[–] 14 points 1 day ago (9 children)

The problem is that Matrix doesn't allow you to opt out of video streams when you're in a voice chat. And Revolt doesn't even have video-streaming. Discord's video-streaming is incredibly robust on average, though I, too, long for a competent, free competitor.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 child)

    Right, make sure @ understands that "instances" = "websites." The Lemmy discussion protocol is scattered across dozens of websites to avoid tyranny by any one of them, and they choose to federate with each other or not so that you'd only need an account on one to see content from the rest.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago

    I've rarely had such suboptimal experiences with Google Maps. With that said, I've moved to Vela Maps, which is sort of like NewPipe for Google Maps; use it while logged out with local-only customization. It's gotten incredibly good over the past months! It's a bit worse than Google Maps in failing to account for temporary roadblocks, but other than that, it's incredibly well-done, despite almost certainly being an LLM product. (I'm not inherently against LLM products as long as they're privacy-respecting and efficient enough, such as, I suspect, Episteme Reader, and AI-originated-but-human-continued Stirling-PDF.)

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    I think by default the option is disabled, but it's just excellent that it offers such a feature at all. You can't even do this in Google Maps, Google Play, Walmart, Amazon, or Target, or almost any other platform. But on Steam, unlike GOG, Itch, or other platforms of which I know, you can have an entire conversation with the reviewer about the validity or details concerning their review, where you can flesh out, "Hey, this person actually has no idea of what they're talking about," or, "Hmm, this is actually a valid point that I hadn't considered before," and even defend the reviewer from other critics in the comments.

    I still get concerned about Steam's incredible dominion over digital games today, but it also blows my mind why other platforms don't try to copy even just some of its elements more.

     

    The video stopped playing back and then kept oscillating continuously between saying that "YouTube forces us to wait for ('two seconds' or 'one second') before continuing playback." After the "one second" notice, it goes back to two seconds and it keeps oscillating forever. This is the first time I've ever seen this notice and am wondering who else here may have been experiencing this recently.

    A screenshot of a Legal Eagle YouTube video as shown in the Android app PipePipe, which is failing to continue with playback due to an error message, "YouTube forces us to wait two seconds before continuing playback."
     

    Dark Reader is great with nearly everything except Google Sheets for some reason, which is why I seek an alternative:

    1. Install and enable Dark Reader
    2. Open Google Sheets and type some text in cells
    3. It's also dark and illegible, but the font color is normal if Dark Reader is turned off for Google Sheets

    This is unfortunately important because a massive amount of my work depends on Google Sheets. Other than this one issue, it works well with everything else.

     

    Most efficient way to claim GOG games and block added disruptions:

    1. Log in to GOG
    2. Open this link: https://www.gog.com/giveaway/claim (a correct auto-claim will just show {} in the top-left with nothing else; then close the tab)
    3. Open this link and undo any/all resulting auto-subscriptions as you prefer: https://www.gog.com/account/settings/subscriptions
     

    You would think that the reduced anonymity might count for anything, but apparently it doesn't. I bought a small wagon from a seller who apparently orders them in bulk from China for resale here in the States. It was still taped in its box, so I couldn't preview it before buying it; she wouldn't let me, and my round-trip drive for this thing had totaled to a bit over an hour (despite seeing some nice scenes, sure), so I didn't want to drive back empty-handed. Yet I only found out after I got home, opened it, and assembled it that the handle is loose.

    This was a damaged-box product which is why it sold on a fire discount of just $15, but even so I told her about the handle and she basically said that I knew what I was getting into when I bought it at such a price. After I said that while I suspect that the handle may fall off in half a year, she didn't need to be so defensive, either, she suddenly blocked me out of the blue. The listing disappeared from my view and I have no idea of how to reach this person apart from possibly trying to have a friend who she hasn't blocked to review-bomb her on my behalf. I have not done that yet because I don't want to expose my friend to unknown inconveniences.

    Ironically, she had at least 4.6★ that I can recall. I think this is how mass FBM sellers of new products (as opposed to one-time used ones) keep their ratings high: by blocking anyone showing the slightest sign of critique so that they literally cannot leave a negative review. I had no idea that FBM functioned like this. I thought that despite blocking, at least the listing would still be available.

    I almost thought about planning a visit some time to egg her house (since that's where I met her for it), but I'll be a better human than that and not do something so lowly. I'm now wondering if maybe this person's sales can be reported for tax evasion, come to think of it...

     

    I mean, I guess I shouldn't say "surprisingly" because that's sort of an insult to all the positive reviews it has. But still, I was hesitant based on the trailers making it look like it's too repetitive and simple relative to FTL and Slay the Spire.

    It's pretty satisfying to have modules that chain with each other in generating more and more energy after you've spent your last cell. It's really cool to see an enemy set to annihilate you even when you're at max health, only for you to cleverly manipulate your energy numbers and generate more to turn the tide all the way to even striking them instead. It feels like a "slower" Cobalt Core (even though they're both turn-based).

     

    I can see it now: just get the enemy to breathe in a cloud of nanobots, or have the bots enter their body through an open cut that they make, and the enemy's body is yours: no violence needed.

    We live in a terrifying time because there's just no way to dodge this sort of stuff unless you have the EMP tech, since a Hazmat suit is unsustainable to don long-term.

    EDIT: No, I didn't watch anything! I've been reading about how nanobots are currently being used in the medical field to clear plaque from arteries, so I have simply been chugging with that train of thought in a more nefarious direction...

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