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pqb

844 karma · joined March 20, 2016

Software Engineer

GitHub: https://github.com/piotrkubisa

Email: [ my nickname ] at kodiga.pl

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pqb··on Sales of sub-€25,000 electric car models set to rise sevenfold
Honda e? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_e
pqb··on Sales of sub-€25,000 electric car models set to rise sevenfold
Technically yes - it is a 3-door car with two seats behind the driver. However, in my experience only small persons or kids will enjoy sitting on the rear seats. I recall that the rear seats were good as an extra space for the backpacks or shopping bags.
pqb··on Sales of sub-€25,000 electric car models set to rise sevenfold
I guess you look for the car like Fiat 500e [0]. It is a two-seater with an electric drive.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_500e

pqb··on Meta replaces WhatsApp for Windows with web wrapper
From article:

> WhatsApp for Windows was originally an Electron app, and it was eventually replaced with UWP after years of investment. Four years later, WhatsApp is going back to WebView2, abandoning the original WinUI/UWP native idea.

> My understanding is that the recent layoffs at Mark Zuckerberg-headed Meta likely disbanded the entire team behind the native WhatsApp. I don’t see any other reason why Meta would abandon its native app for Windows. Meta will save costs by maintaining the web app codebase on Windows, but you’re going to hate the experience.

Giving them more time won't change much if they have resigned from devs in order to save some money.

pqb··on Affinity Studio now free
In the article [0] (also posted on HackerNews [1]) they share a link to page, which is a guide how to run new Affinity (v3) using Wine/Bottles combo [2].

[0]: https://tedium.co/2025/10/30/canva-affinity-free-loss-leader...

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45771211

[2]: https://affinity.liz.pet/

pqb··on Pop OS 24.04 LTS Beta
> The bundled Pop!Shop app store is the notable turd in the pool, but it's optional.

I agree. It’s the second most irritating thing. I am glad that I have written my tiny `update` bash script, which takes care of installing all updates (apt, flatpack, brew, etc.) without touching "app store".

I believe the bundled Pop!_Shop originates from Elementary OS and suffers from issues with proper background job processing. I find all those “store” apps for GNOME to be poorly written, often displaying incorrect numbers of updates, and generally slow.

pqb··on Pop OS 24.04 LTS Beta
I have been using Pop!_OS on my old Intel-based Dell laptop for over 5 years. Now, I'm alternating between my M1-powered Mac and Pop!_OS as my daily driver. Before, I used Ubuntu for over 10 years and tested various distributions.

Pop!_OS is probably the best Ubuntu/Debian derivative I've used. It's buttery smooth for everything I need it to be. I haven’t encountered any bugs or major problems that are strictly related to Pop!_OS. It feels like Ubuntu, without slow Snaps (Pop!_OS is Flatpak-centered), Canonical ads (Ubuntu Pro, MicroK8s...), and with a slightly modified GNOME desktop environment.

If I had to find the worst thing about Pop!_OS, it's a negligible issue stemming from muscle memory after using macOS. The Super+Left/Right Arrow keys on Pop!_OS are used to switch between applications, while on macOS they are meant to move the text cursor to the start or end of a word. I haven't found the option to disable it yet.

pqb··on Go 1.24's go tool is one of the best additions to the ecosystem in years
> In Python’s uv, the pyproject.toml has separate sections for dev and prod dependencies.

If you want, you can have multiple ".mod" files and set "-modifle=dev-env.mod" every time you run "go" binary with "run" or "build" command. For example, you can take what @mseepgood mentioned:

> go tool -modfile=tools.mod mytool

Plus, in last versions of the Go we have workspaces [0][1]. It is yet another way to easily switch between various environments or having isolated modules in the monorepo.

