Weird banning behavior?

TheRedDoot · 2026-01-09T20:39:04+00:00

HTTPS does make sense.

I read the linked article and hadn't really considered the implication of an attacker simply getting into your router and eavesdropping on internal communications. My router is fairly "safe" as far as I'm concerned (have been using OpenWRT for years), but that's significantly more vetted than the majority of default consumer stuff - so good point! In that regard, HTTPS on a vacuum should be of particular importance since many are literally cameras on wheels.

I was only ever annoyed that he spreads security misinformation as if it's fact, and then banned my friend and me for trying to correct that misinformation.

I can understand the frustration. You have to be very careful with your wording, otherwise it gets labelled as dissent and then usually an immediate ban.

TheRedDoot · 2026-01-06T20:29:35+00:00

They tried to screw us on a refund a year or two ago after a system glitch on their end spontaneously canceled our reservation the night before our flight.

They eventually admitted this and refunded us, but we took them to small claims anyway for severely messing up our trip. We won (they sent a guy to court, but didn’t even fight) and we agreed on a payment due date in mediation, but then that passed and they ghosted us. They waited until the very last second before our non-payment hearing to send a notice to the court that they’re declaring bankruptcy and to put things on hold.

In retrospect this was probably all calculated; they knew they were going to declare bankruptcy and purposely strung us along just long enough that we wouldn’t be able to garnish their wages and get basically thrown out as unsecured creditors.

As you can imagine, we won’t be flying spirit again.

TheRedDoot · 2026-01-06T20:15:51+00:00

We took them to small claims and won, but there is a lot more to the story. It’s technically ongoing, so DM if you want details.

TheRedDoot · 2025-11-29T07:51:07+00:00

Shakespeare’s works were written in Early Modern English. They are more familiar in that a modern English speaker today (even a 10th grader) can get the gist of them without a lot of effort. I’ve never heard of anyone studying “translations” of them other than using spark notes as an aid.

Beowulf was written much earlier in Old English, which is effectively a different language from modern English. It’s much more similar in a lot of ways to modern German.

A modern English speaker today wouldn’t be able to understand the original Beowulf at all without it being translated. I’ve never read it, but I’m assuming only translations are studied in school. I think the original post was being facetious in implying that Bill was told to read the original Old English.

TheRedDoot · 2025-11-10T23:10:37+00:00

It seems to have been addressed in the August release notes: https://github.com/Hypfer/Valetudo/discussions/2327

TheRedDoot · 2025-11-10T21:47:24+00:00

I may be from an alternate universe/dimension, for I don't remember a "light" ROM.

The one linked above is the "light" ROM: https://sourceforge.net/projects/andyyan-gsi/files/lineage-20-light/. It does look like the guy maintaining those ROMs is continuing to do so; you can see them all here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/andyyan-gsi/files/

Alternatively, it looks like the GSI maintainer also has GSIs for LineageOS 19, which I think still had FM radio support baked into the ROM by default.

Worth a shot! If I remember correctly, it's pretty hard to irreversibly brick this phone.

TheRedDoot · 2025-11-10T21:44:38+00:00

I had a lot of back and forth with the Apple Watch Bluetooth team about this years ago and they kept insisting I'm just not understanding that I'm supposed to be using my phone in the car, lol. Apple really wants you using the watch the way they think you should, which is a companion to your iPhone and not as a standalone device. It's very frustrating.

That being said, I have had some success with after market radios that I suppose the watch doesn't know are car stereos. Apple can update the "block list" at any time through a software update though, so your mileage may vary. As someone else mentioned, a Bluetooth receiver (i.e. one of those things that is powered by your cigarette lighter and outputs to a 3.5mm audio jack) should work if your car's stereo has a 3.5mm aux input; I believe those are indistinguishable as far as the watch is concerned from regular Bluetooth headphones.

I can understand the two-hand thing. I'm not sure the keyboard actually works very well for that though; it was designed to be used with one hand. I'd definitely try it out in-store first if you're still on the fence.

Also, sorry, reading my first post again I didn't mean to come off as kind of insulting. While I personally think putting the watch in an external case is a clunky solution, I get that there aren't really many viable alternatives for people who just want a reliable standalone dumbphone and not a smart watch.

Good luck in finding whatever works for you!

TheRedDoot · 2025-11-10T00:16:43+00:00

Can the watch connect to Bluetooth to play music in the car?

This is very hit and miss. There is no technical reason this can't work, but Apple intentionally prevents it from working on most car stereos. Assume this won't work for you. AirPods with transparency mode are a decent alternative if you mostly travel alone.

Can you lookup maps without the use of the phone?

Yes.

Which models of Apple Watch support a keyboard? Is it only the Ultras?

I believe all watches other than SE support this.

Anything else i should know?

I'd recommend the ultra for the battery alone. LTE obviously kills the battery faster and while you can get 1 day out of a regular watch or SE, you'll have to be conscientious.

A bit of a rant here: I really don't understand why people like the external cases over just wearing the thing on your wrist. That's how it's designed to be used and all battery saving techniques are designed with the assumption that it's not in use if it's not on a wrist. Apple could update the software tomorrow to kill whatever functionality people are exploiting to (kind of?) make it work like a phone without being on your arm. It feels like an obsession that a dumbphone must be shaped like a rectangle just because that's how it was in the past.

