Hacker News Reader

45ureon ESP32-C3 Wireless Adventure: A Comprehensive Guide to IoT [pdf]

The Xiao BLE nRF52840 might be worth a look.

https://wiki.seeedstudio.com/XIAO_BLE/

45ureon Ask HN: How Do You Deal with Many Browser Tabs?

I use a combination of add-ons (Firefox) like Tab Session Manager. Containers, where some sites are forced to open only in their own group e.g. Github, which then allows them to be hidden from view using Container Tab Groups.

https://github.com/menhera-org/TabArray

45ureon Ask HN: What are your favorite sci-fi books?

Thanks, added to my list. The afterword by Minsky made True Names even more memorable.

This might be considered a spoiler: https://web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/papers/TrueNames.Afterword...

45ureon Ask HN: What are your favorite sci-fi books?

You have convinced me. I don't think I can glean much more from re-watching the shows at this point. It is good to know that the books have some added dimensionality.

45ureon Ask HN: What are your favorite sci-fi books?

Thanks for the rec, put it on my tbr. I have only read True Names by VV.

45ureon Ask HN: What are your favorite sci-fi books?

I have only watched the show. In hindsight, I should have read the books. However, as the show hasn't been greenlit for further adaptations, I have been debating if I should just follow through with Persepolis Rising and the remaining books or start from scratch including all the novellas.

45ureon Switching from QWERTY to Colemak and Back

I went through a very similar experience on using keybr to learn Colemak last year. It was in anticipation of typing on a custom split ergo to improve efficiency.

I was really surprised by how easy it is to build up muscle memory, along with some decent speed/accuracy. However, I had to make a decision to unlearn most of my efforts and go back to QWERTY, as it was causing too much confusion switching between the two layouts. Colemak was also causing cramps between the shoulders and the neck on traditional staggered keyboards. Regardless, I am glad that I undertook this exercise, and occasionally do some tests for basic retention.

45ureon Ask HN: Samsung Health without a SIM card?

I am not sure how fruitful your efforts are going to be to circumvent this check. I remember coming across some information that the SH app has some country restrictions and spoof detection, which requires geolocation, probably via a SIM or Device CSC.

45ureon Is Gmail killing independent email?

>Would Spam stop if people stopped responding to it?

I don't ever intend to respond to spam, and have become extremely adept at spotting the patterns and swatting it away. However, it becomes a game of chance, when a service like Outlook puts it right at the top of the app (both iOS and Android) where you would reflexively jab at it, unless of course, you pay the premium to remove it.

For now, I have found a way to stop this nuisance. However, MS are playing fast and loose with their policies and now very legitimate looking spam is leaking into the inbox, escaping any filters. Since last year it is appearing along with the glaringly obvious Unicode riddled ones, with increasing regularity. It seems like a matter of time and co-incidence, where you would end up interacting with a piece of disguised mail you were expecting e.g. an order from Amazon or a service which you use regularly, and possibly respond without checking the header.

This recent episode was probably the worst experience, albeit not the first time it has happened.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/20/23607056/microsoft-outloo...

45ureon WhatsApp on multiple phones feature added

The Dual Messenger is a great feature, in addition to the business version. IIRC, you can also have separate instances running in the secure folder too.

45ureon Replacing my best friends with an LLM trained on 500k group chat messages

AI21 Labs tried to replicate the style of late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg based on her legal writings and failed, at least for now.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/14/ruth-ba...

45ureon I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

Judging from the USB-C at the top and other tact/slide switches on the side, my guess is that the MCU and a prismatic battery of sorts (500mAh Li-ion?) occupies that space. A low profile design will always have some tradeoffs; perhaps an oled in that space is possible with a cutout for a badge.

45ureon I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

>What's the purpose of the rotary encoder?

The ZMK firmware allows you to assign or map a wide range of keys and functions to it. The inclusion of an EC11 encoder has become a go-to trend, especially in the keyboard building community, and adopted by the established players. However, it is mostly a bit of novelty and redundant after a while and probably only gets used for the obvious media controls.

