zoroa's recent activity
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Comment on Skate Story | Official launch trailer in ~games
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Skate Story | Official launch trailer
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Comment on Crunchyroll to end ad-supported streaming at the end of 2025 in ~anime
zoroa LinkIn practice, I'm pretty sure Crunchyroll has only been useful for premium subscribers for almost 4 years now. Way back in 2022, they moved all of their simulcast series to premium only:...In practice, I'm pretty sure Crunchyroll has only been useful for premium subscribers for almost 4 years now.
Way back in 2022, they moved all of their simulcast series to premium only: https://web.archive.org/web/20220327075951/https://help.crunchyroll.com/hc/en-us/articles/4962816171412-Changes-to-Ad-Supported-Viewing-
They introduced a "free sampler" section where you could watch a couple ad-supported episodes, but it was extremely limited.
I haven't been able to find any official crunchyroll announcements about this, but there are a bunch of threads from 2022-2023 where of people complaining that formerly free shows were moved to be premium only:
- Did everything on Crunchyroll just become premium?
- Why are so many formerly free shows now premium only?
- Is crunchyroll still free with ads?
And the article highlights that this effort seems to have accelerated at the end of last year.
Anecdotally, the last time I watched anime on Crunchyroll seems to have been right in the middle of this in Summer 2022. Every time I've checked the site since, the volume of ad-supported content I wanted to watch was becoming vanishingly small
I'm kinda sad about this. I'm nostalgic for when Crunchyroll was my primary way to consume the medium about 15 years ago. Sure the website was ass and the app was worse, but it was a free and legal way to access a pretty big catalog of content. And you could even watch a lot of the newest stuff on a one week delay. Which was huge for me as a kid with no disposable income, and parents would not have even entertained the thought.
I wonder if Crunchyroll primarily viewed their ad-tier as a vehicle to introduce people to the medium, which isn't as useful anymore. Anime is more mainstream and more accessible than ever. If you wanted to try a new series, you're probably already subscribed to a service that has a decent section of anime titles. If you get hooked on the medium, Crunchyroll is basically the only service for North American viewers who want a bigger catalog. And they're probably fine alienating folks on the free-tier who would never consider paying, especially given the increasing quality of streaming on pirate sites.
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Comment on [SOLVED] USB hub with a detachable cable? in ~tech
zoroa Link ParentEnded up sizing up and getting the 7 port version. It seems like everything I need is working fine off of bus-power, and having the hub behind my monitor solves a bunch of annoyances I had with my...Ended up sizing up and getting the 7 port version. It seems like everything I need is working fine off of bus-power, and having the hub behind my monitor solves a bunch of annoyances I had with my desk setup.
Thanks again!
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Comment on Advice/Suggestions on headphones or earbuds while listening to voices in the same room in ~tech
zoroa LinkOpen-back headphones might be what you're looking for: they're headphones that aren't sealed on the back of the cup that goes around your ear. There are some acoustic benefits to this, but, more...Open-back headphones might be what you're looking for: they're headphones that aren't sealed on the back of the cup that goes around your ear.
There are some acoustic benefits to this, but, more relevant to your question, it means that you can hear your surroundings much more easily with them on. But the street goes both ways, since your audio will also leak out a bit into the room.
I'm a fellow glasses wearer, and basically have the Sennheiser HD 58X on my head all day. I like them a lot, and enjoy them for games and music. They were way cheaper when I bought them new ($160 - $20 coupon) though.
Open back IEMs are also a thing (e.g KZ Ling Long for $20) but I have no experience with them to know how much ambient sound they let in. The market for very-cheap, good sounding in-ears has exploded in the last decade so I wouldn't be adverse to just buying a couple and trying them.
On-ear phones might also be a decent fit. They're headphones that rest on your ear (vs over and around your ear), which means that they can't form a seal and let you hear more of your surroundings.
I don't have personal experience with them, but the most popular on-ears I know of are the Koss Porta Pros (~$30-40 for the wired versions)
It'd be really helpful if you put a number on your budget :). One person's cheap could be "$50" and another's could be "$200".
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Comment on Building the perfect Linux PC with Linus Torvalds in ~tech
zoroa Link ParentHaven't watched an LTT video besides the WAN show in years, this is going to be the one to break the streak. Thanks for sharing creesch!Haven't watched an LTT video besides the WAN show in years, this is going to be the one to break the streak. Thanks for sharing creesch!
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Comment on Firefox 147 will support the XDG Base Directory specification in ~comp
zoroa Link ParentI've never used it, but I've seen people post about xdg-ninja a couple times over the years.I've never used it, but I've seen people post about xdg-ninja a couple times over the years.
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Comment on [SOLVED] USB hub with a detachable cable? in ~tech
zoroa Link ParentOh god, I have the worst tunnel vision. I own this device and I'm using it right now 😂 You're totally right that this hits every need I have. I'll probably need to buy one of the bigger models to...Oh god, I have the worst tunnel vision.
