Tiraon's recent activity
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Comment on Google's new app will help warn you about nude images in Messages in ~tech
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Google's new app will help warn you about nude images in Messages
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Comment on In praise of inconvenience: The hidden costs of a convenient world in ~life
Tiraon LinkWe don't live in a world that is convenient but in a world where the illusion of being convenient was weaponized against the integrity of the decision making process of an average person. In the...We don't live in a world that is convenient but in a world where the illusion of being convenient was weaponized against the integrity of the decision making process of an average person.
In the cases where mainstream options are actually temporarily convenient it is there to funnel people away from possibilities that would be better(and more convenient) in the long term of to funnel people to options that are worse.
Case in point - smartphones. Our own personal tracking and marketing devices loaded with unwanted software and secured against the supposed owner in the name of security(but not against any random company that can pay to have their garbage ware preloaded). Full of popus, forced account registrations, bad control options, with software built around them being straight up malicious. Made convenient by the fact that society forces their use.
That is not to say that a pocket computer could not be convenient or cannot be made convenient, simply that the default options and the way their usage is forced is not.
Or many other software on real life things made "convenient" only by forcing their use, forcing things for which they have to be used or by destroying alternatives.
I do agree that being conciouss of this and to deliberately add friction to certain actions can be good for the person.
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Comment on Hackers take control of robot vacuums in multiple US cities, yell racial slurs in ~tech
Tiraon LinkThis is inevitable for so called "smart" devices requiring internet access and for most also an arbitrary online account. If something allows remote control it can be controlled remotely. When you...This is inevitable for so called "smart" devices requiring internet access and for most also an arbitrary online account.
If something allows remote control it can be controlled remotely. When you then connect it to the Internet it can be controlled over the Internet. To the large surprise of everyone involved that is problem and a bigger one when someone buys an Internet required appliance and trusts everything that appliance can do and all the data it can gather to a who knows who with unknown level of commitment to security and uknown level of respecting privacy.
There are entire classes od devices where it is all but impossible to buy ones not requiring internet access. Robot vacuums, tvs, cars and probably more. Because that is more profitable and because most people simply do not care about consequences that are even minimally out of sight or obscured (as evidenced by the prevalence of ad-data business model, Windows, Youtube, Android, Google and many, many others) and basic computer literacy is at about the same level it the generall population as actual literacy was in the middle ages. Not because it is that hard or expensive(in time, money or opportunity costs) to have a very basic awareness of digital hygiene and best practices, but because most people cannot be bothered to take the weekend to educate themselves about the very minimal basics of the devices they trust in their everyday life with basically everything.
And yes there is absolutely a cultural bias for that kind of a attitude but it should not be such an unrealistic expection for average person to think critically before trusting their privacy to unknown entities over whose practices regarding their personal information they have at the absolute best and only in certain jurisdictions tenuous and indirect control which they will likely never actually exercise. Sometimes it is neccessary to function in society, yes but this not a timeline where the effects we are seeing were caused by thoughtfull and conscious compromise toward these forces by the general population.
Lot of that is probably because the consequences are indirect, nebulous and obscured even if their broad effect(or at the absolute minimum the general direction of the the impact they have) is very transparent.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Tiraon LinkNier: Automata - I must say that so far I am not really impressed considering how praised it was. A lot of it has to do with the no saving demo which is one of the most horrible design decisions I...Nier: Automata - I must say that so far I am not really impressed considering how praised it was. A lot of it has to do with the no saving demo which is one of the most horrible design decisions I have seen personally. Getting through it on easy I can see how they worked it into the lore, but the fact that it was intentional does not mean that the decision is good. Even as an outside observer not well versed in game design I could see obvious ways to mitigate the problems while keeping the core point which probably means they left the problems intentionally - hence horrible design.
Other that the gameplay is fine but nothing special so far.
I could see what they are doing with the camera changes. Though personally I thought that in the prologue where they were used most so far they were far too frequent and abrupt even if the gameplay transformation was interesting.
I am up to second main boss so far and I must say that I am not sure what to make of the story.
Probably mild spoilers and idle speculation since I am likely fairly early into the game.
The obvious conclusions the game present so far makes me think they'll add twists to it or pivot in unexcpected directions though I don't think they will completely subvert it.
