PuddleOfKittens's recent activity
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Comment on EA is reportedly about to be sold in a record-setting $50 billion buyout to an investor group that includes private equity and Saudi Arabia in ~games
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Comment on Donald Trump suggests using ‘dangerous’ US cities as ‘training grounds’ for military in ~society
PuddleOfKittens LinkOoh let's put untrained troops with guns into cities full of innocent people, what's the worst that could happen?Ooh let's put untrained troops with guns into cities full of innocent people, what's the worst that could happen?
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Comment on Vladimir Putin has called up 135,000 men for routine military service, the country's biggest autumn conscription drive since 2016 in ~society
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentConscription involves mailing people to go show up at X office with the required gear - mailing out the notices is trivial, the number of conscripts isn't relevant, unless they try to dodge the...Conscription involves mailing people to go show up at X office with the required gear - mailing out the notices is trivial, the number of conscripts isn't relevant, unless they try to dodge the draft.
If they dodge the draft, then the Russian govt has a lot of practice at the whole 'citizen surveillance' thing and have some options.
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Comment on Vladimir Putin has called up 135,000 men for routine military service, the country's biggest autumn conscription drive since 2016 in ~society
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentYes and no. According to Russia, Ukraine is Russia, but not Russia Russia. i.e. conscripts don't get sent to the frontline (mostly), they're sent to guard internationally-recognized Russian...Yes and no. According to Russia, Ukraine is Russia, but not Russia Russia. i.e. conscripts don't get sent to the frontline (mostly), they're sent to guard internationally-recognized Russian borders (thus freeing up the existing volunteer troop guards to fight in Ukraine).
Putin knows damn well that public support for the war is contingent on Russian citizens being able to ignore it if they don't like it, and benefiting financially. Specifically, troop sign-on bonuses have skyrocketed as Russian troops get decimated, and demand for factory workers (and thus factory wages) have skyrocketed as the Russian army is desperate for war materiel. This is wonderful for Russian citizens.
All of that breaks if Putin starts mass-conscripting and sending conscripts into the meat-grinder. So no, conscripts won't be sent to the frontline.
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Comment on Proton batteries - new still-in-the-lab batteries that use hydrogen ions instead of lithium ions (also a different anode/cathode) in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens (edited )Link ParentEnergy density has a ton of knock-on effects - transport costs, manufacturing rates (if you can tweak one process to make the same battery 2x as energy-dense, then your factory is effectively...Energy density has a ton of knock-on effects - transport costs, manufacturing rates (if you can tweak one process to make the same battery 2x as energy-dense, then your factory is effectively producing 2x as many batteries), cost floor (manufacturing costs trend toward just the cost of raw materials, and energy density determines how much capacity you can wring out of said raw materials).
FWIW "vehicle use in China" doesn't mean a lot; there are plenty of new vehicles (basically mopeds and tuktuks IIRC) that use lead-acid batteries there. In small, relatively low-speed vehicles with low range, the energy density of the battery doesn't really matter, but price absolutely matters when the whole vehicle costs $1k (and lithium has only very recently (mostly) defeated lead-acid batteries in price). So yeah, sodium batteries can go toe-to-toe with lead acid, great.
No seriously, that is great. I love sodium batteries as a concept, and I love low-speed absurdly-dirt-cheap alleged cars (they cost <$1000 because they don't make massive the engineering demands that inevitably balloon mainstream cars up to $30k+, like "must go faster than 30KM/h" or "must have 4+ seats" or "must have more than 100KM range". We've outlawed these cars from our roads even though they're more than adequate for all sorts of jobs, because they impeded the $30k+ cars from going 60KM/h. These $1k cars are the modern version of a horsecart and there are some jobs that don't and never needed anything more, but we're paying 30x the price regardless.
...anyway sodium-ion batteries are cool because throwing energy-density at stuff has makes me suspect a failure of imagination, and if you ignore energy-density then sodium-ion is definitely the coolest battery (outside the lab, at least).
