Trauma's recent activity
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Comment on Meet Dot, an AI companion designed by an Apple alum, here to help you live your best life in ~tech
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Comment on The best robot vacuum for me is the one I hacked in ~tech
Trauma Link ParentThe days when you could just mess with DNS are largely over thanks to TLS and certificates. Even in the notoriously lazy and security free embedded space it is now the default because you'd have...The days when you could just mess with DNS are largely over thanks to TLS and certificates. Even in the notoriously lazy and security free embedded space it is now the default because you'd have to do a tiny amount of extra work to use plain http.
I'd still say that there's a large gap between a) patching the vendors firmware and rooting a device and flashing something completely custom, and b) what exactly firmware means - is it just the on device software but largely a standard Linux userland or is it a large blob of assembler and device specific code that runs without a proper os and pokes into hardware registers?
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Comment on Software development jobs for people that want to have a life outside of work in ~tech
Trauma LinkYou should always add location when asking about jobs. This question for example comes across as very US centric to me because in most parts of Europe having a life outside of work is the default...You should always add location when asking about jobs. This question for example comes across as very US centric to me because in most parts of Europe having a life outside of work is the default and if you want one of those permanent crunch 60 hour minimum dev jobs you either have to go into game development or apply with FAANG or equivalents.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~life
Trauma Link ParentIt's a bit funny that on one hand you say that people aren't naturally this or that way and on the other open your comment with the accusation that polyamory is about hedging your bets, as opposed...It's a bit funny that on one hand you say that people aren't naturally this or that way and on the other open your comment with the accusation that polyamory is about hedging your bets, as opposed to people just doing what feels natural to them.
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Comment on Cities: Skylines II | Official release trailer in ~games
Trauma Link ParentMost DLC for S:C were absolutely skipable, but each brought a free update with great features to the base game. Also, "harder than your typical Sims game"? Please. Both pricing and amount of DLC...Most DLC for S:C were absolutely skipable, but each brought a free update with great features to the base game.
Also, "harder than your typical Sims game"? Please. Both pricing and amount of DLC as well as modding availability make this blatantly untrue.
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Comment on Via: Solving the 100 GB problem in ~games
Trauma Link ParentThat's the dream, right now I have lots of games on the show hdd and very few on the fast nvme, and I found no good way to automatically shift the games I'm actually playing right now to fast...That's the dream, right now I have lots of games on the show hdd and very few on the fast nvme, and I found no good way to automatically shift the games I'm actually playing right now to fast storage. I tend to hop around a lot, and basically end up staring at load screens more than I'd have to.
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Comment on Via: Solving the 100 GB problem in ~games
Trauma Link ParentAll your concerns about data integrity can be pretty much solved (or are already) through the Steam integration. Steam already has an authorative database of how a downloaded game should look like...All your concerns about data integrity can be pretty much solved (or are already) through the Steam integration. Steam already has an authorative database of how a downloaded game should look like for each version, including the cases where it only gives you a third party launcher which actually downloads the game - as far as Steam is concerned the launcher is the game, and the same of course applies to via. Thankfully this practice is rare. Steam also already knows if a game is running and doesn't touch its files as long as it does.
I'm pretty sure via wants to be bought out by Steam and not stay an independent service, which would also address your concerns about another party being able to insert malicious code.
And assuming that Valve is both willing and able to implement all good ideas like this strikes me as a bit optimistic, by the way. Writing kernel mode drivers isn't something you do on a whim.
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Comment on Should I stop flying? It’s a difficult decision to make. in ~enviro
Trauma LinkThe problem, in my view, is that aviation fuel is generally not taxed, or where it is, it's far less so than automotive fuel or even train fuel. Governments, broadly speaking, communicate their...The problem, in my view, is that aviation fuel is generally not taxed, or where it is, it's far less so than automotive fuel or even train fuel. Governments, broadly speaking, communicate their intentions through taxes. And what many governments are saying is that you absolutely should fly. Well, what they're actually trying to say is "please vote for us again next election" and since cheap air travel is popular, they likely won't change their stance until the pressure on them changes towards "reduce emissions" as the priority.
