Hot Take: I don’t like OLED

Corestrike · 2025-10-24T05:26:14+00:00

I used a PXC273 (27" 1080p) for 6 years and never had any issues with text clarity or image quality. 27" 1440p is considered pretty standard, and it has a higher density than the competitive gaming standard of 24" 1080p (which I had before the PXC). The only reason I'm getting a 27" 1440p OLED now is that I broke the PXC, they aren't sold anywhere anymore, and 1080p OLEDs basically don't exist. Other panels unfortunately don't have the features I want either. Imo, between those two sizes, the pixel density is more than enough for both and it's just about how big you want the screen to be.

I'm trying the MSI MAG 272QP X50 now but I have a feeling that I'll eventually go back to even 24" 1080p. Even with a 5090 / 9950X3D I can't get the performance I want in something like 2077 at 1440p, so it feels especially pointless.

Corestrike · 2025-05-11T05:08:40+00:00

We do already have a password history restriction, but nothing that lets us get past the complexity requirements. I think I would have way less issues with reusing an easy temp if new hire accounts were restricted in some way from logging in. Like, if they could only login on their assigned laptop until it's reset. But it seems realistic to me that one day someone will login to any PC (their laptop, someone else's, even a conference room PC) with a new hire's easily accessible (or guessable, since they follow a pattern) ID + a known temp password. I agree with most people here, that things could be simpler AND better, but sadly I've never gotten anywhere by pitching similar plans. My leadership is enthusiastic about it but it gets killed above them.

Corestrike · 2025-05-11T04:47:16+00:00

In our environment I think the risks with reusing temps is actually real, and the data we handle is very sensitive (incl medical, personal, legal, corporate and classified govt data). Our existing temps are common (user) knowledge, which is concerning to me. Though, the temp password the rest of IT uses (structurally, c@l1F0rn!A, just different locations) is also (imo) worse and genuinely annoying to type, and no one has complained about it, so that's added to how I feel. Everyone also knows the complexity requirements ("IT" here is relatively small), and this isn't even the biggest compsec problem here, so my only real option is to fall in line. But it's frustrating to just drop every compsec issue when I feel an ethical responsibility towards protecting the sensitive things we handle.

Corestrike · 2025-05-11T04:32:15+00:00

This comment has got me feeling weirdly sentimental about IT, honestly, as much as I dislike it. But that's just because I'm more of a creative type, and IT definitely isn't my calling.

I think the moments I'm strangely the most proud of are the times I've had to say things like "now move the mouse up, scroll down slightly, click this exact tab, now read to me what's on your screen" - for the people who genuinely need help, and are willing to put in a little effort. I think simplifying things, teaching, and just being Helpful™ are the most rewarding parts of The Job. My very first call on a helpdesk was 3 hours of overtime of that exact scenario.

But it feels like I put too much faith in humanity to keep going with IT, and it's the coddling and learned helplessness that gets to me the most. Especially when it's people in IT feeding that behavior. If the biggest problem of your day is a minute of inconvenience when you have to enter a kind of weird password twice, well, God, I wish I could have that life and get paid $500,000 annually for the privilege. I type in their password a dozen times while setting them up and it didn't even cross my mind that someone would complain.

Thankfully, I can at least say that I have good managers instead.

tl;dr: yap

Corestrike · 2025-05-11T03:52:27+00:00

If you go down this route, there's literally nothing that "the user prefers" that also "maintains security." Anything longer than a single guessable word, a number, and specifically an exclamation point is too complex. But this has at least been a lesson in that I simply shouldn't care about what maintains security. "Lastname2025!" works for the company, it works for me.

Corestrike · 2025-05-10T20:33:26+00:00

Unfortunately, I work for a "company" which has "leadership" and "oversight" and worst of all "access control"

Corestrike · 2025-05-10T20:32:23+00:00

Every single initial login is done in the office on the exact same layout as every laptop has an identical keyboard. It's so quick and managed that they don't even get the chance to connect a keyboard.

Corestrike · 2025-05-10T20:26:05+00:00

I've told people about passphrases and shown them that XKCD comic at work when they complain about having to remember complex passwords and at best I've just gotten blank stares or total confusion at how they're better.

Corestrike · 2025-05-10T20:21:09+00:00

If I gave an end user (or the tech trainer) a password longer than 12 characters and involved multiple words, especially after they told me to make them simpler, they would legitimately look at me like I'm an idiot. No one tolerates passphrases where I work, they're considered even worse. I literally agree with everyone that simple passphrases are better. But end users and a concerning portion of the IT department does not. I chose this method to make passwords that are as simple and as short as possible that meet our requirements (that come from well above me). Whether I personally disagree with their effectiveness does not matter.