That being that the machines are in some way remnants of humanity and the androids are in some way aggressors. But even assuming no subversion will take place later there are lot of ways that could be taken.
I am not even ready to discard the possibility that there are actually humans on the moon who were the aggressors with the earth-bound humanity succumbing to some bioweapon but not before cobbling together some prototype uploading process and rigging automation to keep it going.
Or we could go completely different direction and take the alien story at face value. Aliens invaded and conquered but splintered after with one faction assimilating the(concept of) humanity and the other the form.
Though I admit I have trouble differentiating what is there for presentation reasons and what is there for lore reasons.
The intro message, general tone and what I have been hearing about the game make me think that the overall message will be something gratuitously nihilistic and or edgelord though I would like to be pleasantly surprised.
I'll look forward to seeing how close or far I was though at this point I am honestly not sure if I just look it up or play the game.
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Comment on YouTube Premium is getting a big price hike internationally in ~tech
Tiraon Link ParentI am going to use my personal usage here as example and I have no idea how common it is. In the past year I have watched less than ten hours of that content six of which was a single one off...I am going to use my personal usage here as example and I have no idea how common it is.
In the past year I have watched less than ten hours of that content six of which was a single one off tutorial series. Paying for premium would mean +- of 20 cents per minute. The ads on the other hand are genuinely insane, one after the other several times per less than half an hour video and with severely questionable content.
If they actually let me pay a price that was commesurate with even an order of magnitude more than it actually costs them, no problem. Once that gets into orders of magnitude in maybe high single digits then that is different. Not even mentioning the bundling and other tricks.
If they had tried less hard to become the default that might also be a different story.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Tiraon LinkParticle Fleet Emergence from the author of the Creeper World series. A game dealing with controlling a fleet of spaceships fighting against particles, particle emitters and particle based ships....Particle Fleet Emergence from the author of the Creeper World series. A game dealing with controlling a fleet of spaceships fighting against particles, particle emitters and particle based ships.
The player ships are also varied and partially destructible including functional subsystems. So for example you have a ram ship to tank the particles and be able to get close to the emitter with a utility ship able to destroy it or a redirector ship to send friendly particles against enemy ones and other ship types.
To be honest the logic controlling the particles is relatively basic and I view the game as being a good way to a puzzle game instead of strategy one but it is fun.
I am not a fan of the story but the campaign is effectively a tutorial towards making your own ships and levels or exploring the various user made ones.
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Comment on The iPhones 16 in ~tech
Tiraon Link ParentPositive would be leaving the user a choice. Companies know a lot of things that are very definitely good(enough) for most people and are happy to make them reality.Positive would be leaving the user a choice. Companies know a lot of things that are very definitely good(enough) for most people and are happy to make them reality.
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Comment on The iPhones 16 in ~tech
Tiraon Link ParentAbsolutely. A phone running open linux distribution out of the box featuring today midrange hw and solid sw support. With an eink screen and replaceable battery and expandable storage. Made from...Absolutely. A phone running open linux distribution out of the box featuring today midrange hw and solid sw support.
With an eink screen and replaceable battery and expandable storage. Made from ground up to be easy to repair.
Personally I used Pinephone(which at least tried in some points) as my main phone for about a year about two years ago but in the end the sw was not there yet and the battery life was too bad.
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Comment on The “email is authentication” pattern in ~tech
Tiraon Link ParentPersonally I just don't use it. The auto in the implementation means that it has negative utility to me. I'd rather accept the occasional typo then the lost time. I have no idea if it is used for...Is there a slang word for a typo caused by autocorrect doing the wrong thing?
Personally I just don't use it. The auto in the implementation means that it has negative utility to me. I'd rather accept the occasional typo then the lost time. I have no idea if it is used for training or data collection or something but the implementation is not there for the user.
Also, very prozaically - automess-up.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Tiraon LinkI got back to Legend of Grimrock 2 or more specifically some of the mods that have been built on top of it. The base game is a decade old and a grid based dungeon crawler, unlike the first one it...I got back to Legend of Grimrock 2 or more specifically some of the mods that have been built on top of it.
