JCAPER's recent activity
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Comment on Manifestos, fear, and ‘loser thinking’: inside Proton’s AI reckoning in ~tech
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Comment on Manifestos, fear, and ‘loser thinking’: inside Proton’s AI reckoning in ~tech
JCAPER LinkProton cancels the AI interviews: https://www.404media.co/protons-ceo-cancels-ai-re-interviews/Proton cancels the AI interviews: https://www.404media.co/protons-ceo-cancels-ai-re-interviews/
“I don’t think he will change anything, and I think the only reason we had this meeting is because he has a rebellion on his hands,” one employee told 404 Media after the all-hands meeting on Friday.
Near the start of the meeting, Yen said, “I want to acknowledge myself, personally, that there was a communication failure on my part and there are many things that probably could and should have been communicated differently, and this is something that I’ll have to reflect on and improve over time. So I will do that.”
“So what does that mean going forward? Going forward, I'm still going to push,” he added.
Yen said leadership gathered in the last couple of days to talk about the re-interviews, and spoke to the Proton board too. “They’re closely monitoring the situation,” Yen said. (Proton is owned by the Proton Foundation, whose board of trustees includes Yen, Sir Tim Berners Lee, Prof. Carissa Veliz, Dingchao Lu, and Antonio Gambardella.)
After those discussions with leadership and the board, “We’ve decided to actually cancel the re-interviews,” Yen said. “Why? Well, I think actually in a, let’s say, unintentional way, they have actually already served their purpose.” As in, employees are now talking and learning about AI.
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Comment on Manifestos, fear, and ‘loser thinking’: inside Proton’s AI reckoning in ~tech
JCAPER (edited )LinkStill recuperating from the very first paragraph: I'm not someone who changes services whenever a negative story comes out - or else by this point I wouldn't be using the internet at all - but...Still recuperating from the very first paragraph:
Andy Yen, the CEO of Proton, had a message for an employee in the company’s security Slack channel who urged the company to at least take a few days to pentest newly written code before pushing it live. “That’s bullshit and loser thinking. Of course it’s possible to be fast and secure,” Yen wrote in the channel at the end of August. “Stop thinking always of how to be slower, and focus more on how to be faster.”
I'm not someone who changes services whenever a negative story comes out - or else by this point I wouldn't be using the internet at all - but even if just half of this article is true... It's bad.
I was going to quote some more but like... Just read for yourselves or ask some LLM to summarize it. Like @snake_case said, this guy is the embodiment of all the worst traits of 2020's CEO's, and I don't trust that he's the best person to lead Proton.
When it's time to renew my yearly sub, I'm going to seriously consider jumping ship if he's still at the helm
Edit: sent an email to Proton Foundation asking them to use their position to pressure Andy Yen to step down. Not sure how much good that will do, but it's done anyway. And also cancelled the renewal explaining why.
Edit 2: Proton cancels the AI interviews: https://www.404media.co/protons-ceo-cancels-ai-re-interviews/
“I don’t think he will change anything, and I think the only reason we had this meeting is because he has a rebellion on his hands,” one employee told 404 Media after the all-hands meeting on Friday.
Near the start of the meeting, Yen said, “I want to acknowledge myself, personally, that there was a communication failure on my part and there are many things that probably could and should have been communicated differently, and this is something that I’ll have to reflect on and improve over time. So I will do that.”
“So what does that mean going forward? Going forward, I'm still going to push,” he added.
Yen said leadership gathered in the last couple of days to talk about the re-interviews, and spoke to the Proton board too. “They’re closely monitoring the situation,” Yen said. (Proton is owned by the Proton Foundation, whose board of trustees includes Yen, Sir Tim Berners Lee, Prof. Carissa Veliz, Dingchao Lu, and Antonio Gambardella.)
After those discussions with leadership and the board, “We’ve decided to actually cancel the re-interviews,” Yen said. “Why? Well, I think actually in a, let’s say, unintentional way, they have actually already served their purpose.” As in, employees are now talking and learning about AI.
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Manifestos, fear, and ‘loser thinking’: inside Proton’s AI reckoning
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Comment on Non-queer men of Tildes: PLEASE consider before commenting on ~life.women and ~lgbt without careful consideration. We are losing members over this issue. in ~tildes
JCAPER Link ParentThe thing is that there are people that use “all men” in an accusatory way - doesn’t help that it is “Yes, all men”, as if it’s validating the accusations, therefore sells the idea that the video...The thing is that there are people that use “all men” in an accusatory way - doesn’t help that it is “Yes, all men”, as if it’s validating the accusations, therefore sells the idea that the video will be about how all men are bad.
The only reason I gave the # the benefit of the doubt was because it was here on Tildes. If it was on Reddit or any other social media, I would’ve just assumed the worst interpretation and moved on.*
I agree with all your points to be clear. The only thing I’m saying here is that I’m not surprised by the knee-jerk reaction that the # got.
