Thorry
@Thorry@feddit.org
- Comment on Criminal court ditches American software giant– Can Dutch universities do without Microsoft? 3 days ago:
And on top of that these days we don’t want any software running locally, it all needs to be in the cloud. So we have thin clients connecting to virtual desktops for the end users. And guess what, that’s all Microsoft as well. So then you’d need a whole stack to replace that, which then includes hardware vendors providing something that works reliably with your own custom stack. Microsoft has so much of the needs covered, it’s so much harder to select a different provider for anything, as it complicated everything. Which is by design of course, but still the reality we need to deal with.
- Comment on Criminal court ditches American software giant– Can Dutch universities do without Microsoft? 3 days ago:
Yeah Microsoft doesn’t just offer software, they offer an ecosystem. That includes hosting, support, training, SLA, legal liability and interoperability. They also do a LOT of customisation for large companies and governments, much more than one would expect for a company that’s perceived as rigid as Microsoft.
I’m sure for a lot of the software we can find replacements in the non-Microsoft sphere, but that just leaves a bag of assorted pieces of software. That’s not enough and I’m not sure we can find replacements that match the user requirements for everything. That means we need different replacements for different companies/governments, which would lead to a big mess that nobody could ever maintain. And how is anyone going to get it to the level they feel comfortable agreeing to an SLA and liability?
So in my ideal world, all the EU countries get together and invest big into some kind of standard on how software like this should work and how it all works together. That would allow different companies to build software for different use cases, smaller parts of the whole, and through the standard all work together in a way that actually works. Then we can have service providers that create and perhaps partly customise an environment for a company or government. They can provide the training, support, SLA and the legal stuff. There would obviously need to be subsidies available for all of these companies to get to work on this. I would like the standard to require the whole stack to be open source, but that might be hard.
Now I realise this is really naive and has a couple of issues. First of all, is it even humanly possible to create such a standard? Something that isn’t super complicated and not overly restrictive to completely kill any innovation? And how long does it take to create something like that? We don’t have 10 years to work on it, the world moves too fast for that. Second issue is what companies would be willing to work on this? Even with subsidies, there wouldn’t be a lot of money to be made, no vendor lockin, no competitive advantage. Which is good for the side of the user, but not as good for the side of the supplier. Third issues, EU countries working together? Well good luck with that, on a good day it’s like herding a bunch of cats. I’m sure in three years we can have proposal tabled to put to a preliminary vote.
So yeah I’m not sure how we get out of this mess. It’s a lack of foresight and the fact governments move slow and the world moves faster and faster that got us to this place. If we had restricted Microsoft back in the 90s, things might have been different. We should not have bought in to the whole “Safe Harbor” thing, but that’s easy to say after the fact.
- Comment on Google is collecting troves of data from downgraded Nest thermostats 2 weeks ago:
I’m currently using a lot of those mini hygrometer sold under a lot of brands. Mine are branded Brifit, but I’ve seen other brands like Oria and Ankilo and many others.
Here is a listing from Amazon, please don’t buy it there, but to get an idea of the price and the specs:
They use bluetooth and are powered by a little CR2477 coin cell battery, which lasts about a year (varies a bit, I’ve gotten some to last 10 months, others 14 months). I bought a bunch of them at once, which drops the price a lot. I’ve been using them for about 2 years now and they seem to be accurate and report data often (every few seconds).
My Homeassistant server (tiny old Intel Nuc thing) is pretty central in my home and I have a USB bluetooth stick attached to it. It’s on an USB extension cable to have the antenna of the bluetooth stick out of the enclosure it’s in for better reception. The sensors are scattered throughout the house and all seem to have an excellent connection. The USB stick I use is a UGreen one which is very common, with excellent support in Homeassistant.
I think this is the stick I have, at least the picture matches, again please don’t buy from Amazon.
UGreen stuff is pretty good and sold in a lot of places.
Both the bluetooth stick and the sensors are China special, but these days it’s very hard to find anything that isn’t. Quality seems great tho.
- Comment on Google is collecting troves of data from downgraded Nest thermostats 2 weeks ago:
Yes smart thermostats are great. I live alone and have a somewhat random schedule. Being able to turn on the heat before heading home is a total game changer. If I’m away when I’m usually at home, I can change the schedule in advance, or change it when I already left if I forgot. This helps save money. It can also track usage, so you can double check your energy bill with your actual usage. Although I have a Homeassistant setup with sensors to track usage from the meters, but still a useful tool to have. If you use gas for example for heating and hot water, the thermostat can give the data needed to split up the gas bill between those and see where savings are to be had. It’s also an extra temperature and humidity sensor, keeping track of how comfortable your home is and it’s possible to act not just on temperature, but other factors as well. I have a bunch of temperature sensors scattered in my home and the curves are useful for tweaking heating and ventilation in the home. Giving an optimal balance between cost and comfort. And preventing things like mold, which might save on heating in the short term, but put on costs in the long term with health issues and mold damage.
I have a lot of automation, but I have one rule. Everything must still basically work when the internet is out or the home automation has issues. So I use physical switches with sensors and relays, when everything fails the lights will still turn on and off with the switch. If there is no internet, physically turning the thermostat up or hitting the big override button next to the heater still turns on the heat. Stuff like that is important, it’s a luxery and a convenience, but it must never become a hindrance.
I try to use open source stuff where I can and have contributed to some projects. I’ve made stuff myself like sensors with self made pcbs in 3D printed enclosures. But I also use some proprietary stuff, like for example the Nest thermostat. I bought it about 10 years ago and mostly because I loved the design. This was when they were recently acquired by Google and were still fully autonomous. Back then there weren’t many alternatives and the Nest was by far the best looking one (imho). The software absolutely sucks, the old Nest app didn’t get many updates with Google, but the older models still only work in the Nest app. But with Homeassistant I can work around most of it. It’s a shame because Nest had so much potential and was doing good stuff, now under Google their product are kinda meh.
- Comment on Subnautica 2 and InZoi publishers announce voluntary layoff program "amid the era of AI transformation" 2 weeks ago:
Nothing makes me hate a company more than them claiming to be “AI-first”. Like seriously fuck all the way off.
- Comment on Microsoft Is Abandoning Windows 10. Hackers Are Celebrating. 1 month ago:
Which would be the reason the hackers are celebrating
- Comment on Hollow Knight: Silksong pre-patch 3 beta update brings extra controller support and dispels nagging lategame curses 2 months ago:
I’ve heard it from many people, shame it isn’t fixed yet.
I replaced my cable and bought a 5 pack in the store, so if this one starts acting up, I can replace it right away.
- Comment on Hollow Knight: Silksong pre-patch 3 beta update brings extra controller support and dispels nagging lategame curses 2 months ago:
I hope they fix that bug where on Linux when the controller disconnects for whatever reason, all of the analog inputs like the triggers and sticks stop working. I connect my controller using an USB-C cable which is kinda broken, it usually works just fine, but every once in a while it disconnects before immediatly reconnecting. Usually that’s not an issue, it just hiccups a bit and then I can continue playing. Since it doesn’t happen often, I can blame my skill issues on it and I’m lazy, I hadn’t bothered to replace the cable. With this annoying bug, I had to restart the game every time it happened. After a couple of times I replaced the cable, but still would be cool if they just fixed it.
- Comment on Microsoft mandates a return to office 2 months ago:
