Not 100% sure where to post this, but I think those that follow this thread will be interested: VMware 'pressured' hotel to shut down tech event close to VMworld, IGEL sues resort giant
The Tech Random Crap Thread
- Thread starter DarkAudit
- Start date
So, Chrome updated to the new version 69 today with their full redesign. Oh no. It's terrible. Please save me from this atrocious redesign. It's completely unusable. However will I go on?
/deadpan
Seriously tho - there are people freaking out about the massive changes in design and as far as I can tell, the tab corners are rounded now and the search bar is a big pill instead of a big box.
/deadpan
Seriously tho - there are people freaking out about the massive changes in design and as far as I can tell, the tab corners are rounded now and the search bar is a big pill instead of a big box.
figmentPez
Staff member
I laughed so hard at this leaked photo of the upcoming Nokia phone with 5 lenses & image sensors on the back alone:
Apparently, Microsoft's roll-out of the Fall Creator's Update isn't going quite as planned. In fact, they've halted the roll-out completely and are advising people who have the update by who haven't installed it, to avoid doing so. It uh... it deletes your documents, and potentially your photos as well.
Alright, the time has come for me to finally actually cut the cord on my cable TV subscription. Between the absolutely horrible selection available on Spectrum On Demand, to the bullshit NFL broadcast market restrictions, I'm done paying for the privilege of getting screwed over. But, I do still love live sports, and I would like to have the option to at least catch national and international news - and preferably state/localish, but not having that isn't a deal breaker - and I'd love to avoid stupid things like not being able to watch BBC content without a VPN and shite. Are there any options out there that tick these boxes?
There are some streaming services that offer live TV... Sling TV, Hulu, etc..
A quick overall view is at CNet for the overall stuff.
BBC Content - looks like your only option is BritBox - which you can get as an add-on in Amazon Prime (does not have current Dr. Who - just classic, which Amazon Prime does have everything now but the current season included, and you can buy the current season).
I've looked into these myself, but just haven't had the extra funds to toss their way just yet.
A quick overall view is at CNet for the overall stuff.
BBC Content - looks like your only option is BritBox - which you can get as an add-on in Amazon Prime (does not have current Dr. Who - just classic, which Amazon Prime does have everything now but the current season included, and you can buy the current season).
I've looked into these myself, but just haven't had the extra funds to toss their way just yet.
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The trouble with most cord-cutting solutions is that in order to access the OTA portion of most network broadcasts, you must first sign in with the same login you use for your local TV provider...which means having to have a TV plan, which is blatantly egregious and I wish they'd stop.
--Patrick
It looks like I can at least get 2 of the four major networks out of Eugene, which is close enough for me. I don't really need to listen to the local newsreader fumble over every other word and mispronounce any word longer than two syllabluzz... syllables. Or watch the weather, then a story about a tree carver, then the weather, then a story about a construction site, then the weather, then a story about the wildfires, then the weather. Especially not when the weather person chose to wear a hot pink, form fitting dress, so that the contrast between her dress and the green screen they're using created a big black aura around her dress (really accentuated the form-fittingness); but the paleness of her skin next to the hot pink meant that her face tended to take on the lighting of the weather patterns, and turned a truly unfortunate shade of lime green. It was like a 60's era jello mold bouncing perkily across the screen.
Oh lawdy, I just got an email from AT&T (my wireless provider) notifying me of the awesome new service they just made available to me. At the low low cost of nothing to me, I can get Experian to surveil my every move, social media post, all of my internet activity, and everything else I do, everywhere I go, and everyone with whom I communicate - to protect my online reputation.
GasBandit
Staff member
With absolutely no word of what's changing.... that worries me. I mean, it's pretty much perfect the way it is. Now I'm worried they're gonna try to put a store or something on it.
So, my computer's been making some weird noises. As in, grinding and sputtering of something that's supposed to spin fluidly. Which means I think it's either a fan or a hard disk. Given that I've had "unable to boot, please plug in a bootable drive" errors a few times, too, I'm a bit worried about my HDD (though the OS is on an SSD which doesn't show any problems...But the HDD is still in the boot-up sequence, so I guess that might trigger it?).
Anyway, checkdisk and such all report everything working perfectly. I have the feeling some operations are really slow, though - installing a new Steam game, Steam just took over 10 minutes to "allocate hard disk space" before starting the download, and that isn't normal.
So I tried winsat to see if there were read/write problems...Except that I have no clue how to interpret the data
Do these numbers look ok to people with some knowledge (yes, my OS is in Dutch, but I'm sure you can figure it out)?
For comparison, the same data for my SSD:
I know an SD is faster than an HDD, but I still get the impression that latency is higher than it should be...And if so, how to proceed?
Anyway, checkdisk and such all report everything working perfectly. I have the feeling some operations are really slow, though - installing a new Steam game, Steam just took over 10 minutes to "allocate hard disk space" before starting the download, and that isn't normal.
So I tried winsat to see if there were read/write problems...Except that I have no clue how to interpret the data
Do these numbers look ok to people with some knowledge (yes, my OS is in Dutch, but I'm sure you can figure it out)?For comparison, the same data for my SSD:
I know an SD is faster than an HDD, but I still get the impression that latency is higher than it should be...And if so, how to proceed?
Well, the optical drive hasn't worked in literal years, and I never got around to replacing/removing it. Hmmm.
