Pistos's recent activity

  1. Comment on How I feel about LLM (AI) writing in ~tech

  2. Comment on Tildes Survey #3: What country were you born in? (Results) in ~talk

    Pistos
    Link Parent
    Please ping me.

    Please ping me.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on The boy that cried Mythos in ~comp

    Pistos
    Link Parent
    Likely this: https://hacks.mozilla.org/2026/05/behind-the-scenes-hardening-firefox/ I forgot that I read this Mozilla post. I'm still piecing together whether that counts towards what the OP...

    Likely this: https://hacks.mozilla.org/2026/05/behind-the-scenes-hardening-firefox/

    [we fixed] the 271 bugs identified by Claude Mythos Preview in the 150 release

    I forgot that I read this Mozilla post. I'm still piecing together whether that counts towards what the OP article is complaining about.

    7 votes

  4. Comment on The boy that cried Mythos in ~comp

    Pistos
    Link
    I note that this piece was published April 13, a week after the release of the things it is criticizing, and is now a month old. I don't see any obvious "Updated:" block. I wonder if anything's...

    I note that this piece was published April 13, a week after the release of the things it is criticizing, and is now a month old. I don't see any obvious "Updated:" block. I wonder if anything's changed since then (such as publication of some of the missing things the author was looking for). I did a (very) little bit of research, and there doesn't seem to be anything made public so far.

    7 votes

  5. Comment on The sea that is vanishing in real time in ~enviro

    Pistos
    Link
    Similar: World's Fourth Largest Lake Now a Deadly Desert

    Similar:

    World's Fourth Largest Lake Now a Deadly Desert

    one of the biggest environmental disasters in the world

    Salinity concentrations in the remaining water increased to levels higher than the ocean, destroying most of the native life within and collapsing the local ecosystem

    Aralkum’s dust is particularly toxic compared to the rest of the region’s desert dust because it contains runoff from nearby USSR chemical weapons testing and is full of fertilizers and pesticides from the same mass agricultural practices responsible for draining the Aral Sea.

    Exposure to the dust has been linked to health issues in adults and children in the region

    7 votes

  6. Comment on Linux privilege escalation (CVE-2026-31431) in ~comp

    Pistos
    Link Parent
    Firefox's Reader View works for me. You can configure it to apply a dark mode (in addition to the other things it does).

    Firefox's Reader View works for me. You can configure it to apply a dark mode (in addition to the other things it does).

  7. Comment on Tildes Survey #3: What country were you born in? (Results) in ~talk

    Pistos
    Link Parent
    Yep. That would address the concern without being overly technical. Could possibly even skip question 1, to simplify further.

    Yep. That would address the concern without being overly technical. Could possibly even skip question 1, to simplify further.

    2 votes

  8. Comment on Tildes Survey #3: What country were you born in? (Results) in ~talk

    Pistos
    Link
    I wasn't sure where to put this comment, given that there doesn't seem to be any preamble or discussion prior to a question being posted. I wanted to comment on the upcoming question Answers here...

    I wasn't sure where to put this comment, given that there doesn't seem to be any preamble or discussion prior to a question being posted. I wanted to comment on the upcoming question

    What languages can you speak?

    Answers here can be nuanced. You may need to set up some boundaries around "can speak". Or, allow for specifying a level of proficiency. My point is language proficiency is not black and white.

    5 votes

  9. Comment on We must keep age verification from killing anonymity online in ~tech

    Pistos
    Link Parent
    It's still helpful to keep DOB unknown for all those already over the number, though, right?

    It's still helpful to keep DOB unknown for all those already over the number, though, right?

    2 votes

  10. Comment on We must keep age verification from killing anonymity online in ~tech

    Pistos
    Link Parent
    Sounds like the system could have simple boolean fields like "is over 16", "is over 18", "is over 21", etc. That way, you don't have to give the third-party service years of age, or exact DOB.

    Sounds like the system could have simple boolean fields like "is over 16", "is over 18", "is over 21", etc. That way, you don't have to give the third-party service years of age, or exact DOB.

    5 votes

  11. Comment on USA to mandate surveillance tech for new cars also determing fitness to drive by 2027 in ~transport

    Pistos
    (edited )
    Link
    "Oh say, can you see" You can't buy a car any more. Only a rolling computer. Wait wait wait. Just how will the car measure blood alcohol level? Continuous in-cabin air testing? Intravenous...

    Infrared cameras and sensors will monitor eye movement

    "Oh say, can you see"

    You can't buy a car any more. Only a rolling computer.

