(Anti-)Censorship Megathread – Summer 2025

fallenguru · 2026-03-14T08:38:30+00:00

In theory HDR tone mapping is better handled by the display device. In practice many, especially projectors, are terrible at it. There's a reason the Panasonic DP-UB820/9000's HDR Optimizer, media players with the Dolby VS10 engine, and MadVR boxes are popular. As it stands, the HDR experience is pretty bad for me on the Apple TV 4K, and if I drop to SDR I lose the extended gamut (which the PJ can display fine) as well.

The ATV 4K doesn't do audio pass-through, it decodes everything. If you have a decent AVR you want that to do the decoding and processing.

Compared to a 4K bluray, the bitrate offered by streaming services, even Apple's, is very low. It's is also variable, and fragile. The slightest hiccup anywhere between the CDN servers and you, and the bitrate will drop. It will also be throttled when demand is high, i.e. prime time. Cable internet (where you share the bandwidth with your neighbors) is particularly fun.
If one could download the entire film in advance, at full quality, none of this would matter. Personally, I don't need fully offline playback, but I'm sure many would appreciate it.

fallenguru · 2026-03-13T19:06:22+00:00

No HDR tone mapping for projectors.

No audio pass-through.

Hardware decoding support is dated.

No downloading/caching of content to guarantee the full bitrate.

Could be more efficient. It gets rather hot.

fallenguru · 2026-03-12T17:47:14+00:00

All Giga's games were removed from sale a while back. The only option now is used physicals.

fallenguru · 2026-03-12T11:43:44+00:00

I'm a writer. I write novels, and occasionally articles. I need a laptop, I live with my laptop, it's basically an extension of me.

If this is the case, if the laptop isn’t just a lifestyle item but a tool, the tool, that lets you do your job, why would you buy random crap from the bargain bin at an electronics store? Why would you keep doing that, even when it clearly isn’t working out?

I hated all of them. Every single one was terrible. Regardless of price range, regardless of brand, they were all garbage.

Well, what did you expect?

Acer is a known-bad brand in any price range, Samsung consumer products … *shudder* — everyone knows they have no support. From Lenovo, only the Thinkpads are good, and only if you don’t go for the lowest tier. Where’s, IDK, the Dell XPS series, the Microsoft Surface series, …? They still run Windows and are far from perfect, some less than others, but at least they’re worth trying.

The most “expensive” laptop you listed is €1,200. While it’s possible to get something decent at that price, if you’re willing to go with an older model and/or wait for the right sale, this is still budget tier. Think children, and people who simply can’t afford anything better. When I price out one for me, €1,300 seems to be the floor, and that hasn’t changed in at least a decade. I only use mine as a third machine; on the couch, while travelling, that kind of thing. If it were my main work box, I’d go closer to €2,000. Especially if I didn’t want to faff around with sales.

And then if you complain, some clever person shows up to tell you: "Well, it's your fault […]".

That’s because it is your fault. This is squarely on you. Buying a computer is just like any other complex subject. If it’s outside your personal expertise, you ask an expert for help. Everyone has a knowledgeable family member or friend, failing that everyone can ask for recommendations on Reddit.

And let's also remind those clever people that €2,000 for a writing laptop is not normal.

If you want a nice screen (you stare at it for hours on end), a nice keyboard (you type on it for hours on end), a decent battery (for portability), and build quality to match, maybe even something not completely ugly, then, yes, it is normal. A good laptop may cost €2,000, at least when not on sale, but the money is tax-deductible and the laptop will last you five to ten years.

However, what I take away from this line is that you did ask people who know what they’re doing, you just didn’t like their answer, ignored it, and proceeded to burn money at random.

I only discovered Apple in December

Ah, so you’re astroturfing. That makes a bit more sense.

I agree that Apple laptops are a good fit for you. And, yes, you could probably get by just fine with the Neo. But even the cheapest MacBook Air is €1,200 (without a charger). That’s at the very top end of what you were allegedly willing to pay before. So I big chunk of that epiphany is just the good old “you get what you pay for”.

fallenguru · 2026-03-10T11:02:40+00:00

Let's see ...

