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InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)GR
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4 mo. ago

  • Even USB-C is a nightmare. There's 3.0, 3.1, and 3.2, which were rebranded as "3.2 Gen X" with some stupid stuff there as far as what speed it supports.

    Then it can do DisplayPort as well. There used to be an HDMI alt mode too!

    An Intel computer might have Thunderbolt over the same cable, and can send PCIe signals over the cable to plug in a graphics card or other devices.

    Then there's USB 4 which works like Thunderbolt but isn't restricted to Intel devices.

    Then there's the extended power profile which lets you push 240 W through a USB C port.

    For a while, the USB-C connector was on graphics cards as Virtualink, which was supposed to be a one-cable standardized solution to plugging in VR headsets. Except that no headsets used it.

    Then there's Nintendo. The Switch has a Type-C port, but does its own stupid thing for video, so it can't work with a normal dock because it's a freak.

    So you pick up a random USB C cable and have no information on what it may be capable of, plug it into a port where you again don't know the capabilities. Its speed may be anywhere between 1.5 MBit/s (USB 1.0 low speed) and 80 GBit/s (USB 4 2.0) and it may provide between 5 and 240 W of power.

    Every charger has a different power output, and sometimes it leads to a stupid situation like the Dell 130 W laptop charger. In theory, 130 W is way more than what most phones will charge at. But it only offers that at I think 20 V, which my phone can't take. So in practice, your phone will charge at the base 5W over it.

    Dell also has a laptop dock for one of their laptops that uses TWO Type-C ports, for more gooderness or something, I don't know. Meaning it will only fit that laptop with ports exactly that far apart.

    The USB chaos does lead to fun discoveries, such as when I plugged a Chromecast with Google TV's power port into a laptop dock and discovered that it actually supports USB inputs, which is cool.

    And Logitech still can't make a USB-C dongle for their mouse.

    At least it's not a bunch of proprietary barrel chargers. My parents have a whole box of orphaned chargers with oddly specific voltages from random devices.

  • Well, they have a security advantage. I know Google moved over to requiring a USB MFA key for their employees a few years ago, and saw a reduction in successful phishing attacks.

    I would imagine one of these fobs is cheaper than a USB key. It also can work without being plugged into a computer, which is good.

    Authenticator apps are nice and all, but are not going to provide as much security as one of these. Apps live on people's phones, and especially if it's a personal phone, you may not want to trust its security. If it's stolen or hacked, your multi-factor authentication just got less secure.

    If you don't want personal devices in a building as well, these are useful.

    Lots of reasons these are still totally good today!

  • Ew. I hate that. I see they offer an option in settings to permanently switch out of S mode, but that seems like it's a crappy excuse. I'm guessing most users are never going to go there, and will stay in S mode, using only Microsoft's awful products. That's their intention, at least.

  • Rule

    Jump
  • Grab the door handle too hard and it's totaled. I'd say my car has maybe 250 health points. That's even counting the rust and the broken plastic clips!

    It's survived being sideswiped - 150 damage, healed by using aftermarket panels and spray paint. Permanent -5 beauty debuff though.

    It does have a curse (weakness to head gasket failure) though. But that hasn't killed it yet!

  • I mean there are ongoing costs with any form of power generation. Obviously there's fuel costs for most, but even other renewables have maintenance costs. You'll also need to keep investing anyway as power demands increase over time. So newer solar installations eventually replace the old.

  • I have issues even with the simplest Apple USB-C to 3.5 mm dongle on my phone. The USB side rocks back and forth, disconnecting from the phone and exploding my ears with popping noises.

    It's also flimsy as hell.

  • I'm just speculating. It seems like, at least at the moment, anti cheat continues to be able to run as kernel. The article says Microsoft will have more to say on anti cheat "in the near future."

    It may be that they don't crack down on the realtime applications as hard, since the number of users impacted is so much smaller. Antivirus and anti cheat are on many millions of machines and are usable by the average consumer. Specialty software may be considered differently, I. E. "You know what you're doing and what risks you're assuming" for the more technical customer.

    It will be interesting to see where they go with this.

  • Well, it's important. If you're injured by a direct blast effect of a nuclear weapon, insurance needs a way to quickly reject that! After all, you didn't get nuclear coverage on your plan!

  • It's serious business. The paperwork is a nightmare though. The rich farmers have lawyers to file the appropriate writs, petitions, and incantations to stay the cannibalism. For those without the money, going before Ba-Kok can be intimidating and challenging.