BananaTrifleViolin

@BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why can computers, like even very old laptops can seemingly get OS updates forever, while mobile devices hardly get a few years of updates before getting stuck out of date?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  PCs are generally based around the X86 chip architecture which is an open standard. PCs are basically modular and lots of manufacturers make components that are interchangeable, creating a huge variety of possible hardware. Hardware suppliers also sell.to big companies and individuals. It’s therefore in their interest to distribute their drivers freely even if closed source. If hardware breaks it can be replaced and the PC keeps going.

  Mobile devices are closed standards. They use a more limited range of off the shelf components which are deeply integrated into a device, and the hardware suppliers provide their drivers to the device manufacturer or the device manufacturer builds their own drivers and custom version of the os. Hardware can have very long retail lives selling for years and still being functional, so the manufacturers have an incentive to keep drivers available and even update them.

  It means mobile devices are more locked down, and the hardware drivers harder to come by. This makes it hard to build custom OS for them and therefore when the device comes to the end of its support from the maker there is limited options to keep it running securely.

  It’s effectively a type of planned obscelence that keeps the mobile industry going. Manufacturers stop supporting old devices (because it provides no income) and then consumers have to buy new ones as no one can provide the security patches to keep them secure.

  So for mobile there is nothing to force Android or IOS to be kept up to date for old devices. The money is in new devices, and for Android manufacturers are responsible for the mobile device anyway. While for PC it’s in Microsofts interests to keep updating and keeping devices secure via Windows becuase devices have long lifespans and old components can be in the PC ecosystem for decades. Similarly Linux is able to support hardware for a long time because drivers are more freely available and long lifespans to hardware incentivise people to put the effort in to write open drivers when they’re not there.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨ROG Xbox Ally Handhelds announced, the first real Steam Deck competition⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah its not a great headline. But in fairness Legion Go S extends SteamOS / valves reach so is part of Valves strategy. They make their money on the steam store - thats what matters to them most.

  The Xbox device is the first time Microsoft has actually got involved to help improve the windows experience on hand held. I suspect the Xbox brand will confuse people though, as theyre still just Windows devices with an Xbox branded interface. I dont see it as a winning strategy. People will still want to be using steam and a system that doesnt put that front and centre is not going to have mass appeal.

  An Xbox store would need time to catch on, and they havent managed it on windows. Steam dominates for good reason - convenient, aggressive pricing, and effective vendor lockin for many users who already have huge libraries of games.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨The Switch 2: Is it worth buying?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  Wow what a load of rubbish. Talks about being against hype and then concludes with a bunch of hype. The games media have been generally dishonest about the Switch 2, and are not doing gamers any favours.

  I’m not hyped by the Switch 2: its expensive, its games are expensive and the launch titles are paltry. It also has competition in the form of the Steam Deck and a range of SteamOS and Windows handheld devices with a huge volume of games available including many at significantly lower prices.

  Switch 2 needs exclusives to justify its price and its existence. Switch 1 games with slightly improved graphics (which you have to pay for) and a small handful of launch titles make the Switch 2 a bad proposition for anyone except diehard fans at this point.

  At the moment there are no compelling 1st party games in the pipeline. 3D Mariocart and Donkey Kong Bananza seems to be it for now. No new Mario platformer, no Zelda, no pokemon at launch. Everything is old games with better graphics, and much of it available on other platforms like PC with better graphics already anyway.

  Nintendo has a lot of work to do - I think there is a real risk the Switch 2 will be a flop if they dont get 1st party exclusives out before the holiday season.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨'Doctor Who' Needs to Go Away and Think About What It Did⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  A well written summary of the finales plot and its flaws. Its full of spoilers in case people haven’t see it yet.

  Personally I think Doctor Who needs a long rest and a fresh start if it returns. I’d even suggest a hard reboot.

  This current season has looked good but been a mess, and the finale is an incoherent mishmash of ideas and set pieces. There is far too much fan service and far too many ideas being crammed in that it just doesnt make sense.

  The show has been in trouble for years. Both Ncuti Gatwa and Jodie Whittaker were good actors ill served by the writing. Peter Capaldi was also a good actor served by uneven writing but the show was still good.

  Now its just a mess with convoluted plots, far too much fan service, and an inability to make an over arching season long plot work. Judging by the finale Fatwa leaving was probably unexpected and Billie Piper’s casting seems like a desperate stop gap while RTD decidesbwhat to do next (in the 2 year gap expected because he is making a spin off series).

  I wouldn’t be surprised I the Disney deal comes to an early end and Doctor Who is shelved for years while they decide what to so next.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Maybe remind him of that when he’s rude like this. He’s bitching at you for not doing him a favour - rather taking it for granted. And then insulting you for your choice in shower gel.

