d-RLY?

Sorry if my wording was bad. I meant installing Irfanview with WINE. Xnview having versions for the different platforms is a major good thing. If I can get myself to use it more than I do Irfanview, then I at least know any future jumps to daily using Linux or Mac OS will work fine (at least for image viewing lol).

I was so happy to learn about Libro.fm randomly. Makes things so much easier to just download and have on my dedicated audio player. No DRM to strip or having to use their player. Only thing that annoys me about them (along with other audiobook services) is that they list books that they can’t sell due to DRM. Most of the time if they don’t have a book you just don’t get a result, but for some reason they will show some books and I get excited to see them. Just to then load the page and see that they currently can’t offer it due to DRM. Would much rather not see the search result. Another mildly annoying thing with their search is that searching for books by authors will include other authors and show results for all their books. Both are just annoyances that aren’t deal breakers so long as everything else is kept the same.

Same here. Every time I have used Linux or MacOS for long periods of time as my main OS. I run into that moment when I need/want to look at images (or even just one), and all the other fun things go right out the door. It is such a weird problem that other viewers can’t manage to “feel correct,” Always amazes me at how this one program is the cause of such a specific emotional response from me. lol

I try out Xnview from time to time on Windows to try and adapt to it, but always run into just something (but it is a very good program and is why I make the effort to check-in on it at all). I think that in Xnview’s case, it is just waaaay too much going on and even with the massive amount of settings I can’t find the ones that “just work” for me. Just end up installing it through WINE and deal with the random weird things that come from using it that way (most tend to be the UI looking so different due to not matching the OS and presenting the fake C: when opening a file from the menu). And still “feels” much better.

Other more simple viewers also don’t “feel” right due to not having some of the additional settings/features Irfanview has for light editing. Would maybe help in the case of Xnview if someone was able to mod it to have Irfanview look (kind of like the various mods of GIMP to layout like Photoshop) and hide the tons of advanced stuff that Irfanview doesn’t have in sub menus or a toggle to switch to the normal setup. Though I can get it kind of close if I play around with moving stuff around on the main toolbar. So still like the best next option I have used.

You are very correct on how lots of sites have made RSS basically a method for just spamming you with crap. They just give a headline and link (not even a paragraph to know what the thing is about). But RSS itself still works the way it used to. It is the sites that enshittify the feeds.

True, especially the part about your mom and others that had to use PCs in the 90s and 80s. I suck with a lot of CMD/PowerShell/Terminal stuff and get really in my head about whatever I am doing. Though a lot of it is due to things like switches and formatting order. Can be very very frustrating if there are a lot of them and having to constantly look at what they mean since they aren’t just regular words (which would obviously make the amount of typing get out of hand). The other main issue for me is dealing with moving or copying things around. GUI is much easier to get due to being able to see it in the same way I would move/copy things IRL. Especially frustrating if using USB drives, since they don’t just auto-mount/assign a letter if only using something without a DE. That part is (for me) a headache to have to deal with since the same OS will just do that if a DE is used. But also not something I do every day (or very often as I mostly use Linux when messing with my Pi).

But your core point of just doing it is very true. The reason that folks in offices in the 90s and 80s were able to get used to it was because they had to, and that there was a reason to at least know the things to do what they needed. They didn’t have to get bogged down with all of it (or even need most commands). So it would be best to focus on the things that are needed to get daily things done. Then it makes a lot of other bits easier to handle later on. And a lot of common things can be printed/written on cheat sheets or getting stickers with common commands to put on the side of the case or stuck to a desk in easily glanced at locations.

That is a real problem which is why a smaller (or even a “mini”) version of phones does matter. Keyboards can be adapted to be smaller, which can be helpful (but gets clunky when I have tried using those options from one-hand typing to two-hand adding steps). It does seem like the options for folks like yourself are an afterthought that leads to having to pick between being comfortable or having all the features and uncomfortable. Apple is basically the only OEM that has real options in both smaller and larger sizes without losing as many (if any depending on the year) features.

