ackables's recent activity
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Comment on Samsung chip workers to get $340,000 average bonus in AI boom in ~tech
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Comment on What has changed as you've gotten older? in ~talk
ackables (edited )Link ParentThe issue with speeding really comes down to how cars are designed. Now that I own a Prius, I get why Prius drivers are always driving so slowly. Especially in eco mode, it feels like you’re...The issue with speeding really comes down to how cars are designed.
Now that I own a Prius, I get why Prius drivers are always driving so slowly. Especially in eco mode, it feels like you’re dragging a parachute behind you. There’s also an eco monitor on the dashboard that puts you in the “red zone” when you’re barely accelerating. If you aren’t actively paying attention to your speed, you’ll be going 55mph on the freeway.
On the other end of the spectrum, one time when I drove a Porsche 911, going 80mph felt incredibly slow. If you weren’t paying attention, you could get up to very high speeds. That car even had a customizable speeding reminder that would beep if you went over a certain speed to help with that issue.
Those were both extreme examples on opposite ends of the performance spectrum, but even in a typical commuter car, with horsepower and torque figures comparable to a Prius, it’s way too comfortable to speed. If cars were designed to not feel steady and comfortable at 80mph, people would naturally slow down.
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Comment on Regular Show: The Lost Tapes S01E01/02 - "Fix That Tape & Skip's Luau" in ~tv
ackables LinkThis is just as fun as it was when the original show was coming out. Thanks for sharing, I needed a laugh today.This is just as fun as it was when the original show was coming out. Thanks for sharing, I needed a laugh today.
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Comment on Canvas hack impacts university students and professors during finals week in ~tech
ackables Link ParentI don’t believe so. My university sent an email about the data breach at Instructure the day before the ransomware attack saying that our data may have been compromised, but that it isn’t anything...I don’t believe so. My university sent an email about the data breach at Instructure the day before the ransomware attack saying that our data may have been compromised, but that it isn’t anything very significant. Just emails, student ID numbers, names, and grades.
Most schools use a SSO login for canvas, so my password is held by Microsoft. My university makes us change our password every 6 months anyways, so it’s not likely that anyone’s school email password is shared across many if any other accounts.
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Comment on “Rediscovering” the operating system (AKA: the desktop is the killer app) in ~tech
ackables Link ParentDoes TextEdit allow you to create relations between notes? Like how you can backlink to other notes in obsidian if you want to reference a topic you already expanded on in another file?Does TextEdit allow you to create relations between notes? Like how you can backlink to other notes in obsidian if you want to reference a topic you already expanded on in another file?
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Comment on Tips for "refinishing" a D pad? in ~games
ackables Link ParentI haven’t looked into what it actually takes to replace the d-pad surface on the Steam Deck, but I can’t imagine it’s that difficult. The actual buttons don’t need to be removed, just the plastic...I haven’t looked into what it actually takes to replace the d-pad surface on the Steam Deck, but I can’t imagine it’s that difficult. The actual buttons don’t need to be removed, just the plastic cap sitting on top.
I would assume it’s something like 5 screws to get to the d-pad, then a quick drop in replacement for the top surface.
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Comment on Apple announces Macbook Neo, a new budget Mac in ~tech
ackables Link ParentEven if you want to use Chrome or another Chromium browser with bad memory management, you can turn on low power mode in the settings to unload older tabs from memory. I handed down my M1 MBA with...Even if you want to use Chrome or another Chromium browser with bad memory management, you can turn on low power mode in the settings to unload older tabs from memory.
I handed down my M1 MBA with 8GB of RAM to my wife and low power mode fixed all of her issues with memory usage.
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Comment on Apple announces Macbook Neo, a new budget Mac in ~tech
ackables Link ParentYeah but the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, the only other devices that used the A18 Pro SOC, have 8GB of RAM. The newer A19 Pro SOC supports up to 12GB of RAM though.Yeah but the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, the only other devices that used the A18 Pro SOC, have 8GB of RAM. The newer A19 Pro SOC supports up to 12GB of RAM though.
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Comment on Apple announces Macbook Neo, a new budget Mac in ~tech
ackables Link ParentIt’ll be interesting so see what the Neo means for local AI applications on MacOS. Apple currently has a .coreml framework that lets developers access the AI hardware acceleration features of the...It’ll be interesting so see what the Neo means for local AI applications on MacOS. Apple currently has a .coreml framework that lets developers access the AI hardware acceleration features of the A-series chips. That same framework is not optimized for the M-series chip architectures.
It was less of an issue before because developers could generally assume that iOS apps ran on A-series chips and macOS apps on M-series chips, but now that will not be a generalization developers can make.
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Comment on Apple announces Macbook Neo, a new budget Mac in ~tech
ackables Link ParentI imagine that it’s due to a limitation of the A18 SOC they’re using. It was designed for phones and tablets, so I can’t imagine it has support for anything more than 8GB. I also imagine that the...I imagine that it’s due to a limitation of the A18 SOC they’re using. It was designed for phones and tablets, so I can’t imagine it has support for anything more than 8GB.
I also imagine that the RAM won’t actually be an issue on the Neo. They aren’t shipping 8GB of RAM to lower the sticker price with the intention of everyone paying to upgrade at checkout. They must have done enough testing and OS optimization to ensure it’s sufficient for their target users’ use cases.