GasBandit
Staff member
Large walkouts at various Google sites, protesting workplace harassment, "sexism, racism, unchecked executive power"
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...y-idUSKCN1N644R?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...y-idUSKCN1N644R?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
Good. They need it. It's been obvious they've had a culture problem since well before they started having to put
I don't know if I should ask this here or in the more general forum, BUT
I want to get my daughter a good singing mic that can hook up to her laptop, as well as some music recording and mixing (legal!) software, since she is getting very into singing. I already know about decent mics for just talking and making videos, but since singing requires a lot more *breathing* I feel like there must be more specialized mics for this kind of thing. She's already familiar with GarageBand from school, but that is an app and not computer software. She'd probably using it for things like blending acapella tracks, or maybe making a backing track. Also if anyone knows any good music composition software? OR if you know a good place on the internet with more knowledgeable people, that would also be good.
I want to get my daughter a good singing mic that can hook up to her laptop, as well as some music recording and mixing (legal!) software, since she is getting very into singing. I already know about decent mics for just talking and making videos, but since singing requires a lot more *breathing* I feel like there must be more specialized mics for this kind of thing. She's already familiar with GarageBand from school, but that is an app and not computer software. She'd probably using it for things like blending acapella tracks, or maybe making a backing track. Also if anyone knows any good music composition software? OR if you know a good place on the internet with more knowledgeable people, that would also be good.
GasBandit
Staff member
Any good desk-standing "talking" mic can be a good "singing" mic with a puffguard. Can't go wrong with Audio Technica. If she wants to sing at full volume though, you're probably gonna need to eggcrate the walls of whatever room it is happening in.
For audio mixing, I'd say Audacity. There's a bit of a learning curve, but once you've got it set up, noise reduction and voice processing is almost as easy there as it would be in Adobe Audition.
Afraid I can't help much with music composition software though, I haven't used any of that since ModPlug Tracker was a thing, and THAT is some arcane stuff for a computer nerd, much less a tween who just wants to sing.
On the eggcrating front, the LoadingReadyRun people said it's significantly cheaper to buy hospital/medical eggcrate foam pads, and they're basically just as effective for a home studio. Prices on Amazon certainly look cheaper at a quick glance, and the colors are nicer (whites and blues vs. grey and black).
I've heard making your own DIY sound absorbing panels with rockwool is a more budget-friendly option.
GasBandit
Staff member
Really, here at the radio stations, we mostly just put carpet on the walls. If you have the patience to gather up enough free samples, you could do it just for the price of the heavy duty staples/nails.
As Gas says, any good "talking" mic can by definition also be a good "singing" mic IF you work to contain the plosives with something like a windscreen or pop filter. The only other thing would be for her to practice some mic discipline, because if she's going to do choreography while she sings, she's either going to have to remember to come back to wherever the stand is planted once it's time to sing again, or else she's going to have to learn how to properly hold a handheld mic up to her face and how not to not bang it on other stuff when she isn't. There ARE mics specifically designed for singing, but their engineering isn't geared towards improving the audio quality of singing so much as compensating for the other things I just mentioned (portability, keeping spit off the mic diaphragm, etc).
Uhhh...yes it is? Garageband actually IS reasonably capable (though simplified) DAW software you can use for mixing audio, creating backing instrument/drum tracks with the built-in audio samples, automation, and all that. Its biggest drawback is that while the program itself is free, you of course have to already have an Apple product in order to use it (computer OR tablet, there's a version available for both).
If you're looking for something else that is free (and Windows compatible), Audacity is the one that everyone will tell you to get. And while it may not be as noob-friendly as some of the other things out there, you really don't NEED to buy anything until you hit the point where you want to do things Audacity can't do, at which point it's time to start shopping for a "real" DAW that actually costs money. My personal favorite is Propellerheads' Reason, mainly because their interface mimics the patch bays and equipment of actual studio wiring, and also because of their goofy aesthetic, but the big boy on the block is probably still
See the list of DAWs, above, but if you mean musical notation software, the fight, as it has been for decades, is between Finale and Sibelius. Finale is the old standby and Sibelius is the upstart challenger, if you can still call something that just had its 20th birthday last month an "upstart."
As far as sound-deadening renovations go, there are expensive solutions that work well, and there are also (relatively) inexpensive solutions that work "well enough." She probably won't need to carpet her entire room, for instance, so if she has a closet full of clothes with enough room for her to stand in, she already has a passable sound isolation booth (for beginners). If that's not good enough, well, you can get moving blankets from places like Harbor Freight for very little money, and then build a tent around where the recording will take place. Much like an archery backstop, a couple hanging layers (that can be set up or taken down as needed) will probably work just as well as one thick one that's nailed to the wall.
source: have also worked in a studio/pro audio, (though not as long as Gas).
--Patrick
Are you an HBO subscriber on Dish Network or Sling TV? Sucks to be you. Hope you enjoy paying for things that you can't watch, and good luck getting out of your contract.
*Note, I don't actually hope you enjoy paying for things you can't watch, and I do wish you the very best of luck in getting out of your contracts.
*Note, I don't actually hope you enjoy paying for things you can't watch, and I do wish you the very best of luck in getting out of your contracts.
Dish already had a reputation of getting into pissing matches with content providers. Insert Iago "surprised" clip here.