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Random Chat / Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« on: October 16, 2021, 02:08:28 PM »
I has a house. 
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Random Chat / Re: The Lamest Topic Ever Conceived
« on: October 15, 2021, 01:19:03 AM »
So I switched to Android a couple months ago and planned to write a point-by-point comparison of that and iOS (specifically, a Galaxy S21 Ultra vs. an iPhone 12 Pro Max, and a Tab S7 vs. an iPad), but the more I thought about it the less I had to really say on the matter.
The phones are the things I used the most, and after switching I kinda started to wonder why the fuck people get so bent out of shape over platforms. I mean, Apple's been opening up iOS just as Google's been closing Android (mostly for security. Android's security used to be as awful as iPhoneOS's inflexibility). There are some things that iOS definitely can't do, like run a chrooted Linux install, but that tends to be so finicky (mostly dealing with the new permission sets with Android 10+) that even I don't feel like dealing with it aside from fairly mundane stuff like ssh.
So I dunno, I guess we're doing a rapid-fire comparison. iPhone 12 Pro Whatever has a faster CPU despite being a year older (The S21 Ultra's Snapdragon 888 is roughly on par with the two-year-old iPhone 11), but it doesn't really make the phone feel faster. Screen's roughly the same size. Battery life is about the same despite it having a lower capacity battery (3687 mAh vs the S21 Ultra's 5000 mAh).
The S21 Ultra has 12GB of RAM compared to the 12 Pro Something's 6GB, but that doesn't really allow it to do more. Camera performance is pretty close on average, but the front camera on the S21U smashes the iPhone one, and the 10x telephoto is pretty convenient. Low-light performance seems to be better as well, but I haven't tested that too thoroughly. The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is super convenient and awesome. The folio case and its viewing window works well, and I use the S Pen a lot more than I thought I would. The 120 hz screen was a very nice upgrade, though the iPhone 13 uses one now as well. Counter-intuitively, I actually find the pinhole camera more distracting than the notch, probably because it's breaking up an otherwise full-screen experience, rather than reading like a shrunken bezel.
The only real phone feature I really have to complain about is the car integration. Android Auto's UI works better on my car, since my car has a fairly small center console screen. CarPlay's split view tends to make it so that both the map and music UIs are too small to be usable (this isn't a problem for larger screen units, like the one on my parents' Kia Forte), but since Android Auto has a persistent media bar/notification bar on the bottom, it's very easy for passengers to flip through tracks without having to disrupt navigation.
That said, it does have some outwardly user hostile "features." It forces you into navigation every time you plug your phone in, and gives you no option to turn that "feature" off. Most of the driving I do is local, so I'd much rather have my music app front and center (CarPlay just displays the last content you had running. What a concept).
Tablets? Whew. Samsung tries like hell to make it work, but Google clearly doesn't give a fuck about them. You can always tell when you jump from Google land to Samsung land, because Samsung's software refers to the Tab S7 as a tablet while most of Android refers to it as a phone. The bluetooth S Pen works very well, easily on par with the Apple Pencil, and it has integration with Galaxy phones, much like the way Apple's devices integrate with one another. Good stuff, and very convenient. Battery life is easily on par with my 3rd gen iPad Pro. Nice as it is, however, I tend to find myself reaching for the iPad. Android left tablets behind years ago, and it really shows. While having an iPad display your app as an enlarged phone app is a mark of shame, I've found it to be surprisingly common on the 'droid side of things.
Finally, smartwatches. I went from an Apple Watch 6 to a Galaxy Watch4 Classic. Gotta say, I really like the rotating front of the Watch4 Classic over the digital crown (which I would always accidentally bump on stuff), and the ability to set awake hours for standing notifications on Samsung Fit is nice, but...man, WearOS has a lot of catching up to do. In terms of responsiveness, the Watch4 Classic is more in line with my old Apple Watch 3 than the buttery smooth 6, with hitching sprinkled throughout, and the software itself is rough. It's really hard for me to consider it release-worthy when some of the core system software treats the Watch4's round screen as a square screen. How the hell did nobody notice that? One definite positive is that the Watch4's battery life kills any Apple Watch I've owned. I could comfortably get 1.5-2 days out of my Apple Watch 3 and 6, but I can comfortably get 3-4 days out of the Watch4. It also does offer up many of the same features (one-wire ECG, heart rate sensors, etc), it's just the software that lets it down. I think WearOS needed another year or two of polish before Samsung switched away from Tizen. Hopefully it gets better over time, because in several ways it feels soooo close to hitting that sweet spot.
In conclusion: iOS is fine. Android is fine. Windows Phone was fine. Fanboys fucking suck.