But energy density has a ton of knock-on effects for everything including price, so saying "just energy density" is like saying "just white" when talking about the color spectrum - everything is in there.
Also, much like airships, sodium's big problem isn't its downsides but its lack of upsides to compensate for its downsides, and the fact that its dominant competitors are really quite good, actually. Even though airships are obviously really cool, especially when you realize they have basically infinite room for solar panels and thus could be solar-powered electric airships without herculean engineering efforts at optimizing the panels and power use like in solar planes.
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Comment on Proton batteries - new still-in-the-lab batteries that use hydrogen ions instead of lithium ions (also a different anode/cathode) in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens LinkYes, that's not the best title, but the original title contains far too much wank and no useful information: That said, I'm super hopeful for this tech. It gives a broader range of potential raw...Proton batteries - new still-in-the-lab batteries that use hydrogen ions instead of lithium ions (also a different anode/cathode)
Yes, that's not the best title, but the original title contains far too much wank and no useful information:
Proton batteries: an innovative option for the future of energy storage
That said, I'm super hopeful for this tech. It gives a broader range of potential raw materials to work with that aren't an obvious downgrade (like sodium-ion is), which means a lower potential cost of battery over time since costs will trend towards the cost of raw materials. Not to mention the incredible geostrategic implications of those various geographically-limited metals not being necessary for high energy density anymore. Meanwhile, hydrogen seems potentially superior to lithium, while also being 1/10th the cost as a raw material, so I'm excited (but not assuming) for a potential improvement to energy density gains over the next few years/decades.
If nothing else, a competitor to lithium-ion would be good (unless it halves the scale of each type of battery, and thus splits research between them and slows down both their progress).
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Proton batteries - new still-in-the-lab batteries that use hydrogen ions instead of lithium ions (also a different anode/cathode)
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Comment on Drones seen over Danish military bases in latest air disruption in ~society
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI think invoking Article 4 is a needless formality when it has already been invoked in response to Russia repeatedly violating NATO airspace. Article 4 might be invoked per situation, rather than...I think invoking Article 4 is a needless formality when it has already been invoked in response to Russia repeatedly violating NATO airspace. Article 4 might be invoked per situation, rather than per country, in which case they can't invoke Article 4.
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Comment on Starship was doomed from the beginning in ~space
PuddleOfKittens LinkI haven't followed Space stuff very closely, is this plausibly true?I haven't followed Space stuff very closely, is this plausibly true?
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Starship was doomed from the beginning
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Comment on Tesla influencers tried Elon Musk’s coast-to-coast self-driving, crashed before sixty miles in ~transport
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentThe best response to this, IMO, is to talk about how we replaced blacksmithing: we didn't re-invent hands, but instead constrained the metal and meticulously planned to have power-hammers...The best response to this, IMO, is to talk about how we replaced blacksmithing: we didn't re-invent hands, but instead constrained the metal and meticulously planned to have power-hammers hammering from a single predefined angle.
Humans can adjust course in response to errors. Robots are far less talented at this, so throwing sensors at the problem to reduce error rate is a better option.
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Comment on Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI excluded the touchscreen monitor because I don't know enough about fridge monitors, but I'm guessing those things are the fairly small type of monitor and not a proper desktop sized one - at...I excluded the touchscreen monitor because I don't know enough about fridge monitors, but I'm guessing those things are the fairly small type of monitor and not a proper desktop sized one - at which point the same argument applies that nobody really wants to re-use the screen, for the same reason laptops are 13" and not 8".
If the fridge screen was physically modular in that it was basically just a slot with a purpose-built iPad that had a wired plug to talk with the fridge's chip, would that be any different to a literal iPad stapled to the fridge door? Half the point of integrating the functionality into the fridge is that the module slots and sockets are expensive, and nobody wants to pay for the extra expense - so companies make cheap shit that's integrated because it's cheap, and coincidentally also shoddy/unreliable because it's cheap. For instance, touchscreens are often used because they're a single screen with a single wire, which nowadays is cheaper than having a bunch of custom knobs/buttons with labels. This might not be the case for fridges, but it's why cars have been moving to touchscreens.
