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frxx

780 karma · joined December 24, 2019

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frxx··on Nvidia – open-source auto-ontology
I will add Claudish robolect into my language immediately, thank you.
frxx··on New 14‑inch MacBook Pro with M6
Surprising somehow, to me. One would imagine Apple could make a good amount of money by selling storage and thoughts-off safety for normies? And catch up to what Google offered like then years ago already with ChromeOS.
frxx··on Deutsche Bahn "joke" is no longer funny
I don't want to doxx myself, but they don't put anything on the departure display anymore. So the train that comes at some point, after 5, 10 minutes, which train is it? Impossible to tell. I just factor it in.

I also hear the same from others riding the busy lines inside of the city. I think it's due to the amount of people getting in/off during the high traffic times, but still, many trains are late 5 out of 7 days at the minimum.

frxx··on Deutsche Bahn "joke" is no longer funny
I'm not sure if most people know but you need to distinguish between two kinds of trains here.

The Shinkansen system is rarely late, that is true. Part of the reason for that is that they are running on their own, isolated tracks. Downside here is that they are quite expensive. Flights between, let's say Tokyo and Osaka, are often faster and cheaper.

The trains that normal people take every day to get to work, are, depending on city and line/owner of course, partially late every single day during rush hour. They don't even show the time or kind of the next train that will come.

The commuters of course know this and just leave the house a bit earlier, so in practice it's not a huge problem.

frxx··on Ask HN: What did you find out or explore today?
Depending on the measurement method and your method of calibration, I'd assume "slightly below atmospheric" is probably just atmospheric. Funnily enough, more CO2 in the blood can actually increase athletic performance and resilience against it is also helping with that. I just open my windows though from time to time.
frxx··on The snail farm don: is this the most brazen tax avoidance scheme of all time?
Wildest article I've read in a while.
frxx··on Udo Kier
RIP, Wolfgang Kortzfleisch :(
frxx··on I think nobody wants AI in Firefox, Mozilla
That's what I've been saying for some time now... "No one really wants AI! They want their software to be faster or better, but do they care if the people in the background of the image have been removed by AI or not?" And in fact they don't.

Managers think they want AI but they actually want their people to work faster or better. Higher managers think they want AI so they can save money, or at least not fall behind the competitors, if those were to use AI to get an advantage.

Companies making software think they want AI because their competitors are using it, and they think the users want AI so the software can be perceived as modern, not falling behind.

And so on, and so on... other than Nvidia, openAI, Anthropic, etc, no one really wants AI.

frxx··on CYBERSPACE: text-only social network
I tried it out and it is a lot of fun! Still evolving, still getting developed.
frxx··on Making a smart bike dumb so it works again
Ahh I see. Yeah there are still many problems with "connected" bikes like this that are easier solved with a hardware hack!
frxx··on Making a smart bike dumb so it works again
Nice article and hack! Two things are confusing me here though:

If this is a VanMoof, I believe they were sold in Japan and even had a Store in Shibuya

Secondly, they were bankrupt, but to my knowledge were bought and is therefore still (again?) in business.

frxx··on Japan was the future but it's stuck in the past
Read this article and agree on many of it's points. Have been here for some years now. If you've read just one of Patrick McKenzie / @patio11's articles on Japanese banking, you'll understand too.
frxx··on Synth pioneer and maker of ‘Popcorn’, Gershon Kingsley (2019)
I was gonna post the Muppets version too.
frxx··on Smartphones wiped out 97% of the compact camera market
This used to be an issue, but downloading maps of Japan is possible these days.
frxx··on Show HN: A Japanese learning app focused on efficient vocab/grammar acquisition
Will take a look as well.
frxx··on The Impossible Port: MacOS
There are also reports of the network adapters keeping the Switch from going into the lowes power state, thus keeping it somewhat warm. I had the same reasons as above though to not buy an adapter: I buy new games only very infrequently, so wireless is good enough for me.
frxx··on maps.google.com now redirects to google.com/maps
Both Organic Maps and OsmAnd are available on iOS as well.
frxx··on Photography is not just about the camera
Digital requires processing too. As far as I understand the light sensing silicon is kind of analog, but even after that the camera can't see color just yet. Huge amount of processing is involved.
frxx··on Why Tesla removed radar and ultrasonic sensors [video]
There are also solid state LIDARs these days which involve no moving parts. Still use more power than radar though.
frxx··on Show HN: America – Road Trip Simulator
There's also https://openweathermap.org/api for weather. Really easy to use
frxx··on New research suggests eating early and within a 10-hour window is healthier
I think dinner times can vary a lot, based on the cultures in each country/region. Meal times in general, I suppose.
frxx··on Why Disconnecting from Your Phone Is So Good for You – and How to Do It
I totally agree. The next step can be to remove most if not all notifications. If that's not enough yet, I think most phones can be switched to some kind of black-and-white-mode, which further cuts down on distractions. Never had your phone been more boring.
frxx··on New system retrofits diesel engines to run on 90% hydrogen
I am not a physicist but I was thinking this was mostly a topic for hydrogen storage. And it seems the article agrees here: "[...] most metals are relatively immune to hydrogen embrittlement at temperatures above 150 °C."
frxx··on After cutting radar, Tesla now dropping ultrasonic sensors from its EVs
Are you perchance confusing ultrasonic sensors with front mounted radar? In general the collision avoidance systems use either camera or radar, or both. Some manufacturers are trying to add lidar into the mix these days. Ultrasonic sensors are in general just used for parking and don't last way further than maybe 2 meters. (Source: I work in this space.)
frxx··on Markets in Power
You can shift air conditioning, to a degree. You could cool down the house, maybe even one or two degrees under your usual temperature. Your house now acts as a thermal battery and you can leave the AC off for some time. How long will that work? With the general atrocious insulation in Japan and the very humid/hot summers, probably not super long.

Of course not super on topic but the insulation in central Japan seems to be a big problem to me. Walls are thin and often made out of wood. There are ventilaton holes, often closeable, but with the thinnest plastic cover. Windows are single pane, and the window frames and doors are often of such shoddy construction, you can see the outside through some cracks. If there was a shift in construction quality, I'm sure the electricity use in summer and winter would drop, but I don't expect that to happen soon. Insulation and construction quality is expensive, so this isn't done in construction of rental apartments.

frxx··on Ask HN: Recommendations for ‘minimalist’ (e.g. not too ‘smart’) phones?
I was thinking to do the same thing and have been considering an eInk phone like the Hisense A5. I'm thinking the eInk screen will take the fun out of many things, but will still allow you to message your friends/family. They're not cheap and some of them don't allow custom roms, and I gotta say, I would like a smaller one than the ones I found on the market, but still an option.

Another idea is to turn your phone to BW mode. In iOS this is possible with the accessibility color filter, for Android there should be an option in the developer options. I'm using that for now and I think it helps a lot.

frxx··on Spotify vs. Apple Music Review – 2022 Edition
Bandcamp has Bandcamp radio. It's very good.
frxx··on Show HN: The iPhone 14 Index
It might be an exchange rate topic? Since you're highlighting Japan, then yen is very weak compared with the dollar right now, so it seems way less expensive. Compared with the previous generations I think it's quite a bit more expensive.
frxx··on Japan Digital Minister declares a war on floppy discs
I think it's still Japan and Germany, even though declining in both.
frxx··on Slack’s free plan change is causing an exodus
Makes me remember flattr. That was great and I still miss it.
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