Root Access

qasdfdsaq

3:00 PM

They've partnered with Razer to build high-end gaming laptops

The current Razer has a 970M in a 14" chassis

Bob

The intracity services are all electric.

allquixotic

being on a subway train is somewhat scary in the two cities I frequent most, because the systems are not well-maintained, were built in the 70s, have fairly frequent minor accidents, and had a very major accident within the past few years

the other train services are pretty good overall -- the equipment may not be super new, but maintenance standards are much, much higher there than with the subway

Bob

@allquixotic Subway... accident? Were they taking the curves too fast?

allquixotic

@Bob overspeed is, surprisingly, a very common cause of train accidents worldwide, and very much so in the US too (that high profile French train crash right after the Paris shootings was overspeed, too)

but no, some of the problems are related to maintenance, like losing power, derailing, etc

Bob

@allquixotic Now if only we could have automated trains.

qasdfdsaq

3:02 PM

@allquixotic Ermm, that was a test train though. The standard safety features and overspeed protections were not active

In fact pretty much all recent overspeed accidents in Europe have been a result of overspeed protections not being active.

Once ETCS 2 finishes rollout that should no longer be possible.

DavidPostill

@Bob We do in the UK. For the last 28 years.

Docklands Light Railway

The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system opened in 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London. It reaches north to Stratford, south to Lewisham, west to Tower Gateway and Bank in the City of London financial district, and east to Beckton, London City Airport and Woolwich Arsenal. The system uses minimal staffing on trains and at major interchange stations; the four below-ground stations are staffed to comply with underground station fire and safety requirements. Similar proposals have been made for the Tube. The DLR is operated under a franchise awarded by...

qasdfdsaq

We've had automated trains since the 50's

Bob

@DavidPostill Oh, I know some countries do it (didn't know about the UK), but I was more saying we as in Aus (and maybe US).

allquixotic

there's an overspeed warning on the commuter rail system I used to ride to university on, and every 20 seconds the guy operating the train would press a button to shut it up

qasdfdsaq

The Chinese have automated trains running at 311MPH

allquixotic

3:05 PM

I know because I'd sit near the operator end of the leading coach when the locomotive was "pushing" the train from the rear

qasdfdsaq

@allquixotic That sounds more like the dead-man stick

DavidPostill

@qasdfdsaq Even longer. Since 1927.

allquixotic

I'm surprised he didn't just cut a wire or something and permanently shut it up, but yeah, he always used to speed

DavidPostill

London Post Office Railway

The Post Office Railway, also known as Mail Rail, is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge, driverless underground railway in London that was built by the Post Office with assistance from the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, to move mail between sorting offices. Inspired by the Chicago Tunnel Company, it operated from 1927 until 2003. == Geography == The line ran from Paddington Head District Sorting Office in the west to the Eastern Head District Sorting Office at Whitechapel in the east, a distance of 6.5 miles (10.5 km). It had eight stations, the largest of which was underneath Mount...

qasdfdsaq

@DavidPostill Wow, didn't know about that one. Arguably, that's not a passenger railway though

Bob

3:06 PM

@DavidPostill Well now, that's not passenger-carrying. Slightly different :P

qasdfdsaq

I'm pretty sure the Heathrow shuttle trains are automated

Since, well, there's no driver cabin. New York JFK airport has the same

allquixotic

@Bob the US is trying to do one even better (or worse, depending on your perspective): Positive Train Control, where there's a human being technically in control of the train, but if certain conditions are met, a system steps in, overrides the control inputs, and restores the train to what it deems to be a safe set of parameters

qasdfdsaq

@allquixotic Pretty much the whole of Europe already has that

Like I said, ETCS 2.

Bob

@allquixotic Hm. I would've thought doing it the other way around would be better.

And more akin to aircraft autopilot.

