Comment Re:We're now free (Score 1) 68
> ads that pop up piped in directly from Microsoft.
When did Windows turn into a shitty mobile game?
Comment Re: Bad ideas that just won't go away (Score 2) 148
> "Tea; earl grey; hot." and you wind up with a 3d print of the letter "T" painted earl grey and warmed to 100
LUL! That is a perfect example of voice UI being ambiguous. I've had these discussions for decades but never had a good example. I'm cribbing that.
> "Computer, fire torpedo bays 1 through 5!" takes a lot longer than me pressing the button
Yup, as much as I love ST:TNG I've had that criticism for decades. Voice UI is HORRIBLY SLOW, not to mention ambiguous.
Why the hell wouldn't the captain just press a button to raise shield instead of wasting time to say "Raise Shields", waiting for Worf to listen, and wait for them to actually execute it. That's at last 1 - 2 seconds of wasted time.
Also, wouldn't the computer monitor this and automatically raise shields? I'm sure its reaction time is helluva lot faster then humans!
Comment Re:right to repair should give the right to post t (Score 1) 105
I know, I know, don't feed the trolls
While not explicitly listed it could be argued that it is implicitly listed via:
1. The Constitutions' Ninth Amendment:
Ninth Amendment
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
2. The Bill of Rights' Tenth Amendment
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
That is, does the Bill of Rights or Constitution say that we CAN'T repair?
Comment Re:Good. Steam is a CHILDREN FRIENDLY platform. (Score 3, Informative) 123
> People with no social skills and absolutely no credibility
Ad hominem and gaslighting much?
The actual issue is that a payment processors should NOT be able to dictate HOW a payment is to be used. What's next, banning purchases over books? movies? Payment processors should NOT be arbitrators of morality.
> Steam is meant to be a child friendly platform
[Citation] and [Bullshit].
You DO realize that adult games are hidden by default AND you need to be logged in to see them, right?
Comment Re:What does that even mean? (Score 1) 40
Indeed. Popularity is a shitty metric.
By Stack Overflow's "Logic" then McDonalds must be #1 because BILLIONS are served.
Popularity != Quality. i.e. Javascript, Python, and PHP are clusterfucks of bad design.
Customers don't care what language you implemented the solution in -- they just want shit to work.
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Path of Exile 2 is an incomplete, boring, tedious, Ruth Souls-lite grindfest.
Submission + - JD Vance joined Bluesky - was banned 11 minutes later. (x.com) 7
RoccamOccam writes: U.S. Vice President JD Vance joined Bluesky with the post "Hello, Bluesky, I've been told this app has become the place to go for common sense political discussion and analysis. So I'm thrilled to be here to engage with all of you." His post included a screenshot from the United States Supreme Court Decision that upheld Tennessee's law barring "gender-affirming" treatments on minors.
He then wrote "To that end, I found Justice Thomas's concurrence on medical care for transgender youth quite illuminating. He argues that many of our so-called 'experts' have used bad arguments and substandard science to push experimental therapies on our youth. I might add that many of those scientists are receiving substantial resources from big pharma to push these medicines on kids. What do you think?".
He was banned 11 minutes later.
He then wrote "To that end, I found Justice Thomas's concurrence on medical care for transgender youth quite illuminating. He argues that many of our so-called 'experts' have used bad arguments and substandard science to push experimental therapies on our youth. I might add that many of those scientists are receiving substantial resources from big pharma to push these medicines on kids. What do you think?".
He was banned 11 minutes later.
Submission + - Signal declares war on Microsoft Recall with screenshot blocking on Windows 11 (betanews.com)
BrianFagioli writes: Signal has officially had enough, folks. You see, the privacy-first messaging app is going on the offensive, declaring war on Microsoft’s invasive Recall feature by enabling a new “Screen security” setting by default on Windows 11. This move is designed to block Microsoft’s AI-powered screenshot tool from capturing your private chats.
If you aren’t aware, Recall was first unveiled a year ago as part of Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC push. The feature quietly took screenshots of everything happening on your computer, every few seconds, storing them in a searchable timeline. Microsoft claimed it would help users “remember” what they’ve done. Critics called it creepy. Security experts called it dangerous. The backlash was so fierce that Microsoft pulled the feature before launch.
But now, in a move nobody asked for, Recall is sadly back. And thankfully, Signal isn’t waiting around this time. The team has activated a Windows 11-specific DRM flag that completely blacks out Signal’s chat window when a screenshot is attempted. If you’ve ever tried to screen grab a streaming movie, you’ll know the result: nothing but black.
If you aren’t aware, Recall was first unveiled a year ago as part of Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC push. The feature quietly took screenshots of everything happening on your computer, every few seconds, storing them in a searchable timeline. Microsoft claimed it would help users “remember” what they’ve done. Critics called it creepy. Security experts called it dangerous. The backlash was so fierce that Microsoft pulled the feature before launch.
But now, in a move nobody asked for, Recall is sadly back. And thankfully, Signal isn’t waiting around this time. The team has activated a Windows 11-specific DRM flag that completely blacks out Signal’s chat window when a screenshot is attempted. If you’ve ever tried to screen grab a streaming movie, you’ll know the result: nothing but black.
