ackables's recent activity
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Comment on Mac advice for a long time Windows user in ~tech
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Comment on Moving out soon. Think out loud with me regarding saving money vs. quality of life. in ~life
ackables LinkRoommates are really hit or miss, but I would still take the lower cost option for your apartment. Then, you could get an office at a coworking space nearby to work from. Living alone doesn’t...Roommates are really hit or miss, but I would still take the lower cost option for your apartment. Then, you could get an office at a coworking space nearby to work from.
Living alone doesn’t necessarily get you extra living space, you pay for extra privacy. The savings from living with roommates could let you afford a private office in a shared office building which would give you way more space, extra privacy, and a second place to go depending on your mood.
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Comment on I feel that Destin (SmarterEveryDay on Youtube) is straying from the path in ~talk
ackables Link ParentI felt a little iffy about the made in USA episode as well, but I do respect that he actually put his money where his mouth was and tried to manufacture a product in the USA with 100% USA...I felt a little iffy about the made in USA episode as well, but I do respect that he actually put his money where his mouth was and tried to manufacture a product in the USA with 100% USA materials as an educational experiment to see how feasible it is.
He didn’t go on a xenophobic rant about USA good/China bad, he actually learned firsthand about the challenges facing manufacturing in the USA and has a more nuanced view of what may need to happen to make bringing manufacturing to the USA possible than the armchair industrial policy experts on the internet.
Destin definitely appears to be conservative, but I respect his flavor of conservatism. He (publicly) preaches love above all else and takes an intellectual approach to back up his beliefs instead of spouting knee jerk talking points. It feels like the politics of the past where people wanted to make the country a better place for everyone and the disagreements were about how we would get there instead of trying to screw over people who you don’t like.
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Comment on The truth about AI (specifically LLM powered AI) in ~tech
ackables Link ParentLots of your issues with context drift will be solved with larger context windows in the future, but you can solve it now with RAG AI systems. RAG stands for retrieval augmented generation and the...Lots of your issues with context drift will be solved with larger context windows in the future, but you can solve it now with RAG AI systems.
RAG stands for retrieval augmented generation and the gist of it is that instead of purely generating responses based on your current prompt and past conversation history, the AI will look to your source documents for concrete information.
Things like ChatGPT will do this currently if you upload documents with your prompt. You can probably have whatever model you’re using generate a summary of facts about what you’re working on occasionally and use that as source document to realign the AI if it starts to get off track. This would probably also help if you decided to move to a different model or chat window mid project.
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Comment on The truth about AI (specifically LLM powered AI) in ~tech
ackables LinkOn the subject of AI FOMO, there definitely should be a sense of urgency to start using it. Early adopters will have a significant edge, however short lived, over AI haters. I don’t mean you...On the subject of AI FOMO, there definitely should be a sense of urgency to start using it. Early adopters will have a significant edge, however short lived, over AI haters.
I don’t mean you should force yourself to use AI for tasks that it isn’t good at, but keeping an open mind and occasionally checking whether AI is now helpful in your workflow will help you out a ton.
For example, everyone knows AI can be used to increase your job application submission rates, so companies try to add sneaky prompts into job listings to catch it. If you were an early adopter of AI resume and cover letter generation, you would have had a competitive edge over other job seekers for that short period of time.
I don’t have any other examples like job applications, but they are out there waiting for someone to discover them. If you’re able to discover a use case first, you’ll get to benefit until others catch on.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of December 15 in ~society
ackables Link ParentI guess 14.2% is an insignificant portion of Americans. I’d also think the benefit of the ACA marketplace isn’t that every American is on a subsidized plan at the same time, but that the ACA...I guess 14.2% is an insignificant portion of Americans.
I’d also think the benefit of the ACA marketplace isn’t that every American is on a subsidized plan at the same time, but that the ACA marketplace is a safety net that allows people to keep affordable coverage if they lose their job or don’t have an affordable option through their employer. I’d like to see numbers for how many unique individuals have used an ACA insurance plan at some point in their lives.
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Comment on The Windows 11 crisis in ~tech
ackables LinkThe formatting on this one is a little weird. You may want to try reposting with the link in the second text box instead of the title box.The formatting on this one is a little weird. You may want to try reposting with the link in the second text box instead of the title box.
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Comment on Does anyone use Ground News? in ~talk
ackables Link ParentI check out Kagi news because it’s free and I like Kagi, but I’m not sure if I could really say it’s “no ads”. The technology section has stories about consumer tech discounts on a regular basis...I check out Kagi news because it’s free and I like Kagi, but I’m not sure if I could really say it’s “no ads”. The technology section has stories about consumer tech discounts on a regular basis and has a tilt towards covering Apple.
