Hacker News Reader

bcravenon Playing “Minecraft” without Minecraft (2024)

I am always fascinated by articles that contain technical details like:

"In order to run all of these, you will need a 64 bit computer (ideally little endian, on BE you will need to use a JIT like box64 which decreases performance) with 4 or more processor cores at over 900 MHz. A minimum of 4 GB of RAM is recommended, with some trickery like zram you might get away with less but it will cause slowdown. Ideally youd want an OpenGL capable graphics card too."

Alongside text like:

"Now, click on the right facing triangle (play button"

bcravenon About the security content of iOS 15.8.5 and iPadOS 15.8.5

All of those phones should have been within warranty and swiftly replaced.

bcravenon Grapevine canes can be converted into plastic-like material that will decompose

I get the impression that the 'handheld scanner' may be tethered to the till (like in B&Q) rather than one you can carry round with you (like Sainsbury's/Asda/Tesco)

bcravenon How the restoration of ancient Babylon is drawing tourists back to Iraq

And after meeting that person you thought, "wow I wish this person didn't have an alternative income stream that allows them to feed their family"?

Many people in this world wish they could do something different with their lives, but to blame the activity they're currently doing is shortsighted.

bcravenon The value of bringing a telephoto lens

I have used this tool to run the same analysis with Lightroom:

https://www.lightroomdashboard.com/

(Turns out I love 35mm on my Fujis)

bcravenon QGIS is a free, open-source, cross platform geographical information system

The _one_ thing I wish would be improved is the georeferencing pipeline.

The fact Arc gives you a transparent live preview of where your image will end up is 1000x better than QGISs, "save a tiff, load it, check it, do it again" approach.

bcravenon Crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Alone. By Stand-Up-Paddleboard

Where on the page are you quoting from?

bcravenon Germany is not supporting ChatControl – blocking minority secured

I know HN takes a dim view on them, but that post was a joke. Of _course_ China isn't a bastion of free speech, that is why the joke is funny.

bcravenon I have left Branch and am no longer involved with Nova Launcher

There are some known bugs even on Pixels (I, for instance, can't always open my Recents menu when using Nova)

An example: https://issuetracker.google.com/u/0/issues/296108449?pli=1

bcravenon Purikura: The Japanese Grandmother of the Selfie

I can only suggest switching to Firefox then, or finding an 'open external links in browser' setting perhaps?

bcravenon Lewis and Clark marked their trail with laxatives

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast-shaped_hill

A marvellous list

bcravenon Google will allow only apps from verified developers to be installed on Android

I am quite sure Starling Bank requires an app if you still wanted an example.

bcravenon Adding my home electricity uptime to status.href.cat

"Losing hope" after saying you "can't be bothered" to buy batteries feels very self-inflicted.

bcravenon Home Depot sued for 'secretly' using facial recognition at self-checkouts

This is an important observation as you now have a mechanism to obtain free things from the megacorp of your choosing.

bcravenon Pixel 10 Phones

I went for an 8a in a compromise of weight and size Vs an-actually-modern-phone.

After 2 weeks I was completely comfortable with it.

Check gsmarena's 'Compare' tool to find what works for you.

bcravenon SK hynix dethrones Samsung as world’s top DRAM maker

https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/Steam-Hardware-Softw...

Gamers only, but that's not a bad selection imho

bcravenon Tiny, removable "mini SSD" could eventually be a big deal for gaming handhelds

https://m.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2025&idCardslot...

195 results

bcravenon The secret code behind the CIA's Kryptos puzzle is up for sale

https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/miscellany/fermats-last-mar...

bcravenon Pebble Time 2 Design Reveal [video]

Sounds like a use case for a fitness watch, not a Pebble.

bcravenon Cannibal Modernity: Oswald de Andrade's Manifesto Antropófago (1928)

"This was the cannibalism Oswald de Andrade had in mind. Here, he was informed by what he had learnt about Indigenous practices of anthropophagy, where the consumption of human flesh was not indiscriminate or driven by mere hunger, but strictly ritualized and subject to rules of selectivity."

bcravenon The mystery of Winston Churchill's dead platypus was finally solved

The platypus was called Winston.

Winston Churchill was the British Prime Minister at the time.

The two should not be confused.

bcravenon A study of lights at night suggests dictators lie about economic growth (2022)

Fewer abbreviations would make this easier to read, understand, and perhaps take seriously.

bcravenon Fig trees convert atmospheric CO₂ to stone, research reveals

I must say, "Fig tree in Africa. Credit: Mike Rowley" is one of the shittest photos I have ever seen. Wow.

https://scx2.b-cdn.net/gfx/news/hires/2025/fig-trees-convert...

bcravenon Tour de France confronts a new threat: Are cyclists using tiny motors?

I understand that thermal imaging cameras can pick up anomalies in the frame where the motors are housed during the race.

bcravenon Fully homomorphic encryption and the dawn of a private internet

I keep a small backup drive at my office which I bring home each month to copy my most sensitive documents and photos onto.

All my ripped media could be ripped again: I only actually have a couple of Tb of un-lose-able data.

bcravenon xAI issues apology for Grok's antisemitic posts

Please check the HN guidelines, particularly the final one.

bcravenon Using Sound Waves to Put Out Fire: Story of Two George Mason University Students

Video recreation from The Action Lab: https://youtu.be/ZvnCQg4w4o8?si=xH_4RRToC-yRIuqC&t=200

bcravenon Show HN: Petrichor – a free, open-source, offline music player for macOS

The 'Win' in Winamp was referring to Windows. This is a Mac application.

bcravenon I'm Building LLM for Satellite Data EarthGPT.app

Turbo was designed to mitgate those issues, was it not?