ThePowerOfGeek

@ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Comfortable is a table made out of comforts⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Or it’s being able to enjoy comfort.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨ChatGPT 5 power consumption could be as much as eight times higher than GPT 4 — research institute estimates medium-sized GPT-5 response can consume up to 40 watt-hours of electricity⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  BTW a lot of it seems to be just inefficient coding as Deepseek has shown.

  Kind of? Inefficient coding is definitely a part of it. But a large part is also just the iterative nature of how these algorithms operate. We might be able to improve that via code optimization a little bit. But without radically changing how these engines operates it won’t make a big difference.

  The scope of the data being used and trained on is probably a bigger issue. Which is why there’s been a push by some to move from LLMs to SLMs. We don’t need the model to be cluttered with information on geology, ancient history, cooking, software development, sports trivia, etc if it’s only going to be used for looking up stuff on music and musicians.

  But either way, there’s a big ‘diminishing returns’ factor to this right now that isn’t being appreciated. Typical human nature: give me that tiny boost in performance regardless of the cost, because I don’t have to deal with. It’s the same short-sighted shit that got us into this looming environmental crisis.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨YouTube just quietly blocked Adblock Plus — the internet hasn't noticed yet, but I've found a workaround⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago⁩:

  That said though, there is one ad blocker that still works. Two words: uBlock Origin. Yes, I know that Google has blocked it from its Chrome Extension store, but there is still a way to get uBlock Origin on Chrome that our how-to extraordinaire Kaycee has detailed.

  Or… You could just ditch Chrome altogether!

  I don’t know why people are so fixated on using Chrome. It’s a crippled browser made by an evil company that is actively looking to screw the user at every turn.

  I switched to Firefox when Google essentially killed uBlock Origin on their browser. At first I ran into some problems with some sites not rendering correctly. But it seems like that’s become much less of an issue with later updates. And the best thing is that there are some phenomenal extensions for blocking ads - like a fully-fledged uBlock Origin to name just one. I don’t even see sponsor promotions in YT videos now.

  And if you don’t want to deal with Mozilla directly you can use Waterfox instead.

  All this dancing around and jumping through hoops to get uBlock Origin working on Chrome is kind of absurd. Just ditch Chrome (and all Blink-based browsers) altogether where you can (I get that corporate environments are often off the table for this).

  Collectively we should be sending a message to Google whenever we can that we are done with their browser bullshit.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Spotify to raise prices in September⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  So glad he didn’t get his grubby hands on Arsenal FC in the end.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Spotify to raise prices in September⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  And once you have them ripped (however you choose to do that), host them via a media server so you can access them from whatever device you like.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨AOL will end dial-up internet service in September, 34 years after it's debut — AOL Shield Browser and AOL Dialer software will be shuttered on the same day⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I still have one, still in the cellophane. I use it as a coaster.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨AOL will end dial-up internet service in September, 34 years after it's debut — AOL Shield Browser and AOL Dialer software will be shuttered on the same day⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  AOL… America Offline

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨ChatGPT Is Still a Bullshit Machine⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I’m no longer even confident in modern LLMs to do stuff like convert a table schema or JSON document into a POCO. I tried this the other day with a field list from a table creation script. So it had to do was reformat the fields into a dumb C# model. Inexplicably it did fine except for omitting a random field in the middle of the list. Kinda shakes your confidence in LLMs for even the most basic programming tasks.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Google Gemini struggles to write code, calls itself “a disgrace to my species”⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  It must have been trained on feedback from Accenture employees then.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Google Gemini struggles to write code, calls itself “a disgrace to my species”⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  High five, me too!

  At that age I also used to do speed run little programs on the display computers in department stores. I’d write a little prompt welcoming a shopper and ask them their name. Then a response that echoed back their name in some way. If I was in a good mood it was “Hi [name]!”. If I was in a snarky mood it was “Fuck off [name]!” The goal was to write it in about 30 seconds, before one of the associates came over to see what I was doing.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨GitHub CEO delivers stark message to developers: Embrace AI or get out.⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  But who else is going to micromanage and bully the employees and strut around self-importantly doing jack shit? /s

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Proton releases a new app for two-factor authentication⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah, not good if them to not share that information.

  But for anyone who’s wondering, here’s a decent article that goes over the shady companies that discretely own most VPNs apps.

  Amusingly, and in counterpoint to the guy who you replied to, this article concludes that Proton is actually a solid VPN option that isn’t beholden to one of those sketchy VPN-hoarding companies.

  They also recommend Mullvad as a good option. I’ve never used them, but I’ve seen mentioned positively in other articles about VPNs.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Bitchat is a new private Bluetooth messaging app that doesn’t need the internet – here’s how it works⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Genitalia (supposed to be gen-Italia - an Italian electricity company. They got rid of their web domain they they finally realized.)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Bitchat is a new private Bluetooth messaging app that doesn’t need the internet – here’s how it works⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  It’s the ExpertSexchange of the 2020s!

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Was gonna say… my kids keep accidentally using my profile to watch their videos. YouTube is going to think I’m a teen/child with peak gen alpha brain rot.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Another Google Pixel 6a catches fire after battery-nerfing update⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I put my IMEI in and it said I was eligible. But then it gets stuck in an infinite loop of support links with no option out (at least when I selected to get a replacement battery).

  I think I’m just going to get a new phone and move on. Not a Pixel though. Fuck this noise. My wife had a Pixel 5a and the motherboard fried itself after a couple of years. Google sent her a Pixel 6a replacement about 2 months later (long after we’d found her a non-Pixel replacement). So I upgraded to that replacement for in a 4a. But now this battery/fire bullshit? I’m done with their shitty products and their shitty support!

