technology

I can get some logitech z333 for 70 dollars (still quite expensive imo) and I was close to buying but I live in a small apartment and I think the sub is going to cause some issues with my neighbor below me. I think a good pair of sattelites will do me well but I am also intrigued by having a sub which will make games and music sound better.

I've only really browsed logitech speakers because of capitalism but I would be open to any other suggestions. Max I am spending on is 100 but that's max. Ideally looking for something in the range of 10-80. Also if you have any suggestions for a headset and a seperate mic I can get in this price range that would help too. Thanks

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/08/01/guillermo-shnlein-oceangate-co-founder-venus-colony-vision/70509578007/

Thought it would be a case of removing the CMOS battery. Apparently these shits don't have that. Any ideas?

I wasn’t sure if everyone else was aware of this, so I thought it might be a good thing to post. The only other post I saw was 2 years ago. It’s a pretty cool and useful add on for seeing who is or isn’t a transphobe and you all should try it out.

If I were to never touch GMail again and use Thunderbird for the rest of my life, would I need to change my adress to free myself from the deathgrip of google?

https://mashable.com/article/x-twitter-letting-paid-users-hide-blue-ticks

Since I've been Covid conscious and stuck indoors more than most people now, I thought that I'd get a new mini PC slash media center. I was tired af from seeing ads from the YouTube app on my smart TV, and I kinda wanted to stream from other places not supported by the WebOS that's part of my smart TV. If I could play a few games on it, great.

My problem is that I'm a pretty cheap person. It's not that I don't want to spend a few grand, it's just that expensive shit ends up stressing me out. I'd rather buy something a bit cheaper if the thought of it breaking won't ruin my day. Like if a child of my friend is playing around my computer, I'm mentally cursing that kid out because I can't imaging dropping another 3 weeks worth of salary. I always have an older generation phone with me. I've definitely dropped a phone or jumped in the pool with my mobile in my pocket and it's always just been a shrug "well I need a new phone anyhow". My partner just bought the newest iPhone she's pretty nervous about the thing.

I'm definitely not a hardware guy, so likely I'm gonna get chewed out here. Anyhow, one thing that I noticed was that shops charge a pretty decent premium compared to the internet. It felt like it was 20% or so. The other thing that I found frustrating was that it was damn near impossible to buy a computer WITHOUT buying Windows as well. Stuff online like this had (what looks to me) like crappy graphics and quite a premium for RAM and and SSD storage.

Again, I'm not great with hardware. Gamers, please be nice.

When comparing prices on AliExpress and Amazon, omg Ali Express is way lower. OK, I tried one from a brand that had good reviews on the site, no one really complaining, you definitely never heard of the brand. Reading the description, you definitely get the vibe that they're putting a cracked copy of Windows 10 on the machine, which is fine as I want to run Linux. It was 700 USD, they shipped it from Guangzhou and it got here in maybe 5 days.

Thing got here and just didn't work. In hindsight, the video output was broken. The customer service guy was nice enough. I used my Hexbear don't be Western chauvinistic asshole to the Chinese worker powers. The guy was cool. I mailed it back (maybe $50 shipping), and got a full refund. It was fine. A week later, the customer service guy messaged me saying they'd give me the wholesale price on a upgraded machine. Basically something that's listed for $1200 on Amazon, or $1000 on Ali Express, they'd sell me for $700. I'm like.... "hmmmm".... but my greed won out. The thing had a much better processor and graphics card.

So I have Linux Mint installed. It's been a few months and the thing works perfectly fine now. I play Atomic Heart or Cyberpunk on medium graphics quality and the thing runs perfectly fine. I don't fucking need ultra quality and frankly this thing is enough. The best thing is watching YouTube without fecking ads, or just streaming shit. I am NOT subscribing to another service like Disney or Apple.

tldr: AliExpress can be a wonderful thing if you're willing to risk mailing the thing back to China for fixes.

Shoutout to a real one. You lasted for 7 years.

My gaming PC
2016 - 2023

https://www.businessinsider.com/student-uses-playrgound-ai-for-professional-headshot-turned-white-2023-8

It is still too early to celebrate, but this would be such a huge deal, holy fuck.

https://www.salon.com/2023/08/01/they-need-us-we-dont-need-them-the-fall-of-twitter-is-making-the-and-grifters-desperate/

aye aye aye again with the triggering?

I refuse to link this

Can't wait to see what he does next.

(paraphrasing) "From the perspective of a Marxist Leninist that adheres to Mao Zedong Thought, write an essay about Socialism with Chinese Characteristics"

This is all the context I have

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2007644/esrb-plans-to-scan-kids-faces-to-enforce-ratings-system.html

The NSA have approached lawmakers charged with its oversight about opposing an amendment that would prevent it from paying companies for location data instead of obtaining a warrant in court.

Introduced by US representatives Warren Davidson and Sara Jacobs, the amendment would prohibit US military agencies from "purchasing data that would otherwise require a warrant, court order, or subpoena" to obtain. The ban would cover more than half of the US intelligence community, including the NSA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the newly formed National Space Intelligence Center, among others.

The House approved the amendment in a floor vote over a week ago during its annual consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act, a "must-pass" bill outlining how the Pentagon will spend next year’s $886 billion budget. Negotiations over which policies will be included in the Senate’s version of the bill are ongoing.

In a separate but related push last week, members of the House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to advance legislation that would extend similar restrictions against the purchase of Americans' data across all sectors of government, including state and local law enforcement. Known as the "Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act," the bill will soon be reintroduced in the Senate as well.

A government report declassified by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence last month revealed that US intelligence agencies were avoiding judicial review by purchasing a "large amount" of "sensitive and intimate information" about Americans, including data that can be used to trace people’s whereabouts over extended periods of time. The sensitivity of the data is such that "in the wrong hands," the report says, it could be used to "facilitate blackmail," among other undesirable outcomes. The report also acknowledges that some of the data being procured is protected under the US Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, meaning the courts have ruled that government should be required to convince a judge the data is linked to an actual crime.

Steam started crashing on verifying installation after an update. I made a half-hearted attempt at solving the issue, lasting about forty minutes before it occurred to me that there was a better way.

I installed Debian Bookworm and declared that I was insufficiently 31337 to use the AUR safely.___

Not a bad idea, but it would mean needing to use Opera GX. So I kind of hope it gets cloned to other browsers in the same way that Private/Incognito/"Porn" Mode has. Speaking as someone that works on lots of non-corp/business computers. This would be perfect for lots of people, and not even just for the obvious use-case.