fxgn's recent activity

  1. Comment on Are there any backpacks which are both stylish and functional? in ~life.style

    fxgn
    Link Parent
    Thanks! Those look good

    Thanks! Those look good

  2. Comment on Are there any backpacks which are both stylish and functional? in ~life.style

    fxgn
    Link Parent
    Thanks for the suggestions!

    Thanks for the suggestions!

  3. Comment on Are there any backpacks which are both stylish and functional? in ~life.style

    fxgn
    Link Parent
    They look good, but again, it's a fashion brand, not a backpack brand, so are they good in terms of organizational features?

    They look good, but again, it's a fashion brand, not a backpack brand, so are they good in terms of organizational features?

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Are there any backpacks which are both stylish and functional? in ~life.style

    fxgn
    Link Parent
    Yes, Rains looks awesome, thank you! How are they feature-wise though? I can't find any pictures of their inside on the website

    Yes, Rains looks awesome, thank you!

    How are they feature-wise though? I can't find any pictures of their inside on the website

    1 vote

  5. Comment on Are there any backpacks which are both stylish and functional? in ~life.style

  6. Comment on Are there any backpacks which are both stylish and functional? in ~life.style

    fxgn
    Link Parent
    As others have said already, I did not mean to degrade anyone, and sorry if you perceived it that way. "Tech bro" is a specific type of person, and I don't think "tech nerd" is offensive, as...

    As others have said already, I did not mean to degrade anyone, and sorry if you perceived it that way. "Tech bro" is a specific type of person, and I don't think "tech nerd" is offensive, as @updawg said.

    20 votes

  7. Comment on Are there any backpacks which are both stylish and functional? in ~life.style

    fxgn
    Link Parent
    I don't have anything against black backpacks, in fact, two of the bags I linked as examples of good backpacks are all black: https://symplofficial.com/collections/backpacks/products/day-pack...

    I don't have anything against black backpacks, in fact, two of the bags I linked as examples of good backpacks are all black:

    The Zara backpack, for example, is black as well, but also looks great

    https://www.zara.com/us/en/rubberized-backpack-p13205320.html

    I don't think I have "peculiar opinions" because almost everyone who I discussed the topic with seems to agree

    2 votes

  8. Comment on Are there any backpacks which are both stylish and functional? in ~life.style

    fxgn
    Link Parent
    Now that I think of it, it's probably mostly the materials. Those backpacks are usually fully black while being made of materials that don't look good black. For example, black leather or black...

    I still have very little idea on what the “tech” style is

    Now that I think of it, it's probably mostly the materials. Those backpacks are usually fully black while being made of materials that don't look good black. For example, black leather or black soft-touch silicone look great, but I don't think that this weird waterproof mesh material that a lot of those bags are made of looks good in black.

    And the shape plays a part as well - the Sympl Weekender and Aer Day Pack are made of good materials, but they have this smooth oval shape which looks a bit wacky

  9. Comment on Are there any backpacks which are both stylish and functional? in ~life.style

    fxgn
    Link Parent
    No, it's not the number of pockets, in fact, I think a lot of pockets is a cool thing to have. I don't really know how to describe the style, but I think Topo Designs did it for me: Daypack...

    No, it's not the number of pockets, in fact, I think a lot of pockets is a cool thing to have. I don't really know how to describe the style, but I think Topo Designs did it for me:

    See the difference between those two bags. I think the second one is a perfect encapsulation of what I'm talking about - all black, weird material, the shape looks kinda strange. While the first one just looks like a regular backpack that some random person would wear.

    Nomatic is another example of a backpack that is super cool but fits that ugly style in my opinion

    I don't think Sfbags feels tech bro-y, they seem nice. It's probably still not something I'd get because I don't really like backpacks that look rectangular, but that's just my preference and I don't think that they're inherently ugly. Thanks

    2 votes

  10. Are there any backpacks which are both stylish and functional?

    ~life.style Ask (recommendations)
    Every single backpack I've seen that is functional and has at least some basic organizational features (see Bellroy, Peak Design, Alpaka, etc.) is usually pretty ugly and makes you look like a...

