space_cowboy's recent activity

  1. Comment on The tildeverse in ~comp

    space_cowboy
    Link Parent
    I'm glad to see other dorkweb readers here.

    I'm glad to see other dorkweb readers here.

  2. Comment on The tildeverse in ~comp

    space_cowboy
    Link
    I found this on the dork web and it made me think of another tildes web ;-)

    I found this on the dork web and it made me think of another tildes web ;-)

  4. Comment on How do you feel about safer kitchen knives? in ~food

    space_cowboy
    Link
    I think it's stupid. No, we should not make kitchen knives less useful because a tiny minority of sociopaths might kill someone with it.

    I think it's stupid. No, we should not make kitchen knives less useful because a tiny minority of sociopaths might kill someone with it.

    4 votes

  5. Comment on What skill were you once good at that is now completely irrelevant? in ~life

    space_cowboy
    Link
    Mad skill in Macromedia Freehand and ClarisWorks.

    Mad skill in Macromedia Freehand and ClarisWorks.

    10 votes

  6. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    space_cowboy
    Link Parent
    Sounds like a webfilter is installed on your work network, which is blocking these requests. If your IT department is reasonable, you might be able to get some exceptions coded into the webfilter...

    Sounds like a webfilter is installed on your work network, which is blocking these requests. If your IT department is reasonable, you might be able to get some exceptions coded into the webfilter if you submit a support ticket detailing your problem. Back when I was an admin, I helped some professors with the same kind of thing you're dealing with, which happened because of the webfilter being overly restrictive.

  8. Comment on Researchers have created glass which can bend and compress in ~science

  10. Comment on Let's Talk: What browser are you using? in ~talk

    space_cowboy
    Link Parent
    Have you tried the temporary container add-on? It's exactly what I hoped for with containers. If you enable automatic mode, it will create a new temporary container for every tab.

    Have you tried the temporary container add-on? It's exactly what I hoped for with containers. If you enable automatic mode, it will create a new temporary container for every tab.

    1 vote

  11. Comment on Linux Distro for an old PC in ~comp

    space_cowboy
    (edited )
    Link
    My old laptop had 4GB of RAM. With 4GB of RAM, Firefox would periodically eat up all the ram, causing my system to slow to a crawl until I reboot. My solution was to create a cgroup service to...

    My old laptop had 4GB of RAM. With 4GB of RAM, Firefox would periodically eat up all the ram, causing my system to slow to a crawl until I reboot. My solution was to create a cgroup service to kill firefox when it used 1GB of RAM - I tried setting it even lower, to 512MB, but Firefox wouldn't even run.

    At 256 MB, you would only be able to use less than 256 MB of RAM in order to not use too much virtual memory. Reading online, I saw that supposedly Opera has an even lower memory requirement than firefox, so I copied over my cgroups config, ran it, constraining the opera to just 64MB. It opened up, which was surprising, but it refused to open any web page. Same story at 128MB. So, the modern web is out of the picture for this computer.

    Here are some suggestions, of which only one is a linux distro:

    alpine linux - this is the most minimal distro I know of that can still be used as a desktop system. install icewm, dillo, netsurf, abiword, mpv. Have systemd manage the network. Dillo and netsurf are web browsers that only render html, but no javascript and barely any css. This leaves much of the modern web unusable, but it's the best you can do on that computer.

    haikuos - I've never actually used this, but haiku recently passed the beta phase in development. It has a low memory requirement and is pretty responsive, even on low-end systems.It's worth a try, although it might not work at all.

    openbsd - openbsd has come a long way since I first started using it. The installer is relatively friendly, compared to what it was before. The default desktop, fvwm would probably work fine, although I would recommend icewm or fluxbox. Same apps as above, but without the systemd -- but don't install network manager or anything like that.

    You'll have to do all the configuring to get things looking nice and working intuitvely. Don't make your grandpa do that stuff.

    Maybe set up some scripts and icons for playing different radio stations; that would be cool.

    3 votes

  12. Comment on 'Uber was supposed to be our public transit' in ~life

    space_cowboy
    Link Parent
    I was thinking the same thing. Why not just charge a fare of 25 cents per trip? That would more than pay for the service.

    I was thinking the same thing. Why not just charge a fare of 25 cents per trip? That would more than pay for the service.

    2 votes

  14. Comment on What are the best science fiction short stories, novellas, and novelettes you have ever read? in ~books

  15. Comment on The New 30-Something: Have you or haven’t you cut the financial cord with your family? in ~life

    space_cowboy
    Link
    I never had much financial support from my parents. My stepfather gave me a car when I was in my 20s - an old, beat up thing that would rattle like a jackhammer if I accelerated over 50, but as...

    I never had much financial support from my parents. My stepfather gave me a car when I was in my 20s - an old, beat up thing that would rattle like a jackhammer if I accelerated over 50, but as far as bills and money, I had to pay my own bills, and every year I would end up giving my parents $1000 or more, since I was the only one with a paycheck, albeit a rather meager one. After moving away to the city, I haven't received or expected any financial support from anyone in my family.

    When things got rough, foodstamps and unemployment helped until Republicans kicked the unemployment out from under me. I voluntarily gave up the foodstamp benefits when I didn't need them anymore. Fortunately, I found a job at the last minute.

    1 vote

  16. Comment on Haiku OS R1/beta1 has been released — first non-nightly release since 2012 in ~comp

    space_cowboy
    Link Parent
    Huh, first time learning TempleOS guy died.

    Huh, first time learning TempleOS guy died.

    3 votes

  17. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech

    space_cowboy
    Link Parent
    I remember VxWorks - that's that thing I remove from my router before installing Tomato, which, ironically is linux, haha.

    I remember VxWorks - that's that thing I remove from my router before installing Tomato, which, ironically is linux, haha.

    2 votes

  18. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech

    space_cowboy
    Link
    I love linux, but wouldn't an RTOS be a better choice?

    I love linux, but wouldn't an RTOS be a better choice?

  19. Comment on So, what have we all been playing? in ~games

    space_cowboy
    Link
    endless sky. If you've ever played the game "escape velocity Nova" by ambrosia software, you'll find this game to be very similar. It's a space combat and trading game, with similar art,...

    endless sky. If you've ever played the game "escape velocity Nova" by ambrosia software, you'll find this game to be very similar. It's a space combat and trading game, with similar art, mechanics, and balance to EV Nova, but with a lot more freedom and QOL built in. Currently, I've been farming automata for great good.

    1 vote

  20. Comment on What operating system do you use? in ~comp

    space_cowboy
    Link
    Home: Ubuntu. I'm running openbox with Compton on Ubuntu since my home laptop is an old and slow i3 with 4gb of RAM. I chose Ubuntu because it has a lot of mindshare and anything that is outdated...

    Home: Ubuntu. I'm running openbox with Compton on Ubuntu since my home laptop is an old and slow i3 with 4gb of RAM. I chose Ubuntu because it has a lot of mindshare and anything that is outdated or nonexistent in the repos is almost certainly available as a PPA, and it's stable enough that I don't have to worry about it not booting up after an apt full-upgrade.

    Work: OSX Sierra. That's what they give us. At least it's not Windows. I updated to the latest version to patch against KRACK.

    1 vote