Jrockwar

@Jrockwar@feddit.uk

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⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Aptera completes low-speed drive in its first production-intent solar electric vehicle⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:
Something I find incredibly weird about US company culture is how they talk about overtime like it’s a good thing.

“Our employees worked weekends, days and nights to make this happen! We wouldn’t have succeeded without people who are willing to give up their personal lives!”

I hope they not only succeed but get shares. Doing weekends or nights for a company you don’t (partially) own feels like a con.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Russian TV companies demand 2 undecillion rubles from Google⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:
If they keep duplicating the ask, soon they’ll be asking for a googol from Google. Hehe.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Court Orders Google (a Monopolist) To Knock It Off With the Monopoly Stuff.⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:
I’m not sure I’m following, it says developers can opt out!
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Apple’s first Mac mini redesign in 14 years looks like a big aluminum Apple TV⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:
I don’t think anything with the word “intel” can be taken seriously in value comparisons…

When I got my last laptop I ended up with a MBP because there were no high end options for Linux laptops with AMD. Now the options are better, but back then, the only realistic alternative to a MacBook Pro would have had a third of the real-world battery life if not less, even if I decided to spend £3k. That didn’t seem like an acceptable compromise so there were virtually no laptops in existence that could compete with an M2 MBP.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Apple’s first Mac mini redesign in 14 years looks like a big aluminum Apple TV⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:
16 GB of RAM are kinda meh, but I can’t think of many $600 devices that can run three 6K monitors simultaneously at 60 Hz, plus then one at a lower res but still 60 Hz.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Microsoft fires employees who organized vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:
How do people have the time to organise vigils and get into “coalitions” and politics in the workplace?

Granted I don’t work at Microsoft, but I feel me and everyone around me is overworked enough that when we have the time to stop working… We head home (or close the laptop if WFH) and rest, not engage in additional activities in the workplace.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why Surgeons Are Wearing The Apple Vision Pro⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:
Yeah, this sounds like a problem for only the 5% of the world who live in a specific country.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨India’s electric cab companies can’t find enough cars to put on the road.⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:
That’s not efficient enough, why don’t we make them larger and carry over 400 people instead? And we can do special low friction routes where people want to go, so that there’s even better efficiency!

Or, why don’t we accept maybe that there’s the need for different modes of transport and I’m happy commuting to work 8 miles in a bicycle but my 78-year-old mum sometimes physically can’t walk half a mile to a bus stop to take her to the doctor’s and she needs taxis to exist?
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨'Garbage in, garbage out': AI fails to debunk disinformation, study finds.⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:
That’s because it doesn’t learn, it’s a snapshot of its training data frozen in time.

I like Perplexity (a lot) because instead of using its data to answer your question, it uses your data to craft web searches, gather content, and summarise it into a response. It’s like a student that uses their knowledge to look for the answer in the books, instead of trying to answer from memory whether they know the answer or not.

It is not perfect, it does hallucinate from time to time, but it’s rare enough that I use it way more than regular web searches at this point. I can throw quite obscure questions at it and it will dig the answer for me.

As someone with ADHD with a somewhat compulsive need to understand random facts (e.g. “I need to know right now how the motor speed in a coffee grinder affects the taste of the coffee”) this is an absolute godsend.

I’m not affiliated or anything, and if anything better comes my way I’ll be happy to ditch it. But for now I really enjoy it.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Lemmy's gaining popularity, so I thought new people should see this.⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:
What’s the problem with hexbear, is it the same? Genuine question - I think the only community in hexbear I follow is “Gaming” and it’s reasonably civil there.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Amazon tech workers leaving for other jobs in response to return to office mandate⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:
Yes, but they’re making people quit instead. They don’t need to pay severance to employees who quit because of RTO.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Amazon tech workers leaving for other jobs in response to return to office mandate⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:
Well then bring it on. If feels too big to fail, but if (hypothetically) Amazon were to go under, the world would be a better place.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨[Tom Warren] The PS5 Pro still hasn’t sold out in the US or UK. Looks like the $700 price point will mean this console will be readily available this holiday⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:
This is the Pro, the mid-cycle refresh with more power and whatnot.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Lenovo is working on Legion Go Gen 2 and Legion Go Lite handheld gaming PCs - Liliputing⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:
Cool, but it’s missing trackpads and Linux…

I never knew how much I needed the trackpads until I played on the deck - unlike with the joysticks, I can actually play FPSs!!
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Here’s how green bubbles are getting upgraded in iOS⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
Hahaha so funny and edgy lol
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Deep Discounts⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
In most of Europe, the prices of Model 3’s match pretty well those of the Polestar 2. The difference in build quality between those two is night and day. The Tesla feels like a Chrysler/Dodge Neon in comparison, with leather being the only concession whatsoever to niceness.

The fact that in Europe somehow they’re “premium” and not budget cars within their category blows my mind.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨When EV startups shut down, will their cars still work?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
Probably not. But that’s what happens when you buy Things as a Service.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Self-driving Waymo cars keep SF residents awake all night by honking at each other⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
Re: security: I imagine many women being more comfortable getting a waymo than an Uber/Taxi. It’s anecdotal and from a different country, but most of my female family/friends have had an uncomfortable interaction in a taxi, like unrequested sexual advances or things like that.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Stop Destroying Videogames petition heads to the European Union⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
When you bought e.g. half-life, it would come with the ability to run a server.

