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Joined 5 months ago
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Cake day: January 23rd, 2024

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  • Had a sound issue: output device options only listed “Dummy Output” and nothing was listed for input devices. I eventually got my headset to be recognized again, but sadly couldn’t tell you what did it, since I tried so many things and I lack proper understanding of the Linux sound scene.

    Just in case it’s useful to someone, here’s a collection of ideas I found while working through the issue:

    • Make sure wireplumber service is enabled and running OK
    • Plug in an HDMI device and reboot (some people said this permanently fixed a similar issue)
    • Backup, then delete $XDG_STATE_HOME/wireplumber and reboot
    • Check if you have installed the packages:
      • kernel-modules
      • alsa-sof-firmware

    Note, however, that I really don’t understand what some of these do. You should be very wary of taking suggestions from people who don’t know what they’re talking about… unless you’re desperate enough and want your sound back, perhaps.

    …Also, here’s a gentle reminder to test your sound device with other equipment and try different ports/adapters, if available. Wasn’t my case, but sometimes stuff simply breaks at inopportune times.


  • Generally, I agree, but there’s some nuance.

    Discussions are better when those who intend to participate read the content first. Realistically, though, we know many read the headline and jump straight into comments. I think that’s a culture issue, and that’s difficult to fix.

    The bot can alleviate its impact by giving these people more context. Without changing culture, however, removing the bot from these discussions could ironically make them worse. At least, that’s how I see it.

    I don’t really like it, but I believe it helps.

    What actually confused me, though, is that if you lump in some privacy/accessibility/convenience concerns, I could kinda see the point of a “Saved 0%” tldr.

    But, on a phoronix article? They’re one of the few tech journalism websites I still trust and am grateful for, that I turn uBlock off for. It’s like I’m missing some context, I need more info.




  • That might be overly optimistic? Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, here.

    From my understanding, the main drive behind adding AP federation is to allow users of separate code forges to collaborate on each other’s projects, much like how users of lemmy can interact with communities of other lemmy instances. This is big because it could break the “but everyone is on GitHub” problem.

    Currently, it’s difficult to justify completely leaving GH, since those that do leave behind countless users and developers who won’t follow them and create yet-another-account on one-more-website. Federated code forges have the potential to bring easier decentralization to an ironically centralized land.

    Keyword here being easier. Because even though Git is already decentralized by design and some think git-send-email is plenty for collaboration (e.g. many Linux maintainers, sourcehut users), it turns out way more people prefer doing their work in pretty web UIs.

    But just like lemmy and mastodon aren’t great at showing their users content from the other platform because it’s not a priority, I don’t see why forgejo would prioritize letting lemmy users interact with projects.



  • I used to enjoy fireship, but a particularly disappointing video soured the channel to me significantly.

    It was about something bad Google was doing to the web/chrome (the list’s so big at this point that I can’t recall what) and it hit me how, despite the humorous nature of the content, that video was how many people were being seriously introduced to the issue… and it neglected to even mention Firefox. Imagine informing people of a looming threat, yet forgetting to mention one of the best tools against it. Genuinely baffling.

    There’s more to it, but it’s been a while and my memory was never the best. All that remains now is a general feeling of “Oh darn, this guy’s videos can be irresponsibly superficial, sometimes.” Maybe that’s just par for the course with such content creators, which race to be the first out the door with the news™, but mistakes, however small, had long been adding up over time and eroding my trust in the source. That video just happened to be the last straw.

    I don’t mean to criticize you or others who enjoy the videos, though. Just wanted to remind folks to be careful with where and how they get their info. Hopefully, this uncalled for rant will inspire passersby to be a bit more mindful of the content they consume.

    P.S. obligatory screw nintendo :^(





  • My bad, I misunderstood your previous comment as saying you could only watch in your native language.

    Searching a bit, I found an old blogpost explaining how to filter Netflix content so it only showed stuff available in English. So I assume it isn’t (or at least wasn’t) that they only show content dubbed in your language.

    However, from my understanding, dubbing is quite popular. Especially so in Germany, or so say my 10 minutes of superficial research into the topic.

    Netflix may simply noticed that dubbed was the more popular option by a significant margin and accordingly decided to invest a lot into making shows available with dubs, or not “waste” money making them available at all.




  • What apps you install depends on your needs and preferences. It might help others if you include those in any future requests for suggestions.

    I suggest not worrying too much about “removing your dependence on closed ecosystems” immediately. Just do as you did before, changing apps as you find better alternatives—only, this time, considering the advantages of FOSS. Simply by giving F-droid apps a chance before opening (I assume) the Play Store, you’re already doing better than the vast majority of people.

    Regarding discoverability and security, I believe participation in the community helps:

    • The Venn diagram of “FOSS app users” and “software enthusiasts” is closer to a circle. People like talking about useful, good software they like. Word of mouth recommendations is how I got into this stuff.
    • You’ll be more likely to hear urgent actionable news (e.g. X app developer sold to bad company, here’s the fork that will carry the torch onwards).

    And so that this comment isn’t completely useless… Mozilla are currently working on a mobile version of Thunderbird for Android, built on top of K9 mail. Been using the beta and liking it so far. If you want a FOSS e-mail app, keep an eye on that one.

    P.S. I much prefer the dark side, and don’t forget the cookies!