bryndos

@bryndos@fedia.io

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is the Raspberry Pi Still an Affordable SBC? I Don't Think So⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  yes as others have said. microcontroller with decent io and wifi, fairly easy to make web interfaces which is handy.
  A step up from arduino and i dont think it eats too much more power if the wifi is used sparingly.

  I've got a wildlife infrared camera made off a pi zero.
  I reckon if i can switch that to esp32 the battery life might stretch quite a bit - or i can shrink the case to a smaller battery.
  raspberry pipico would probably do similar tbf, but i bought like 10 esp32 for cheap. but i'm not quite sure how well they handle the image processing triggering.

  Recently i've been making these:
  https://github.com/gadec-uk/departures-board
  as gifts for people who i know that live in London who i sometimes stay with. extremely useful.

  There's loads of projects like this that people have done and you can just put them together for a few tens of quid and a few hours of time if you dont have to write the software.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is the Raspberry Pi Still an Affordable SBC? I Don't Think So⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I think esp32 is more commonly used. i think they're pretty similar capabilities and both dirt cheap.
  I just see more projects with esp32.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨YSK that radishes are fucking amazing. They improve heart health and are full of Sulforaphene, a powerful anti-cancer substance. They contain almost no calories⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  https://homestarrunner.com/toons/the-reddest-radish

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is the Raspberry Pi Still an Affordable SBC? I Don't Think So⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  16gb raspberry pi was always weird, even 8gb. It's more just a desktop pc or something at that level - the used pc market has usually been similar vfm when you factor in storage and peripherals.

  The pizero2(W) is still very cheap for real raspberry pi stuff - where you just want an OS for some reason instead of esp32.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨YSK that radishes are fucking amazing. They improve heart health and are full of Sulforaphene, a powerful anti-cancer substance. They contain almost no calories⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I too would create a burner account if i were to post pictures of radish-porn like that without nsfw tag.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Sending someone LLM output in response to a question they ask is the intellectual equivalent of sending an unsolicited dick pic.⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  If I got that question by text though I'd normally ignore it until Monday.
  Bumming around doing nothing is one of my most valued hobbies.
  "are you bored ?" might get a response, but better to reveal something about the proposed alternative. "want to do macrame on Sunday?"

  I especially hate this one in work.
  "you free?"
  Unfortunately, a polite reply is expected in that context so i can't say "no" (I'm at work, as you fucking well know).

  The question normally means " i fucked up x and don't know what to do about it"

  If they don't tell me what "X" is, how do I know where their fuckup ranks in the wider population of fuckery.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What's with companies naming things "MyNoun"?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  First time I remember it was windows 95 with 'my computer' and 'my documents'.
  So I'm blaming them. Hated it immediately, more for the spaces in dir names for how it screwed up dos syntax.
  "C:\Progra~1"

  Then again I didn't use internet until after I had win 95 (win98 maybe) so maybe they did steal it from internet.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  If you can identify the specific model of your graphics card and motherboard as accurately as possible that'll help. I'd guess 900 series has a wide variation in power use and performance.

  In linux you'd be able to go into shell and run
  lspci |grep -i vga
  or
  lspci |grep -i nvidia

  In this case lspci is a command to " list pci devices"
  On it's own that might give you a long list of sound, usb, network etc devices, so we "pipe" the output using '|' into the grep command. grep will filter by text pattern.
  the '-i' makes it case insensitive search and 'vga' or 'invidia' is the sequence of characters to filter by.

  Alternatively most desktop environments will have a gui option like "info centre" in kde.
  Windows will probably have something too if you only have that, unless the'yre replaced it with coprolite trying to guess the answer.

  For motherboard and PSU (power supply unit) you might need to open it up and look for labels or text on manufacturer and model.
  For the motherboard, you really just need to know what type of pci it has but getting the manual online will be best.

  For the PSU you need to know power rating in Watts and maybe "efficiency rating" usually as some metallic rating like gold, silver, bronze. The manufacturer helps determine how reliable the ratings are.