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Another Google Pixel 6a catches fire after battery-nerfing update⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Thanks for the link. I put my phone’s info in and it told me I’m eligible. But the color of the phone was completely wrong.

  I’m done with Pixels. The first one was amazing. But the quality has been going gradually downhill for both the main series and the A series phones.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Introducing Lumo, the AI where every conversation is confidential | Proton⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  I came so close to switching over to them at the start of the year. I was in the middle of planning that change, then their founder or CEO or whoever he is started going political. So I held off. And now just like everyone else they’ve jumped on the AI bandwagon.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Heroes For Hire (in development), an MMO guild management game using an OS like interface for gameplay (the game calls it "GuildOS"), released in early access on Steam.⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Having managed a reasonably large MMO guild for several years, this game sounds about as appealing as getting an eye gouged out.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Inserting "Anal" infront of trailer model names at the RV park makes some interesting combinations.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Anal Pilot

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Holy sh*t: Jack Dorsey just Announced Bitchat(A secure, decentralized, peer-to-peer messaging app for iOS and macOS that works over Bluetooth mesh networks) Licensed Under Public Domain.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  That’s a good point. And to add to it, I’ve tried using Briar as an emergency option if there’s no Internet. And there seems to be a massive flaw in that scenario: you need the Internet to authenticate yourself on the app. So if there’s no Internet it’s useless. I just tried switching off WiFi and 5G on my phone and yup, can’t log in, so can’t use it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[deleted]⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I don’t have any empirical evidence for you on this topic, but in my opinion yes, I think some people are - especially with oral language adaptation. And I think I’m one of them too.

  I’ve tried learning French on and off for most of my life. Did it in school for several years, got a French tutor who helped me scrape by with a C in it, spent a few years with it on Duo Lingo (I know I know, that so is far from perfect), spent time watching French news. And after all that I’d say my French language skills aren’t even closer to a conversational level. I especially struggle with the oral side of the language, even though multiple teachers have told me I have a good jack for pronunciation.

  I haven’t lived there, so maybe that would push my over the edge? But I don’t know. I think I’m in the same boat as you.

  The language your are learning also factors in. I’ve also tried learning Spanish and have found that easier. Meanwhile, I tried learning Mandarin and was completely lost. And English is often described as being ready to learn at as basic level but difficult to master. It’s such a relatively unstructured language with so many weird exceptions.

  But with all that said, don’t give up! It might just take longer for the oral part to lock in. And your written English is excellent.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Grok praises Hitler, gives credit to Musk for removing “woke filters”⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  The interesting thing for me is that Grok was originally pretty ‘woke’ itself. Then Musk lobotomized it and turned it into a Nazi.

  100% agree about boycotting everything that toxic nepo-baby asshole touches. Tesla, Twitter, Space X, whatever.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Unless users take action, Android will let Gemini access third-party apps⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I just went into my settings after reading this article (and getting a bit frustrated that it was a wall of text with no clear instructions right up front).

  I did a search in settings for “gemini” and found the Gemini settings. There’s no clear ‘off’ switch. But there’s is an option to switch back to Google Assistant. So I did that. And not when I search for Gemini in settings it urges me to enable Gemini.

  I’m taking that as a good sign that I’ve disabled it permanently. Thought I’d post this info in case it helps someone else. Or so if I’m incorrect somebody else can correct me.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Holy sh*t: Jack Dorsey just Announced Bitchat(A secure, decentralized, peer-to-peer messaging app for iOS and macOS that works over Bluetooth mesh networks) Licensed Under Public Domain.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  This is a great idea, but it would be difficult to manage.

  It reminds me of the instant messenger wars during the late 1990s/early 2000s.

  AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) had a virtual monopoly on the industry, and so when Microsoft started breaking into it with MSN Messenger they cracked AIM’s protocol so their users could communicate with AIM users. This enraged AOL, and there was a wild cat-and-mouse updates battle for a few months. AOL would push an update to block Microsoft, then Microsoft would push an update to get around that. Sometimes there were multiple updates from both sides per day.

  And then there was Trillian messenger just sneaking through the middle providing access to both, mostly unnoticed (at least for a while).

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Holy sh*t: Jack Dorsey just Announced Bitchat(A secure, decentralized, peer-to-peer messaging app for iOS and macOS that works over Bluetooth mesh networks) Licensed Under Public Domain.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Okay. But one of my points still stands that there are already a bunch of p2p Bluetooth-based messaging apps out there.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Tesla loses $68 billion in value after Elon Musk says he is launching a political party⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  And smart.

  But it turns out he basically steals the ideas of better people and takes all the credit. Truly a modern day Thomas Edison. But even worse.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Holy sh*t: Jack Dorsey just Announced Bitchat(A secure, decentralized, peer-to-peer messaging app for iOS and macOS that works over Bluetooth mesh networks) Licensed Under Public Domain.⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Oh great, yet another secure messaging app.

  Getting people to move off Messenger or even WhatsApp is tricky enough already for to interview and resistance to change. But even when you can coax them to move, you then often end up in a debate about where to move to. Signal, Briar, Viber, whatever proprietary thing Apple is currently pushing, or the thousands of other options/apps. I guess we can just add this one to that long list.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨The Prime Reasons to Avoid Amazon⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I try to use local stores or other websites, and only use Amazon if I can’t find what I need there. But at least half the time I end up having to use Amazon because I can’t find what I need.

  It’s probably a kind of vicious cycle: as Amazon eats further into profits of other companies they are more limited in what they can offer.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Can I learn how to "photoshop" images without PhotoShop^TM and also on my iPhone?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Photoshop as in the general concept of editing photos? Sure. There are a lot of decent tools out there, including for mobile devices.

  Photoshop as in use the proprietary Photoshop UI? Probably not.