The technique is called steganography, and the product is called stegomalware. The payload is concealed as part of some legitimate file, like the pixel data of an image file. It requires the reader software on the targeted system to already be infected, or to have a vulnerability that the payload can exploit.

Low Level video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89ysXVYH2Sk (one more reason to hate Webp)

Quick example by John Hammond: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBIbL8zwZOs

Because someone in the 1970s-80s (who is smarter than we are) decided that single-user mode files should be located in the root and multi-user files should be located in /usr. Somebody else (who is also smarter than we are) decided that it was a stupid ass solution because most of those files are identical and it’s easier to just symlink them to the multi-user directories (because nobody runs single-user systems anymore) than making sure that every search path contains the correct versions of the files, while also preserving backwards compatibility with systems that expect to run in single-user mode. Some distros, like Debian, also have separate executables for unprivileged sessions (/bin and /usr/bin) and privileged sessions (i.e. root, /sbin and /usr/sbin). Other distros, like Arch, symlink all of those directories to /usr/bin to preserve compatibility with programs that refer to executables using full paths.

But for most of us young whippersnappers, the most important reason is that it’s always been done like this, and changing it now would make a lot of developers and admins very unhappy, and lots of software very broken.

The only thing better than perfect is standardized.

OMZ is overrated. It’s too much code for too little effect when most of the plugins boil down to aliases and prompt themes, and all you have to do is source them in your .zshrc anyway.

I am by no means saying that the plugins and themes are useless. I’m saying that OMZ is unnecessary.

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People with deep knowledge of string instruments and/or shell languages are rapidly approaching your location.

We, stupid primitive monkey people, can make drones that hover in place by counteracting extermal forces, and VR devices that can track their position in space using only visual and inertial references, but apparently the super advanced aliens with their gravity-defying technology can’t figure it out.

For fuck’s sake CA, please let me give you my money

This isn’t about some feature of the language being good or bad. It’s about Rust being ugly or not. The things I mentioned will always look ugly in the source code.

Enums and nested blocks. I understand the importance of Option and Result, but it’s fucking infuriating when I have to check and destructure the result of every function call and either bubble the result up the stack from six levels of nested if let blocks or risk Cloudflaring my program by using .unwrap(). And while I like being able to extract a return value from an if...else expression, the structure gets really convoluted when multiple if and match blocks are nested (of course each one returning a value), and it gets completely fucked once closures are introduced.

I like Rust, but calling it pretty is delusional.

Unauthorized port scanning. If your job involves networking or cybersecurity, you’re contracted to do pen-testing, or your activities are limited to a network you own, you’ll be fine.

Network Chuck’s earlier videos are pretty good, especially the You Suck At… series.

Unfortunately he’s been pushing AI shit lately.

15000 rows. 120 columns. One sheet. Creation date: 2011. A dedicated computer. Working at a multinational company is bad for mental health.

You know it doesn’t have to be all or nothing, right?

In the early design phase, for example, quick placeholder objects are invaluable for composing a scene. Say you want a dozen different effigies built from wood and straw – you let the clanker churn them out. If you like them, an environment artist can replace them with bespoke models, as detailed and as optimized as the scene needs it. If you don’t like them, you can just chuck them in the trash and you won’t have wasted the work of an artist, who can work on artwork that will actually appear in the released product.

Larian haven’t done anything to make me question their credibility in this matter.

Most of those games are no longer being sold outside secondary markets (used games, collectibles, that sort). Neither the publisher nor the developers will ever profit from a “legitimate” sale.

For other games that are still being sold on first-party marketplaces, which is more or less limited to Switch 1 games, you tell me why Nintendo deserves to be treated charitably.

Someone did.

This year I unsubscribed from FFXIV. Speaking only for myself, Dawntrail was a massive drop in nearly all aspects after Endwalker. The music and environment were great, I was positively giddy when I reached Solution Nine… but the characters are unlikable, the antagonist is boring and one-dimensional, there is hardly any payoff for setups, one of the most significant conflicts gets resolved with a fucking pep talk, most of the first half of the main story only exists to extol about how much of a chad the current monarch is. Somehow the second half gets even worse with multiple contrived plot points relying on characters being idiots and the player being a passive observer, including the reintroduction of a high profile issue that had been present for the entire DECADE of the game’s existence and resolved in a high profile way in Shadowbringers. Wuk Lamat was fine. Overused and dumb as a pair of boots, but fine.

I got to the final region, got the “I will now genocide the multiverse because my obviously unsustainable economy is running out of resources” monologue, and just stopped playing. Unless 8.0 sees some massive improvements, I have no plans to finish Dawntrail.

On the completely different end of the spectrum, Warframe is in the best place it’s ever been. The last four major updates (1999, Isleweaver, Vallis Undermind, and The Old Peace) have been fucking phenomenal, both in terms of story and gameplay. The Old Peace (released literally a few days ago) also contains the most valid crashout in history. Rap tap tap, little piggy. The new gamemodes are fun, fast-paced, and so far haven’t outstayed their welcome, although like always, I’m worried about their longevity since they’re essentially content islands.

Warframe’s music is exceptional. I’ll always appreciate the works of Keith Power (he gave us We All Lift Together and This Is What You Are), but the current composer Matt Chalmers has elevated the game’s music both in quality and variety. Starting with 1999, there are no songs that I ever want to skip, and that includes the virtual boy band. Even if you have no interest in the game, you shouldn’t skip the music: TennoConcert 2025 (Matt is the eternally chilled out dude who sings From The Stars), Tethra Jahrak, Lullaby of the Manifold, and (potential spoilers) Roses from the Abyss.

In terms of smaller games, I fell off the wagon and had several all-night benders in Factorio. If you’re anywhere near the spectrum, that game is like crack cocaine. I had a lot of fun in Project Wingman and the biggest furball in history, I replayed Star Wars: Republic Commando, and rediscovered my appreciation for games where the player is not the Chosen One. Against all wisdom, I finally played The Mystery Of The Droods. Even knowing what awaited me, I was unprepared for the absolute jank.

Drill holes in your CPU for better cooling!

That’s just Python’s generator syntax. Not all that difficult to parse once you get a feel for it. Plus syntax highlighting helps.

(OUTPUT_EXPRESSION for ITEM in INPUT_ITERABLE if CONDITION)

(I’m not a lawyer, this comment should not be viewed as a credible source)

They probably mean professionals that are hired by clients on a retainer agreement as opposed to working for an employer on a permanent or semi-permanent basis. Legal advice, legal representation, financial advice, personal assistants, individual contractors, and so on.

One could make the argument that since the retainer is not an employment contract, and the retained professional is not one of many employees (instead usually individuals or small teams), then collective bargaining doesn’t make sense. The difference is that the retainer agreement is much more specific and favors the person whose services are retained, compared to employment contracts and labour laws in the USA. It’s also a legally binding contract and the client can be taken to court if it is breached (e.g. by withholding payment).

On the other hand, if those people are also employed by a company (e.g. a non-partner associate in a law firm) or employ other people in turn, then those people can (and should) also benefit from collective bargaining.

[lady for lady in ladies if lady.is_single] just doesn’t have the same bop.