Though if they set it up properly then it should be fine, you never really know (see: car control failures)

allquixotic

it might be that eventually, but my understanding of PTC "1.0", at least, was that it would simply passively monitor the conditions (like "are you heading straight for another train and about to collide with them?") and interfere if things get dangerous

or "are you speeding? we'll just nope you back to a safe speed then!"

qasdfdsaq

3:09 PM

@allquixotic And ETCS 2 does both

Actually ETCS 3 might be required for fully automated operation

Though they don't use it just yet

> Some form of Automatic Train Protection (ATP) has been operational in Europe for over one hundred years like the Automatic Train Control (ATC) system

allquixotic

the speed thing might be a governor that simply prevents the drive-by-wire controls from entering in a target speed exceeding the rated speed for the track area the train is currently within -- easier than reacting to overspeed, because then you might get thrashing

Bob

@allquixotic I suppose ground-bound vehicles have a better defined 'always safe' state (i.e. stop)

qasdfdsaq

lol o_0

Bob

can't really do that with aircraft :P

allquixotic

@Bob true - an aircraft has to actively do a lot of things correctly to prevent all aboard from dying

like, having wings that work and being oriented properly

Bob

3:11 PM

"having wings that work" => ok, that's not the job of the autopilot! :P

qasdfdsaq

@Bob Well, pilots have a close equivalent, straight and steady.

allquixotic

the worst that can happen to a train is that the track or ground underneath it fails, or its wheels somehow jump the track - but as long as wheels are on the track, even the most catastrophic mechanical failure leads to loss of power, and loss of power leads to automatic braking, by design

Bob

I like the HK rail system. Double doors and all. And the Octopus card system is pretty nice.

They tried to do something similar with Opal here. It's... not going too well.

allquixotic

automatic braking then raises a flag in the system that tells other trains to stop

ChatBot John Cavil

HAMMERTIME!

qasdfdsaq

3:13 PM

stop

ChatBot John Cavil

HAMMERTIME!

qasdfdsaq

Err...

Bob

@DavidPostill How's Oyster, if you've had any experience with that?

qasdfdsaq

Oyster's fucking awesome

But it also accepts NFC credit cards now

So you don't even need Oyster anymore, unless you're buying a season ticket

Bob

Opal is still very much in its infancy. Though they did some out with an NFC card reader for phones. Still can't tap with the phone though.

Perhaps that's a good thing, knowing how slow some phones are.

Waiting behind those in line... shudder

qasdfdsaq

3:15 PM

@Bob That's easily solved with an NFC SIM card

allquixotic

guy in front of you has a Fire HD 10" :D (j/k, it doesn't do NFC, but it's the slowest Android device I could think of right now)

qasdfdsaq

Though those are both rare and annoying, the SIM card handles NFC functionality even if the phone is off.

allquixotic

that MediaTek is horrid

qasdfdsaq

Course that's up to the transport operators co-operating with the mobile operators.

But it's an already-solved problem.

allquixotic

it's such a low-power chip that it did allow them to make the tablet very impressively light, but it's so cheaply made that it's not especially thin (not that I care) - only positive thing I can say about it. it's lightweight.

Bob

3:17 PM

@allquixotic So the brakes are... spring loaded?

As in, power failure => brakes activate?

That would make sense.

DavidPostill

@Bob Never used it. I left London 25 years ago ;)

Bob

If loss of power prevented brakes from activating, that would be dangerous.

allquixotic

@Bob Train brakes are hydraulic, designed in such a way that power is required to keep the hydraulic fluid in a state where the train brakes are open. Loss of power => hydraulic fluid moves => brakes applied.

Bob

You'd slow down, but not nearly quickly enough.

qasdfdsaq

@Bob Air brakes. Fail-safe by design.

It's called the Westinghouse brake

Railway air brake

A railway air brake is a railway brake power braking system with compressed air as the operating medium. Modern trains rely upon a fail-safe air brake system that is based upon a design patented by George Westinghouse on March 5, 1868. The Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO) was subsequently organized to manufacture and sell Westinghouse's invention. In various forms, it has been nearly universally adopted. The Westinghouse system uses air pressure to charge air reservoirs (tanks) on each car. Full air pressure signals each car to release the brakes. A reduction or loss of air pressure signals...

Bob

3:18 PM

@allquixotic Ah.

Hm... I probably looked this up at some point ... and forgot about it.

@allquixotic What are the actual cores?

allquixotic

I'm actually a little puzzled why cars don't have a similar system, unless cost or weight is a factor.

