Johz's recent activity
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Comment on Part of me wishes it wasn't true but: AI coding is legit in ~tech
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Comment on Part of me wishes it wasn't true but: AI coding is legit in ~tech
Johz Link ParentI think that's a bit like saying "if your compiler is so good at pointing out the errors in my code, why doesn't it just correct them?". AI is not some magical monolithic tool that can do...I think that's a bit like saying "if your compiler is so good at pointing out the errors in my code, why doesn't it just correct them?". AI is not some magical monolithic tool that can do everything all at once. Some people might try and claim that, but some people are idiots - it's the same with microservices and NoSQL and serverless and all the rest, in that some people will promise you the world and be completely wrong, but that doesn't make the underlying tool useless.
In this case, Google specifically trained a model to detect security bugs. I don't believe their system includes a general LLM, at least based on how old the project is. My impression is that it's classical ML stuff with a huge amount of training data. That system cannot fix bugs, but it can make finding them a lot easier. That is a useful task! You can't fix bugs without knowing where they are, and a lot of these old tools have a huge amount of very subtle code that is very difficult to analyse through conventional means.
Beyond that, I think Google's approach here seems fairly fair. They are not demanding that work be done for them - they're just creating CVEs, which let people know about issues but don't necessarily mean that something needs to be fixed immediately. They're also sponsoring ffmpeg's development, as well as contributing to the project themselves. And the tools they're using here can be used (and I believe have been used) to find more serious issues as well that have been useful and important to fix.
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Comment on Humble Bundle: Modern Sci-Fi Classics (Charles Soule, Joseph Fink, Hugh Howey, and Neal Stephenson) in ~books
Johz Link ParentAs the person who originally complained about the region locking, my complaint was certainly directed towards the publishers, and not in any way at you! I made use of the last bundle you posted,...As the person who originally complained about the region locking, my complaint was certainly directed towards the publishers, and not in any way at you! I made use of the last bundle you posted, and I appreciate you posting when new things appear. I am still interested in this one as well, and if I get to a computer and remember in time, I'll have a go at bypassing the restrictions, although it doesn't sound like others have been so successful there.
I think to me, it's a question of how often this happens. If it's the sort of thing where every so often, they restrict sales to just the US or something, then fair enough. I'm sure sometimes I'll vent about it, but I think it's still cool to know what offers are out there. OTOH, if this is the new HB policy, then it's probably not worth it because plenty of people just won't be able to access the books at all. That said, I don't think that's particularly likely, I think it's just that this publisher is probably more restrictive than the publishers they've worked with for other bundles. So from my perspective, please keep on posting, because I think our opinions about what makes an interesting book bundle are similar enough that I look forward to the next time you post one of these!
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Comment on Humble Bundle: Modern Sci-Fi Classics (Charles Soule, Joseph Fink, Hugh Howey, and Neal Stephenson) in ~books
Johz Link ParentAt least for me, I commented because I find it unusual that this was region-locked - a lot of the bundles have been DRM-free and haven't been region-locked, or at least have been more widely...At least for me, I commented because I find it unusual that this was region-locked - a lot of the bundles have been DRM-free and haven't been region-locked, or at least have been more widely accessible. This seems like a much more limited offer, which is a shame, and it sounds like a choice by this publisher to sell the books like this. (Other publishers seem more open to selling ebooks without DRM and region restrictions.)
That said, I agree that it makes sense to post these still, as long as they're typically widely accessible and it's just a few exceptions that are problematic. OTOH, if they consistently switch to region-locked offers, maybe this isn't the best place to post them - it would be like me posting news in German or offers only accessible in Germany or something. Maybe a regional forum would be a better place for them in the case.
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Comment on Humble Bundle: Modern Sci-Fi Classics (Charles Soule, Joseph Fink, Hugh Howey, and Neal Stephenson) in ~books
Johz Link ParentI've (Germany) bought the DRM-free bundles before, I also assumed that this is a Kobo thing.I've (Germany) bought the DRM-free bundles before, I also assumed that this is a Kobo thing.
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Comment on Humble Bundle: Modern Sci-Fi Classics (Charles Soule, Joseph Fink, Hugh Howey, and Neal Stephenson) in ~books
Johz Link"Sorry, this promotion is unavailable in your area"... :( No books for the Germans apparently. Is it available in the US?"Sorry, this promotion is unavailable in your area"... :( No books for the Germans apparently. Is it available in the US?