Edit: One point I almost forgot to mention: the S Pen vs Apple Pencil thing largely comes down to which feeling you prefer. The S Pen uses a felt tip nib, while the Pencil uses hard plastic. I prefer writing with the S Pen because it feels more like a pen on paper, but I suspect that the Apple Pencil will last much longer due to the material it uses. Both options are still far better than the shitty wobbly nibs that the Surface pens seem to have. Trying to jot down notes with my old, thankfully sold, Surface Pro 3 was just awful.
The phones are the things I used the most, and after switching I kinda started to wonder why the fuck people get so bent out of shape over platforms. I mean, Apple's been opening up iOS just as Google's been closing Android (mostly for security. Android's security used to be as awful as iPhoneOS's inflexibility). There are some things that iOS definitely can't do, like run a chrooted Linux install, but that tends to be so finicky (mostly dealing with the new permission sets with Android 10+) that even I don't feel like dealing with it aside from fairly mundane stuff like ssh.
So I dunno, I guess we're doing a rapid-fire comparison. iPhone 12 Pro Whatever has a faster CPU despite being a year older (The S21 Ultra's Snapdragon 888 is roughly on par with the two-year-old iPhone 11), but it doesn't really make the phone feel faster. Screen's roughly the same size. Battery life is about the same despite it having a lower capacity battery (3687 mAh vs the S21 Ultra's 5000 mAh).
The S21 Ultra has 12GB of RAM compared to the 12 Pro Something's 6GB, but that doesn't really allow it to do more. Camera performance is pretty close on average, but the front camera on the S21U smashes the iPhone one, and the 10x telephoto is pretty convenient. Low-light performance seems to be better as well, but I haven't tested that too thoroughly. The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is super convenient and awesome. The folio case and its viewing window works well, and I use the S Pen a lot more than I thought I would. The 120 hz screen was a very nice upgrade, though the iPhone 13 uses one now as well. Counter-intuitively, I actually find the pinhole camera more distracting than the notch, probably because it's breaking up an otherwise full-screen experience, rather than reading like a shrunken bezel.
The only real phone feature I really have to complain about is the car integration. Android Auto's UI works better on my car, since my car has a fairly small center console screen. CarPlay's split view tends to make it so that both the map and music UIs are too small to be usable (this isn't a problem for larger screen units, like the one on my parents' Kia Forte), but since Android Auto has a persistent media bar/notification bar on the bottom, it's very easy for passengers to flip through tracks without having to disrupt navigation.
That said, it does have some outwardly user hostile "features." It forces you into navigation every time you plug your phone in, and gives you no option to turn that "feature" off. Most of the driving I do is local, so I'd much rather have my music app front and center (CarPlay just displays the last content you had running. What a concept).
Tablets? Whew. Samsung tries like hell to make it work, but Google clearly doesn't give a fuck about them. You can always tell when you jump from Google land to Samsung land, because Samsung's software refers to the Tab S7 as a tablet while most of Android refers to it as a phone. The bluetooth S Pen works very well, easily on par with the Apple Pencil, and it has integration with Galaxy phones, much like the way Apple's devices integrate with one another. Good stuff, and very convenient. Battery life is easily on par with my 3rd gen iPad Pro. Nice as it is, however, I tend to find myself reaching for the iPad. Android left tablets behind years ago, and it really shows. While having an iPad display your app as an enlarged phone app is a mark of shame, I've found it to be surprisingly common on the 'droid side of things.
Finally, smartwatches. I went from an Apple Watch 6 to a Galaxy Watch4 Classic. Gotta say, I really like the rotating front of the Watch4 Classic over the digital crown (which I would always accidentally bump on stuff), and the ability to set awake hours for standing notifications on Samsung Fit is nice, but...man, WearOS has a lot of catching up to do. In terms of responsiveness, the Watch4 Classic is more in line with my old Apple Watch 3 than the buttery smooth 6, with hitching sprinkled throughout, and the software itself is rough. It's really hard for me to consider it release-worthy when some of the core system software treats the Watch4's round screen as a square screen. How the hell did nobody notice that? One definite positive is that the Watch4's battery life kills any Apple Watch I've owned. I could comfortably get 1.5-2 days out of my Apple Watch 3 and 6, but I can comfortably get 3-4 days out of the Watch4. It also does offer up many of the same features (one-wire ECG, heart rate sensors, etc), it's just the software that lets it down. I think WearOS needed another year or two of polish before Samsung switched away from Tizen. Hopefully it gets better over time, because in several ways it feels soooo close to hitting that sweet spot.
In conclusion: iOS is fine. Android is fine. Windows Phone was fine. Fanboys fucking suck.
