glesica's recent activity
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Comment on Firewood banks aren’t inspiring. They’re a sign of collapse. in ~finance
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Comment on There's a secret version of Windows XP in ~comp
glesica Link ParentI can't speak for OP, but I took a similar-ish path (but went right from Linux to Mac in the end, no intermediate return to Windows land). For me, it was just wanting everything to work right so I...I can't speak for OP, but I took a similar-ish path (but went right from Linux to Mac in the end, no intermediate return to Windows land). For me, it was just wanting everything to work right so I can do the things I actually want to do. When I was younger, messing around with Linux was among the things I wanted to be doing, so it made sense. Now, not so much.
A lot of the Linux "problems" are different from what they once were. Drivers are generally solid and you can buy a machine designed for Linux. But the software story turned into a mess with the Wayland switch, Gnome breaking the world every other version, KDE turning into a nightmare with KDE 4 and then basically starting over with Plasma, etc. Some things that drove me away are probably fixed now (Plasma seems pretty great), but some are ongoing, and I've just been chugging along with my Mac, so there's no reason to switch again.
The Mac hardware is also so, so much better (to me), especially since the M1 came out. So there's that, too.
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Comment on How America nearly forged a different path in 1916 in ~humanities.history
glesica Link ParentWW1 was obviously a disaster for everyone involved, but my understanding has been that Wilson was against the punitive reparations but was overruled by the British and French. Is that inaccurate?...while not trying to financially ruin Germany.
WW1 was obviously a disaster for everyone involved, but my understanding has been that Wilson was against the punitive reparations but was overruled by the British and French. Is that inaccurate?
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Comment on Where are the small phones? in ~tech
glesica Link ParentI do wonder if the slide-outs were more expensive to build, though. Like, it's the exact same thing, but with a keyboard in addition to everything else. But you can't really charge that much more...I do wonder if the slide-outs were more expensive to build, though. Like, it's the exact same thing, but with a keyboard in addition to everything else. But you can't really charge that much more for it because it's still "a phone", right?
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Comment on Firefox now supports native vertical tabs in 136.0 release in ~tech
glesica Link ParentFrom the future! I tried tab groups and they aren't great. Clunky to move stuff in and out of them. That being said, the vertical tabs make tab management a lot easier generally, so I haven't...From the future! I tried tab groups and they aren't great. Clunky to move stuff in and out of them. That being said, the vertical tabs make tab management a lot easier generally, so I haven't really missed groups (yet).
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Comment on "Is democracy a fad?" Ben Garfinkel’s sobering forecast for democracy in the automation age. in ~society
glesica Link ParentGood points. The above is why I specified US-style capitalism specifically. The Nordics, for example, seem to have a stabler mixture of markets with government there to cushion market failures. I...So far it seems to be some form of capitalism (as we have many countries who have had stable regimes who are capitalist), with some level of government involvement (from low level utilities to more socialist style things like the Nordics or China).
Good points. The above is why I specified US-style capitalism specifically. The Nordics, for example, seem to have a stabler mixture of markets with government there to cushion market failures. I think it's not an accident that they have fewer extremely wealthy people, since those people tend to push against both free markets and democracy. China also seems to have found a more stable combination, basically by consolidating power in a single bureaucracy that isn't answerable to anyone in particular (rich or poor). Of course it has drawbacks, and if the state is ever "captured" by any particular group they will have a very bad time.
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Comment on "Is democracy a fad?" Ben Garfinkel’s sobering forecast for democracy in the automation age. in ~society
glesica Link ParentI think this is a good, succinct discussion, thank you. Sort of following up on your last paragraph, I find it interesting that "capitalism" (or whatever you want to call what we have in the US)...I think this is a good, succinct discussion, thank you. Sort of following up on your last paragraph, I find it interesting that "capitalism" (or whatever you want to call what we have in the US) seems to push toward authoritarianism as the winners (the uber wealthy) attempt to make their status permanent. However, authoritarian governments, as you mentioned, tend to be rigid and, even more importantly, somewhat corrupt. I think this is why authoritarian governments tend to have lower living standards: an inflexible, corrupt government will eventually become an incompetent government. So, in a way, capitalism, again, in a US sense, seems kind of unstable.
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Comment on Key US regulators approve merger of Capital One and Discover, paving the way for a new biggest credit card company in ~finance
glesica Link ParentInteresting, I booked a train ticket through SNCF, I don't recall which card I used though. I will say, all my hotels (independent or European brands) took Amex. It was smaller businesses that...Interesting, I booked a train ticket through SNCF, I don't recall which card I used though. I will say, all my hotels (independent or European brands) took Amex. It was smaller businesses that mostly didn't.
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Comment on Key US regulators approve merger of Capital One and Discover, paving the way for a new biggest credit card company in ~finance
glesica Link ParentAmex is the same, although when I was in Europe a few weeks ago I saw a lot of billboards and such for Amex, so maybe they're trying to expand, at least in the markets I was in.Amex is the same, although when I was in Europe a few weeks ago I saw a lot of billboards and such for Amex, so maybe they're trying to expand, at least in the markets I was in.
