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cunidev

2,982 karma · joined August 22, 2018

MSc CS student, Linux enthusiast. Mostly lurk, sometimes write (tuxphones.com / whatever has "cunidev" in it), sometimes post others' thoughts
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cunidev··on Introduction to Nintendo DS Programming
The Nintendo DS is the platform that taught me programming around 2010, via devkitPro, and it really let me understand a lot about how computers work. It was a rough ecosystem back in the day, but a very exciting one. We had no internet connection at home but I had the docs downloaded and it was surprisingly satisfying to compile on.
cunidev··on iPhone 16 cameras vs. traditional digital cameras
I recently switched to an imported phone with a bulky 1" sensor (Vivo X100 Ultra) and although far from my Sony mirrorless, the quality of shots and color science went up dramatically compared to my older Pixel 9 Pro (way overprocessed) and iPhone 13 (way oversaturated and pretty low-res). This is not to say there's no AI or strong computational component to it, but larger and more expensive sensors, which still have not found their way in mainstream phones, do bring massive advantage if they are not killed by excessive AI processing (as, sadly, I saw multiple times when test-driving Samsung Ultra phones)

Ironically enough, the Vivo ("Zeiss") color science also looks more accurate than most phones I've owned, and is pretty flexible at editing time.

cunidev··on Two new PebbleOS watches
This might be asking too much, but will there be any way to run the newer pebbleOS on the first-gen Pebbles? I love my Steel, and am currently still using it
cunidev··on Telegram Stars: Pay for Digital Goods and More
Has Telegram made any active effort on the encryption/privacy side in the last years?

With no E2EE except in unpractical, single-device "secret chats", it falls behind the majority of chat platforms (aside from Meta-owned ones, at least), and feels like a Western WeChat more than a place I would like my data to be owned by. Which is a shame because its UX is consistently great.

cunidev··on Apple partly halts Beeper's iMessage app again, suggesting a long fight ahead
It seems like the effort Apple is putting in stopping this is an indicator of how many people buy iPhones just for being in their iMessage circles. Which is only possible as long as Apple keeps snubbing RCS and making messaging painful to non-iPhone users.

If, say, a random cheap Motorola with Beeper could keep them in the same groups as before, Apple would probably lose a (small) chunks of its clients.

cunidev··on Apple to Limit iPhone 15 USB-C Cables to USB 2.0 Speeds: Report
Is this a deliberate limitation, or is it just that the base iPhone 15 chip does not include an USB 3.0 controller?
cunidev··on “Absurd”: Google, Amazon rebuked over unsupported Chromebooks still for sale
This is a disastrous situation in terms of e-waste, if we consider how long laptops can survive when using a reasonable software stack.

With most Linux setups, web browsing on extremely JS-heavy websites is the only area where you might feel considerable differences between a new laptop and one from 7-10 years ago.

cunidev··on Encyclopaedia Metallum
I have used Metallum for years, and love how intuitive and user-friendly it feels. The design is oddly cozy, has no ads (I guess?), and gives you the feeling of being in an infinitely deep library of dark magic and forgotten knowledge
cunidev··on Louis Rossmann calls community to leave Reddit
I wish it was federated in a Mastodon fashion, that would remove most of the hassle and cost of migration
cunidev··on Hacking the Samsung NX300 'Smart' Camera
Something a bit similar (although sadly less advanced) for some Sony Alpha mirrorless models: https://github.com/ma1co/OpenMemories-Tweak
cunidev··on Twitter's Recommendation Algorithm
I am probably part of this problem - an enabler, so to say. I was hosted a nice lady with a house full of duck themed things (this was in southern England, probably not the same lol), and left her two (rather cute) duck-themed things when I moved assuming that she'd like those.

She was unequivocally happy when I did, but perhaps it was just because of the gesture.

(EDIT: also, the rooster/horse/duck example of feedback loop would make for a terrific blog post)

cunidev··on Tesla's next-gen electric motors will get rid of rare earth elements
I mean, most Tesla engineering hires are thankfully smarter than their management - not that they don't have some great competition out there though (Merc, Porsche, etc.)
cunidev··on Bing ChatGTP demands an apology from user for claiming it's 2023
Being in close contact with the "founder" / "entrepreneurial" niche, I honestly had way too many interactions with people that sounded exactly like that
cunidev··on Dell Tried to Hide Bad Capacitors Problem 2003-2005 (2010)
I fell for the XPS hype around 2017, when all reviews were praising those machines as the best non-Apple laptops ever made.

