If you use Google, try moving away from that! Half of its results are sponsored and the other half SEO optimised crap nowadays, and there are better search engine alternatives. I would push you towards Qwant and Ecosia, because they are working together to develop a search index independent from Google and Bing (which is being trialled in France and Germany!), and they both have much stronger privacy policies, being hosted in the EU after all. They are both as easy to use as Google, no excuses for something being too “different” (it’s just a search box and your results)

Between Qwant (blue and glowy) and Ecosia (green and flat), the difference is mostly whether you prefer the look of one over the other. Ecosia is also a non-profit that uses some of its revenue to plant trees, which is pretty awesome! If you want to look at their reports, they’re easily accessible on their website. Qwant is still great though, and you will get good results from either!

Avoid Startpage (owned by an advertising company as far as I understand) and Brave (involved in weird crypto stuff, replacing affiliate links, etc.). DuckDuckGo has become a lot closer to Google in terms of the number of sponsored results now, plus they are based in the U.S.

And of course, SearXNG is awesome too, there are lots of public instances (see searx.space for a list), and you can self-host it too. It basically aggregates results from the search engines of your choosing!

what

But that is simply stupid! Most other 3D printer brands do not needlessly restrict the hardware you purchased. This is the same story as Google restricting third-party app stores because they want a stronger software monopoly on Android! And non-Bambu printers are very good nowadays, exceeding Bambu in value (see Elegoo Centauri Carbon offering an enclosure, CoreXY, etc. for about the same price as the non-enclosed, bedslinger Bambu A1 I am stuck with) and reliability (Prusa is the gold standard obviously, but even other brands have gotten very good!)

Also, Bambu attacking tiny open source devs is simply not cool. I would rather not give my money to a company that does that when there are good alternatives >:/

They are often very fun and you get to see people you normally don’t get to see! It’s nice to catch up with everybody, and gatherings usually come with very good food toom You also have excitement of the celebration of a holiday, being able to share that with your extended family is awesome!

Of course, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, sometimes one of my older relatives will go on about something (nothing racist or anything, more about manners, etiquette, tradition, etc., but they seem to never stop talking!) and I have just have to respectfully listen. It is definitely outweighed by all the fun stuff though!

Note that the term is most common for people of East Asian backgrounds! And, at least from my experience in HK, the term is also used for Asian people (mixed or otherwise) who grew up in Western culture.

Westernised Asian, mostly used to describe mixed people (East Asian and European), but I have also heard it being used to describe Asians (mixed or otherwise) who grew up in a western culture (at least it’s common in Hong Kong).

It’s sometimes used for people who are proud of their heritage / background, but it is unfortunately also often used in a negative sense by bad people.

I am not too big of a fan of the term, it’s a bit silly and too generalised. Somebody who is part Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, etc. will all have different cultures, experiences, and traditions! It also doesn’t help that it’s another term that generalises “Asians” as specifically meaning just East Asian people. However, some people are perfectly fine with the term, and that’s ok too!

Mastodon posts!

Hell yeah! The Elegoo Centauri Carbon (and 2) are awesome! It’s super nice to see convenient 3D printing becoming more accessible to everyone!

Even in the U.S., women can vote, non-white people can vote, working conditions have vastly improved, press freedom is better, etc… It is not perfect, far from it, with massive wealth inequality and still lots of racism and discrimination towards minorities. But it’s a hell of a lot better than the 1800s!

During the Industrial Revolution (think 1800s), working conditions were not regulated like they are now (and yes, it is not perfect, but it’s a lot better now!), unions have been successful in representing the worker’s needs (and yes, it is not perfect, and varied depending on where you are, but it’s a lot better now!), society is certainly more equal than in the 1800s era (women can vote, minorities can vote, acceptance of all beliefs, stronger democracies and less colonialism, prejudice is still a problem and imperialism is still a big issue, but far better now)

The core idea of communism is the goal for a classless, stateless society where all are equal. Unfortunately for us, the Soviets have successfully made the concept associated with Bolshevism / Marxist-Leninism, which calls for a vanguard party to represent the working people, i.e. an authoritarian one-party state. Communism by itself is not the antithesis to democracy, but Marxist-Leninist states are usually very authoritarian. And once you have a dictatorship, you foster a cult of personality and policy is based on the decision of one person, and that never ends well for anybody but them and their inner circle.

Communism was born when capitalism was uncontrolled, working people did not have minimum wages with poor working conditions and, often times, no rights either if they were the wrong gender, background, religion, sexual orientation, or simply social class. Don’t get me wrong, capitalism now is still bad (for both people and the environment), but unions are stronger, restrictions on corporations is stronger, and society is more equal. Freedom of speech and the press is more prevalent, though certainly more can be done, and inequality of all kinds is still a global issue that must be tackled.

Is communism “dead” then? No, of course not. I respect all who work towards the goal of an equal, classless society freed from the shackles of capitalism. But those who want to stifle democracy and establish dictatorships, I do not respect.

Everybody has already mentioned that, actually, neurodivergence isn’t exclusive to ASD and ADHD!

As for your point about it being for everybody, that is definitely a heated argument. You could argue that neurodivergent conditions were created, in part, to separate them from the “normal” people (especially in earlier times), but you could also say that having a good classification means you can better help people who have these sorts of conditions (especially in modern times! We are in a golden age of accessibility!)