I own this device and I'm using it right now 😂
You're totally right that this hits every need I have. I'll probably need to buy one of the bigger models to fit everything I need on it.
Thank you.
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[SOLVED] USB hub with a detachable cable?
My life story before the recipe. Been working on cable managing my desk, and figured that mounting a USB hub behind my monitor would be an easy way to keep some ports in reach without them being...
My life story before the recipe.
Been working on cable managing my desk, and figured that mounting a USB hub behind my monitor would be an easy way to keep some ports in reach without them being on my desk.
I don't need anything fancy, just a couple usb ports. I thought it'd be pretty straightforward to find a cheap hub, that either had a long integrated cable or let me bring my own to route from my monitor to my desktop.
Boy was I wrong.
It seems that the vast majority of USB hubs have integrated cables, and those cables are super short. Detachable cables seem to only become common above my budget (~$50), and also include a bunch of features I don't need (charging, networking, display out, etc...).
"but /u/zoroa, why not just grab the first hub you see, a usb extender, and call it a day?" As far as I understand, USB-C male to USB-C female cables aren't compliant with the USB standard and can potentially cause issues. My google-fu isn't good enough to tell whether the same applies to USB-A male to USB-A female cables, so I'm just assuming that they are also non-compliant.
I'm looking for a USB hub that:
- Has at least 4 usb ports
- The USB ports are all along the same edge of the device. (For easy access even when the hub is behind my monitor)
- Can be bus-powered (i.e. doesn't need to be plugged into an outlet)
- Has a detachable cable for the connection from the hub to my computer
It'd also be nice if it:
- Was USB 3.0
- Cost less than $50 USD
- Had a mix of USB-A and USB-C
- Didn't look ugly
I've spent a couple hours looking, and the only hub I've found that hits my hard requirements the 4 port and 7 port variants of a hub from
StarTech.com. I was curious if anyone was aware of anything better in this price range, before I just pull the trigger.17 votes -
Comment on Strange YouTube watch-tracking behavior in ~tech
zoroa LinkThis happens to me, in two different scenarios There's one that's somewhat infrequent, but sometimes YouTube seems to track how long a video plays when I hover over a thumbnail. And will bring me...This happens to me, in two different scenarios
There's one that's somewhat infrequent, but sometimes YouTube seems to track how long a video plays when I hover over a thumbnail. And will bring me back to where I stopped if I ever click on that video in the future.
There's other times where, like you, I find a video through search and YouTube starts me somewhere in the middle of the video.
My assumption was that this was YouTube's attempt to guess the most relevant section of the video to my query, and jump me straight there. I know this was a thing on Google Search when you searched for a video, so I assumed that YouTube might've been extending that behavior more broadly.
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Comment on Valve announces new hardware: Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine in ~games
zoroa Link ParentIf I remember correctly that was a pretty common complaint when it was released. I ended up growing to like it, since I found the trackpads so effective at replacing the trackpad and the dpad....I will also put myself on record as someone who didn’t like the original Steam Controller on account of its lack of a d-pad and second stick. The touchpads were cool and did enable some unique and intuitive uses, but I thought those came at the expense of some basic functionality.
If I remember correctly that was a pretty common complaint when it was released. I ended up growing to like it, since I found the trackpads so effective at replacing the trackpad and the dpad. It's to the point that my initial reaction to the new Steam Controller was "oh wow this looks crowded, did we really need a trackpad and a d-pad?". Granted I've never touched a Steam Deck, so maybe it's a non-issue.
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Comment on Valve announces new hardware: Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine in ~games
zoroa LinkI'm really excited for Steam Controller 2. One of my core memories from the pandemic was playing Among Us, before they added controller support, while completely wrapped in a blanket since I could...I'm really excited for Steam Controller 2.
One of my core memories from the pandemic was playing Among Us, before they added controller support, while completely wrapped in a blanket since I could map the mouse controls to the gyroscope on my Steam Controller. If you put the time in, you could really make control schemes that transformed how you experienced games. Hopefully, Valve figured out a way to make that configuration a little less daunting.
I'm sad that I can't justify buying the new controller, since because I still own 4 of the originals (3 of them are still in their boxes) :(
Releasing a new Steam Machine right now makes so much sense. Valve has proved that they can provide a compelling console-like experience with the Steam Deck. This increased compute power addresses one of the Steam Deck's growing weaknesses without making Valve renege on their "no new Steam Decks for a while" promise.
The pricing is going to be so interesting. They could potentially go incredibly aggressive and price this around the Steam Deck's price, by leveraging increased spending on Steam to make up the difference. Which is notable given the context that the next Xbox is alleged to be a "a Very Premium, Very High-End Curated Experience" (translation: $$$$$).
