Sebastian good news for the flyswatter industry.

I just bite the bullet and bought Diablo 4 Ultimate Edition. It was 50% off on Steam. I saved $50 on that account - Lets see how bad the game is as all seems to claim. I did loved Diablo 3 and 2 and 1.
I'm that old that I recall it when the first Diablo game came out 😛

    SethStorm666 I saw the steam sale too and was tempted to buy.
    But I held back due to the poor reviews from its core fanbase.

    Do let us know what you think of the game, now that it has been updated to Season 4.

      snowee I have played 2 hours now.

      So far. Great graphic, sound and music. I really like how the new ability tree is made. Storywise from the 2 hours I have seen it's catchy.

      BUT

      I stumble on 2 big problems with this game. 1) Memory leak 2( connection to their server(s).
      I have 32 GB RAM in my machine, after 1/2 hour, Diablo 4 will close with the message I ran out of Memory. Also even when I have 1000mbit/1000mbit connection it seems their servers can't follow up, which means the game lag time to time.
      So I waisted $50 dollars -_-, well until they fix those two problems. But your money is better spend on BG3, Pathfinder: WotR or Hogwarts: Legacy.

      EDIT: I played under 2 hours it seems, but close. So I'm going for refund.

      a month later

      For those wondering why the Solus team is excited about the prospect of adopting modern tools provided by the Serpent OS project instead of the old Python stuff, here's an example:

      Just now @sheepman4267 ran into an issue creating a new package. This is usually handled by a simple command, which downloads the tarball (or other source) and scans it for some basic structure which is then automatically added to the initial package recipe. One of the things scanned for is whether it looks "gnomey" (actual term in the code), that is, like a typical GNOME project. It does this by detecting whether it makes use of g-ir-scanner.
      So far, so good and sensible.
      The problem is that it does this by taking every file with "configure" in its name up to three layers deep in the directory structure, and scanning it line by line for the text "g-ir-scanner" and "g_ir_scanner". Now, while files called "configure" might often be part of the build system they can also be, say, image files (or anything at all really). This is exactly how it was in this case.
      So the script tried to look for the text "g-ir-scanner" in this:
      (yes, literally in this image)
      Needless to say this didn't turn out well.

      
      Checking /home/sheepman/Solus/packages/packages/q/qlcpluus/TEMP/qlcplus-QLC-_4.13.1/resources/icons/svg/configure.svg for use of g-ir-scanner
      Checking /home/sheepman/Solus/packages/packages/q/qlcpluus/TEMP/qlcplus-QLC-_4.13.1/resources/icons/png/configure.png for use of g-ir-scanner
      Traceback (most recent call last):
        File "/home/sheepman/Solus/packages/common/Scripts/yauto.py", line 405, in <module>
          p.examine_source()
        File "/home/sheepman/Solus/packages/common/Scripts/yauto.py", line 148, in examine_source
          if self.check_is_gnomey(f_path):
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
        File "/home/sheepman/Solus/packages/common/Scripts/yauto.py", line 389, in check_is_gnomey
          lines = makefile.read()
                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
        File "<frozen codecs>", line 322, in decode
      UnicodeDecodeError: 'utf-8' codec can't decode byte 0x89 in position 0: invalid start byte
      task: Failed to run task "new": exit status 1

      To the credit of the older Python 2-based tooling it would've just silently converted the image into nonsense, which would've then been searched for the text and delivered a negative result. The newer Python 3 version is a bit more strict (boo!)
      On the other hand the Python 2 tools also happily converted file names that used characters not in the limited latin-1 character set into straight-up garbage. For example this certificate file using Hungarian characters:

      From: NetLock_Arany_(Class_Gold)_Főtanúsítvány.pem
      Into: NetLock_Arany_(Class_Gold)_Főtanúsítvány.pem

      So yeah, people are quite excited for the non-Python Serpent OS stuff that has been built with correctness (and lessons from Solus' experiences) in mind.