The base game is a decade old and a grid based dungeon crawler, unlike the first one it has more varied environments and does not take place entirely underground. The gameplay strikes a nice balance between combat and puzzles and the game has a nice atmosphere. And the story is there, basically.
For now I've settled on The Guardians - which is one of the bigger and more elaborate mods made for the game. This can actually cause problems since the game is 32bit and can only use 2GB of memory. The solution is to patch the executable to use 4GB of memory and to lower texture settings but crashes can still sometimes happen.
It is actually bigger than the base game and features several additional systems such as cooking, mining or trade. It has a darker atmosphere and is more difficult but that is partly due design decisions that I personally dislike, mainly putting a limit in the form of food on the length of the game.There are several other mods I'd like to try, some by same author and some hosted outside steam such as Call of House Hardabar.
I wish that there more games using this format but the very few that came out generally didn't really grip me as this one as they did not manage the same semi open format, atmosphere and good focus between puzzles and combat.
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EU ChatControl is back on the agenda
10 votes -
Looking for a clean, simple phone
I was asked to recommend a phone to an older relative that is bad with technology and wanted to ask some advice. It is important that the phone is reliable and clean. That is no bloatware, popups,...
I was asked to recommend a phone to an older relative that is bad with technology and wanted to ask some advice.
It is important that the phone is reliable and clean. That is no bloatware, popups, adware, nagware or anything like that. Other than that the requirements are simply as good a camera as is available at the budget and maps.
The options I can see are:
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standard Android phone - Personally I have Samsung A34 which would fit the hw and price but the sw is horrible. I also have no current experience with custom ROMs as I went with adb(and Universal Android Debloater for ease of use) to remove the worst of it. From what I have heard the Google Pixel comes with least amount of bloat as Android(single source) but they seemed to have different problems with hw each generation and the price would mean an older one. Maybe something else would be better choice here.
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iPhone - honestly I have zero experience here as I never had it so I don't even know how much it would fit. The price would also mean an older or used model
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Dumb or KaiOS phone would fail the camera requirement and the minimal phones mentioned here(eg. Light phone, Minimal phone) are expensive for what they are and I am not convinced a good choice here given the usual problems with niche hw and sw(but maybe I am wrong?)
I am in EU and the budget is less than 500EUR, preferably less than 350EUR.
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Comment on What advantages does Linux have over other operating systems? in ~tech
Tiraon LinkFor me the answer is quite simple. From the major os's it is the one that is a tool for me to use instead of onboarding platform to get either directly or indirectly monetized by the company. That...For me the answer is quite simple. From the major os's it is the one that is a tool for me to use instead of onboarding platform to get either directly or indirectly monetized by the company.
That then has a number of knock on effects such as:
- no nagware, adware, always on telemetry, arbitrary account requirements and I probably forgotten something
- the nature of problems is that there is a bug or there is difference in usage philosophy. For the first it is going to be fixed and for the second I can go elsewhere or adjust my experience myself. Not another amazing feature with no decline option or the computer working against my interests And also bugs.
- the direction the os is going to take. Linux is getting better, the other options are deliberately going in the opposite direction
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Tiraon LinkSymphony of War: The Nephilim Saga - a turn-based strategy game with a solid enough story. The gameplay consists of creating and equipping squads of up to 9 units and then guiding them through...Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga - a turn-based strategy game with a solid enough story. The gameplay consists of creating and equipping squads of up to 9 units and then guiding them through varied scenarios progressing through the campaign. The main part of the strategy is making the squads both resilient and specialized to then be able to counter, survive and maneuver around the enemy, the actual combat part is then simply an animation.
It is technically made in RPG Maker but it is completely unrecognizable baring some idiosyncrasies.
The developer also has several older games, this time RPGs and also doing interesting things with RPG Maker.
Signus: The Artefact Wars - a very old(~2000) turn based strategy game. Is now free on Github. It has excellent localized enemy ai for the time but the later missions can drag a lot due to the control scheme.
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Comment on Predictions of AI doom are too much like Hollywood movie plots in ~tech
Tiraon LinkI actually agree with the general point that real world works slower than the fictional depictions and that the systemic nature of society means that single agent has limited impact. But what we...I actually agree with the general point that real world works slower than the fictional depictions and that the systemic nature of society means that single agent has limited impact.
