viking

joined 2 years ago
MODERATOR OF
[–] viking 27 points 2 years ago

"Toxic - Don't touch, keep under lock and away from children."

[–] viking 3 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I wouldn't really compare the pro version, when the regular one works better and has extendable storage via SD card and comes at $149 retail, with offers as low as $129 around.

Annual hardware revisions are nice and all, but in my understanding they don't actually improve what the end user get to experience.

The main advantage I see in the shield is the ability to sideload apps, such as SmartTube for adfree youtube with integrated sponsorblock, ftp server, torrent client etc., and not least use VLC as a media player. Plus you can customize the launcher or replace it as a whole to tailor the UI to your exact needs.

[–] viking -4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (4 children)

Agree, of all the companies out there, Apple isn't the one I entrust with my data. Pretty happy with my Nvidia Shield instead, the OS is open enough to allow monitoring all telemetry, and I'm happy to say that after switching everything off that Android enabled by default, nothing really gets out there. I've sniffed connections on my router as well, and it only really connects to where it should.

Edit: Aww look, I've triggered the fanboys ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[–] viking 2 points 2 years ago

Some local market, they are quite large. Think they are from Malaysia.

[–] viking 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

If you meal prep and know what you're doing, 5 days is not outrageous.

[–] viking 2 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Sounds more like you never dealt with them. I'm German, we still got plenty of ideologically challenged individuals in country, and they are not stupid.

No idea what a glowie is, but those trump worshiping clowns you got in the US aren't the people I'm worried about. Over here there is no discernible education gap between left and right wing.

[–] viking 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

There's an app called Cheq, which is a means for foreigners to buy stuff in India using their QR payment system, that's normally restricted for citizens only.

Follow the link on https://cheq.money to the correct version for your phone, there are a bunch of other apps and service providers piggybacking off of the name.

They'll charge you a sign-on fee of 999 Rupees (about 10 bucks), I'd suggest you use a virtual credit card from wise.com or something for that. I inherently distrust random online shops in third world countries. Once you've done that, they ask for your location to perform an in-person ID verification to make sure you actually live in India.

That's the point where you choose a random location out in the sticks. Say Lemru town in Chhattisgarh State or something - you might try a few until you find something where they show you a local account manager but no physical shop to perform the activation. That part is key.

Contact the account manager via whatsapp (can be registered with your regular phone number, the service is aimed at tourists and foreign residents alike). Normally they are supposed to come visit you, but they can't be bothered to drive 3h to see you, especially if you press it a bit and call it urgent. Eventually they'll just ask to send a passport copy directly to them, and they'll activate it remotely.

You can then use a VPN to set your play store (should work for Apple store as well) country to India, enter a random address there, select "UPI" as payment method, and open the Cheq app when prompted. After a couple hours you'll get an email that your play store country has been changed, and from then on you can use Cheq to buy stuff for cheap. Top up the balance with virtual cards whenever needed, you can't use non-indian credit cards directly in google play. You can however buy gift cards on amazon.in with them, have the code send to yourself and redeem it, that works without problems.

[–] viking 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yeah but that doesn't mean they need to enforce US laws in other jurisdictions where it means fuck all.

[–] viking 3 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Prices are less than 10% of what they are in the US.

[–] viking 4 points 2 years ago

Enjoy! It's really good stuff, hope you like it!

[–] viking 16 points 2 years ago (8 children)

I doubt that's the real reason. There are enough smart people on top who could set up and run a self-hosted solution.

It's easy to attribute nazis with a lack of intelligence due to their stupid and narrow minded beliefs, but we should never underestimate them.

I'd wager that the average fascist is just as much a "follower" as the average antifa sympathizer.

On top of that: Setting up and hosting a platform exposes the system to a single point of failure, whereas using existing third party infrastructure means that they have a "legit" operation as well, so the risk of a total shutdown is probably lower. Plus, there is a higher chance external security researchers/auditors will investigate the platform and point out vulnerabilities.

[–] viking 14 points 2 years ago (9 children)

Google has removed it across all regions. My play store is set to India, and they pulled it here as well. That's something of a global coup.

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