raze2012's recent activity
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Comment on US President Donald Trump’s stifling of dissent reaches a new level: The editorial board tracks twelve markers of democratic erosion (gifted link) in ~society
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Comment on The hidden cost of AI art: Brandon Sanderson's keynote in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentNew grad unemployment as of now is over 25%. Not being able to start their career and getting all the things that come with a full time job definitely hampers people. And then the next batch...I don't completely get the argument that AIs steal the opportunity for growth. I think that someone that wants to grow can still grow.
New grad unemployment as of now is over 25%. Not being able to start their career and getting all the things that come with a full time job definitely hampers people. And then the next batch notice this and don't bother with the huge cost a diploma employs.
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Comment on Bethesda X Nintendo Switch 2 | Reveal trailer in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentI don't think it's a bad game. But yes, simply follow the money. Skyrim is basically the closest competitor to GTA in terms of cultural impact and sheer sales as a third party studio's game, and...I don't think it's a bad game. But yes, simply follow the money. Skyrim is basically the closest competitor to GTA in terms of cultural impact and sheer sales as a third party studio's game, and it's probably getting close to 70 million sales in 2026 (I think the last figure was 60m in late 2023?). It's a very justifiable port job whenever something new comes up.
Starfield is a new IP with an inherently less interesting premise (I love space, but a non space opera setting is much harder to pull off for the theme) and didn't seem to sell the way Microsoft or Bethesda wanted it to. It will probably still be supported due to historical trends, but it's not going to be ported day 1 to everything under the sun.
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Comment on Japan cherry blossom festival cancelled because of unruly tourist ‘crisis’ in ~society
raze2012 Link ParentI'd say it's 70% social media and 30% language barrier. You go outside the hotspots and you receive zero help in terms of navigating Japan. On top of seeing some of the most blatant xenophobia...I'd say it's 70% social media and 30% language barrier. You go outside the hotspots and you receive zero help in terms of navigating Japan. On top of seeing some of the most blatant xenophobia from smaller towns that want nothing to do with you.
Facilitating the former is a large undertaking, and the latter is an even larger cultural issue that ultimatley needs to be spearheaded by the former. But Japan isn't exactly in the best position to work on that even if they wanted to.
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Comment on Japan cherry blossom festival cancelled because of unruly tourist ‘crisis’ in ~society
raze2012 Link ParentThat's pretty much how all law enforcement works, yes. This isn't unique, it's just easier than ever to pretend it is. What's important isn't 0% crime rates, it's as close to 100% accountability...If the same effects of tourism were seen in America, we would ignore it or handle it while accepting it’s an inevitability.
That's pretty much how all law enforcement works, yes. This isn't unique, it's just easier than ever to pretend it is.
What's important isn't 0% crime rates, it's as close to 100% accountability as possible when crimes do happen. Amplifying it as a "war on [insert interest here]" is a purely political stance often used to distract from proper accountability on real issues.
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Comment on Japan cherry blossom festival cancelled because of unruly tourist ‘crisis’ in ~society
raze2012 Link ParentYou're falling for the 2024 American election rhetoric all over again. Yes there's always some disorder. But social media capturing and amplifying it to make it seem like this is a "crisis" is the...But I will standby my original comment that this isn't just Japan being xenophobic.
You're falling for the 2024 American election rhetoric all over again. Yes there's always some disorder. But social media capturing and amplifying it to make it seem like this is a "crisis" is the exactly what they want. Watch national elections in japan pass and suddenly there's less "disorderly conduct" (aka, the ad cycle is done and they can lay off the coffers).
Even if all tourists are perfectly well behaving, it can feel annoying having the population of your town double with visitors and everywhere you go things are crazy crowded.
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why? new people are cool if they aren't disorderly. It stimulates the economy, gives new people to talk to, expereinces to hear about, and overall builds confidence in a town (as someone who lived in quite a few dying areas).
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To repeat, Japan has about 0.2% non-japanese people, in a country of 300 million. That's already dream goal for the most xenophobic countries. 6 million non-citizens spread across the landmass of roughly California is not going to suddenly make your favorite bar or cafe too crowded to go to. It may even build up more.
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even if it hit 0% somewhere, it's not going to fix any actual issues Japan or any other country has. It just means they will have one less distraction, or worse: will need to generate a distraction. Some visitor is not the one laying me off, making housing go through the roof, nor making my life actively worse. Why would I point a finger at them.