I hate the idea that flying should become a rich people privilege again, but waiting until people voluntarily inconvenience themselves by skipping air travel and taking vacations in closer locations or with slower means of transportation is obviously just waiting for climate change to arrive in full force without taking action.
Said another way, I don't mean to nullify personal responsibility. People can absolutely make meaningful decisions in their day to day life that impact the climate, and they do. More and more people reduce meat consumption, don't own cars and install heat pumps in their homes without being pushed by taxes and laws. But I'm a fan of systemic responses to systemic problems, and in market economies the best way to motivate people to find ways around harmful behavior is to make it expensive - or to make the better alternatives cheaper.
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Comment on Is cinema dying? And if so, who is responsible? – A murder mystery in ~movies
Trauma Link ParentAs a general rule, I stopped watching videos with a title that sounds like "old man yells at cloud", but I wanted to give this a chance. I got to "[cinema is] humanities greatest art form" and...As a general rule, I stopped watching videos with a title that sounds like "old man yells at cloud", but I wanted to give this a chance. I got to "[cinema is] humanities greatest art form" and that was it for me. (I already barely got over opening with examples of doom and gloom for cinema only to turn around and say without any self awareness that "this time it's different").
A shame, I was curious how he fits EEAAO in his doom theory. -
Comment on How China’s EV boom caught Western car companies asleep at the wheel in ~transport
Trauma Link ParentMaybe it was a mistake all along to expect ICE manufacturers to pivot to EV, just as was expecting a chemical giant with an expertise and brand in photoreactive strips to pivot to becoming a chip...Maybe it was a mistake all along to expect ICE manufacturers to pivot to EV, just as was expecting a chemical giant with an expertise and brand in photoreactive strips to pivot to becoming a chip manufacturer.
What gives these companies strength is their inertia and strong company culture paired with their recognition. Rip out your core business and try to replace it with a competing technology and you will turn all of these strengths into liabilities. Suddenly your immensely valuable domain experts are redundant cost centers, your company culture is an obstacle, and your brand reception needs a complete overhaul.
It might actually be easier, and smoother, to ignore the change, slowly wind down the dying business until it becomes a niche operation and move your capital into a new company that will then cherry pick talent and processes from the carcass of the old.
Sadly what actually happens is that the old companies refuse to yield gracefully. They buy out threatening start ups around them and poisen the field with regulation bought by long term political connections, leaving the whole country unprepared for the day the leeves break and the market is flooded with superior foreign products.
Funnily enough this is an area where capitalism isn't ruthless enough for me. We tend to prop up dying companies for much too long because they are too big to fail, and then we stare down the barrel of a whole industry failing at the same time and with even more catastrophic cascading consequences.
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Comment on Analysis: Why is so much anti-Palestinian disinformation coming from India? in ~misc
Trauma LinkEvery time I read an article like this "Welcome to the Internet" by Bo Burnham plays in my head. We built a global network of free flowing information with such potential for greatness, and this...Every time I read an article like this "Welcome to the Internet" by Bo Burnham plays in my head. We built a global network of free flowing information with such potential for greatness, and this is what we get?
Sure, some amount of lying is to be expected in anything operated by humans; but the sheer amount of people who are willingly led down the rabbit hole of disinformation pipelines and let their whole world view be shaped and consumed by propaganda depresses me a bit. Historically victims of this could at least claim that they had no other sources, as removing dissent is the first order of business of totalitarian states. But now the mechanism is even uglier - instead of listening to them because there's no alternative people do so because they are the most in line with their existing prejudice and the most emotionally engaging - not even with positive emotions, but rather a constant stream of fear and loathing.
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Comment on How can I get my engineers to accept being on call? in ~tech
Trauma Link ParentAt least for wide swaths of Europe I can say that such a catch all term would be deemed void in front of a court. That said, suing your employer is usually something you do after you quit or are...At least for wide swaths of Europe I can say that such a catch all term would be deemed void in front of a court. That said, suing your employer is usually something you do after you quit or are resigned to having to do that anyway, and it actually requires you to know your rights, so many such unenforceable clauses (not allowed to disclose your salary is another popular one) regularly end up in employment contracts.
