stu2b50's recent activity
-
Comment on Tomorrow's wireless world will be fatter, faster, and creepier in ~comp
-
Comment on Fortnightly Programming Q&A Thread in ~comp
stu2b50 Link ParentI took a glance at the reddit frontpage and what I suspect is the issue is that reddit uses all relative links. For instance, here's one of the anchor tags <a data-click-id="body"...I took a glance at the reddit frontpage and what I suspect is the issue is that reddit uses all relative links. For instance, here's one of the anchor tags
<a data-click-id="body" class="SQnoC3ObvgnGjWt90zD9Z _2INHSNB8V5eaWp4P0rY_mE" href="/r/AskReddit/comments/osoje1/you_wake_up_tomorrow_with_jeff_bezos_current_net/">So, no
www.reddit.comto replace, unfortunately. You can, instead, check for the/r/prefix in a href and injectwww.old.reddit.comin front of the url. -
Comment on Amazon’s mission: Getting a ‘key’ to your apartment building in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentFor Amazon specifically there are also Amazon lockers sprinkled throughout the US where you can pick up packages instead. You scan a QR code at the locker and someone brings it out for you. You...For Amazon specifically there are also Amazon lockers sprinkled throughout the US where you can pick up packages instead. You scan a QR code at the locker and someone brings it out for you.
You also get one day shipping (and 0 day shipping for some items), I suppose since they skip the last mile part.
In general, for expensive items you can request the carrier to require a signature.
-
Comment on Amazon’s mission: Getting a ‘key’ to your apartment building in ~tech
stu2b50 LinkHm, I would support Amazon having a key to my apartment complex. They would join all the other private sector delivery companies - FedEx and UPS already get access. Saves some stress over package...Hm, I would support Amazon having a key to my apartment complex. They would join all the other private sector delivery companies - FedEx and UPS already get access. Saves some stress over package thieves, and the elements.
So for the most part I would have no issue as a tenant if this was brought up - or not brought up and just done.
-
Comment on My fanless OpenBSD desktop in ~comp
stu2b50 Link ParentThis is just an informational reply, since there's no indication of this on the post, but the author is a somewhat significant OpenBSD contributor so it makes sense on just that level. As to why...This is just an informational reply, since there's no indication of this on the post, but the author is a somewhat significant OpenBSD contributor so it makes sense on just that level. As to why he got into the ecosystem, I don't know, but his bio does say
I have been an OpenBSD developer (jcs@) since 2001. I initially focused on ports and packages that pertained to the use of OpenBSD at my day job, then slowly moved into writing userland and then kernel code.
So it seems that use at where he was working back in 2001 was an influence.
something missing from Linux or Unix
Pedantry, but BSD is a Unix OS - in a technically true but useless manner, the BSD derived OSes (OpenBSD, FreeBSD, MacOS [yes, MacOS is more Unix than Linux]) are actually truer to the UNIX philosophy than Linux is, with Darwin being one of the few POSIX certified kernels.
-
Comment on Purism (a creator of FOSS friendly hardware such as laptops and a smartphone) is seeking investment from individuals in ~comp
stu2b50 Link ParentI mean the fact that they have to do this at all indicates they're not doing very hot. While convertible debt isn't too strange, even forgetting the weird crowd funding angle it's not a great look...I mean the fact that they have to do this at all indicates they're not doing very hot. While convertible debt isn't too strange, even forgetting the weird crowd funding angle it's not a great look - it usually means you're not in a position of power relative to the lender since you have to sweeten the pot.
Add in that they're raising debt... by pseudo-crowdfunding? At 3% when interest rates have fallen off a cliff? With a bonus 8% in case of a liquidation event? That has to mean that they can't get much better traditional financing, presumably for a reason. The only pro for them is that they're going to get money from people who aren't going to ask to look at the SPC's balance sheet, or get a debt grading that's not going to be attractive.
The casual mention on the page that
The investor is stating to be an accredited investor according to Rule 501 under the Securities Act of 1933.
is, uh, not confidence inspiring either. Be to an accredited investor (and to be legally allowed to own private equity), you have to either have a net worth >1 million or earn >200k in annual income. Somehow I'm not confident every dollar of that apparent 3m is by accredited investors per the SEC definition.
Idk the whole thing just seems so janky.