If a game needs a server, that functionality should be added into the game, not kept separate. I mean it might be a separate executable, but it should be part of the game “bundle” because the server is part of the game.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Microsoft is reportedly banning Palestinians in the U.S. for life for calling relatives in Gaza⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
The problem I have is that this covers a very niche use case for me. I want it to be a tablet - lightweight etc, but not be constrained by mobile apps. I don’t want iOS’ version of lightroom, I want to have Darktable and Rawtherapee and a full fledged Visual Studio code, and well, you get the picture.

I don’t need a laptop because I also have a MacBook Pro - I went this way because Apple’s processors are too far ahead to ignore. So I can take AMD but my opinion is that intel’s offerings are just not competitive and I’m not buying any of them.

This leaves me with very few options - I’d be keen on buying an AMD-powered Ubuntu tablet but they don’t seem to exist.

And also my surface works perfectly fine, so spending a non-trivial amount of money and ewaste just to change OS seems rather silly. I’m sticking to that one for now.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Microsoft is reportedly banning Palestinians in the U.S. for life for calling relatives in Gaza⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
That’s a nice project, but the last update was from 2 years ago and it needs way too much work to be close to usable. Windows 11 might be getting ads but at least audio works…

To be Done:
```
Support for Audio Subsystem #21
Support for LTE/Modem #22
Support for Webcams #23
Support for External Display Ports #27
Support for Suspend #29
Support for TrEE Services #37
Support for Sensors #38
Support for GNSS/GPS #39
UEFI ResetSystem() crashes #41
```
Various other issues can be expected, see the issue tracker for details.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Microsoft is reportedly banning Palestinians in the U.S. for life for calling relatives in Gaza⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
If only I could install it on the Surface Pro X…

Damn, they worked so hard to gain goodwill in the last few years and it seems they’ve set out to destroy it in record time.

WSL and WSL2, Android Apps, working with Qualcomm to get their ARM computers to a credible state, the new Powershell and the push to open source so many things…

And in the past 12-18 months they’ve been crashing and burning, either backtracking on those things or by starting new initiatives to become scummier and scummier. TPM, Copilot, the ad situation, abusing their position of power with office/teams, the giant safety holes in the Recall feature… But it seems every day there’s something new in the news. It’s never ending.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Las Vegas' dystopia-sphere, powered by 150 Nvidia GPUs and drawing up to 28,000,000 watts, is both a testament to the hubris of humanity and an admittedly impressive technical feat | PC Gamer⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
Take a train instead of a flight. Cycle to work or take public transport instead of driving. Install a heat pump or solar in your house. There are a million things people can do to cut down their emissions that can be as effective as becoming herbivores, depending on each one’s personal situation.

Plus, I don’t have the numbers in my head but I’m pretty sure a locally grown fillet of chicken is more environmentally friendly than an avocado that has travelled across the Atlantic, so “buy local” would be probably better advice.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Boeing retaliated against its own engineers working for FAA, union says⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
I worked for Airbus for 3-4 years. I wasn’t wildly happy with how many things are done, but when I read news about Boeing I routinely think “woah, that’s wild”.

I only get on a Boeing plane if there is no other option. It’s not a case of voting with your wallet in an “I won’t buy a phone without a headphone jack” situation, but a serious safety matter. Many of their decisions (particularly the MCAS / MAX8 fiasco) are absolutely insane. They might rectify whatever they want, but as semi-informed passengers I don’t see how we can trust that the current board is prioritising safety over shareholders…
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Meta says you can’t turn off its new AI tool on Facebook, Instagram⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
God this is equally terrible and hilarious 😂

For example, The Associated Press reported that an official Meta AI chatbot inserted itself into a conversation in a private Facebook group for Manhattan moms. It claimed it too had a child in school in New York City, but when confronted by the group members, it later apologized before its comments disappeared, according to screenshots shown to The Associated Press.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I bought frozen BBQ eel and the best before date says LJ349. What does this mean?⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
Thanks GPT, very useful
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨I still don't get why people spend money... there's tons of it for free⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
I can’t read “My mate Paul” and not hear it in Philomena Cunk’s / Diane Morgan’s voice. Well played sir!
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Qualcomm's Powerful PC Chip Is Worse for AMD Than for Intel⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
I have a surface pro x. I can’t install Google drive on windows. I can’t install Linux. Affinity apps don’t get graphics acceleration because of some missing directX support. Neither does Blender, or Fusion360. Darktable and Rawtherapee only work under emulation. How is this a $1000+ laptop? All those things work flawlessly on an underspecced base MacBook air with 8GB of RAM (up until you need to use all the ram to keep five chrome tabs open anyway).

I know there’s some hyperbole here, but my point still stands: the author is right when they said that Microsoft hasn’t given up… Because it feels they’re not even trying. Apple said EVERYBODY MAKE ARM APPS NOW, and compatibility problems lasted a year. Not ten years.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨UK starts early trials of World's first pothole preventing robot⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
Ah, it was just because of the “ban cars” comment with no more context around it. I’m happy with reducing cars, not with expecting cars to get banned altogether or to cease to exist magically.
⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨UK starts early trials of World's first pothole preventing robot⁩ ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:
Well it might be off, as there are other factors, but I wasn’t meaning it as hyperbole - road damage is proportional to the fourth power of axle weight, and a typical bus weighs about 10 times the weight of a compact. This is called the Generalised Fourth Power Law" and there are tons of links about it:

…org.uk/…/the-fourth-power-rule-cyclelicious/

(Which btw, you can apply the other way and state that you need an insane amount of bicycles to match the road damage of a single car).

If they took the top end bracket of SUV weights and the bottom end of bus weights, they could have reached vastly different numbers. I used 1800 kg (large sedan or compact SUV) and 18000 kg for a bus (the mercedes Benz citaro starts at roughly 18500 kg), to keep the numbers simple.