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[Mathel]

Link to an image file, or the file itself?

If the code contains an image file in itself, I doubt the resulting image can be bigger than the code itself, even if the file is compressed. And some of the data will be used on compression and encoding, so a bit smaller. That is, a 16x16 code contains 256 dots. I think an image contained within it (if black and white) would have to have fewer than 256 pixels. Much fewer, if colors are used.

So you could probably stash a QR code in a QR code, but not infinitely and not recursively.

If it was only links to files on the internet though, then of course, it can link to anything.

QR can be quite huge. The largest is a 177x177 matrix, called QR version 40.  It can encode up to 1.8kb.

A well compressed PNG image, with a decent amount of redundant pattern inside, at 1bpp, could easily be encoded inside that amount, that translates to an image that can have that many pixels (thanks to the heavy compression, due to the high repetition).

Again, the magic would have to be finding a collision domain, where the encoded data, corresponds directly with the resulting QR Code, such that the image data is exactly manifest as the QR code. Such a collision is ***NOT*** guaranteed.

However, getting the QR code to contain an image of the requisite size, that is also a QR code, is doable.

I know for certain that you can not store any possible QR code in a QR code. There are codes that store other things, so (number of QR codes storing QR codes)<(number of QR codes) No amount of compression can change that.
Yes, there probably are QR codes that can be stored as .png in a QR code of the same size. But since repetition will be used up with every layer of compression, (while adding some bloat on the compression itself), every layer of QR code will be more difficult to do.

Getting a code to contain itself directly would probably be easier than getting code 1 that contains code 2 that contains code 1.

[dragdeler]

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[MrRoboto75]

I purchaced a new PC tower recently, I'm surprised it lacks a disk drive.  I get modern laptops eschewing them for a smaller package or whatever, but I mean the majority of the PC case is hollow.

[dragdeler]

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[MrRoboto75]

huh, nobody would sell you the GPU or how come? the beauty of tower is how easily you can cannibalize an old machine to get a dvd drive. just refrain from replacing the PSU... I know it's anecdotal but all mobo failures I ever saw was on readymade pcs that had a bigger graphics cards alongside a bigger power supply installed at some point, happened to me as well as friends

Well, the story started with me wanting to upgrade mainly the CPU, and eventually the video card and RAM as well.  Reading into it, upgrading the CPU (because mine was about four five years old) would mean swapping the motherboard, which essentially means replacing potentially everything else to be compatible with the new mom board.  So at the end of the day I'd have to build a new PC anyway, so I just purchased a fancy one.  I splurged because growing up I always had budget potato PCs and I had the dosh to be fancy.

I could just rip the disc drive out of the old PC, but the thing is the new case doesn't even have a "hole" for one.  They had to make space for the PRO GAMER glowy neon thing, and the front's mostly ventilation.

[methylatedspirit]

Don't disk drives in general count as "legacy" nowadays? Sure, there's Blu-ray, but considering the 40 things it needs you to do to even start playing anything (goddamned DRM), it's no wonder why people use streaming services, or just outright pirate their stuff. Internet's kinda ubiquitous now; anything you'd need to distribute media before for, you'd just put on a server now and tell people to download/stream from there. One of my dad's office PCs has a DVD drive. That's seemingly to cater to the boomers who don't know how to install anything online or boot off off USB.

I suppose you'd have to buy one of those external disk drives.

[Lord Shonus]

Optical isn't a common media for software distribution anymore, and file transfer is more readily accomplished via USB mass storage media than it is by burning a DVD.


I found not having one to be a pain in the ass, but I'm the guy who just spent over $400 on putting together an old IBM 486. My use case is not typical.


On that subject - you young folks have no idea how lucky you are to have RAM that just works. It wasn't always like that, especially when the damn service manual lies to you. LIES.

[McTraveller]

My WTF is the public acceptance of the elimination of physical media. Yeah it's convenient... until the provider of the data you want just refuses to give it to you.  If I have physical media - data recovery is much more feasible (even if I don't have the equipment to do it).

[Lord Shonus]

I personally appreciate the self-expanding nature of physical media. Used the be that every game or movie you bought stored itself.

[MrRoboto75]

Well, I'd like to listen to the music, that I bought the first time on disc.

I was going to convert them to mp3 so they'd be useable in the car... but now I can't really do that.  Without just torrenting it or something.

Or some old game discs that I'd have to rebuy on GoG to make use of, although windows 10 generally means I'd need a GoG port to even use them.  Honestly my classic Doom IWADs have made the USB journey to at least five computers I've owned.

What happens when there's no GoG, Steam, or Itunes to grab those things you "own" from?

I personally appreciate the self-expanding nature of physical media. Used the be that every game or movie you bought stored itself.

I miss interesting game manuals.  Game cases are just hollow except for the disk that just downloads the game.  I remember War of the Monsters had a big fold-out 'newspaper' as it's manual.

[Frumple]

My WTF is the public acceptance of the elimination of physical media. Yeah it's convenient... until the provider of the data you want just refuses to give it to you

At which point you just yar-har-fiddly-dee, from what I see, if you actually care about it. There's been precious few points to date where "provider wanting to refuse to give it to you" and "provider being able to refuse to give it to you" actually overlap

Though having some experience these days working with physical media in a public setting... probably half the secret to that acceptance is that no one's ever really gave much of a shit about what happens to most of the stuff stored on physical media. What's actually gave a damn about gets stored on more durable junk and occasionally replaced/transferred to something in better condition, the rest of it (which is the vast majority of it) varyingly literally rots.

[MrRoboto75]

Its usually the legal gray area of "There is no provider for this anymore, they stopped existing, but its still technically illegal to distribute it anyway."

Or better yet, "This requires the provider exists to even work, but the provider stopped existing, so this is utterly defunct."

[Lord Shonus]

I miss interesting game manuals.  Game cases are just hollow except for the disk that just downloads the game.  I remember War of the Monsters had a big fold-out 'newspaper' as it's manual.

Half the reason I bought this 486 is because I was constantly having to alt-tab to the manual for the retro stuff I was running, so I wanted to run the game on a different machine. And if I was going to do that, might as well make it an authentic machine.

[Flying Dice]

In yet another instance of "what is the Youtube bot network smoking", it recently classified one of the videos Haachama made in the middle of her Australia-induced mental breakdown, titled in English as "BITCH MADE PASTA", as content that belongs in Youtube Kids.

[Mathel]

Its usually the legal gray area of "There is no provider for this anymore, they stopped existing, but its still technically illegal to distribute it anyway."

Or better yet, "This requires the provider exists to even work, but the provider stopped existing, so this is utterly defunct."

I have Fish Fillets II legaly on optical disk (not sure if CD or DVD). But the DRM provider does not exist anymore, making the copy uninstallable, since I need to connect to their webpage to install it.

The worst part is, the company whose non-existance prevents me to do so is not even Altar, who owns the copyright of the game.