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Comment on Pluribus S01E01 - “We is Us” in ~tv
Johz Link ParentI've not seen that, but I'm getting more of a Mrs Davis kind of vibe, where the main character isn't directly in danger from the hivemind, but both sides are trying to convince the other to give...I've not seen that, but I'm getting more of a Mrs Davis kind of vibe, where the main character isn't directly in danger from the hivemind, but both sides are trying to convince the other to give in and join them.
Except without sexy Jesus, the Holy Grail, that whole shoe plot, and AI making stage magicians obsolete. That was a weird show.
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Comment on Pluribus S01E01 - “We is Us” in ~tv
Johz Link ParentBasically humans receive an extraterrestrial transmission, and it turns out to be the recipe for a virus, which inevitably gets synthesised and escapes. The virus turns the entirety of humanity...Basically humans receive an extraterrestrial transmission, and it turns out to be the recipe for a virus, which inevitably gets synthesised and escapes. The virus turns the entirety of humanity into a single hivemind, and the main character is one of twelve people who is immune to the virus, and the show, I believe, follows her as she tries to figure out what's going on.
Right now on Wikipedia, there's only synopses for the first two episodes, which is probably enough to get a mostly spoiler-free idea of what's going on. I watched maybe half of the first episode before my baby woke up (this seems to be how I watch most of my TV right now...), and it seems good, although I keep on thinking the main character looks like Faye Marsay, and it makes me want to watch more stuff with Faye Marsay in it.
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Comment on Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’ in ~society
Johz Link ParentIt's about that here in my European country, and I'd see that as fairly reasonable. That's somewhere between a day's wages for someone on minimum wage, to about half a day's wages for someone on a...It's about that here in my European country, and I'd see that as fairly reasonable. That's somewhere between a day's wages for someone on minimum wage, to about half a day's wages for someone on a relatively good/comfortable salary. It's also reduced significantly if you can prove that you had a travel card but you didn't have it with you, say.
I think the difficulty is always scaling fines well - I'd love to see more fines tied to income, but that's hard for on-the-spot offences like this.
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Comment on What the hell are we doing with hierarchical tags? in ~tildes
Johz LinkI'm intrigued how people actually use these tags. For me, they're mostly just noise that I blend out, and if I needed to do some sort of filtering, I'd probably just filter by group rather than...I'm intrigued how people actually use these tags. For me, they're mostly just noise that I blend out, and if I needed to do some sort of filtering, I'd probably just filter by group rather than think about tags. But presumably there are people using them - what sort of tagging structure works best for you guys? Or is this just a write-only feature?
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Comment on I watched stand-up in Saudi Arabia in ~society
Johz Link ParentShe's one of the hosts of the Page 94 podcast, but this is the first time I've come across her work as a columnist. I was surprised by how recognisable her tone is - I didn't see the author...She's one of the hosts of the Page 94 podcast, but this is the first time I've come across her work as a columnist. I was surprised by how recognisable her tone is - I didn't see the author originally and partway through was thinking "this sounds a lot like that woman from the Eye".
The whole podcast has a similar cynical humour, although it's mostly about British political news and the state of the UK media landscape, so the appeal may be somewhat limited!
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I watched stand-up in Saudi Arabia
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
Johz Link ParentSure, that's why I'm saying that an algorithm could do the sorting for you, and figure out which posts from a person you want to see, and which posts you don't, without them having to tag them in...Sure, that's why I'm saying that an algorithm could do the sorting for you, and figure out which posts from a person you want to see, and which posts you don't, without them having to tag them in any way.
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
Johz Link ParentIn theory, if one person is posting on two different topics, you'd expect those posts to be appreciated by different groups in different ways. So for someone with a large enough number of posts...In theory, if one person is posting on two different topics, you'd expect those posts to be appreciated by different groups in different ways. So for someone with a large enough number of posts and distinct enough groups of readers, you could automatically divide their posts up based on how many likes they get and who likes them. I assume YouTube does this to a certain extent, because there are certain channels where I only see the half of their output that I'm interested in, and the rest doesn't get shown to me at all.
But like I say, that's something you can only do with a recommendation algorithm, and part of what I like about the Following feed is that there is no complicated algorithm.
