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pedz

@pedz@lemmy.ca

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pedz ,

For some people there's a point where riding in the rain turns from sucking to being fun. For me it's when it's pouring down and water is sloshing around in my shoes. I meet other drenched cyclists and we just smile at each other. We can't get any wetter, might as well enjoy it.

I don't enjoy going cycling when it's raining, but I get used to it and sometimes end up liking it. Same with the cold.

pedz , (edited )

Montrealer here. When roads are unplowed, cars also struggle. When it's too cold, cars also struggle.

I live at the top of a gentle slope and as soon as it starts snowing, cars are slipping and sliding down the slope. There's even a famous video of exactly this kind of thing, with cars, buses, police and snow plows just sliding down the slope.

Cars need very well maintained roads to work in winter. Those roads can also be used by bikes. And if you plow bike paths and bike lanes, just like we do for cars, cycling in winter is usually no big deal. Sometimes while cars are slipping down I can observe cyclists being able to climb the same slope. Or they just push the bike up on foot and continue on their way.

I use my bike in winter and can assure you that it is working.

Addendum: I am a simple man. When is starts snowing I just sit by my window and watch cars struggle to go uphill. In fact, I record it.

Picture!

Also, just to continue on your points. It's not -30C every day and snow here is usually plowed within a few hours, AND removed within a few days. Extreme weather is extreme, and one should avoid driving in during heavy snowfall anyway. So either you're on a bike, or in a car that you must dig out of a snow bank, or using public transit, if the weather is extreme, everyone is going to have a less than perfect day.

pedz OP ,

Alternatively,

https://lemmy.ca/pictrs/image/09f7e999-ec0b-4625-93e8-167953d28415.png

pedz OP ,

Mainly because of bluetooth headphones with multiple computers. That way they are paired to only one computer and I can use them with other computers at the same time. Just right click on paprefs system tray icon, change the sink and the audio is sent somewhere else. I know it's now possible to have bluetooth headphones that have multiple connections but it wasn't the case a few years ago and I still find it much more useful this way.

But it's also useful when I have my laptop near my main computer and want to use its much better speakers instead of the crappy ones on the laptop. Right click, select another sink, and that's it.

It's just nice to have the option to send the audio from one computer to another. It's a shame that it's apparently a niche thing.

pedz OP ,

When it works (!), it's one of the reasons I brag to my tech friends about Linux, and why I switched to Linux many many years ago. In fact, it was when Esound was a thing. But once in a while it stops working after an upgrade or a dist-upgrade, and I have to spend time trying to fix it.

I like to joke around with tech minded friends that Windows keeps breaking with every updates, but then I have to spend an hour finding out why my sinks disappeared after an upgrade, and I'm forced to realize that... sigh... these things happen with Linux too.

pedz OP ,

Audio over the network is a feature of pulseaudio/pipewire from a module aptly named "module-simple-protocol", and as simple as it is to make it work on Linux (when it works), it's unfortunately not as easy on other platforms. Technically speaking, it's possible to do that on Android with an app called "Simple Protocol Player" but it's apparently very glitchy and you're going to need some patience for the setup. It's from someone that wanted to stream audio from an HTPC with Ubuntu to an Android phone, but the author states that it's pretty buggy. Here's the link to their blog: https://kaytat.com/blog/?page_id=301

So the short answer is unfortunately "no", unless you want to practice your patience on a project.

pedz OP ,

Bah. I've been using Linux for 25 years, started with a derivative of Slackware, then used Slackware for about a decade, and switched to Debian. I used 5.25" floppies and manually set IRQs so I'm quite comfortable with Debian and tinkering in general.

For friends and family I prefer LMDE. Snap packages can go to hell.

pedz OP ,

I never noticed any latency when I'm not using bluetooth. And no, the devices do not speak to each other. For PA/pipewire, this is just an audio sink as any other.

There is latency when using bluetooth but this is pretty standard. It just doesn't increase (or not noticeably) when streamed to another computer.

pedz ,

Free software. Try to use apt on Android, or run software that you can use on a desktop. And no ads in every app.

Root access, that is, being admim of your own device.

Being able to access the file system and support for different types. For example Android doesn't support NTFS and needs FAT. Plugging a simple USB drive has mixed results.

This is from the top of my head. I use both but I really don't like how Android is locked down and so limited, even for power users. I really wish I could have a real "pocket computer" instead of this thing that feeds me ads.

pedz ,

Setting up an ad blocker for a whole device often requires root. I gave up with my new phone and just have ublock origin on Firefox but that's the point. I can't easily install something that will modify the DNS because I have no admin access on my phone.

That's why I also do give up on certain apps. For example I don't like the ads in Boost so I stopped using it. Sometimes I pay for the version of an app without ads. This doesn't happen on Linux.

Also being heavily pushed towards apps for websites like YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, Facebook... Lemmy, Mastodon... They are all "best experienced" in apps, and most of them will probably try to push you ads or make you pay.

Again, I'm relatively tech savvy so I can find other ways, but it's still annoying and disappointing to have to constantly find ways around the system. It doesn't happen in Linux.

