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d3Xt3r

1,444 karma · joined March 17, 2015

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d3Xt3r··on Croft – A VSCode-style TUI text editor
How is this different from ttt and fresh?
d3Xt3r··on ZapFast: A fast, native WhatsApp client in Rust and egui
> In our Linux test it opens in under a second and uses about 200 MB of idle RAM

Is it just me or does anyone else feel that 200 MB is a lot for a native chat app written in Rust, that's essentially a remote interface for the WhatsApp on your phone?

I remember back in the day, apps like Miranda IM (and early versions of Trillian) used only digits of RAM, even when you had multiple plugins talking several protocols at the same time, whilst having a ton of advanced features not found in WhatsApp. Yes I get that times have changed and software has become bloated etc, but 200 MB still feels a bit too much.

d3Xt3r··on ZapFast: A fast, native WhatsApp client in Rust and egui
> Why there is no reactive UI that tracks all dependencies and redraws only what needs to be redrawn?

There's plenty of them. Slint, Floem, iced, Vizia, fltk etc. Slint and fltk in particular also exhibit excellent performance and very little resource usage even without a GPU.

d3Xt3r··on Insects don't swarm at LED lights
Is that African or European swallows?
d3Xt3r··on Ask HN: Is it possible for a residential proxy provider to exist ethically?
Not all of them are shady. Well, at least not shady in the sense of using dark pattern trickery or by malware delivery.

The way the "legit" providers operate is by pitching a "get paid to share your unused bandwidth" spiel. Of course, it's highly unlikely that these users understand the full consequences of running a proxy, so I reckon it's still dodgy, kinda like predatory loans, MLMs and other "legal" schemes desperate folks fall for.

Now in theory there could be an operator that discloses all the risks up front, but I don't imagine they'd have many takers. Unless they pay really well (bearing in mind that "well" is very relative; 50c/GB in a third-world country can be decent money).

See: https://www.proxyrack.com/blog/5-best-data-selling-apps-to-e...

d3Xt3r··on Agentic Ordering on DoorDash
> available in US & Canada

:(

d3Xt3r··on Sabrina-unlock-v2: Bootloader unlock for the Chromecast
> Does unlocking the bootloader break DRM in any way? > > Nope, just like unlocking a Pixel device officially.

Um, pretty sure this degrades Widevine DRM from L1 to L3, thereby breaking streaming apps like Netflix.

d3Xt3r··on When Reddit gives you login screens, go back to the open web
I soft-quit a couple of years ago when the API restrictions began (when thirdparty apps were blocked). Only reason I'm still on it is because of r/sysadmin, haven't really found a replacement for it - especially their Patch Tuesday megathreads which has been a lifesaver on more than one ocassion.

If anyone knows of a decent replacement for r/sysadmin (especially Patch Tuesday threads) with the same level of engagement, I'd be happy to get rid of Reddit from my life completely.

d3Xt3r··on [dead]
Oh. I though this was going to be a site that names and shamed all the bad software/technologies that hogged RAM, like Windows 11, WinUI/UWP apps, Electron apps like VSCode, bloated distros like Ubuntu, bloated DEs like GNOME Shell, bloated UI kits like GTK4/libadwaita, bloated browsers Chrome/Chromium, bloated web frameworks like React, bloated backends like Node.js, bloated init systems like systemd, bloated libcs like glibc...
d3Xt3r··on Ask HN: uBlock Origin for the IoT devices in my house?
GL.Inet routers (based on OpenWRT) have an Allowlist Mode, where any unrecognized MAC address is denied network access by default until you manually switch it to allowed. But once unblocked, it gets unrestricted outbound access. I'm not aware of any uBlock-like functionality or crowdsourced list. But this doesn't make sense in the first place, since this traffic would be encrypted and you have no way to tell if it's nefarious activity or legitimate, unless you root or hack the IoT device in question and install an MITM certificate. But even then, both the nefarious traffic and legitimate traffic could be sent to the same https endpoint, so you wouldn't have any way to block it unless you disable such nefarious activity on the device itself.

So the best option would be to just keep the machine blocked, or limit it to an "IoT" VLAN that doesn't have Internet connectivity. And if the dishwasher needs the Internet to simply work, get rid of it.

d3Xt3r··on PigeonEye is a fast, native Kubernetes GUI and CLI Tool
Some screenshots would be nice.
d3Xt3r··on Ask HN: Which TV do you recommend for privacy?
That's not really an issue if you get an Ultra Short Throw laser projector and pair it with a high quality UST-optimised (like a lenticular/sawtooth) Ambient Light Rejection screen. A setup would reject something like upto 95% of ambient light, so the screen looks good even in bright rooms.

In saying that, even this setup won't be able to match the deep blacks of a modern OLED TV in bright environments, but if you haven't been spoilt by OLEDs already, then a USTLP + UST-ALR is a really good alternative.

d3Xt3r··on An inference server for AMD GPUs, in C++ and HIP
I wonder how it compares to Hipfire: https://github.com/warpfront/hipfire
d3Xt3r··on Introducing Kwi, a new KDE terminal emulator
> I never thought about running the terminal emulator itself in a bwrap session, but I am eager to learn what those optimizations entail.

This is a pretty common scenario on immutable distros, and any power user who attempted to run a terminal emulator from a Flatpak would soon find out much of a pain it is. From what I recall, the main limitation is not having full access to the host processes, not having full access to the filesystem, and a few other Flatpak/bwrap induced restrictions.

Kwi solves the first problem by launching your shell directly on the host via D-bus, so the shell has full access to the host. Note that the terminal device itself still sits in the sandbox.