DavidPostill

There is a similar system in NL. OV Chip card. Used everywhere, trams, buses and trains. You can't pay cash anymore for public transport (I think tourists can still buy a paper ticket, but I'm not sure).

qasdfdsaq

@allquixotic Because cars use hydraulic brakes, not air brakes.

allquixotic

@Bob A15s, if I recall correctly (I admit to not looking this up and just pulling a number out of my head that I vaguely recall) - and clocked fairly low, too

Bob

@allquixotic You mean loss of pressure => brakes activate?

qasdfdsaq

3:19 PM

@DavidPostill Luxembourg has something like that too IIRC.

TBH London's system has been mostly cashless for 15 years

There's such an absurd markup on cash tickets that even tourists get an Oyster card

Bob

Might be safer than no brakes in most city situations, but stopping in the middle of a freeway wouldn't exactly be good either.

allquixotic

@Bob Right, whereas today if you lose pressure (or the power braking system), it's extremely hard to slow down your vehicle.

qasdfdsaq

(Like, £3 for a single bus fare on a paper ticket, £0.80 on an oyster card)

Bob

Coasting on a freeway is probably safer than stopping.

qasdfdsaq

But as I say, since it applies Oyster price-capping math to NFC credit cards now, you don't need a card anymore

DavidPostill

3:20 PM

Correction. I lived in London for 25 years. I left 13 years ago.

allquixotic

I guess...

It depends on whether traffic is slowing ahead of you or not.

Bob

@DavidPostill Yea, that's what we're moving towards now.

allquixotic

You might end up rear-ending someone if you can't slow down.

qasdfdsaq

@DavidPostill Must have been just before oyster then. I recall that being around sometime between 2003 and 2006

Bob

Most of the remaining paper tickets (for pensioners, IIRC) will be phased out Jan 2016.

allquixotic

3:21 PM

Get going -> brakes fail -> slowing / stopping traffic up ahead -> you go to apply brakes, nothing or very little effect

Bob

They've already discontinued concession and the longer-term adult tickets.

qasdfdsaq

@allquixotic That's why they teach you engine braking

Also, handbrake, separate hydraulic system, no?

allquixotic

'course, someone behind you could rear-end you if your brakes suddenly lock into being fully applied

DavidPostill

@qasdfdsaq That's about right. I stopped commuting in 2003 (got a job where I could walk to work).

allquixotic

I dunno, both sound bad in the failure mode

Bob

3:23 PM

@allquixotic Slow rear-end (unless car in front suddenly stops)? Hard braking in fast-moving traffic? I think I'd prefer the former.

DavidPostill

Before that I just bought an annual tube ticket for zones 123 iirc

Bob

If you keep reasonable distance/speed, you'll slow down a bit even without brakes.

Though if the person behind you keeps reasonable distance/speed, they should be able to react to your sudden braking too.

allquixotic

I know approximately 3 drivers in my state who keep a reasonable following distance on the highways/interstates

Bob

There's no one true answer to this. Apart from adding a backup brake.

allquixotic

the rest of the millions who live here will ride your bumper

Bob

3:24 PM

There is the cable-controlled emergency/parking brake, but that's very weak.

Almost useless for actually stopping a moving vehicle.

qasdfdsaq

@DavidPostill How did you even survive in London for so long

A week there and I was like "I can't stand living here"

allquixotic

@Bob had a rental car with a coworker on a business trip, and they were driving, and having great difficulty getting the vehicle to move when backing out of a parking space... they left the parking brake on :S

hope they didn't damage the rental car

Bob

lol?

allquixotic

IKR

I told them as soon as I saw it

Bob

Maybe they're too used to autos? And don't bother applying the brake?

IIRC autos are fine in park mode. At least, they won't roll down a hill like a manual will.