  He cones across as a bit of an asshat.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is their any evolutionary benefit to the sneezing reflex when looking at a bright light source, or is it just an evolutionary glitch with no purpose?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Its a glitch.

  Its important to understand that evolution does not “design” anything with intent or purpose. Its all chance and survival of the fittest does select for traits that confer greater survival.

  But plenty of traits are neutral or minimally negative in their survival benefits so also suriviveor develop. And it only affects traits that impact reproducing and passing on traits to the next generation. So many traits may be totally unaffected by evolutionary pressures as they have no relevance to survival of the fittest.

  Plus the other species being competed woth over time and the environment generally shape what traits are desirable versus detrimental.

  Basically not everything has an evolutionary purpose or function.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  So no this is not safe. Once ypu have a system it is easier to crack because if someone has 2 or more of your passwords they can work out there is a system and it’d make it much easier to crack others if they’re determined.

  It is unlikely that someone random would specifically target a person and systematically try and crack their passwords. If that were to happen it’d most likely he someone they know. So while the passwords are definitely flawed it may not be something that anyone takes the time to exploit. But you can never say never.

  The best way to manage passwords probably remains a secure password manager and randomly generated series of characters for each site. If its truly random then there are no shortcuts and every single password stands independently. The password manager gets round the issue of memorising them.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Stupid question: how does one watch old movies?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  You can try a site like justwatch.com to see if the film is available on a streaming sire you could use.

  You can also search for rentals online so you can pay for it.

  You can look on eBayor similar for cheaper second hand copies.

  Or piracy.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Anon misses the classic design⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Balls go further than sticks. Theyre more aerodynamic for a start.

  Dont worry, the Military Industry Complex is all about killing people, so it would be using sticks if it was beneficial.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Anon measures up⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Its interesting when its not obvious whether someone is on drugs or just isn’t very good at writing clear English. Maybe both? Certainly was a ride!

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Anon isn't fooled by planes⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  This perfectly encapsulates how anti vaxxers and others think. “Ive thought it through and it cantnbebright”. Its incredible how we can have access to vast amounts of information and yet live in an age of gleeful ignorance.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  It is an absolute crock of shit.

  There is plenty of research on magnetism and humans and it doesnt need a new title and niche “research” from a frankly failed state like Russia.

  We use high Tesla fields routinely every day worldwide in hospitals in Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Safety of this technology has been and is continuously investigated. There has also been extensive investigation of magnetic fields related to power lines and other use cases.

  There does remain some uncertainty and controversy around potential effects of long term exposure to low T electromagnetic fields but its long established that short term exposure is safe.

  This “research” is more on the realm of autism vaccine science. A lot of money can be made in niche fake sciences both in the industry of research itself and then the crap they can sell to ignorant people as a result.

  Russia as a state has been systematically destroyed over the past few decades and most of its institutions have a terrible reputation now. While there are undoubtedly still good scientists in the country, they are working in a gangster state and many of the best minds have long fled for better opportunities abroad.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Even Starfield's community patch modders are growing 'disenchanted' with the sci-fi RPG, as volunteers depart in droves: 'If nobody comes forward, we may have to retire the project'⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I think if Starfield had come out 10 years ago it would have wowed people and been a classic. But now it just seems dated when you have other games doing RPG better (Cyberpunk 2077, Witcher 3, Baldurs Gate 3) and open world space better (No Mans Sky).

  Starfield doesnt do RPG as good as those games, nor does it do open world space as well as No Mans Sky. I’ve heard it described as being as wide as an ocean but as deep as a puddle, and that doesnt seem far off to me.

  I really hope Bethesda have paid attention and dont make the same kind of mistakes with Elder Scrolls VI. Big and empty is not the way to go.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Liquid Trees⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  They were talking about CO2 which is what the algae tank is about.

  Trees have other benefits around filtering pollutants that affect air quality such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. Also the shading effect reduces ozone accumulation as well as generally helping reduce the urban heat island effect (which in turn reduces the amount of air conditioning needed, even a small amount saves a lit of energy and reduces pollution from power stations).

  City parks have clean air partly because of tree but also because youre away from roads and buildings so further from car exhausts and chimney stacks. The concentration of pollutants in wide open spaces is lower because the wind can move it around more easily, and there isn’t a pollution source directly near by. Tree and grass do help too.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Trump tells Canadians to Elect the guy who'll make them the 51st State of US [Canadian elections today]⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  The guy is ranting about a criminal investigation into why his polling numbers are so low. He’s quite literally a demented old man. I think he really isn’t rational enough to see that that he is harming the man he wants to win.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨So many authors are still waiting for their stories to be adapted. Netflix: “Let’s do another Pride and Prejudice adaptation”⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Different adaptations appeal to different audiences and people go to watch them. They offer different interpretations and takes on the book.

