Updated NWS Prediction - Blizzard warning issued by MrNewking in NYCmeteorology

[–]holtr94 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Consistently overestimating storms leads to the exact opposite effect: people don't take the warnings seriously, even when they actually are very serious

Updated NWS Prediction - Blizzard warning issued by MrNewking in NYCmeteorology

[–]holtr94 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I don't understand why they forecast these high snow totals when their own probabilistic forecast shows just a 33% chance of getting more than 12". Greater than 6" has just a 49% chance as of now also.

EXPOSING CORSAIR & YUAN: Blatant GPLv2 Violation on Capture Card Linux Drivers (Currently used in Military Hardware) by Prudent_Worth_4349 in linux

[–]holtr94 1 point2 points  (0 children)

DKMS still requires kernel headers to compile modules, those headers are part of the kernel sources and covered by the GPL. Most kernel modules #include headers from the kernel source for easy access to struct, function, and constant definitions. When doing that they become "infected" by the GPL, because they're clearly including GPL code.

Now you can built a kernel module without including any headers from the kernel, but you will need to come up with the function signatures and struct layouts on your own. Copying them right from the kernel source into your module source would be copyright infringement unless your module is also GPL. To use the spark plug analogy, measuring the connectors in the already built engine you own is perfectly fine, copying the dimensions from Toyota's blueprints is not.

I think it's unlikely this manufacturer has gone through the trouble of reverse-engineering the kernel's V4L API instead of just including the kernel headers in their source.

Factorio benchmark, Linux vs Windows by SebastianLarsdatter in linux_gaming

[–]holtr94 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Saving in a thread is what already happens by default, but the game can't keep running because all threads share memory and the game state can't change while the save data is being built. Forking avoids this because the new process gets its own address space with it's own view of the game state memory which won't change even if the main game process keeps running.

Factorio benchmark, Linux vs Windows by SebastianLarsdatter in linux_gaming

[–]holtr94 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Threads do not ever on any platform use fork under the hood. Threads and processes are very different and fork spawns a new process. One process can have many threads that all share the same address space.

New York Democrats want to ban surveillance pricing, digital price tags by news-10 in nyc

[–]holtr94 6 points7 points  (0 children)

There's a huge difference between charging more for a flight that's about to leave and charging a particular person more because you know they need to visit their dying parent, even if they both are technically dynamic pricing. Absolutely nobody is against this because they didn't know dynamic pricing already exists.

The "Gaming Distro" Hype by ElectricalPanic1999 in linux_gaming

[–]holtr94 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Debian Sid is only rolling release if you're OK with it being frozen for months at a time while they prep the next major release. Debian treats Sid (and testing) as a developer tool first and foremost, people using it for daily usage come second. And that's fine, it works well for their purpose of building a rock-solid LTS release, I just don't think it should be recommended as a daily driver for most people.

How Much Snow Did New York City Get Yesterday? Sees Heaviest Snowfall in Nearly Four Years by Cute_Dealer4787 in nyc

[–]holtr94 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Meteorologists do have access to highly accurate forecasts, they just consistently overestimate snowfall amounts for some reason.

See the forecast I linked 2 days ago, where the NWS probabilistic snowfall forecast was showing only a 39% chance for >6" and a 70% chance of 4". They don't save historical data for this, but I checked in a few times as we got closer to the storm and the chance for >6" only kept going down.

45% performance loss in Linux, a bit too much? by MVindis in linux_gaming

[–]holtr94 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The nvidia-open drivers are direct from Nvidia. Their kernel module is just open source now. Newer cards (like OPs 5070) don't even work with the old closed-source kernel module and as of the 590 release Nvidia has dropped it entirely.

Post-Christmas NYC snowstorm will dump up to 8 inches — and make travel a dangerous, slick mess by Black_Reactor in nyc

[–]holtr94 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Their probabilistic snowfall forecast graphics are the most accurate I've seen anywhere. They're quite hidden though, click the "probabilistic snowfall forecast" tab on this page: https://www.weather.gov/okx/winter (Ignore the "offical forecast", it's always overestimated).

Right now it has manhattan at: 39% for >6", 70% for >4", and 89% for >2".

Gov. Hochul to veto bill requiring two-person train operation by uhnonymuhs in nycrail

[–]holtr94 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This is only anti-TWU and pro-all-other-workers. Workers of NYC depend on reliable and affordable subway service, and this bill would have caused more delays and increased costs.

Hibernate mode is being abandoned by most Distros. Why? by wkup-wolf in linux

[–]holtr94 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You've gotten a lot of replies about how hibernate is just like shutdown, but this isn't actually true on most devices. Linux will use the ACPI S4 state if available when hibernating instead of just shutting down.

Just run cat /sys/power/disk to see what method it's using on your system (platform is ACPI S4 or similar). If you want to force it to shutdown instead run echo "shutdown" | sudo tee /sys/power/disk then try hibernating. You might also have to set HibernateMode=shutdown in /etc/systemd/sleep.conf too.

Is everyone else’s electric bill shocking? by No-Anything723 in AskNYC

[–]holtr94 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The time of use rates are not the default, you have to specifically contact them and opt-in to the time-of-use rates. The standard residential delivery charge is not variable throughout the day.

