Add a few more posts
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content/posts/bandcamp_vs_subscription_services/note.md
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content/posts/bandcamp_vs_subscription_services/note.md
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X-Date: 2021-10-27T21:06:02Z
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X-Note-Id: b4de3ac6-113b-46fe-9c50-d93bfec72ac7
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Subject: Bandcamp vs subscription streaming services
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X-Slug: bandcamp_vs_subscription_services
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I decided to stop using Apple Music and Spotify in favor of
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purchasing music through Bandcamp. The primary catalyst for
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this was that I was essentially locked out of my Apple Music
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subscription. The reason for being locked out is pretty silly:
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I've changed countries, and Apple refuses to let me switch
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app stores because I have a year-long subscription still active
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for one of my services. But I no longer have a credit card in
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my previous country, so I can't pay for anything.
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Unfortunately, chatting with Apple support didn't help and
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the only reassuring thing I've got is "we understand that it's
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not what you expected, but we can't do anything until your
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subscription expires".
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This should serve as a reminder that you don't own stuff that
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you rent from big tech companies. And the silly thing about
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this particular situation is that all the need for the subscription
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is artificial. We live in a day when 256 Gb SD cards are dirt
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cheap, and internet connections easily reach 100 Mbit/s. There
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is no real need for a streaming service if you can keep all
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your music library with you. Oh, I forgot: iPhones don't have
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an SD card slot. Fine, but still I'd prefer a dumb and replaceable
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syncing service like Dropbox and to actually own my library.
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So, starting from today I'm purchasing my music and keeping it.
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Just because I'm sick of people pulling the plug on their side
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because they didn't like the way I move around.
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X-Date: 2021-11-08T23:01:32Z
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X-Note-Id: a90f2ac1-531a-4e43-a356-6e83c9f72b52
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Subject: Companion tools for tiling window managers
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X-Slug: companion_tools_for_tiling_window_managers
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I like tiling window managers. But sometimes I switch to Gnome
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for certain tasks. One of such cases is when I need to plug the
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laptop to TV to watch a movie. It can be hard to switch sound
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output to go through HDMI using just a pulseaudio console.
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In this case, gnome-settings works really well.
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It would've been great if there were a few simple
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utilities that allow to do simple everyday things. For example:
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- Mount external storage
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- Change sound outputs easily
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- Set external screen parameters dynamically
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A few things that I already use:
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- nm-applet (for managing wifi connections)
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- bashmount (for semi-automatic storage mounting)
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- pavucontrol (for managing pulseaudio, though I'm not completely happy with it)
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It's not like there are no options for other use-cases. It's just that many tools
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that I find on the internet are too heavy and overloaded with functionality.
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Some of them for example are written in Python with so many dependencies that they
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would likely fall apart if their maintaner stops updating them.
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Well, I guess we'll have to wait until System 76 guys fuse the traditional DE
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with tiling approaches in their new environment. I for one would applaud something
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that's lighter than Gnome but covers the basics in addition to being a good tiling WM.
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content/posts/firefox_without_menu_bar/note.md
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content/posts/firefox_without_menu_bar/note.md
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X-Date: 2021-10-24T11:01:54Z
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X-Note-Id: b616a092-682c-467e-8e24-61a934a3ddc0
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Subject: Firefox without menu bar and URL bar
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X-Slug: firefox_without_menu_bar
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Today I succeeded with removing all visual elements
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from Firefox, except the actual content. This is a
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bit like [surf](https://surf.suckless.org/), but with
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a modern web engine.
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As I said before, one of the things I dislike about
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modern software is that it tries to manage its own
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tabs. This creates a lot of problems for people like
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me, who want to use tiling window managers, because every
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single app has its own shortcuts to switch tabs. And if
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you'd like to find a tab by name -- you're doomed.
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Anyway, here's a piece of `userChrome.css`:
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```
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#TabsToolbar { visibility: collapse !important; }
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#main-window:not([customizing]) #navigator-toolbox:not(:focus-within):not(:hover) {
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margin-top: -45px;
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}
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```
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content/posts/framework_laptop_first_impressions/note.md
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content/posts/framework_laptop_first_impressions/note.md
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X-Date: 2021-10-24T10:48:31Z
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X-Note-Id: 8ccd94aa-f36b-4d8a-8816-f92cf3300c31
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Subject: Framework laptop - first impressions
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X-Slug: framework_laptop_first_impressions
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I've been using the [Framework](https://frame.work) laptop for a few weeks now,
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and would like to share first impressions. In short -- it's the best laptop I
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had in years.