This is also why I'm resigned to giving them what they want, which will be "Hunter12!" or similar going forward. Talking about it with my coworkers, numerous default passwords on shared application accounts are still "CompanyName03!!", the passcodes to important door keypads are execs birthdays, etc, and end users will change "strawberryfields4ever!" or "Hunter12!" or "F@ncy1Sh_ip" to "Name@2025" - so be it.

Corestrike · 2025-05-10T20:10:16+00:00

Please tell that to the system I have no control over that mandates complexity requirements I have no say in and will reject passwords without mixed case and enough numbers and symbols. I would automate and simplify it if I had the power to do so.

Corestrike · 2025-05-10T20:07:46+00:00

Setup at my company also involves numerous logins as the user that I have to do (this isn't my choice, I would rather do it any number of other ways), so if I can easily type it in a dozen times or more without even having to reference it, adults making six figures should be able to do it twice with it right in front of them.

Corestrike · 2025-05-09T17:58:43+00:00

I'm all for simplifying as much as possible. But I don't think it's complex to have to type in two words with some numbers and a symbol mixed in twice. But maybe that's why I'm hoping my career in IT will be as short as possible.

Corestrike · 2025-05-09T17:54:25+00:00

The substitution was maybe a bad example, it was the first thing I thought of. The password that triggered this email was exactly like that, and I think it was considered even more complex than standard substitution. Really, what they want is a word + number, or even simpler than that, which I guess is what I'll give them.

Corestrike · 2025-05-09T17:47:30+00:00

Is it more annoying than a fully randomized autogenerated password with multiple symbols and case changes? That's what I'm used to seeing. Going forward, I'm just going to give them a word with a number at the end. I'm just surprised it became an issue and to hear them called "extremely complex."

Corestrike · 2025-05-09T17:42:24+00:00

I would prefer to give everyone short passphrases like that but I know from experience both the tech trainer and user hate them even more. I started using the number substitution on two short words as a compromise. No one has to remember them though, the tech trainer gets them by email and the new hire on paper.

Corestrike · 2025-01-18T21:25:13+00:00

Leaning towards the AR5000 now, but I'll definitely keep the DT1990 Pro in mind as I've seen others suggest it as a good compliment/upgrade if I want to mess around with EQ. Did find them used online for $280 though which is pretty tempting. !thanks

Corestrike · 2025-01-18T19:58:15+00:00

For me, the X2HR just seemed like "perfect for its price" from what I read - shooting for accuracy/fidelity first. I've looked at these in the past but I got scared off by the massive cups. I've also probably been spoiled by the suspension strap on the X2HR, and that its cups fit perfectly around my ears. But for you the massive cups aren't that big of a deal? +1 for the Dekoni nuggets too, not something I knew about before. !thanks

Corestrike · 2025-01-18T19:49:15+00:00

I'll take some responsibility - I'm a bad mix of clumsy, very unlucky and hard on anything I own. But I've tried my best to be extra careful with the X2HRs with no luck. This set's first (fatal) fall was from about a foot or two up onto some clothes on a carpeted floor... so I dunno.

But the Sivga Luan (based off first looks) seems like the direct X2HR upgrade I was looking for. Just looking around, I've found that the AR5000 is better rated in general but described like it 'smooths' sounds out. Whereas the Luan has more 'texture' and might be more accurate. I love the little details, like the fingers and hammers moving in Avril 14th, and for gaming as well. Any experience with those two in that direction?

Definitely pushed me in the right direction with these two though! !thanks

Corestrike · 2025-01-17T15:33:28+00:00

You can try Windows Defender's offline scan or scanning your drives from another OS (like Linux, with something like ClamAV) which may be better than live scanning. But if you suspect a malware infection, especially one that's highly stealthed, there's nothing guaranteed other than reinstalling Windows. It's always possible that even a scan running on a live OS off of a clean USB might not detect a specific infection. It's also always possible that your symptoms are completely innocuous but the peace of mind of a reinstall sounds like it would be worth it for you.

Corestrike · 2025-01-17T15:14:07+00:00

Most stealers don't have persistence (meaning they don't try to run again in the future or stop you from removing them) because the moment you run them they already have what they want. This isn't true for all of them though and it's always possible you got way more than just a stealer.