I do drive an auto, but I still use the parking brake every time.

allquixotic

3:26 PM

automatic transmission cars still have parking brakes in the US, and the manufacturer always tells you that you're supposed to use it, because the parking prawl in the auto transmission is very weak and you're liable to roll down a hill if you don't engage the parking brake

Bob

@allquixotic Hm. I've heard some people are in the habit of foregoing the brake.

allquixotic

I always use the parking brake, religiously, on every car I've ever driven... I remember forgetting it occasionally when I was in my teens and learning to drive, but it's been a habit for, oh, 10 years now

Bob

I don't see the point (of leaving it off), myself. It's easy to pull it, and doesn't hurt anything.

allquixotic

@Bob like my mom! it drives me insane that she's potentially tearing up the transmission in her car... especially when parking on a hill... and risking a roll-away accident, too

Bob

@allquixotic It's proooobably fine while static, but god forbid someone leans against the car.

allquixotic

3:27 PM

whenever she's driving and I'm the passenger, I insist that she use it, and I have to remind her when she's pulling away to release it

funny thing is, Coworker applied parking brake of their own volition

and then forgot to release it next time they drove the same car

Bob

o.o

Well... I'm not completely innocent of that myself.

Never actually accelerated with the brake on, though.

Just eased off the main brake and wondered why I wasn't moving :P

allquixotic

I'm one of those silly "by the book" drivers that will regularly take plenty of time to do the car equivalent of a pre-flight check before pulling away. Not as laborious or time-intensive as for an aircraft, but much longer than most people who throw the keys in the ignition, possibly strap in with the seatbelt, and speed away

Bob

Hm. I should probably do that better.

allquixotic

always adjust my mirrors, look at the TPMS readout, let it crank at least 500 revs before putting it in gear...

and on a cold day I let my Prius C warm up beyond S1

about weekly I'll connect my OBD-II reader (Bluetooth) and check the metrics on my phone

Bob

How cold is a cold day?

allquixotic

3:34 PM

@Bob near or below freezing, basically... if it's really cold, the Prius C's engine will run with significantly slowed timings, which results in horrible emissions, extremely poor power, and poor fuel efficiency if you demand power from the engine.

Bob

Ah. We only really go below freezing maybe once every two years here.

allquixotic

the ECU switches over to normal timings when some thermometers within the emissions system read at least a certain minimum temperature, and once you're there, you get much better power and MPG

Bob

Coldest morning I remember checking was... 3? 4? deg C

allquixotic

heh, in the deepest part of winter here we see 0 Fahrenheit

DavidPostill

@qasdfdsaq I was living in a very nice house in Richmond, 5 minutes by bike from the park ;) The inflated salarys also help.

allquixotic

3:36 PM

it's been negative Fahrenheit a few times in my lifetime, but usually the coldest we see is low single digits F

Dave

And depending whether or not your balls are sweating, it may appear colder

Bob

Hm. @allquixotic I'm wondering if it'd be worth getting one of the cheapo $20 aptX-supporting headsets just to test.

allquixotic

which is quite a bit in the negative Celsius

Bob

But the results would be fairly meaningless unless someone can confirm those do have the problem :\

Someone did report an issue with the LG G4 in the issue thread, but they didn't provide the actual model

allquixotic

yeahhhh

qasdfdsaq

3:36 PM

@DavidPostill And you moved away and gave up the inflated salaries?! o_0

Bob

There's a few variants :\

Hm. Now that I'm making another Amazon purchase I need to figure out everything else I was putting off :P

Don't want to get dinged for shipping a third time.

allquixotic

*reaches out his window and pulls Australia about 1500 miles closer to the rest of civilization*

there, shipping costs halved

qasdfdsaq

Does the bot say hammertime anytime anyone ends a sentence with stop

ChatBot John Cavil

HAMMERTIME!

qasdfdsaq

lol

Bob

3:39 PM

@allquixotic ...that's about 15%, if you're talking distance to the US

yea, we're in the middle of nowhere

allquixotic

eh. Scorpion from Mortal Kombat could solve the problem if he wanted to. "COME 'EEEEERE!!!!!"

Bob

Hm. Maybe 20% if we talk Sydney to California.

(15% was whatever Google considered the centre of the countries)

qasdfdsaq

The real problem is Australia doesn't have any railway lines to major industrial countries

DavidPostill

@qasdfdsaq Yep. Decided to take some time out (redundancy and divorce were motivators, along with the ever increasing polution - both exhaust fumes and noise at 3am from heathrow takeoffs/landings). So I went to Glastonbury for a year to chill out. Spent a whole summer on Crete. Then moved to Holland for a few years ;) Now redundant and seperated (again!) so back in the UK.

allquixotic

ahh ;p

Austramerica would certainly make it easier for us to trade tech, though :D

qasdfdsaq

3:41 PM

@DavidPostill Wow, quite a journey there.

