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Unattributed 𓂃✍︎

@ Unattributed @feddit.online

Posts
18
Comments
70
Joined
5 mo. ago

I'm a former IT Infrastructure Architect, now spending my time reading, writing and getting into too many hobbies.

If you wish to support my efforts, please send me a tip on Ko-fi

I am participating in FediWriMo this year. Click here for my BearTrack Profile / Stats.

  • Why are chinese pens always called clones?

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  • I do t really see a problem with what the Chinese brands are doing, except the ones that are trying to fool someone they’re the real deal.

    Yes, if they are using the logo or specific copyrighted / trademarked elements of a brand then they are committing a crime. And that's not just a problem in pens, it's a problem across all products.

    However, once there is no copyright, patent, trademark or service mark applying to a brand, a technology, etc. then there is nothing that is stopping anyone from using it. And that's not just China.

    We've seen this time and again. Just recently, a certain scammer started buying up brands that everyone used to know, like Radio Shack, Pier 1, and a bunch more. Once purchased, he started running a bunch of garbage under them. There was another company that bought up Victrola and started selling cheap Chinese record players. All of these were Americans, and all of it perfectly legit. (Where things weren't legit was when he scammed his investors.)

    Of course, there are some people that buy up old brands that no longer have copyrights / patents / etc. and try to do right with them. Like the guys that bought up the Commodore or Amiga (I forgot which one already...). Or in something a little more on target for this community: Conklin.

    I largely think that these are the categories that people should look at:

    • Companies that try to pass off their products as someone else's products. Especially when they are infringing on another companies existing copyrights, patents, trademarks, or service marks.
    • Companies that buy the rights to old / existing brands and produce garbage under those brands.
    • Companies that buy the rights to old brands, and try to bring them back to market in an honorable, or at least reasonable, manner.

  • Why are chinese pens always called clones?

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  • I'm of a split-mind on this one -- especially having been through a bunch of these debates in custom keyboards, and watches...

    Here's the thing: many of the design elements of these objects (pens, watches, etc.) have existed far longer than a copyright or patent was ever intended to provide protection for. So, claiming that things are a "knock off" or "clone" is somewhat disingenuous.

    However, there is a different side to this: there is a design language that these companies are putting into their products. They are making specific choices about dimensions, materials used, proportions, etc. that are explicitly part of their brand. So when another company makes a product that (nearly) completely replicates all of these design elements -- it's easy to see where they are copies, and not just an "inspired by" product.

  • Leavitt shares wild text exchange with reporter that ended in ‘your mom’ response

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  • What's insane about this is the reporter literally just asked reasonable questions given historical context. Leavitt is a fucking joke.

  • Linux Package Managers Compared: APT, DNF, Pacman and Zypper

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  • I think it's something that you have to get used to... While it's compiling stuff, you can actually be doing other things on your system. The trick was to make sure your configuration balanced your systems resources so you didn't get bottlenecks. (For example: putting your home drive on a separate physical drive to reduce issues with writes.)

  • Linux Package Managers Compared: APT, DNF, Pacman and Zypper

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  • Hmm - my Gentoo install was usable, but I did get tired of all the compiling for updates. Still kind of get annoyed with it now when I have to install source packages from the AUR.

    I read a lot of the LFS manual, that's what made me decide to give Gentoo a go. Seemed like an slightly easier route while still working through a lot of the build process.

  • Linux Package Managers Compared: APT, DNF, Pacman and Zypper

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  • Yeah - Slackware back in the late 90s early 2K's wasn't as niche... Remember the Infomagic CD sets?

    Gentoo got traction for a while when they made it easier to install, instead of having to go from Stage 0. Of course, I installed it from Stage 0 since I wanted to know more about the tool chain and how these systems were built -- but I wasn't masochistic enough to try to install LFS.

  • Linux Package Managers Compared: APT, DNF, Pacman and Zypper

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  • Even niche distros like Slackware, Gentoo,

    Ooof - I'm feeling old when these are considered "niche" distros....

  • Republican ousted by Democrat in shock election defeat

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  • Yeah, that will be a big one to watch in just a few weeks.

  • Pelosi challenger Saikat Chakrabarti launches upset bid at packed Mission event

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  • True. Definitely easier said than done, but I welcome anyone who is actually willing to get a metaphorical concussion from banging their head against those brick walls.