Turns out mine was pretty badly done, and trying hard to imitate a MacBook Air down to the motherboard, yet half of the components of my (heavily used) XPS 13 showed to be quite unreliable within just few years sadly.

Having said that, what's the most reliable, decently portable laptop around for a Linux-oriented developer? I keep hearing bad things about newer Lenovos as well

cunidev··on [dead]
Funding and reputation are considerably influenced by credentials, especially at an early stage. Also, this sparks the obvious question of whether he lied only in this case, or whether half of his claims are?
cunidev··on Tesla Closes Below $500B Market Cap for First Time in Two Years
Nice one, but external links are blocked as "popups" by default on Chrome for Android. Anchors with target=_blank should fix it.
cunidev··on iPod Nano V6 LCD Hacking
LCD displays are among the most fragmented hardware when it comes to firmware. An open-source standardized driver is essentially impossible to achieve, and that also makes e.g. Linux "mainlining" more painful after the official firmware stops receiving updates. Happy to see more and more independent reversing attempts around.
cunidev··on Almost everything on Amazon is becoming an ad
For most products, at least in Europe you can get the same cheap junk of Amazon listings from eBay at 20-40% lower prices, and usually (slightly) higher quality one from brick and mortar stores at the Amazon price.

I avoid Amazon in principle since many years (unless I _really_ need a product there), but that has never been hard, considering that most smaller stores always offered me more convenient prices, less hassle in searching, and the relief of not giving money to such a controversial giant.

cunidev··on 'It's so liberating': The people quitting social media
In my experience, I feel like Mastodon is a way healthier social media platform than most. No (intrusive) trends, no "likes of friends", no randomized timeline, but just other people posting pictures of their oscilloscopes, cats, plants and hobbies, or starting healthy discussions about things.

It's not a panacea by any means, but makes an almost mind-blowing difference from the "usual" addictive social platforms (FB, Twitter, YouTube, etc.).

It feels a bit like joining a café where everyone is human, and imperfect, rather than a shiny videolottery casino where the higher liked profiles keep winning.

cunidev··on Pieca: A Raspberry Pi Camera System for Leica M Mount Lenses
It is shocking how much the glass affects the quality of pictures. Given the relatively humble sensor used on this build, results are still almost pro-level.
cunidev··on Show HN: I solved my New Tab page
This is what I have been dreaming for years. Amazing job!
cunidev··on Bitcoin Is Digital Scarcity
As usual, without mentioning the insane ecological impact of the "creation" of such "natural" tokens. Bitcoin is no more natural than, say, an extremely power-intensive industrial process used to create a particular crystal.
cunidev··on A self-trained Italian blacksmith built himself an amusement park
In Italian, but somewhat comprehensive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTQaJTZDcII
cunidev··on Show HN: EthicalAds – Privacy-first ad network for developers
Have been using this network for 6+ (?) months now on my blog [1], and I've been amazed. The current CPM is well higher than what Google AdSense used to give (at least many years ago), the ads are non-intrusive and of great quality in the tech niche (rather than the sadly common scammy banners from major networks), and it does not spy my visitors, which for me is an absolute priority.

[1] won't spam since it's unrelated, but my profile page contains the link if you want to see a simple placement

cunidev··on Pine64’s response to “Why I left Pine64”
Original post for context: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32494659
cunidev··on Homebrew Bluetooth Headphones
Standard aptX (not HD) sounds just as good as older codecs, and keeps a similar bandwidth, so the advertised improvement is mostly marketing
cunidev··on The Pine Formula
Author here. Can confirm that PINE64 is still way more hackable than COTS alternatives

(Also, the article wasn't updated, apart from a couple of dead link fixes)

cunidev··on The Pine Formula
If SafetyNet checks are not a concern, several people used banking apps inside Android runtimes (like Waydroid) on their Pinephones. Clearly not ideal for everyday operation, but for occasional tasks it does the job decently well and the overhead is low
cunidev··on The Pine Formula
The points above are indeed valid, but for example there is a line to be drawn between PinePhones and their secondary products.

Also, near the end it does explain/justify the need for a compromise in "libreness", as essentially anyone would agree on given the extraordinary price of "pure libre" hardware.

The main point in my opinion is not pushing for radical hardware, but rather accommodating the needs of developers and end users in a "libre-ish" lineup.

cunidev··on The Pine Formula
This. While C-base was a cute space architecturally, as a newcomer I did not find it terribly welcoming.

For one, there was an interesting elitarian aura around "members", versus us common "visitors", and the staff (very politely) asked me not to be seen around with a camera on my neck, although I was there with other ~8 people who I personally knew, and only took the "tunnel" picture at the top of the post.

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