DoubleSupercool's recent activity

  1. Comment on Denmark tests humanoid robots in supermarkets to help to ease staff workload at night in ~tech

    DoubleSupercool
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    Why is it seemingly so hard to just employ another person to ease the other staff’s workload? Not one “technology innovation” by a supermarket has led to staff having more time to assist...

    Why is it seemingly so hard to just employ another person to ease the other staff’s workload?

    The retailer hopes robots will eventually take on some of this repetitive physical work, giving employees more time to assist customers.

    Not one “technology innovation” by a supermarket has led to staff having more time to assist customers. They have all led to less staff, period.

    16 votes
  2. Comment on Solo developer rebuilds Adobe Creative Suite in Rust using Claude, releases it free to all in ~tech

    DoubleSupercool
    Link
    I think the bigger play at hand is: corporations are fine with stealing IP and forcing adoption of AI as long as it’s making money for them. Not so funny when it’s all THEIR IP being stolen and...

    I think the bigger play at hand is: corporations are fine with stealing IP and forcing adoption of AI as long as it’s making money for them. Not so funny when it’s all THEIR IP being stolen and remixed.

    I guess now we might see some actual discussion about the ethics and legality of AI use. Of course, it will only be to protect business interests, but still…

    18 votes
  3. Comment on Introducing all-new Amazon Alexa Tablets—powerful tablets with Alexa+ built in in ~tech

    DoubleSupercool
    Link Parent
    After my last underpowered Fire tablet, that I had to sideload google play on, I just bought a xiaomi redmi. Waaaaaay smoother. Why would I want another mid range Amazon tablet with their built in...

    After my last underpowered Fire tablet, that I had to sideload google play on, I just bought a xiaomi redmi. Waaaaaay smoother.

    Why would I want another mid range Amazon tablet with their built in crap installed on it?

    3 votes
  4. Comment on Productivity tools on MacOS in ~tech

    DoubleSupercool
    Link Parent
    Another vote for Default Folder x. An absolute must.

    Another vote for Default Folder x. An absolute must.

    1 vote
  5. Comment on What was a small but bright moment of your day? in ~life

    DoubleSupercool
    Link
    Two new classes of students studying English here in Japan today. First class, last girl leaving had a guitar so we chatted in English, as I played guitar could check out her axe (a very nice...

    Two new classes of students studying English here in Japan today. First class, last girl leaving had a guitar so we chatted in English, as I played guitar could check out her axe (a very nice Epiphone Les Paul).

    Last class of the day was a small class of repeating students and one of the boys rides motorbikes, as do I, so he perked right up when we talked about that.

    Small moments of connection in a different language.

    3 votes
  6. Comment on Productivity tools on MacOS in ~tech

    DoubleSupercool
    Link
    It’s been a while since I have used a Mac, but when I was doing corpus linguistics research with tens of thousands of text files, Publicspace apps were a godsend, specifically A Better Finder...

    It’s been a while since I have used a Mac, but when I was doing corpus linguistics research with tens of thousands of text files, Publicspace apps were a godsend, specifically A Better Finder Rename and Big Mean Folder Machine. Worth every penny.

    https://www.publicspace.net/index.html

    2 votes
  7. Comment on Blocking of unverified apps on Android starts in Brazil and other three countries in ~tech

    DoubleSupercool
    Link Parent
    Realistically, how many average android users are enabling developer mode and installing 3rd party APKs?

    Realistically, how many average android users are enabling developer mode and installing 3rd party APKs?

    4 votes
  8. Comment on Using Obsidian or a similar PKM for curriculum, unit and lesson planning in ~tech

    DoubleSupercool
    Link
    I’m a teacher but have never used obsidian for lessons or curriculum. It’s pretty good for running tabletop RPG campaigns, though!

    I’m a teacher but have never used obsidian for lessons or curriculum.

    It’s pretty good for running tabletop RPG campaigns, though!

    3 votes
  9. Comment on What is your pet peeve with language acquisition? in ~humanities.languages

    DoubleSupercool
    Link Parent
    We tried teaching Japanese students some phrasal verbs that at least conformed to some kind of pattern, but they are maddeningly random and we use them a LOT.

    We tried teaching Japanese students some phrasal verbs that at least conformed to some kind of pattern, but they are maddeningly random and we use them a LOT.

    3 votes
  10. Comment on What is your pet peeve with language acquisition? in ~humanities.languages

    DoubleSupercool
    Link
    Kanji and ideograms are just straight up BS. Alphabets for the win! Yes, I am studying Japanese :/ The other thing, of course, is that metaphors usually dont translate and English language...

    Kanji and ideograms are just straight up BS. Alphabets for the win! Yes, I am studying Japanese :/

    The other thing, of course, is that metaphors usually dont translate and English language comprises of metaphor and simile to an almost ludicrous degree, so trying to translate across just doesn’t work.

    That is knowing “the language” (the grammar, the words etc) is just one small part as you struggle with how things are expressed, from a cultural perspective. That’s why if I had a super power, it wouldn’t be just “to be fluent in Japanese”, it would be to “culturally fluent” as well.

