thatKamGuy
@thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works
- Comment on SpaceX says states should dump fiber plans, give all grant money to Starlink 6 hours ago:
Except that US ISPs have already been provided upwards of $80b to roll out a fiber optic backbone for rural connections, and have instead largely pocketed the funds and sat on their hands.
It has largely fallen to smaller communities to incorporate their own local ISPs and manage their own roll-outs, as such projects aren’t viewed as worthwhile for private companies.
Honestly, if Australia could roll out a national fiber backbone (almost a decade ago!) across the same approximate landmass as the contiguous 48 states at less than 10% of the overall population; there is no valid reason that the wealthiest nation to have ever existed can’t also do so.
Even if a Federal program (not under this administration, obviously) was to just run fibre parallel to the existing interstate highways, and leave the last (20) miles to local utilities - it would be cheaper, faster and more reliable than LEO - and without all the additional negatives that come with that!
- Comment on Australia, why are you still obsessed with freeways – when they’re driving us away from net zero? 2 days ago:
Tell me about it; feels like any/all higher-density housing built since 2000 largely caps out at 2 bedrooms.
It only gets worse when you factor in we also heavily prefer a single story residence, eliminating >90% of what’s left as it heavily skews towards ‘luxury’ 2-4 storey townhouses over apartments.
- Comment on Australia, why are you still obsessed with freeways – when they’re driving us away from net zero? 2 days ago:
If it were possible to afford an apartment that could house a multi-generational family (2 kids, 2 parents, 2 grandparents) within Melbourne’s tram zone - we would get the fuck out of suburbia at the drop of a hat.
My wife and I absolutely despise our ~60 minute commutes each way, and we’d gladly trade our shitty little backyard for walking distance to one of the beautiful botanical gardens.
The problem still largely ties back to the Howard-era changes to capital gains and negative gearing causing a prolonged and painful housing bubble, further exacerbated by 30 years of record immigration.
- Comment on Have you watched masterpiece named "Happy"? 3 days ago:
Bloody? Trashy? This should be right up your alley!
- Comment on AI experts return from China stunned: The U.S. grid is so weak, the race may already be over 3 days ago:
The US is very much on the decline, and thanks to the poorly thought out One Child policy- China has also likely past it’s apex. But like the US, it too can cause a lot of damage during its downfall.
India, thanks to burgeoning population and rapid industrialisation is probably the most notable nation currently ‘on the rise’.
- Comment on Aftershocks expected after south-east Queensland shaken by 5.6-magnitude earthquake 3 days ago:
Hopefully no one was injured, and we can say:
- Comment on Tech bosses spend millions more on personal security 5 days ago:
Think how truly life changing it would be, if $1m just popped into your bank account one day - you could pay off your mortgage, buy a new car, start a business, or take your family on a vacation to remember.
Mark Zuckerberg could do that each and every single day of the year…
…36 times over…
…just from a 5% return on his current net worth!
- Comment on Final Fantasy X programmer doesn’t get why devs want to replicate low-poly PS1 era games. “We worked so hard to avoid warping, but now they say it’s charming” - AUTOMATON WEST 1 week ago:
That’s definitely a significant bit of it for me too.
I remember a while ago coming across a YouTube video on how racing games have become less interesting, as graphical fidelity has reached a point where it’s actually harder to distinguish what’s going on, and differentiating between backgrounds and obstacles.
Additionally, game worlds were smaller and easier to memorise back then. I can still navigate GTA3’s Liberty City as well as Vice City largely from memory - but there’s no chance I could do the same for GTA6 when it releases.
The other last benefit of older titles is getting to experience everything without missing out due to inaccessible DLCs, battle passes and whatnot.
- Comment on How do gameplay youtuber develop interesting commentary? 2 weeks ago:
Ask yourself what niche do you want to fill, and what is that space like already? What would set you apart from others already there? What is your unique selling point, in order to get eyeballs on your videos?
- Comment on Grand Theft Auto Games 'At Risk' From Being Pulled From Sale Ahead Of GTA 6 2 weeks ago:
in the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity
Rockstar have been leveraging controversy to their advantage for over 20 years now, with great success.
While I’m paranoid enough to believe that they’re behind it all, I definitely do think that they do subtly help amplify such messages towards their favour.