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
Johz Link ParentThere are multiple feeds and the "Discover" one uses a Twitter-style algorithm, but the "Following" one is just a straight chronological timeline of people you follow. I mainly use that, and then...There are multiple feeds and the "Discover" one uses a Twitter-style algorithm, but the "Following" one is just a straight chronological timeline of people you follow. I mainly use that, and then add people to it if I've seen an interesting post from them or prune them out if there's too much noise that I don't want to see. That works very well for me - I get a bit of US politics because it's just painfully difficult to completely shut that out these days, but most of what I see is interesting tech articles with a mix of board game and RPG news.
There are other third-party feeds that you can subscribe to, each with their own algorithms, but I've not had much success with those.
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
Johz Link ParentIt's a bit irritating that there's no easy way to say "I'm interested in this person's X posts, but not their Y posts". I followed a board game designer for a while, and it was interesting seeing...It's a bit irritating that there's no easy way to say "I'm interested in this person's X posts, but not their Y posts". I followed a board game designer for a while, and it was interesting seeing what she was working on and thinking about, except that she was also constantly posting about her sex life and I'm far too prudish and British to read about that.
I am quite impressed that YouTube can figure out which kind of videos I'm interested in if a channel produces multiple different series or kinds of content, but I guess that's back to algorithmically driven feeds again.
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
Johz Link ParentI think it's similar to that. I have a list of people I follow, and those are the only posts I see on Bluesky. I normally find new people by them being reposted by someone I follow, and if someone...I think it's similar to that. I have a list of people I follow, and those are the only posts I see on Bluesky. I normally find new people by them being reposted by someone I follow, and if someone I follow is making too much noise I unfollow them again. My resulting feed has a bit of noise, but it's mostly stuff I'm interested in.
I know there's also the discover feed, but that's been pretty rubbish in my experience. There are some alternative feeds that you can subscribe to, but I find they're also a bit hit-and-miss, so I mostly stick to the people I've specifically chosen to follow.
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Comment on JK Rowling dismisses Emma Watson as 'ignorant' over trans rights row in ~lgbt
Johz LinkI ended up looking up a person I used to know who came out as trans and has since made quite a name for herself as a trans anti-trans activist. I knew her vaguely through those early years of her...I ended up looking up a person I used to know who came out as trans and has since made quite a name for herself as a trans anti-trans activist. I knew her vaguely through those early years of her transition, and I wanted to see what she was up to now.
Quite high up in the search results are two articles, both with titles along the lines of "why I disagree with Xyz". The first is from a trans woman saying basically "you can speak for yourself, but you can't speak for all trans people, many of us have very different experiences to you". The other is from shortly after my acquaintance wrote an article saying "JK Rowling, I get it and agree with you, but woah, you can calm down a bit on the rhetoric", and the tone of this response is roughly "see, look at this creepy MAN, we all knew he was WEIRD but now he's clearly a ULTRATRANS ACTIVIST, let's all BURN HIM AT THE STAKE".
The difference between the two responses really strikes home that this basically feels like a way of legitimising hate for so many of the TERF activists. You see the same thing in this article from Rowling - there's no sense of "we don't agree, but that's okay", it's just pure antagonism from start to finish. It isn't about protecting women's spaces or about protecting children from harm or whatever, it's just a kind of twisted, gleeful hate.
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Comment on How many valid JSON strings are there? in ~comp
Johz Link ParentI would think of a JSON document as being a document (i.e. file) in JSON format, in which case anything goes according to the spec, but you make a good point about document stores typically having...I would think of a JSON document as being a document (i.e. file) in JSON format, in which case anything goes according to the spec, but you make a good point about document stores typically having more restrictions on what's allowed.
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Comment on How many valid JSON strings are there? in ~comp
Johz Link ParentI think some parsers only accept objects or arrays (because 99% of the time that's what you want), and some formats like Toml that are essentially based on the JSON data structure might only allow...I think some parsers only accept objects or arrays (because 99% of the time that's what you want), and some formats like Toml that are essentially based on the JSON data structure might only allow objects at the top level, but spec JSON is very flexible.
I agree that a lot of companies selling AI are overselling their capabilities. But that's always been true of people trying to sell you things. If you'd listened to MongoDB selling their database software when they first started out, you'd be amazed that anyone would use anything else at all, because it could apparently do everything you wanted, and bring about world peace as a side-hustle. Obviously that was just sales nonsense, but it doesn't necessarily mean that MongoDB can't be useful for specific use-cases.
I agree that claims that AI can generate an entire PR for you are mostly puffery, but I also don't think there's many people who seriously believe that, at least not without clear caveats about the nature and quality of those PRs.