NaraVara's recent activity
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Comment on Why cassette tapes are coming back in ~music
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Comment on Why cassette tapes are coming back in ~music
NaraVara (edited )Link ParentIt is coming back a bit, but I think it’s inhibited by the fact that working players are sincerely hard to come by. Also I think the quality difference is WAY more apparent between SD and HD video...It is coming back a bit, but I think it’s inhibited by the fact that working players are sincerely hard to come by. Also I think the quality difference is WAY more apparent between SD and HD video to the point where it’s actually hard to tolerate VHS quality once you get used to better.
That said, now that physical media is primarily the domain of geeky collectors, I actually think a format that is more like laserdisc sized is probably better suited for collector needs than DVDs and BluRays. Just have a disc big enough to fit an entire season of a TV show on a single disc at 4k UHD quality + Dolby atmos and all of that. And press it onto a material that is durable and resistant to disc rot for like 100 years, which is easier to do when you don’t need to cram as much compressed data into a tight space.
That and laserdisc sized discs means you can have bigger, cooler art and inserts packaged in with it and makes it more usable as a display piece.
I suppose the other option is to literally just distribute write-protected cassette sized hard drives that the movie’s been written to. . . .the economics probably don’t make any sense but you could slap so many episodes of “Deep Space 9” in this bad boy.
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Comment on Why cassette tapes are coming back in ~music
NaraVara Link ParentThe generation that renewed vinyl was of an age to inherit records from uncles and aunts and parents who were teens in the 60s and 70s. The generation renewing interest in cassettes is inheriting...The generation that renewed vinyl was of an age to inherit records from uncles and aunts and parents who were teens in the 60s and 70s.
The generation renewing interest in cassettes is inheriting tapes from parents who were teens in the 70s and 80s.
Soon, when 90s kids’ children become teenagers, CDs will come back too.
It all comes down to what a curious youth finds in the old junk drawers.
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Comment on Amazon's Prime Day deals could actually cost you more in ~tech
NaraVara LinkEven if we ignore dynamic pricing I think the argument would hold. I got downvoted to hell on Reddit once for saying that if Steam is prompting you to spend $5 a piece to fill up a library full of...Even if we ignore dynamic pricing I think the argument would hold. I got downvoted to hell on Reddit once for saying that if Steam is prompting you to spend $5 a piece to fill up a library full of games you never play then it hasn’t actually saved you any money! You may technically have an entitlement to a game that you got for $35 less than retail, but if you never actually play it then you forked over $5 for something that provided $0 in value to you!
Prime deals are the same way. Over the long run you’re better off just paying full retail price for things you know you will get use out of when you actually need them. It doesn’t do you any good to theoretically save a bunch on stuff you don’t actually need. If anything it adds long terms costs in storage and maintenance and just psychological stress to keep your life tidy. If it happens to be on sale when you need it then go for it, but generally speaking if it’s worth having it’s probably worth paying full price.
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Comment on It begins: AI shows willingness to commit blackmail and murder to avoid shutdown in ~tech
NaraVara (edited )Link ParentHonestly I think the original sin of all these AI companies is trying to design their chatbots to try to trick people into thinking they’re human. It’s a swirl of dishonesty they’ve folded into...Honestly I think the original sin of all these AI companies is trying to design their chatbots to try to trick people into thinking they’re human. It’s a swirl of dishonesty they’ve folded into every single thing they do and it compromises the whole enterprise.
There is no reason your robot should sound like a person. People are very good at separating contexts and you can have a robot that can be very personable without sounding the least bit like a human being. C-3PO is a perfect example where nothing about the design hides that he’s a robot. He talks like a person, but the talking is itself signposted as coming from a robot at every turn. R2D2 has tons of personality and all he does is go beep-boop-warble.
If a thing that is very clearly a computer model starts spouting nonsense, people have plenty of ability to separate and contextualize what they’re seeing and hearing to get its limitations and understand that the nonsense is just that. But they have actively gone out of their way to short-circuit people’s natural bullshit detection systems and built their entire businesses around it so this is what we get instead.
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentMost people on a microblogging type platform aren’t interested in putting that much thought into it. That’s the whole appeal of it, even to actual content creators. If they felt the content was...Most people on a microblogging type platform aren’t interested in putting that much thought into it. That’s the whole appeal of it, even to actual content creators. If they felt the content was worth investing real time into, rather than idle time while on the John, they’d have published it as a blog or a podcast or something.
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentThe person would need to tag their posts for that to work, which it’s doubtful enough people would do to be worth it.The person would need to tag their posts for that to work, which it’s doubtful enough people would do to be worth it.
