uses | isopod.cool v4

Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2026 00:49:22 -0600 Subject: whoopsers! forgot to commit for some months! --- uses/index.php | 24 +++++++++++++++--------- 1 file changed, 15 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-) (limited to 'uses/index.php') diff --git a/uses/index.php b/uses/index.php index 6197b29..92f8dd2 100644 --- a/uses/index.php +++ b/uses/index.php @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ - uses | isopod.cool v4 + uses | <?php echo($_SERVER['HTTP_HOST']);?> @@ -92,11 +92,11 @@

Prusa MINI+

I bought a Prusa because their printers have a reputation for quality, which this unit has certainly lived up to. It's been quite reliable, and when it fails, it's usually my fault in a really obvious way. It automates a lot of features that I suspect would have been pain points on a cheaper printer, up to and including uploading gcode to it directly over the network. This thing's easier to use than a regular 2D printer!

I bought a Prusa because their printers have a reputation for quality, which this unit has mostly lived up to. It's been decently reliable, and when it fails, it's usually my fault in a really obvious way, or it's because of some maintenance procedure I haven't done at any point in the past 3 years since I got it. It automates a lot of features that I suspect would have been pain points on a cheaper printer, up to and including uploading gcode to it directly over the network. This thing's easier to use than a regular 2D printer!

More info

My one major issue is that the cantilevered gantry results in a slight inaccuracy in the Z axis, meaning the first layer is too high on one side of the bed and too low on the other. I suspect that this is why they didn't make it bigger, although it could also just be my fault for going and ordering the un-assembled kit version to save money on assembly.

I run mine with Prusa's satin textured bed plate for easier removal of PETG parts (I managed to damage the included smooth plate printing big stuff in PETG) and a 0.6mm Diamondback nozzle for printing with filaments with abrasive additives. It's expensive for a nozzle, but I think for the last nozzle I'll ever need to buy on an already 700 Canadian Victory Point printer it makes sense. I used to run an E3D Nozzle X, but I think I wrecked the coating trying to clean it with a brass wire brush.

I run mine with Prusa's satin textured bed plate for easier removal of PETG parts (I managed to damage the included smooth plate printing big stuff in PETG), a Slice Engineering aftermarket hot block, and a 0.6mm Diamondback nozzle for printing with filaments with abrasive additives. It's expensive for a nozzle, but I think for the last nozzle I'll ever need to buy on an already 700 Canadian Victory Point printer it makes sense. I used to run an E3D Nozzle X, but I think I wrecked the coating trying to clean it with a brass wire brush.

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More info

So why'd I buy this then? For me, it's about the biometric sensors. Primarily I just wanted some hard data to assuage some anxiety I was having about the state of my heart, and a device that costs as much as a dedicated heart monitor while doing all the other smartwatch stuff and not making me feel like a paranoid weirdo for owning it seemed like a pretty damn good deal to me.

The smartwatch itself is fine. The custom OS it runs is a little more basic than even circa-2016 WearOS in terms of software features, but I honestly don't care about any of that stuff anyway, and it's actually really nice for the hundred Canadian Zero-Calorie Sugar-Free Diet Dollars and free shipping that they're charging, although I wish the app reported more detailed biometric data, said the undisputed queen of run-on sentences.

The one problem I'm having so far is that after like a month the included pleather wristband is starting to discolor and flake off and generally do Pleather Things™, but frankly this is a very cheap smartwatch and I'd rather them cut costs on the one part I can easily replace than on, like, the battery or the CPU or some shit. Hopefully this isn't indicative of the long-term endurance of the actual device.

The smartwatch itself is... adequate. The custom OS it runs is a little more basic than even circa-2016 WearOS in terms of software features, but I honestly don't care about any of that stuff anyway, and it's actually really nice for the hundred Canadian Zero-Calorie Sugar-Free Diet Dollars and free shipping that they're charging.

The main problem I've been having with this thing, other than the world's shittiest stock wrist strap, is that the app doesn't seem to track biometric data very consistently — there are massive gaps in its data days or weeks long, even though I've worn this watch almost every day since I got it. Plus the way the app actually displays that data leaves much to be desired. It almost defeats the whole purpose I bought this thing for. Also, half the fuckin' features in this thing ask you to "connect to the app" even if it already is connected and so effectively can't be used. Thanks for nothing, Nothing.

Overall, this thing is pretty ambitious for the price point it's at, and from that perspective I can't complain, but I also understand completely why a Pebble with fewer features can get away with costing 3x as much — its more limited suite of capabilities probably all actually work reliably.

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Desktop Operating System - EndeavourOS (Linux)

My main computer runs EndeavourOS with the GNOME desktop environment. I chose it mostly to get the AUR, which has occasionally proved useful, but at this point I'm kind of stuck here because all the config files for my programs are in standard locations, god forbid, and everyone else is on flatpaks now, which fuck that all up for no good reason. I once failed to switch to Fedora because of this.

More info

I have a long history with Linux, dating back to 2015 with the first computer I ever owned: a Chromebook that I put Linux on to play Minecraft, which ChromeOS couldn't do in any meaningful capacity at the time. It took me all of nine months to blow it up doing that because it was passively cooled with a plastic shell and not designed to ever go above ~30% usage on the dinky little Celeron that was its excuse for a CPU. After that I got a real PC running Windows, which solved the Minecraft problem so I mostly stuck to that for the next six years, although I did make intermittent attempts to switch to Linux again.

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DAW - REAPER

My primary motivation for choosing REAPER is that it's available for Linux. My secondary motivation is that it has a lot less of the bizarre idiosyncracies and feature omissions that I found limiting when I was using LMMS. It's also cheaper for a perpetual license than even the shittiest most artificially-limited versions of most of the other major DAWs, although it's not like I can run any of them anyway.

Drawing Program - Krita

Contrary to GIMP, I'd probably still be using Krita if I switched back to Windows today. Not that I use it all that much, although the output of this program can be found peppered around my website as of late. If you're wondering how I get the drawings to look like that, don't. That's the default brush.

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DAW - Bitwig Studio

My primary motivation for choosing Bitwig is that it's available for Linux. My secondary motivation is that it has a lot less of the bizarre idiosyncracies and feature omissions that I found limiting when I was using LMMS, and a lot less of the instability, unreliability, and general UX jank that I found limiting with REAPER. It's a bit more expensive than REAPER and about infinity% more expensive than LMMS, but what I've come to realize is that, frankly, you get what you pay for.

Media Players - Rhythmbox, MPV, VLC

Media Players - Rhythmbox, MPV, VLC, various Jellyfin clients

I use Rhythmbox for music, MPV for video, and VLC for anything that doesn't open one of the other two when I click on it. All three are very boringly good at what they do, and all three are varying levels of fugly.

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