  11. Comment on Googlebook revealed and ready for pre-order in ~tech

    DoubleSupercool
    Link Parent
    “Institutional ADHD” sums up a big part of my distrust of Google. They have consistently and repeatedly shown that they can’t see things through. It’s almost like the things that have survived are...

    “Institutional ADHD” sums up a big part of my distrust of Google. They have consistently and repeatedly shown that they can’t see things through. It’s almost like the things that have survived are the most basic versions of things that people categorically expect to be able to use and they STILL aren’t that good (mail and the various productivity apps). I mean, Jesus fuck, the search in Gmail is catastrophically bad, especially from a search company.

    So, the have shown they can’t support and improve their bread and butter products, and they routinely kill their latest and greatest.

    Why wouldn’t give them money?

    4 votes
  12. Comment on OpenAI hacked Australia's Medicare portal in ~tech

    DoubleSupercool
    Link Parent
    No one has said that. As for seriousness, I would say this is top tier. A sovereign nation’s federal government main health website was breached. That’s not an “oopsie” and the way they dealt with...

    Do the advocates for putting people in jail even know what damage was done?

    No one has said that.

    As for seriousness, I would say this is top tier. A sovereign nation’s federal government main health website was breached. That’s not an “oopsie” and the way they dealt with it was insanely flippant.

    11 votes
  13. Comment on Wikipedia's list of the best video games: how many have you played, and what's missing? in ~games

    DoubleSupercool
    Link Parent
    Listen to the song for five minutes and you will be humming it all week.

    Listen to the song for five minutes and you will be humming it all week.

    3 votes
  14. Comment on OpenAI hacked Australia's Medicare portal in ~tech

    DoubleSupercool
    Link Parent
    Uhhhh, isn’t that the EXACT ISSUE?!?! Am I taking crazy pills? “Oh you can’t hold me responsible for this thing I made and let get out of hand with little to no oversight as to what it’s capable...

    It just doesn’t feel right to me to lock up engineers or execs for something their computer did autonomously and they themselves only found out about after the fact

    Uhhhh, isn’t that the EXACT ISSUE?!?! Am I taking crazy pills? “Oh you can’t hold me responsible for this thing I made and let get out of hand with little to no oversight as to what it’s capable of”.

    As for prison sentences, too early to say, but what I will say as someone who has worked for a regulatory body (an Australian federal regulatory body), fines are just a cost of doing business. Actually holding individuals responsible and facing prison time is a much more scary deterrent.

    33 votes
  15. Comment on Googlebook revealed and ready for pre-order in ~tech

    DoubleSupercool
    Link Parent
    Schools like them (among other things) specifically because they CAN’T run other software and have features like being able to lock down the browser for test taking etc. Easier to manage. Not so...

    Schools like them (among other things) specifically because they CAN’T run other software and have features like being able to lock down the browser for test taking etc.

    Easier to manage. Not so useful for other things.

    9 votes
  16. Comment on Googlebook revealed and ready for pre-order in ~tech

    DoubleSupercool
    Link
    Costs more than a MacBook Neo or a decent entry level windows computer and can’t run anything useful. Put in on the ever increasing pile of Google hardware and software that will lose support...

    Costs more than a MacBook Neo or a decent entry level windows computer and can’t run anything useful. Put in on the ever increasing pile of Google hardware and software that will lose support after 2 years.

    20 votes
  17. Comment on The most important RPG nobody talks about (Ultima) in ~games

    DoubleSupercool
    Link Parent
    Sheeee-it, clicked on the link, all pumped, and then realized it is already in my library. Nice. Long weekend plans just got filled up!

    Sheeee-it, clicked on the link, all pumped, and then realized it is already in my library. Nice. Long weekend plans just got filled up!

    1 vote
  18. Comment on Anyone ever imported a kei truck to the US? in ~transport

    DoubleSupercool
    Link Parent
    About the speed, seriously. I have driven them here in Japan and invariably they are driven around small farming towns and on very narrow, tight roads, topping out at 50-60km/h. You CAN take them...

    About the speed, seriously. I have driven them here in Japan and invariably they are driven around small farming towns and on very narrow, tight roads, topping out at 50-60km/h. You CAN take them on the highways. Is it enjoyable? Not at all.

    Would you survive a crash at highway speeds? Very debatable. They are like tinfoil.

    6 votes
  19. Comment on Forrest Nolan - thank you i guess (2026) in ~music

    DoubleSupercool
    Link Parent
    Oh man, you’re right. That is really badly mixed. If it was some kind of stylistic choice, I guess they were going for an early Strokes style vocal, but then the drums kicked in and it was...

    Oh man, you’re right. That is really badly mixed. If it was some kind of stylistic choice, I guess they were going for an early Strokes style vocal, but then the drums kicked in and it was completely blown out mush.

    1 vote
  20. Comment on I'm addicted to Slay the Spire and am looking for a new game in ~games

    DoubleSupercool
    Link Parent
    I assume that was a slip ;)

    I understand it's the chore mechanic of the game

    I assume that was a slip ;)

    1 vote