Edit: One point I almost forgot to mention: the S Pen vs Apple Pencil thing largely comes down to which feeling you prefer. The S Pen uses a felt tip nib, while the Pencil uses hard plastic. I prefer writing with the S Pen because it feels more like a pen on paper, but I suspect that the Apple Pencil will last much longer due to the material it uses. Both options are still far better than the shitty wobbly nibs that the Surface pens seem to have. Trying to jot down notes with my old, thankfully sold, Surface Pro 3 was just awful.
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Gaming / Re: 2021 Backlog Report
« on: October 15, 2021, 12:40:34 AM »-"big scary robot sections" not scary, very trial and error, very annoying. Not as big a part of the game as I expected, so they don't ruin the game, but they are my biggest con.
One of my friends and I spent about a half hour trying to crack the code. We basically determined that you have to nail the counter slightly before the spark for it to reliably go off, and considering the timing has some degree of randomness to it, that's a bit tough to do. That said, I did end up getting grabbed by the yellow E.M.M.I. a few times and was able to flawlessly nail the sequence multiple times in a row. Then again, considering that E.M.M.I. is all about speed, it wouldn't surprise me if the parry timings were a bit more fast/consistent as well.
I'd say that my biggest two complaints both deal with muscle memory. I used to casually speedrun Zero Mission when I was in college (by today's standards my best Any% times would be in the upper end of the top 100, so...not bad, really) and even 15-16 years later I find it tricky to adjust to a different wall jump and speed boost/shinespark style. It took me maybe an hour to get used to wall jumping (traditionally, Metroid games require you to pull away from the wall before hitting jump, not pressing into the wall), but I'm really not crazy about having to manually activate the speed booster.
At least it's not just me. I was chatting to someone in an FFXIV dungeon party the other night and they had the same issue.
funny thought, if link is zelda, master chief is halo, and samus is metroid...one of these is actually true...
Goddammit. I never thought about that before, but you're right. XD
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Random Chat / Re: The Thread of Excessive Rage
« on: September 18, 2021, 10:36:20 AM »
macOS Wake Timers: Wake up from sleep, check the mail, chime if there's new mail, immediately go back to sleep.
Windows Wake Timers: Wake up from sleep 20 minutes after the the computer is suspended, visually remind the user (who is not at their desk or logged in) that a Windows update is ready to install, stay awake.
What the fuck, Microsoft. How have you not figured this out yet?
Windows Wake Timers: Wake up from sleep 20 minutes after the the computer is suspended, visually remind the user (who is not at their desk or logged in) that a Windows update is ready to install, stay awake.
What the fuck, Microsoft. How have you not figured this out yet?
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Random Chat / Re: The Thread of Excessive Rage
« on: September 13, 2021, 11:28:23 PM »
How to get taken advantage of: say the words, "Yeah, I'm pretty good with computers."
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Gaming / Re: wut specturr'z playing
« on: September 11, 2021, 08:27:21 PM »
Just beat Valiant. That was pretty great! Easily some of the highest quality maps I've ever played.
The fourth episode (maps 19-24) were definitely the weakest point for me, with the fifth episode probably being my favorite overall. I can't recommend this megawad enough, honestly.
The fourth episode (maps 19-24) were definitely the weakest point for me, with the fifth episode probably being my favorite overall. I can't recommend this megawad enough, honestly.
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Gaming / Re: wut specturr'z playing
« on: September 11, 2021, 04:46:28 AM »Valiant
I'm tearing through this faster than I'd ever played through a megawad, which is to say that it's quite excellent.
I just finished up MAP27, including the, erm, secret part. Speaking of that secret part: I managed to beat it first try. I ate two rockets pretty much right at the start because I'm a dumbass, but I was able to snag a megasphere and stay in the fight as the arena continued to open up. Holy hell, is that part fun. I wish I were recording that.
So yeah, three more maps to go. Woo. I think I might move onto Eviternity next.
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Random Chat / Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« on: September 04, 2021, 05:23:43 AM »
Long term loans definitely have their perks!
I'm working on planning out my next financial year myself, actually. Going to be taking on a house payment fairly soon, and I'm trying to work out exactly what I'm going to do when my car lease runs its course.
I'm working on planning out my next financial year myself, actually. Going to be taking on a house payment fairly soon, and I'm trying to work out exactly what I'm going to do when my car lease runs its course.
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Gaming / Re: wut specturr'z playing
« on: September 03, 2021, 11:35:51 PM »
Switched over from Ancient Aliens to Valiant in my Doom escapades. I made it through the first two episodes (that is, through MAP13) and it's been pretty great so far. I'm definitely not looking forward to meeting the cybruisers, though (rocket launcher wielding Hell Knights that are immune to splash damage).
Kinda thinking of flipping over to Eviternity after I wrap that up.