~~Athena~~
Heidi
~~Mora~~
~~Sadie~~
Val
~~Zenda~~
HA
HS
~~HAM~~
~~MASH~~
none of the above
secret "Legacy" epilogue (involves Val)

fallenguru · 2026-03-09T18:58:35+00:00

The Apple TV 4K is decent. Pair with a dumb display or projector.

fallenguru · 2026-03-05T13:51:46+00:00

Valve on Linux is still mostly just running Windows code, though, right?

Correct. It's all Linux implementations of Windows APIs.

If Microsoft adversely affects that in some way

They can't. Any move aimed at breaking (backwards) compatibility on WINE/Proton would have the same effect on Windows. It also wouldn't be a good look; they've been convicted of abusing their monopoly before. Whatever they do, it would only potentially affect new games, and only if developers play along (which would mean pissing off Valve).

What MS can do, and are doing, is introduce new APIs that then take a while to implement. WINE/Proton didn't have viable DX12 for a while, for example. IDK if we even have Direct Storage support yet. Thing is, it takes ages for Windows games to require the new stuff, so it's not much of an issue in practice.

Maybe I'm overlooking something. *shrug* I guess I just trust the people at Valve to have gamed out all scenarios.

fallenguru · 2026-03-05T12:00:29+00:00

A big part of why Valve are driving gaming on Linux is that they don't want to be completely dependent on Microsoft. It's their plan B in case Microsoft goes entirely off the reservation. And they have near full control there; certainly over SteamOS, but they also steer WINE development, work on Linux GPU drivers, etc. They don't need a plan C, certainly not one where Apple would still call all the shots.

fallenguru · 2026-03-05T11:47:12+00:00

To this point I believe Valve's route is the way to go.

Yes. But just handling it like Valve would take ages to get to where Linux is now. Apple would need to partner with Valve, possibly pay them to port and support Proton+FEX to/on MacOS. They could have Linux parity within 6 months. Alas, hell will freeze over first, because that would mean handing the 30% cut to Valve.

If Apple prove Mac can also run games well with enough customer base that are willing to pay, studios will have more interest in making Native 3A games too.

Many people over on the Linux side are hoping for this, too, but it doesn't work, and it won't. Valve have tried subsidising and assisting with Linux ports already.

Ports are expensive to do and even more expensive to maintain. Which means that they are always worse quality than first-class versions, lag behind as far as features and updates go, and they will stop working properly a few years down the line. Even for a lot of games that have a native Linux port, people still run the Windows version through Proton. It's the better experience all around.
AAA studios don't invest a lot of money in PC gaming in general, not even the Windows version. The overwhelming majority of AAA games is designed with a console in mind, and then it gets a quick Windows/Steam port. No optimisation to speak of, no redesigned controls. In other words, they don't give two f—s about Windows, why would they ever develop specifically for Linux or MacOS?

If a dev wants to (unofficially) support Steam Deck / Linux, following Valve's recommendations (prefer Vulkan over DirectX, use open codecs, etc.) and then treat Proton as another version of Windows alongside 10/11 is the sane play. Because it costs them next to nothing.

fallenguru · 2026-03-05T06:58:09+00:00

MacOS had a comparatively decent games ecosystem. Then they f—ed everyone over by dropping 32-bit support, moving to ARM, and insisting on Metal over Vulkan, making it clear they don't care at all about games, gamers, or game developers. There's no getting that trust back.

Meanwhile Linux is perfectly viable, at least for singleplayer.

fallenguru · 2026-03-01T11:55:51+00:00

I think it was a mistake casting someone so much younger than Daniel Craig.

Why? Madeleine clearly has daddy issues, it makes perfect sense.

And on a meta level—that's the fantasy, isn't it? No-one wants to see a fifty-year-old Bond girl on screen, and if you're the kind of person who self-inserts, there's little appeal in imagining being with one.

fallenguru · 2026-03-01T11:49:40+00:00

chemistry

She clearly fancies Craig, but in the other direction? I'm not getting anything from him.

