adespoton
@adespoton@lemmy.ca
- Comment on Why are people so rude on Reddit compared to the Fediverse? 15 hours ago:
Reddit is big enough that it’s a microcosm of humanity. The Fediverse hasn’t reached that level yet.
When I was on Reddit, most of the subreddits I hung out on were small, supportive, and friendly. A few I monitored weren’t — on purpose, so I could see what was going on in other places.
Funny thing is, for the most part, I’ve found matches for all those subreddits on Lemmy communities— although I had to browse through a bunch of hosting services to build up the same level of diversity.
- Comment on If a US bank only insures your money up to 250k does that mean I have to visit four different back to have a million dollars insured? 1 day ago:
Most people who put more than 250k in a single bank in a single account type won’t be using the bank’s insurance for protection.
- Comment on Is LM Studio's GUI safe despite being closed source? 3 days ago:
Unless that’s backed up by a wireshark session demonstrating no data sent, or a reversing analysis that shows a lack of capability in the software, the policy is just words.
- Comment on Explain it like I'm 5: Why is everyone on speakerphone in public? 4 days ago:
For me, speakerphone goes on temporarily if I need multiple people to be able to both listen and speak to an existing conversation.
Otherwise, they join the call on their own devices.
I find holding a phone up to my cheek really annoying though; I could see secondary exceptions for people with wireless headphones whose batteries had just died.
- Comment on 14,000 routers are infected by malware that's highly resistant to takedowns 5 days ago:
How about neither?
- Comment on People who grew up with Vietnam and the Cold War, is Iran going to be the new vietnam or just a semi cool war? 1 week ago:
Totally different. This is a multi-way religious war with Sunnis and Shias taking sides, and then Jews and Christians piling in. And on top of that is oil and nuclear weapons.
Iran has been kept destabilized by the rest of the world for the past 50 years because it brings stability to the rest of the region. KSA, UAE, Oman and Qatar are all quite happy to have Iran playing defense, as is Pakistan (traditional Persian lands and culture overlap most of the current national boundaries).
The main players in the Middle East have been fighting for the last 3,000 or so years, and it hasn’t been a cold fight. The US is traditionally willing to pour just enough weaponry into the area to keep things off balance.
- Comment on If I was a college athlete instead of accepting money out right. If I created a charity where they could "donate", and keep all the money? Is this illegal or illegal how so? 1 week ago:
That’s the way; study political science in university and set up a PAC towards your election for some far off date. Have anyone interested donate to the PAC, and then spend years trying to get elected after you graduate, using those funds for your campaign — many different types of activities can count as campaigning.
- Comment on [deleted] 1 week ago:
Android phones don’t have a BIOS for the same reason that Macs don’t have a BIOS and Raspberry Pis don’t have a BIOS — they run on the ARM architecture, not the Intel-compatible PC architecture.
As such, the bootloader system is compliant with a totally different reference system; ARM (Acorn Reference Machine) has been around almost as long as the IBM PC compatible architecture.
As for the “why are phones more locked down” bit, it’s because they’re supposed to be appliances, not general computing platforms. You want your phone to always work, so if you receive a phone call, text or email, it’s likely going to work.
Although the real answer is that if you buy a computer, you own the computer and get to decide what goes on it (well, unless it’s locked down to Windows or macOS). Phones contain bits that are owned by your carrier, bits that are owned by the manufacturer, bits that are owned by the software developer. And each of those groups doesn’t want anyone else messing with their private software.
- Comment on What to do with an old iPhone that I no longer use? 1 week ago:
Remember that old phones with no SIM are still able to call 911. You can use them as emergency call boxes.
- Comment on [deleted] 1 week ago:
I have to admit I’m pretty ignorant in low-end laptops.
Business class laptops tend to be able to charge at 100W over USB-C, but often have a dedicated charging port as well (Magsafe for Apple, rectangular charge port for Lenovo, for example).
For any laptop that draws 100W or less, I believe they’re required to charge over USB-C in the EU. Barrel jack is cheaper though, so they can shave a couple of dollars off the price by using it, which could lead to significant profits in increased sales, since most of the competition is using the same basic parts.
- Comment on New AirSnitch attack bypasses Wi-Fi encryption in homes, offices, and enterprises 2 weeks ago:
Key summary:
A device authenticated to a wifi router can abuse MAC IDs to become an AitM between the router and any other device on any of the router’s networks.
This attack can be pulled off from a compromised IoT device on a guest network that is supposed to be limited to Internet access and not be able to see other devices.
- Comment on AI Bros Wanted Trump. Now They Learn What Happens When You Tell Him No. 2 weeks ago:
On the plus side, the US government has now ensured Anthropic will do more than the bare minimum in the US.
Of course, that means it’s now OpenAI making kill decisions.
- Comment on Westerners, what's your impression on the Chinese Diaspora? And what does the people around your area of residence think of the Chinese Diaspora? 3 weeks ago:
What exactly do we consider the Diaspora to be? First generation?
Because there are people living in my area whose ancestors came from China 200 years ago.
- Comment on What is OAuth? 3 weeks ago:
I’m left with the same questions at the end of that as at the start.
Also, how does OAuth integrate with Passkeys? Because they seem like compatible concepts.
