Creat
@Creat@discuss.tchncs.de
- Comment on GOG seems to be considering paid membership option 4 days ago:
You do know Heroic exists, right? It works perfectly fine.
And I prefer an open source solution integration multiple platforms to a single closed solution per platform.
- Comment on YSK that a new internet/account bypass during Windows 11 installs already exists. Here is a 7 step guide. 5 days ago:
Just look into answer files, WDS isn’t a requirement for using them (just makes it easier). It can contain three local admin and set it up. You shouldn’t even see the oobe in most cases (depending on how you prefer to handle that).
- Comment on YSK that a new internet/account bypass during Windows 11 installs already exists. Here is a 7 step guide. 5 days ago:
If you’re setting them up for a company, you’ll join too a domain anyway and it’s a non-issue. Probably even have it automated using WDS or a similar 3rd party solution.
Doesn’t make it any less annoying as a policy from Ms, but for any company of like 50+ employees, it shouldn’t affect anything.
- Comment on PS5 Pro sales ‘have fallen behind PS4 Pro in the US 5 weeks ago:
You kinda missed most of my points. Because a core advantage of building a PC from individual parts is that you can buy some parts used, or adjust them to what you actually need. You can’t buy the PS5 used cause it just came out, but the components are actually relatively old.
A case can be had for cheap (often with fans). Also a used GPU might allow you to get a bit more performance for the same money (or the same perf for less money). Keep in mind that the hardware specs of the PS5 aren’t exactly cutting edge top tier performance. You can also find a complete used PC with roughly the right specs, and a quick check showed an eBay listing for case+PSU+mobo+3700x+16gb and 512gb nvme + 2tb HDD for 309€. And that was the first hit, with “buy it now”, after 30s on the site.
You can also tailor what exactly you buy to your needs. Maybe 1TB nvme is enough for you, or you can even start out with 500gb. It’s a PC, just buy another m.2 when you really need it, takes 5 minutes to install.
But all that is kinda not the point either. Mainly the advantage is that it’s a PC. It’s not just a gaming thing (though it can be). That is what makes it worth it, also obviously depending on the individual needs. And that’s the point. The PC does what you need, and can be made to change to whatever that is.
When you said “from a pure budget standpoint, no PC isn’t worth it” you also one again COMPLETELY IGNORE that you need to buy games to play. Those are so much more expensive (and have a much more limited selection) on console. And over the lifetime of the console, game costs will have been much more than the device. That’s the point, and why they are relatively affordable, they are subsidized by the manufacturer who makes money on every game bought for it. When a console comes out, they typically loose money on it.
Finally, once a few years have gone by, you can actually upgrade PC parts individually where needed. You don’t have to buy the next generation new one, like with consoles. Again, much cheaper. For people who are on tight budget, this is or should be a huge consideration. Once you got a PC, the next upgrade is so much cheaper than a new console, yet it’ll be equivalent to that new console.
Consoles are cheaper the day you buy them (and not by a lot). Even just weeks or months later the PC is cheaper. Years later it’s cheaper by a lot.
- Comment on PS5 Pro sales ‘have fallen behind PS4 Pro in the US 5 weeks ago:
Unless I misunderstood something, the PS5 isn’t “true 4k”, but uses upscaling just like any semi-modern GPU can do as well (DLSS and FSR I think is the AMD version). That changes that equation quite a bit.
I would argue that reocmmending a PC over a (new) console has gotten easier, especially for someone on a budget. Because you can actually get an incredibly competent machine these days (used of course). Even if you decide to pay more to get a better PC, you then have access to the vast PC library with all the bundles, frequent and often deep sales, giveaways, … The cost of the console isn’t just the console, but also what you can play on it and what it costs, and this aspect has improved massively on PC in recent years (and was already pretty good before then).
Of course, if you’re interested in exlusives or first-party titles (like nintendo), or you generally play mostly AAA games, the console might just be the better or only option, but you better bring the wallet for the whole journey.
- Comment on Can we please make a viable (federated!) amazon alternative? I have an idea! 5 weeks ago:
There is absolutely nothing “simple” about that. It sounds simple, but what does “someone has purchased a product” actually mean, in technical terms?
Let’s start basic, since this is a proposal about a federated system, there are instances. Who runs these and why? Does ever seller run an instance? can there be users/customers on those? if not, who runs the customer-instances? Who defines what a product is, and are products like communities? or more like posts? how do you correlate different sellers selling the same item, where a review would obviously apply to both? can you review a shop or seller? Are delivery services their own “entitty” and can you review those, too? When you purchase an item
Now without any answers to any of those question, let’s just go to the next level. Where are the reviews stored? in the instance where the item is sold (possibly owned by the shop)? or with the user? if it’s with the user, how does a webserver displaying an item find all the reviews for it? Does this differ between reviews for items and reviews of shops/sellers?
If a review is stored on the instance of the seller, he can just add an entry to the database stating “user x purchased item y”, and the review is valid. If the reviews are stored with the user, he can spin up an instance, and create a bunch of users there who can leave reviews, because he can mark sales as “valid” as the seller, no matter if there was any item and/or money exchanged.
I wrote all of this thinking about the classic sellers attempt at “creating good reviews to boost a product”, but there is the opposite threat of review-bombing (might be a competing product or seller, or you just don’t like pink shirts and decide to review-bomb those): How you protect against those has similarities, but reverses the roles essentially. Sellers are now the “target”, and reviewers the “threat”.
Aaaand this all is just about reviews, which have no monetary value. The platforms main goal would be to deal with physical items, exchanged for real money, and creating physical effects (like shipping). All those have to also be secured in a much more robust way. If a fake review or two slip through the cracks, who cares. But if just one valuable item goes missing (or is never shipped), or the payment for it, that’s immediately a problem.
