Here's the problem:

I have photos with embedded HDR data (similar to Google's Ultra HDR), that do not have GPS location tagged on them, so I need to add those locations manually.

The problem is, no matter which software I use, once GPS is added, it breaks the HDR.

Editing in Google Photos will apparently preserve the HDR data, but that requires that photos are sent to their servers as a "back up", which I'm not willing to do.

Are there any FOSS software, preferably on Linux or self-hosted, that can geotag without messing up these files?

I'm not looking for sidecar GPS data, it needs to be contained within the image (JPG).

UPDATE: An interesting observation... if I edit the location on a photo from a Pixel 9a, the HDR info remains untouched and continues to work. However, if I edit the location on my OnePlus 13 or my older action camera, HDR stops working. So, the way that vendors implement HDR could be causing this issue. I'll continue to test!

Just 10 lanes, bro!

I came across Shizuku as a root alternative, and while it's been great at freezing apps, I want to disable certain receivers, services, and SDKs from apps.

Blocker is supposed to do this, but even with Shizuku permission, it does nothing when I try to disable any app components.

Does this actually work, or is root required? If root is needed, are there any alternatives that work with Shizuku?

I've been using Speech Note (github link) for months, but it often gets things wildly wrong.

I thought it was my mic, so I got one that's crystal clear. I also tried a ton of different models, and other than being slow (or fast), their accuracy is usually pretty similar.

But I'm still needing to take a lot of time to edit the results, and I wonder if there's something I should be doing to get better results.

On other speech-to-text platforms (like Futo keyboard on Android), the results are fast and very accurate. I have a hard time believing that Speech Note can't be as good.

Can any other users share their experience?

UPDATE: Ok, the best model that I've found for Speech Note is the WhisterCpp FUTO English-244, which, funny enough, is the model I use on Futo Keyboard for Android. It's not the fastest, but fast enough. It is quite accurate, and that means less time editing text.

Context: I'm in Canada, and have ordered from Bike24 without any issues in the past.

Several weeks ago I ordered a single tire (which I've ordered before), Schwalbe winter tire studs, and a floor pump.

It was held for two weeks for inspection in Germany, and today I learned that "The shipment cannot be exported to the destination country/region and is returned to the sender."

I've contacted Bike24, but I'm preparing for a refund nightmare. More importantly, I need the stuff on that order... what could possibly be the reason they can't ship here? They list items that don't ship to Canada, but these items aren't on that list.

Has anyone else experienced this recently? What was the outcome?

Update: Seller says it might have been the pump, which likely included 2 x AAA batteries 😒 I've gotten stuff from China with 21700 lithium-ion cells without issues. And AAA alkaline is a challenge to get out of Germany? 🤷‍♂️

Side note: drivers who lie about how accidents happen (and not just having a fuzzy memory, but flat-out lying), should face severe consequences.

Lives are ruined by bad drivers, and then to falsely blame the victim is just evil.

Context: My "fast bike" is just a gravel bike with Conti Ultra Sport III (32mm wide) tires, and I do not train for speed, but endurance (total amateur, never been in a bike race, and don't plan to).

I put RideNow TPU tubes (36g version) in the tires a few days ago after hearing on and on about how good TPU tubes are.

I never had an issue with butyl tubes, and collectively, they've been trouble free on three bikes with a combined mileage of 15,000 km+ , so I've been pretty apprehensive about changing them.

The last three rides have been on TPU for about 150km. I've been riding in the same areas I usually do (strava says some segments have been ridden by me over 60 times).

My efforts have NOT been all out, and I'm not even trying to be fast (i.e. not getting aero as often as I could), so I come home quite fresh.

Over those 150km, I've recorded dozens of personal bests, including the first ride out with them, which had some nasty headwind.

I'm comparing my speeds with my previous bests, and they are something like 5km/h - 10km/h faster. This is with a ton of extra weight on my bike: metal bottles x 2 or 3, dashcam, headlight, bike computer, heavy-ass toolkit (butyl tube + hand pump + electric pump + multitool + extras...), frame bag, top tube bag, two "snack bags" hanging off the handlebars, and snacks.

Two days ago, I actually maxed out my gears at a cadence of 100 on the flats (over 50 km/h).

I'm speechless.

If this is the kind of difference that TPU tubes make, I honestly can't imagine what race tires would do. No wonder the pros are able to go so fast!

Is this the typical TPU experience?

I'm hoping someone could shed some light as to what's going on here.

I was able to get Handbrake installed on my Synology DS920+ NAS with Intel Quick Sync support. Using the exact same settings that I do on my local installation of Handbrake, the file size and end results appear vastly different.

I've tested different video files, but also the exact same one.

For example:

• Original file H.264 1.3 GiB 18.1MBits/s bitrate
• Handbrake local H.265 459 MiB 6.42 Mbits/s bitrate
• Handbrake docker H.265 973 MiB 13.6 Mbits/s bitrate

My settings are:

• Video encoder: H.265 (Intel QSV)
• Framerate: Same as source
• Variable framerate
• Preset: Quality
• Constant Quality: ICQ 32
• Multi-pass encoding enabled.
• Profile: Auto
• Level: Auto
• Filters: off
• Dimensions: default (no resize, rescale, etc.)
• Audio: AAC (avcodec) (mono)
• Web optimized: Yes
• Align A/V start: Yes
• Passthrough Common Metadata: Yes

Is there an oversight that I'm missing that could explain this? I'd rather use the Docker version, since it doesn't tie up my main laptop.

Context: I'm currently using an older Samsung phone to convert h264 dashcam videos to HEVC/h265 to save space. These are many, 10 minute long videos, and the process is incredibly labour intensive, since I have to do each one manually.

The conversion itself is really fast (maybe 2-3 minutes), and the results are excellent (usually half the size with the same quality).

Question: Is there software for Linux that can convert at similar speeds, preferably batched? Handbreak has been incredibly slow.

Caveat: I'm using a Framework 13 (11th gen Intel) laptop with an Intel integrated graphics card, so I can't really leverage that in the same way a dedicated GPU can be. But still, I can only imagine that my laptop should be able to outperform my super old phone! LOL

I'm not really looking to compress the videos (I've experimented, and the quality loss from an already "poor" source just doesn't cut it). HEVC/h265 conversion would be ideal.

Is there anything else I can try?

And it's infuriating that we are planning highly disruptive and expensive road widening projects, when investments in public transportation and active transportation could remove the "need" to widen roads!

Car-centric infrastructure is not sustainable, and every time I hear people moan and bitch about taxes, they should know that it's largely due to runaway road work and maintenance costs!

NOTE: the far left lable on the bottom chart is "less than 15 minutes." Factor in several minutes for stop signs and red lights, WHY THE HELL DRIVE AT ALL? 😡

I've been hopping between idrive e2 plans to save money for my cloud backups (which I've never had to restore from). But this time, even with their discounts, it's just going to be too expensive to sustain.

I read that a Hetzner Storage Box might be a good option. It's relatively cheap ~$13 USD / 5tb a month (I'm in Canada, so currency conversion will make that higher).

They are located in Germany, and support Hyperbackup via Rsync.

I've never used their service, so I'm looking for feedback.

Edit: Thank you so much guys. Before my idrive e2 subscription ends, I'll be setting up a Storage Box!