Also, I cleared about half of the maps in Rush from a pistol start now. I sometimes use MAP04 as a warmup for when I want to put myself into slaughtermap mode.
Oh, I'm also playing FFXIV now. Like, quite a bit.
This is finally done. That uh, took a little longer than expected.
Kinda thinking of flipping over to Eviternity after I wrap that up.
Also, I cleared about half of the maps in Rush from a pistol start now. I sometimes use MAP04 as a warmup for when I want to put myself into slaughtermap mode.
Oh, I'm also playing FFXIV now. Like, quite a bit.
2. Hyrule Warriors grinding. [...] I'd also like to clear the first four adventure maps
This is finally done. That uh, took a little longer than expected.
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Random Chat / Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« on: September 03, 2021, 11:29:01 PM »And I'm done my job. Well, my last official day is the 27th, but I took this week off with my last week of holidays. Now I just gotta figure out money. I'm relatively debt free (car loan, but that's it), haven't taken any OSAP, and should be able to apply for various grants and whatnot. And at some point I'm supposed to get 10k in inheritance from my grandmother, but I have absolutely no clue when that's gonna show up. So I'm not fucked, but I still don't have a complete solution. Still, I'm happy to be out of that hellhole.
Congrats, and best of luck!
So yeah, I'm spending more than I initially intended to, but the world justified me getting the house I really wanted.
Oh wow, that's a bit of a rollercoaster ride, haha. Sucks that you have to pay a bit more than you were expecting, but at least you didn't get hung out to dry for once (and you get an upgrade as well!). Considering what happened to the housing market over the past year, it sounds like you ended up making out in the long run.
And hey, in my experience it's better to have too much space than not enough.
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Random Chat / Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« on: August 23, 2021, 05:17:53 PM »I got the zoning variance.
I can build my house.
I can't fucking believe it.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Congrats!
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Random Chat / Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« on: August 05, 2021, 04:27:06 PM »
Almost finished with the last day at my current job.
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Random Chat / Re: The Thread of Extreme Happiness
« on: August 05, 2021, 08:59:35 AM »So, it's not a done deal yet, there's at least one more hurdle to jump over - but chances are now extremely high that I'm going to be allowed to build my house!
Woo!
Keep us posted!
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Computing / Re: Got a Laptop
« on: July 26, 2021, 10:21:08 AM »Not trying to sound like a biased douchebag or anything...But...Never really seen anything too good from Lenovo personally. Then again, I've stayed away from them a long long time ago. You ever consider MSI, Acer or Asus? I've seen and experienced personally, amazing laptops made by them, that I've never seen with Lenovo before in my life.
Laptops are pretty tricky. A lot of the major players in the market (Lenovo included) don't even design their own laptop models, they subcontract an ODM (original design manufacturer) to design and build them, and slap their logo on them (sometimes with customizations here and there, depending on how large the company is). That's one of the many reasons that the quality, feature set, and build can vary so much even between different models within the same series.
Just as an example, you might feel that Dell and HP have nothing in common, but both the Dell XPS and HP Spectre were designed and manufactured by Compal, an ODM based in Taiwan. Similarly, several of the products MSI and System76 sell are little more than rebadged Clevo laptops. It's possible for one company to use multiple ODMs as well, so you can't say that all Dell laptops were designed by Compal. It might be a Quanta, Inventec, Wistron, Pegatron, or Foxconn design, depending on its age and model.
So, yeah, it's pretty likely that the Legion wasn't designed or manufactured by the same company that designed the lower-end Lenovos. The only fair metrics you can really use to judge laptops is by how good that specific model is and how good the company's support is (should you need to use it). Beyond that, it's anyone's guess.
It's complicated, it's annoying, and it explains so much of the inconsistent hardware-related crap I saw when I was still doing IT field work.
Really can't justify getting a laptop over a desktop unless you travel a lot or (like me) just wanted one since childhood and only now has the A money, and B a (albeit not strong) reason to justify getting one.
I'd say the pendulum is kinda shifting with the rise of Thunderbolt. If I didn't do much PC gaming, I'd use a laptop along with a TB dock for everything. Plug it in and it's effectively a desktop: charging, displaying to my monitors, using my keyboard/mouse, on a wired network, and connected to my hi-fi. Unplug it and I'm fully portable again. It definitely helps that there aren't as many compromises with laptops as there were 10 years ago.
Laptop gaming is still kind of a niche thing, of course. I'm not sure how many of them support docking, but it wouldn't surprise me if they also started pushing into that direction soon. Kinda seems like it would be a marketing boon to me.
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Computing / Re: Got a Laptop
« on: July 25, 2021, 01:44:53 PM »
Nah, the stuff gets repaired. They just send a new product (to reduce turnaround times), repair the old one, and sell it as a refurb.