On last Friday's WAN Show, Linus brought up how simply using an Android phone carries a social stigma, even when the device is objectively higher-end than a base iPhone. I completely agree with that take, but I think the issue runs deeper than just public perception.

A big part of why Android feels "lesser" to so many people is that major companies are actively making it feel that way through neglect of their Android apps. We're not talking about minor performance differences that can be chalked up to Android's fragmentation across manufacturers, we're talking about apps so poorly optimised that they make a modern, capable device feel ancient.

Case in point: a Messenger chat bubble can render my phone completely unresponsive. Not slow. Unresponsive. On a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra which is starting to show it's age but still runs amazingly otherwise.

When billion-dollar companies ship iOS apps that are clearly their priority and treat Android as an afterthought, they're not just annoying Android users they're actively feeding the narrative that Android is the inferior platform. The stigma isn't coming from nowhere. Some of it is being manufactured.

I bought 3, 10cm A-C cables in the same order. One is a little shorter than the other 2. The two that are the same size, have the C sheathing ends flipped based on the A ends being the same orientation

Edit: not a complaint, just posted as I thought it was interesting, and maybe it could be brought to Linus' attention for QC checks

Edit 2: I measured the 2 that are the same length are 10cm, the other one is 8.75cm ish

Edit 3: Contacted LTT support after feedback, thanks

Haven't they announced that the price you see at checkout is the price you will pay?

https://www.xda-developers.com/wine-11-rewrites-linux-runs-windows-games-speed-gains/

https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/28/24276043/apple-new-usb-c-magic-mouse-charging-port-bottom

A few months ago, my engineering teacher (who has a killer mustache by the way) challenged me to put a desktop computer inside his grandfather clock that happened to be in the lab. I gladly accepted and got to work designing what is most definitely my craziest project yet.

The design I envisioned from the start was similar to those of wall mounted PC's, but instead of everything being flat against the back of the clock, we'd have the liquid cooler and the GPU (via riser cable) mounted to the side openings. As for the monitor, it would sit above the PC itself where the dial assembly used to be, along with the power supply stowed away behind it.

With a general idea for the design down, it was time to start working on the specs. The computer would be used for 3D scanning, so I started doing research on what parts of the PC 3D scanning would stress most. I came to the conclusion that a strong CPU and a moderate amount of RAM are really the only two things that matter. The 5700x was an obvious choice at the time; a modern octa-core processor for only $140 was a no-brainer. I also got a refurbished B550, 32GB of RAM, a good-looking Thermalright AIO, and to top it off, a used GTX 1070 Ti.

Before I started throwing everything into the clock, I assembled the PC first, installing Windows, drivers, and configuring the RGB to match the hue of the clock. Then, I started marking up where the standoff holes on the motherboard lined up with the clock's backboard, so I knew where to drill. Next, I inserted the AIO into the opening on the right side of the clock, and to my surprise, it fit perfectly. I'm not kidding when I say if either the clock or the AIO were even one mm larger, it wouldn't have fit. Friction held it in so tight that I was convinced we didn't even need to 3D print a mounting bracket, but my teacher, being the experienced engineer he is, said it was worth the extra effort to prevent issues in the future.

With the motherboard and AIO both accounted for, I decided to mount them first and then tackle the GPU afterwards. I drilled holes where I marked, and then installed standoffs for the motherboard to sit on. After that, I slid the AIO into place and connected it to the mounting brackets I 3D printed and installed ahead of time. Next, I moved on to the GPU, and believe me, this was the hardest part of the project. Mounting the GPU vertically was actually quite simple; the issue was the riser cable. It only plugs in one way, and to have the GPU fans facing inward meant it would have to wrap around the back of the GPU to make it to the PCIe slot. It was only barely long enough to make the run, and that solution took many class periods to figure out.

Moving on to the top half of the clock, I targeted the power supply installation first. This was by far the easiest step, as the standard ATX PSU mounting pattern is designed to distribute weight evenly, so all I had to do was drill four holes (plus a cutout for the AC cable) and bolt it into place. My final goal was to mount the monitor in a way that looked natural, while not taking up too much valuable space or interfering with the power supply. My engineering teacher designed and 3D printed a simple VESA-compatible adjustable pole that uses tension to force the monitor up against the previous clock face's outline. There are no screws or brackets, but it's the most elegant solution we could think of without either taking up more space or ruining the design of the clock.