Android is the enshittification of Linux.

pedz ,

If I need to choose, I'll go with Android but to be quite frank, I would really prefer to have a "real" computer operating system on those devices. For 10+ years I've been waiting for a device that I can put in my pocket, use it on the go, with a data connection, and have the possibility to dock it and continue using it as a full fledged computer, with Linux if possible.

I know some high end Android devices can be "docked" and connected to a monitor, but they are far too expensive and/or too rare. Also, you still have to use apps instead of proper computer software. I don't like the "everything is an app" model, where they all have to have ads and/or paid versions. Android and "mobile" operating systems are a pain to use. I want to have control over my device.

And I also know there are some devices that can to this, but with the level of technology that we have, a device like this should be easy to find. Yet, it's all niche stuff that isn't really polished nor working really well. It's all damn phones and tablets with "mobile" operating systems that locks users. I wonder if phone/tablet manufacturers keep it that way because there's no demand for this, or if they simply want to continue the milking of the mobile users.

pedz ,

Maybe you can go back in time with some kemocite and by venting warp plasma into the cargo bay and catch it at the right moment.

pedz ,

Many many years ago, it's one of the things that made me switch to Linux. Moving and renaming files while using them was kind of a game changer.

pedz ,

Ah yes, winter! I live in a wintery place (Quebec) and cars in winter need very much care to work properly. They need plowed and salted streets or they get stuck or can't go uphill. If that level of care was the same for pedestrians and cyclists, it would be much easier to move around without a car.

Also, you may need a car because of chronic pain but surely not everyone driving a car needs one for chronic pain? And wouldn't it be nicer for people that really need a car if there were fewer cars around?

I'm in my early 40ies and lived all those winters without a car and I still think it's silly to say they are "adapted" or "working well" in winter. Every winter there are multi car collisions/pile-ups on highways. They slip and slide easily. Multiple times in a year cars can't climb the little hill in front of my place. It takes even more space to park them as there are snowbanks everywhere. Sometimes they get covered in ice.

I really can't see the appeal of a car in winter.

pedz ,

It mostly sucks ungodly amounts of electricity for a mediocre result. And I don't think the energy consumed for things like driving a two ton vehicle around, when people can take a bus or a train, is worth it.

pedz ,

Ha! I actually left reddit 14 months ago because I thought users of /r/fuckcars were too much pro cars. Like, there was a post of a dude with a giant pickup truck driving in a snow storm saying that if there were trains, he'd use it, bit now he's "stuck" using a pickup truck to drive between two cities during a snow storm because "he had bo other choice". And that crap was upvoted and defended.

Like, if I made comments that were too much 'fuck cars!' in /r/fuckcars, I would be told that some people would just loooooove to use public transit but there's none where they live so they really don't like it but don't have any other choice than using a car that they "hate" but don't want to give up.

Lots of users of a sub against cars that couldn't walk nor bike to save their lives. They want bus, trains... taxis or cars.. but walking and cycling? No. AmEriCa iS BiG aNd RuRal So YoU woULdN't uNdErStAnD! Yet I live in an even "emptier" and bigger country...

They wanna "get rid" of their cars but as soon as someone proposes to walk a bit, or bike somewhere, they are like "but what about robotaxis?!" FFS!

pedz , (edited )

It seems hit and miss for VLC. I've used it for many years in Linux and can't pinpoint the moment when it became bad for me, but it now has difficulty to read a significant portion of my video files.

It lags when playing videos, or there is sound but no image, or it flickers. It just became unreliable for me. And if we google a bit, there seems to also be lots of people in that situation.

I tried a few things, changing settings and what not, but it never worked correctly again. Even on a fresh install. So I gave up and just use mpv now.

Edit: I just remembered. At one point it was not closing properly. Like, if you didn't stop the video playing before closing VLC's window, it crashed and stayed in the background. It opened new instances but every time it was closed before stopping a video, it would just crash and stay in the background. Eventually I'd have 4, 5 or 6 icons of VLC in my notification tray and would have to kill all of them. It was annoying.

pedz ,

For the nostalgic, there is Qmmp that looks and behave like XMMS/Winamp and is still maintained.

pedz ,

Those VR headsets always make me think of this

https://lemmy.ca/pictrs/image/6cd09f7f-2db6-4ec2-ad05-325ebaa6e626.png

But I learned that apparently porn is not "possible" on the Apple one... yet.

pedz ,

As long as it's not à la Musk where the new versions will be inferior to the previous one because "no modern trains should rely on antiquated technology so we're scrapping everything from before to start from scratch".

pedz ,

Modern web IRC clients like The Lounge or Convos can now display images, play mp3 and mp4 formats, and they have upload options. It can still be excellent for real time support, but I'm not so sure about documentation though.

pedz ,

My landlord is a multimillion dollar faceless company that sends me offers for a reduction on rent if I refer someone else. They have partnerships with other giant businesses and send me coupons for other companies. They push tenants towards a particular ISP. They amass personal data and seem to share it.