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Comment on UK creating ‘murder prediction’ tool to identify people most likely to kill in ~tech
glesica LinkWait, don't tell me, lemme guess! It will vastly overestimate the odds of members of marginalized groups and immigrants committing crimes. At the very least because if it doesn't confirm existing...Wait, don't tell me, lemme guess! It will vastly overestimate the odds of members of marginalized groups and immigrants committing crimes. At the very least because if it doesn't confirm existing social biases then decision makers will assume it doesn't work. So instead of actually catching criminals, it will just result in more resources put toward rounding up "inconvenient" people. Lovely.
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Comment on Roman-era battlefield mass grave discovered under Vienna football pitch in ~humanities.history
glesica Link ParentCould be that the people they tended to fight also tended to cremate, at least the bodies of their enemies? I could absolutely be wrong, but cremating a couple hundred dead bodies also seems a lot...I am also surprised there aren't more mass battlefield graves created after a botched battle or hasty retreat.
Could be that the people they tended to fight also tended to cremate, at least the bodies of their enemies? I could absolutely be wrong, but cremating a couple hundred dead bodies also seems a lot easier than burying them, if nothing else?
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Comment on Please stop externalizing your costs directly into my face in ~tech
glesica Link ParentStill better than a paywall where you have to subscribe for a year to find out if the page is of interest to you. Also, think it through and reading the comments, the UI would definitely have to...Still better than a paywall where you have to subscribe for a year to find out if the page is of interest to you.
Also, think it through and reading the comments, the UI would definitely have to ask you to approve, but maybe you could whitelist sites you trust.
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Comment on Please stop externalizing your costs directly into my face in ~tech
glesica Link ParentWhere's the value-add? We don't need a public ledger of who paid for which sites, in fact, that's probably something we literally don't want (for privacy reasons). What seems more practical is...Where's the value-add? We don't need a public ledger of who paid for which sites, in fact, that's probably something we literally don't want (for privacy reasons). What seems more practical is something like Venmo where they maintain their own ledger of who has how much money, so you avoid transaction fees and improve performance. Then you pay with the "fake" money that can be easily turned into "real" money.
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Comment on Please stop externalizing your costs directly into my face in ~tech
glesica Link ParentHTTP already has a "payment required" status code. It would be interesting if browsers could slap a friendly frontend on that, where you wouldn't have to deal with the page you're trying to view...HTTP already has a "payment required" status code. It would be interesting if browsers could slap a friendly frontend on that, where you wouldn't have to deal with the page you're trying to view in terms of entering payment info. Maybe the browser just says "this page is $0.25, continue?" and that's it. Or you could even set it to automatically pay if the price is under a certain amount and show a little icon in the address bar (like the TLS lock).
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Comment on Proton CEO tweets support for Donald Trump's Department of Justice pick and the US Republican Party in ~society
glesica Link ParentAfter waffling around a bunch, I ended up going with Tresorit. Seems like pretty close to a drop-in replacement for Proton Drive, and their mobile app seems quite good. Thanks!After waffling around a bunch, I ended up going with Tresorit. Seems like pretty close to a drop-in replacement for Proton Drive, and their mobile app seems quite good. Thanks!
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Comment on The future is Niri in ~comp
glesica LinkThis looks really cool, I appreciate how opening a new window doesn't cause everything to jump around. Also love the over-dramatic title lol.This looks really cool, I appreciate how opening a new window doesn't cause everything to jump around. Also love the over-dramatic title lol.
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Comment on Apple's software quality crisis: when premium hardware meets subpar software in ~tech
glesica Link ParentHaha yeah, Macs in the 90s weren't always great. They were better than most of the alternatives, often significantly, though, so I think that's where some of the rose colored glasses come from?Haha yeah, Macs in the 90s weren't always great. They were better than most of the alternatives, often significantly, though, so I think that's where some of the rose colored glasses come from?
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Comment on Proton exits Mastodon with updated account bio pointing to Reddit in ~tech
glesica Link ParentI've used FastMail for like a decade at this point and I've never even considered going anywhere else. The pricing is high enough that I believe they can make enough money to stay in business, but...I've used FastMail for like a decade at this point and I've never even considered going anywhere else. The pricing is high enough that I believe they can make enough money to stay in business, but low enough that it's not a significant concern. Love it!
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Comment on Big day for crypto goes south in a hurry after a giant hack in ~finance
glesica Link ParentOMG you're so right, I often kind of forget about the fact that it's supposed to be decentralized! The decentralized money people reinvented centralized money, peak big tech!OMG you're so right, I often kind of forget about the fact that it's supposed to be decentralized! The decentralized money people reinvented centralized money, peak big tech!
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
glesica Link ParentApparently the next major release (4.0) is supposed to fix this by changing the way pops work so they don't have to be evaluated individually.Apparently the next major release (4.0) is supposed to fix this by changing the way pops work so they don't have to be evaluated individually.
Great article. I feel like the Foundation books do a good job illustrating this "slow collapse" concept, if you're a person who likes to draw parallels between life and art. Nothing falls apart all at once, and many people might never even realize a collapse is happening if they are lucky enough to be insulated from its most obvious effects. It occurs to me that, ironically and sadly, the US is very slowly recreating the living conditions of the Soviet Union.