    Every single backpack I've seen that is functional and has at least some basic organizational features (see Bellroy, Peak Design, Alpaka, etc.) is usually pretty ugly and makes you look like a weird tech bro. And every single backpack that looks good is usually made by a fashion company (eg Zara, Pull&Bear or luxury brands like Prada) and don't have any utility features, only a single big pocket and maybe a laptop sleeve if you're lucky.

    I have managed to find one backpack that looks awesome and is actually useful - Sympl Day Backpack. However, I'm out of luck here, because it has been discontinued by the company, and their other backpack models also have that "tech nerd" look to them (although they're not as bad as some other options)

    Do you, by any chance, know some backpacks that both look fashionable AND have more than two pockets at the same time?

    Edit: there's also Topo Design Daypack Classic which looks good in the black and white variant, but it does lack some useful stuff like laptop sleeve padding

    Edit 2: I managed to find another awesome looking backpack! The ISM Bag. I might actually get this one, although $300 is somewhat expensive

    24 votes

  11. Comment on The West doesn’t understand how much Russia has changed in ~misc

    fxgn
    Link Parent
    Honestly, in my experience, there are more websites that block visitors with a Russian IP than websites that are actually blocked by the government.

    Lastly, government blocking websites and services forcing the usage of VPN is a big roadblock.

    Honestly, in my experience, there are more websites that block visitors with a Russian IP than websites that are actually blocked by the government.

    2 votes

  12. Comment on The West doesn’t understand how much Russia has changed in ~misc

    fxgn
    Link Parent
    Russia has had an incredible local software market for a very long time. And unlike China, where this local software is basically forced by the government, the Russian software market developed...

    Russia has had an incredible local software market for a very long time. And unlike China, where this local software is basically forced by the government, the Russian software market developed organically and competed with western alternatives by offering a better product. It really does suck that many western software companies quit Russia - but not because we relied on their services, it's just bad that a lot of those local companies became monopolies with no incentive to improve.

    Russian software market mostly stands upon the shoulders of two tech giants - Yandex and VK (previously mail.ru).

    To call Yandex "the Russian Google" is probably an understatement. They offer alternatives to basically all existing Google services, while also owning a lot of other stuff such as:

    • Both major food delivery platforms - Yandex Food and Delivery Club. Delivery Club used to be owned by VK, but they traded it to Yandex in exchange for Zen, a blog service similar to Medium.
    • The biggest taxi service - Uber Russia was owned by Yandex Taxi for a long time, but there still were some alternatives such as Gett. Now that they all quit the country, Yandex Taxi is the only option.
    • The biggest music service - since you can no longer pay on foreign sites with a Russian card, using Spotify stopped being a viable option for most citizens, so everyone had to switch to Yandex Music.
    • Best in class voice assistant - Yandex Alice assistant is much smarter than Google Assistant or Alexa, and it's also the only assistant that properly supports Russian language. A lot of people I know, including me, own a Yandex smart speaker
    • And much more...

    VK is mostly known for owning https://VK.com, the biggest Russian social media site which was created back in 2006 by Pavel Durov (who now runs Telegram) and is used by many Russian people. However, VK is expanding the amount of stuff they own, although they're still not as big as Yandex.

    We also have some huge independent websites though. For example, while Amazon and eBay used to ship to Russia, the shipping still took a very long time, so local alternatives were created. Ozon and Wildberries are biggest Russian e-commerce platforms that exist for about 20 years, and they have always been more popular than Amazon. We also have Avito, which is a marketplace, similar to eBay.

    Russia also has the best Fintech I've ever seen. I know that there is Revolut in US and Europe, which was started by two Russian guys. What Revolut does is basically the bare minimum for good banks in Russia, every bank has an incredible mobile app that lets you do everything you'd ever need. And there is a single official payment standard for all banks, so you can instantly transfer money to any person with no fees.