  Like to me the Kiera Kinghtley version is a crappy Americanised take on the story that loses the satire and wit in the book and instead focuses on amping up the romance. But I know lots of people like it.

  My favourite version is the 1997 BBC tv series but even that is flawed as Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet doesnt really capture the character. She is too serious and humourless, and Alison Stedmen as Mrs Bennet is too over the top and cartoonish.

  There is plenty of space for another adaptation, and new writers and directors and a new cast of actors can give their interpretation on the book plus introduce it to a new generation of people who may be first exposed to Jane Austen via a new TV series.

  Anything that gets more people to read and appreciate the works of Jane Austen is worthwhile in my opinion.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨As a US citizen who was born in the UK, how risky is it to leave and reenter the US right now?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  It honestly seems very unpredictable. Anecdotally the worst behaviour seems to have been at the most republican states but not exclusively.

  For example the Australian who had a work visa and lived in the US for years flew in to Texas where it was arbitrarily nullified. There are plenty of stories of people crossing southern and northern borders and being detained by ICE. Thats included British, German, Australian and French cirizens that ive seen in the UK press coverage anyway.

  As a US citizen you shouldnt have an issue but I’d probably travel through a major hub like JFK in New York to be safer. I wouldn’t re-enter through Republican states like Florida, Texas, nor probably Washington DCs airports. Obviously travel on your US passport.

  You should he OK as a US citizen but it does look like there is a breakdown in the rule of law in the US. People imagine that means riots and the police not able to keep control, but in this case its the government and government agencies doing whatever they want and the legal system unable to stop them.

  I’m a UK citizen and am not intending to travel to the US - I often cone for a major conference but having seen what happened to the French scientist who had his phone searched and then was denied entry for criticising Trump I won’t be risking it. I’m sure a lot of other UK and Europeans feel the same way.

  Sasly the only 100% safe option for you is to not leave the country. Its madness as youre a US citizen but at this point things are still going through the courts and its not clear where this will stop.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨how is it to work everyday but Wednesdays and Thursdays?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I work in a hospital and the worst days to work are weekends. The hospital is still full but most staff are off so its busy. Also all your friends and family are off on the weekend so you can’t see them.

  Meanwhile if you have days off in the week, it’s great because everything is open (unlike a sunday) and all the kids are in school. So you can go out an enjoy the parks or shop freely etc. But most of your friends anf family are also at work.

  I would definitely take 2 days off together, not split them. If I were to have 2 days off and work every weekend I’d either take Mon/Tue off or Thu/Fri. I think its just preference and howbbusy your job is. It could suck being in work on a Friday while everyone else is gearing up for weekend off and discussing their plans, plus also people head off early where they can - I’d probably take The/Fri off so I didn’t have to put up with all that.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Is it asshole behavior to hate someone for saying "Hi, how are you?"⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  How old are these people? These sound like kids?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Petition Apply for the UK to join the European Union as a full member as soon as possible⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I wanted to stay in the EU but I don’t want to rejoin.

  Just look at whats going on in Hungary where Viktor Orban is essentially a dictator, and is holding back the EU on it’s Ukraine response. Look at Poland where it skirted past descent into a right wing nightmare, and even now the leftwing government are struggling at unpicking the damage. Look at the Czech Republic where it looks very likely a right wing populist government is going to take power - they’re also against Ukraine. And look at France, which is political turmoil internally - right winger Le Pen has a good chance of being the next french president unless the centre and left can unite around an alternative.

  The EU is powerless to deal with Orban, was powerless to deal with Poland as the right wing government tried to dismantle their democracy and institutions. We’ve already seen what’s happening in the US play out in Europe - twice! And the EU could do nothing.

  We’re better off outside the EU at the moment. I never wanted to leave, but the UK is lucky to be outside the EU as it gives us a degree of flexibility and freedom to deal with the current crisis. We don’t need to be distracted by the internal problems of the EU and it’s rouge member states. Instead we’re working directly with the countries that want to work with us like France and Germany, and not having to deal with the countries that don’t like Hungary.