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Comment on EU says TikTok faces large fine over "addictive design" in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentThat's why truth is the best disinfectant. I don't care about shutting down tiktok or youtube per se. Simply make sure we know the sausage that's going on. If it's bad then... well, it's bad. See...I have a hard time seeing TikTok as unquestionably evil
That's why truth is the best disinfectant. I don't care about shutting down tiktok or youtube per se. Simply make sure we know the sausage that's going on. If it's bad then... well, it's bad. See Facebook in the 2010's. Pretty open and shut to realize that stuff like shadow profiles and rampant selling of data is not something we want to encourage. But we had to find out about it first.
If it's not bad, then it'll open up competition to minimize odds of monopolistic convergence (which IS bad). Maybe such algorithms may be able to incentivize the people to become more educated as well. I'm not so optimistic, but it's a lens to consider.
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Comment on The AI industry doesn’t take “no” for an answer in ~tech
raze2012 Link Parenteconomically, it doesn't make sense. It'a a billion dollar tool with trillion dollars of investment. It's not sustainable as it is now from that angle alone. That's why a bubble popping and a soft...With that said, I think you're understating the usefulness of AI a little bit.
economically, it doesn't make sense. It'a a billion dollar tool with trillion dollars of investment. It's not sustainable as it is now from that angle alone.
That's why a bubble popping and a soft reset in terms of not trying to stuff money into any mention of it. Bring out real customer demand and real (current, not "in 10 years") benefits to it. Which won't be as omnipresent as it is trying to portray.
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Comment on The AI industry doesn’t take “no” for an answer in ~tech
raze2012 Link Parentit depends on how they weigh "customer". his poll is clearly biased, but DDG from the article: again, skewed. But I see general polls go around 60-70% of users. Now if you treat customers as...but the customer does actually want this nonsense.
- it depends on how they weigh "customer". his poll is clearly biased, but DDG from the article:
Another great example came from DuckDuckGo, which opened a poll asking whether you are for or against AI. After more than 175,000 votes, 90% of respondents said no to AI.
again, skewed. But I see general polls go around 60-70% of users.
Now if you treat customers as money, then yes. a lot of money wants to say it wants AI. I think even that reached an inflection point with Pintrest's reaction to their layoffs, but we'll see.
- They don't let you turn it off. Hence the article title. Options are always nice. We aren't given an option. The bare minimum to let me hide my dissatisfaction is to let me turn off the feature. Meanwhile, Microsoft tries to push Copilot on the searchbar and Google pushes pop ups every dozen searches (which I blocked most of. but not the "are you interested in AI mode?"). Nadella's reaction to the negativity doesn't suggest we'll get such options
We need to get beyond the arguments of slop vs sophistication and develop a new equilibrium in terms of our “theory of the mind” that accounts for humans being equipped with these new cognitive amplifier tools as we relate to each other.
I'll be kinder than the article interpretation and say this amounts to "the user's input doesn't matter. This is going to make us so much more productive!". Which still supposes this god complex, as if they know what's best for all of us. But "all of us" are very diverse. What use does a plumber need for AI in the day to day? maybe some device they use? What about a grade school teacher? A politician (past bribes to de-regulate it)?
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Comment on 'Right-to-compute' laws may be coming to your state this year in ~comp
raze2012 Link ParentI thought it would help with things like net neutrality and rights to use VPNs. Silly me thinking this wasn't going to focus on benefiting the billonaires first and foremost. You know the...I thought it would help with things like net neutrality and rights to use VPNs. Silly me thinking this wasn't going to focus on benefiting the billonaires first and foremost.
You know the government is working against you when they need to pass laws saying "no you cannot stop these corporations". Needing a law to say "you can't control this" is almost contradictory.
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Comment on 'Right-to-compute' laws may be coming to your state this year in ~comp
raze2012 Link ParentYeah, it's confusing and I'll admit I really didn't know the difference until a few years ago when we say "senator", we normally refer to the 2 senates who represent our state in the federal...Yeah, it's confusing and I'll admit I really didn't know the difference until a few years ago
- when we say "senator", we normally refer to the 2 senates who represent our state in the federal goverment
- however, many states have a similar state body to our federal goverment, which includes state congressmen and state senators. They represent our state in state government.
Why on earth do they use the same term??
technically "senate" is a general term:
an assembly or council usually possessing high deliberative and legislative functions
so a parliment can also be called a senate in a purely linguistic sense. But of course, when discussing law and government these terms have specific meaning per country.