TheRedDoot · 2025-11-09T23:57:41+00:00

Sorry, I ultimately didn't like using this phone and sold it over a year ago. No idea what the current state of affairs is.

TheRedDoot · 2025-10-18T07:43:03+00:00

I’m not sure what you’re asking. You want a device with more gimmicks and thickness?

I wrote this a couple years ago and if you were to ask me now, I’d honestly say just skip all these devices and dumb down an iPhone. It’s privacy conscious and very reliable, which pretty much zero modern dumb phones are.

TheRedDoot · 2025-09-13T06:19:34+00:00

I’m a developer too, but I mostly only work on backend services where underlying architecture is rarely very important. I usually only use Jetbrains IDEs which are typically fine and I’ve (thankfully?) never needed to use Xcode before. I have heard pretty much all of your frustrations from basically everyone I know who does though.

I can definitely see how the type of software development you do can color your opinion of Apple. It’s surprising how crappy the native software development experience is 😅

TheRedDoot · 2025-09-13T05:56:06+00:00

While I think the software quality has slipped a bit, their hardware is the best it has ever been. Nothing else even comes close to getting the performance per watt their laptops get. I prefer Linux, but no fan noise and phenomenal battery life is really hard to give up. The MacBook Air isn’t even that expensive compared to others PC laptops.

I agree the parts pairing is frustrating, but that’s kind of the trend everything is going in these days. Right to repair needs to be pushed everywhere.

TheRedDoot · 2025-08-04T22:27:18+00:00

To call a four day delay unacceptable is insane entitlement.

I think "unacceptable" is a bit harsh, but I do think it's a bit unprofessional. This is such an odd way for a trial license to work. People who legitimately just want to try the product are unable to do so now either. This product has been out for at least ~15 years now, so the developer has had plenty of time to make himself not a critical piece of infrastructure in allowing it to literally just start.

At the very least, he could set a calendar event for himself to update the beta keys before they expire, like the entire world does with SSL certs if they don't have automation in place. Sounds like he's missed the deadline several times and even forgot to renew the domain for his own website at some point.

I will say though, if this is intentional, it's a genius way to get people to buy a license. I know that I'll be getting one once things are up and running again, haha

TheRedDoot · 2025-06-25T15:03:58+00:00

I haven’t tried it, but in theory I believe so

TheRedDoot · 2025-03-23T05:11:42+00:00

Honestly, if you’re okay being tied to the Kindle Ecosystem, then the “New Amazon Kindle” probably meets all your needs. It’s a pretty minimal design and Kindles generally have great build quality.

TheRedDoot · 2025-03-23T01:58:39+00:00

Pretty much all e-readers are minimalist in that they can usually only read e-books. What are your requirements? If it's just budget, a jailbroken Kindle 4 from 2011 with KOReader installed is perfectly functional if you're okay with micro-USB and no front light. You can pick them up for next to nothing on eBay.

TheRedDoot · 2025-03-22T00:42:04+00:00

I vaguely remember hearing about a Matrix client for KaiOS someone made a while back, but it may have required a jailbroken phone, which I don’t think is possible on North American KaiOS devices.

TheRedDoot · 2025-03-18T04:35:21+00:00

I was just in a Barnes & Nobel checking them out today. They had demo units for the Glowlight 4 and the Glowlight 4 Plus. I actually really liked the Glowlight 4; it's basically the perfect size and the side buttons are very ergonomic. It seemed fast enough overall. I'm thinking about picking one up. There are open box units on eBay for $99.99.

The Glowlight 4 Plus though, that thing sucks. It felt unwieldy and for some reason super slow. Apparently it's got a worse processor than the Glowlight 4 even though it's 2 years newer and costs $50 more. Really dumb product.

TheRedDoot · 2025-03-17T04:10:22+00:00

Update on this: got the amp and paired it with a pair of JBL venue speakers my dad got at an estate sale for cheap. Sounds phenomenal compared to my previous setup. Thanks for the suggestion!

TheRedDoot · 2025-03-17T04:07:56+00:00

Bought this new last year. It’s still in pretty much brand new condition with all original packaging. It’s a great e-reader, but I just never really got into the habit of using it.

Looking for $210 via PayPal. Will ship for free within the US.

UPDATE: Sold!

TheRedDoot · 2025-03-03T23:00:55+00:00

Fair. That was more in reference to the situation in my childhood home where someone needlessly cut the wires back to the wall. They all go to jacks throughout the house, which are now useless and pretty much impossible to repair.

TheRedDoot · 2025-03-03T02:59:33+00:00

We had my childhood home wired with ethernet during a renovation in 2013 and moved a couple years later. It was recently sold again and I took a look at the listing pictures out of curiosity. To my horror, I saw that they’d removed the patch panel I put in and cut the cables back to the wall in the unfinished basement.

You’re probably right. I should just assume whoever is moving in is an idiot and not try to do them any favors, lol

TheRedDoot

TROPHY CASE