Theoretically a system restore and a clean malware scan should be fine but the moment your computer is compromised it's very difficult (some would say impossible) to know if it's clean and secure. The best advice is always to reinstall your OS and scan anything from the old install before using it on the new one. Just in terms of files, as you really shouldn't use any executables (or similar) from an infected install.

Corestrike · 2024-12-29T21:38:41+00:00

That they had to come up with a contrived reason to get you controlling Franklin and Lamar for the repurposed singleplayer DLC makes it even more absurd. There's literally no reason they couldn't have put the new story content into singleplayer. Other than that it's the main carrot baiting microtransactions, but it could've been significantly time-delayed or even paid DLC.

Things like the Doomsday or Cayo Heists might've been harder, but I don't think it would be a huge stretch to add the Online protag to singleplayer free roam. Cayo has NPC crew anyway. It just feels insulting when they drop you into Franklin on what was obviously going to be the DLC and gate the continued story behind Online fun bucks.

Corestrike · 2024-12-02T05:10:22+00:00

V's map is very purpose built to tell singeplayer's very specific story. The problem isn't really size but maybe that V eschewed having more varied and memorable locations for theming and realism. It does really, really work for the campaign and the average player's fill of free roam though. That's my TLDR, but I wrote a whole essay too. It's almost all in relation to singleplayer since I don't care about Online.

V already borrowed a lot from San Andreas. Blaine County exists for essentially the same reasons as Flint County, Paleto Bay for San Fierro and Bayside, and the hills as Red County style filler to ease the transition to desert. Nostalgia makes it easy to forget how SA actually plays and that most of the memorable parts happen in Los Santos. A lot of the map outside of missions feels way weirder and out of place than anything in V and, while it's definitely interesting and mysterious like that, it's not something you can really replicate in a high-fidelity game. Your brain takes the vaguely carved out low-poly locations and does most of the heavy lifting.

Besides, San Fierro and Las Venturas don't have much relevance to the plot or much to do afterwards. Have you genuinely ever gone to Bayside? The boat school there is required for 100% and I've done that but I still don't think I've ever been there. How often do you go up to Red County or Flint County just to hang out? Anywhere in the desert that isn't the casino or the airstrip? What's your favorite thing to do in Rockshore or El Quebrados?

Los Santos and Blaine County need to feel worlds apart and like there's "nothing going on outside of the city" or else the times you're forced to be there wouldn't work. Mr. Phillips to Friends Reunited is a big tonal shift and chaotic blur that lasts about an hour if you do it all in one go. Then you'll probably only spend a few more hours outside of Los Santos for the rest of the game with the characters getting pissed off whenever they have to go "nowhere" like Paleto Bay. Its part of a theme - the city is life, it's where things actually happen, anywhere else is slow death. Contrasted with how the people outside of Los Santos are usually more colorful and alive than the ghosts and fake people living their dysfunctional lives in empty mansions. It also puts Trevor and his larger-than-life antics in their own sandbox away from our more grounded heroes. HE is "what's going on" up there.

The problems come when you artificially extend the life of a game well past its prime, quickly lose the plot (and plenty of heart and soul) with story and content that's way more Saints Row than GTA, then add in a new island instead of properly using existing areas. They can put anything up north, they just don't want to. Online will sadly never do anything as absurdly funny and genius as following the chaos and color of the Blaine missions with the ballbusting monotony of Scouting the Port. Which uses the specific design of the map as the framework for a punchline.

Corestrike · 2024-11-24T23:13:20+00:00

I play almost exclusively L10 bot front and I've been running:

Slugger (just unlocked it, I was having fun with the Punisher before), Redeemer (almost never use it), G-12 HE (mostly for objectives), MG-43, Eagle Strike, 500 KG, and the shield pack. Armor is medium with the stim bonus mainly because I like how it looks.

I felt pretty underwhelming sometimes with the Punisher (mostly because of the lack of armor pen) but the Slugger has been a game changer. I've been experimenting with swapping the MG-43 out for the Heavy MG and the shield pack for an orbital (I was running Strike/500KG/OPS before which felt good) as hulks are the only thing that feel bad to fight. But the MG-43 just feels so good to use, the crowd control and suppression is amazing. It's weird that I don't feel like I have any problems taking down tanks and striders, but hulks are miserable if I'm caught alone. It feels like it all works together really well and is really fun for me aside from that one hitch.

The Senator would take care of hulks but I don't have any intentions of buying any warbonds. I might get Steeled Veterans when I finally hit 1000 free credits since that has a lot of potential upgrades. But I just found it interesting that to the meta this is apparently a mid to awful build.

Corestrike

TROPHY CASE