As for why they didn't use another term, it's probably a holdover from the early days of America. calling your state legilature a "senate" puts them on the same level as the federal senate. Not quite the case now, but likely very important back in those days. .
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Comment on Resist and Unsubscribe in ~society
raze2012 Link ParentI diesengaged from literally everything else. But my area's internet choices are AT&T or Charter. Dunno what to do there.I diesengaged from literally everything else. But my area's internet choices are AT&T or Charter. Dunno what to do there.
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Comment on Listing for GOG Galaxy developer cites Linux as “next major frontier” in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentI guess I see it like this: you get people on Steam deck and you don't really get people into Linux, you get then into Steam. They have the option to change that stuff, but most won't. So you'll...And people are not gonna get on Linux if "all their games only run on Windows"... Right now, developers are not giving a shit about running well on Proton, unless they're targeting the hand-held market and thus Steam Deck with a significant margin
I guess I see it like this: you get people on Steam deck and you don't really get people into Linux, you get then into Steam.
They have the option to change that stuff, but most won't. So you'll have this awkward sect of "Steam Deck Linux users" inbetween that don't really engage with "Linux". And given the history with Valve's marketshare, 90+% won't change their habits once they get embedded in such an ecosystem.
This is simply the way of the land for Windows, but in a Linux environment this feels a bit like centralizing a decentralized environment. And when you centralize, you inevitably get some point down the line where the trap goes shut once again. Valve won't be any different in the grand scheme of things.
I've seen this patrern in other spaces and I fear for the same road if we, once again, sacrifice being able to take our ball home by relinquishing control to yet another billion dollar corporation.
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Comment on Amazon’s promotion of ‘Melania’ has critics questioning its motives (Amazon has spent 35M on marketing on top of its 40M budget) in ~movies
raze2012 (edited )Link ParentThat's the fastest solution, but not only. If we all can be aware of this and push hard for wealth taxes (you know, a part of why America was "great" back in the day), that'd be a huge blow to...Unfortunately, there’s only one solution to this, but no one wants to talk about it.
That's the fastest solution, but not only. If we all can be aware of this and push hard for wealth taxes (you know, a part of why America was "great" back in the day), that'd be a huge blow to curtaining future billionaires. That can be done via mass ballot boxes, or through strikes and collective bargaining.
But if people prefer Luigi's mansion over Mario Party, I'm not gonna push back hard. I'll stick to my lane and wish the best.
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Comment on Amazon’s promotion of ‘Melania’ has critics questioning its motives (Amazon has spent 35M on marketing on top of its 40M budget) in ~movies
raze2012 Link ParentYeah, it's an important distinction. If you're on a High CoL area and you (or your older family member) owns a house, they are probably a millionaire outright. Doesn't mean they have a million in...Yeah, it's an important distinction. If you're on a High CoL area and you (or your older family member) owns a house, they are probably a millionaire outright. Doesn't mean they have a million in liquid to throw down on stuff. They simply sat on a necessary good turned asset that exploded in value.
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Comment on Apple says Patreon creators must switch to subscription billing in ~tech
raze2012 LinkJust gotta keep fueling those future antitrust lawsuits, huh? Was it really not enough to take a cut of Patreon's 5-10% cut (I. E. The actual app hosted on Apple servers), that you need to reach...Just gotta keep fueling those future antitrust lawsuits, huh? Was it really not enough to take a cut of Patreon's 5-10% cut (I. E. The actual app hosted on Apple servers), that you need to reach their creators too (who are not IOS devs nor have any contracts with Apple)?
I find it especially cowardly since this is hiding what they really want: their compromise of a 30% tax on their own IOS customers who simply want to support people they like and believe in. This is like having a friend over for a night and your landlord charges them for rent too. Literal rent-seeking
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Comment on Apple says Patreon creators must switch to subscription billing in ~tech
raze2012 Link ParentThe FTC did in fact do this right before Trump dropped in. Cancelling needs to be as easy as signing up....If the government regulated these things more tightly and required companies to make it easy to cancel,
The FTC did in fact do this right before Trump dropped in. Cancelling needs to be as easy as signing up.
And sadly, I say "right before Trump" for a reason. As you'd expect, companies filed lawsuits and it's being tied up in courts:
https://www.consumerfinancemonitor.com/2025/07/23/eighth-circuit-voids-ftc-click-to-cancel-rule/
Under federal law, the FTC must issue a preliminary regulatory analysis when a proposed rule would have an annual effect on the national economy surpassing $100 million.