-
Comment on EVGA confirms it's replacing all its RTX 3090s killed by Amazon's New World MMO in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentI wouldn't blame the game in this case. There should be no load you can run on a modern GPU that causes it to brick itself. That just shouldn't be possible. Of course, that's an ideal - there are...I wouldn't blame the game in this case. There should be no load you can run on a modern GPU that causes it to brick itself. That just shouldn't be possible.
Of course, that's an ideal - there are edge cases and exploits in real life, but certainly no genuine, non-malicious loads should be anywhere near bricking a modern GPU.
Doubly so for one that runs perfectly fine on other GPUs from other suppliers.
Whether or not it runs inefficiently is a sin Amazon can have in this case, but the blame for the 3090 is entirely on EVGA.
-
Comment on I’ve landed my first interview! Any advice? in ~life
stu2b50 LinkIt depends on what kind of interview it is. In any interview, it's really key to be calm... but that's not very helpful. If it's a "technical" interview, wherein you are asked to solve a technical...It depends on what kind of interview it is. In any interview, it's really key to be calm... but that's not very helpful.
If it's a "technical" interview, wherein you are asked to solve a technical question, my advice is to never stop talking - keep a constant stream of consciousness going. It gives the interviewer a glimpse into your thought process, which is a major part of what they're looking for - oftentimes more than getting the correct answer (Also, there's like an entire industry of interview prep for programming technicals now - leetcode, CTCI, elements, etc.)
For behavioral interviews, well, you can look up the STAR method. Never really got into it. In general these are going to be more variable depending on who is interviewing you. Stay calm (not that that's useful advice), and on a slightly unethical note, you don't really have to fully truthful so long as you're consistent.
-
Comment on Why is there trouble finding web developers that live in the US? in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentI mean this really tells the whole story I know there's a + there, but it's still the wrong order of magnitude. I'm not even sure I'd consider myself a midlevel engineer and $1m wouldn't be enough...I mean this really tells the whole story
$1M+ price tag, will take up to one year, and involves heavy web e-commerce and image rendering. Very ambitious project. Will take a team of 10-20 and long term dev contracts.
...
...desperately need the Project Manager level developers to Lead the Teams
I know there's a + there, but it's still the wrong order of magnitude. I'm not even sure I'd consider myself a midlevel engineer and $1m wouldn't be enough to pay 4 of me to work on it for a year, forget senior/staff level engineers.
The US actually does have a short supply of senior engineers in all development fields (only relative to demand, though - there's plenty of them that exist, just far more roles), and the ones that do have that experience can command half of their entire budget in just their own compensation.
-
Comment on Why is there trouble finding web developers that live in the US? in ~tech
stu2b50 Link ParentEh, I think that's something that seems far more prevalent than it is really. For one, when you hire H1-Bs these are the actual qualifications you need to fulfill for the US government It's only...Eh, I think that's something that seems far more prevalent than it is really. For one, when you hire H1-Bs these are the actual qualifications you need to fulfill for the US government
Bachelor's or higher degree or its equivalent is normally the minimum entry requirement for the position.
The degree requirement for the job is common to the industry, or the job is so complex or unique that it can be performed only by an individual with a degree.
The employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for the position.
The nature of the specific duties is so specialized and complex that the knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree.
It's only when you are "H1-B dependent" that you must "prove that there are no US workers available", and that status applies to very, very few major companies.
Furthermore, when you hire an H1B worker you have to pay them the "prevailing wage" which is between the 60th to 80th percentile in the area depending on which administration it is. There's definitely cheaper labor!
-
Comment on Why is there trouble finding web developers that live in the US? in ~tech
stu2b50 LinkI would say it's probably something specific to his situation: trying to contract web development work out to a third party. That already implies that the company doesn't really care about that...I would say it's probably something specific to his situation: trying to contract web development work out to a third party. That already implies that the company doesn't really care about that web framework too much (if they'd did, they would be hiring an inhouse team to handle it - it's a common mistake to thing that tech stacks are things that you can just buy and leave there like a piece of machinery!).
The market for "consultants who get you something that vaguely works for the cheapest possible price" is going to have mainly developers from cheaper localities that accept cheaper wages on a dollar basis - that's how you get the cheapest possible price. US developers are just too expensive for that.