  • Republican ousted by Democrat in shock election defeat

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  • I won't say there isn't room for concern, especially as there are quite a few people that are starting to think that the issues between the parties are irreconcilable. And the problem is, one party seems more disingenuous than the other -- at least that's my perspective.

  • Republican ousted by Democrat in shock election defeat

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  • Oh! This is just the beginning... Just watch the first Tuesday in November, when a lot of special elections happen. ;)

    But, the real stuff won't happen until November, 2026 -- which will be the mid-terms where a bunch of our Senate and Congressional seats will be up for elections...

  • Pelosi challenger Saikat Chakrabarti launches upset bid at packed Mission event

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  • There's a lot in the list that @soupbrick@pawb.social posted that makes him an interesting competitor... ESPECIALLY the revolving lobbyist door, and the stock trading issue...that's the kind of stuff that really should be dealt with.

  • Removed Locked

    ‘Pete Hegseth Has United the Media!’ Only One Outlet Has Agreed to Pentagon’s New Press Rules as Fox News, CNN and More Refuse to Comply

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  • Well, I know which outlets I will at least read news from (even if the information contained in their reporting may be dubious -- like Faux News or NewsMarx).

  • Marjorie Taylor Greene Torches Trump Tariffs and Corruption: ‘It Shouldn’t Be About Helping Your Crypto Donors’

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  • What timeline are we living in where MTG is actually starting to talk sensibly about some of the bull-puckey that Trump is pulling?

    Don't get me wrong - she still is not a good person, in fact she is downright despicable on many levels. But crap, she's actually talking against Trump on two issues now.

    But, honestly, I doubt her sincerity on the tariffs issue. It's most likely that she's concerned that the businesses that have been stuffing her pockets for years won't stuff her pockets anymore.

  • Installing Linux on Hundreds of "Obsolete" Computers | Microsoft Windows 10 Support Ending

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  • FWIW - I'm not arguing about any of this... I'm just expounding on my thought process.

    There were a lot of business class systems in the mix they were working on... I saw a bunch of Dell Optiplex, and HP Workstations in there... I think that was from either (a) some businesses / schools donating them, or (b) after market recyclers donating the ones they couldn't get working and didn't want to spend time on.

    No matter what, however, the bottom line is that a high percentage of these systems will be given new life -- and that's what counts.

  • Installing Linux on Hundreds of "Obsolete" Computers | Microsoft Windows 10 Support Ending

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  • Moore's law was about the technology -- but I am talking about the application of the technology. It was unusual for most businesses to base their purchasing / refreshing decisions around the idea that the technology would be good for 2-3 Moore's law cycles. This was especially true back in the days of Mainframes and later "Mini" computers (shrunk down versions of Mainframes -- not Mini PC's) where companies like DEC and IBM went to great lengths to ensure that upgrading to a newer system didn't impact other operations in a business.

    Most of this carried on with Vax and Unix Systems (like Sun workstations, SGI, etc.) in the same lifecycle.

    When PC's started coming into the business world, the thought was that they would fit that same lifecycle -- and many of them did. This set the mark for early PC's when IBM brought them to the consumer market. The IBM PC was, after all, the consumer version of a business computer.

    Apple, Commodore, TI, Atari, et al. were a bit different -- coming at things more from the entertainment, education, and hobby side of things.

    I see what Steve is doing here is attempting to push things back towards the business lifecycle, and with good reason: it's better for the planet if fewer machines are abandoned due to the arbitrary whims of some marketer's concept of profitability.

  • Installing Linux on Hundreds of "Obsolete" Computers | Microsoft Windows 10 Support Ending

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  • Businesses tend to stick to a 3-5 year life-cycle. But I've gotten the feeling that even there they are cycling things through a bit more rapidly... It's just that they tend to do it in waves so it's not quite as noticable, or as big an impact to the budgets.

  • Installing Linux on Hundreds of "Obsolete" Computers | Microsoft Windows 10 Support Ending

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  • The rule that use to be the guide was that technology turned over 5-7 years (IIRC). These days, it seems that these companies are working hard to make it three years or less (look at Apple & Google releasing new phones every year or two).

    Great to see Steve and the rest of the Gamers Nexus crew supporting the reuse of computers that shouldn't be out of commission.

  • Would You Trust This?

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  • Meant to comment on this earlier... I'm implementing an LVM cache -- which is filesystem / device level caching. Having a failure with something at this level could mean corrupting a 42TB storage device. This would be a far cry from losing an application level set of cache files...

    That's why I am being a lot more cautious about this drive. A failure here could be non-recoverable.