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentThis is just a basic bit of internet hygiene I think people need to have. Don’t rely on the platform to tell you what to read/watch! Follow people you like and listen to them. If you don’t see...This is just a basic bit of internet hygiene I think people need to have. Don’t rely on the platform to tell you what to read/watch! Follow people you like and listen to them. If you don’t see anything worth reading then go touch grass instead of refreshing.
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
NaraVara (edited )Link ParentOldhead shibboleths like that are fine IMO. I figured it was a meme or inside joke sort of thing I was out of the loop on and was fairly confident that if it signified something important a...Oldhead shibboleths like that are fine IMO. I figured it was a meme or inside joke sort of thing I was out of the loop on and was fairly confident that if it signified something important a certain contingent of people would never shut up about it and I’d find out that way.
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentUnfortunately BlueSky doesn’t actually have any way to find moderation lists. As far as I know the only way is to get linked to them. One secondary moderation service is Skywatch Blue which has a...Unfortunately BlueSky doesn’t actually have any way to find moderation lists. As far as I know the only way is to get linked to them.
One secondary moderation service is
Skywatch Blue which has a bunch of lists you can subscribe to and opt to either hide or block the ones on it.I follow a couple of other one off ones too but I don’t think they’re actively being maintained.
Gender Trolls -
Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentThose are Tumblr, Reddit, and (pre-Elon) Twitter people more than Facebook people I think. All of those platforms took measures to excise them from the communities and, in most cases, it’s been an...Those are Tumblr, Reddit, and (pre-Elon) Twitter people more than Facebook people I think. All of those platforms took measures to excise them from the communities and, in most cases, it’s been an improvement as long as they didn’t go Nazi in the process.
I briefly delved into the Fediverse platforms that ended up as landing zones for them and every time I peek in the scene seems to be getting more unhinged, more divorced from any sort of tangible reality, with darker and more nihilistic and violent rhetoric.
That said there actually aren’t THAT many of them they just post a lot on everything all day. Simply subscribing to a community managed moderation list, like Skywatch Blue/Anti-ALF Aktion, scrubs almost all of that nonsense off your feed and the way blocks on BlueSky work it means those accounts functionally don’t exist for you unless someone you follow is engaging with them.
I have it supplemented with a couple of lists I maintain called whinge mongers, and angry anime avatars (you can probably guess who goes in each) and I’ve barely needed to touch them after the first couple of weeks of adding accounts. As I said, there really aren’t that many of these people and they all network with each other to coordinate dogpiles so even if the odd one isn’t in your net they can’t get critical mass of users to come after you because, being blocked, they will never see any of your content to get mad or attack you over.
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Comment on Bluesky melts down over Jesse Singal in ~tech
NaraVara Link ParentI’m subscribed to a couple of moderation lists and I see almost none of this. The decentralized moderation tools work very well if people are willing to use them, and I think it’s a better system...I’m subscribed to a couple of moderation lists and I see almost none of this. The decentralized moderation tools work very well if people are willing to use them, and I think it’s a better system for managing an open protocol than requiring super active moderation at the administrator level.
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Comment on White House in a bind as soybean sales to China plummet to zero in ~society
NaraVara Link ParentGetting rid of Trump might help, but nobody has any faith that America won’t renege on its promises 4 or 8 years later. It’s basically impossible to trust us as a good faith negotiating partner...Getting rid of Trump might help, but nobody has any faith that America won’t renege on its promises 4 or 8 years later. It’s basically impossible to trust us as a good faith negotiating partner even if we happen to be enjoying a bout of lucidity at the moment. Nobody knows when we’ll revert to Mr. Hyde.
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Comment on White House in a bind as soybean sales to China plummet to zero in ~society
NaraVara Link ParentShe raises a good point, after a year of other countries developing capacity to pick up the slack China will have no reason to buy back from us. It’s not like Brazil will stop undercutting us if...She raises a good point, after a year of other countries developing capacity to pick up the slack China will have no reason to buy back from us. It’s not like Brazil will stop undercutting us if things go back to normal. And why on Earth would China, or anyone really, trust us as a good faith trading partner again?
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Comment on US President Donald Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 labels common beliefs as terrorism “indicators” in ~society
NaraVara Link ParentWe were there the moment Congress stuck its head in the sand as DOGE illegally impounded Congressionally appropriated funds and unilaterally dissolved federal agencies and the Supreme Court made...We were there the moment Congress stuck its head in the sand as DOGE illegally impounded Congressionally appropriated funds and unilaterally dissolved federal agencies and the Supreme Court made shadow docket decisions declaring the President immune to legal constraints, but only this specific President not to be extended as precedent to any other presidents.