    If the AI determines you’re impaired (blood alcohol ≥0.08% or showing fatigue),

    Wait wait wait. Just how will the car measure blood alcohol level? Continuous in-cabin air testing? Intravenous interface? If air: How will the system distinguish between a drunk passenger (of a taxi driver, or designated driver) and a drunk driver?

    Your car simply watches and decides whether you’re fit to drive.

    And what happens in the scenario that you are fit to drive when you start driving, and are later deemed unfit during the trip? Is your vehicle forced to come to a dead stop in the middle of 60 mph traffic flow?

    manufacturers could potentially upload biometric data to corporate servers, raising concerns about sharing with insurance companies

    Not to mention the ever-constant threat of data leakage/theft.

    I would say "Americans: have fun with your Oh Say Can You See Act", but it's more likely than not that Canada's government would follow suit and enact similar legislation.

    8 votes

  12. Comment on Requesting resources for learning Ruby in ~comp

    Pistos
    Link
    Given you already know Python and Javascript, I'd say: 1) Just dive right in, and 2) use an AI chatbot. Your existing programming knowledge will transfer easily (especially Python). Converse with...

    Given you already know Python and Javascript, I'd say: 1) Just dive right in, and 2) use an AI chatbot. Your existing programming knowledge will transfer easily (especially Python). Converse with an AI to fill in details, such as by asking how Ruby compares to Python with respect to some aspect, or by asking for example Ruby code for whatever.

    After many years, Ruby remains my favourite programming language.

    Back in the day, I remember this:

    https://github.com/ryanb/ruby-warrior
    https://palkan.github.io/ruby-warrior/

    2 votes

  13. Comment on What is watts, volts and amps? in ~science

    Pistos
    Link Parent
    Wow. This explanation is really sticking for me. Good job. Even this makes sense: becomes total_apple_energy_supply = tree_height * apple_drop_rate

    Wow. This explanation is really sticking for me. Good job. Even this makes sense:

    P = V x I

    becomes

    total_apple_energy_supply = tree_height * apple_drop_rate

    3 votes

  14. Comment on I wrote a book, and I'd love for you to read it! in ~creative

    Pistos
    Link Parent
    I assumed that was a deliberate artistic choice.

    I assumed that was a deliberate artistic choice.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on I wrote a book, and I'd love for you to read it! in ~creative

    Pistos
    Link
    Very creative! Thanks for sharing. I'll admit that i didn't read it cover to cover (yet?), but more for lack of time than lack of interest. Here's to us creatives. May we not get bulldozed out of...

    Very creative! Thanks for sharing. I'll admit that i didn't read it cover to cover (yet?), but more for lack of time than lack of interest. Here's to us creatives. May we not get bulldozed out of the world by (the consumption of) AI.

    8 votes

  16. Comment on Which Linux distro do you use, and why? in ~tech

    Pistos
    Link
    Gentoo, because: USE flags let me put less stuff on my system, avoiding things I don't want or need (some dependencies, "features"), instead of apps having every possible feature compiled into...

    Gentoo, because:

    • USE flags let me put less stuff on my system, avoiding things I don't want or need (some dependencies, "features"), instead of apps having every possible feature compiled into them
    • years of inertia; it's been doing what I ask of it
    • OpenRC still an option (i.e. not systemd)

    For installations on other people's laptops that I don't want to have to maintain too much, I've turned to KDE Neon, which users can relatively easily update themselves.

    5 votes

  18. Comment on Half-baked idea for metered inline image allowances in ~tildes

    Pistos
    Link
    There's the security or privacy concern with allowing externally-hosted images: tracking, etc. Plus, that content becomes out of the control of the Tildes system, and could be switched or deleted.

    There's the security or privacy concern with allowing externally-hosted images: tracking, etc. Plus, that content becomes out of the control of the Tildes system, and could be switched or deleted.

    3 votes

  19. Comment on Anthropic announces deal with Google, Broadcom, says revenue has tripled in ~finance

    Pistos
    Link Parent
    Well, some of us, having chosen a favourite for personal work, choose that favourite among the options at their workplace (where they spend that >$1k per month budget).

    Well, some of us, having chosen a favourite for personal work, choose that favourite among the options at their workplace (where they spend that >$1k per month budget).

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Indie Pass, a PC subscription service for indie games to launch on April 13, 2026 in ~games

    Pistos
    Link Parent
    Maybe the draw here (for game makers) is exposure.

    Maybe the draw here (for game makers) is exposure.

    1 vote