Post AlL1AE7lZX0VWgdtrc by fondoffawns@nerdculture.de
(DIR) More posts by fondoffawns@nerdculture.de
(DIR) Post #AlJia32NK5wONmlB4q by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-23T22:07:10Z
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My new tablet came! I am so excited. I just know I'm going to hate this thing <3
(DIR) Post #AlJia3h8sWYCQDpjcW by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-23T22:30:26Z
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Well, so far it's actually pretty good, except for the part when I tried logging in to my Google account and it crashed and left the device in a seemingly permanent inoperable state
(DIR) Post #AlJia4I0fS2cGZ5B5M by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-23T22:35:35Z
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- Can't log into Google; the Google service is fucked somehow. Need to reboot the tablet.- Can't reboot the tablet because in new Android, Google has hijacked the "turn off" button to launch the Assistant instead.- Can't turn off the Assistant because it won't let you turn off the Assistant unless you first sign into Google.
(DIR) Post #AlJia4wmDseQJ09jd2 by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-23T22:41:59Z
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After rebooting, I have now successfully logged into Google. Now I want to turn off the Assistant.I go into the Google app.I tap the profile icon.I tap "settings".Nothing happens.I tap the profile app again.I tap the "settings" app again.Nothing happens.Often, when using Android products, I find myself wondering whether Google is aware that Android exists, or the device vendor aware that they are selling an Android device
(DIR) Post #AlJia5fRXoNcXX3PFY by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-23T22:59:28Z
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What is this called, and how do I disable it? It is not "Discover". I already disabled that.Willing to resort to ADB but only if necessary.
(DIR) Post #AlJia5yEPxPPTnqPXE by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-23T23:01:38Z
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Also, what application do you, reading this, recommend for reading comics on an Android tablet, if those comics are "free floating" (PDFs from itch or something) and not part of a service? I am willing to listen to suggestions for other software to install on my PC local servers etc if it would support this (for example for loading the comics on) as long as it doesn't require an Apple product. This is an explicit invitation to be a reply person?
(DIR) Post #AlJia6pPEFwY8iisPw by ivesen@miniwa.moe
2024-08-25T06:30:23.309622Z
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@mcc tachiyomi if you didn't check it out yet.As long as it's specifically comics, as it apparently doesn't deal with pure text that well (Sorry if it already got recommended, I can't see replies other than yours)
(DIR) Post #AlJia7ZUSuo4ReHgFU by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-23T23:04:24Z
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The mystery tab is the "Entertainment Space". I can disable it by long pressing the home screen and going into home screen settings.
(DIR) Post #AlJia9AOXBv9OOYfPU by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-23T23:15:02Z
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What fresh Flat hell is this
(DIR) Post #AlJiaAjWi3cKFe0EoC by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T04:44:56Z
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Android 14 on this device is really, really, *really* janky. Like "this is a beta OS" levels of jank. I have found three different ways to get apps to go into GUI death, go in weird states where there are like gray lines that swiping causes the gray lines to move up or down, blank white boxes where interface elements otherwise would be
(DIR) Post #AlJiaCnr0wGcfe2ipc by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T05:00:09Z
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Here's my current bit of hell. The button bar has been changed into a "taskbar". The critical android navigation buttons get shunted to the side. (Which side is not consistent; it flips left and right at seeming random.) The additional space is taken up by little app icons, like the iOS dock.What makes this unacceptable is *the side shunted navigation buttons vary*. On the home screen, they're centered like normal.**The navigation buttons simulate physical buttons. They should NEVER move.**
(DIR) Post #AlJiaEYgUJJy7AxdSq by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T05:07:24Z
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Sources on Internet claim under Settings->Display there's a setting to turn off "Taskbar". It's not present on my system. So I think: Maybe I can just remove all the items from the bar. I find settings for "show recent apps in taskbar" and "recommended apps in taskbar". I disable them. That leaves only the "quick launch" bar from the home screen. I try removing all the icons from that.*The quick launch bar, and the "taskbar", grow a noninteractive gray square in the space where apps would go*
(DIR) Post #AlJiaGFGDUyLLVt9Sy by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T05:09:20Z
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So I have a non-optional bar at the bottom of the screen. What is the purpose of the bar? To contain a noninteractive gray square. Why is the noninteractive gray square there? Because otherwise the bar at the bottom of the screen would be empty. This is Android's Emotional Support Square.Meanwhile, the Android nav buttons, to accommodate this, move randomly between left, right & center. I cannot use the Android nav buttons, *critical for basic use of the device*, without looking at the screen.