As for the file handling, it's mainly when you click on filesystem links, instead of going thru the xdg portal system like most portal apps, it again uses uses host execution method and calls `kde-open` to open the link via host's file handler, and furthermore, ensuring that the new window takes focus instead of remaining in the background (due to Wayland behaviour).

There's some other minor code around host process tracking and exit handling.

All of this makes the Flatpak version of the app behave like a native app (so don't rely on anything being actually sandboxed, if you're operating under that assumption).

d3Xt3r··on Ask HN: Anyone here still writing code for reasons other than fun or learning?
Because they're quick/easy/fun. My main requirement was a RAD environment to quickly spin up GUI apps for my family - apps which are reasonably small and memory efficient (so no Java / Electron etc).

In the case of GAMBAS, I originally picked it up because I missed the days I used to code in VB6. I recall chruning out small utilities like it was no big deal (and I was still in school at the time)! So GAMBAS, as a spiritual successor to VB6, was a natural choice for me - and it's also cross-platform, which is great because some of my family members use Linux, whereas others use Windows.

Before GAMBAS I used to use Delphi, which had a similar RAD environment with Lazarus. But Lazarus is a bit clunky, compared to the polished experience of Embarcadero Delphi (which is Windows-only, unless you pay for cross-platform). So when GAMBAS came along, I first played around with it just for fun, but then over the course of time it became pretty solid and capable, so I switched to it full-time for my GUI needs.

d3Xt3r··on Ask HN: Anyone here still writing code for reasons other than fun or learning?
Yes, mostly at work. But that's mainly because we're an MSP and our clients have a no-AI policy, but even otherwise, I don't imagine our clients will be very happy with us running agents against their systems/data or introduce unvetted slop into the environment.

At home, I manually create utility apps for personal and family use using niche languages like GAMBAS (a VB6 clone), and I've found that AI isn't really good at it. Besides, with the kind of simple utilities I make, it's far more easier to just do it myself than to fight with the AI (and then there's also the issue of long-term maintenance - if it's something I coded, it's far more easier for me to fix it, update it etc than to rely on AI for eternity).

d3Xt3r··on Ask HN: What has been your favorite VPN provider?
I was happy with Mullvad as they really took the anonymity thing seriously (no account registration required, unlike most VPNs). Unfortunately I'm yet to find a suitable replacement, ever since the fiasco with one of their co-founders.

If anyone knows of a similar provider, which offers anonymous registration and supports connecting using just a Wireguard profile (no need for a dedicated client), please let me know. Thanks!

d3Xt3r··on Ask HN: I'd like to request Microsoft open source Windows XP
ReactOS already exists and targets the API level as XP. You can even install the same Luna theme that XP used to make it look like XP.
d3Xt3r··on First thing to ask when joining a team
Nah, the first thing I'd ask is what's their preferred OS/distro. If they say its Windows or some shitty distro like Ubuntu, then get out of there ASAP.
d3Xt3r··on Rustext: A native GUI/TUI text editor in pure Rust with zero dependencies
Some screenshots would be nice.
d3Xt3r··on Sudo
I just get a blank white screen after I walk thru the trees, is that how it's supposed to end?
d3Xt3r··on Manifestos, Fear, and 'Loser Thinking': Inside Proton's AI Reckoning
> I no longer trust Proton after reading this

You should've stopped trusting them the moment it came out that the CEO was a T---p supporter, or at the very least, someone who plays politics, on Xitter of all platforms. Like, if they really cared about privacy and security and all that jazz, he shouldn't even be on that shitty platform in the first place, let alone tagging and sharing T---p's posts. That alone tells you the kind of person he is - would you trust a corporation run by that person?

It was only a matter of time their products turned to shit.

d3Xt3r··on Ask HN: Should I be polite to my agent or should I treat it like shit?
Neither, just be neutral and use caveman speak. It saves tokens. Being polite consumes extra tokens, and being rude can risk you getting banned. So use caveman speak, save tokens. The best part is, you'll get curt responses as well, without any cringy flowery language that LLMs are known for.

In fact, there's even a skill for it: https://github.com/juliusbrussee/caveman

d3Xt3r··on Tell HN: I know Firefox has update when it starts to glitch
Don't use Firefox, use Zen Browser[1] instead. It's based on Firefox but has a modern UI/UX, it's optimised for speed, has better privacy defaults, and no AI crap.

[1] https://zen-browser.app/

d3Xt3r··on Ask HN: Why are there not more terminal apps?
Uh, what are you on about? There's plenty of terminal apps. Like, literally everything that I use on a daily basis can be done from the terminal.

Which ones have you found missing or lacking?

d3Xt3r··on Native Shell: native UI framework in Rust for mobile, desktop and web
> GTK 4 widgets

Boooo! Why not Qt? GTK isn't native to my DE of choice (KDE).

d3Xt3r··on Show HN: Full Python 3.15 Implemented in 25k LoC C11
If you like C so much then why not hand code it?
d3Xt3r··on The Shinkansen's legendary operation and safety record
If anyone's interested in reading more about this, I'd highly recommend the book Birth of the Shinkansen by Tetsuo Shimomae. It's 300 pages goes in-depth into how various technological barriers were solved and how they maintained and improved the technology over the past 6 decades, and also gives you a bit of an insight over the cultural norms that also contributed to that record. Even if you're not into trains, it's a very cool read if you're interested in technology/engineering/Japanese culture.
d3Xt3r··on Guake Terminal
And for KDE users: https://apps.kde.org/yakuake/
d3Xt3r··on Show HN: Full Python 3.15 Implemented in 25k LoC C11
If you were going to burn tokens anyway, why not just go for Rust? Or if you really wanted to stick to C for some reason, then why not Fil-C?
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