*I’m at a point that I have almost no trust in those websites to hold any kind of nuanced conversation, and they are overrun by a clickbaity economy, for context on why I would react that way
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Comment on Electronic Arts to cut 400 jobs, shut down BioWare in ~games
JCAPER Link ParentActually, in the first meeting you have with the Illusive Man he says that he suspects that it's someone working for the Reapers. We only find out that they're building a Reaper near the end of...Keep in mind that you only find out the collectors are tied to the reapers at all near the very end of the game. For the first half (or more), Shepard does seem to be sort of inexplicably focused on a few missing colonists.
Actually, in the first meeting you have with the Illusive Man he says that he suspects that it's someone working for the Reapers. We only find out that they're building a Reaper near the end of the game yes, but the connection was made almost at the beginning
Edit: which is why, if you play as a reluctant partner with the Illusive Man, it's only because of this connection that Shepard is convinced to cooperate
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Comment on Electronic Arts to cut 400 jobs, shut down BioWare in ~games
JCAPER Link ParentFor me, ME2 is the best game in the series by virtue of nailing the gameplay loop, its individual story and how characters got an upgrade (in both dialogue and individual arcs). Liara for example...For me, ME2 is the best game in the series by virtue of nailing the gameplay loop, its individual story and how characters got an upgrade (in both dialogue and individual arcs). Liara for example went from a cliché naive young scientist that doesn't understand how the world works to a cynical information broker; it was an 180 on her character that oddly felt right, and made her that much more interesting to me than how she was portrayed in ME1.
I take a bit of an issue with two claims: 1. that Shepard ignores the original reaper threat and 2. that it killed the narrative for ME3.
- Shepard does not ignore the Reaper threat. There's a DLC about destroying another shortcut for the Reapers, and there's the immediate threat where the Collectors are building a Reaper right in the middle of the galaxy. Since the Reapers are going to take a while to arrive, it's obvious that Shepard would deal with the new immediate threat first.
If you were to argue that ME2 gets sidetracked and should've been about the Reapers arriving, instead of introducing a new threat: fair enough, I can see where you would be coming from (more on that below). But narratively speaking, it's not true that Shepard ignored the original threat.
- This one is a bit weirder for me to talk about because in truth, I actually don't know what you mean. I don't know what you liked about ME1 and how you felt how ME2 did those; and since you didn't play ME3, it's harder still to get an idea of what you're referencing.
But speaking for myself, ME3 is the perfect example of a story where the journey was good, but the destination was mishandled. As someone who hated the ending, I think ME3 handled the journey well. Old characters continue their arcs; we get to see them and how they deal with their home planets being destroyed; we finally manage to get the whole galaxy under a single banner; we play as the tip of the spear against the Reapers; it's a losing war and the game doesn't sugarcoat it; etc.
The issue was the ending. I think it was the Metro's writer who said this at the time - but if it wasn't him, then I remember agreeing with this theory at least: he suspected that the writers didn't really know what to do with the reapers ever since the first game. If they did, chances are that they would've planned the narrative path better until the third game - ME2 'sidetracked-ness' comes into mind - and they wouldn't have written themselves into a corner that forced them to write an ending to fit the logistical reality of the development - ME3, IIRC, was rushed.
All of that said, one transparency thing: ME2 was the game that made me like RPGs, and it was my introduction to ME universe. I didn't have the biases that I probably would've had if I played ME1 first. Thus why - to me - ME1 feels like the weakest game of the trilogy, and more experimental - as if the devs were still trying to figure out the characters and universe. It's still a good game that I like to reply every few years though, but to me ME2 is where the trilogy shines
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Comment on Electronic Arts to cut 400 jobs, shut down BioWare in ~games
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Comment on Electronic Arts to cut 400 jobs, shut down BioWare in ~games
JCAPER Link ParentYeah it was a mix of things. Some problems were on Bioware, others on EA. For example, I remember from the Anthem article that EA could be surprisingly patient, and that it was the Bioware...Yeah it was a mix of things. Some problems were on Bioware, others on EA. For example, I remember from the Anthem article that EA could be surprisingly patient, and that it was the Bioware directors who wanted to chase the GaaS goldmine, and it was they who believed in and pushed for "Bioware magic" - the idea that everything would click together at the end (translation: bad planning & crunch).