    So, overall, while I don't see much new services popping up (Windows is here to stay, for example), we already have an established digital ecosystem that we used for many years and continue to use.

    Honestly, the IT market is one of the few parts of my country that I am proud of. It is really a shame that the stupid decisions of the government have lead to our IT market being cut off from the rest of the world - I think many of our companies could've had a big success internationally. And of course, as I said, it sucks that they're all monopolies now, with zero reasons to improve because people have no other choice but to use their services.

    24 votes

  13. Comment on The West doesn’t understand how much Russia has changed in ~misc

    fxgn
    Link Parent
    Dobriy did not make any drinks similar to Coca Cola, Sprite or Fanta before 2022. They were primarily a packaged juice company. They started producing those beverages after Coca Cola left, and...

    Coca Cola sells syrup to local bottlers. When they pull out, the local companies don’t shut down. Maybe the syrup isn’t quite the same, but the can find something similar.

    Dobriy did not make any drinks similar to Coca Cola, Sprite or Fanta before 2022. They were primarily a packaged juice company. They started producing those beverages after Coca Cola left, and immediately appeared in all grocery stores, while other Cola manufacturers were trying to fight for their place under the sun in anticipation of Coca Cola leaving. This leads me to believe that it's not just a local bottler continuing their old business, but more likely a deal that Coca Cola made.

    14 votes

  14. Comment on The West doesn’t understand how much Russia has changed in ~misc

    fxgn
    Link
    I'm from Russia. It is true that most products in the consumer market have a replacement. Stuff is shipped from China or Turkey, some things are produced directly in Russia. Some brands only...

    I'm from Russia.

    It is true that most products in the consumer market have a replacement. Stuff is shipped from China or Turkey, some things are produced directly in Russia.

    Some brands only pretended to exit the Russian market - for example, almost immediately after Coca Cola stopped sales in Russia, a beverage named "Dobriy Cola" appeared on the shelves. And if you look up Multon, the company that makes the drink, you'll find that it's name before 2022 was... "Coca Cola HBC". Huh.

    However, I don't agree with the point that we strongly depend on China and no longer depend on the west. Some western companies just can't be replaced - for example, it's really hard to find good clothes in Russia nowadays. And Chinese smartphones are not popular because of the sanctions - they're only popular because they're much cheaper, and a lot of the Russian population can't afford a $1000 smartphone. Pretty much everyone who could afford those phones still uses an iPhone or a Samsung or whatever, they barely got more expensive after the sanctions.

    Basically the only market where China is probably set to overtake western products because of the sanctions is the car market. Still though, they're very far away from it. I'm looking out of a taxi window right now and don't see a single Chinese car on the road. They're basically perceived as a novelty and most people don't want to buy one yet, although we realize that it may become the best option soon.

    I'm happy to answer questions about the topic if you have any.

    50 votes

  15. Comment on Honest Question: Why did PHP remove dynamic properties in 8.x? in ~comp

    fxgn
    Link Parent
    Yes, but that's what version numbers mean. The major version number in semver means "there are breaking changes". So if you're upgrading from PHP 8.x to 9.x, breaking changes are to be expected.

    Yes, but that's what version numbers mean. The major version number in semver means "there are breaking changes". So if you're upgrading from PHP 8.x to 9.x, breaking changes are to be expected.

    5 votes

  16. Comment on How do you organize your Linux packages? in ~comp

    fxgn
    Link
    I'm using a custom build of Fedora Silverblue made with BlueBuild. This means that my OS is basically a docker image - it gets automatically updated in GitHub CI every day and all of the system...

    I'm using a custom build of Fedora Silverblue made with BlueBuild. This means that my OS is basically a docker image - it gets automatically updated in GitHub CI every day and all of the system packages and configurations are a part of that image. That way I don't have anything unnecessary installed on my system.