(DIR) Post #AlJiaHum0dlyWYJooK by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T05:10:05Z
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In my entirely sincere, non-joking opinion, any GUI that I have to look at in order to use is a bad GUI.I should be able to use any computer program by just clicking and tapping on things, without having to look to see whether the things are there or not.
(DIR) Post #AlJiaJlz6HvmHsDpOC by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T05:21:08Z
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So here's where it gets bugfuck. Unable to use the nav bar because Google has decided it must randomly move around as a minigame, I sadly enable gestures.A gray bar appears at the bottom of my screen.To show me where to do the gestures.I only??? Enabled??? Gestures???? In the first place?????? To make a gray bar at the bottom of the screen go away???????????
(DIR) Post #AlJiaLbmHCxFynShl2 by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T05:23:23Z
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Why is this here??? No, I know why this is here. It's here because the iPhone has it. The iPhone put at the bar at the bottom of the screen, and the execs at Google who decide what goes in Android don't *use* Android, they have iPhones, so the only direction anyone on Android gets is "make it look like my iPhone". And once it looks like their iPhones, they have no further extra concerns, such as "is it pleasant to use?" "Do the users mind a permanent, pointless gray mark defacing their screen?"
(DIR) Post #AlJiaNGw5fTJ8jj5Y8 by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T05:28:12Z
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I. Want. To. Read. Books. This tablet is not a computer. This tablet is a book. My family has purchased books which are locked in the Amazon ecosystem. I want to read the books using a book interface, that is, I want a rectangle with words and/or images on it. I don't want a rounded rect or a circle. I don't want holes in my book. I don't want it to be defaced with black marks, or blank gray boxes containing blank white boxes, or a little bar containing the time. I just want a book.
(DIR) Post #AlJiaPMKKayLc2GQEK by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T05:48:00Z
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How much of a problem this is depends on what app I'm in. Kindle (left), blessedly, puts black bars at the top and bottom and disables the clock bar and anti-navigation bar at the bottom, so I get what I want: a rectangle.. But say, Shonen Jump (right) doesn't, so I get a jangle of bars of various sizes and colors, and the screenshot doesn't capture this but the top bar has a clock, battery, wifi strength, and for no reason whatsoever, three dots and a triangle (these do nothing)
(DIR) Post #AlJiaRB3ZT95Ff0RwO by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T05:50:28Z
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Although I like this form factor better than the Fire I was considering getting instead (I wish it were 8x11 sized instead of 16x9 sized, but the larger size is better for my eyes), I'm at this moment considering returning this simply to avoid the gray bar at the bottom of the screen. Apparently if you buy a tablet from *Google*, there's a "disable taskbar" feature in the Settings. Lenovo, for no reason anyone understands, removed this. Check Google and you'll find hundreds of annoyed comments.
(DIR) Post #AlJiaStPC4DMZUlNho by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T05:53:49Z
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This is surprising to me. Based on my experience with their Windows PCs, I assumed Lenovo would be a v basic Android OEM and not fuck with shit like, say, Samsung would. In fact, the Settings on this device claims it isn't even running Android, but "Lenovo ZUI 16.0.070 Stable". This appears to be just Android, but with pen support (the pen support is nice) and *multiple* missing features in the settings (not just the taskbar).I was expecting Lenovo to disappoint me but wasn't expecting *that*.
(DIR) Post #AlJiaUcoki8Nwd1A80 by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T05:55:06Z
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Based on that, despite again the form factor and weight distribution and price all being quite good, I currently recommend avoiding the Lenovo Tab M11, because in addition to their Android repackaging being very buggy in strange ways they just fucking delete shit out of Android at random, and how are you supposed to predict whether one of the things they deleted is one of the things you depend on?I guess tomorrow I'll try to see how much of a normal Android experience I can recreate using ADB.
(DIR) Post #AlJiaWV5mP8vlFQ1Me by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T06:08:22Z
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Ok, I'm complaining a lot but one last thing. I want to show you what I mean by Lenovo's patched Android being "Buggy".I bring down Quick Settings. There's a little "edit" button in the corner. I want to configure my Q.S., so I tap it (it's small, it takes a couple tries). This takes me toA gray line.Q.S. is replaced with a gray line. I can move it down and up but I can't go back. I can no longer access Q.S. or my notifications. The only way to get out of this state is to *reboot*. Really.