[0]: https://go.dev/blog/get-familiar-with-workspaces

[1]: https://go.dev/doc/tutorial/workspaces

pqb··on Show HN: Drop-in SQS replacement based on SQLite
Actually, the "model/" (note: singular form) directory (package model) would be preferred in the golang world.
pqb··on AI-powered conversion from Enzyme to React Testing Library
That sounds interesting! Would you mind sharing some links to the articles or videos that focus on this possibility?
pqb··on Ubuntu Desktop: charting a course for the future
Isn't there any PPA for Debian with proprietary drivers, for example for aforementioned Nvidia graphic cards?
pqb··on Ubuntu Desktop: charting a course for the future
The first two things that comes to my mind:

- HUD/search via global-menu - You could find any option in menus by typing them (https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/01/hud-new-unity-feature).

- Menus in the top bar (like KDE/macOS), but also in the title bar of application (quite unique approach - https://ubunlog.com/en/ubuntu-14-04-menus-in-the-title-bar/).

pqb··on Ubuntu Desktop: charting a course for the future
What is a moat of Ubuntu (Desktop) today? Don't say snap, please :)
pqb··on Bottles – Easily run Windows software on Linux
I like GNOME because of its design choices in 3.x+. I really appreciate the aforementioned large controls, title bars (often integrated as toolbar menus) and resignation of menus in favour of dedicated pop-overs. IMHO it is a step forward in providing simpler UI, but yes - it has some drawbacks too.

Ironically, I see the designers of macOS built-in applications (e.g. Finder.app or System Settings.app) are following their GNOME counterparts rather than the other way around. Since Maverick, Apple has lagged behind in terms of UI innovation and it is the GNOME designers, who are pushing forward with new ideas. The addition of a header bar in Finder.app and Nautilus made them much more usable for me [0] [1]. The same can be said for System Settings.app [2], which now follows the design and layout of the GNOME Control Center. GNOME has been a copycat for many years, its UI was inspired by macOS/iOS, but now the roles are reversed.

The missing piece of the puzzle is searchability, which GNOME 3.x+ lacks and which GNOME excelled at in the days of Unity DE. Hopefully GNOME 40+ will bring some improvements in this area.

pqb··on macOS command-line tools you might not know about
Isn't there `xsel` or `xclip` installed instead [0]? These two commands are commonly used on the Linux boxes and they support pipes too. For example, the xclip is used by the original password-store implementation [1].

On [2] you might find the aliases to pbutil for X11-based Linuxes.

[0]: If not, why not run apt-get command to install one of them, like xclip?

[1]: https://git.zx2c4.com/password-store/tree/src/password-store...

[2]: https://ostechnix.com/how-to-use-pbcopy-and-pbpaste-commands...

pqb··on Gopher Wrangling: Effective error handling in Go
Maybe it is unpopular opinion, but I think the go-compiler in `go build`, `go install`, `go test` commands should check for all unhanded errors and not compile the program if there are any.

It happens in personal projects, small teams and big ones too. The linter errors are too often ignored by developers. Also, it should help embrace in developer the need to explicitly name some error to be ignored.

pqb··on Don’t open the details in a modal window, have it be a separate page
Thanks, I didn't know about that.
pqb··on Don’t open the details in a modal window, have it be a separate page
Uh, that's interesting, but it does not work for me :(

AFAIK, VO+Command+Return can be used to select multiple things, not to click. For example, in the file viewer (Finder.app, similar to Nautilus/explorer.exe), it is similar to pressing Control (win/linux) and the left mouse button when the cursor is over a file to add it to the selection.

Edit: To open a page in a new tab in a Firefox with stock VoiceOver, I need to press VO+Shift+M to open context menu (aka right-click menu), and then select an option from the list (by greping, using arrows etc.).

pqb··on Don’t open the details in a modal window, have it be a separate page
> Accessibility support is a matter of priorities for a given project.

It is painful that some managers, architects or developers might think this way. Accessibility is not just for disabled people, such as the blind or those who have lost a limb. In the kitchen, for example, it is great to have push to open drawers (e.g. based on IKEA's EXCEPTIONELL [0]). If your hands are dirty, you can still open the kitchen drawer without getting anything else dirty. And this is just one example of accessibility.

Personally, I see screen readers as an additional tool (like Copilot or ChatGPT) to be used on a daily basis by keyboard users.