>I'll buy a USB touchpad and keep it where it rests on a laptop

You can acquire macropads in a plethora of configurations, from a single key to matrix of keys, only limited by the choice of MCU. All built using either traditional [key]switches and/or mix of encoders. The popular firmwares (QMK, KMK or ZMK) allow you to map the afore-mentioned, so you can choose to enter long IP addresses, purpose it for macros e.g Illustrator, Premiere, Blender, Ableton, Autodesk, Eagle etc., or just use it for regular cut-n-paste type jobs via the use of layers.

45ureon Logitech MX Mechanical Keyboard

I have a CIY Tester68 which comes with a 2.4GHz receiver, and also features Bluetooth 5.0. The hot-swappable board (no switches and keycaps) cost under $15 and powered by 2 x AAA.

45ureon My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

You can do that in Apollo (iOS) paid version, the client I use the most. Although, I will have to check again, but I am sure you can set the same on Sync and/or Boost (Android) on the free version, as I have a multireddit set as default on launch. On the browser, you can use RES + old reddit and change default behaviour. I find it easier to keep a very small number of frequently used subs for the home feed, and stick the rest in multi, as it helps to make them portable and easily shared. You can also find lists in r/multihub -- compiled and shared by others e.g. cars.

45ureon My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

I initially started using the multireddit feature, to section off specific but related interests. It can also be used to build a focused feed.

45ureon Why is there a TikTok tracking pixel on UberEats what is this crap?

I don't know why this doesn't get as much love as it deserves. It is a bit of a pain to use, however, using it becomes second nature after a while, just like uMatrix for the browser originally had a learning curve associated with it. Although no longer actively maintained by gorhill -- it is still a staple in my toolbox, as is TrackerControl for Android.

45ureon Best Pens for 2022: Gel, Ballpoint, Rollerball, and Fountain Pens

I have several Jinhao and WingSung pens. Although, they invariably fail, however, they are generally good when you find a working one. There is no comparison with TWSBI Eco/T or Diamond range, at least not when it comes to the nibs and/or the choice available i.e. F/M/B/Stub/1.1, notwithstanding the ability to work with different kinds of ink and the amount a reservoir can hold. Also, they work nicely with most good quality paper e.g. Rhodia (Clairefontaine), Tomoe River et al. I have also tried the TWSBI 'clone' Lanbitou, which can only be found in F nib -- it was scratchy af and as cheap as it was, it was a waste. I have been thinking of getting some Jowo nibs to try out in one of the failed Jinhao pens, to see how they behave.

45ureon [dead]

I might be missing a trick. Some options, listed below, do most of the things and even those which the FAQ admits are beyond its scope. Amongst a multitude of alternatives, I have settled upon TwinkleTray for Windows. MonitorControl on macOS. OLEDify for iOS/iPadOS/Android, or just take a shot at one of the superb wallpapers from r/Amoledbackgrounds. As an example, in order to comprehensively test the display, I used DisplayTester on Galaxy S20, when I first acquired it. There are similar tools for other OS'.

https://twinkletray.com/

https://github.com/MonitorControl/MonitorControl

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/oledify-pure-black-wallpapers/...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gombosdev....

https://www.testmyscreen.com/

45ureon Android 12

It becomes even more irrelevant, where UI enhancements have already been implemented by manufacturers to improve their OS. For example, Samsung OneUI with Good Lock (Multistar, Navstar,Notistar, Quickstar, Home Up, Clockface) One Hand Operation+, Sound Assistant etc. I am looking forward to how some of the features will be incorporated/improved in the new version(OneUI 4), rather than the stock features of Android 12.

45ureon Cloud-to-butt plugin used in Amazon Job Posting?

Some other examples, preserved here:

https://www.flickr.com/groups/cloud-to-butt/pool/

45ureon Typography of 2001: A Space Odyssey (2014)

It does seem to stir up some strong emotions.

Years after Avatar's release, there's one thing Steven (Ryan Gosling) just can't get over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ

45ureon The Curious Case of IKEA Vocabulary

IKEA product names fall into a few main groups.

Beyond these groups, there is a curious taxonomy of product names.