- Comment on Plants vs. Zombies Coming Back With Classic Chaos & New Features 2 weeks ago:
At a cost of $20 USD/EUD, you’d better fucking hope not!
- Comment on First Australian-made orbital rocket crashes shortly after takeoff 2 weeks ago:
“She’ll be right!”
- Comment on "We approached payment processors because Steam did not respond" - Australian pressure group Collective Shout claims responsibility for Steam and Itch.io NSFW game removal 3 weeks ago:
e pluribus anus
- Comment on Sony Sues Tencent Over Horizon Lookalike 3 weeks ago:
Not as relevant as you would think, and actually somewhat common in the industry; Warcraft (the RTS) was developed ahead of asking for a license for the Warhammer franchise. When that deal fell through, it was rejigged to be its own thing and published.
- Comment on If the economics of broadening or lifting Australia’s GST are challenging, the politics are horrendous 3 weeks ago:
Exactly; increasing the GST would be downright regressive, harming the most vulnerable and will fail to stimulate the economy in any way, shape or form.
Doing so just to pass a tax cut for high-income earners will just further exacerbate the wealth divide we are currently experiencing; wealthy people need to be taxed more, not less - to cover our budgetary deficits, broaden our safety nets and invest in public infrastructure like housing, renewable energy, and faster public transport.
Giving those that have enough even more, is just going to have them park those funds in property, rent-seeking and extracting more wealth from the under-class.
It is so counter-intuitive, I can only think that this was proposed by someone with a fetish for public self-destruction.
- Comment on Rumor: Star Wars Outlaws Sequel Canceled By Ubisoft 3 weeks ago:
Damn, that comparison is brutal.
- Comment on Renovation was right—and we're ahead of schedule 4 weeks ago:
Correct me if I’m wrong, but Genesis/Mega Drive games ran at 320x240px - right?
So we could theoretically fit 12x9 (108) games at the same time on one 4K screen.
…now I kinda want to see that in action!
- Comment on 'Death Stranding 2' proves more video games need to get weird, experts say 1 month ago:
We need both; even if passionate developers are put in charge of projects — they are still likely to be stymied by an overly conservative C-suite.
Successful ‘weird games’ in conjunction with indies would lead to a positive feedback loop in the industry and allow for more creativity across the board.
- Comment on It is what it is 1 month ago:
Yeah, one would have hoped that’d be the case - but apparently not.
I just remembered reading this a while back (start of last year, it seems?), and it honestly felt like a tacit admission of wrong-doing - so they’re likely going to be facing an uphill battle, or at least are expecting one.
- Comment on It is what it is 1 month ago:
- Comment on So um, america just started another war in the middle east. We're going to need a shit ton more memes to americans from the nightmare they are enduring. Thanks in advance... 1 month ago:
A Wild Matt-o appeared!
- Comment on YouTube’s new anti-adblock measures 1 month ago:
Why not just use Brave, which blocks ads and allows for picture-in-picture and background play?
Do you need to download for offline play or similar?
- Comment on Apple to Australians: You’re Too Stupid to Choose Your Own Apps 1 month ago:
How has it been “proven” that all app stores are equally safe?
Heck, just comparing Google Play and Apple App Store - every article over the past year covering malicious apps (including the recent cross-platform SparkCat) mentions at some point or another that these occurrences are significantly rarer on iOS given Apple’s stricter policies and guidelines. Policies that could not otherwise be enforced on 3rd party app stores.
Realistically, no one who purchases an iPhone is doing so under the assumption that they aren’t going to be within the wider Apple ecosystem and ‘walled garden’. Those that do want that additional freedom, and associated risks, have Android and other FOSS options available to them already.
Think of it this way: There are plenty of Android-based devices that are faster, better or have unique features that iOS doesn’t; Apple’s USP is iOS. We were ‘free’ to choose this ecosystem, and by trying to impose your own definition of freedom onto us, you are instead depriving us of our own.
If you choose not to see the inherent risks associated with this, so be it - but I am wary enough to know that if/once the genie is out of the bottle, there is no ability to go back when the shit inevitably hits the fan.
Don’t think of me as a blind Apple fanboy, either: I think there are plenty of valid criticisms of Apple’s handling of the App Store that legislation would be much better suited to targeting - namely their egregious fees and arbitrary policies regarding directing users to their own websites for alternate payment methods.****
- Comment on Apple to Australians: You’re Too Stupid to Choose Your Own Apps 1 month ago:
Well you weren’t very specific, so I wasn’t sure which point(s) you were disagreeing with.