    For user packages (eg. development stuff), I use homebrew. You might think that Homebrew is only for macOS, but it is available for Linux, and has multiple core benefits for my setup:

    1. It installs everything in a user-writable directory under /home, which means that it works on my system, where / is read-only
    2. It allows listing your packages declaratively in a Brewfile. This way, again, I know that I'm not creating a mess and I only have the packages that I want to have installed. I can also just install whatever I want using brew and all unnecessary packages will be deleted the next time I run brew bundle --cleanup (although my dotfile manager, chezmoi, handles this step for me).
    3. Since it's not tied to any specific distro, I can install my dotfile repo on any Linux machine (chezmoi makes this a one-command task) and I will have all of the same packages which I have on my main system, without adding any extra junk into the new system

    For all of the GUI stuff. I just use Flatpaks. They're the best way to install GUI applications, and almost everything is available as a Flatpak.

    1 vote

  17. Comment on Honest Question: Why did PHP remove dynamic properties in 8.x? in ~comp

    fxgn
    Link Parent
    JavaScript is executed by the client, while PHP is executed on the server. With JS, you can't control what environment your code will run in - if someone updates their browser, JS gets updated as...

    something more like strict mode in JavaScript to keep it from breaking existing code bases.

    JavaScript is executed by the client, while PHP is executed on the server. With JS, you can't control what environment your code will run in - if someone updates their browser, JS gets updated as well, so it needs to have full backwards compatibility, which leads to hacks like use strict and ===. With PHP though, if you don't want to upgrade, you can just not do that. There are still many websites running on PHP 5 or probably even older versions. So it's fine to make breaking changes, especially if they're announced one version prior by adding a deprecation warning.

    4 votes

  18. Comment on Honest Question: Why did PHP remove dynamic properties in 8.x? in ~comp

    fxgn
    Link Parent
    Alright, I stand corrected on that part. I guess I just assumed it doesn't let you do that because I always use mypy.

    Alright, I stand corrected on that part. I guess I just assumed it doesn't let you do that because I always use mypy.

    8 votes

  19. Comment on Honest Question: Why did PHP remove dynamic properties in 8.x? in ~comp

    fxgn
    (edited )
    Link
    I've never used PHP myself so I can't really comment on whether it's good or bad, however, I managed to find the original proposal which explains why dynamic properties should be removed:...
    • Exemplary

    I've never used PHP myself so I can't really comment on whether it's good or bad, however, I managed to find the original proposal which explains why dynamic properties should be removed:

    https://wiki.php.net/rfc/deprecate_dynamic_properties

    Basically, they're not trying to completely delete dynamic properties, they're just trying to make them opt-in:

    When writing to a property that has not been declared, PHP will silently create a dynamic property instead. In modern code, this is rarely done intentionally. This RFC proposes to deprecate and later remove the creation of dynamic properties, unless the class explicitly allows dynamic properties. stdClass and __get/__set are not affected by this change.

    class User {
    public $name;
}

$user = new User;

// Assigns declared property User::$name.
$user->name = "foo";

// Oops, a typo:
$user->nane = "foo";
// PHP <= 8.1: Silently creates dynamic $user->nane property.
// PHP    8.2: Raises deprecation warning, still creates dynamic property.
// PHP    9.0: Throws Error exception.

    The proposal also goes into more detail about what benefits this has, so you should still read it, it's pretty short

    As I said, I'm not a PHP user, but this makes total sense to me. I think accessing a non-existent property is an error most of the times, and it should be reported by your editor as an error. And if you need dynamic properties, you can still opt into using them for a specific class.

    I'm also not really sure where you got the idea that Python supports something like this? Maybe I misunderstood what you mean, but python absolutely does not let you access a non-existent class attribute and throws an error if you try to do so. Python is dynamic, yes, but it is a strongly-typed language, unlike something like JS, which does let you access non-existent variables and just returns undefined or creates a new field.

    17 votes

  20. Comment on Open-source self-hosted Google photos alternative in ~tech