Screen readers can also help you, even if you are sighted. For example, with a ShortCat.app [1] I have a system-wide ace jump [2] with a command list. I don't have to use the mouse to move the cursor - I have a keyboard for that. But in applications that are not compatible with screen readers, you can only choose "close", "minimise", "maximise" buttons, and the first option - close - is the best for such an application (e.g. Sublime Text).

In other cases, SR/SA will read the text for you. If you are too tired to read, or your hands are occupied with a sandwich or utensils, you can use SR to read an article or paragraph for you.

[0]: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/exceptionell-drawer-medium-with...

[1]: https://shortcat.app/

[2]: https://github.com/acejump/AceJump

pqb··on Don’t open the details in a modal window, have it be a separate page
No, at least not in VoiceOver, which I use. In my experience, screen readers/assistants don't mimic the left/middle/right click of the mouse [0]. You often get two options: left click and double click [1]. There is also a right-click menu (control space), but unless it is based on a system-native UI, it is likely to be unusable for SR.

[0]: It is even easier to not use a mouse, when you are using an assistant. With a keyboard and VO you can resize, drag and drop and do many more activities.

[1]: https://support.apple.com/en-us/guide/voiceover/mchlp2746/10...

pqb··on SimCity 4 was released 20 years ago
How the multiplayer mode would look like? Do you think about competing against the other real player? Or maybe collaborating with some friend?

I am asking, because I think I haven't seen the multiplayer support in any railroad/transport-tycoon game. I remember in Railroad Tycoon 2 and then in Sid Meier's Railroads [0] we could play against NPC. Same as us, NPC is establishing a company and we may buy all his stocks to win.

[0]: https://store.steampowered.com/app/7600/Sid_Meiers_Railroads...

pqb··on Demographics of Hacker News by country
Thank you dang!
pqb··on A Kubernetes Operator in Rust
What's wrong with the Golang-based operators? Why do you prefer Rust to be used in the operator?
pqb··on Demographics of Hacker News by country
> At what UTC time range was the Google Shutdown post at the top of the board?

Is there a tool to check this? Personally, I don't know of any, but I saw the article in the top 15 between 10 and 14 UTC time.

pqb··on Google has already pulled six products in 2023
> As [this](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35553634) comment on HN pointed out, this was a good move by Google.

You can feel fulfilled as an HN user. Your comment was cited (linked) in the article.

Note: I am not an author of the article :)

pqb··on We achieved a 6-fold increase in Podman startup speed
AFAIK, Red Hat is working collaboratively with General Motors [0]. There is one article [1] on their blog regarding the containers in cars. I haven't found many technical information in it, but maybe you will find anything pleasing your eye.

[0]: https://www.redhat.com/en/about/press-releases/red-hat-and-g...

[1]: https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/running-containers-cars

pqb··on Pairing With GPT-4
This article reminds me of what I encountered.

In my case, instead of a Ruby program, I asked for an outliner application similar to Workflowy with clickable bullets to be implemented in CodeMirror v6. It understands what "outliner" means and can put "clickable bullets" in the right context. However, while it gives "plausible" answers, they are all wrong. Wrong API version (often the examples use the pre-v5 version of CodeMirror). Often confuses CodeMirror with Prosemirror. Imports non-existent CodeMirror packages that are clearly imaginary, and has considerable difficulty explaining them when asked. It completely doesn't understand the concept of Decoration objects. And many other problems associated with delivering uninterpretable code.

I had better luck with Cody, who is more familiar with CodeMirror's latest API.

pqb··on The age of average
Perhaps we try to do the same as others (wear the same clothes, pose the same way, buy the same things, etc.) so as not to be an alien too much?
pqb··on Battery-free Game Boy (2020)
The Mouser website says 5000, not 5, unfortunately. Do you know if there is a retailer that sells them in smaller quantities (like <100)?
pqb··on Lisp-powered laptop with a battery life measured in years
Whoa, I have to buy at least 5000 switches. Together with a price tag (~50K EUR) it does not look good for a weekend tinkerer.
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