xethos's recent activity
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Comment on Why does WhatsApp drain so much phone battery? in ~tech
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Comment on Fines doubled as teens outsmart Australia's world-first social media ban in ~tech
xethos Link ParentI mean, I am an outlier living in a city with competently run public transit, but mostly yes? Twitter or Instagram-exclusive means it's not for me. I've done both, drive around and look, and...I mean, I am an outlier living in a city with competently run public transit, but mostly yes? Twitter or Instagram-exclusive means it's not for me. I've done both, drive around and look, and just... call the business. I'll look up directions before I leave, remember addresses, and just generally live like it's 2006, [modified, 4G-enabled] BlackBerry and all. Biggest change is the mobile web has gotten (mostly) better.
The only flaw is how much harder it made dating, but I'll burn that bridge if I'm ever looking again - and I'm sure living in the small town of Red Deer, AB (at the time) didn't help
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Comment on Anyone had experience with Element and making friends on there? in ~tech
xethos Link ParentI don't recall actually having to use my keys... ever? I do have to put in what is effectively a second password (that I could choose, not the recovery key), and in ElementX I have "Allow Key...meaning you can lose your conversation history when installing on a new phone if you don't have the keys from your old one and no backup
I don't recall actually having to use my keys... ever? I do have to put in what is effectively a second password (that I could choose, not the recovery key), and in ElementX I have "Allow Key Storage" enabled, which would be enabling the exact behaviour I see.
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Comment on Google must pay record €4.1 billion fine, top EU court rules in ~tech
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Comment on Google must pay record €4.1 billion fine, top EU court rules in ~tech
xethos Link ParentTo call Google controlling (at the time of this lawsuit) is an understatement. The fact that Apple does not impose their will on other OEMs or hardware partners may not be great for those that...To call Google controlling (at the time of this lawsuit) is an understatement. The fact that Apple does not impose their will on other OEMs or hardware partners may not be great for those that dearly want to use iOS, but it's legal to refuse to sell their OS. Google's contractual requirements for selling an Android branded handset, on the other hand, were found abusive, illegal, and anti-competitive.
Simply put, there are some things money can't buy. A license to run iOS is one of them. That doesn't make Google's contract for hardware partners legal.
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Comment on Google must pay record €4.1 billion fine, top EU court rules in ~tech
xethos (edited )Link ParentEchoing sibling because the distinction matters a great deal. AOSP is Free-as-in-beer, Open Source Software. An egrigous example of AOSP being ignored is that AOSP includes the TalkBack...Echoing sibling because the distinction matters a great deal. AOSP is Free-as-in-beer, Open Source Software.
I hesitate to even call it FOSS because, while it absolutely still fits the definition, calling AOSP FOSS while (AFAIK) Google does not accept outside contributions, feels weird to me.An egrigous example of AOSP being ignored is that AOSP includes the TalkBack accessibility service for vision-limited users, but has no Text-to-Speech engine to actually make that accessibility service functional. This is hardly the only example, but it is my favourite, because TTS is for more than blind users - it's for everyone that wants spoken directions when driving, too. [1]Android, on the other hand, is a registered trademark. If you want to sell an Android branded handset, tablet, or smartwatch, you negotiate with the big G. For the longest time, they demanded their apps, pre-installed, front and center when the user first booted the device. It was so stringent, they mandated which page their apps showed up on, on the homescreen - along with a boatload of other requirements.
And while AOSP is open and free for all, to get the Play Store / Android Market and Android branding, OEMs could not (at the time of this lawsuit) do both Android and (for example) Amazon's AOSP-derived OS. I frankly struggle to convey just how thoroughly Google had locked down Android when this lawsuit finally came around [0]. Fortunately for Google, the suit was settled after nearly all other AOSP-derived OS' had been given up on, and after they'd killed off all other serious competition
While I have (so, so much) more to say on the subject, this'll just balloon in length if I don't cut it here. Suffice to say, AOSP and Android are not the same, much as Google might want people to conflate the two.
