I use Qobuz for music. Recommendations don't exist. What are the best sources for creating playlists with suggestions?
oxjox @ oxjox @lemmy.ml Posts 31Comments 1,265Joined 2 yr. ago

Whether the economy its better under Republicans or Democrats is not open to speculation.
If you're not trying to create rage-bait, the answer lies in fact-based data which the World Wide Web, I'm sure, has readily available for your review.
Here's the first result my search engine offered me:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._economic_performance_by_presidential_party
Note that that link is a Wikipedia article. At the bottom, you'll find the sources you're looking for:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._economic_performance_by_presidential_party#References
Here are a few more articles my search engine produced for me:
May 2022: https://newrepublic.com/article/166274/economy-record-republicans-vs-democrats
February 2021: https://www.newsweek.com/us-jobs-income-gdp-growth-startlingly-higher-under-democratic-presidents-analysis-1566313
September 2020: https://blogs.cfainstitute.org/investor/2020/09/08/republicans-or-democrats-who-is-better-for-the-economy/
Sorry, but that makes no sense at all. Why go through all that trouble when they’ve already accomplished the end goal you’ve outlined?
I still don’t understand why any human but the worst would even consider voting for this maggot.
Other than general assumptions and track-record and being a business that sells user data, is there any actual evidence or clear and present ways that Meta could do harm to the Fediverse / its users?
All I've read is that it seems suspicious and we shouldn't trust them. I totally agree with that but I'd like someone to give some examples of what they could do as a member of the network. I've read how they could post advertising – how would that work?
I ask because, like the previous comment, the idea of following people from other, more popular, federated platforms from the comfort and security of "open source" (?) platforms is appealing. At the same time, if this is leaving me and my platform vulnerable to something specific, I'd like to either proceed with caution or not proceed at all.
The biggest loss for me when leaving Twitter was losing access to so much happening in my community and local news and government organizations. They're all still posting on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and not moving to the open social web. More and more are moving to Threads though so it would be nice to maintain / regain exposure.
In an alternate timeline, Elon Musk may have actually been a reputable head of the Department of Transportation.
That's pretty much what we do (including retrofitting 200+ year old farm houses). Just replace your home server with a Crestron box. For people who want to tinker on a regular basis, we could (I have) easily build them a custom interface but you certainly fit the bill of someone who should do it themselves. You've chosen this as a hobby and a life long commitment.
You know what they say about plumbers... always a leaky pipe in their house. Having been in the industry for decades, the last thing I want to do when I get home from work is futz around with networking and programming. I have wireless Ikea lighting. The battery has been dead on one of my smart buttons for a month and I'm too lazy to take two minutes to swap it.
This is a complicated answer just because there's so many options and variables. We always tell people to run more wire than they think they'll need.
Proper speaker wire is fire rated for in-wall use - don't run lamp cord in your walls. 18 gauge, two pair or four pair is typical. While the walls are open; run at least one Cat6 to TVs, potential wifi access point locations, security camera locations, door bell, light switches, even speaker locations and someplace you think you might want a source component (turntable, etc). If you want controlled shades, they may take special wiring which you'd definitely want to run now. Worse case, 18/4 and Cat6. Everything should start from a central location not far from your electric panel.
You'll need to balance how you want to control the system with how the system you want can be controlled. If you want in wall keypads or touch screens, that control system needs to be compatible or made compatible with your source gear. If you want to control everything with an iPhone or iPad, you'll need to look into a control system that's compatible with that.
Consider that a ubiquitous 110v commercial amplifier can likely power all the speakers in your home but it lacks volume control. Most whole home amplifiers lack a volume control you can operate from a mobile device. There are in-wall volume controls that can sit between the amplifier and the speakers. To use those, you could run 18/4 (and maybe Cat6) from the amp to the volume control then 18/2 from the volume control to the speaker. You could also consider a matrix switcher with preamp. This would distribute one or more sources to the amplifier channel (speaker zone) you choose and possibly give you remote volume control.
Those are just some thoughts. You might want to check out these sites for equipment ideas: monoprice, sweetwater, snapav, russound.
Oh, there are some distributers with some in-the-middle gear that might be sort of accessible to "consumers". You might have to lie and say you're a professional. Off the top of my head, I've worked with almo.com and adiglobaldistribution.us and snapav.com. Still, the skills to install and program this stuff is something to acquire.
Lutron is the most common for lighting and shades. They work closely with electricians, architects, and designers. Lutron has some consumer facing products (Caseta) that may be applicable to most people wanting to take a step into real control systems. That's not to say they have all the capabilities you're looking for - they stay in their lane.