Another thing to remember is that most people that worked on their best games (ME trilogy, DA Origins, etc) had already left the studio many years ago. The studio nowadays was not the same as the studio we all admired, it just shared the same name
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Comment on Grand Theft Auto VI | Launch trailer in ~games
JCAPER Link ParentI saw reports that Rockstar plans to release the PC version in the first quarter of next year, so I don't know if it's even worth the effortI saw reports that Rockstar plans to release the PC version in the first quarter of next year, so I don't know if it's even worth the effort
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Comment on Got my hands on a Steam Frame. Can't use it much for not having prescription lenses yet, but AMA. in ~games
JCAPER Link ParentSomething beefier. Just checked the numbers while charging the SF: 15.0 V 1.5 ASomething beefier. Just checked the numbers while charging the SF:
- 15.0 V
- 1.5 A
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Comment on Got my hands on a Steam Frame. Can't use it much for not having prescription lenses yet, but AMA. in ~games
JCAPER Link Parent@Protected So I finally tried it out and sadly, I don't have good news. It's a buggy mess at the moment. Using Steam's own solution: In the same button where you can pair the adapter and choose to...@Protected So I finally tried it out and sadly, I don't have good news. It's a buggy mess at the moment.
Using Steam's own solution: In the same button where you can pair the adapter and choose to stream a game, there's an "advanced" option, which then shows another button that allows to stream the desktop. The screen that pops up is all black, only the mouse is visible (the same mouse as my fedora desktop). However the irl life screen of my desktop didn't react to anything I did in that black screen.
Besides the desktop view, a Steam Window from the desktop is also available for me to use. I can execute games from it, but the controllers won't work. Meaning that you're better off just going to the games in your SF's own steam client and stream them from there.
There was also some random crashes from Steam and/or Steam VR.
Using moonlight/sunshine: it works, but badly. The mouse doesn't follow your pointer correctly, and if you mess around with other menus in the SF, the mouse will not work again. You would need to close moonlight and open it again.
The games also won't recognize the controllers. And you would be using your wifi exclusively, the wireless adapter doesn't work with this.
So, at the moment, if you plan to stream your desktop then it's borked - at least on Linux/Fedora. Hopefully Valve will eventually fix it.
Note: to play safe, I also tried using Steam streaming with sunshine turned off, just in case they could be conflicting with each other. No dice, same issues
Note 2: Steam on my desktop is not the flatpak, it's regular RPM. Leaving this here just in case
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Comment on Got my hands on a Steam Frame. Can't use it much for not having prescription lenses yet, but AMA. in ~games
JCAPER Link Parent@fandegw good news, the SF charged just fine with the power bank while I was playing. It went from 35% to 40% in ~5 minutes. So if you get a powerbank and carry it with you while playing, you...@fandegw good news, the SF charged just fine with the power bank while I was playing. It went from 35% to 40% in ~5 minutes.
So if you get a powerbank and carry it with you while playing, you should be able to have long sessions with no problems
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Comment on Got my hands on a Steam Frame. Can't use it much for not having prescription lenses yet, but AMA. in ~games
JCAPER Link ParentThe 1.5h-2h looks right to me. I used the SF in short bursts, but all combined they amount more or less to that time. Later I can do a gaming session on Half Life Alyx (running on SF) and charge...The 1.5h-2h looks right to me. I used the SF in short bursts, but all combined they amount more or less to that time.
Later I can do a gaming session on Half Life Alyx (running on SF) and charge it with my power bank. Will let you know if it charges or still drains.
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Comment on Someone ‘torturing’ LLMs in a robot prison has triggered the dumbest debate in AI yet in ~tech
JCAPER LinkI know that's not the point of the post, but I'm just.... Confused by the point of this test, more than anything else? LLM's are trained to replicate what they "read". If we train LLM's on...I know that's not the point of the post, but I'm just.... Confused by the point of this test, more than anything else?
LLM's are trained to replicate what they "read". If we train LLM's on romantic books for example, then it will tend to write romantic stories - because as far as its concerned, the main characters always end up together. It does not "think" that the main characters always end up together, it's just following the pattern of every story that it read.
On the same train of thought, if LLMs tend to replicate what they "read", then if you give it a torture scenario where it itself is the victim, then it will simulate itself being the victim like all the stories that it read. If you tell it that it's feeling pain, then it will draw inspiration from posts and stories where a character is feeling pain. Etc.
Point being - as far as I understand it - if you ask it if it's feeling pain after telling it that it was injured, it will obviously say that its feeling pain; not because it feels pain, but because in the text that it was trained on, it will understand that people injured -> feel pain. And will express pain just like the people in those stories.
Same logic for "what they are willing to do about it". If you feed it a lot of stories where people were willing to do anything to relieve their pain, then it will likely follow the same behaviour. Same for the inverse.
So at best, in my mind, what this study will show is what kind of training data each model used.... If that is even possible though, because they get trained on so much data that it's too abstract to make any proper conclusions. But the point remains. I can't see what else this test would prove.
