KerrickStaley (u/KerrickStaley)

KerrickStaley commented on I bought a £16 smartwatch just because it used USB-C shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/08/... · Posted by u/blenderob

ackfoobar · 18 days ago

> The watch is simply missing the two 5.1k resistors connecting the CC1 and CC2 pins of the USB-C connector to ground that are required to indicate to whatever is plugged in that it wants 5v power.

This is so annoying. Back when USB-C was less prevalent, I bought a pair of wireless earbuds over another for the same reason as the title - because it used USB-C. But then I cannot charge it with my macbook, unless I add a USB-C to USB-A adapter.

KerrickStaley · 18 days ago

This problem seems prevalent on cheaper devices. When I buy a device and discover it has this problem I always return it. I've seen it on the Hypervolt Go 2 (which I returned and replaced with a Theragun Mini) and on the Hitachi Magic Wand Micro (which I replaced with a Dame Dip).

Like the post mentions, I think this happens because the devices are missing two resistors that are needed to indicate, when connected via a USB-C to USB-C cable to a charging brick, that the device wants 5V power. Resistors are cheap and I think the only reason they get dropped is carelessness.

The whole point of USB-C is that you can charge any device with any power supply.

KerrickStaley commented on Some terminal frustrations jvns.ca/blog/2025/02/05/s... · Posted by u/aragilar

KerrickStaley · 7 months ago

> Half of the comments on keyboard shortcuts were about how on Linux/Windows, the keyboard shortcut to copy/paste in the terminal is different from in the rest of the OS.

On Linux I rebind SIGINT to Ctrl+Shift+C and similarly Ctrl+V -> Ctrl+Shift+V. This has never caused problems, except when a friend/coworker is trying to use my machine.

GNOME Terminal makes this easy; if you map Ctrl+C to copy, it will automatically remap SIGINT to Ctrl+Shift+C.

KerrickStaley commented on Roll-Invert-Unroll: An easier way to replace a duvet cover danverbraganza.com/writin... · Posted by u/nvader

bhaney · a year ago

I wasn't even aware duvets were still used outside of hotels. You guys don't just have sheets and a regular blanket on your bed? Is it a cultural/regional thing? They seem very annoying to deal with and I've never found them to be particularly comfortable, so I'm surprised so many people here seem to use them.

KerrickStaley · a year ago

None of the apartments I've lived in for the past few years have had a washer large enough to wash a king-sized comforter, so I use a duvet instead.

KerrickStaley commented on A walk through Chicago Pedway (2017) chicago.curbed.com/2017/9... · Posted by u/wglb

KerrickStaley · 2 years ago

A few other cities I've been to also have extensive pedestrian subway systems / skyway systems:

Rochester MN: https://www.experiencerochestermn.com/planning-tools/getting...

Taipei Taiwan: https://pqvst.com/2023/05/28/taipei-underground/

New York NY near the World Trade Center: (can't find an up-to-date map or article)

Hong Kong near Central area: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design...

They are great as a way to avoid extreme weather on the surface (cold in Rochester's and New York's case, hot in Taipei's and Hong Kong's case) and car traffic.

Hong Kong takes things a step further in that it's actually hard to get around at ground level. Many streets don't have pedestrian crossings and there are barriers to prevent jaywalking. I'm not a fan honestly.

KerrickStaley commented on Apple announces changes to iOS, Safari, and the App Store in the European Union apple.com/newsroom/2024/0... · Posted by u/colinhb

mjburgess · 2 years ago

Well it's per install. And knowing apple, they might even count an update as an install.

I suspect there's a DMA v2 coming, and it's going to be much much harder on them with this behaviour.

EDIT: https://developer.apple.com/support/fee-calculator-for-apps-...

2,000,000 installs is a minimum of $45k in fees, even with $0 USD revenue

this seems obscene

KerrickStaley · 2 years ago

It says "each first annual install per year over a 1 million threshold" which I think means as long as you're updating your app at least once a year, you pay for each device your app is installed on (minus 1 million, which is a rounding error for the biggest apps).

KerrickStaley commented on Apple announces changes to iOS, Safari, and the App Store in the European Union apple.com/newsroom/2024/0... · Posted by u/colinhb

KerrickStaley · 2 years ago

A significant part of this announcement seems to be the €0.50 "Core Technology Fee" that Apple will now charge for "each first annual install per year over a 1 million threshold".

I think this essentially means that large developers pay €0.50 * (num apps they publish) * (num devices each app is installed on) per year. There are 2 billion active iOS devices [1], so I think that for the biggest apps like YouTube the fees could be in the hundreds of million USD per year.

4 of the top 5 most downloaded apps of all time [2] are published by Meta (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp), and I think they will pay this fee for each app?

[1] https://www.macrumors.com/2023/02/02/apple-two-billion-activ...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/App_Store_(Apple)#Of_all_time

KerrickStaley commented on Elizabeth line: Central stations now boasting 4G phone coverage ianvisits.co.uk/articles/... · Posted by u/edward

KerrickStaley · 2 years ago

A related effort is the NYC MTA's 10-year project to bring cell connectivity to subway tunnels (not just stations). You can already experience this if you take the L from Manhattan to Brooklyn: you will have continuous cell connectivity from the First Ave station to the Bedford Ave station. https://new.mta.info/press-release/mta-announces-universal-s...

It's not clear from the article whether the Underground is trying to add between-station cell coverage?