- Comment on Is there a program to speed up the process between my external harddrive and USB? If used to run super fast now it seems to slow down. Hopefully something I can use offline. Thx 3 weeks ago:
Along with the other advice, it’s worth noting that “USB” ports can have different specs; make sure you’re plugged into one that supports USB 3.1 or higher.
Also, USB is CPU-bound; if the CPU is busy doing other things, peripheral communication slows down.
- Comment on An AI Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me – More Things Have Happened 4 weeks ago:
Isn’t “theshamblog” AI generated? So in this case, including the Ars article it’s referencing?
The pieces are dated 2024.
- Comment on Audio cable measurements are driving me crazy — why don’t they null?!? 4 weeks ago:
Here’s a simple answer: cables going from analog input devices to DSPs, mixers, etc. need proper shielding and should be as short as possible, with low-resistance connectors. Otherwise, EM radiation can be picked up and interfere with the signal.
Anything traveling digitally? It just needs to arrive at the destination in a timely manner; your cable would have to be really bad to have any influence.
Cables out to analog speakers? As long as you have a decent signal, these can use the crappiest connections and unshielded cables — the worst thing they’ll do is provide interference for OTHER cables they’re near. Just adjust your EQ until the speakers provide the response you’re looking for.
- Comment on Is ironing clothes significantly less common now? 4 weeks ago:
Funny thing is: I switched from cheap T shirts to dress shirts after I bought one good quality one for a job interview.
They’re don’t get hot in the heat, wick away moisture, keep you warm when it’s cold, don’t shrink or wrinkle, last a good 10 years of heavy use and look professional no matter who you’re with.
I don’t know why my parents’ generation ever abandoned them.
- Comment on Is ironing clothes significantly less common now? 4 weeks ago:
I wear a dress shirt to work every day. They’re all no-iron; they don’t wrinkle and are wearable out of the dryer.
Textiles have come a long way in the past 50 years.
- Comment on How Big Tech Killed Online Debate 5 weeks ago:
This might be romanticizing the early Internet.
I can remember plenty of flame wars in the late 80s and early 90s that were all about shutting down meaningful discussion. Informed debate flourished in niche areas, but it still does today, in a similar volume. What’s changed is the massive volume of social media that’s grown up around it, including many types of voices that were in short supply on the Internet in 1989, and many of which are uneducated and/or tribal in nature.
- Comment on Too much open-source AI is exposing itself to the web 1 month ago:
Nothing xenophobic about it. That’s just the model we already have documented information about. Notice I mentioned CCP and government, not “the Chinese”.
That’s like calling someone an antisemite for being against the Israeli or Iranian government.
- Comment on How on earth do I fix my trackpad? 1 month ago:
Do you know which trackpad you have?
I’ve had that experience before on some laptops where the battery that sat right under the trackpad started to inflate.
- Comment on Too much open-source AI is exposing itself to the web 1 month ago:
Ollama with standard Gemma2 model open to the Internet. What could go wrong?
I call out this one because the Chinese government has already examined it for exploits and flaws.
Letting it run outside a sandbox on the Internet is tantamount to sharing any information and capabilities it has with the CCP.
- Comment on What are some good places online to earn certificates or degrees that you can who you a prolific in said subject? Hopefully something free maybe medical coding? 1 month ago:
Ah; so you want a collection of “yes, I can do this” items.
It’s not free, but I highly recommend night school courses in trade skills (welding, basic electrical wiring, basic plumbing and pipe fitting, etc).
- Comment on What are some good places online to earn certificates or degrees that you can who you a prolific in said subject? Hopefully something free maybe medical coding? 1 month ago:
That can show you are prolific?
Wouldn’t you want to excel in the subject instead of just being prolific?
- Comment on Minimal CVE Hardened container image collection 1 month ago:
Is this unpatched or just everything they could get their hands on?
- Comment on Are there any reputable cybersecurity experts that I could just email them to ask for free advice? 1 month ago:
A lot of cybersecurity experts have already put a lot of free information online.
- Comment on What is the best way to drop 50lbs in two months without spending alot and no fad diets? 1 month ago:
Ignoring metabolism and focusing solely on food calories consumed and exercise calories burned.
While calories are basic physics/chemistry/biology, they say nothing about the health of the individual. Not eating anything for a month to burn through your fat reserves isn’t going to leave you thin and trim.
- Comment on What is the best way to drop 50lbs in two months without spending alot and no fad diets? 1 month ago:
I do breakfast at 7, small snack of nuts at 10, lunch at 12:30, small snack at 2, dinner at 6, and absolutely nothing after dinner.
Meal volumes get adjusted depending on what I’m trying to do with my weight.
That 7-7 fast gives my body time to properly digest food and means my cholesterol spikes properly when I do eat food. This means fewer cravings, so the entire process becomes easier.
- Comment on What is the best way to drop 50lbs in two months without spending alot and no fad diets? 1 month ago:
Daily exercise only counts if it’s cardio and not muscle building. Otherwise the fat gets converted to muscle, which weighs more than fat.
Of course, weight loss shouldn’t ever be considered the end goal, and building muscle and having your weight go up/stay the same is perfectly fine to become healthier.