The FTC said that the rule would not have an annual $100 million impact on the economy.
However, an Administrative Law Judge found that the proposed rule would have an annual effect surpassing the $100 million threshold.
So, yeah. That pretty much says it all. Can't let comsumer rights affect the GDP.
But in a shocking twist, Congress picked this back up this week:
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/27/click-to-cancel-subscriptions-congress.html
But this Congress isn't exactly one I'd place my hopes on. Love to be proven wrong.
My main point is that this issue is like 2025 as a whole: a roller coaster of emotions where you can see good people trying and not so good people throwing a lot of money as obstruction.
Also, that Apple is on the not so good camp and would push this regardless of the law. So I wouldn't take rhese features as pro consumer ones.
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Comment on Listing for GOG Galaxy developer cites Linux as “next major frontier” in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentWe can't. But at the same time there's been very steady adoption for tools to support Linux. So steps are, or at least were, being made. Games is a tricky point because support on major tools is...We cannot force an entire, massive industry to just start supporting Linux.
We can't. But at the same time there's been very steady adoption for tools to support Linux. So steps are, or at least were, being made. Games is a tricky point because support on major tools is technically there, but the devil's in the more fine tuned platform specific issues. How much is ln the to fix and how much is on the dev is the part to figure out.
You do the former by having a significant amount of people playing games and spending money on games in Linux. More money than it costs to pay developers to support said games on Linux. You do the latter by having fewer people doing the same on Windows.
But that's my issue. People aren't spending money on Linux, they are spending money on WINE. So the profit incentive is to continue working on Windows and test a bit on Steam Deck just in case. If it works well enough with WINE, why bother with native support? Just focus on Windows.
but most distros still need a modest amount of tinkering. Said tinkering doesn't require an engineering degree and mostly just looking things up on the internet and following easy guides, but that is still too much for the average user.
Yes, and I'd hope we get to that step instead of simply being stuck in Steam mode. People use a Steam Deck to accompany their windows builds, not as a substitute. And I'm not sure if the next batch of Steam Machines will push that needle either.
There will always be some friction configuring your computer and the only difference between windows and Linux is familiarity with its quirks.
It's also not at the stage where pre-builts with Linux installed are easy to buy.
I'm not really sure of that well be easy to fix ever. Pretty builts are mostly bought off of traditional stores, and traditional stores aren't catering to games. Maybe Linux moves the needle in the gaming space, but I don't see much hope of corporate america making such a change. Which includes the school systems who already are struggling to teach the next generation computer literacy at all (maybe there is such a thing as "too intuitive").
As long as enthusiasts sites let you pick an OS, I think we'll be going in the right direction.
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Comment on Elon Musk says Tesla ending Models S and X production in ~transport
raze2012 Link ParentThe real shame is the shareholders enabling a man who constantly promises the moon and can barely take the stairs in the end. That childhood illusion of financial investors being these cutthroat,...The real shame is the shareholders enabling a man who constantly promises the moon and can barely take the stairs in the end. That childhood illusion of financial investors being these cutthroat, scrutinous masterminds was shattered pretty hard when I started peeking into how the stock market really worked.
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Comment on Listing for GOG Galaxy developer cites Linux as “next major frontier” in ~games
raze2012 Link ParentSomething compelling or something completely BS that is hard/timely to replicate on WINE. I can definitely see the latter happening if any piece of Windows 12 "features" come to fruition. Most...Microsoft would need to introduce something very compelling to have developers make the switch.
Something compelling or something completely BS that is hard/timely to replicate on WINE. I can definitely see the latter happening if any piece of Windows 12 "features" come to fruition.
Most software will be slow to migrate, but games tend to move fastest on tech, so it's always on the back of my mind.
Like always, you would focus on purple districts and try to influence the swings.
I think that's part of the issue here, since we've been seeing even +20 R sections shift in the span of a year. That may not scale exactly so in a larger scale election, but it's dire for a strategy like this.
However, the real scary aspect of this is the SAVE act being pushed in congress this week. So keep a very close eye on that. the very easy dictator way to do all the stuff you described is to make excuses on why certain people can't vote, and throw out their ballots (as they've done for the past.... well, 150 years or so). As we all know, these will be selectively enforced and any litigation will be too late.
They've already slowed down mail in ballots, so people who do that need to vote well in advance and be sure to track their ballot just in case.