● Bathroom items: Names of Swedish lakes and bodies of water

● Linens: Flowers and plants

● Bedroom and Living Room Furniture: Norwegian places

● Bookcases: Professions and Scandinavian boy’s names

● Bowls and Vases: Swedish place names, adjectives, spices, herbs, fruits, and berries

● Boxes, Pictures, and Wall Decorations: Swedish slang expressions and Swedish place names

● Children’s Products: Mammals, birds, adjectives

● Desks and Chairs: Scandinavian boy’s names

● Fabrics and Curtains: Scandinavian girl’s names

● Outdoor Furniture: Scandinavian islands

● Kitchen Accessories: Fish, mushrooms and adjectives

● Lighting: Units of measurement, seasons, months, days, shipping and nautical terms, Swedish place names

● Rugs: Danish place names

● Sofas, Chairs and Dining Sets: Swedish place names

There was also some brouhaha a while ago, about product names for floor coverings, like doormats used as placeholders for an 'in-joke'.

>Academics in Denmark have accused Ikea of “Swedish imperialism” because it names cheaper products such as doormats after Danish places.

They claim that more expensive items such as chairs and beds are named after Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian towns, while cheaper items such as draught excluders have been given Danish town names.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/mar/08/danish...

45ureon Do not leave XPS laptop in any sleep/hibernate/standby mode when placed in a bag

>I've never been able to figure out if this Windows actually doing something useful in "modern standby" like Windows Update, or whether it's a bug.

I asked a very similar question a few months ago. The sleep/standby modes were behaving as other people have reported, however, the fact that the battery was draining rapidly in shutdown mode, on a new Dell with a 3 month-old battery with very few cycles, was a cause for concern. Nevertheless, I tried using the CsEnabled trick, which didn't work. Eventually, after troubleshooting BIOS features, applying the latest updates and using powercfg options -- batteryreport, sleepstudy etc.

I found a solution, which is a compromise at best. The battery drain was 20% within a few hours. But now with S3 sleep state -- it drains around 8-10% in full shutdown mode over a period of 8-10 hours. A similar drain in Standby is over a period of 15-18 hours.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10...

https://old.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/h0r56s/getting_back_s...

45ureon The last days of Silicon Roundabout

You are labelling these locations as a 'shithole' without offering any real perspective. The urban regeneration, around the Google site and Kings X has changed the area considerably to shed its gritty image, even if it still lacks some soul. The transport links might be the key factor, but it is also situated in proximity to world leading universities and academic institutions (UCL/Birkbeck/SOAS/UoW/LSE), notwithstanding The British Library. You would be hard-pressed not to find exciting places, teeming with vibrant culture, within a mile radius.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/01/google-su...

45ureon Ask HN: Do you still miss your RIM BlackBerry?

I am still using Bold 9780, not for the nostalgia but for the functionality, as limited as it might be today. I left my first (old) number in it, when I migrated to iPhone/Androids, with new numbers.

Today it serves quite well, as a notification/SMS/OTP and backup emergency device; bank(s), medical contacts, old friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. I receive no junk/spam calls, whatsoever.

The battery lasts two weeks approximately, with no WiFi, Bluetooth turned on. No BIS -- it is basically a 3G phone, and also on a completely different network to my other phones. If only the functionality of a softphone/SIP app could somehow be re-instated, I would endeavour to keep it alive for as long as possible.

https://forums.crackberry.com/blackberry-bold-series-f235/ol...

45ureon Windows 11 available on October 5

  HIMEM.SYS

45ureon Windows 11 available on October 5

>I was really hoping that we were past having to think about different versions of Windows.

A varying level of support for Windows 10(21H2) extending up to five years has been pledged before sunset; slash and burn is a well known phenomenon in the tech world.

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2021/07/15/intro...

45ureon Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

In addition to uBO, I also use TrackerControl.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.kollnig.missioncontrol.f...

45ureon Samsung seemingly caught swapping components in its 970 Evo Plus SSDs

The downgrades seem to be prevalent across the Evo (Plus) range, for a while now. I got burnt twice, on two different microSD cards -- one was for a Raspberry Pi (64GB) in Jan 2020, and another quite recently for my S20 (128GB). The 256GB version was not affected by the downgrade to a lower write speed.

Initially, the changes in lower write speeds from 90MB/s to 60MB/s were not communicated, either through a press release, or via the specs on the Samsung site. However, it was eventually updated, i.e. the change of letters indicating different model numbers: MB-MCxxxGA vs MB-MCxxxHA, the latter suggesting a new '2020 model' with inferior write speeds.

https://web.archive.org/web/20210521102732/https://www.oempc...