the experience may be different....I suppose if you're building something generic that's already been done a million times in the training data, and using a ubiquitious language like Javascript, the experience may be different. I've mostly tried using it for building things that are way outside my wheelhouse, uncommon, and tough to research (for example I recently tried rubber ducking off an LLM to help me build a Pebble smartwatch app in C), and the experience has been uniformly hot garbage--confidently steers me in the wrong direction time after time, suggests solutions that can't and would never work, and writes code that doesn't compile and sends me on wild goose chases. Maybe AI coding has a place in certain kinds of work, but it's worse than useless for anything I've ever tried leaning on it for.
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Comment on Valve announces new hardware: Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine in ~games
Rudism LinkIf only I hadn't already gone through three different iterations of the Quest, with each one collecting more dust than the last, I'd be very interested in that Steam Frame. I think I'm at a point...If only I hadn't already gone through three different iterations of the Quest, with each one collecting more dust than the last, I'd be very interested in that Steam Frame. I think I'm at a point where I'm more or less done spending money on VR though, until the tech advances to the point where you can have it in an otherwise normal-looking pair of glasses form factor (ideally something I can switch on and off in my actual glasses that I wear for vision anyway).
Caring about personal privacy should be important to everyone, even if you think you "have nothing to hide."
The point of protecting and maintaining privacy is not just to hide your own criminal/embarrassing actions, it's about protecting yourself from the potential actions of others in power who might abuse and weaponize their access to your information against you.
I often feel like trying to explain this to a lot of people (across the whole spectrum of tech-savviness) is like talking to a brick wall.