I have been using Samsung phones since the S3 and while I personally like the larger ones, I do have a friend that has also had their phones about as long as me. And he always gets the non-plus version of whatever the S series is out when he upgrades due to liking the smaller size (similar to your experience). But I know he would love a small version of the Ultra for the extra features, but don’t see Samsung doing that anytime soon. Which sucks given how much they try to be the “Apple” of Android devices.

“disarming of Hamas” Non starter, never give-up arms. It just gives the oppressor complete control and will only mean that Israel will fully take all the land and murder the people much much easier. Settlers will be able to swarm in and murder even more Palestinians. If your murder is going to happen anyway, then take as many of them as you possibly can.

I personally like large screens due to being able to see more (do have to mess with scaling and font sizes to force browsers). Though I do find that I can only do “serious” work with actual PCs (even tablets don’t “feel” right). Some things make more sense as having a mouse and keyboard are easier to just do things. But other times I can only describe trying to use small screens (including my large phones and tablets) as kind of a digital “claustrophobia” of sorts. Though some of that is because of touch interfaces/UX can’t show as many options/menus and the keyboards take up more of the space.

Though I do hate that we don’t see more compact flagship level options for folks that like them or need them. Apple is like the best option as far as losing fewer functions, and Samsung does still make a point of having a non-plus version of their main yearly releases.

As far as the screen size impacting battery. I think that the opposite is seen from the times I have heard it brought up. The larger body allows for more battery space. I believe that when I was looking at smaller phones for a friend that was thinking that a small screen would help reduce his desire to distract himself from being always on his phone. That one thing I saw people/articles mention was how one down-side for smaller phones was literally how they needed to charge more often to make it through the day. I think the resolution and refresh rates make the most impact on battery. As I remember my S8+ could do like 2k resolution, but in the settings it would mention that battery life might be less than if I picked 1080p. Which would still be an issue if I had the non-plus version.

Agreed, sometimes we get caught-up in ideas of these things that we are told are “major” events. But don’t really calm down to what is after them. Like finishing school (any level) feels like it will just “be” the answer, but then the structure is gone and then there isn’t a firm predictable path to follow. Just left with the feeling of “now what do I do?” Or the realization of how quickly dull/mundane it is after the initial goal is met.

I remember how excited I was to learn how to use my dad’s riding mower was (both because it was something to drive around and seemed like an “adult” task), but then I just became the one that had to mow. But I have found it kind of a great time to listen to books. So I now look forward to it (most of the time), because it is uninterrupted time to listen to them. No distractions aside from like the bagger getting stopped-up.

I am not sure of where you live or what side of the road you drive on but dear god, learn where the passing lane is and what the etiquette for it is.

Would add that it is not good to stay in the left-most lane on the interstate if you aren’t passing. If someone is going faster than you are while in that lane, move out of it. So many slow folks and/or big trucks love to just stay in the left lane for no reason. Obviously there are moments that make it impossible. Like when all lanes are filled due to construction, or due to those cascade waves of stand-still traffic cause by folks doing that sudden jumps from one side to the other because of missing exits or whatever.

The article is interesting, but they really went hard with the title just to only talk about it for like two sentences. I was hoping for more since it seems like a pretty fun topic.

The Dems speak of how Trump and his people are fascists (not wrong) and that the must be stopped. But then when a fascist is “stopped” they come out of the wood works to make sure they “put aside differences” and will bow down harder to the Republican fascists. Deep down a Democrat fascist will always show their true colours when they see another fascist harmed. Fuck all of them and their theatre.

Yeah they go through the neck.