On the other hand, you do have companies like Accenture who will get you contracted work made by US developers, but they're probably not even being considered because it's going to cost the company an arm and a leg too much.
I'm sure there's plenty of supply for people hiring employees in house - a lot of coding bootcamps these days.
-
Comment on I am fighting back by switching this website from HTML to PDF in ~comp
stu2b50 Link ParentThere's no particular reason. I don't think that much about word choice when posting in online forums-like places - after all, it's not that serious of a medium. Mostly just stream of mind. I use...There's no particular reason. I don't think that much about word choice when posting in online forums-like places - after all, it's not that serious of a medium. Mostly just stream of mind. I use orthogonal a fair amount as a word in that context so it just comes up.
-
Comment on I am fighting back by switching this website from HTML to PDF in ~comp
stu2b50 Link ParentI don't think laypeople appreciate the web in that direct of a technological way, but I do think they do, though. Webapps are a big jump in "it just works". You don't have to install anything, you...I don't think laypeople appreciate the web in that direct of a technological way, but I do think they do, though. Webapps are a big jump in "it just works". You don't have to install anything, you don't have to worry about malware, you just go to the page and it just works. And it works the same on all your devices - no downloads, no installs, no license transfers.
Like my parents have gone full g-suite, and while they can't derive the why and what of their gains, they do see this "it just works" as a major benefit over their old model of computing.
-
Comment on I am fighting back by switching this website from HTML to PDF in ~comp
stu2b50 Link ParentIt means that the discussion item brought up is unrelated. If you're curious on the origin, two vectors are considered orthogonal if they have a dot product of 0. You can see the dot product in a...It means that the discussion item brought up is unrelated.
If you're curious on the origin, two vectors are considered orthogonal if they have a dot product of 0. You can see the dot product in a cartesian context as the projection of one vector onto another - so if they have a dot product of 0, that implies that these two vectors share no commonality.
Probably easier to see in 2D. These two vectors are parallel - they would have the maximal dot product (of their magnitudes multiplied together)
-----> -------->These vectors are orthogonal. They have a dot product of 0.
^ | | | ---------> -
Comment on Japanese police arrest man for selling modded save files for single-player Nintendo game in ~games
stu2b50 Link ParentThis is Japan, after all. Fairly unlikely. There's a reason Phoenix Wright comes out of Japan - seriously, you can look it up, in Japan there is an over 99% conviction rate. If this guy got to the...This is Japan, after all. Fairly unlikely. There's a reason Phoenix Wright comes out of Japan - seriously, you can look it up, in Japan there is an over 99% conviction rate.
If this guy got to the point where they arrest him, it's just a matter of how severe the sentencing wil be.
-
Comment on I am fighting back by switching this website from HTML to PDF in ~comp
stu2b50 Link ParentThis has circled around a few too many times, so I'll leave this with my thoughts on PDF from a human reader's perspective. I think it's really bad. My first contribution to this discussion was...This has circled around a few too many times, so I'll leave this with my thoughts on PDF from a human reader's perspective.
I think it's really bad. My first contribution to this discussion was about an experience converting PDFs to ePUBs - there was a reason for that. Apart from some specific niches, I find reading on PDFs to be much inferior to ePUB (which, in the end, is a bag of xhtml files with metadata).
With ePubs, I can
-
Change the fonts
-
Change the font size
-
Text reflow is seamless, perfect, does not require anything from the creator
-
Can change the text color trivially
-
Can change the background color trivially
With PDFs, you are really at the mercy of whoever created the PDF, and what dimensions they designed it for. Certainly PDFs have their niche, when you want things to be look strictly as the author intended. But in many cases, for text documents of text, hyperlinks, and images, I couldn't be arsed what the author intended - I want to read in a layout that is comfortable to me, on the device I'm currently on.
That's applies to ePub vs PDF, and that applies to HTML/CommonMark vs PDF for a web format.
-
-
Comment on I am fighting back by switching this website from HTML to PDF in ~comp
stu2b50 Link ParentIs it? I also opened it on an iPhone. The problem is the lack of dynamic layout - not a con per se, sometimes the precise layout of a page is important, but clearly suboptimal for displaying a...It's totally fine on my iPhone, but I admit that's due to Apple having a really good PDF viewer built in to Safari.