        Staudey For example this certificate file using Hungarian characters:

        From: NetLock_Arany(Class_Gold)Főtanúsítvány.pem
        Into: NetLock_Arany(Class_Gold)Főtanúsítvány.pem

        So yeah, people are quite excited for the non-Python Serpent OS stuff that has been built with correctness (and lessons from Solus' experiences) in mind.

        I felt this way when it was explained what was happening months ago (solus-serpent package partnership). My first instinct was--and still is--this will be revolutionary in many ways. The wheel is not being reinvented. It is being re-written is how I see it. This will be so significant.

        a month later

        So, I have a script that helps me archiving and scanning paper documents like invoices, prescriptions etc.
        I use it for years now. Today I have figured out by accident that under a certain condition (a rather unlikely one, but might happen) it will overwrite an existing archived document with a newly created one. Have adjusted the script that this can not happen anymore. But now I am thinking: how often might that have happened in the past without realizing.
        These kind of things drive me nuts. There is no good way to tell without manually checking 1000 pdf files.

          Sebastian Today I have figured out by accident that under a certain condition (a rather unlikely one, but might happen) it will overwrite an existing archived document with a newly created one. Have adjusted the script that this can not happen anymore. But now I am thinking: how often might that have happened in the past without realizing.

          this all sounds like if you get one wrong thing in the rsync flags then surprise...what happened to you was good if you don't want clutter but it sounds like you wanted to keep multiple versions of the same document.

          It seems that github is down, which is unusual...

          EDIT: Ah it's up again 🙂

          7 days later

          @WetGeek So, you seem to be an experienced ebook-user. Maybe you can help me understand one thing: so, of course, page numbers don't make any sense, since they would be different depending of screen size, font and font size. But there is this position number. So I thought, this number must be helpful to find the same text passage across several devices/setups. But to my surprise, when I took the position number from my kindle paperwhite and searched for it with foliate for the same book, I was quite surprised that I didn't end up at the same position in the book. So, what am I missing here?

            By the way, I am still reading Red Mars, really like it. But I am a slow reader, I read only very seldomly (youtube keeps me distracted) and I am a non native english speaker. And heck, what shall I say: half of the book are landscape descriptions. Which I hate, in any language. And they require a very specific vocabulary, so there a re lots of things I look up, which slows me down. I mean, you can skip some words you don't know and still get the context, but when you have 10 unknown words in 5 sentences, man, you gotta look them up.
            So far, I like kind of John Boone, this Tatiana lady and Arkardy.
            Though I find it a bit unrealistic that if you chose(in a long process) 100 scientist to settle on Mars that they would start thinking about secession already on their way to Mars.

            Sebastian So, what am I missing here?

            I wish I could help you, but I have no idea. I read Nook books exclusively on 10.1" tablets using the Nook app from B&N, and I'm not where I can check right now, but I don't remember seeing page numbers displayed in it. Persentages are, and of course the search feature displays a position on a progress bar. The table of contents lists chapter numbers, but no page numbers, if I recall correctly. You make a good point, with respect to different font sizes, and so on, but I've never let it worry me.

              WetGeek no page numbers, if I recall correctly

              Oops ... when I got near one of my tablets, I fired up the Nook app and was able to confirm that it does inded display page numbers. Sorry if I misled anyone about this. I normally pay so little attention to them, that I couldn't even remember for sure whether they existed.

              But when I started the downstairs tablet (next to the chair I read in), the notification came telling me that the tablet upstairs (by my bed) was on page # such-and such, and asked would I like to change to that page, or stay where I was on this tablet? I'd seen that notice many times, but had forgotten about it.

              Then, when I looked in the bottom left corner, the page number was indeed displayed. I don't know what will happen to the pagination if I change font size, but I suspect that Nook handles it somehow. When I okay changing my downstairs tablet to the page where I was reading on the bedside tablet, it's always accurate, and I'm pretty sure the font size is not the same on both. I use the upstairs tablet a few inches from my face (as I read myself to sleep), and the downstairs tablet on my lap. I'd be really surprised to find that they're the same.