I’m sure there are a number of apps which were only available on one storefront (Google, Samsung, F-Droid etc.).
China is in an even worse spot, as Google is outright banned - there are a dozen or so competing Android app stores; however their saving grace is that literally every digital transaction goes through either Weixin or AliPay - so there’s a somewhat lessened risk of credit card fraud.
Why would smaller, niche apps move to alternative stores on iOS? To (rightfully) avoid the excessive fees charged - so yes, a restaurant would be a prime example of someone not be willing / able to give 30% to Apple (nor should they, it’s downright extortion).
- Comment on Check your energy rates! 1 month ago:
If you are in Victoria, you should be using the comparison website every year:
compare.energy.vic.gov.auIt will find the cheapest plan based on your usage over the past year.
In general, you can usually lock in a rate for ~12 months - after which point in time you will switch to the default rate (which will be higher, but is still capped versus how bad things used to be).
- Comment on Apple to Australians: You’re Too Stupid to Choose Your Own Apps 1 month ago:
Just because you aren’t aware of it, it doesn’t med it’s not happening already.
- Comment on Apple to Australians: You’re Too Stupid to Choose Your Own Apps 1 month ago:
I respectfully disagree.
If I’m out at a restaurant with app-based ordering, or my Real Estate agent requires payment through their gateway, or to track my utilities usage, or am required to use any other number of niche apps that become only available through alternate app stores? Then I very well risk being put in a situation where I am otherwise forced to.
Let alone the headaches that will inevitably come from the older, less technologically savvy, and more vulnerable having their default app stores highjacked, and spoof apps stealing their credentials/credit cards.
Then we get into the more general issues of allowing unsigned code to be loaded and run on our smartphones - it will lead to the era of viruses, Trojans and ransomware.
I am reminded of this piece that Last Week Tonight did on Encryption, which is quite cogent given the topic at hand.
Best security practices involve minimising the number of places your sensitive (financial) data is stored. If a website doesn’t accept a known and reputable intermediary like Apple Pay, PayPal or a BNPL provider - I would refrain from using it.
If this is something that you want - then go ahead and Jailbreak your iPhone, or get an Android - more power to you; but please stop trying to enshittify iOS.
- Comment on Apple to Australians: You’re Too Stupid to Choose Your Own Apps 1 month ago:
Unpopular opinion, but if I wanted multiple app stores (and all the associated benefits and risks) then I would have opted for an Android.
The walled garden approach works for me, and I don’t want to be inconvenienced and my data put at risk because a particular, necessary app is only available through a 3rd party platform.
Now, Apple being forced to reduce the % of app sales down from 30% to a more reasonable number I am all for.
- Comment on Opinion: Building our way out of social housing unaffordability may no longer be possible 2 months ago:
Correct; it wasn’t one single thing that got us into this situation - and it’s going to take a multi-pronged attack in order to bring things back to sanity.
However, building more social housing should be a priority for all state Governments. Growing up in one of the commission flats in Melbourne in the ‘90s, I can tell you that stability afforded my family and many others a level of security that we have deprived those that came after by doing to invest and develop more.
- Comment on What's an absolutely medium quality game? Not great, incredible or terrible or any single ended extreme. Dead medium quality 2 months ago:
In a world where games are scored across a full spectrum 0-or-1 to 10, then yes - anything 4-6 would be considered middle of the road.
However, due to a number of factors - that’s unfortunately not the reality we find ourselves in.
Firstly, “mid” is hard to define as it can mean anything from ‘mediocre’ to ‘fine, but forgettable’.
Secondly, ratings/scores tend to skew upward as people tend to reserve 1s for outright scams, broken games and review bombs. With 2 & 3 often used for ‘asset flips’ and similar non-games - so we end up grading on a curve from 4-10.
This also works well for mainstream outlets as it keeps advertisers happy, due to arbitrarily inflated scores.
Lastly, in a world of cumulative media (new releases don’t cause older ones to stop existing) - even ostensibly good games will fall by the wayside as players have access to 10/10 titles from previous years.
So all things considered, a 7/10 is well and truly “mid” in this topsy-turvey IGN-eque world