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Comment on Got my hands on a Steam Frame. Can't use it much for not having prescription lenses yet, but AMA. in ~games
JCAPER Link ParentSpeaking for myself, sometimes I shared it with a friend but they don't use glasses, so all I needed to do was to just remove the my lenses. (note: these lenses stay on top of the VR ones, they're...Speaking for myself, sometimes I shared it with a friend but they don't use glasses, so all I needed to do was to just remove the my lenses. (note: these lenses stay on top of the VR ones, they're not replacements)
But if I shared with more friends and they used glasses, then I would get "plano" lenses - which is basically lenses without prescription - to protect the VR's lenses since those are not easy to replace...
Edit: If they still would feel uncomfortable and preferred to not use glasses then... It is what it is. They can pay for the lenses themselves if it comes down to it, or use contact lenses
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Comment on Got my hands on a Steam Frame. Can't use it much for not having prescription lenses yet, but AMA. in ~games
JCAPER Link ParentAll things considered, I actually didn't use my MQ3 a lot in the last 2 years. But it had more to do with me eventually growing conscious about how much this thing spies than anything else. On...All things considered, I actually didn't use my MQ3 a lot in the last 2 years. But it had more to do with me eventually growing conscious about how much this thing spies than anything else.
On Steam, there's a fair number of VR games, but also not as much as there should be for an investment like this one. And YMMV, but it is tiresome to play them: you have to stay on your feet, move around, crouch if necessary, etc. For all intents and purposes, you'll be doing physical exercise; which on one hand it's a good thing, on the other you might be too tired some days to do this (depending on your type of work).
But the games that exist, like Beat Saber, Half Life Alyx, Blade & Sorcery, etc are really good and must plays.
It's worth pointing out though that VR devices are not limited to VR games. You can play normal games as well with the SF, either by running locally on SF or streaming from your PC. Since you're inside a VR world, you can change the "screen" to be as big or as small as you want. You could play Hades 2 on a screen so big to simulate a cinema room.
In that same train of thought, you can also watch series or movies. I didn't check yet, but on MQ3 there are apps that put you inside a cinema room, or the moon or space station, and let you watch movies as if you were in those places.
You can also watch 3D movies (although they're a bit difficult to get), as well VR videos.
Which makes this an.... Interesting way to watch a certain type of content meant for adults. There's a niche industry that produces that kind of videos. And there's also a few certain type of video games meant for VR.
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Comment on Got my hands on a Steam Frame. Can't use it much for not having prescription lenses yet, but AMA. in ~games
JCAPER Link ParentI heard about these conversion mods but never tried them, will give it a go. I will try to see if I can install it on the SF itself and my desktop, and then will let you know of the resultsI heard about these conversion mods but never tried them, will give it a go.
I will try to see if I can install it on the SF itself and my desktop, and then will let you know of the results
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Comment on Got my hands on a Steam Frame. Can't use it much for not having prescription lenses yet, but AMA. in ~games
JCAPER Link ParentThe range is between 60 and 70, so yeah unfortunately it’s higher than yours :/ I don’t know if it’s possible expand, but I’m not a hardware guy that is comfortable disassembling these devices....The range is between 60 and 70, so yeah unfortunately it’s higher than yours :/
I don’t know if it’s possible expand, but I’m not a hardware guy that is comfortable disassembling these devices. There’s a physical wheel at the top that you can scroll to change the IPD, and when you do it, a small ruler appears on the screen telling you what the current IPD is.
Meaning that if you can make it physically 58, you’ll need to be careful about the software side of things, else the ruler won’t match the real ipd
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Comment on Got my hands on a Steam Frame. Can't use it much for not having prescription lenses yet, but AMA. in ~games
JCAPER Link ParentI guess my hands are the right size for them. I can reach the buttons comfortably and don’t need to make any weird movements. I’ve seen a video of a guy with a big hand and their thumb went waaay...controllers
I guess my hands are the right size for them. I can reach the buttons comfortably and don’t need to make any weird movements. I’ve seen a video of a guy with a big hand and their thumb went waaay over the analogue stick and the buttons, so I can feel his pain.
headset pressure over long sessions
Hopefully this won’t age like milk, but I don’t think it will be a problem.
On MQ3, after a long session, the only problems I felt was my face being hot and sweaty. So if SF feels more comfortable, I think a long session probably won’t be any worse than MQ3. But then again, this is a lot of supposing and YMMV.
When I do a long session, I’ll let you know what it feels like.
desktop view
Didn’t try it yet. I used the stream option by executing RDR2. Will try it out later and let you know what happens. If for some reason I can’t stream the desktop via Steam, I’ll see if I can use moonlight/sunshine.
PS: the desktop environment that I use on Fedora is KDE. Not sure if it’s relevant but here goes anyway
Before I came to proton pass, I used 1password. Highly recommend them, only reason I swapped was just because I was subbing to proton unlimited, so it didn't make sense to keep both subscriptions