Absolutely - me,too.

But, to play the optimist for once - Canva could bring some good to Affinity/Serif. Canva is available as a native linux app and Serif in the past has stated multiple times it’s mainly the lack of Linux resources and experience that stops them from providing Linux support. So maybe that could be a good influence.

Canva also has a workflow that is based on a webapp that is more “beginner friendly” than Affinity and a good integration between these services could be a good thing as it may remove barriers.

And Canva for a long time had a desire to provide a full production workflow, so maybe affinity gets the long missing library features.

BUT: Now enough with that optimism, sadly I am rather sure enshitification is around the corner. Which will be a sad day for me.

Had a lengthy mail exchange on that topix with them - before them being bought, though.

While they don’t plan a native Linux version they absolutely were open to optimise towards better Wine usability - which I totally could live with for now.

But I have no idea how the buying by Canva influenced things - Canva does have a linux app so maybe there are more resources and a different focus now.

Blue-Ray Discs are basically the only viable WORM (Write-Once-Read-Many) that is available to normal and small scale professional users. The cheapest alternative, Tandberg RDX is a few hundred bucks per TB. And these are far inferior in terms of protection against outside influences compared to BD media.

And considering that a lot of professional data (e.g. tax reports) are legally required to be saved on WORM in a lot of countries it is indeed an issue, even more so in times of crypto/ransomviruses. None wants to loose their precious baby or wedding photos to a untimely virus. And no, normal Dropbox/OneDrive is no proper backup. And USB drives/external harddrives degrade over time, especially if not used.

No. TP-Link Omada is usually better and cheaper these days and offers nearly identical features.

And TP Link can be used standalone,the controller is just a gimmick.

For pure networking (not WiFi) Mikrotik is also a reasonable alternative,but requires more knowledge.

Of course it’s possible to be a part time CEO and there are more and more leadership positions that are job shared, etc.

Everything else is sexist and ableist bullshit, because it usually disadvantages women and disabled disproportionately.

Actually Swiss disability provisions are worse than US provisions (worse than most industrial nations, btw)

The system does exactly that - But that is done automatically without intervention.

The system recognises by checking on our devices and the presence detectors if we are at home. If we aren’t it reduces the temperature.* Then it looks into our calendars when we can be expected to be back and increases the temperature accordingly (additionally once we enter a certain Geofence).

*:The overall heating effort is also based on the current and expected weather and sun-influx,as I have some rooms that basically heat themselves when the sun is out. The system is using that effort to adjust shades (e.g. it would allow a lower living room temperature in the morning after we left when it knows that there will likely be a sunny afternoon heating the room without the need to add external heat)

This is what I mean with smart: A smart system is only smart if the user doesn’t have to fiddle around with it. Everything else is a remote.

(My next goal is to add personalised heating. I want the system to recognise who is/comes home and adjust the temperature accordingly as my wife wants other temperatures as I do. O can do it room based, e.g. the kid’s room is adjusted according to the kid being there, but overall I am not quite there yet)

The good thing is: You can easily replace OpenTherm with KNX. Afaik there are Gateways that mimic Opentherm towards the heater so you can use KNC for the actual control.

No,it isn’t. But no open and local solution will be - but you pay for that in terms of long term usability, resilience and data. It’s a choice a mature customer needs to make. Be cloud and manufacturer reliant,invest the time to do it properly or pay someone to do it.

And KNX.org works for me(even tried it with a VPN to be sure) - and do you really think that a standard that is supported by the largest companies in the field(Siemens, ABB, Bosch, Schneider, etc.) and has multi-billion of installations in professional buildings alone per year is not for the long term?

The thing is: The standard itself is rather well designed and didn’t need too much updates (they just extended the possible packet contents in terms of possible parameters - which technically isn’t that necessary as you can fall back to ASCI).

The last major updates were more towards extending functions (KNX over RF), connecting locations via IP tunnel, and securing the packets themselves (which is not really necessary for single household installations but VERY much for multi tennant installations).

The major strength of KNX is the bus packet system itself - as the packets are standardized there are only a few attack avenues. An attacker could flood the bus with packets, try to update with fraudulent code (if none did put a password on it) or try to put fraudulent content in a module that accepts ASCI packets. The problem is the access - the attacker would need physical access or the IP gateway (if existing)would need to be unsecured towards the internet… In the end it is a fairly resilient piece of software.

And to add another unpopular opinion:

A smart temperature control is the one I never ever need to use. Because then the room always has the temperature I want.

Neff has a (magnetic/removable*) knob as well. (* Which is a great idea in theory. Unless you have kids. First it’s great because they can’t start the cooktop on their own. But then you are constantly looking for the knob. A friend nearly got insane…His daughter “accidentally” took the whole fucking thing on a schooltrip to France…HOW? That’s why I have the Siemens one with touch… It’s okayish touchwise and it works…)

Haha, no. But I know someone who was part of the OpenTherm development.

To quote him:

OpenTherm exists because Plumbers don’t trust Sparkys and Sparkys don’t trust plumbers.

OpenTherm is easy to install but “stupid” as hell and not adaptable to modern needs mostly, especially if you consider modern heating concepts like passively heated houses, heat pumps,etc.

That’s different from KNX (or Modbus in that regard) - They are much broader in their appeal. Singule use/walled garden systems are always a bad idea,imho.

Get a few components (e.g. Actors, a sensor), a gateway (USB is enough for the start,they often go cheap if you buy used,got mine for 10 bucks) ,a power supply (Meanwell is a good idea) and the free version of the ETS programming tool. (The ETS is the only downside of the system - it’s expensive especially for larger installs)

So is windows and Linux if you just look at the year they were introduced.

Just because something is backwards compatible doesn’t mean it does not get updates/improved.

And tbh, a light switch does not need that much improvement technology wise.

That’s why one uses an industry standard that is brand-independent,operates offline by design and does not require a central component besides a power supply.

Sounds like utopia?

This standard has been available since 1990 in its archaic form, since 2002 in its current form. It is downwards compatible and over 400 companies worldwide are part of the standard. HomeAssistant, ioBroker, openHAB,etc. all support it directly and there are multiple crossover gateways with other standards like DMX, ModBus, Dali,etc. exist. And no, it’s components are not more expensive once you look at the TCO.

For fucks sake, people, use KNX.

(PS: There are even a few open-source/DIY components available)

Farm vehicles are far more automated than any cars these days.

It’s not about the sensors, it’s about the software. That’s the solution.

Nope, doesn’t work that way. The game dev is offering a networked service (community,support,etc.)in his name/trademark/brand and therefore is therefore liable for the data protection, it doesn’t matter at all if the dev is the data holder or not - that’s up to the dev to manage contractually with discord.

The concept of “not holding the data, not liable for the data” has been turned down by various high court rulings by now - Amazon and Microsoft amongst others have tried it and lost.

As Discord is still unable to provide a GDPR compliant process for the phone number thing (and let’s not even start about personal ID), if I were a small game dev I would rather not make myself liable the way one does when using this - it’s simply fucking expensive.