[0] Perhaps Ars can do a better job than me: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/07/googles-iron-grip-on-android-controlling-open-source-by-any-means-necessary/
[1] Paragraph edited and reworded for clarity after I was corrected below
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Comment on Reddit will require you to be logged in to use old.reddit.com in ~tech
xethos Link ParentIt's not, but it's also less garbage than the alternative. Not always easy to physically hit the touch targets on a 3.5" screen, but Vimium (the Firefox extension) works around that pretty...It's not, but it's also less garbage than the alternative. Not always easy to physically hit the touch targets on a 3.5" screen, but Vimium (the Firefox extension) works around that pretty smoothly with a physical keyboard too
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Comment on Reddit will require you to be logged in to use old.reddit.com in ~tech
xethos Link ParentI've got Redirector [0] set to send any www.reddit.com links to old.reddit.com on mobile (as well as xkcd -> m.xkcd), which makes everything pretty seamless. Requires Firefox Beta on Android...I've got Redirector [0] set to send any www.reddit.com links to old.reddit.com on mobile (as well as xkcd -> m.xkcd), which makes everything pretty seamless. Requires Firefox Beta on Android though.
[0] https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/redirector/
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Comment on Gander social launching on Canada Day in ~tech
xethos Link ParentFeels like the inverse of how Voat started with a userbase of "People Reddit banned" - if you're starting off with "People that are proud of being Canadian", I guess I'm not surprised by:attracted a lot of people pissed off about all the threats America was making to our sovereignty
Feels like the inverse of how Voat started with a userbase of "People Reddit banned" - if you're starting off with "People that are proud of being Canadian", I guess I'm not surprised by:
People [...] generally being nice because it's not full of bots and assholes
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Comment on Do you cook with cast iron? Is it the hassle everyone says it is? in ~food
xethos Link ParentWhen we fry bacon, we fry it seperately, then seperate out and keep the grease. I've never used butter for eggs (don't like the taste as much), but bacon fat is something I can't recommend enough...specifically when frying eggs
When we fry bacon, we fry it seperately, then seperate out and keep the grease. I've never used butter for eggs (don't like the taste as much), but bacon fat is something I can't recommend enough if your diet (not vegan, muslim(?), etc) allows it
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Comment on Do you cook with cast iron? Is it the hassle everyone says it is? in ~food
xethos Link ParentThat's actually what I use mine for most! Not scrambled either - sunny-side up or over-easy. Mine are well-seasoned enough that eggs pretty well just glide around after "breaking free" the edges.We cook eggs in ours occasionally
That's actually what I use mine for most! Not scrambled either - sunny-side up or over-easy. Mine are well-seasoned enough that eggs pretty well just glide around after "breaking free" the edges.
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Comment on Do you cook with cast iron? Is it the hassle everyone says it is? in ~food
xethos Link ParentWhy would anyone store them anywhere else (unless they're consistantly using the full amount of oven space they have)? I'll usually give mine a scrub with steel wool, towel dry, then heat up the...Why would anyone store them anywhere else (unless they're consistantly using the full amount of oven space they have)? I'll usually give mine a scrub with steel wool, towel dry, then heat up the oven (where they're stored) to ~350 to ensure they're truly, undeniably dry. I've found if I don't, I'll end up with a bit of rust over time.
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Comment on I'm ever more annoyed with Steam in ~games
xethos Link ParentI'm sympathetic, but I don't expect it to ever happen. Ever. Steam made a massive lift with WINE / Proton; they spend ungodly amounts of money, worked (AFAIK) politely and long-term with WINE's...I'm sympathetic, but I don't expect it to ever happen. Ever.
Steam made a massive lift with WINE / Proton; they spend ungodly amounts of money, worked (AFAIK) politely and long-term with WINE's stewards, and were unafraid of playing the long game.
Getting Proton off the ground, to not just be viable, but good (to the point Microsoft is targeting SteamOS as their performance benchmark [0]), was treated as life-or-death because Microsoft had recently revealed "Look, we could run everything through the Microsoft store - we can charge tolls, or even leverage owning the OS, the store, and the competing platform to turn dominance in one (the OS) into dominance in another (game stores)". Valve knows how Microsoft loves to abuse being a monopoly, and saw the writing on the wall.
Apple will never (IMO) get a Proton equivalent because Apple is the same. Same notarization, same locked-by-default OS, same "Our way or the highway" attitide that spooked Valve to the tune of millions of dollars spent on Proton.
The hardware's nice, but Valve knows it's a trap, and a gilded cage that will not serve them long-term.