Is it? I also opened it on an iPhone. The problem is the lack of dynamic layout - not a con per se, sometimes the precise layout of a page is important, but clearly suboptimal for displaying a page of text to a phone screen. The text is tiny, and the margins take up too much space - you have to manually zoom in.
Outside of web pages, you don't see people publishing to .htm files and sharing them
You actually do, though. Perhaps not raw, but there's a whole host of "html/xhtml in a bag" formats. Docx is one of them; ePub is another.
Again, I feel like you're just digressing here. No, I'm not saying HTML is an objectively better format in every way to PDF. I'm saying, as per the topic of the website, it's a vastly superior document format for websites than PDFs. More indexable, simpler to work with programmatically, supports user styling, strict layouts are mostly a con in this medium.
I feel like I'm wrangling cats - fundamentally, is PDF a good format for document websites? I'll say no, for the myriad of reasons above. There are many better formats, HTML included.
-
Comment on I am fighting back by switching this website from HTML to PDF in ~comp
stu2b50 Link ParentThat's really orthogonal to the point, though. This thread has a lot of pushback against PDF, and PDF as a "better" format than other easily available, well defined, more modern, easier to work...I'd love it if more websites were published as such. But, that's not the world we live in.
That's really orthogonal to the point, though. This thread has a lot of pushback against PDF, and PDF as a "better" format than other easily available, well defined, more modern, easier to work with formats - plain HTML just being an obvious one. Not to mention one more amenable to different screen resolutions - this page is not fun to go on on a phone.
Whether or not the modern web, clearly it doesn't, is full of plain HTML is completely off in some other island of discussion. Basically, the website creator can just as well protest against the tyranny of javascript with plain HTML - it would, in fact, be a much better experience in multiple ways than the PDF document he has now.
I'm not skeptical. An XML based document format is so much easier to work with than PDF. Not even close.
-
Comment on I am fighting back by switching this website from HTML to PDF in ~comp
stu2b50 Link ParentI mean we're pretty far off topic. Circling back, First, I concur with the OP that text indexing on PDFs is no doubt significantly worse than on other document formats, including HTML documents....I mean we're pretty far off topic. Circling back,
First, I concur with the OP that text indexing on PDFs is no doubt significantly worse than on other document formats, including HTML documents. The format simply is not made for programmatic traversal - not to mention being a complex beast over all the ages of iteration. Any student who has ever CTRL+F'd a PDF textbook can tell you that much.
Secondly, why is the comparison even between a dynamic website with javascript and PDFs? That is the dichotomy the parent website made, but it's not one that needs to exist in reality. I presume it's a PDF simply for shock value.
You could, y'know, have a HTML website without javascript. Then you have a nice, clean tree based document format that's easy to parse, people on mobile can look at it without having to horziontally scroll. That's another way to "protest" against the modern web.
Or go the way of Gemini and use a markdown based document spec.
-
Comment on I am fighting back by switching this website from HTML to PDF in ~comp
stu2b50 Link ParentYes, I would say. HTML by itself is fairly predictable, especially if you limit yourself to strictly formatted HTML. If you try and allow for malformed HTML it gets trickier, but in general it's...Yes, I would say. HTML by itself is fairly predictable, especially if you limit yourself to strictly formatted HTML. If you try and allow for malformed HTML it gets trickier, but in general it's pretty easy to work with. Well formed HTML is just a tree. It's a thing of beauty compared to PDF parsing.
In terms of JS, the deeper into shadow DOM you get the wackier it gets, but apart from canvas apps, at least in the end it does have to present a DOM to rendered, so you can use selenium or something.
Out of all the document formats that exist today, PDF has to be one of the worst to work from a programming point of view. The good parts is compatibility, and strict layouts, but it's definitely god awful to do anything with than view.
Tbh that is somewhat ludditish now. Wires made sense in the world where people have desktop computers, where they sit down at a designated place to do their computing. There, wires are reliable and hey, you’re going to have to be near this big tower anyway.
But today, the primary computer most people have is their smartphone. Even people with computers have laptops. Towers are a small minority of computing devices. People use these smartphones, tablets, laptops anywhere and everywhere - on a couch, in one hand while making coffee, in bed, on a subway, etc.
In this model, wires do not make sense, and I do not see it moving back to the sit near tower model anytime soon.