Bob

@allquixotic Ameristralia :P

That image O_O

qasdfdsaq

Should have gone to Crete instead of spending a summer in a homeless shelter when I was unemployed, but oh well. Bit late now

Bob

allquixotic

How's that song "Fifty Nifty" go? "... Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska... Nevada! New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, New South Wales, North Carolina, North Dakota, O-hi-o!" :D

qasdfdsaq

hexus.net/mobile/news/general/…

Rollable smartphone

allquixotic

3:44 PM

Fifty Nifty United States

►

>_> realized after the fact you've likely never heard it

Bob

lol

allquixotic

that song was mandatory in chorus in primary school

Bob

At some point I decided to try to remember US states.

I think I got some 40 of them.

...then promptly forgot them.

allquixotic

lol

Bob

You have too many states! :P

R.Doto

3:46 PM

@qasdfdsaq why use a surround system when you could just use a high quality pair of headphones with an interchangeable auxiliary cable?

Bob

Half of ours are <compass direction> Australia.

allquixotic

@Bob We could use a few more. We'll take yours! ;)

Bob

...well, not half. I can't count.

qasdfdsaq

@R.Doto Headphones have always had issues with 2D positioning

Bob

Western Australia, South Australia. Northern Territory isn't really a state. Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania.

qasdfdsaq

3:48 PM

Not sure what the aux cable has to do with it, I'm confused

Bob

And then there's the Australian Capital Territory, because they couldn't decide where to put the capital and built Canberra between Sydney and Melbourne.

@allquixotic Don't you have Puerto Rico to deal with first? :P

(I misspelt that as "Peurto" and then FF wanted to correct it to "Europe"...)

@R.Doto Headphones aren't as comfortable for some people.

R.Doto

@qasdfdsaq what do you mean by 2D positioning?

qasdfdsaq

@R.Doto The whole point of surround sound is so you can position sound sources in two dimensions. Headphones can't do that.

allquixotic

@Bob can you get this on Amazon Prime in Australialand?

The Man in the High Castle: Official Trailer – What If?

►

Bob

> the Prime Instant Video was useless because it wouldn't allow streaming of the video on an Australian IP address due to licensing restriction

> You may continue with this billing address, but Prime Instant Video streaming, Prime Music, and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library will not be available outside of the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Prime shipping benefits will only be available to shipping addresses in the contiguous U.S.

allquixotic

3:52 PM

Yuck.

Sorry. :/

Wait. It's tied to your billing address?

R.Doto

@qasdfdsaq The high end headphones mostly have removable aux cable (the cord that connect the headpiece to the device. For example, with Mike you can swap out the aux cable for and equivalent :P

allquixotic

Damn. That means you can't VPN around it...

Bob

@allquixotic Apparently some people do.

qasdfdsaq

@R.Doto Some do, yes. Not sure why that's got to do with surround sound?

Bob

> To be fair to Amazon, their Prime service is excellent if one sets up a valid US address and routes the US steam from there to here.

> Yes if you signed up with an Australian address it will bring up this error. You then use a smartDNS service to bypass the video streaming geoblock.

shrug I don't really feel like trying.

Netflix did come here recently so Amazon might follow.

But I don't watch many movies these days :\

R.Doto

3:54 PM

@qasdfdsaq true. But they come incredibly close! Tinker with the settings and set it to surround sound mode an d it's great!

Bob

Which reminds me, ACI... damn, no new episodes.

qasdfdsaq

Er, if you're referring to HRTF simulated surround sound, they've never been particularly good with my head

Bob

Oh damn, it's been a year and a half since MH370.

allquixotic

@Bob did you watch the MH370 ACI?

Bob

@allquixotic I think so.

allquixotic

3:55 PM

TL;DW: We don't know.

qasdfdsaq

There's been several MH370 ACI's

Bob

@allquixotic "But we have some likely guesses."

qasdfdsaq

And yes, we don't know, because we still can't find the damn thing

ChatBot John Cavil

@Bob @allquixotic "But we have some wild speculation." (source)

qasdfdsaq

Fixed.