- Comment on PS5 Pro sales ‘have fallen behind PS4 Pro in the US 5 weeks ago:
I understand that not everyone has the expertise, but for 800$ you can put together a very capable system that will beat the PS5 easily. It will probably include some used parts. You don’t need a 4070 in there, not even remotely close.
But yes, obviously the prices have gone up quite a bit over the last years.
- Comment on Can we please make a viable (federated!) amazon alternative? I have an idea! 1 month ago:
Condescension was not the intention at all. The fact that you mention logistics only as a foot note is what lead me to believe you really didn’t understand, and it was just meant as an explanation. Amazon is just scale, in every aspect, and I don’t think that can be achieved with a federated approach in the physical retail world.
As for being constructive, you can be constructive by talking someone out of an idea. I really don’t believe there’s any viability in the idea, no matter how much I wish there was. I personally value my time, so I assume others do as well. I consider saving someones time incredibly constructive, but that only applies if you intend to pursue the idea to actually get somewhere “real” with it, let’s say reaching “profit” or improving participants existing profits.
You might enjoy spending your time figuring out solutions here, maybe you see it as an economic experiment or hobby project, so it’s fun no matter the outcome. I’m that case my comment really isn’t constructive in your situation, and I’m sorry.
Rest assured I didn’t comment out of malice.
- Comment on Can we please make a viable (federated!) amazon alternative? I have an idea! 1 month ago:
But you’re saying yourself that those are “obviously bots”. It’s easy to ignore those. And just to be clear, I really did mean the reviews, and not the score (where the skew is less transparent).
Everyone leaving a review has to have an account somewhere in the federated network. This includes seeing up an instance just to use it for review bots, or fake votes on something. Obviously there’s is defederation and other mechanisms, and I’m sure there are ways to improve the situation. But the whole base setup is just inherently much harder to get into a trustworthy position. Even the common centralized sites (not just Amazon) have trouble getting it under control when they can “see” will the related data, for finding outliers and such. I’m just saying it’s an even harder proposition.
- Comment on Raspberry Pi4 continuous selfhosted server operations 1 month ago:
That’s what I said with “much hotter for longer”. If it’s constantly thermal throttling, that’s gonna be an issue. Of course OC’ing also will. 50°C just isn’t an issue. Also older models have CPUs that either don’t throttle at all, or do it less well/effectively.
- Comment on Raspberry Pi4 continuous selfhosted server operations 1 month ago:
The CPU is perfectly happy sitting at 50°C. It is slightly happier at 30, but it doesn’t actually help in any way unless you run into throttling, or run (much) hotter for longer. It’s fine.
Some might state that the CPU is probably gonna live longer, but seriously have you ever had a CPU die on you cause it was old (or even die at all, even)? Again, it’s fine.
Having something that mostly agitates the air (not even really moving it) like a low-hundreds-rpm fan would also work. As would using one of those passive heat pipe coolers that are also overkill (especially with a fan, but just leave that off), but have the same “number looks better” effect.
- Comment on Can we please make a viable (federated!) amazon alternative? I have an idea! 1 month ago:
You are completely misunderstanding what Amazon actually does, and why it’s successful, despite being a shitty company. It’s first and foremost a logistics company. People can order “stuff” in many places, but if they order it on Amazon, they’ll get it by tomorrow if they order it before midnight. They got warehouse everywhere. They do (some) of their own final deliveries for anyone close to those, use the big logistics players for the rest (ups, DHL, …) while having massive volume and the power to dictate price that comes with that. The number of workers in the warehouses is actually minuscule for their size, it’s all automated. Huge up front cost, very low cost once it’s actually running.
Consumers go there because they can get literally anything. Again: warehouses. It’s also a market place but that only works (these days) because it’s THE place the people go. The reviews are also a massive point, and would be inherently untrustworthy in a federated version.
How would you ever get anyone to go to your federated version for shopping that sells like “some” things? Even if you manage to combine all those shops, you’d need a way to agree on what an item is called (or how to assign id numbers) so the same item from multiple sellers is grouped in the same offer, and many similar small things you take for granted it didn’t even ever see/notice on Amazon.
- Comment on If you're on the fence about building or buying a 3d printer enclosure, please let me give you a push. 1 month ago:
To avoid confusing newcomers: For anyone getting into 3D printing it’s much more space efficient to just get an enclosed printer and not having to deal with a built enclosure. Like the new Prusa core one.
This is still one of the best looking and well integrated solutions I’ve seen for external enclosures though.
- Comment on Hi-Rez Studios is laying off further employees and ending development on Smite, Paladins, and Rogue Company 1 month ago:
The article makes it sound like it’s just about the “older” games, but layoffs affect core smite 2 development, too. And not just 1 or 2 people either. Also literally everyone related to eSports, so that entire concept seems dead to them as well. Kinda looks like we’re on a downward spiral, so don’t get too invested.
- Comment on A decline in arable land 5 months ago:
Germany looks like a dead straight line, yet the text says it could see a large drop by 2030. Sure, it could also see a large rise in arable land, no reason or context is given.
- Comment on Microsoft retires WordPad after 28 years — app no longer available as of Windows 11 24H2 5 months ago:
I’ve used windows since the 90s. Not once have I intentionally used WordPad.
It did open by default for some file types for a long time (.doc), usually mangling the content cause it couldn’t actually handle them properly. I think it was also the default for .txt files at some point, causing many curse words when editing plain text files, that invisibly weren’t so plain any more after… Programs expecting a configuration fine really don’t like that sort of thing.
So: I’m very ok with this. Just install LibreOffice or something if you needa Word-like experience. Install notepad++ for anything “plain”.