  I wish the EU the best - I want it to succeed but ultimately it has a serious problem with how you get things done when you have countries inside holding back the EU from pursuing it’s best interests. The EU leaders talk big about grand plans and high ideals including now over defence and Ukraine, but when it comes to getting things done it only takes 1 countries veto and paralysis. The EU needs to reform and become an actual democratic superstate but it won’t happen because again it only takes 1 country to veto progress. It’s clear Hungary will be holding the EU back when it comes to Putin for the foreseeable future. And maybe soon so will the Czech republic. And what happens in the EU if Le Pen is president of France?

  No thanks.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨No, Phil Spencer, Having AI Mock Up An Old Game Is Not The Same As Preserving It⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  One thing Phil Spencer does not seem to care about is emulation. There are already Xbox and PlayStation emulators that allow access to more of both platforms back catalogues than any of the current generation consoles are capable of…

  Xbox could build cloud based emulators off the open source tools already available and make their entire Xbox back catalogue accessible to current users to stream. They could help improve the tools to ensure greater and greater compatibility for titles and then it would be there forever.

  The reason it doesn’t happen is money. They dont see money in game preservation so they dont bother beyond a few big name nostalgia hits. Muse AI isn’t about game preservation, its about game development - they’re just pissing around with game preservation to feed it content as a punt on the future for it somehow making game development cheaper.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨No, Phil Spencer, Having AI Mock Up An Old Game Is Not The Same As Preserving It⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  AI can make Shakespeare BETTER! Like it can put it in modern text speak, and shorten it down to fit in a 30 second tiktok, plus give space for ad breaks and team product placement. AI will help enhance user engagement with Shakespeare and also leverage new monetisation options and cross platform synergies.

  All we have to do is let people copyright AI made content because ultimately it wasn’t Shakespeare that did tge hard work, it was the AI tech Bros who transformed it into a modern content meme and raised 3rd quarter profits.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨No, Phil Spencer, Having AI Mock Up An Old Game Is Not The Same As Preserving It⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah, instead game preservation is being solved by abandonware and copyright infringement.

  Legal open source software is doing the heavy lifting, and then torrenting is sharing by he files. But there is a huge risk as there is no safety net to preserve the niche and unpopular games.

  The game publishers and broken copyright laws are blocks to preservation but fortunately people are just doing it anyway. And the more the big companies push against it (including targeting emulation systems for current systems) the more they push it underground and out of any control they might have had. Typical greed and stupidity.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Baldur's Gate 3 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 show that the future of RPGs is in games way more ambitious, weird and unexpected than anything Bethesda and Bioware have to offer⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  The article totally misses the big intervening step between Skyrim/old Bioware and the failure of Starfield/Dragon Age: CDProjectRED.

  While those studios largely just made “more of the same”, CDPR made Witcher 3 and then Cyberpunk 2077. Both games are way better narrative experiences and pushed RPG forward. Starfield looks very dated in comparison to both, and Dragon Age failed to capture to magic. Baldur’s Gate 3 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 are successes because they also bring strong narratives and emotional connections to the stories.

  Starfield would have been huge if it had been released soon after Skyrim. But now it just looks old fashioned, and I think the “wide as an ocean, as deep as a puddle” analogy is good for Starfield. Meanwhile Witcher 3 - which is 10 years old! - has quests and storylines with choices and emotional impact. BG3 and KC:D2 are heirs to Witcher 3.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Rumor: GTA Roleplay Server FiveM Victim Of Hostile Takeover - And One Of Rockstar's Own Is Involved⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Out of interest, when GTAVI comes out will it matter?

  Will the next game need a new from-scratch RP mod? Or will some of the open source components of FiveM be reusable?

  FiveM have an advantage being owned by Rockstar but if it all has to be done again from scratch, FiveM may be irrelevant? Interested members of the community will make their own thing like they did before. Or is that wishful thinking?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Are mods usually confusing as hell or am I just an idiot?⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Genuinely not had a problem with mods, and I’ve been PC gaming for decades. Of course sometimes mods don’t work but thats life. Just be patient, you’ll get it done.

  Decent mods have a readme file - follow the steps strictly - no skipping thinking you know better - and they should work.

  Also look on YouTube or search online for guides - people often provide step by step guides to mod games purely out of a love for gaming.

  Keep going - mods can be great, and its one of the many benefits of PC gaming.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Psst, the Americans are asleep, post some eggs⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Stop showing off your immense wealth.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What’s gone wrong with James Bond? No star, no script, no plan⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Paywalled, archived version: archive.is/M7hHZ

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Elon Reeve Musk⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Its probably just winXP running in a VM.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  So this isn’t shrinkflation, this is a small size pizza that they’re trying to claim is still as tasty as a full pizza?

  Like, if you wanted a full pizza it should be pretty obvious it’s a small 4.5" pizza from the box?