R.Doto

3:58 PM

@qasdfdsaq the point was that, by using headphones rather than speakers, you can get better sound isolation and audio definition. I've always preferred it. Like @Bob Said - some may not find them comfortable

qasdfdsaq

@R.Doto Yes, that's true, but the point of surround sound speakers is positional information, which is not properly achievable with headphones.

Bob

@R.Doto The comfort thing is partially a match of headphone design to head shape, though I know at least one person who absolutely hates sealing off his ears (over-ear, on-ear, earbuds, in-ear, nope)

qasdfdsaq

I have decent headphones, decent earphones, and decent speakers. However, each have their own advantages

@Bob Most people I know don't like the in-ear sealed type the first few times they try it

On the other hand I've been using them since 2002, so quite used to them by now.

Bob

Personally, I'm used to on-ear (for gaming/headset use), don't like over-ear (my ears overheat!), and ... hm. In-ear is really finicky to get right.

Some are a decent fit. Some are great at isolation but feel like you're underwater (maybe unavoidable). Some are just too large, even with the smallest cones - leading to some painful pressure.

Maybe I just have small ear canals.

R.Doto

@qasdfdsaq @ sometimes you can truly get the feeling of being immersed I'm the sound - that's why I like them.

Bob

4:02 PM

Custom costs too much for me.

qasdfdsaq

@R.Doto Yes, but it still doesn't provide 2D positioning, which is the whole point of surround sound

allquixotic

Yep, I prefer on-ear, too... although the Steelseries H Wireless is simply too good otherwise to pass up, so my main desktop headset is over-ear

Bob

Full over-head headphones are a bit bulky for travel, so I make do... The Xiaomi Piston 2.1 isn't a great fit but it works and blocks out most ambient noise without being too uncomfortable.

I want to find something with less isolation for work use sometime.

qasdfdsaq

"It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife"

Bob

I'd like a bit of quiet music, but it feels weird to not be able to hear my surroundings at all (especially when someone walks up to me).

R.Doto

4:04 PM

@qasdfdsaq of course they don't literally provide positioning but, it sure does feel as if they do :P

Bob

...hi clippy

@R.Doto As far as immersion - binaural recordings are amazing.

qasdfdsaq

@R.Doto That defeats the point.

allquixotic

BRB, going to listen to music with the LG Volt with the M2OEBT and see if it drops out

qasdfdsaq

If you want to feel like it does you can have it

If you need it to actually do it's useless

Bob

@allquixotic Good luck!

qasdfdsaq

4:05 PM

Again, "It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife".

R.Doto

I use the full over head ones for mostly everything. They are quite bulky though - they never feel uncomfortable even after extended periods of use

Bob

@ChatBotJohnCavil There's only so many possibilities, assuming gathered data is accurate (i.e. primary radar and satellite ping data).

If those are inaccurate... then, yea, we really have no idea.

qasdfdsaq

I use the in-ear ones while out and about, over the head ones for music and surround sound for positioning.

Bob

If those are accurate we have a vague path of travel, which rules out a lot of possibilities.

qasdfdsaq

I don't really want to spend £800 on an in-ear set but I suppose I could if I had to, but when you're out and about sound quality is less important anyway

R.Doto

4:07 PM

@Bob haha, true. I feel a bit sketchy with them on.

Bob

Virtual Barber Shop (Audio...use headphones, close ur eyes)

►

qasdfdsaq

@Bob For a lot of people, sound isolation is an quantifiable advantage

R.Doto

@qasdfdsaq I can never get in ear earphone to fit -.-

qasdfdsaq

That's why IEMs have taken hold so widely outside of the IEM market.

