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Joined
1 yr. ago

  • I would pronounce it "DEEmon" but that gets some religious folks all freaked out, so I usually go with "DAYman".

  • Simmer down, Satan

  • My block list is long, and I like it!

  • In the context of social media, it's safe to say most people use the word "algorithm" to refer to the latter rather than the former. Sorting/visibility is technically an algorithm, but it's transparent and can be controlled by the user.

  • Technically, but the algorithm consists of which communities you're viewing and what order you sort posts. Generally when people talk about an "algorithm" in social media, they mean an opaque self-tuning selection process based on your usage patterns (and whoever is paying them the most). And Lemmy doesn't have any of that.

    If you're selecting sort-by-new and you're noticing problems with getting old posts mixed in, that would be a problem. But seeing the same posts when you're viewing the same communities and sorting the same way isn't a problem, it's showing you what you asked for. Why blame the "algorithm"?

  • Rocks are the shit, all my homies love rocks

  • What algorithm? You can subscribe to whichever communities you want, and posts from them show up on your feed organized by whatever you pick. If you want to constantly see fresh content, view all communities and sort by new.

  • No problem! I love chatting about this stuff, questions are always welcome!

    Not sure what online retailers are available or what you have access to in Vemezuela, but something like this starter kit would be ideal. But anything you can get your hands on can be fun.

    In general, you need:

    • a microcontroller
    • a way to program it
    • hardware to control and usually some sort of input or sensor

    Even if you can't find a starter kit, finding a USB UART interface lets you hack into all sorts of devices (did that to reprogram a router a while back), as long as you're handy with a soldering iron. And like another commenter said, hardware emulators would let you get started writing and running code if you can't get hardware right away.

    Hope it's fun! Feel free to DM with questions if you'd like.

  • You're looking for what's called Embedded Programming, which is that low-level stuff where the software you create makes things happen in real life outside of just a computer screen. There are lots of hobby beginner kits that come with things like motors, lights, etc. That's probably your best bet for actually getting some hands-on experience.

    If you want something a little higher-level, go for something like a Raspberry Pi (a Single Board Computer or SBC). On these, you'll have a full-fledged Linux kernel and operating system, but still have ways of interacting with hardware like lights and such. If you want to get lower level, try Arduino or something based on ESP32 (the key word here is microcontroller). On these, you'll either use a smaller OS or go "bare-metal". Though note that Raspberry Pi makes things at this level as well (their "Pico" line).

    For making that connection between computer theory and programming, I recommend experimenting with microcontrollers. You can even do some projects in assembly and understand what all the key registers are doing. I started on PIC micros, which was a great beginner thing. Not sure if they're still around.

    If you want recommendations on a starter kit, let me know your budget and what country you're in, and I can send some suggestions.

    Source: embedded programming for 20+ years.

  • why not just skip the middleman

    Because many people take for granted their advanced understanding of Unix systems that allows them to get into the "meat".

    If you're the type of person that is excited by a terminal display and prepared to read a whole pile of documentation, then sure--go straight to Arch, or Alpine if you're insane. But most people want something that's familiar, easy to set up, and will never force you to open a terminal. That's Mint (plus a number of other beginner-friendly distros). And most average people are perfectly happy to stay there. And that's perfectly fine.

  • You're not missing anything. Mint is perfectly good for the vast majority of users.

    Linux distros are a bit like vehicles. For most people, a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla will do everything they need. But if you go onto forums of car-enthusiasts, you can probably find thousands of voices that say those vehicles have such low horsepower, or they're not perfectly streamlined, or arguing about the buttons on the seat belts. Things that the average user doesn't care much about.

    I started 20 years ago with Slackware, tried out FreeBSD, and a number of others. I switched to Mint as a daily driver years ago. These days I found what I like (CachyOS), but I'm fairly knowledgable and quite comfortable on the command line, which is definitely not the case for most newer folks.

    Mint is a great distro. When I put it on my wife's laptop, literally everything worked right away. Have fun!

  • Any school district not complying with the executive order will lose all federal funding

    They're going to lose that 10% or so under this administration anyway, might as well teach actual science.

    and not be allowed to name any school after President Trump.

    Don't threaten me with a good time.

  • I can't figure out whether the verb is "still" or "physical".

  • If we consider what happened with Trump's exwife, I'd guess he'd order a hit on Melania a couple days before her NDA expires, then bury her a couple days later on one of his own golf courses.

    We can only hope he doesn't live that long.

  • That's not fundraising. That's called extortion.

  • Also remember that "just following orders" didn't save Nazis.

  • If a quick game lasts 10 minutes, then 10152 minutes, which is about 10136 times the age of our universe.

  • I read your first bullet point. Yes, your childhood was fucked. This is nowhere near the typical experience, even for folks with bad home lives.

  • The phone I use has constant battery charging protection. I checked before using it for that. But yeah, definitely check for that before using it that way, or remove the battery (if the phone will still run without it).