  If you go inside you may want a torch, a compressed air can, a dust mask, to be outside. and/or a gentle vacuum cleaner (with a mesh or filter or tissue over the end just in case). or duster or toothbrush or something. If you've a nice clean environment that may all be no big deal, but if you have household dust, there can be a lot of build up in there over 12 years. Best not to breathe too much of that in.

  To learn more there are loads of webshites and videos. I'd search for terms like "diy build pc ".
  try to focus on low power or low to mid price to avoid lots of crap top end bullshit.
  Look at some from back in the day. they should go step by step through components, and how they are installed and connected.

  I'd say try explainingcomputers.com - this is both webpage and links to youtube.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨New York Wants to Ctrl+Alt+Delete Your 3D Printer⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  yeah that's what had me confused.

  Maybe they mean open some process management tool ?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨LLM's despite all the flaws it probably made it easier to switch to Linux.⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Things like archwiki and forums and manpages / open source made it possible.
  LLM might give you their answer faster, but risk of missing some context that might be important.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Might make open source more trustworthy, It can't be any harder to check than closed source.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why is Valve being sued for almost $900 million, but Epic Games wasn't sued when they bought Rocket League and Fall Guys to remove them from steam?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  UK law basically doesn't use the term.

  My point was that proving dominance and abuse is rarely objective fact. It sure isn't showing market share and that some games companies go out of business. They have to show the things that valve does to restrict competition - being popular isn't enough alone.

  Your last question is quite a good example of how hard it is to prove because it includes counterfactual comparisons.

  This might be why it seems (if the journo is to be believed) that they're going down the tie-ins angle for the DLC, not necessarily headline pricing. Thou the latter would probably a worse outcome for valve if guilty.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why is Valve being sued for almost $900 million, but Epic Games wasn't sued when they bought Rocket League and Fall Guys to remove them from steam?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  There are not many objectively provable monopolies and i doubt that English law would support that claim without extremely strong evidence, generally utilities are the only ones that'd get close. A necessity with high fixed costs and infrastructure lock-in.

  Steam has high market share in a segment, but not necessarily a distinct segment, I'm sure steam would argue that there are enough consumers who can and do substitute between pc and console and mobile, as well as other vendors so that their market power is mitigated by a fair amount of consumer mobility.

  So what you're looking to prove is unlikely to be a pure "monopoly" but 'excess market power', and 'abuse of market power'. That is a complex legal art that the competition regulator is usually not that successful at proving, at least in English law.

  Abuse of market power has to impact consumers not producers. There are always marginal producers struggling to make a profit - that happens in competitive markets, producers bidding prices down, some going out of business. I'm not saying I agree, but that's more or less how the law sees it, lookup what they let supermarkets get away with in contracts with farmers.

  To show consumer harm from upstream market manipulation you'd probably have to show a material dearth of choice being created by steam policies in order to jack up prices. Maybe that can be demonstrated, but it's not simple and more likely to come down to subjective interpretation of the arguments and evidence from both sides rather than any unarguable objective truth.

  If it were unarguable or objectively true then the CMA might lead the investigation itself instead of this being a private action. Though maybe this is too small a market for them to worry about.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨In chess, are rooks female?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I think prawns can become horseys and (however unlikely) rooks and bishops too.

  If they can transform species like that then I think a penis or a womb here or there is no big deal.

  I think maybe they're more like snails, who'll do whatever it takes to secure a mate.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Looking for a European news service⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I think Europe is about the location of seas, oceans and plate boundaries.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Looking for a European news service⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Downvote for BBC - state propaganda/MI6 vehicle.
  And generally just shit journalism.
  Grauniad is pretty shite too - the crossword is ok.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  00 on cheques . That normally has a line connecting at the top, that's the only one I can think of.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Because seven ate nine.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Guitar technology⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Unfortunately it needs a safety cage around the bottom end.
  That'd probably spoiling the visuals - though clear acrylic might work.

  The tuning was the the other huge issue, he didn't actually say how long it took to get in tune tune, nor how long it held tune.

  cool though

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is it possible that the rich are so rich that they have created inflation?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Yes, not necessarily "because" they hold wealth, but as a consequence of how they got there. It's more of a symptom. Although collateral makes it easier to borrow from a bank, and banks create money supply, thus creating inflation every time they make an investment that wasnt productive. (edit: timing matters here, probably better to say they create general inflationary pressure until their investment becomes productive).