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Comment on Four proposals to improve the design of fuel economy standards in ~transport
ackables LinkI feel like changing the incentive structure to make it less desirable for consumers to even purchase large footprint vehicles would fix a lot of other issues. Large vehicles cause a lot of other...I feel like changing the incentive structure to make it less desirable for consumers to even purchase large footprint vehicles would fix a lot of other issues. Large vehicles cause a lot of other issues with safety and road wear, so incentivizing smaller vehicle purchases and sales would lower fuel consumption and improve other safety metrics across the board.
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Comment on How did you choose your podcast app and would you switch to a different one? in ~tech
ackables Link ParentThe one thing I would want improved in the Apple Podcasts app is the search. I would love for search that could connect my search terms to the content of an episode instead of just the title.The one thing I would want improved in the Apple Podcasts app is the search. I would love for search that could connect my search terms to the content of an episode instead of just the title.
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Comment on Over 120,000 home cameras hacked for 'sexploitation' footage in ~tech
ackables Link ParentI remember when I jail broke my iPhone 4, I found an ipcam viewer app on the Cydia app store. Never saw anything explicit or inherently “private”, but it was still crazy that I could look at some...I remember when I jail broke my iPhone 4, I found an ipcam viewer app on the Cydia app store. Never saw anything explicit or inherently “private”, but it was still crazy that I could look at some warehouse loading docks in real time.
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Comment on United Kingdom electric vehicle owners to face pay-per-mile tax in ~transport
ackables LinkThese incentives seem a bit perverse, specifically with taxing plug in hybrids. The whole point of getting a hybrid vehicle is that you can “beat” the system and pay less in fuel taxes by being...These incentives seem a bit perverse, specifically with taxing plug in hybrids.
The whole point of getting a hybrid vehicle is that you can “beat” the system and pay less in fuel taxes by being more fuel efficient than the government expects the average vehicle to be. Hybrid vehicles were taxed less than conventional vehicles because they used less fuel which created a nice incentive to buy efficient vehicles.
EVs never pay any fuel taxes, so they definitely would have to pay for their road usage at some point, but to keep the incentives moving in the right direction, their should be some split of the EV road costs between charging the EV drivers and increasing the fuel tax. Once some critical mass of EV share is reached, you can start ramping up the price the EV drivers pay since there wouldn’t be enough gasoline vehicles to subsidize them.
Gasoline taxes are pitched as a way to pay for car infrastructure in a way that approximates one’s usage of the road network, but they have a second use that most politicians wouldn’t dare to talk about. Gas taxes are also a carbon emission control lever. Governments can artificially increase fuel prices to try and lower fuel usage. Some may say that it’s not fair that gasoline vehicle drivers would pay more than hybrids or EVs in “road taxes”, but it should be unfair. If someone wanted to stop paying more than their “fair share”, they could just get a hybrid or EV in the future.
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Comment on Are there any current Kagi extended trial codes? in ~tech
ackables Link ParentOnce I tried it I haven’t looked back except when online shopping. Nothing tops Google when it comes to selling you things.Once I tried it I haven’t looked back except when online shopping. Nothing tops Google when it comes to selling you things.
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Comment on GPT-5 has come a long way in mathematics in ~tech
ackables Link ParentI have a lot of opinions on how K-12 math is taught in the US. I went to private schools for middle and high school, so I understand that I had a lot more resources available than the majority of...I have a lot of opinions on how K-12 math is taught in the US.
I went to private schools for middle and high school, so I understand that I had a lot more resources available than the majority of students, but I was able to graduate high school at a math level above the state minimums.
In middle and high school, you can take a variety of different classes without being “held back” or “skipping a grade”. If we were more strict about what ability level you need to reach to move to the next math class, more students could master the fundamentals even if they didn’t get to take calculus in high school.
If all students could graduate high school with a solid understanding of Algebra and Trigonometry, they would have a much easier time in general life and college than someone who has a shaky grasp on calculus and its prerequisite math concepts.
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Comment on Windows: Linux GPU gaming benchmarks on Bazzite in ~games
ackables Link ParentIt makes sense to me since Valve has been pushing a lot of the Linux gaming scene forward and their hardware all uses AMD chips.It makes sense to me since Valve has been pushing a lot of the Linux gaming scene forward and their hardware all uses AMD chips.
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Comment on Donald Trump pushing Paramount to make Rush Hour 4 in ~movies
ackables Link ParentAt the same time, if Trump is allowed to demand movies be made, what’s stopping him from demanding movies or tv shows not be made?At the same time, if Trump is allowed to demand movies be made, what’s stopping him from demanding movies or tv shows not be made?
