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Joined 8 months ago
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Cake day: March 28th, 2024

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  • Every time there is a new version available for the most part.

    I go to the changelog of the app or software to see what has changed, since I only use FOSS I also have a broad glance at the code. If I know that what I am updating won’t cause trouble for what I am currently doing (ie. A depency update that is used during a time I need to compile a big project), I go ahead and update.

    In the case of new features I am not keen on, I usually keep the current version I have (and make any self-update impossible for said app/software), see if there is any reputable forks or fork it myself to remove said features.

    I have a minimal amount of apps and software and I handpicked all of them specifically so that they follow what I want them to do. If for whatever reason they stray and become something I’d rather not use at all, I remove/purge them.

    Security is also very important (to me at least). Not updating because a feature is unpleasant is fine as long as the app is fairly recent and has no way of communicating to any other apps or have any internet access.









  • The quality of the tool. Newpipe is mainly here to watch content. Sure, it has the ability to download said content but not in a granular manner.

    Its like climbing mountains in cheap sandals or doing digital paintings in paint. Yt-dlp has a lot of options to get exactly what you want. Seal gives a simple interface which in itself has a bit more than what Newpipe has. The real power of Seal comes from the custom commands. Said commands being the ones you would use in your terminal or scripts using yt-dlp directly without a frontend.

    To top it off, Seal can download everything yt-dlp allows you to download. It is not limited to the few sites that Newpipe support.



  • I have gotten the “there doesn’t seem to be anything here” error message a couple of times. Might be due to blocked or removed instances or posts (in my case at least).

    Some lemmy apps (on Android) have different ways to handle things. I have been using Eterniry on and off after the recent update it got and I can tell it’s much faster than Jerboa for loading images and posts but the overall UI seems slower. I tried mulitple apps as well in the past and they all have their own sets of issues which is to be expected.

    The rate limiting error may also be due to you logging onto multiple devices/apps at once. A few days ago I had the same issue when I logged off and logged back in with Jerboa and Eternity within a small interval of time.

    If you suspect your ISP, test with proxies and wireguard obfuscation within the mullvad app on your phone (and desktop as well if you want more accurate results, like that you can have more than just one result from one device). Try also to change your country to one that is closer to you to see if you might see some difference. It could be that you get timed out by the servers you’re trying to reach with the VPN tunnel that you’re using.




  • If the pdf files are properly formatted (no compression/all text selectable), you should be able to open a terminal and do (I know it works the other way around, not sure if libreoffice can actually do the reverse but it doesn’t hurt to try)

    libreoffice --headless --convert-to docx *.pdf
    

    Just know that since docx is a proprietary format by microsoft, the results may be flawed. As a last resort I guess you could run a windows VM and try to convert your files with any big software known to be able to handle such files.


  • I haven’t tested many microphones since I quickly settled on the current one I have, the Blue Snowball. Like I saod previously, it’s cheap and does well for everything I need. It comes with a small stand making it easy to transport and quickly set up. Only downside for what it is would be the shape. A round ball isn’t very practical while packing up.

    I cannot help further on the model of the microphone. If you go to a shop on-site they may let you test some of them. If they do, chances are you can also see how much noise around you gets picked up. You could also look at some reviews and buy online by some big marketplace like Amazon where you’re sure to be able to return the product if you’re unhappy, without having to spend extra for returning it. By experience, you won’t get in any trouble if you buy and return a few of them right after.


  • In the case of your laptop and microphone together while being on the go, a “small” microphone and somewhat cheap would indeed be best like I said previously. If you’re outside, I wouldn’t bring some equipment that attracks too much attention to you for sure.

    As for in-ear earbuds, the only good options I’m aware of do not offer any microphones. The cheapest and only ones that I can think of are the old (now retired) apple standard earbuds. However the mic isn’t that “good” per say and I doubt many places still have a stock of them.


  • It is a solution. I prefer to know exactly how my software is doing things and prefer to set every settings myself. While that isn’t something I recommend most do due to time constraint, I also forgot that those tools are implemented in a lot of big applications making use of video/audio calls. If it suits your needs and find no issue using them, go for it. It will indeed help tremendously. The tips to dampen the noise in the room you are in still applies. Noise cancelling tools like so need to distort the audio the more ambiant sounds there are and the volume they’re at. The louder an environment is, the more your audio will be distorted and the worst the quality will get. Nowadays, we are at a point where it shouldn’t matter too much because of how well those tools processes the audio so it should be fine. Just keep it in mind.

    In the end that wasn’t all that useful but I hope you’ll manage to have good calls with an audio that fits your needs and liking.


  • While browsing a few years back, I found myself buying the Blue Snowball. While many headsets now include good microphones, I chose this one because it was (and still is) cheap and of good enough quality for regular use.

    As for the input settings, that might be tough if you have no experience with it. Depending on your laptop’s OS and the wide range of software it might be tough.

    Before any audio settings in place, test out your audio with:

    • a microphone,
    • a physical filter (some uses socks, its not recommended but it’s just to give you an idea of what it is),
    • a room with as much noise reduction as possible (thick curtains/room with a good amount of furniture/sound absorbant panels, all of those can help).

    Chances are, the noise will still be too much and you will want some artificial changes from softwares afterwards, but the more you dampen the noise, the less tweaks you will have to do in the software making it easier while also not ruining the audio too much with software filters.

    If you’re willing to tell me what OS you will use with that laptop I can try and see what could potentially work on there without just telling you xyz software and giving you random values you have no informations on. Sometimes, simple OS audio configurations can do as much as some advertised software.