  Any transfer not connected to production can create inflation, especially if they borrow money to do it.

  TBF second hand house purchases do this if transacted for a higher price - and linked to a mortgage. So all property owners are at it to some degree - unless there is price regulation , rent control, or sufficient social housing to prevent housing congestion.

  Same is true for amassing market power in other markets where you do it to extract supernormal profits rather than increase production.
  Simple example would be to monopolise a product - a rational monopolist will jack up prices and withhold supply. So long as they're not regulated directly or by a credible threat of market entry and competition.

  Now combine the two, convince a bank to lend you money in order to buy out all your competition and amass excessive market power. Then you've created both money supply driven and product specific inflation. Nice!

  Might as well grift some govt subsidies that don't actually commit you to producing anything whilst you're at it - if govt borrow to do it then you might get some more money supply based inflation.

  If you're effective at this then dumb short sighted investors keep throwing money at you in the hope that you'll keep doing it and give them a slice of your monopoly profits - in fact it might be "short-term" rational to do this - but i suspect / hope that is due to an underestimated risk.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Video game giant Valve facing UK lawsuit over pricing, commissions⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Is it even true?

  I'd have thought if i find the right wine prefix, use some winetricks type thing on it, execute whatever installer, then it should modify that game files / env?

  I'm not saying i've ever done it, but it feels like that would most likely work just fine.

  I mean as a uk steaming turd, i'd take the cash ( so long as it didn't require age verification), but there are way more egregious infringements of competition in this cuntry that get off scott free even after CMA "investigations".

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Penetration⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  TIL Ernest Rutherford discovered the nucleus as a consequence of rage quitting.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Deep Time⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Ditching our thagomizers for the ability to craft giant iron flails.

  Min-maxing to ruin the game for everyone.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Gonna be here a while⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Can i do:
  dd if=/dev/null of=/
  ?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Gehheie88f3nj3-i-odk3j4y8-fff-jej⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  After the generations of repeated offence to the Betelgeusish by earthlings trying to pronounce the native name for their home star, it's probably for the best.

  "I seem to be having this tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle"

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨If the 2028 United States presidential election was held today, who would you vote for?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  yep.

  "If you vote for me, all of your wildest dreams will come true."

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨If the 2028 United States presidential election was held today, who would you vote for?⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Pedro

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨If someone tells you "you support socialism, yet you use products of capitalism", what would you say?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  yeah definately. i mean pretty much anything live. people sitting in a room entertaining each other, that's fairly social, and much less capital intensive than big media entertainment .

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨If someone tells you "you support socialism, yet you use products of capitalism", what would you say?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  you do what you can.

  Substitute labour intensive alternatives. Its generally quite easy for recreation just go to an open mic night in the pub or a pwyf concert instead of all these streaming things. or take a walk in the park, or a hike in the hills instead of spending money on entertainment. Something like a game of football/soccer is pretty ultimate socialism entertainment - just don't pay to watch other people get your kicks for you.

  Go out of your way to use public transport as much as possible even if it's slower or more inconvenient. This good practice in compromise to try social efficiency and sharing assets over individualistic self centredness - this is basically tragedy of commons/prisoners dilemma though so . . . ultimately your society will need some general trust for this to work - and it will break down often.

  If you need stuff prefer patent expired or open source stuff, or just old second hand stuff. also get buy it for life stuff.
  Personally i can have hours of fun with a discarded wood pallet and some very old hand tools.

  Patent expired i.e. more open to competition/"free" market forces is like one step more socialised than the oligopolised stuff.
  (That is where the free applies to the trades in the market and access to it, not to the people who want the 'freedom' to restrict trade and market entry.)

  You can also try to share stuff with your friends and neighbors - that's pretty sociable.
  At the end of the day though land and food is essential, so if that's not available socially, you're fucked.
  Grow what you can and share it around i guess.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Can socialism or communism have incentives (even without markets)?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  No, capitalism now owns all the carrots and all the sticks in the world.

  Turnips and branches have never successfully motivated anyone.