But what we have that we call AI we call so purely as a marketing term. We have statistical models predicting output based on their training data. As far as I can tell we have no actual AI systems capable of acting on their own initiative. We have only really started to create expert systems capable of acting in the real world(self driving as example).
In my opinion the actual danger of LLMs("AI") is that that they further degrade the ability of average human to critically gauge the accuracy of information on which they base their decision, to further stunt declining computer literacy and to reinforce and resurface subtle, hard to catch biases present in overly broadly scrapped training data.
It is completely possible that actual AGI will be developed someday, I have no idea. But LLMs are, as far as I can tell, purely tools and any transformations of society due to them will be done by humans.
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Comment on Disney seeking dismissal of Raglan Road death lawsuit because victim was Disney+ subscriber in ~misc
Tiraon LinkIt is always very surreal when I see an article on real life events that would not look out of place on The Onion. I want to be optimist so maybe this will bring some scrutiny to ToS that are...It is always very surreal when I see an article on real life events that would not look out of place on The Onion.
I want to be optimist so maybe this will bring some scrutiny to ToS that are never all read and cannot be read by average person because there is simply not enough time to both actually read them and to take up law as a hobby to actually understand them.
And also how would it ever be reasonable to apply terms of ToS to a completely different segment of the company.
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Comment on What are your ten favourite movies of all time? in ~movies
Tiraon (edited )LinkChildren of Men A post-apocalyptic journey. I particularly like how it introduced the world with an in-universe appropriate segment. The Man From Earth Just a few people talking in a room about a...Children of Men
A post-apocalyptic journey. I particularly like how it introduced the world with an in-universe appropriate segment.The Man From Earth
Just a few people talking in a room about a fantastical scenario. Strangely I tried to imagine a bigger more cinematic version going through the events and actually came to the conclusion the I'd probably like it less.Stardust
A fantasy romance with a truly whimsical, wondrous feeling. And a bit of humor.The three Lord of the Rings movies
They are they are and have some flaws but they are also competently executed fantasy movies.Lola Rennt
In God we Trust(2000)
An independent short filmMonty Python and the Holy Grail
And now some that I would not have said I particularly liked watching but include as well.
Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and love the BombFifty million merits episode of Black Mirror
Technically not a movie and the most terrifying horror I saw.Don't Look Up
Strong Idiocracy vibes and can be taken as metaphor to current eventsEdit: added two films since I decided to count the Lord of the Rings trilogy as one.
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Comment on Windows 11 now shows a full-screen pop-up to use OneDrive and protect your PC in ~tech
Tiraon LinkThis really isn't anything new. Ever since Windows 10 released the trend was there and it will simply go on until something changes or until it reaches maximum monetization and I am not sure this...This really isn't anything new. Ever since Windows 10 released the trend was there and it will simply go on until something changes or until it reaches maximum monetization and I am not sure this concept is even understood in this economy.
I am sure I'll leave out something here but so far on Windows there is required online account, forced telemetry, forced updates, ads in the os, nagware, bloatware, constantly degrading functionality, patronizing/degrading language.
There seems to be a really strong current in society of glorifying computer illiteracy which is one of the reasons this os can do what it does, along with complacency, unwillingness to let go of fake convenience and defacto monopoly.
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Comment on "Privacy-Preserving" Attribution: Mozilla disappoints us yet again in ~tech
Tiraon Link ParentWhile there is high variance in cost of advertising on individual level, on average it is easily the most expensive option even if we ignored the massive societal and enviromental costs which we...Now you can freely question whether it's right that so much of the internet is funded by targeted advertising,
While there is high variance in cost of advertising on individual level, on average it is easily the most expensive option even if we ignored the massive societal and enviromental costs which we should not.
Personally I consider ads to be this predatory payday loan that gives you something up front but requires time and attention for an action explicitly designed and optimized to compromise the decision making of the user.
The money for all the imnense costs needed for ads needs to come from somewhere and while that costs is obfuscated to hell in ultimately comes from the end user.
Android system SafetyCore, an ai powered content analyzing(at least) system app to become available. Seems it will be opt-out for minors, opt-in for others, how will they tell?
Additional links https://developers.google.com/android/binary_transparency/google1p/overview, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.safetycore