Speaking as somebody who was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome as a kid, now part of ASD :D

What the hell mate?!

Oh, I didn’t know that! The Snapmaker U1 is looking pretty good then if you want multi toolhead

Specific issues? I’ve already mentioned my printer is out of commision due to a bad clog, filament has spewed out to cover the whole nozzle. I can’t get the nozzle out since it’s trapped in a solid chunk of plastic.

The Prusa Core One does not have “twice the price for the same features”, it’s about a couple hundred dollars more than the equivalent Bambu for: European manufacturing, immense repairability (not based on “feelings”, they have the option to ship the printer as a DIY kit so that you can know each part inside and out, and time and time again Prusa has allowed users of upgrade to the next version), reputation for reliability (I know friends who have been using a Prusa for the past decade that are still going strong!), and an awesome attitude to the community.

And yes, Elegoo has a better value printer! So why position Bambu as the “affordable” option, if it has less features (no enclosure, no CoreXY) compared to the Elegoo CC (and others, you have Qidi doing heated bed chamber for a great value), while not being as reliable/repairable as a Prusa? Plus them being awful to FOSS projects and closing down on their software is generally bad. Obviously, don’t contribute to e-waste and bin your printer, I haven’t, but for newbies, I would strongly advise against Bambu.

Yes, Prusa has made bedslingers for long time, but the Core One has been out for a while now, and it’s recently received the optional INDX upgrade for multi-toolhead. Prusa isn’t falling behind, they are still doing very cool stuff and innovating, not to mention everything is STILL upgradeable despite becoming CoreXY, and that is an achievement! (e.g. you can upgrade a MK4S to a Core One + INDX if you wanted too)

It’s a lie to say that Prusa is not innovating, because they really are :D

They have also contributed a lot to the community, the opposite of which is true for Bambu.

You have not addressed the main points against Bambu:

• attempting to take down small FOSS projects (which, by the way, are not violating any of Bambu’s licenses, Bambu Studio is open-source and the fork is not “abusing their services”)
• the existence of much better values options (e.g. Elegoo CC, and many of Qidi’s machines are good too)
• the locked down software ecosystem, I have bought the printer and have happily used OrcaSlicer for a while, why should it be blocked via software patch? What reasoning is there to block third party hardware (literally just a screen attachment for the P1 series, “security” my ass) aside from screwing with everybody? Bambu cannot be trusted to keep their promises
• the “just works” excuse isn’t good enough, since Bambu machines do have reliability issues. Maybe it’s because I live in a more humid climate, but I have experienced as many issues on the A1 as other nom-Bambu printers
• Prusa machines are very well regarded in terms of support and repairability, that is one of their key strengths and you are dismissing that completely

And instead, you are focusing on the higher prices of Prusa machines (while ignoring that higher end Bambu printers are also very expensive, if not more so for their dual nozzle thing compared to, say, the Snapmaker U1 others have already mentioned), are ignorant that Prusa Core One is CoreXY, assumed I was positioning the Core One as a competitor to the A1 (any sane person would immediately see that’s just wrong, I did word it a bit weirdly and that’s been edited to be more clear, but it doesn’t change my point that Bambu Lab machines are not super reliable like you suggest)

The Prusa Core One competes with the higher end Bambu Lab machines, mate! And you have ignored that Prusa machines are way more repairable and reliable. Also, the Core One is a COREXY machine, what are you on about with bedslingers. The A1 is also a bedsligner but I don’t see you complaining.

Also, you seemed to have ignored the Elegoo Centauri Carbon (which is similarly priced, CoreXY, enclosure, super awesome in general)

I did not say Prusa was super competitve in the low end, that’s why the Elegoo Centauri Carbon was mentioned!

I have an A1 and I hate it. It’s so stupid that they are locking down on their ecosystem, and I fervantly despise that they are trying to take down that fork of OrcaSlicer (despite their own software being a fork of a fork!)

it’s affordable

Elegoo’s Centauri Carbon has an enclosure and is CoreXY, so objectively much better value than the A1

works great

Until it doesn’t. The nozzle of my A1 has clogged, and it is difficult to fix. The Prusa Core One is more reliable and repairable for a similar price and performance to the equivalent Bambu machine (edit: to higher end Bambu machines, obviously it doesn’t compete with the A1’s price bracket. My point still stands that Bambu machines are not the end all be all for reliability).

I have a Bambu Lab printer, but I would not recommend them to newbies anymore. They did a software update to block third party software (like OrcaSlicer, which I was using…), hardware accessories became paperweights, and they are trying of take down a small fork of OrcaSlicer (despite their Bambu Studio software being a fork of a fork too)

You also just have much, much better options nowadays. The Elegoo Centauri Carbon is WAY better value than the A1 I have (CoreXY, enclosed, not actively attacking tiny FOSS projects…), and the Prusa Core One is more reliable, repairable, and generally more awesome to the FOSS community than the pricier Bambu Lab machines (+ the INDX upgrade for multi-toolhead functionality!)

edit: If you want multi-toolhead specifically, the Snapmaker U1 might be a better option (cheaper than both Bambu and Prusa too, and their software is a fork of OrcaSlicer!)

I think it depends on the artist’s interpretation, some show her as trans while others cis. People will write whatever stories they like (for the better or worse, some of them are not so nice)