Whatever thing we had is dead. We’re not fixing the republic anymore we’re rebuilding one. It’s not going away with just this administration, even if they allow it to peacefully transition.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 labels common beliefs as terrorism “indicators” in ~society
NaraVara Link ParentI’ve basically stopped humoring or entertaining these people as seriously worth engaging with. Contrary to what Ezra Klein says we do not have to learn to “live with each other.” We CAN, in fact,...I’ve basically stopped humoring or entertaining these people as seriously worth engaging with. Contrary to what Ezra Klein says we do not have to learn to “live with each other.” We CAN, in fact, just shun them until they’re able to stop being overtly aggressive and hateful. And we can and should simply shove them in a locker when they’re refuse to get along. So I don’t associate with them anymore. I don’t patronize their businesses, I don’t hire contractors who give a whiff of being with them, I don’t exchange pleasantries with them socially or at work. They do all this out of desperation for validation of their noxious worldview and I will never let them have it.
The question recurs, what will satisfy them? Simply this: We must not only let them alone, but we must somehow, convince them that we do let them alone. This, we know by experience, is no easy task. We have been so trying to convince them from the very beginning of our organization, but with no success. In all our platforms and speeches we have constantly protested our purpose to let them alone; but this has had no tendency to convince them. Alike unavailing to convince them, is the fact that they have never detected a man of us in any attempt to disturb them.
These natural, and apparently adequate means all failing, what will convince them? This, and this only: cease to call slavery wrong, and join them in calling it right. And this must be done thoroughly - done in acts as well as in words. Silence will not be tolerated - we must place ourselves avowedly with them. Senator Douglas' new sedition law must be enacted and enforced, suppressing all declarations that slavery is wrong, whether made in politics, in presses, in pulpits, or in private. We must arrest and return their fugitive slaves with greedy pleasure. We must pull down our Free State constitutions. The whole atmosphere must be disinfected from all taint of opposition to slavery, before they will cease to believe that all their troubles proceed from us.
I am quite aware they do not state their case precisely in this way. Most of them would probably say to us, "Let us alone, do nothing to us, and say what you please about slavery." But we do let them alone - have never disturbed them - so that, after all, it is what we say, which dissatisfies them. They will continue to accuse us of doing, until we cease saying.
~ Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union address 1860 -
Comment on Marvel’s Wolverine | Gameplay trailer in ~games
NaraVara Link ParentYeah here’s what I know about the gameplay from this trailer: 1.) There is fighting 2.) Game will be gory Okay? I was mostly curious as to whether it was going to be open worldy or hub worldy or...Yeah here’s what I know about the gameplay from this trailer:
1.) There is fighting
2.) Game will be goryOkay? I was mostly curious as to whether it was going to be open worldy or hub worldy or more sequences of levels and set-pieces like “Uncharted.” But there’s no detail on what kind of game it is.
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Comment on The video-game industry has a problem: there are too many games in ~games
NaraVara Link ParentI had an app a while ago I can no longer find called “Gemini” and it’s main thing was it just used some ML to identify photos in your photo library that are good candidates for deletion. It just...I had an app a while ago I can no longer find called “Gemini” and it’s main thing was it just used some ML to identify photos in your photo library that are good candidates for deletion. It just goes through and gave you a Tinder like interface to keep or lose photos that were either very similar to other photos you have or where one or more people on them are making a derpy face.
I feel like we need more anti-fomo tools like this. You don’t NEED to keep everything. We don’t need stuff staying in our wishlists from 7 years ago that we realistically will never play. Just let some AI show up to declutter.
Apple can reliably identify pictures from the past that will make me cry, they need to do the opposite too and identify pictures I don’t care about and will never care about.
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Comment on Looking forward to Apple Container/Containerization tool in macOS 26, an alternative to Docker in ~comp
NaraVara Link ParentThis is what I’m naming my new coding bootcamp where all the instructors are OnlyFans models.This is what I’m naming my new coding bootcamp where all the instructors are OnlyFans models.
I didn’t mean actual laserdiscs, just a laserdisc sized format. It is big but I imagine you could have all sorts of artsy designed players for something like that. Like a Video Burger or a scaled up version of the various types of weird B&O CD players they’ve made over the years.
As for archiving, I think what we’d really need is that crystal matrix storage thing where the data is stored in glass pucks that have lasers carve grooves inside the crystal. The problem is all the research and money seems to go to being super space efficient and cram as many terabytes or petabytes into as little space as we can. But we don’t actually need that for distributing physical media, we don’t need that much storage just something that’s cheap to produce, and easy to transport and store, that lasts forever and is easy to use.