Specs:

• Asus TUF Gaming X570-Plus WiFi
• AMD Ryzen 5950X
• 64GB of G.Skill F4-3600C18-32GVK
• Gigabyte AMD RX-7900XTX
• Samsung 980 Pro 500GB (OS drive)
• Samsung 990 Pro 4TB (Game Drive)
• Samsung 870 EVO (one 2TB and one 4TB for main non-game storage)
• WD Black 1TB HDD (mostly used for books, comics, file history for my user profile, and misc storage)
• LG M-Disc Ultra-HD/4k internal burner/reader with hacked firmware to use with MakeMKV.
• Seasonic 850W 80+ Platinum
• Noctua NH-D15 Gen 2 (had a NH-U12S) and 5 140mm case fans from them (can’t remember which models but one is the newer version).
• Fractal Define R4 (main reason I have air cooling instead of an AIO as the 5.24in bays and older style from a 2013 build I bought from a different friend in 2015 that wanted to downsize to do two years of Van-Life).
• Windows 10 Pro (will likely move to a Linux distro after I have a new build and use this one as a dedicated Plex/Jellyfin/long-term data storage).

Built piecemeal over the past 6ish years (original CPU: Ryzen 3800X as a bundle with the board and GPUs first RX-580 8GB then RX-5700XT also 8GB, drives changed out also over time along with the RAM). So the cost of all the parts has been spread out. I got the RX-7900XTX for $800 off a friend that was down-sizing on things which was too good to pass-up as the price was still $1000~1100 at the time (2023 within the first year).

Usecase: Mostly games, general daily tasks and browsing, also as my Plex server and more recently ripping/re-encoding my Blu-rays and DVDs.

I plan to build a more straightforward PC for games and daily tasks. I don’t have the parts selected yet for it, but plan to stay all AMD. Also plan to run a Linux distro from the start with that one since Proton has worked so well on my Steam Deck (along with Windows 11 being so much more invasive than even 10). Might still need to setup a VM with Windows for really specific situations and to keep-up with how things work and trying out things that might help in fixing PCs I work on for my job.

I have heard that doing hardware pass-through on VMs is maybe easier if the host is Linux to be able to actually use my GPU in the client OS. So I am looking forward to seeing how that might work (I don’t use VMs much since I haven’t had proper GPU support which annoys me lol). —

Not the channel you where talking about, but if you like fake tutorials. Then this one has some funny ones. https://www.youtube.com/@infinitesolutions

Only a few days after you for me.

Might be a W for now, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they bring back the ties if they get US and IOF support to steamroll the Kurds. But maybe not, just know that they love to play both sides (normally Russia/former USSR and USA). Time and actions will tell as always. This would be a major chance to be on the correct side of history if it can put a dent in stopping the genocide of Palestine. And shames the US aligned Arab nations like Saudi Arabia that have done nothing as they certainly knew and know what the IOF/Zionists plan to do.

The “dumb TV” options are few (there are some but doubt their panels are as good), so the only “real” options are to go with the second option you gave. Depending on the size needed, PC OLED/AMOLED monitors are probably the best option pared with a HTPC or whatever other box. Sucks that a lot of the larger ones are also becoming “smart.”

Not really things that I can use less. But I really hate when companies that are already fully saturated (or basically have monopolies) really push ads for their shit. Example being shit like Spectrum. While there are now more options in my area for internet (AT&T did start laying fiber in my area like last summer), it really just seems like all the money put into the marketing departments could be saved. Same goes for AAA games.

We keep seeing how all the major fucking companies keep purging staff or dev studios they bought do to sales “not meeting expectations.” But it seems like they should be cutting marketing first. Every “gamer” I know is already aware that something was announced with a release date via YT trailers and gaming outlets that were already going to cover it. So pushing so many more millions of dollars into shit really just looks like wasted money.

Same. I initially decided to try it to see if it was even close to as good taste wise as it is advertised. Also because it is gluten-free and might be something my dad might like since he had to switch to GF. But none of the four boxes really came close to being similar to what they would replace. And the price (that they make such a point about being “affordable”) was like two or three times more expensive than better options we did find.

It really reminds me that basically everything that is called “affordable” on most social media is really pushed to tech-bro/massive city areas. Which $7~9 might be “affordable” if in super high cost of living cities. Just like how most of the “hot” tech things or trends tend to act like other places are just as “modern.” Most small towns/rural areas are always like a decade behind on things. Which makes it beyond difficult to help regular people with basically everything tech-wise at my job. Which I won’t make my already long reply even longer by ranting more.