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Comment on GPT-5 has come a long way in mathematics in ~tech
ackables Link ParentI’m not an educator and I really wouldn’t want to be given the challenges you face, but as someone who enjoys math, I feel the best way to prevent cheating is to show students what math can really...I’m not an educator and I really wouldn’t want to be given the challenges you face, but as someone who enjoys math, I feel the best way to prevent cheating is to show students what math can really do.
LLMs can do your homework, but so can Wolfram Alpha and that’s been around much longer. The one thing they can’t do is give you intuition or insight into how to apply math concepts. Being able to combine multiple concepts you’ve learned to “discover” the next step is something that comes from personal experience with the underlying concepts.
My issue with much of math education is that you rarely get the chance to make these discoveries on your own until you get to more advanced classes. There is certainly room for some self discovery in middle and high school math classes. If more students got to experience the rush of figuring something out before the teacher told them, I’m guessing we’d have a lot more students who enjoyed math and were slightly more willing to put in the work to master certain concepts.
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Comment on Looking for watch recommendations as my partners Apple Watch doesn't even last a day anymore in ~tech
ackables Link ParentI’m sure you’ve checked out the comparison page for the different Apple Watch models. The new S11 has 33% more battery life than the SE3 which was the same quoted battery life for the SE2. I think...I’m sure you’ve checked out the comparison page for the different Apple Watch models. The new S11 has 33% more battery life than the SE3 which was the same quoted battery life for the SE2. I think the biggest upgrade would be charging time though.
The SE2 has a 1.5 hour 0-80% charging time, SE3 has 45 minute 0-80% charging time, and S11 has a 30 minute 0-80% charging time.
I would suspect a lot of the issue is with the charging time of the SE2 instead of the actual battery life unless she’s going on lots of multi-day expeditions away from electricity. The SE3 and S11 charge quickly enough that popping it on the charger when your wife takes a shower should get the watch charged enough to use for another day.
The S11 would probably work the best for your wife’s needs given it charges the quickest and has a larger battery than the SE3 or SE2, but the SE3 should still feel like a huge upgrade with the 2x charging speed compared to the SE2.
Edit: The Apple Watch comparison tool doesn’t give the charging speed specs for the SE2, but here is the Apple page where I found the honestly appalling charging speed numbers.
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Comment on Part of me wishes it wasn't true but: AI coding is legit in ~tech
ackables LinkI think of it as more of an advanced autocomplete with a large context window. If you can plan a project, know what data structures you want to use, what methods you want to implement, and vaguely...I think of it as more of an advanced autocomplete with a large context window. If you can plan a project, know what data structures you want to use, what methods you want to implement, and vaguely how you want them to be implemented, AI coding assistants work great. If you only know vaguely what you want an entire project to accomplish, AI will make a lot of assumptions and probably not do what you wanted.
It’s like if you were an English speaking author who needed to write a book for a Spanish language market. You think in English, but have to write your English thoughts in Spanish. You may have a great book in English fairly quickly, but you do a lot of back and forth revisions with the editor to perfect the Spanish translation. If you had a dedicated translator, you could spend your time writing the best book you can and let someone else deal with the translation.
AI coding assistants are the same. Computer scientists can focus on the math behind new algorithms or program design while the coding assistants implement their designs into a coding language.
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Comment on Zen browser / chrome alternatives in ~tech
ackables Link ParentI would use safari, but my laptop only has 8GB of RAM, so it doesn’t work well with lots of tabs open. Safari is pretty memory efficient, but Orion has more memory saving features that lets me...I would use safari, but my laptop only has 8GB of RAM, so it doesn’t work well with lots of tabs open. Safari is pretty memory efficient, but Orion has more memory saving features that lets me keep my tabs open.
I also like the built in ad blocker because I don’t really want to fiddle with finding a good one for safari. I tried Ad Guard, but it uses a surprisingly large amount of CPU and RAM.
One thing I’ll add is AlDente. It’s an app that allows you to control the charging behavior of your MacBook.
For some reason Apple hasn’t implemented the ability to limit charging to 80% on macOS like they have on iOS, but AlDente gives you that ability to extend the lifespan of your battery. It also has other features to monitor your battery temperature and prevent charging when your battery is running hot.
The ability to customize the widget in the menu bar is also very handy. I have an estimated battery life/estimated charge time readout up there too which helps me understand what I may be able to do at a certain power draw.
I haven’t used it long enough to say if it actually protects the health of my battery, but many others swear by it.