(DIR) Post #AlJiaY6LpMXaj5rI4u by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T06:14:38Z
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As you can see in the video, closing + reopening the quick settings/notification shade doesn't fix it. Only reboot fixes it. Nowwww, I guess I should admit: While experimenting with this, I found it's not an out of box behavior of the edit button. Rather, it is specific to "disable animations" accessibility mode, which I run enabled. So this is *less* of a jaw-dropping QA process slip than it appears.But wow! "Enabling accessibility options can softlock the OS" is kinda a bad failure mode!!
(DIR) Post #AlJiaa8uEplz3b4ML2 by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-24T20:04:55Z
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UPDATE: Ahh… well as you can see I got my tablet problems fixed. This is great
(DIR) Post #AlJiabz3OR52lcTWG8 by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T02:54:28Z
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Okay one thing I will say about this damn Tab M11 is that the speaker is actually *quite* good. This might just be my primary way of listening to Tidal now.Bass stood up mediocre at best to the Roni Size Matter of Fact test but eh, what do you expect
(DIR) Post #AlJiadpCY2O6TdsgBE by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T03:47:38Z
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Okay so going at the "can I get the NORMAL NAV BUTTONS INSTEAD OF HAVING THEM REPEATEDLY MOVE LEFT AND RIGHT" problem (which I really might just return this tablet if I can't figure it out) nowIt's hard to search for because tons of people try to enable the taskbar on a *phone* but I appear the first person to want to *disable* it, I assume because I'm the first person who cares about computers who has ever purchased an Android tablet. Possibly the first person to buy an Android tablet period.
(DIR) Post #AlJiafV4JrTJfmTd4q by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T03:53:09Z
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Also on every tablet NOT made by lenovo, there's just plain a "disable taskbar" option. So why would anyone be asking about this.The closest to people asking about this are all Samsung users who say they fixed a problem similar to this with the "Good Lock" app. But that is Samsung exclusive?I do some checks with adb shell settings list (https://gist.github.com/mcclure/47341511a2b91a1e64eb8a61b2f9ac4a) I find two settings in the "system" namespace that look germane but aren't it, and three mystery settings in the "secure" namespace
(DIR) Post #AlJiahNLLYTrUOsUJU by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T03:58:34Z
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The two settings in "global" are the ones that Lenovo exposes to me— they're already off and aren't important. I guess the most helpful thing here would be if someone with a non-Lenovo Android tablet could try doing `adb shell settings list system` and `adb shell settings list secure` before and after toggling the Settings ➜ Display ➜ Taskbar option, and diffing the results. (Or just grepping both for "task" and eyeballing it.) However this seems unlikely since again, nobody uses Android tablets
(DIR) Post #AlJiajUrSZgO4IPWJE by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T04:18:07Z
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Incidentally, another thing I'd consider an option— although not necessarily my preferred option— is if I could go with the gesture navigation, but change it so the back gesture is something other than a side-pull, or like a side-pull and hold or something. I cannot function without having my side-pull gesture inside of apps, plus in my testing left swipes nowhere near the border get interpreted as back gestures.Some "posts" refer to a "swipe gesture sensitivity" setting but idk what this is.
(DIR) Post #AlJial7XQGDN6XVvEW by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T05:27:01Z
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Incidentally, a friend with an old Samsung mentions their Samsung has this second option for nav gestures, where the three standard nav bar buttons are replaced with three swipe-up-from-bottom areas. For the tablet environment, that is actually really nice! I would enable that if I could! It is apparently 100% Samsung exclusive and also, on the newer Samsungs it's been removed.
(DIR) Post #AlJiamfFgOmDtOIMQC by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T05:27:55Z
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*Gosh*, I wish Android were actually open source.