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Comment on What are your favorite simple pleasures? in ~talk
zoroa Link ParentHyper specific When your band mate does unexpectedly does something sick, it takes you a second to process but then you get hype. (basically what happens at 7:03 to the bassist when the pianist...Hyper specific
When your band mate does unexpectedly does something sick, it takes you a second to process but then you get hype. (basically what happens at 7:03 to the bassist when the pianist hits a borrowed chord (?))
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Comment on What are your favorite simple pleasures? in ~talk
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Comment on How has AI positively impacted your life? in ~tech
zoroa Link ParentIf I'm understanding correctly, the value you're getting here is that AI assistance is making context switching easier so you don't need continuous blocks of time to make meaningful progress?What's more, they don't have to be consecutive hours - I can work mostly in my head, thinking about the system design. The rest I can do with AI assistance with just minutes here and there: working my notes into a plan, having AI execute the plan, reviewing the work, these are all major units of work but only require a minute of my time here and there.
If I'm understanding correctly, the value you're getting here is that AI assistance is making context switching easier so you don't need continuous blocks of time to make meaningful progress?
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Comment on How has AI positively impacted your life? in ~tech
zoroa Link ParentHow valuable to do you find the LLM's feedback on your art. Do you find that gives you feedback that leads to you making better art?LLMs can also be used to critique or get feedback on your art. The feedback is usually a bit shallow, but it helps you explore the domain a bit, serving as a first pass. If you're just making casual paintings, it's hard to get anyone to engage with you and provide constructive feedback.
How valuable to do you find the LLM's feedback on your art. Do you find that gives you feedback that leads to you making better art?
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Comment on How has AI positively impacted your life? in ~tech
zoroa Link ParentHas there been a large paradigm shift away from "neuron activations", or are the architecture changes more along the lines of refinements of that idea. If you have any papers that you find...I can build and run predictive models on a single workstation now that outperform weeks or months of work on an entire cluster in the past.
Has there been a large paradigm shift away from "neuron activations", or are the architecture changes more along the lines of refinements of that idea. If you have any papers that you find interesting on this topic, I'd love to read them.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
zoroa LinkSkate Story (demo) Skate Story has been my most anticipated game since it was featured in Summer Games Fest back in 2022 (!!!). After 2 delays, it finally got a release date and dropped a demo. I...Skate Story (demo)
Skate Story has been my most anticipated game since it was featured in Summer Games Fest back in 2022 (!!!). After 2 delays, it finally got a release date and dropped a demo.
I am not a skater. I have no attachment to the sport, the culture, or any of the cult classic skateboarding video games. What I wanted out of Skate Story was for it to deliver on the vibes that it sold me in its 2022 trailer :
- gameplay that makes me feel cool
- great music
- beautiful graphics
- humor + philosophy (?) that comes out of parodying skate culture onto the supernatural.
My biggest worry going into the demo was that the actual skateboarding would get in the way of me enjoying the rest of the game.
It was immediately clear to me in the first 10 minutes that worry was going to be a non issue, and that Skate Story delivers. So much so that I put the demo down midway through the tutorial, so that I could just enjoy the game in its entirety when it releases.
Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved (Demo)
I was browsing through Steam for demos to try, and ended up stumbling on Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved. I don't remember what prompted me to click on it, maybe it was that it reminded me a bit of an anime I liked (Monster). Either way, I ended up playing through the demo and really enjoying it.
It made me nostalgic for anime/manga I've enjoyed in the past (the art of Monster, the detective work in Detective Conan, etc...). I really liked the music. The point-and-click gameplay seems fine, and the story seems compelling enough to make me want to see it through.
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Comment on How has AI positively impacted your life? in ~tech
zoroa Link ParentI was under the impression that many of the models weren't as good at non-English languages, so hearing that you're getting value at a post-grad level is very interesting.Finding Chinese-language primary source documents (mostly Chinese-language news articles and government documents) is so much easier now.
I was under the impression that many of the models weren't as good at non-English languages, so hearing that you're getting value at a post-grad level is very interesting.
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Comment on How has AI positively impacted your life? in ~tech
zoroa Link ParentBasically for the reason you outline in your second sentence. I've been "strongly encouraged" to use AI at work as much as possible, so I've had grapple with my feelings towards the tech. The...Why these things specifically, if I may ask? They seem to be doing a lot of harm in society with very little tangible benefit and personally I have no interest in using them.
Basically for the reason you outline in your second sentence.
I've been "strongly encouraged" to use AI at work as much as possible, so I've had grapple with my feelings towards the tech. The harms are very obvious to me, so much so that I found it hard to look past them and find those positives. The people in my life who "evangelise" AI don't do it in a way that feels genuine (influencers, company leadership). So I was mainly looking for genuine perspectives from folks who aren't trying to get me to drink the koolaid.
I've been enamored with this game since its reveal trailer back in 2022. And after 2 delays, it's finally here!
I played 10 minutes of the demo a couple weeks ago, but dropped it midway through because it was evident that the game was delivering on everything I wanted from it.
I'm happy the game is finally out, seems to be reviewing well, and that I have some time off coming up to play it :D