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Comment on The great Zelle pool scam - All I wanted was a status symbol. What I got was a $31,000 lesson in the downside of payment apps. in ~finance
Trauma Link ParentMaybe as a receiver of bank transfers you don't want them to be reversible beyond say 48 hours so you can actually rely on them?Maybe as a receiver of bank transfers you don't want them to be reversible beyond say 48 hours so you can actually rely on them?
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Comment on Yes, you can measure software developer productivity in ~tech
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Comment on Yes, you can measure software developer productivity in ~tech
Trauma Link ParentYou should recognize that giving the illusion of action without really doing anything is previously what a large swath of clients want from you. They don't know what to do, they feel something...You should recognize that giving the illusion of action without really doing anything is previously what a large swath of clients want from you. They don't know what to do, they feel something should be done (or are told as much by the C rank and/or the board), they don't really believe a consultant knows what to do but hiring someone takes the heat off of them. But actually implementing changes would make it their responsibility again so that needs to be resisted.
Then there's the second class of customers who know exactly what they want to do (usually fire, I mean, make redundant) and need a scape goat.
With those two (and the companies catering to them) ruining the image of consultants it's not a big mistery why so many people perceive them as locusts. All the consultants who are just domain experts or drop in firefighters trying to a honest job get much less attention, mainly because they don't disrupt everything in their wake.
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Comment on Yes, you can measure software developer productivity in ~tech
Trauma Link ParentIn many jurisdictions this isn't legal and so we have hope that the worst snooping excesses will stay limited to the anglosphere.In many jurisdictions this isn't legal and so we have hope that the worst snooping excesses will stay limited to the anglosphere.
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Comment on Yes, you can measure software developer productivity in ~tech
Trauma Link ParentIn my capacity as former consultant I hereby absolve you of the abusive wordplay you used because this form of consultancy is morally corrupt and detestable.In my capacity as former consultant I hereby absolve you of the abusive wordplay you used because this form of consultancy is morally corrupt and detestable.
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Comment on Yes, you can measure software developer productivity in ~tech
Trauma Link ParentYes, and they are not the metrics McKinsey developed and wants to sell. They focus more on effort and being able to track individual performance. The article goes into detail why this is, though...Yes, and they are not the metrics McKinsey developed and wants to sell. They focus more on effort and being able to track individual performance. The article goes into detail why this is, though tempting, a bad idea.
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Comment on $600million and a decade later, where is Star Citizen? in ~games
Trauma Link ParentWell, you have every right to ask, but that was a report from a user posted on spectrum which got deleted which I saw via wayback machine, linked from the refund subreddit, which is a very unhappy...Well, you have every right to ask, but that was a report from a user posted on spectrum which got deleted which I saw via wayback machine, linked from the refund subreddit, which is a very unhappy place to be and search.
It was a complete guide for UK users who gave money in the early years to use the local equivalent of small claims court to get their money back citing the 2016 release date. And it added up, back then a release was promised and not delivered.
I since got over my curiosity for Star Citizen, and the people I played with online are all in hiatus, too, since the persistence patch completely broke what gameplay there was. -
Comment on $600million and a decade later, where is Star Citizen? in ~games
Trauma Link ParentPeople were suing and getting their money back. That's why the shop page now has clear disclaimers and a refund grace period, which it hadn't before.People were suing and getting their money back. That's why the shop page now has clear disclaimers and a refund grace period, which it hadn't before.
That certainly didn't feel like an hour.
I only learned of Replica's existence when the no relationship roleplay changes made waves on Reddit and curiosity drove me to visit the subreddit. I had to process my shock that people were in love with ChatGPT-with-avatar en masse at the same time as I was seeing the raw pain of hundreds of posts where people mourned the death of their partner. And just like Sarahz I came to the conclusion that the problem wasn't that people wanted to have deep emotional and erotic relationships with a more sophisticated tamagotchi, but that they placed themselves and their emotional health at the mercy of a corporation. It's like renting a dog and when the company shuts down they also shoot your dog. Or they may start painting ads on it. Or it pees on your rug until you pay for the premium housebroken features.
Well, that and the desire to have a relationship where you control all the parameters is, while understandable, particularly in the case of trauma or anxiety, ultimately concerning.