I've never seen a fridge that has a calendar, AIUI they add stuff like internal cameras that let you check what's in the fridge without opening it and letting the cold out - a really cool energy-efficiency measure, if the manufacturing energy of the electronics is low enough. Although, having a calendar interface on the fridge honestly makes perfect sense to me, because it's an attempt to skip the 'pull out tiny screen from pocket and futz around with finding the app' problem. Food is inherently time-sensitive, and deciding how to schedule your time re:food generally involves going to the fridge and checking inventory already. In a sense, moving various app functionality to an appliance's screen would be an attempt to appliance-ize phone apps.
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Comment on Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentWhat's the difference between built-in electronics, and a built-in computer? Obviously, a fridge is an electric device so inevitably must have electronics of some sort. "A built-in computer",...What's the difference between built-in electronics, and a built-in computer? Obviously, a fridge is an electric device so inevitably must have electronics of some sort. "A built-in computer", interpreted literally, means it has a microchip, but honestly microchips are so damn cheap and reliable that they're commonly used nowadays just to remove a few copper wires from the wiring plan of the electronics- in other words, the difference is fuzzy at best, and realistically no longer exists.
But, when people say "a built in computer" nowadays, they tend to basically mean 'smart functionality' - which will usually run on one of those existing cost-saving microchips (presumably beefed up slightly, and including a few extra components like the WiFi). The thing is, the computing power for e.g. [remote-controlling your kettle] is basically a $1 chip vs a $2 chip. It's not going to make a difference whether the electronics are worth salvaging.
Seriously, I've looked into making a literal desktop computer from a microchip, and the answer is kind of really dumb: the keyboard is more expensive than the chip. It's not a "fully functional computer", if only because the definition of "fully functional" ought to be that someone would actually use the thing.
Interpreting your comment charitably though, I think your implicit argument is that microchips ought to be recycled because they're very expensive to produce, environmentally speaking. And while that's a problem, I think trying to address it at the fridge side is bad, because fundamentally it's a market problem - if the chips aren't properly priced, then the solution is to properly price the chips, not bemoan that people don't value the underpriced thing. Of course they'll undervalue the underpriced thing!
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Debunking myths on farmworker pay
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Comment on Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentIt kind of is. See, ads are only useful if they reach people with money. If Samsung sold a version without ads for a higher price, then the people with money would buy that thing and then Samsung...It's almost as if that ad data is worth more than the dang $2500 I gave them for the TV.
It kind of is. See, ads are only useful if they reach people with money. If Samsung sold a version without ads for a higher price, then the people with money would buy that thing and then Samsung wouldn't be able to sell ads.
I might actually get that when my finances are crap
lol, typo?
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Comment on Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI keep thinking that in an ideal world, I would actually not want a standalone device, I'd want to be tied into the ecosystem. If there was a company or institution that wasn't evil, and that just...but it would be much better for that to be a standalone device so that you're not tied into the Samsung ecosystem
I keep thinking that in an ideal world, I would actually not want a standalone device, I'd want to be tied into the ecosystem. If there was a company or institution that wasn't evil, and that just worked like how I buy A4 paper without caring what brand it is, or whether it's compatible with my printer's ink/toner (because it just is).
It really is absurd that we have a bunch of different ecosystems, all of which we expect to fuck us over, and the best idea everyone has is "try to go without ecosystems by eschewing technology/’smart’ devices as much as possible".
My big fantasy is that everyone remembers that The Government Can Do Stuff, and we make a publicly-funded company whose goal is to just make functional devices that work, and provide nifty features without trying to devour your soul.
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Comment on Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentWhat if you can easily turn off the ads? Then you get what's basically a free discount, thanks to all the other people who don't/can't turn off the ads. I know this is like suggesting a...What if you can easily turn off the ads? Then you get what's basically a free discount, thanks to all the other people who don't/can't turn off the ads.
