JoshuaFalken

JoshuaFalken , 4 days ago to Jellyfin: The Free Software Media System in We're good, seriously! - Jellyfin

I think I explained what I was talking about rather well. Trying to view a piece of media in its highest release format isn't something that's always feasible. Anything even a few years old can to difficult to source. Ask anyone rebuilding a library after a drive failure. It's even worse if what you're trying to get had low viewership - it means an even smaller pool of people bothering to host the data.

While I'm sure this is a niche situation within a niche situation, hosting your own media library locally allows offline playback. Quite nice in during a thunderstorm. Not an option with what you've described as your methods, but again, definitely an uncommon use case.

JoshuaFalken , 4 days ago to Jellyfin: The Free Software Media System in We're good, seriously! - Jellyfin

Time and time again, media will be removed from public viewing for nearly any reason. Online streaming services have what you want to watch only so long as their license to it is valid. Once it expires, it's gone off that platform - and not always to another one. Or the media gets edited to remove or alter something the owners don't want to promote.

This is even true for the varying methods of sailing. Not everything will be available indefinitely. Certainly not at zero effort. While not being as simple as signing up for a service and watching a low bitrate copy of something within thirty seconds, it's not rocket science. You can get Jellyfin running with a small library in half an hour.

Ultimately, do what suits you. A local media server works for some. Others will have everything in a single folder and view it through VLC. It's pretty irrelevant though when the vast majority just pay a subscription to one or multiple of the streaming companies that continue to serve watered down libraries at ever increasing prices.

JoshuaFalken , 20 days ago to Technology in People want 'dumbphones'. Will companies make them?

I see what you mean. People use their devices at different levels. That may not be the best way to put it.

My meaning is that a portion of the users will be the type to spend a couple hours digging through each setting on a new device to set it to their needs. Another group will use the device with minimal initial adjustments, and tweak things as they find things they don't like. Then there's a third group that will almost never open a preferences panel and just use a device by its factory settings, likely to never consider potential improvements to their user experience.

From what you've said, I imagine your in that second group. I myself am in the first one I described; I look at the options of any hardware I purchase or software I download before I actually begin to use it.

Unfortunately - in the context of this post - the number of people in that third group I imagine outnumber us by multiple orders of magnitude, and therefore companies with shareholders to appease will always manufacture devices with as much bloat and advertising and invasive data mining as they can be paid to put in.

JoshuaFalken , 21 days ago to Technology in People want 'dumbphones'. Will companies make them?

I think that last bit is more of a 'what you make of it' situation, regardless of how smart or dumb a phone is.

Unfortunately the manufacturers want the data and advertising revenue, and they'd only be persuaded to offer an alternative if they made the same amount of money.

If each sale of a $900 smart phone gives them $100 of ad revenue over a couple years, I'd bet my bottom dollar they would charge $200 for the 'dumb' version.

JoshuaFalken , 1 month ago to Mildly Infuriating in Grocery stores promoting gas discounts are not helping the transition away from gas vehicles

Unfortunately, like most issues we face, this is not a stand alone problem. I'll concede, over the length of ownership of the car, a brand new electric vehicle is more environmentally friendly than keeping your current combustion engine vehicle.

However, we don't live in a society where the majority can make that choice independent of other factors. EVs are more expensive across the board.

Even if the purchasing cost of an off-the-lot EV were equivalent to continued use of an older ICE across two years - most people can not afford it.

JoshuaFalken , 1 month ago to Mildly Infuriating in Grocery stores promoting gas discounts are not helping the transition away from gas vehicles

I see buses as a good method of figuring out routes when first implementing a transit system similar to how some developments leave out walking paths to see where people typically walk and install them afterwards.

Generally though, trams can allow for more passengers transported per trip and per operator than a bus. Good for high and low traffic areas with dedicated transit lanes.

Don't get me wrong - trams certainly don't replace buses. Multiple forms of transit are best practice of course. I just don't see the need for only buses or mostly buses.

As a minor detail, tires are one of the top polluters of both microplastics and noise levels in cities, and it would be nice to lower the amount of them being disintegrated in the process of moving people from place to place - be in from buses, or the larger culprit, private vehicles.

JoshuaFalken , 1 month ago to Mildly Infuriating in Grocery stores promoting gas discounts are not helping the transition away from gas vehicles

For further than bike distance, it's confounding why cities don't have a tram system.

If something is being moved from one place to another, and back again, you would of course look for more efficient ways to move that thing. Use a box.

When there's dozens of those things making the same trip, put them together in the same transport method. It's not complicated. Factories don't have people moving one product at a time to the next station. They have conveyor belts or similar to accomplish the task.

When needed, sure, have an electric car that someone could drive. But it's not necessary for a good portion of the population.

JoshuaFalken , 1 month ago to Mildly Infuriating in Grocery stores promoting gas discounts are not helping the transition away from gas vehicles

I can't say I've seen any people 'forcing' others to go out and replace a perfectly functional combustion car with an electric one - the manufacturers maybe. Most of the conversation I see is focused on the lack of low cost options when it's time to purchase a brand new vehicle. Gas and electric both.

Once you move away from the brand new discussion, it seems pretty well agreed that keeping what you've got is the best option environmentally and financially. Buying used being a close second.

Freedom is important. But when the industry only offers you trucks and SUVs, where's your choice?

JoshuaFalken , 1 month ago to Technology in Republicans are pulling out all the stops to reverse EV adoption

Electricity isn't critical?

In terms of road costs, the vehicle being electric or combustion isn't particularly relevant in a country where the most popular vehicle crosses the scales above 4,000 pounds.

JoshuaFalken , 1 month ago to Technology in Republicans are pulling out all the stops to reverse EV adoption

Who pays for the roads?

JoshuaFalken , 1 month ago to Lefty Memes in It's a grocery chain in Canada and this is marvelous.

Some time ago, we lived in a place where the only grocery was Sobeys. Now that we've moved to a place with half a dozen options around - chain and independent alike - the grocery bill is down 30%.

JoshuaFalken , 1 month ago to Technology in FCC restores net neutrality rules that ban blocking and throttling in 3-2 vote

I checked the carriers around here and all of them unsurprisingly offer the same thing. 50GB 5G for 50€ that drop to roughly 2G speeds once the limit is reached.

Almost 20x the cost of your subscription.

JoshuaFalken , 2 months ago to Technology in Fully working 270€ Nest Dropcam will no longer be supported.

Fantastic, I'll certainly be making use of that. I've never been one for digital reading - I printed out Little Brother and read it that way - but with no DRM how could you complain. I appreciate the link.

JoshuaFalken , 2 months ago to Technology in Fully working 270€ Nest Dropcam will no longer be supported.

On your recommendation, I picked up a copy from my library this morning. Only had time for the first chapter, but I'm already liking it. Thank you.

JoshuaFalken , 3 months ago to Technology in Fully working 270€ Nest Dropcam will no longer be supported.

I'd heard and used both phrases before but didn't realize they had the same author. Coincidentally, I recently reread one of his books, Little Brother, also by chance of reading about it on a Lemmy comment.

It's no surprise the author of that book has these views. I think I'll read more of his work.