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First, there are a few things that this device gets exactly right: screen, keyboard
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and trackpad. The screen is 3x2 which means you can get more vertical space for
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code and documentation. You may think that it's not too much of a difference compared
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to 16x9, but it's enough to compensate for browser's tab bars and search field, or
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the window decorations of your editor if you have them. The key travel is pretty
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decent and the keys are not too mushy. I even prefer this keyboard to the thinkpad's.
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Now, the trackpad won't compare to the one you find on a macbook, but it's in my
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opinion ahead of thinkpads and many other options I've tried. It has a glass surface
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and is large enough to use comfortably. Palm rejection is decent and I didn't have
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any issues with ghost touches registering while I'm typing on the keyboard.
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Other hardware issues that I was used to in other laptops, like "coil whine" where
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you hear a high-pitched buzz while the laptop is actively working, are not present.
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Time will tell if it's just coincidence or good engineering.
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Now let's talk about ports. The ports on this machine are configurable, and I find
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4 ports to be just right for me to cover the basic needs. Here's the modules I purchased:
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- USB-C for charging and connecting to external display with docking capabilities (so
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a keyboard and mouse plugged into the display).
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- HDMI for plugging into the TV to watch movies on the big screen. I find it easier this
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way, because otherwise I have to deal with media players on the TV itself which is
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cumbersome.
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- USB-A port to plug regular flash drives. You know, to install the OS or to transfer files.
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- Micro SD slot to transfer pictures from my camera or drone footage.
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And the most interesting part that is the easiest for laptop manufacturers to screw up
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is Linux support. Many laptop manufacturers try to minimize the price of chips that go
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into the machine and so don't care about the sourcing from any other perspective. If it
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has drivers for windows -- it's enough. So you get weird bugs like sound disappearing
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completely after you plug and unplug the headphones, or inability to properly control
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fan speed or screen backlight. Best case scenario for these laptops is that you have to
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spend time to hunt down configs and custom firmwares on wikis that often go out of date
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as you update the OS.
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With Framework, if you get the latest Fedora build, everything works out of the box, even
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the fingerprint reader (which is the thing that almost never works on other laptops under
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Linux). I also find the default ACPI and suspend options good enough, but people report that
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enabling deep sleep on Linux works without major issues as well. This is something to be
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tested and I'll share my experience in the next posts.
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I don't know what has taken the industry so long to produce a perfect Linux laptop, but
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here we are in 2021. If you don't know what to buy, the Framework laptop is what I would
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wholeheartedly recommend.
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content/posts/pinephone_a_promising_device/note.md
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content/posts/pinephone_a_promising_device/note.md
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X-Date: 2021-10-29T23:19:41Z
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X-Note-Id: d230c576-498f-45b6-98a8-310f73d085df
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Subject: PinePhone - a very promising device
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X-Slug: pinephone_a_promising_device
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In addition to getting a Framework laptop, I've also got
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a [PinePhone](https://www.pine64.org/pinephone/). It's an honest
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Linux phone (not Android), that can run more or less unmodified
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apps that you can usually run on Linux.
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I tried running a few: Firefox browser, media player, file manager,
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simple note taking software, and a todo list. The experience so far
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was bearable. The default Manjaro distribution that was installed on
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the phone didn't perform well enough, but after switching to PostmarketOS,
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things became a lot snappier. It's not like modern phone levels of snappy
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though. More like the first android devices that appeared on the market.
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I find it possible to daily drive this phone, because I mostly use my
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current device to listen to music and quickly look up something on the
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internet. The only thing I'll need another device for is maps -- at the
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moment there's just nothing production ready that I'd be comfortable
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traveling with.
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To be clear -- I'm not using PinePhone because it's superior in any
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way from the UX point of view. It's just cool to have a hacker-friendly
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platform in your pocket.
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