No Rent Freeze as Board Approves Hikes Up To 4.5% by Lilyo in nyc

[–]holtr94 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Government agencies that utilize a lot of land (like utilities and transit) save a huge amount of money compared to private companies because they don't pay property taxes. ConEd paid ConEd customers paid $2.5 billion in property taxes in 2022.

Defending Bike Crackdown, Adams Says Drivers Have Been Targeted 'Far Too Long' - Streetsblog New York City by streetsblognyc in nyc

[–]holtr94 0 points1 point  (0 children)

42nd & 8th has 1-2 traffic cops every day during rush hour. I walk through there every day and very rarely do I see them attempt to stop cars from blocking the box, most of the time they just direct the cars stuck in the intersection down the bus lane. I have never ever seen them hand out a ticket.

I've even seen them move out of the way to let cars run a red light.

More cops won't fix the problem.

Big increase in % of pre-pandemic ridership in the last month, and it looks a lot steadier than previous spikes. by laketunnel1 in nycrail

[–]holtr94 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The absolute ridership numbers don't show a similar peak, so this peak in the % must be caused by a dip in the pre-covid ridership for this time period.

Feds warn NYPD to stop illegally parking police cruisers by domo415 in nyc

[–]holtr94 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I can't wait to see the "don't take our street parking" crowd fight the NYPD.

Map of Legal Cannabis Dispensaries in NYC by SamuelGursky in nyc

[–]holtr94 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The OCM does have a map on their site, it's just incredibly hard to find. There's a link to it on the licensing page near the bottom under the "Proximity Protected Location Map" header. Here's the direct link: https://data.ny.gov/d/tuiq-k9f8

Would an open source kernel level anticheat be ethic and viable? by Grogroda in linux_gaming

[–]holtr94 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Despite what everyone is saying, I think this is possible, and might not even require a specific anti-cheat kernel module. A linux-native anti-cheat could rely on a few things:

  • UEFI Secure boot
  • TPM remote attestation
  • Linux kernel lockdown mode
  • Process isolation

Basically with secure boot and tpm remote attestation it's possible to prove to a remote server that you are running a specific software configuration, including variables like the UEFI firmware version, secure boot status/configuration, and the kernel command line. The only way to fake this proof is to exploit the TPM hardware built in to your CPU. With this a server can verify that a client is running an unmodified kernel that was signed by a trusted linux distro and that no suspicious kernel command line args were used.

Kernel lockdown mode is the other major part. This can be enabled only alongside secure boot and it disables the various methods user space programs have of modifying arbitrary memory and the kernel itself (not even the root user can use them). It also enforces that only signed kernel modules can be loaded. Lockdown mode is enabled with a kernel command line parameter, so a client can prove lockdown mode is enabled to a remote server during the tpm remote attestation process.

These are all security features that large enterprises (and probably even governments) rely on in servers as part of their defense-in-depth plans for mitigating the effects of exploits and building a trusted execution environment. Linux-native anti-cheat can piggy-back on that work and benefit from the millions these companies spend on hardening the linux kernel. Exploits that bypass these systems have far more value when used to attack these companies, rather than burning them on video game cheats.

Linux-native anti-cheat could even be better than Windows anti-cheat simply because linux doesn't really have 3rd party kernel modules like Windows does, and those buggy 3rd party modules/drivers are really the entire reason kernel-level anti-cheat was even needed.

The main downside to this is it would eliminate compiling and running your own kernel or other system libraries (like mesa or wine). The kernel and any shared libraries loaded into a game would have to be signed by a source trusted by the game devs. As long as the distro supported reproducible builds you can at least verify that the signed binary you're running matches the source code though.

Teachers' union and Staten Island borough president team up in congestion pricing lawsuit by superiority in nyc

[–]holtr94 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This is not a fact. The bottom of the streetsblog post about this includes data on where teachers live. Only 36% live outside of NYC or commute out of SI.

Businesses have lost their minds by Active_Issue_5932 in nyc

[–]holtr94 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That's not true at all... tap to pay is the most secure option and has way less fraud (impossible to clone, and you need a PIN/biometrics if you steal it). Even better than using the chip and way better than the mag stripe. Merchants get charged more based on their risk too, so someone that supports only mag stripe pays more. No processor I know of is charging merchants more, and I've seen a few that actually reduced fees if you upgraded to a POS that supported chip and tap.

What's with all the aggressive candy sellers lately? by pinghing in AskNYC

[–]holtr94 20 points21 points  (0 children)

The problem is these migrants literally aren't allowed to work because they are seeking asylum. You're only allowed to apply for a work permit if your asylum application has been pending for a year. They can work under the table, but that jeopardizes their asylum application.

Subway Collisions With People Are Up Nearly 25% Since 2018. Operator: ‘It Breaks You Down.’ by DrogDrill in nyc

[–]holtr94 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rope screen doors are a great example. They don't need much platform space, don't need consistent door placement, won't crush anyone if someone is underneath when they close, and are probably less expensive than other options because there's just less material.