Crestron is far more robust as they offer everything from lights, shades, speakers, control systems, AV distribution, etc. They're huge in commercial too. You would need to contact an AV pro to get Crestron installed and programmed.
There's handful of other brands you may come across (Control4, Savant) as you research your local AV installers. I don't have as much experience with them. Both had questionable beginnings but I would assume they're much better now.
Just make sure whoever you deal with is authorized or certified dealers and programmers. It'll cost a bit more than people working out of their trunks - but you get what you pay for. As with all things 'internet', do your own research. I can suggest starting here https://cedia.org/homeowners/
There's nothing wrong with building it yourself other than you need to acquire all the skills to do so and source all the components yourself and figure it out on your own when it doesn't work. If that works for you, that's great.
Crestron and Lutron stay out of the consumer market, in part, because you need to be a licensed electrician to install components of their systems. I can tell you from experience, even with the right training and certification, it's very easy to blow something out. And when something doesn't work, you have them for tech support and you get a great warranty. The stuff is rock solid and works for decades. I rather buy a home with a single supplier system than one that was hobbled together. Because when I then have a problem with something or want to upgrade the system, I know who to call and what the options are.
I've worked in the home automation industry for over twenty five years. I've been programming "smart lighting" for over ten.
The "smart home" you see today is largely thanks to how cheaply things are made in china and repackaged by mega-corporations. And the consumers' desire to do everything from their phone (with 2 day shipping). Automated lighting control has existed for over forty years. It's been expensive because the parts are built to last for forty plus years and most of the older system were manufactured in the US. Those manufacturers are still mostly making things in the US but a lot of little bits are imported.
An average 2,500 sq ft home could do a whole automated lighting system for about five grand. That's a lot for someone to buy (and install) from Amazon but it's nothing if it's bundled into your mortgage.
Nothing beats a wire. For a small apartment with a few lighting circuits, sure, spend $500 on some wireless doodads. Now you're stuck relying on software updates and firmware updates by your router, your wireless bridge, your smart buttons, your lighting fixtures, your mobile OS, the lighting app, and maybe another app to combine everything, not to mention your "smart speaker" if you want to yelp your commands into the air. On the other hand, if you get everything from one manufacturer, it's built on an isolated network that grants access to your mobile device and the system is self contained and essentially bulletproof until the power goes out.
Lighting is a life safety segment. You won't pass inspection unless you can turn the lights on and off from a physical switch or button that doesn't rely on your home wifi.
It's up to electricians and builders and AV experts (and CEDIA) to convince future home owners that it's worth getting this stuff installed before the home is built rather than letting them decide to buy something prone to failure on their own.
I love smart lighting. I wish everyone would invest any amount of money into it. But, if I'm reading you right, a wifi lighting world is not something I would hope to see become more commonplace than the current path of wired automated lighting. I'm in agreement with you though. It's really sad when I walk into brand new homes that have no lighting control (or distributed audio) at all.
Kennedy looks a lot like Sinatra here. reference pic
Because it's not flipping, it's reflecting.
https://www.aamc.org/news/microplastics-are-inside-us-all-what-does-mean-our-health
My take-aways from this article:
There's no good study on microplastics in humans.
They've tested "pristine" plastic on mice and it's pretty bad.
The plastics we're exposed to are loaded with chemicals and toxins.
She carries a stainless-steel water bottle and avoids plastic water bottles. She doesn’t microwave food in plastic containers and only uses glass, wood, or metal kitchen items, including mixing bowls, spoons, cutting boards, and food storage containers.
takes her shoes off to avoid tracking in dust from the outside and uses a HEPA filter to capture particles from the air.
Great point. Tires are one of the leading products polluting our environment and lungs.
This article also links to The Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at UCSF which offers a guide for minimizing exposure to bad stuff. https://prhe.ucsf.edu/toxic-matters
Here's a relevant NYT Article - How to Minimize Your Exposure to Microplastics
Ah. Gotcha. I'll do my own research to back up your claims. Thanks.
Thanks! Should be interesting to keep an eye on this.
I thought I was asking a pretty simple question and now I'm even more confused. Could you cite the part of the ruling that says your most recent claim?
If it is considered an official presidential act, the president can violate any law up to and including assassinating their political rival.
Could you cite that specific instance in the judgement for me?
To back up what's already been said, you could use another service to create playlists then use a service like SongShift to replicate it on your platform.
A word of caution though. It might not always pick the right song you want from the album you want. Like, you might get a live version or you might get a version from some random compilation album (especially jarring when the album art appears).
You could also just export from SongShift to a CSV file, if that's your jam.
I've always thought the recommendations from Apple were off. I remember that any time I'd play a grunge playlist, it would include Pink Floyd. Last I used it, I thought Pandora was pretty good.