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Comment on SAG’s Actor Awards winners: ‘Sinners’ wins top prize in ~movies
ackables LinkSinners was so good and I’m not even a fan of the genre. I accepted an invite with a friend after getting the movie mixed up with Challengers, but was pleasantly surprised. I love how the movie...Sinners was so good and I’m not even a fan of the genre. I accepted an invite with a friend after getting the movie mixed up with Challengers, but was pleasantly surprised.
I love how the movie sucks you into the world it builds so effectively that you forget there are supposed to be vampires in it until halfway through the movie.
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Comment on Need a replacement for my old macbook pro, should I just get another one? in ~tech
ackables Link ParentI was running an M1 MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM for the past two years and just upgraded due to the lack of RAM for my use cases. 8GB is fine for normal browsing and even some coding, but...I was running an M1 MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM for the past two years and just upgraded due to the lack of RAM for my use cases. 8GB is fine for normal browsing and even some coding, but definitely falls apart when doing more intense development.
I have an M4 Pro with 24GB of RAM now and that is more than enough for what I need to do. I can even run Windows with Parallels and run games at 40-60 FPS if I make sure to quit my unnecessary applications first.
All the M-series chips are beasts, so as long as you spec it with at least 16GB of RAM, you should be happy for a long time.
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Comment on What science says we’ve been getting wrong about exercise in ~health
ackables Link ParentThe 20 minute walk to work being useless is nonsense. I walk 25 minutes to the train station, 25 minutes home, and spurts of walking around my destination during the day. I get between 10,000 and...The 20 minute walk to work being useless is nonsense. I walk 25 minutes to the train station, 25 minutes home, and spurts of walking around my destination during the day. I get between 10,000 and 15,000 steps a day from that and I don’t have to think too hard about it.
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Comment on The AI industry doesn’t take “no” for an answer in ~tech
ackables Link ParentI think lots of people are lazy and would rather spend more time having someone or something else do something instead of doing it themselves in less time. I don’t mean lazy as an insult either. I...I think lots of people are lazy and would rather spend more time having someone or something else do something instead of doing it themselves in less time.
I don’t mean lazy as an insult either. I think there is something inherent to humans that makes us want to accomplish our goals with as little energy expenditure on our end as possible.
That used to lead to the development of tools that allowed us to be more productive. Now, with agentic AI systems, an inefficient process that produces mediocre results scratches the same itch since the human involved still spent less energy to achieve their goal.
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Comment on The internet wasn't built for live sports in ~tech
ackables Link ParentAs far as your NHL notification spoilers, you could set up an NHL focus mode on your phone that mutes notifications from the NHL app so you can avoid spoilers if you’re watching a game. Everyone...As far as your NHL notification spoilers, you could set up an NHL focus mode on your phone that mutes notifications from the NHL app so you can avoid spoilers if you’re watching a game.
Everyone is allowed to have their own opinions on sports betting, but I feel like they can go cry about losing out on an extra 90 seconds of collecting bets to someone who cares. The proliferation of sports betting is already a drain on society and contributing to increasing wealth inequality.
It is definitely an interesting technical problem to address, but I wish someone would make sports betting companies spend even half as much effort on preventing underage gambling or helping gambling addicts.
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Comment on What's something you've moved on from? in ~talk
ackables Link ParentI can understand that there are some skills that you just don’t want to have, and that’s perfectly valid. The skill I don’t have sympathy for people refusing to learn is how to describe the...I can understand that there are some skills that you just don’t want to have, and that’s perfectly valid. The skill I don’t have sympathy for people refusing to learn is how to describe the problem they have.
I’m happy to help people out if they can adequately describe the issue, but if “it doesn’t work” is the best description they have, it is a much greater headache.
If your tech problem is creating a big enough hurdle that you can’t continue on with your day until it’s resolved and you’ve had to wait a few hours for help to arrive, what is your excuse for not having any useful details about the problem?
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Comment on The internet wasn't built for live sports in ~tech
ackables Link ParentDoes a 45-90 second delay really matter that much? It may as well be live at that point.Does a 45-90 second delay really matter that much? It may as well be live at that point.
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Comment on C'mon, professors, assign the hard reading in ~humanities
ackables Link ParentI hated writing 10-page papers, but I remember the most from the sources I read while writing those papers. It takes much longer than an in class essay, but you are thinking about the sources for...I hated writing 10-page papers, but I remember the most from the sources I read while writing those papers. It takes much longer than an in class essay, but you are thinking about the sources for that much longer too.
Maybe the grade just needs to be on a presentation you give on your paper instead of grading the paper directly. Professors should be able to see if a student has engaged with the material and individual writing skill isn’t being critiqued.
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Comment on Microsoft has killed widgets six times. Here's why they keep coming back. in ~tech
ackables Link ParentI think if spatial computing ever takes off, your dreams will come true. Widgets make a lot of sense if your stock ticker widget is an AR application anchored to a wall in your office.I think if spatial computing ever takes off, your dreams will come true. Widgets make a lot of sense if your stock ticker widget is an AR application anchored to a wall in your office.
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Comment on Microsoft has killed widgets six times. Here's why they keep coming back. in ~tech
ackables Link ParentFor your battery information woes, look into coconut battery on macOS. If you make the one time payment for the premium license, you can wirelessly monitor battery information for your other Apple...For your battery information woes, look into coconut battery on macOS. If you make the one time payment for the premium license, you can wirelessly monitor battery information for your other Apple devices.
I heard a Freakonomics episode about a private equity firm that tried giving the employees partial ownership in the company after the company was acquired.
Giving employees a stake in the company caused them to work harder and increase the valuation before the PE firm sold the company off a few years later.