(DIR) Post #AlJiaokzu0YqNmzyee by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T05:30:10Z
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The Android evil-genie promise: You may have an open source phone OS. But if you actually compile it from source yourself, you will be banned from running any software. Or at least, they'll try as hard as they can to ban you from running software. Also, if you decide you want to build or even *download* the source, you're going to need to purchase a dedicated 1 TB SSD to check out the repo, and also download our forked version of git to check it out with
(DIR) Post #AlJiaqcux1HoBJEYL2 by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T05:33:46Z
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Note: You may argue I'm being unfair to Android by saying you need a dedicated 1TB drive to check out the source tree with, when in fact, the AOSP instructions https://source.android.com/docs/setup/start/requirements say only *400 GB* is required to check out and build the repo. However IMO, for any serious project you'll eventually want 2 live checkouts, in case you want to compare 2 branches side by side. Also you'll need space for Android Studio, which on every computer I've ever installed it on took up "all the space I had"
(DIR) Post #AlKPbv5k8FAqLcTSiG by eliasr@social.librem.one
2024-08-25T06:37:48Z
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@mcc > I wish Android were actually open sourceWhy not leave Android behind and move over to #LinuxMobile with #phosh where you are free from Google? It's a breath of fresh air, already works great and gets better all the time. Easy to rebuild from source.See @phosh @linmob #FreeSoftware
(DIR) Post #AlKPbvxysaYj3pqmFk by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T06:38:58Z
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@eliasr You have literally no idea what my use case is
(DIR) Post #AlKPbwfEHn9bDy5JfE by lunareclipse@snug.moe
2024-08-25T07:40:15.810Z
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@mcc @eliasr yeah, mobile linux doesn't give you access to any of the thousands of apps you can get on android, and especially the very useful ones like banking apps
(DIR) Post #AlKPbxObZ5RxUhJYOG by eliasr@social.librem.one
2024-08-25T10:08:04Z
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@lunareclipse @mcc I think that if there is a bank that requires Android, then that is a problem with that bank, its customers should request the bank to provide its services based on standards, not locked to certain operating systems. The bank should not decide which operating system you use. If banks behave like that, then those banks need to change. If you are the customer of such a bank, then tell them. "The customer is always right." 🙂
(DIR) Post #AlKPbxwdWYfjCFEjR2 by lunareclipse@snug.moe
2024-08-25T10:30:04.942Z
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@eliasr @mcc I don't know what world you live in but when I complain about anything my bank does they politely tell me to fuck off. It's just not happening.
(DIR) Post #AlKPk1xIUqI9x5OJsm by mausmalone@mastodon.social
2024-08-23T23:34:59Z
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@mcc I find it funny that modern computers (and tablets and phones) have all this GPU power and they end up with UIs that look like they were designed in Applesoft BASIC.
(DIR) Post #AlKuoRhNp3X1WyX6EC by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T20:22:15Z
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@mcc That looks so much like iOS it's making me feel dizzy.My ipad is... OK. I have feelings about living the apple life, but other people buy my computers for me so I don't make much noise.
(DIR) Post #AlKuuj8RuHJpLZBhvE by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T20:23:22Z
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@futurebird This has been my constant journey as an Android user:1. I don't like the way Apple does it2. I switch to Android3. Android copies the way Apple does it
(DIR) Post #AlKvmNVqW0HjvHiM9g by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T20:32:58Z
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@vikxin @mcc I don't totally love this about Apple but there is something to be said for *not* having every possible feature just to have it. Though I really miss desktop themes, and all of the pointless junk in early OSs some times. Why can't we have themes for mobile OSs? (Listen I know it's possible I'm asking why it isn't common and easy)Everything is a flat rounded rectangle and it makes me feel dead inside.
(DIR) Post #AlKw6JHNxp7yaMSGDQ by drakenblackknight@mastodon.online
2024-08-25T20:36:40Z
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@futurebird @vikxin @mcc 1) If you knew what you were doing, you could theme the hell out of early Android.2) What model tablet is that?
(DIR) Post #AlKwIFAv37eNKb7XsG by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T20:38:51Z
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@drakenblackknight @vikxin @mcc "If you knew what you were doing, you could theme the hell out of early Android."Then they stole the "feature" of not having options from Apple. LOL. I mean I kind of get it... but I also loved it when my computers all looked like pink cake or had fun icons and junk all over them.
(DIR) Post #AlKwWaZ6JoDnj2GuUS by drakenblackknight@mastodon.online
2024-08-25T20:41:21Z
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@futurebird @vikxin @mcc It actually happened because at the time Android was a total security nightmare, but that's what made it such a fun OS to hack apart and modify.
(DIR) Post #AlKxgdKgz1uR9usyhs by barrygoldman1@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T20:54:26Z
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@futurebird @vikxin @mcc cause mobile devices are supposed to be addictive toys not tools.sigh..i'm still waiting for my handheld pocket computer that radio shack promised us decades ago!
(DIR) Post #AlKy7VR0SMrsTweXqa by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T20:59:18Z
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@barrygoldman1 @vikxin @mcc How about this raspberry pi based typewriter looking thing:https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805986900990.html
(DIR) Post #AlKyQVYAFeXaLH3tYG by barrygoldman1@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T21:02:30Z
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@futurebird @vikxin @mcc well... i'm sure i can find something OBSCURE or build one myself with enough trouble... but ... it was disappointing.
