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Cake day: August 2nd, 2023

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  • It also helps that the Steam Deck has introduced a bunch of people to Linux and shown that it’s not so scary or user-unfriendly these days, plus Valve’s extensive investments into WINE/Proton (software that allows you to run Windows programs and games on Linux) mean that for the first time, running Linux doesn’t mean limiting your library of usable apps.

    At this point Linux actually runs many games better than Windows due to lower overhead, and most things will run without issue so long as they don’t rely on kernel-level rootkits for anti-cheat or DRM (and kernel access is being restricted in future Windows updates after that whole CloudStrike fiasco, so that will likely stop being an issue either way as programs move away from using it).


  • This is the top-voted answer, but it’s missing one key point: Windows 11 mandates a TPM chip, a secure cryptographic processor that (amongst other things, both good and bad) allows an OS to verify that its boot files haven’t been tampered with.

    A lot of old computers don’t have this chip, making this the first Windows edition in many years where the upgrade process isn’t smooth and painless. If you don’t have this chip you straight-up can’t install Windows 11 on that machine without using hacks or workarounds, workarounds that Microsoft have been actively patching out to prevent TPM-less installs.

    Rather than throw away their still perfectly fine computers to buy a new machine they don’t need - for a dubious “upgrade” they don’t even want - a lot of users are choosing to switch to Linux so they can keep their current PCs while still enjoying software and security updates.












  • Thanks for the detailed write-up! I’ll have to pick it up at some point; even if it doesn’t hit the same highs as JA2, there hasn’t really been much else that comes close and a more modern coat of polish would be welcome.

    What did you think of the new aiming system? I’ve heard mixed things, but it sounded good to me (or at least way better than a flat percentage).


  • I’m curious why 16-bit support is being dropped. Too much additional codebase complexity for such a small use case, or are there technical reasons it’s difficult to support in a 64-bit environment that somehow don’t exist in a 32-bit one? Or is it simply not implemented yet due to a lack of dev time/interest in the feature?

    I know 16-bit programs are incredibly niche these days, but I’d be way more comfortable with enterprises running their ancient software in a secure, up-to-date WINE environment as opposed to an actual Windows 3.x one with its nonexistent security. Even in an isolated VM, that kind of setup is one misconfiguration away from disaster.


  • Many programmers who start working on new personal open source projects wrongly assume that building something cool guarantees users, fans, and revenue will follow. Maybe it’s because they have seen too many cool stories of influencers on Twitter and believe it is true.

    It’s statements like these that remind me just how different the internet is for some people. I don’t think I’ve ever strayed far outside of the “look at this cool thing I made!” parts of the open source community. The idea of chasing fame and monetization isn’t really a thing in those circles, let alone “influencers” shilling content like that.


  • The Unix epoch problem is completely unrelated to a program being 32-bit or not. The architecture affects the maximum addressable memory space, not the size of individual types. You could easily define and use a 128-bit type in a 16-bit environment, for example.

    The epoch problem is simply due to a bad design call a long time ago - one that proved foundational and incredibly difficult to change once it’d become an entrenched standard. They could have made timestamps 64-bit at the time, and probably would have if they’d known their work would survive the several decades it’d take for that decision to pay off.