They want to make it seem like added value, but as a tenant, it feels like you're just another consumer to be sold something. They send me so much spam...

pedz , (edited )

As another comment points out, there is a mistake with the second sentence.

The word combination works but it does not contradict the first negation.

Ceci n'est pas une pipe = This is not a pipe

C'est une pipe = It's a pipe

What you want is to simply remove the negative "n' + pas".

Ceci est une pipe = This is a pipe

With other examples...

Ceci est un garçon = This is a boy

Ceci n'est pas un garçon = This is not a boy

C'est une fille = It's a girl

Ceci est une fille = This is a girl

Ceci n'est pas une fille = This is not a girl

Ceci est un commentaire = This is a comment

Ceci n'est pas un commentaire = This is not a comment

C'est simple n'est-ce pas? = It's simple is it not?

pedz , (edited )

Indeed. Never gave a second thought to the word but apparently it's the name of a young male servant. The pronunciation ends with a nasal vowel as there is no trailing "e" at the end. In IPA that's /ɡaʁ.sɔ̃/. If you say /ɡaʁ.ɔn/ it makes it sound female.

Un patron = male owner

Une patronne = female owner

Waymo Plans Massive Robotaxi Service Area, But Not Massive Enough (www.forbes.com)

"Waymo has filed a request to the California Public Utilities Commission to expand robotaxi service in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles region. In the SFBA, it grows from just San Francisco to the whole peninsula, all the way to Sunnyvale but not including Marin, the East Bay and Santa Clara/Cupertino/San Jose. The LA...

pedz ,

God forbid we have public transit instead of fucking cars everywhere. There's no need for buses or trains when we can spend huge amounts of energy to autonomously move two tons of metal for each and every individual that exists.

Humanity is not running to ruin. It's taking a car.

pedz , (edited )

I'd be curious to see any numbers on that. Uber and Lyft played the card of "but it's car sharing and thus reducing trafic" but in the end, it doesn't really change much, and sometimes even increase trafic.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/uber-lyft-traffic-congestion-car-ownership-study/

As someone that doesn't have a licence, never have driven a car and avoids them if possible, taxis (autonomous or not) are generally useless to me. They are still cars and they keep people dependent on cars.

In a city, people shouldn't need a taxi (read, a car) to get around. In urban areas, people can walk, bike or use public transit. And if you want to go from one city to another, one shouldn't also need a taxi (car) to get there.

I'm aware that this is kind of "utopist" and requires efforts to change things but, if the solution to wanting less cars is "cars but shared!", this is not a solution. It's just proof of failed policies. It will not encourage any change, just stagnation. Things will stay based on cars.... but autonomous... and electric (oh so green)! Oh and also, now big tech knows exactly where you're going, and when.

EDIT: And if robotaxis would be "part of the solution" for the last mile, why wouldn't a normal taxi already fulfil that role? We don't have enough? So we'd need more vehicles on the road, But autonomous? Why do they need to be autonomous? How come is the last mile such a huge problem for most people? Is walking or cycling a mile that difficult for most people? Is everyone carrying a 42" TV around?

pedz ,

Then they'll block your road, get out of their fancy car and assault you for hitting that precious car.

I was on a bike path when a car driver cut me while exiting a driveway and I bumped my wheel into his back bumper. Well, he stopped, got out of his car, whined that I didn't do "my" stop and ended up slapping me twice in the face... because he cut me and I bumped into his car...

So even if you have an old car AND it's not your fault, they'l still be mad at you for existing and being in their way.

pedz ,

I'm the one making the comment and you're the one assuming I did something wrong because I was on a bicycle? Or is this "a lot" exaggerated and biaised?

Anyway the said rules where I live is that riding on sidewalks is illegal. Cyclists are not pedestrians and should not be mixed with them.

I was legally on a cycle path, had priority, there was no light. I was cut then slapped by the driver making an illegal move, and you're first thought is to point out that "lots of bikers blow red lights"?! What?

pedz , (edited )

But if you just watch his videos and buy his stuff he will teach you how to repair yours!11! /s

The few times I watched his videos, he sounded like a libertarian bro, saying that if you just put the effort, you too can become successful. You just have to pull yourself by the bootstraps or something. He's showing you everything you need to know to be as successful as him! And maybe it was sarcasm and I didn't catch it but at one point he muttered something about Trump fixing the potholes of New York. That's about when I stopped taking him seriously.

He's still an important voice for the right to repair movement but you're right. I also can't stand him. Unfortunately he has very dedicated/vocal eeehm, fans, so legitimate remarks on him are often met with downvotes.

pedz ,

This guy was offered an insane salary for doing engineering for US defense contracts and turned it down because he felt like calling out bad practices and improving repairability on our devices was a better thing to do.

I guess that makes him our lord and saviour then, and we can then only take him seriously because of that. Knowing this changes everything. He is so good to help us lowly people in our quest for repairable devices! And if you just keep watching his videos he can teach you how you also can be successful like him. And by the way you can buy his tools too!

He's right on the right to repair, but every time I tried to watch his videos (and I tried a few times, I work in tech and like the subject), I always felt like I was being... patronized.

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