Andrew_nenakhov (u/Andrew_nenakhov)

Andrew_nenakhov commented on The End of Handwriting wired.com/story/the-end-o... · Posted by u/beardyw

alexjplant · 6 days ago

> For years, smartphones and computers have threatened to erase writing by hand. Would that be so bad?

Yes, it would. This is the first time I've seen Betteridge's law of headlines [1] violated.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headline...

Andrew_nenakhov · 5 days ago

Betteridge's law still stands. That wouldn't be bad.

(If it would be bad, we wouldn't stop writing by hand)

Andrew_nenakhov commented on How to Firefox kau.sh/blog/how-to-firefo... · Posted by u/Vinnl

esskay · a month ago

I really struggled going back to Firefox after being a Chrome user for so long, it just feels so incredibly slow in comparison - I know it's probably just perception but I couldn't shake that feeling.

I ended up going with Brave. Once you turn off their crummy VPN and crypto advert it's effectively just google chrome with a built in ad blocker.

I know there were arguments/concerns about the crypto thing, but I did a bit of research before picking a new browser (as should you) and once I realised it was a simple thing to turn off and never see again I was fine with it, it's all opensource as well so you can see how things work.

Of course it's just a chrome fork, so is still somewhat influenced by Googles decisions but that really wasn't the issue here, I just wanted to keep ublock origin and that's been the outcome.

I still have syncing and such all running between my desktop and mobile, I still have all the same extensions I've used for over a decade, so it's been relatively pain free to switch.

Andrew_nenakhov · a month ago

I have used Firefox for many years now on all my devices, and I find it much better at almost anything: password management works better accross devices, history syncs better, etc. With chrome I could never really rely on saving a password on desktop, taking the phone and having a password just there.

Maybe it improved in the past few years, I didn't bother to check.

Also, Firefox is the last non-chrome-engined browser so it is worth using for that reason alone. Browser monopoly is bad and WILL be used against you, eventually.

Andrew_nenakhov commented on Valve confirms credit card companies pressured it to delist certain adult games pcgamer.com/software/plat... · Posted by u/freedomben

pipes · a month ago

Given the pc gamer article mentions "keep it in the family", I think they mean incest. Why on earth did valve have this on their platform on in the first place?

Andrew_nenakhov · a month ago

> I think they mean incest.

Oh god they delisted Crusader Kings???!

Andrew_nenakhov commented on YouTube No Translation addons.mozilla.org/en-US/... · Posted by u/thefox

dcow · a month ago

After 25 you can’t really learn new languages without considerable investment and effort. Translating is the only option for the vast majority of people.

Andrew_nenakhov · a month ago

Not true at all. I've learned one language after I hit 39 and started leaning another when I hit 45, 7 months in learning it ~15 min a day and I'm bordering B1 level.

Andrew_nenakhov commented on Gmail's backup codes are useless to access account · Posted by u/Andrew_nenakhov

modeless · a month ago

This is about proving to Google that you're secure. Google doesn't know if the password you entered came from a password manager or not. But if you're using a hardware key, they know it's secure.

If you lose your hardware keys, you still have your other 2 factor options, so you are no worse off than your current situation.

Andrew_nenakhov · a month ago

Thing is, history has shown that nothing is reliably enough for Google, once it flags you suspicious. You've entered password and totp code? Nah, you're still suspicious. Gave one time backup-code? Hah, still suspicious. Have a hardware key? Nice, but you know you are really suspicious. How else can you prove that it's you?!

Andrew_nenakhov commented on LibreOffice slams Microsoft for locking in Office users w/ complex file formats neowin.net/news/libreoffi... · Posted by u/bundie

wizzwizz4 · a month ago

LibreOffice has both of those, provided by Collabora (the main corporate developer of LibreOffice).

Andrew_nenakhov · a month ago

I tried really hard to use Collabora 'web' solution. It is unusable.

For those who don't know: it renders the whole LibreOffice interface on server and passes it to you. Lots of issues with hotkeys on non-standard layouts (I use Dvorak), with language switching, with mouse behavior, with clipboard, ugh. Of course it is hungry for resources. No. This isn't the way.

Andrew_nenakhov commented on LibreOffice slams Microsoft for locking in Office users w/ complex file formats neowin.net/news/libreoffi... · Posted by u/bundie

Andrew_nenakhov · a month ago

I loved OpenOffice.org back in the day, but in today's world with no modern web collaboration option it is dead. I'm aware of the attempts to make it run via browser, and no, they aren't really there, not even close.

What we need today is a web-first suite of apps that does everything Google Docs/Spreadsheets/Slides do, but uses OpenDocument family of standards as their native file format.

Andrew_nenakhov commented on Starbase injury rates outpace rivals as SpaceX chases its Mars moonshot techcrunch.com/2025/07/18... · Posted by u/rntn

ronsor · a month ago

It has housing and a school. It's a city.

Andrew_nenakhov · a month ago

It's a bit of an off-topic, but traditional settlement hierarchy was this:

The settlement only has houses - it's a hamlet.

The settlement has a church - it's a village.

The settlement has a market - it's a town.

The settlement has a cathedral - it's a city.

Andrew_nenakhov commented on Gmail's backup codes are useless to access account · Posted by u/Andrew_nenakhov

modeless · a month ago

How certain are you that none of your printers or visitors' laptops or whatever were ever compromised by a botnet? Or that your ISP isn't also serving customers who are compromised or malicious on IPs adjacent to yours?

A few hardware security keys will probably prevent this problem for you. I'm wondering why you didn't consider getting them after you had login problems before.

Andrew_nenakhov · a month ago

I don't really think hardware keys (which I have a few, btw) really improve security:

I use a seriously backed up password manager that I have means to access from anywhere, and the only thing I have to worry is that I'd forget my really complex password to access it, because it is unfeasible that I'll lose all my devices where it is backed up and also an off-site backup of it.

With hardware keys, however, I constantly have to worry to keep them with me or in a safe place and not to lose them.

(my position is partially rooted in the fact that I happen to live in a country where you can easily have all your material possessions forcibly taken from you)

Andrew_nenakhov commented on Gmail's backup codes are useless to access account · Posted by u/Andrew_nenakhov

modeless · a month ago

I would start looking at the networks you are using. You may be unknowingly sharing your public IP or IP block with compromised machines that are part of botnets, which makes Google (rightfully) very suspicious of logins coming from there. I would also definitely get several hardware FIDO2 security keys as Google will likely trust those more than other forms of authentication.

Andrew_nenakhov · a month ago

That was on my company office network that had a stable IP address for I think a decade. Thing is, Google is now known to randomly become very paranoid and protects you from yourself, and, coupled, with complete absence of any support, often results in full account loss: you have better chances of speaking with the Prime minister of Estonia by calling their office than reach someone from Google.