paavohtl (u/paavohtl)

paavohtl commented on Rust's Block Pattern notgull.net/block-pattern... · Posted by u/zdw

charleszw · 5 days ago

Yes, I constantly use this pattern in C++/JavaScript, although I haven't tested how performant it is in the former (what does the compiler even do with such an expression?)

paavohtl · 5 days ago

At least in simple cases the compiler will just inline the closure, as if it never existed. There shouldn't be any measurable overhead.

paavohtl commented on 'No One Lives Forever' turns 25 and you still can't buy it legitimately techdirt.com/2025/11/13/n... · Posted by u/speckx

skibz · a month ago

NOLF is actually source-available [0][1][2], and it has been since not that long after its original release.

There's also a community-driven project [3] keeping it playable on modern hardware - however, it hasn't seen any activity in several years.

If you haven't played or heard of NOLF before, I highly encourage checking it out. It's a fantastic title, even after all these years.

0: https://web.archive.org/web/20020217233624/http://pc.ign.com...

1: https://web.archive.org/web/20010720053220/http://noonelives...

2: https://github.com/osgcc/no-one-lives-forever

3: https://github.com/haekb/nolf1-modernizer

paavohtl · a month ago

The source is only partially available; they released the source code of the game logic, but the engine was not included in the source release. You'd need to reverse engineer & remake the engine to make any major improvements to the game, such as porting it to new platforms.

paavohtl commented on XSLT RIP xslt.rip/... · Posted by u/edent

lukan · a month ago

And also don't expect smooth sailing with WebGPU yet, unless all your users have modern mainstream browsers with up to date hardware.

paavohtl · a month ago

And even that isn't enough; no browser supports WebGPU on all platforms out of the box. https://caniuse.com/webgpu

Chrome supports it on Windows and macOS, Linux users need to explicitly enable it. Firefox has only released it for Windows users, support on other platforms is behind a feature flag. And you need iOS 26 / macOS Tahoe for support in Safari. On mobile the situation should be a bit better in theory, though in my experience mobile device GPU drivers are so terrible they can't even handle WebGL2 without huge problems.

paavohtl commented on XSLT RIP xslt.rip/... · Posted by u/edent

altfredd · a month ago

You can always render blink and marquee with Canvas.

Just kidding, Canvas is obsolete technology, this should obviously be done with WebGPU

paavohtl · a month ago

I know you're being sarcastic, but to be pedantic WebGPU (usually) uses canvas. Canvas is the element, WebGPU is one of the ways of rendering to a canvas, in addition to WebGL and CanvasRenderingContext2D.

paavohtl commented on Affinity Studio now free affinity.studio/get-affin... · Posted by u/dagmx

GuinansEyebrows · 2 months ago

I hate to say it but some of the newer PS features have become indispensable in my usage - mainly smart objects. nondestructive layer effects are a godsend when you want to tweak and retweak stuff that would otherwise require a ton of time and effort to undo/redo or duplicate layers/groups to A/B changes.

paavohtl · 2 months ago

Photoshop has had smart objects for quite literally 20 years - have they gained some important features recently? Smart filters have also been included since CS3 in 2007.

paavohtl commented on Microsoft is open sourcing Windows 11's UI framework neowin.net/news/microsoft... · Posted by u/bundie

arunc · 5 months ago

> Alignment with Microsoft Goals

> We are being thoughtful about resourcing. This effort is happening alongside other critical responsibilities like security, platform stability, and support for existing products. Our current focus is on foundational work that unlocks value for contributors and increase transparency. We are aligning this work with Microsoft’s broader business priorities to ensure long-term support and impact.

I don't sense any benevolence in their words. They are just pulling off their resources and dumping the framework on the public, hoping passionate losers will contribute.

paavohtl · 5 months ago

This is definitely corporate speak for "no guaranteed support, no planned further updates beyond critical security bugs, you are on your own".

paavohtl commented on Microsoft is open sourcing Windows 11's UI framework neowin.net/news/microsoft... · Posted by u/bundie

paavohtl · 5 months ago

I am worried about the future of native UI technologies on Windows. Traditionally at least the developers of operating systems have eaten their own dogfood and have at least tried to implement well-performing & visually consistent native applications to serve as an example to others. Windows 11 has largely done the opposite. Windows has had minimal but perfectly functional native email and calendar apps at least since Windows 10 (could have been in 8, never used that). Windows 11 originally shipped with those apps, but they were removed in a later update and replaced with laggy webview wrappers that take seconds to start.

paavohtl commented on Microsoft is open sourcing Windows 11's UI framework neowin.net/news/microsoft... · Posted by u/bundie

perching_aix · 5 months ago

The Start Menu is apparently a React Native app, so I'm going to hazard a guess and just assume WinUI is built on top of React, and that the Start Menu at least is thus indeed built with WinUI. But it's also clear that some other parts aren't, so who knows what's what. I'm sure there are folks who spent time reverse engineering it all though who do.

paavohtl · 5 months ago

The start menu is not a React Native app, but it's actually even worse. Only the recommended section (which is basically recently used files - plus probably advertisements in some scenarios) is. The rest of the start menu is WinUI, to my knowledge.

paavohtl commented on What was Radiant AI, anyway? blog.paavo.me/radiant-ai/... · Posted by u/paavohtl

kibwen · 7 months ago

Regarding debunking the skooma merchant murder anecdote:

> The addicts live in a locked cabin, so it’s unlikely for the player to enter it unless they are specifically looking for it.

This is overlooking a crucial, obscure, and unintentionally hilarious detail: not all the skooma addicts are in the cabin! Out in the world are two NPCs who make a monthly inter-city trip to the den to get their fix. However, due to a bug where these NPCs are assigned to the wrong faction, they can't actually get through the locked door of the den, so they'll stand outside the door drinking skooma forever, unable to progress to the step of the AI package that would eventually return them home to their usual schedules, unless the player unlocks the door for them. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Trenus_Duronius

paavohtl · 7 months ago

Interesting detail, thanks for letting me now. I had a look at the AI packages of all three visitors (Gelephor, Gellius Terentius, Trenus Duronius) and at least in the base game (without UOP) none of them carry skooma nor are scripted to find it. So even though the game implies they are skooma addicts via dialogue & environmental storytelling, from a purely technical POV they are not addicts. Getting stuck outside the shack checks out, though I don't think faction membership is the reason for that — they simply don't have the key to the door.