Hacker News Reader

barbson Self hosting my media library with Jellyfin and Wireguard on Hetzner

Also:

- the chief executive invests money into AI weaponry https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-12/spotify-boycott-danie...

barbson Report: Microsoft kills official way to activate Windows 11/10 without internet

My Dad, who's well into his 60s, managed to install linux himself on his computer. His kept the windows partition in a dual boot setup just in case, but spends just about all the time in Linux, he loves it.

barbson Why I Disappeared – My week with minimal internet in a remote island chain

I'd love to see a photo of this 85" TV setup, if you're willing to share :)

barbson Experts explore new mushroom which causes fairytale-like hallucinations

Sounds like Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucinogen_persisting_percep...

barbson Over 40% of deceased drivers in vehicle crashes test positive for THC: Study

Not sure how much it differs from the US, but in Australia disclosing previous drug use is unlikely to provoke any response from authorities. The main drug crimes are possession and selling AFAIK, not using.

barbson iOS 26.2 fixes 20 security vulnerabilities, 2 actively exploited

The vulnerabilities listed[0] look pretty severe. I've got a 2016 iPhoneSE running iOS 15. It receives the odd security update (last one was on September 15 this year), but I imagine if these vulnerabilities aren't backported it would be pretty insecure. Currently my bank still supports iOS 15 but I wonder for how much longer?

[0] https://support.apple.com/en-us/125885

barbson Super Mario 64 for the PS1

Perhaps AI has made it easier?

barbson Damn Small Linux

Here's a cool story of someone using a mini Linux (not DSL) to save a company-wide bug at a fast food chain.

https://web.archive.org/web/20100520020401/http://therealedw...

barbson The history of Casio watches

Obviously it's subjective, but I really feel the design quality took a nosedive from the 90s onwards. Compared to the sleek simplicity of those earlier watches they just look cluttered, gaudy and over-the-top!

I'm glad they still manufacture their classic lines, such good watches.

barbson Facts about throwing good parties

> - don't have seats otherwise people will sit down, and sitting down is the party killer

My Nan used to always say to me:

"You know what happens to girls that sit down at parties?"

"What Nan?"

"Nothing!"

barbson Facts about throwing good parties

> " Parties are a public service, you’re doing people a favor by throwing them..Throwing parties is stressful for most people, but a great kindness to the community, so genuinely pat yourself on the back for doing this."

I sort of agree, but I also think they're intrinsically a lot of fun, and if you're not enjoying yourself and only doing it to provide the service then you probably shouldn't be throwing them.

Also, in my experience the best parties were the ones that, at a certain point, would carry themselves forward from their own momentum. Everyone participates in their own way, so if the music needed changing or there needed to be more alcohol, it would sort of work itself out automatically. Basically, it's less about the host providing everything and more providing the environment for the party to run itself.

barbson I'm drowning in AI features I never asked for and I hate it

Agreed. Find a distro that most looks like their current setup (maybe Zorin OS?), customize it so it has all the app icons and bookmarks etc in the same position as their Windows set up, and just leave them to it.

If you don't want to be sneaky about it, just install it next time Windows craps itself.

barbson Show HN: Play abstract strategy board games online with friends or against bots

Looks interesting. What engine/framework did you use to make the game?

barbson Android's sideloading limits are its most anti-consumer move

I imagine custom ROMs would be able to work around this restriction, but I wonder if simply rooting the phone would also allow you to switch it off?

barbson No I don't want to turn on Windows Backup with One Drive

I've been running mostly Linux (with some macOS) as a daily driver for the past 15 years and have seen more and more articles like this pop up on HN over time. I've felt for a while that Linux is more user-centric, but it seems like Windows 11 is a whole other level of user-hostile, to the point where even average users seem to be catching on. My own father managed to set up Linux on his computer without any prompting or help, and I didn't even suggest it to him. It's a dual-boot setup, but he boots into linux nearly every time and prefers it. It's starting to feel like a turning point.

I'm wondering if there's a market out there for helping regular computer users switch to linux?

barbson No I don't want to turn on Windows Backup with One Drive

Agreed. For people coming from Windows Linux Mint is the one I recommend. Simple, stable, minimal hassle.

barbson No I don't want to turn on Windows Backup with One Drive

It objectively does feel like a toy with those rounded corners though. How do you know Fischer-Price wasn't consulted?

barbson GNU Health

This is really cool to see. I've been on the lookout for software like this ever since reading "Why Doctor's Hate Their Computers" in the New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/11/12/why-doctors-ha....

HN discussions:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24336039

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18381969

I wonder how feasible it would be to replace the current software in practice?

barbson A story about bypassing air Canada's in-flight network restrictions

Can someone please explain what project X/Xray is? Judging from the context I imagine it's some sort of proxying software but I can't seem to find out more. The website and github seem to be littered with vague jargon or is in Chinese and Googling brings up something called XTLS?

barbson Microsoft is plugging more holes that let you use Windows 11 without MS account

Malware, maybe not. But adware...?

barbson About the security content of iOS 15.8.5 and iPadOS 15.8.5

Same here. I've noticed that the minimum iOS version for a lot of apps is currently 15 so I'm expecting this to increase to 16 and make my phone redundant, but until then I'll run this phone into the ground!

barbson Two Slice, a font that's only 2px tall

Well explain this then! https://www.dafont.com/morse.font

barbson Nano Banana image examples

Bytedance's Seedream seems to be giving it a run for its money:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdEn3aWHpO8

barbson I Don't Have Spotify

You could raise an issue here? https://github.com/sjdonado/idonthavespotify/issues

barbson Sign in with Google in Chrome

Not sure if it's a result of multiple privacy extensions or whatever but it's about a coin-flip on whether Google login actually works for me.

barbson AI is killing the web – can anything save it?

Well said. There's a good search engine for that, maybe you've heard of it?

https://marginalia-search.com/

;)

barbson I'm rebelling against the algorithm

I know it's a grey area but I would not consider SMS social media.

barbson I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)

I'm still on my first gen iPhone SE. Thankfully the apps I use are mostly compatible, and I just use web versions for everything else. Have replaced the battery and screen a few times each.

This phone looks like it might be good replacement but it could also be a bit dodgy. I'm going to wait a bit for reviews before considering buying it https://aiphor.com/products/bluefox-nx1-4-0-android-smartpho...

barbson I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)

The home button's not too hard to replace, at least compared to the screen and battery.

Mine actually broke ages ago but I've just gotten used to using TouchAssist.

barbson The Fed says this is a cube of $1M. They're off by half a million

Took me an embarrassingly long time to realise that "several" didn't mean "about seven"