(DIR) Post #AlKycwdpLuBXq6dnv6 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T21:04:58Z
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@barrygoldman1 @vikxin @mcc or maybe this "fun for kids" computer in a suitcase that I wish I could take back in time and give to age 9 me...https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806772825803.html
(DIR) Post #AlKz2x4UNNKmhbVrHM by BillyGlennHoya@libranigans.com
2024-08-25T21:09:34Z
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@futurebird @vikxin @mcc Time is not an upward staircase, it is a flat, rounded rectangle ...
(DIR) Post #AlKz5OWNI0MUPoilCy by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T21:09:44Z
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@cinebox @barrygoldman1 @vikxin @mcc Is a speak and spell Turing complete? I don't think it is... not without ... probably reflashing the EEPROM if it has that?
(DIR) Post #AlKz7MBKxS1XjtogM4 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T21:10:19Z
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@BillyGlennHoya @vikxin @mcc Hell is other squovals
(DIR) Post #AlKzBORGVbJJthBvtI by mcc@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T21:10:56Z
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@futurebird @cinebox @barrygoldman1 @vikxin What we need to insert into the timeline is a device that combines the HP programmable calculator with the speak and spell. If we think about this hard enough can we manifest its existence back into 1978 somewhere
(DIR) Post #AlL1AE7lZX0VWgdtrc by fondoffawns@nerdculture.de
2024-08-25T21:32:39Z
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@cinebox @futurebird @barrygoldman1 @vikxin @mcc Did somebody say Speak and Spell?
(DIR) Post #AlL1EVkZysVpLnq8eW by geonz@mathstodon.xyz
2024-08-25T21:34:10Z
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@futurebird @mcc LOL yes, I have an iPad b/c that's what the people hwo said I needed to spend that grant money said to get. I work w/ enough students so it is helpful ... and ... when the weather's bad and I'm on the bus, PODCASTS.
(DIR) Post #AlL1jn8NOkfSF6t1Rg by MichaelPorter@ottawa.place
2024-08-25T21:38:00Z
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@mcc @futurebird @cinebox @barrygoldman1 @vikxin Would it speak reverse Polish? 😉
(DIR) Post #AlL1pA8DK1Ot12N5vM by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T21:40:48Z
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@MichaelPorter @mcc @cinebox @barrygoldman1 @vikxin yrbod neizd
(DIR) Post #AlL3dJd8NcU6uPJSwC by MichaelPorter@ottawa.place
2024-08-25T22:01:02Z
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@futurebird @mcc @cinebox @barrygoldman1 @vikxin 😄
(DIR) Post #AlL73IjcdC0zWWQjFw by llewelly@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T22:37:03Z
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@MichaelPorter @mcc @futurebird @cinebox @barrygoldman1 @vikxin if you combine rpn with speak and spell you get a language called TinyForth.
(DIR) Post #AlLEuWToxORNBFMeY4 by barrygoldman1@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T23:40:07Z
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@mcc @futurebird @cinebox @vikxin ok so once in highschool i found this cool tiny white calculator with purple display that had like 18 memories and ~100? programming steps.i wrote a program to interpret the memories in binary and programmed up a ~20x20 Conway's game of life on the screen!wow so long ago!
(DIR) Post #AlMEArr7LQGvJUS1XU by llewelly@sauropods.win
2024-08-26T11:33:54Z
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@futurebird @vikxin @mcc in every human-computer user interface text I ever read, much stress was put on shading and texture are hugely imporant to the way the human brain assigns meaning and importance to objects, because those things tell us what shape it is, and what we can do with it.
(DIR) Post #AlMGZAQo8FjbmbrLcG by llewelly@sauropods.win
2024-08-26T12:00:41Z
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@futurebird @cinebox @barrygoldman1 @vikxin @mcc a time traveler showed a speak-and-spell to Alan Turing, and he thought "I can do better than that!" and designed the a-machine which became the core of his thesis.
(DIR) Post #AlOb5CXKEAOoyhNdYm by Red_Shirt_no2@c.im
2024-08-27T14:59:58Z
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@futurebird @vikxin @mcc Laurie Anderson, in a BBC interview about “Songs and Stories of Moby-Dick”, said “I am deathly tired of rectangles.”