Network shares, soft links. I don't care about settings sync.

I see why people want that integration though.

I see people use it for the transcoding, but I just use Kodi that plays everything directly. No special server, just a normal filesystem over the network.

I don't understand Plex. Why would I use it over the many alternatives?

Herd immunity is kinda a magic charm though. It even protects the unvaccinated to an extent.

In most sane legal jurisdictions the government can't just ban stuff for no good reason. There has to be some evidence based reasoning behind a ban.

I don't know the history of it, but it seems like every app that does HDR with JPEG does it with a hack. Like Google Camera produces an 8 bit JPEG and a separate HDR map image, so that apps which only support 8 bit display something reasonable.

So is it the case that libjpeg can't even decode >8 bits if not compiled to handle it?

It's more complicated than that: https://cleantechnica.com/2025...

Energy demand is up, but the total amount generated by coal is down. Not the proportion, the actual GWh output. It's unlikely to ever reach the peak again I think, as the pace of renewable growth makes it impossible.

Steel production consumed a bit more coal as output increased, but that is now switching over to arc furnaces, i.e. electric, and much of that power is coming from renewables.

Overall, China's emissions declined slightly, and it's likely they will continue to do so. They have most likely hit their all-time peak already, even if energy demand continues to grow.

JPEG-XL support is very welcome. It has some nice features that make it a worthwhile upgrade over JPEG.

- Can losslessly convert JPEGs and compress them around 20% better.
- Better quality images for a similar bit rate.
- Less annoying artefacts.
- Proper HDR support.

Windows and Safari support it too. Unfortunately Chrome does not, so until Google decides to add support, it's use on the web will be limited.

I don't think they were ever very keen on nuclear power, but when Fukushima happened it was quickly discovered that a lot of other plants were either on previously unknown fault lines, or were otherwise unsafe.

We were out of time long ago. At this point it's going to be bad. All we can do is try to limit just how bad it's going to get.

It sounds like a knock off of Nio cars, which have had a little avatar thing on the dashboard for years. As well as responding to the usual voice prompts and speaking information to you, it has animated eyes. I think you can turn it off.

I haven't been looking too closely, but those German luxury brands have been doing subscriptions for features built into the car, and have always over-charged for upgrades that come as standard on other brands.

Bjorn Nyland has been doing extended tests on some new cars from Nio and the like. In excess of 400kW charging, and quite sustained as well. Much more affordable, and no subscriptions.

Indeed, MacMann will be getting a boner as he reads this because it makes inflexible nuclear plants a bit less redundant on a highly flexible grid, as when nobody wants their expensive energy they can dump it into heating sand.

This tech has been in use on a small scale for many years. Domestic heat storage is common in Europe, with everything from water tanks to special gels. They can be heated with gas or electricity, or even directly with solar by circulating water through concentrators on the roof (which work in winter).

This is a nice scaling up of the idea. It could also be used to store electricity, which again has already been a thing for many years. Solar thermal generators have stored energy to use overnight for many years, although they usually use some other medium rather than sand.

Integrating with the energy market pricing is key. You can actually make a decent profit in the UK doing that - charge your battery when prices are low, discharge it into the grid when they are high. Your energy bill can be negative, i.e. they pay you.