                WetGeek Thank you for sharing your findings. So, you are basically using the same app across your devices which keeps everything in sync. That's handy.
                The last 2 years or so I had a subscription for for amazon kindle unlimited. They grant you access to "millions of books", and you can like borrow up to 10 at the same time for as long you want. If you have 10 borrowed and you wanna read another one, you have to give one back to access the new one. Around 10 or 11 € per month. Total waste of money. The few books I really wanted to read weren't included in kindle unlimited anyways. I maybe read completely not even 2 books.
                So, subscription ended last night, and books were deleted then from the library, which you can also access via web browser. So I can see there, that all books are gone. Interestingly enough, the one book I was actually reading there, I can still read it on my kindle device, wonder for how long. Am afraid that if I leave to book to enter kindle main menu, I won't be able to re-enter the book. So I gotta hurry. But you can also take screenshots on a kindle 🙈

                  Sebastian But you can also take screenshots on a kindle

                  You can on an Android tablet, too. I'm surprised that the Kindle is so restrictive. I currently have about 3,600 books in my Nook library, many of them free first volumes in a series. A while ago, B&N claimed to have more than 55,000 free books, and that number is probably much higher now. The idea is, if you enjoy the author's work, you'll want to buy more of that series. I've found some really good books that way, and they're typically $2.95 to $4.95, depending on length and the author's popularity.

                  I've never found a book that I wanted to read that was not available on a Nook. I've currently set aside Red Mars for a while (I've already read that trilogy) in order to start on the Hyperion Cantos series. I'm up to page 386 in the first book, Hyperion. I'm enjoying it very much.

                  Although I mentioned reading in my La-Z-Boy chair downstairs, most of my reading is done in bed. A long time ago I found that the easiest way for me to get to sleep at night is to read some good sci-fi or fantasy for a while after I got to bed. When it becomes hard for me to keep my eyes open, I put down the tablet and my reading glasses, roll over, and I'm sound asleep within a minute or so. Sure beats drugs.

                  Unlike a paper book, the tablet provides its own illumination, so I don't need to keep a light on and disturb my wife. The Nook app is adjustable for brightness and background color, as well as font size, so I keep it rather subdued and a sepia background that limits blue light. It's like reading by candle light, I guess. Most nights I can fall asleep after 15-20 minutes, but if a book is really interesting, sometimes I can keep reading longer.

                  I bought these tablets from Walmart, for a very low cost. The Nook app is totally free. If you have a Windows computer, it's available for that, too, or a smartphone, for that matter. When you create an account on Barnes & Noble, they require a credit card, so you can purchase items online if you want to, but the account is also free, as are the 55,000 or so first volumes. No subscriptions needed. So one could get started for just the cost of a cheap tablet, and read for years without buying anything more.

                  Of course you know, and B&N knows, that you're gonna find some books that you enjoy so much that you'll want to continue with the series after you finish the first one. But even then the prices are very low, as you're just buying the content, not physical books. And they're yours to keep forever, so if you want to read again something you origially read years ago, it's still in your library.

                  SethStorm666 I just slapped a wasp that was 3 times bigger than normal.

                  Where I live (U.S. Pacific Northwest) we now have a problem with "murder hornets." They're an invasive species, not native to here, and authorities are working hard to keep them from becoming one. They attack and consume honey bees, so it's a big concern. It sounds like you might have found one of those. You're lucky you weren't stung.

                    WetGeek

                    We have our fair share of invasive species as well in Scandinavia. I'm wondering when we see the the malaria mosquitoes in this area? But that may not happen if the golf stream that supply Scandinavia with warm water changes it path (which can happen the next 20 years), then we get -12 degrees colder than the norm.