I know this is like suggesting a "low-asbestos house", but this is rational for some buyers, and has basically already happened with smart TVs -and now all smart TVs have ads by default.
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Comment on Should I take a job to work on something I don’t believe in? in ~life
PuddleOfKittens LinkIf the company is actively terrible and you want it to fail, then you should simply help them do that. Take the job, and simply be the worst employee you can be - without pissing off colleagues or...If the company is actively terrible and you want it to fail, then you should simply help them do that. Take the job, and simply be the worst employee you can be - without pissing off colleagues or impairing your career, of course.
This will require prioritizing. Your boss may tell you that being late to work is bad for the company, but the reality is that it doesn't make much difference, so you should instead save your political capital and strive to arrive on-time every day unless arranged otherwise with your boss.
Damaging a company to the tune of millions of dollars only requires one exceedingly poor decision made in the right area, so keep your eyes open for it and make plausibly reasonable decisions in the meanwhile.
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Comment on Has anyone else run up against higher costs due to the US tariffs? in ~society
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentMilitarily, that's kind of bad - imagine if all AR-15s were Chinese. Except there's not much point building Western drone factories right now, since the moment the Ukraine war ends, you know...The entire hobby has been shaken to the ground because of tarrifs, since virtually all of the parts are Chinese.
Militarily, that's kind of bad - imagine if all AR-15s were Chinese. Except there's not much point building Western drone factories right now, since the moment the Ukraine war ends, you know Ukraine will retool their military drone factories for selling on the civilian market, and prices will absolutely flatline.
But, why would Ukraine wait? They have the drone factories running now, so why wouldn't they cash in on their drone expertise to get some money flowing through their domestic economy? Presumably either 1) they don't have any spare capacity and 100% of all output increase is going straight to the military, 2) it would be too onerous to switch from military to civilian context (e.g. civilians don't care about being resistant to jamming/electronic warfare but do care about the drone lasting a long time before it breaks (military drones tend to be shot down etc so lifetime is less important), or 3) they're concerned about accidentally leaking military secrets re: drone production, to Russia.
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Comment on My guess and opinion on the common blockers to Linux adoption in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentLet's compare computer literacy to actual literacy: In actual literacy, you're taught by your parents and then at school, formally, from a young age. It's mandatory. There's an official character...Let's compare computer literacy to actual literacy:
In actual literacy, you're taught by your parents and then at school, formally, from a young age. It's mandatory. There's an official character set and spelling system; it doesn't change and you only need to learn it once in your lifetime. Learning spellings of new words is a continuous process, but people might misspell obscure words and that's just normal.
For computer literacy, you're on your own. You might be taught the basics informally, but that's it. There's no standard - there's Mac, Windows, Linux, when just looking at the OS. Even if you learn your app, like MSN Messenger and Windows XP, you'll have to relearn once everyone switches to Windows 10 and WhatsApp. Specifically, you'll have to learn on your own time. If you put it off long enough, everyone might just switch to Telegram and then you won't have to figure out WhatsApp. Also, app interfaces are changed by the corporations all the time. Sometimes to improve the UI, sometimes just for rebranding reasons. And some parts are actively intended to be confusing (see: privacy consent form).
If we treated computer literacy like actual literacy - formal education, standardised universal interfaces, not constantly changed - then it wouldn't be a problem. People still wouldn't have "common sense", but that's true of everything. Ask any expert on any particular appliance how to use the tool properly that people don't do, and they'll give you quite the little rant usually.
It doesn't really matter whether genAI reduces costs or not. If it does, and there are lots of buyers willing to pay $70 with low expectations, then someone else will come along and do so. Because EA doesn't own the genAI.
The reality is that AAA devs primarily avoid competing with indie devs by being too expensive to copy. If genAI makes AAA graphics cheaper, they're permitting more competition with EA and thus lowering profits, not boosting them.
And note that all of this is after "if genAI can".