FoxtrotDeltaTango

Drop OSS - an open-source, self-hosted alternative to platforms like Steam and Epic.

cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/49721314

I just discovered this. Has anyone tried it?

Basically, you install it on your home server and use it to stash your DRM-free games, and then install the client on your PC, Steam Deck, whatever… log in to your server and just use it like your own, selfhosted Steam app. Any PC gamer already running Jellyfin, RomM, or other selfhosted entertainment-related server might be interested in trying it, if you do… please share your experience! I’ll try it myself when I have time and post back here. If you know of any other alternatives, please share!

• Self-hosted & open-source. Run Drop entirely on your own hardware. Your library, your data, your rules — all under the AGPLv3.

• Rich metadata editing. Customise names, descriptions, and icons with full Markdown and image support.

• Automatic imports. Pull cover art and game details straight from IGDB, GiantBomb, and PCGamingWiki.

• A built-in store. Let users browse, filter, and collect games through a fully featured store.

• Flexible authentication. Use simple accounts or hook into your existing SSO.

• Native desktop client. Download, install, and play your whole library through a cross-platform desktop client.

Available for Windows, Mac & Linux (their web page lists a deb, their github repo publishes packages for all major distros and also an Appimage)

Website:
droposs.org

Docs:
droposs.org/docs/admin/quickstart/

Nvidia finally reveals what controls devs actually have for DLSS 5, and don't worry folks, there are TWO main sliders to control the AI filter

cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/49735285

What Happened When Flock Came to My Town

cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/49772467

Snips from the article below, but the full thing is worth reading.

My small town in South Carolina will soon have more Flock cameras than police officers.

the city council of my small town of Irmo, South Carolina, voted to install 22 new Flock cameras. That’ll bring the total up to 33. With a population of only 12,000 or so, it means there’ll be one Flock camera for every 300 residents. That means there will be more Flock cameras in my town than police officers.

The vote for the cameras was a hot topic in local news and South Carolina social media. The city council expected a lot of people to show and asked folks to sign up early if they wanted to talk.

I wasn’t the only person who decided to speak. More than 10 other citizens went to the podium and spoke out against the cameras.

“I’m pretty enthralled by all the pushback you’re getting on the cameras you installed without asking a single member of the community if they wanted them installed,” said another resident, a man in a T-shirt and shorts. “If you give the government a tool, they will misuse it. Period. End of story. Get rid of them or we will get rid of them for you.”

For a bit, I thought it was possible that the town might not install these cameras. Then the police chief stood up and explained how he’d used Flock to capture pedophiles and I knew that was probably the end of it.

Police chief Bobby Dale has long been an advocate for the expansion of Flock in town. He told local outlet News19 that 33 cameras will allow him to see all the entrances and exits. “That would ultimately cover pretty much every nook and cranny, every entry point into the town,” he said. “That’s what we want. As the chief of police, I’ve got to make sure our town is safe. I’m learning that with these cameras, with these license plate readers, we’re solving crimes and solving them quicker.”

During the city council meeting, Dale explained that Flock cameras had been instrumental in a To Catch a Predator style sting operation Irmo PD conducted. “During an internet crimes against children operation hosted by a department, 15 adults traveled to our community believing they were coming to meet children for sexual activity," Dale said. “Fourteen of those 15 suspects were not from our jurisdiction.”

“So you lured them here. Into our town. Genius,” the T-shirt and shorts guy shouted from the back of the room. This was the guy who’d said the community would remove the Flock cameras if the city didn’t. The mayor had police escort him from the meeting. He left without a fight and Dale finished his speech praising Flock.

Mayor Bill Danielson opened his portion of the Flock discussion by talking about how he’d recently commiserated with other mayors at the conference about how mean people were on Facebook.

“I came back with a renewed vigor to be the mayor of this town,” he said. “And knowing that I’m not the only one being abused on Facebook, social media, by some people in this room. It’s going to take a whole lot more than that to sway any position I may or may not have on behalf of these citizens.”

“Every one of those mayors either wanted Flock, was trying to figure out how to budget for Flock, or had Flock and was figuring out how to increase their presence.”

My city council voted 4 to 1 to increase the presence of Flock in this small town of 12,000 people. Police chief Dale will soon have more cameras than officers. And, if they can get money from the state, they may also purchase a drone from Flock to use as part of the company’s “drones as first responder” program.

A Device Hidden in Cars Across the US Leaves Them Vulnerable to Hacking and Paralysis. Patch It Now

‘We were at their mercy’: inside the Amazon tactics that hiked prices across the internet

cross-posted from: sh.itjust.works/post/63795943

Just great, there are barely any good alternatives to mullvad

IVPN

Where Did All the Computer-Science Professors Go? AI companies are stripping universities of their best researchers.

India launches first hydrogen-powered train built in the country to expand clean energy on railways

cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/49581602

US data center protests go national as backlash grows

cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/49606509

AI stock slump raises the question if investors are just taking profits or getting very nervous

cross-posted from: …blahaj.zone/…/ai-stock-slump-raises-the-question…

Technology companies are spending big to incorporate artificial intelligence into their businesses and to build huge data centers. Investors who had jumped on the bandwagon appear to be having second thoughts.

Proponents of artificial intelligence see it as the next great revolution for the global economy. The revolution won’t come cheap. Just four companies — Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft — plan to spend up to $720 billion this year, primarily on AI data centers.

This week, investors are looking at the huge sums being spent and questioning whether AI can produce the profits and productivity necessary to make all the investment worth it. Critics have been talking about the possibility of a bubble in AI investment. On Monday, Amazon and Alphabet fell about 5%.

On Tuesday, several companies that make the chips needed for the data center buildup — Nvidia, Micron Technology, Broadcom and Lam Research — led the market lower.

At first, Microsoft, Alphabet and other so-called hyperscalers turned to cash on hand to fund the AI expansion. But they’re increasingly relying on the markets to raise cash.

AI buildout needs cash

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, said earlier this month that it’s raising $80 billion in cash to help pay for its investments by selling shares of its stock. Overall, Alphabet is planning to spend as much as $190 billion this year — more than all the stock of The Walt Disney Co. is worth, and Alphabet is forecasting its spending on investments next year will “significantly increase.”

In March, Amazon sold $54 billion of bonds in the U.S. and Europe as it plans to spend around $200 billion this year on AI investments.

Elon Musk’s rocket maker SpaceX was on a three-day skid heading into Tuesday. It regained some lost ground, but ended trading slightly below the closing price on its first day of trading on June 12. Musk acknowledges that SpaceX will have to spend heavily to fulfill its plans of sending AI data centers into space, and the company has announced that part of an upcoming bond offering will fund its AI buildout.

High-priced chip companies

Chip companies have benefitted as the demand for memory chips and processing power for AI data centers and other projects has led to a supply shortage and a surge in prices. Investors have bid up the share prices of these companies now in anticipation of big profits down the road. By one measure, which compares a company’s stock price to its earnings per share, these companies might look expensive.

Marvell Technologies lost money for five straight years before turning a profit of $2.7 billion in the fiscal year ended in January, thanks to gains in its data center business. The stock has more than tripled so far this year and its price-to-earnings ratio has gone from about 30 at the start of 2026 to near 100.

Nvidia CEO Begs Execs to Stop Telling Workers They're Fired Because of AI