falcunculus

@falcunculus@jlai.lu

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨A 'US-Made iPhone' Is Pure Fantasy⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  The fact they made it possible is impressive in itself. Sure it’s not competitive for the latest games or such, but society is more and more reliant on smartphones, so having a local option is valuable in itself.

  It’s a bit like countries making their own planes instead of buying the F-35, which is better and cheaper. They looked stupid at the time, until Trump came back and it turned out strategic autonomy had value.

  As for the price, probably it is due to small production ; but also simply underlines how we got used to not paying the “true” price of things, by moving production to places with cheaper costs & labor.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Elon Musk and Taylor Swift can now hide details of their private jets/// Private aircraft owners can now ask the FAA to keep their registration information out of the public eye.⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  You’re missing their point, they’re saying from the point of view of those in power millionaires are middle class.

  Although there are some that distinguish a “managerial class” that is in-between the middle class and the billionaires : people like CEOs and such, with net worth in the tens of millions but who are not those who benefit the most from the system and are culturally distinct. I think it’s a useful concept personally, as their interests aren’t necessarily the same as the owner class but they still have a lot of political power.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨In the US, it's finally socially acceptable again to clap when the plane lands⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  You don’t need a selfie there, just use the Gimp.

  Lol this is brillant

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Sooo, where did the blatant Nazism suddenly come from?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I wonder the same, my theory is that this gesture is used both as a loyalty test and a way to further polarize society.

  Making this gesture draws clear lines in society: those who say it was fine, those who say it wasn’t, those who don’t take a stance (ie the media calling it a “controversial gesture” or similar). So Musk & al now have a clearer idea of who stand where. It also cleaves those “for” and those “against” further away, solidifying their base.

  Another explanation is this is part of the normalization of extreme rethoric and symbols. I doubt he could have gotten away with it ten years ago.

  Yet another possibility, he did it on a whim and the neo-nazis like Bannon are now seizing the opportunity. It’s unclear how planned this was and how intentional the consequences were.

  (And all might be true at once)

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨That hurts a little⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  • At some point, a limiting factor just becomes art direction and budget. You can have all the fancy techniques you want, but you still need to make detailed textures, animations, etc.

  Very possibly generative AI will alleviate this, although it has yet to produce convincing 3d models or animations.