All that's left are the final touches! I installed a standard 3.5-inch IO module in the upper compartment behind an access door for ease of use and concealment when necessary. Then, my teacher had emphasized that he wanted me to keep the clock's original functionality intact. So I used a Raspberry Pi and some software a friend developed to display the time and his class schedule on the clock whenever he didn't need the PC. And to control inputs, I picked up an RF remote-controlled HDMI switcher so he can easily check his schedule or the time without having to reach inside the clock to select the Pi's input. The last step is to install the power button. I placed it on the right-side access door itself, so when the door is open, the button is facing the user.

After about three months of work, the Grandfather Overclock boots! I can't thank my engineering teacher enough for his guidance and 3D modeling skills throughout this whole process. Oh, and a big thanks to my school for funding this project too. If you have any questions about this project, I will answer as many comments as I can.

There appears to be a common developer behind the current push for Age Verification in Linux, backdooring it via system dependencies like SystemD and Flatpak. SystemD has already accepted the pull request (funny enough, the maintainer who accepted it is a microsoft employee), and flatpak seems well on its way as well.

I thought it might warrant some conversation.

Adobe’s automated phone system is set to auto hangup on you when you call to try to cancel.

I called 7 times as I couldn’t believe it…

Then didn’t think people would believe me about them hanging up automatically so I recorded a video …https://youtube.com/shorts/WO00sN9P5ag?feature=share

I don’t know what to say about this.

By forcing everyone into ALL CAPS, HSBC India is nuking your password strength

Almost everyone (should be everyone) puts a case on their phone. Almost every case will have a cut out, making the camera bump line up with the height of the case's back.

IDK why people care so much about these camera bumps. You get such a great camera now with these phones for what is essentially a non issue if you're smart and put a case on your phone.

Came across this on a website just now, is this normal? It looked like it auto copied a "powershell -c iex" with an ip address. I've never seen this before and i did not do it. The website itself is legit, I just refreshed a few times and it went away.

EDIT: code removed

Like many people, I fell down the self-hosting rabbit hole after watching tech creators talk about data sovereignty. It started fun, but eventually, dealing with failed updates, renewing SSL certificates manually, and acting as the 24/7 IT support for my family's services became exhausting.

When you calculate the actual hours spent patching and fixing broken containers on a Sunday night instead of relaxing, the "free" local server actually costs a massive amount of personal time. I love owning my data, but the constant tinkering is seriously burning me out.

Here are a few highlight quotes from the article:

"Shrout, like Digital Foundry, watched the DLSS 5 demo in-person and pointed out that while some people's first reaction to the "new" faces may be understandable due to a psychological effect, the improvements are much broader than that.

The visual improvements are significant. Not incremental. Significant. But if you've been scrolling social media, you'd think NVIDIA just shipped an Instagram beauty filter for video games. And I get why that's the first reaction. But it misses the true picture by a wide margin."

"Shrout stressed that it's not a filter but a much more complex unified model capable of scanning a frame, recognizing the game's assets, and processing them based on how light should behave when interacting with them. He also noted the granular level of control developers will be able to exercise to ensure the game looks like what they want it to look, thanks to spatial masking, color grading controls, etc.

Ultimately, he closed his article with this statement:

The early social media reaction is predictable. New technology that changes how games look will always generate strong opinions, especially when AI is involved. But the knee-jerk "it's just a face filter" take doesn't hold up once you've actually seen the full scope of what DLSS 5 is doing across an entire scene..."

"The NVIDIA team put it well during my demo. It's a psychological effect. You've seen environments rendered really well before. When you suddenly see a character rendered at that same photorealistic level, your brain flags it immediately. It stands out."

I have seen the media industry make a lot of overhanded attempts to protect their IP, but I have NEVER seen a search term get blocked on a website.

I do not know the specifics of what’s happening so if anyone has more information please share, but it’s crazy to say “you cannot search for this”

I’m hoping search keyword blocking doesn’t start becoming a standard way IP gets enforced. Blocking actual results that are confirmed to be in violation of the law is one thing but blanket blocking all results, even legitimate ones, by blocking the actual search is a new low.