[0] Relatively clean link, with a source cited in-story, and Microsoft News shouldn't be too hard on MS: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/microsoft-targets-steamos-level-gaming-with-windows-11-overhaul/gm-GMA80B85E5
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Comment on The rise of build-to-rent housing in ~finance
xethos Link ParentFirst one sounds like a... lack of parking complaint? I'm honestly not sure how else this would affect you or your neighbours, let alone be something you have grounds to complain about. I'm open...clearly having way too many people living there, engaging in shady behavior, harassing neighbors, getting constant noise complaints
First one sounds like a... lack of parking complaint? I'm honestly not sure how else this would affect you or your neighbours, let alone be something you have grounds to complain about. I'm open to being wrong though, is there something I missed about too many people per house / unit?
The latter three though are, IMO, what bylaw and law enforcement are for. That's who a local landlord would escalate to as well, isnt' it? I can recognize Americans have a... complicated... relationship with the cops, but one very common complaint is how frequently they side with capital. I.E., the home-owning class.
Local landlords are better, sure, but I have a much easier time with TMarkos' comment regarding capital leaving the community than complaints that, personally, I'd be talking to tenants directly with first, then calling non-emergency police numbers or bylaw enforcement over.
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Comment on US FBI says Google engineer used internal search data to win $1.2M on Polymarket in ~tech
xethos Link ParentBecause a stance like that leads to "The sitting president black-bagged a foreign head of state, so I shouldn't be held accountable for kidnapping my neighbour's daughter" I'm not going to try and...Because a stance like that leads to "The sitting president black-bagged a foreign head of state, so I shouldn't be held accountable for kidnapping my neighbour's daughter"
I'm not going to try and put those exact words in your mouth, but that's where those "He got away with murder, so why should we be prosecuted" lines lead
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Comment on Utah's shrinking lake: a scientific asset and a crisis in ~enviro
xethos Link ParentIt means you were meant to fail that portion of the test. The next portion of your struggle is something to build you as a person, to help you learn and practice empathy, or to help you practice...It means you were meant to fail that portion of the test. The next portion of your struggle is something to build you as a person, to help you learn and practice empathy, or to help you practice strength and patience.
Failure of one portion is not failure of the whole, and learning to accept that is part of life.
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Comment on Utah's shrinking lake: a scientific asset and a crisis in ~enviro
xethos Link ParentWithout being religious, I always saw the other side of that phrase: if this is the hand you've been dealt, then you can handle it. You're stronger than you assume, even if you don't want to be,...Without being religious, I always saw the other side of that phrase: if this is the hand you've been dealt, then you can handle it. You're stronger than you assume, even if you don't want to be, even if it's not fair to be put on you. You will make it through, and be alright after
That said, I'm also positive to being just this side of delusional
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Comment on Smartphone recommendations? in ~tech
xethos Link ParentPoint of note, because while I agree with almost everything you've said, it's not Android that gets slower and heavier every year, but Google's software. GApps, Google Play Services, the Play...Point of note, because while I agree with almost everything you've said, it's not Android that gets slower and heavier every year, but Google's software. GApps, Google Play Services, the Play Store, Firebase Cloud Messaging, etc. Dropping these will have a massive imapct on performance, percieved and actual speed, and battery life.
That doesn't make it feasible for most people, and we agree that this isn't a realistic solution for the vast majority. But Android is fine - all of Google's software, however, assumes you have Silicon-Valley engineer-tier hardware
I had to de-Google my BlackBerry Key1, and it ran fine for several years after dropping all Google software. Now, with a newer (but out of habit, de-Googled phone), I routinely have ~9GB RAM free (out of 12). It's insane how so few people realize the performance impact when Google Play Services runs on pretty well every Android device out there.
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Comment on Nobody understands the point of hybrid cars in ~transport
xethos Link ParentIncluding maintenance, downtime, and fuel consumption, diesel were actually more expensive to run last I checked. Electricity is relatively cheap in Vancouver, and diesel... well, diesel is not....Including maintenance, downtime, and fuel consumption, diesel were actually more expensive to run last I checked. Electricity is relatively cheap in Vancouver, and diesel... well, diesel is not. Especially this year.
Upfront costs are higher, and training drivers takes an extra day or two, but neither is a great reason to skip having them - especially considering the lack of engine noise. They do best with dense areas, with lots of start and stop, and a decent number of hills though, which doesn't fit the profile of everywhere one might want to use them
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Comment on Nobody understands the point of hybrid cars in ~transport
xethos Link ParentThe trolley busses in Vancouver do this as well, with the majority of the braking force coming from sending current back up through the wiresThe trolley busses in Vancouver do this as well, with the majority of the braking force coming from sending current back up through the wires
If it's not immediately duplicable on others' iPhones, I wonder if it's related to how many (and how acive) group chats you're included in