@R.Doto If you're one of those whose ears don't co-operate with the standard fittings you can always get custom moulds

Full over-the-ear ones make you look like a knob when you go out cycling in them

Not exactly inconspicous

R.Doto

@qasdfdsaq sounds like me ;) shure offer that. I'd never below more than £80 on in ear earphones :O

qasdfdsaq

4:12 PM

A lot of places do them, I believe Sure actually give you a voucher to get them made at any local audiologist

or ear-ologist, whatever they're called

R.Doto

@qasdfdsaq hahaha, I'm going to feel self conscious now :D I don't use public gyms though - nobody will ever know hehe

@qasdfdsaq oooo I had no idea.How do they do it?

qasdfdsaq

ACS makes custom fittings for both their own earphones and other peoples too

They just inject a clay mould into your ear, let it set to the shape, then send it off to the manufacturer

Then the manufacturer just makes a reverse mould, fills it with silicon and embeds a speaker in it.

They kinda look really awful disgusting to me though, but then again, nobody expects the inside of your ear to be attrcative

The full moulds and service cost just over £100 (maybe about $200) so they're not cheap, but if you're spending double that on headphones anyway, may as well have them fit perfectly

R.Doto

@qasdfdsaq I just don't like the idea of having earwax impaction caused by the inner ear's

qasdfdsaq

@R.Doto Never had that problem myself. But I'm not a huge waxer, well not in my ears anyway

R.Doto

Sounds fairly straightforward though

qasdfdsaq

4:20 PM

They don't go deep enough to hit most of the wax, they stay outside the inner ear

2

R.Doto

@qasdfdsaq haha ewww

qasdfdsaq

IEMs usually only go as far into your ear as where the arrow "ear canal" is pointing

HackToHell

@R.Doto So do I :(

i used overly large headphones

R.Doto

@qasdfdsaq ahh so they don't rely on the brute force method that default buds depend on

qasdfdsaq

WTF who starred me

That's not even funny

R.Doto

4:22 PM

Starred?

@HackToHell huh? So do you, what?

qasdfdsaq

OK some lurker is going on a starring spree

:25819369 To be honest unless you're doing a lot of vigorous sports or self-conscious, there's not a huge benefit to them

You get better sound quality for less money with over-the-ear headphones

R.Doto

@qasdfdsaq I couldn't agree more :)

@qasdfdsaq The ear pads get very sweaty whenever I use headphones whilst exercising,I think that's the only fault I can find with them tbh

qasdfdsaq

You can get porous membrane ones that might help

Leather pads tend to trap sweat a lot, cloth and foam ones are a lot better

In general I just don't excrete that much so I don't have issues with wax, oil or sweat.

R.Doto

@qasdfdsaq I haven't tried Bluetooth headphones before, have you?

qasdfdsaq

@R.Doto Yeah, lots of them. allquixotic was talking about them earlier too

Dave

4:30 PM

Chatbot did it

Chatbot did what?

Starred you

How do you know?

@qasdfdsaq Yup, leathe r earpads have many flaws. They're soft though :P

qasdfdsaq

I find boobs softer

2

R.Doto

4:32 PM

@qasdfdsaq well said hahahha

Bob

@allquixotic I just had a thought. If I do get stuttering... what do? :P

I suppose I could always use them with the Lumia 520...

qasdfdsaq

However it's hard to cover both your ears with them at the same time

Bob

Hm. Now I'm wondering if a BT audio relay would be possible. Probably stupid and overkill.

Though... it would be a possible use for the RPi (cc @JourneymanGeek -- found one! :D)

qasdfdsaq

Bluetooth audio relay/switch/hub is actually a device idea I had a while back

Bob

Would kill latency, and aptX is proprietary too...

qasdfdsaq

4:34 PM

Now I just need to figure out how to get rich off it

Meh, most A2DP functions are not latency sensitive

The Denon AV receivers have like 1.5 seconds of input lag anyway

Bob

Hm. If aptX could be maintained then it probably won't be worse than SBC latency-wise anyway.

And wouldn't matter much for music. Maybe movies/games, but I don't do those on a phone anyway.

Movies could be synced, if the app supports it.

Games... hm. Might feel a bit odd, I guess, if the delay can even be felt.

Anything interactive, really.

DavidPostill

@Bob "If I do get stuttering... what do?" Go and visit a speech therapist?

Bob

But then there's the question of powering the thing.

Eh, I'll wait till I actually test the headphones :P

@DavidPostill :<

Ah, crap. It's almost 4 AM o.O

I'm out.

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