Comment Re:What's their logic here? (Score 1) 102
> the CG actors will be indistinguishable from human actors.
Given that this video is already 5 years old, The Deeper Metrics of Christmas, Deep Fake Poem by Impressionist Jim Meskimen, I'd say we are already past the uncanny valley.
Comment I could see a day that SteamOS runs natively ... (Score 1) 53
I could see a day that SteamOS runs natively on PCs. Linux under the hood, Proton on top to run Windows games.
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Path of Exile 2 is a boring, tedious, Ruthless Souls-lite grindfest.
Comment Re:The only way that I can solve a Rubik's cube .. (Score 2) 26
It isn't that hard to solve a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube. It just takes some practice and some algorithms.
Technically you only need to learn a single algorithm: R U R' U'.
But it is best to learn at least T-Perm and Ja-Perm.
Alternatively, there is also the Old Pochman Method for solving a cube blindfolded:
For corners
* Altered Y Permutation: (R U' R' U') R U R' F' (R U R' U') R' F R
For Edges
* J Permutation: (R U R' F') (R U R' U') R' F R2 (U' R' U')
* T Permutation: (R U R' U') R' F R2 (U' R' U' R) U R' F'
Comment Re:The one good product from Microsoft: (Score 1) 88
> Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite.
> I don't understand why more people don't use ergonomic keyboards.
Is that the one with the shitty diamond cursor keys? Yeah, that one was utter garbage.
Most ergonomic keyboards SUCK for multiple reasons:
* Touch quality is EXTREMELY subjective.
* The separation of left and right isn't far enough apart.
* They don't have enough of an "up" slope. This should be near vertical.
* Because the middle row T, Y, G, H, B, N, keys aren't doubled up.
* They suck for gaming -- I don't want TWO keyboards -- I just one one that is GOOD in both work and play.
* Good ones tend to be expensive as hell.
* They tend to fuck up the glyph font to be damn near unreadable.
* They tend to be this wireless shit.
* They tend to have limited switch options. Can I get it Brown MX? Cherry MX?
* If I am going to pay a fortune for it, can I get custom key caps?
My Das Keyboard 4 Professional while not ergonomic has beautiful Chery MX switches.
Comment Full of redditards, echo chambers, and ... (Score 3, Informative) 103
... and the occasional decent post.
Sadly the site has been shit for decades.
* ZERO CONTEXT for why something is up-voted or down-voted
* Full of redditards -- people who downvote you just for asking a question
* God forbid you have a _different_ opinion
* Full of echo chambers
* The larger the sub the large the ego of mods with a stick up their ass
* With Google dropping usenet it sadly is the most popular place to go for certain topics
* Under-paid, over-worked mods.
The smaller the sub, usually the better the S:N ratio is.
Comment Re:"the end of the universe is about 1078 years aw (Score 4, Insightful) 124
The editors have been next to fucking useless for decades.
Oblg. You had ONE job!
Submission + - VPN Firm Says It Didn't Know Customers Had Lifetime Subscriptions, Cancels Them (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The new owners of VPN provider VPNSecure have drawn ire after canceling lifetime subscriptions. The owners told customers that they didn’t know about the lifetime subscriptions when they bought VPNSecure, and they cannot honor the purchases. In March, complaints started appearing online about lifetime subscriptions to VPNSecure no longer working. The first public response Ars Technica found came on April 28, when lifetime subscription holders reported receiving an email from the VPN provider saying: To continue providing a secure and high-quality experience for all users, Lifetime Deal accounts have now been deactivated as of April 28th, 2025.
A copy of the email from “The VPN Secure Team” and posted on Reddit notes that VPNSecure had previously deactivated accounts with lifetime subscriptions that it said hadn’t been used in “over 6 months.” The message noted that VPNSecure was acquired in 2023, “including the technology, domain, and customer database—but not the liabilities.” The email continues: "Unfortunately, the previous owner did not disclose that thousands of Lifetime Deals (LTDs) had been sold through platforms like StackSocial. We discovered this only months later—when a large portion of our resources were strained by these LTD accounts and high support volume from users, who through part of the database, provided no sustaining income to help us improve and maintain the service."
A copy of the email from “The VPN Secure Team” and posted on Reddit notes that VPNSecure had previously deactivated accounts with lifetime subscriptions that it said hadn’t been used in “over 6 months.” The message noted that VPNSecure was acquired in 2023, “including the technology, domain, and customer database—but not the liabilities.” The email continues: "Unfortunately, the previous owner did not disclose that thousands of Lifetime Deals (LTDs) had been sold through platforms like StackSocial. We discovered this only months later—when a large portion of our resources were strained by these LTD accounts and high support volume from users, who through part of the database, provided no sustaining income to help us improve and maintain the service."
Comment Re:Wizardry series in Rust? (Score 1) 50
Any plans to reverse engineer the Apple Pascal toolchain?
(i.e. So that it can be ported to ProDOS instead of using the brain-dead Pascal File System.)
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