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Latest Comments by Nonjuffo
Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia is now officially available for Linux
8 Jun 2018 at 1:31 pm UTC

Quoting: Mountain ManIt's not Feral's fault. It's because the game on Windows uses proprietary math libraries that are not available for Linux, so it's literally impossible to create cross platform play between Windows and Linux, at least until developers stop using those proprietary libraries.
Then I wonder why CA keeps using those when they already had to use an alternative for Attila? It's not like they are extremely well optimized (or even if they are, have little impact) according to the benchmarks here. It just seems so pointless to me, but I hope they have some better reason than plain oversight.

The Humble Daedalic Bundle 2018 is a good deal for Linux gamers
6 Jun 2018 at 1:31 pm UTC

Quoting: Alm888
Quoting: morbiusAnd this bundle is also the best and the cheapest way to get Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun…
It is not always true (like, for me, it is cheaper on GOG and Steam due to regional pricing which "Humble IGN Inc." lacks for obvious reasons), but the real question is…
Does it have v2.2.2f on Humble account or the developers dropped support there as well as on GOG?
This is the version reported in the files: 2.2.10.F.Linux.2018_04_13_1755 r2753. Doesn't work for me though. It tries to search for different controllers and then aborts. The real culprit is probably some missing 32-bit library that isn't mentioned in the log and I don't want to examine the issue further at the moment. So be warned - some tinkering might be required.

BTW, it was uploaded June 4th so maybe they have recently updated the GOG version too?

The new GOG profile system is out, looks quite slick
24 Apr 2018 at 1:19 pm UTC

So they decided to implement a profile system to a store that never had one before and make everything public by default. No warning beforehand either apart from an obscure forum post a few days before. Is this some desperate attempt to build a "community" by getting the users' "consent" just before the GDPR prevents these kinds of dirty tricks? I'm very disappointed and rather pissed at them now. Not like this Gog. Not like this.

Steps we're taking as a site for GDPR compliance
22 Apr 2018 at 5:58 am UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: tuubi
Quoting: Hamish
Quoting: NonjuffoI don't think GDPR applies to services like Github. If it did, it would also apply to things like scientific journals, which operate on the same basic underlying principles (i.e. the content is deliberately publicized along with the (pseudo-)identity of the authors).
How about Wikis just to broaden the discussion a bit?
I guess GDPR applies to any personal information the wiki stores about users. Wiki page content itself is regulated by other laws I'd think, like any public content, articles and such.
From MayeulC's link (https://gdpr-info.eu/art-17-gdpr/ [External Link], paragraph (3):

[Right to erasure] shall not apply to the extent that processing is necessary:

a) for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information;

d) for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) in so far as the right referred to in paragraph 1 is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of the objectives of that processing;


To my interpretation those exemptions would cover Wikis.

Steps we're taking as a site for GDPR compliance
21 Apr 2018 at 7:08 am UTC

Quoting: EagleDeltaThat's not exactly accurate yet. The GDPR rules are so broad in their wording with too many questions on what it covers and doesn't could limit innovation. Distrubuted systems that store "personal data" like username/email/etc for history reasons (like Git) could be seen as required to be compliant. The problem is there is absolutely no way to enforce that.

In case readers don't know, Git is a source code control system that is designed to be largely de-centralized. Every user working on a git project keeps their own copy apart from the server. In the case of many FOSS projects, there are also many copies on a server(s). Github, Gitlab, Atlassian, etc could be forced to removed references to names/emails in the git history, but that would break every copy of that project everywhere else AND the forced change could simply be undone by a user with permissions force-pushing to an existing branch to an entirely new branch that still contains the user data (in this case a name/username and an email). Additionally, Github/Gitlab/etc could not force those changes downstream to a developer's Desktop/Laptop/Server without breaking the exact law they were trying to be compliant with.

So, how does GDPR apply to distributed data systems?
I don't think GDPR applies to services like Github. If it did, it would also apply to things like scientific journals, which operate on the same basic underlying principles (i.e. the content is deliberately publicized along with the (pseudo-)identity of the authors). Private repos might be another matter, but also not really a FOSS problem. I would be more concerned about the new copyright directive EU is preparing that would require online platforms to do "upload filtering" so none of that naughty piraty stuff could ever possibly get on the Internet.

Valve confirms their continued support for Linux gaming
4 Apr 2018 at 1:19 pm UTC Likes: 4

I have to admit that it took me a while to understand why being called a "fan site" was bad. After all this is a site mostly for fans(?) of Linux gaming. Then the connotation came to me via a flashback from 1998: Comic Sans, frames with scrollbars on all sides, animated "under construction" GIFs and borderline psychedelic color schemes. Ah Internet, you were so pure and full of promise once.

Intel announce a new CPU with AMD graphics and HBM2 memory
6 Nov 2017 at 5:25 pm UTC

Quoting: LinasSo AMD is going to compete with itself? Or drop APU's? I don't get it. :S:
Raven Ridge is a low power (cheap?) APU for generic use ultrabooks (15 to 25W) and this a higher end gaming APU with a TDP of probably around 45W. It is unlikely that AMD could come up with something based on current Zen and Global Foundries' process that would directly compete with this in the near future.

Observer is a fantastic brain-hacking horror adventure, my thoughts
3 Nov 2017 at 5:09 pm UTC

Quoting: ShmerlI find this arrangement to be rather silly, since customers buy all versions at once, so dividing profits per OS is bizarre. But if the likes of Feral and Aspyr want such arrangement, I don't think GOG would have a problem counting downloads per OS for them, or for example user agent OS during purchase as a fallback for cases when someone bought but never downloaded that title. Another fallback would be simply some default split. It wouldn't be any more crude than their arrangement with Steam.
Silly or not, that's how it's done on Steam according to what I read here. Maybe publishers don't want to pay for the ports upfront or the porters insist on having a share of the port's profits. I don't know. It is not difficult to track which version was downloaded first, but the legal side of things might be much harder to arrange. Again, I have no clue what kind of deals GOG offers to publishers, but they could be very inflexible with options. People at GOG and publishers might perceive that the legal/accounting/etc. costs are simply not worth it. We are after all talking about a very small potential customer base. I would myself rather buy these games from GOG, but I'm glad that they are at least available on Steam (and the worst DRMs don't work on Linux).

Observer is a fantastic brain-hacking horror adventure, my thoughts
3 Nov 2017 at 3:26 pm UTC

My take on why Linux versions don't show up on GOG while they do on Steam (e.g. Kotor 2) is that GOG doesn't support the kind of profit sharing based on the OS that Steam does. Steam reports Aspyr (and Feral) as the publisher for the MacOS and Linux versions of the games instead of the original publisher such as 2K or Sega. These "port-publishers" probably receive all the money left after Valve's cut and divide it according to their agreements with the devs/publishers.

Of course this doesn't apply in Observer's case since Aspyr is the publisher for all versions. Therefore I wouldn't be surprised if we'll see a Linux version on GOG soon.

According to netmarketshare Linux hit 6.91% market share last month, higher than Mac
1 Oct 2017 at 6:01 pm UTC

Quoting: GrazenHere's a worthwhile mental check (though admittedly anecdotal). Go to a local coffee shop. Look around. How many people are on Windows? How many on OSX or iOS? How many on Linux? Now, ChromeOS might bump it up a bit if it's counted as a Linux distro, but if Linux has surpassed OSX, the evidence would be all around us.
I would think that most of the laptops seen in coffee shops are company issued (=Mac/Windows). I find it hard to imagine that someone would lug around home laptops in public places when more portable options for casual use exist. Then again my imagination can be very limited.