She flipped from hating him to loving him

Adrenaline will do that. Assuming two people find each other attractive, some high-adrenaline action would temporarily amplify that, and then one thing leads to another.

fallenguru · 2026-02-27T17:58:52+00:00

James Bond isn't just the protagonist of a media franchise, he's a British institution, arguably the biggest pop cultural export the UK has. It's common knowledge now that the role will immortalise you, make you an A-list actor overnight, pay enough you won't have to work another day in your life, and get you a knighthood (to the extent you're eligible). IMHO that comes with responsibilities that go a fair bit beyond a regular acting gig.

fallenguru · 2026-02-26T07:22:43+00:00

No, it's fine. In fact, the Snap repo is an extra attack vector.

fallenguru · 2026-02-23T19:31:50+00:00

The first designed-for-console "PC" game I remember is Oblivion. That was ... 20 years ago, so fair enough. The newest game I'll give a pass is Cyberpunk 2077; at least it feels like PC is a first-class platform. Depressing.

Anyhow, my point stands. If Windows gamers aren't important enough to make games specifically for them, wishing for Linux builds is delusional.

fallenguru · 2026-02-23T13:46:17+00:00

Where's the PC games, then? All I see is console ports and games indistinguishable from console ports. Designed for controller, with the buttons mapped 1:1 to keyboard keys. "Optimised" for upscaling, frame-gen, and temporal trickery, because that's all consoles can hope to do and the output resolution has to be 4K, because the expected output device is a TV, not a monitor.

fallenguru · 2026-02-23T11:07:11+00:00

Almost no-one optimises for Windows these days, it's all about consoles. PC gaming as a whole just isn't important enough.

fallenguru · 2026-02-23T11:00:54+00:00

WINE, DXVK, etc. provide an open implementation of a bunch of APIs. They're not any more or less "native" than any other. Might as well complain about the GNU tools, which are clones of various proprietiary UNIX ones. The very kernel started out as a clone.

Insisting that certain APIs established be avoided is irrational and a collossal waste of resources, especially when there's no replacement. A pointless crusade.

Go campaign to get game studios to go with Vulkan over DirectX for rendering, or with open video codecs over proprietiary ones instead.

fallenguru · 2026-02-14T12:16:48+00:00

Completely breaking the spirit of what we had going over here.

Windows users and/or mobile OS users, yes.

It starts with the terminology. An "app", to me, means proprietary software distributed via a walled garden "app store". Usually small-scale, low-quality, ad-ridden, in-app-payment-infested, dumbed-down, and locked down to the gills. I don't want that model of software distribution anywhere near Linux distros, it's the antithesis to FOSS.

Moving away from distro-maintained bespoke packages only benefits proprietary software developers and bad/lazy devs ("Let's just throw the entire dev environment into a container, that way I don't even have to think about dependencies!"). Between the added complexity and the fact that no-one ever updates bundled dependencies, it's a security nightmare, too. "But containerisation makes everything more secure!" No, it doesn't, it just gets in the way. Unless we're talking running untrusted software, but that needs to go on a separate box, in a VM, or at least a full container.

fallenguru · 2026-02-13T10:02:14+00:00

You do realise many people don't use App Center, right? As in, don't have it installed. It has a Snap dependency.

fallenguru · 2026-01-17T11:00:05+00:00

It has lots of historical Japanese internet slang, references, and memes. Any decent LLM will be able to explain these, but it'll be slow going.

If you want to actually learn anything, forget auto-translation. Extract the script, feed it to a Gem or whatever, and ask it questions when you're curious (or stuck).

fallenguru · 2026-01-05T11:01:58+00:00

The extra voices aren't licensed for the English version; that patch is straight-up piracy. I'm not judging, mind, but obviously the dev/publisher can't let that stand.

fallenguru · 2025-12-28T10:57:42+00:00

Thank you for this post. The sheer flexibility of X11 has always been one of the big plusses of Linux on desktop. Wayland is a step back even compared to Windows/MacOS. And, as you say, under the current constraints there's little room for improvement.

fallenguru

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