tinybear1's comments

Microsoft testified under oath in court that they lost money on every Xbox sold prior to the current generation.

Sega lost money on every console prior to exiting the market.

Nintendo sold various consoles at a loss (Wii U).

The PlayStation 1 through 4 sold either at a loss or break even.

* With targeted advertising

One of my pet peeves is how people get so dismissive about limiting their battery charge. People will even get defensive, as if it is a personal attack or something. Empirical evidence has shown time and time again that it is a-matter-of-fact that stopping charge at 80% will prolong a lithium-ion battery. [1][2][3]

I mean, it’s one thing to be believe that it is “too inconvenient” or that “life’s too short to micromanage my phone battery”, and another to blatantly spread lies that stopping charge at 80% is a “myth” with no benefit. And maybe that “micromanagement” argument was true 5 years ago, but nowadays nearly every device can automatically limit charge levels, e.g.:

iPhone 15 and above

iPhone 14 and below with a smart-plug[4]

Most Samsung phones/tablets

Sony phones/tablets

Any rooted Android

Any decent EV

Windows: Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Microsoft laptops

MacOS through AlDente[5]

Linux: TLP for most manufacturers[6]

And honestly if your device can’t automatically limit charge, I concede it probably isn’t worth the micromanagement. But those kinds of devices have small, cheap, and easy to replace batteries anyway.

It’s a heck of a lot different to drive to the Apple Store and spend $250 for a MacBook battery versus the $30 battery and half hour of work for Nintendo Switch.

[1] https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-808-how-to-prolong-...

[2] https://accubattery.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/202397985-...

[3] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235248471...

[4] https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/how-to-set-an-automatio...

[5]https://github.com/AppHouseKitchen/AlDente-Charge-Limiter

[6] https://linrunner.de/tlp/settings/bc-vendors.html

Price already dropped $100 on Apple’s website.

Any Android phone will be spied on by Google so long as Play Services are installed with elevated privileges(aka 99.9% of phones being commerically sold). At least with Pixels you don't have OEM bloatware on top of that.

For those inclined for more privacy, Pixels are one of the only phones that allow you to install de-googled Custom Roms without compromising the Android security model.

The parent comments are talking about phone operating systems not hardware. And Microsoft is failing in that front, the Surface Duo missed it's target date for the Android 11 update multiple times. It didn't receive a11 until 4 months after Android 12 released. If they can't even keep Android up to date, there's no chance of them developing a separate mobile operating system.

> What do you attribute that to? Is it software updates that slow it down or some kind of pile up of junk that somehow slows it down like Windows 95 used to get?

I'll add that in addition to software, Android hardware typically experience more NAND degradation, which can slow the phone down. A possible explanation being that iPhones use NVMe storage vs the cheaper eMMC/UFS type found on Android.

As someone considering taking a gap year, can you expand upon what you did in your gap year, and what made it a special experience?

IMO I think that it is more about the content of the book then the device it is stored on. Especially with a Kindle(the e-ink variety, not the LCD tablets) it is a single purpose device that looks near identical to a physical book. Of course if someone is reading on a modern internet device there is always the possibility of getting of losing mental concentration, but that is less so on a dedicated e-reader like a Kindle.

Uninstalling the update also didn't work for me using my 2015 Shield.

Unfortunately, for newer Intel CPUs, undervolting is no longer an option due to Plundervolt mitigations.

I also have a relatively old kindle(the voyage) replacing the battery is easier than newer models due to the lack of waterproofing. It only took me a few minutes to do, I really recommend it as batteries are cheap and my battery life woes are now gone.

- A New Model M keyboard from Unicomp. I was initially skeptical of spending >$100 on a keyboard but those doubts quickly evaporated, typing on this keyboard is true bliss. Every keystroke has excellent auditory and tactical feedback.

- Uniball Jetstream: One of the best pens that I have used, extremely smooth and smudge resistant.

- A Kindle, renting books through Overdrive saves a physical trip to the library and makes reading books so much easier. I also downloaded the kindle app on my phone, which syncs the book position and helps ease the habit of checking social media in my down time.

Personally I find these to be my favorite purchases because they improve what I was already doing each day (typing, writing, and reading). Mundane workflows like essay writing is far more enjoyable when there is a good pen in the drafting stage, and a good keyboard to type on.

It is definitely being sold at a loss, the Cyclone V SOC being used costs more than the entire development board.[0] I wonder if Intel will ever take notice due to MiSTer's growing popularity and quit subsidizing the board.

[0] https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/intel/5CSEBA6U23I...

Edit: it was erroneous of me to state the board was being sold at a loss, rather I meant that the board was being definitely being subsidized by companies such as Intel and their partners such as Panasonic. My mistake. I also wasn't meaning to convey that the consumer Digikey pricing was the same as the large volume manufacturers such as Terasic. Rather I meant to demonstrate and agree with the OP on the astounding situation that MiSTer currently exists in, owning to the lack of economic viability for someone to produce a low volume commercial FPGA emulation machine for a niche audience without any subsidization.

It's a fork of lineageOS [1], but I don't think they added much.

[1] https://gitlab.e.foundation/e

The market for these must be incredibility niche. The average Joe would probably just switch to an iPhone if they want to de-google, and those who don't can probably find step-by-step instructions on how to install LineageOS without Google Services. I understand these are made for people for don't have a solid understanding of technology, but in the long run, running Android without GMS would probably require just as much troubleshooting as flashing a custom ROM.

Also, looking at the /e/ Foundation, I see that they provide a custom ROM, and I don't understand why anyone would use /e/ vs. LineageOS for microG. It appears the only thing added by forking Lineage was to preload apps, all of which are already available on F-droid.

When I saw the title, I had hoped a phone manufacturer had created a Google-free device, one that could be sold directly, without relying on a refurbished supply of three-year-old Samsung phones. The phone being sold doesn't have anything that could already be achieved via a combination of a used s9 + lineageOS.

It's not necessarily a book, but I can recommend "The Philosopher's Toolkit: How to Be the Most Rational Person in Any Room", by the Great Courses on Audible.

I decided to get it with a remaining Audible credit I had, and found it to be informative and easy to understand for someone without any previous experience in philosophy. It also comes with a 200-page PDF guidebook that includes the bulk of the content and follows along with the lectures. I think it's easier to digest then just reading through a traditional book as well.