glesica's recent activity
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Comment on Apple says Patreon creators must switch to subscription billing in ~tech
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Comment on Apple says Patreon creators must switch to subscription billing in ~tech
glesica Link ParentI'm not sure if it really pisses customers off, though. I mean, I agree that Apple is being gross and monopolistic. But I actually love paying for things through Apple because they put all my...pissing your customers off.
I'm not sure if it really pisses customers off, though. I mean, I agree that Apple is being gross and monopolistic. But I actually love paying for things through Apple because they put all my subscriptions in one place and remind me before they renew so I remember to cancel the ones I don't want any more (especially since companies push you toward annual subscriptions these days). I can also cancel anything from one screen without navigating a labyrinth for each individual service I want to cancel.
If the government regulated these things more tightly and required companies to make it easy to cancel, and alert you before renewal, then Apple would have less power because we wouldn't "need" a monopolist to act as the regulator.
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Comment on NexPhone - Smartphone PC that can boot into Windows, Android or Debian in ~tech
glesica LinkCanonical and others tried to make this a thing like 10 years ago. I get the idea, it just doesn't seem terribly useful to me, even back then. Laptops are just too small to make the trade-offs...Canonical and others tried to make this a thing like 10 years ago. I get the idea, it just doesn't seem terribly useful to me, even back then. Laptops are just too small to make the trade-offs worthwhile (my take on it). This is the first link that came up when I searched, but I know there was quite a bit of press on it at the time: https://newatlas.com/ubuntu-for-android/22400/.
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Comment on Curl will end its bug bounty program by the end of January due to excessive AI generated reports in ~comp
glesica Link ParentAnother possibility (I don't know how feasible this is, but I'm speaking conceptually) would be to require a deposit to submit a report. If the report is verified as a genuine vulnerability, you...Another possibility (I don't know how feasible this is, but I'm speaking conceptually) would be to require a deposit to submit a report. If the report is verified as a genuine vulnerability, you get your deposit back, plus the bounty. If it isn't, then you lose your deposit (perhaps unless the maintainers decide it was a near miss or something like that). The deposit might not need to be that high. A big part of the problem, I suspect, is that AI makes generating reports almost costless, whereas in the past it took significant time to generate one, even if it was of fairly low quality.
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Comment on exe.dev, a service for creating Linux virtual machines and vibe-coding in them in ~comp
glesica LinkI clicked over to this expecting to be unimpressed, but it's actually a pretty cool concept once you read through the docs a bit! It actually reminds me of Google Cloud Run and company (there's...I clicked over to this expecting to be unimpressed, but it's actually a pretty cool concept once you read through the docs a bit! It actually reminds me of Google Cloud Run and company (there's overlap but they are obviously not the same thing), in the sense that you can spin something up with very little friction. The fact that this thing can handle auth for you is a nice bonus! It reminds me of https://lmno.lol but for hosting small web apps.
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Comment on Bringing back the battleship? - Railguns, US shipbuilding and a 35,000 ton bad idea? in ~engineering
glesica Link ParentRemember when we all thought it was hilarious that the dictator of Turkmenistan renamed random crap after himself and his relatives? The US president is basically a third world dictator with the...Remember when we all thought it was hilarious that the dictator of Turkmenistan renamed random crap after himself and his relatives? The US president is basically a third world dictator with the most expensive military the world has ever seen at his command. It's literal insanity.
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Comment on Firewood banks aren’t inspiring. They’re a sign of collapse. in ~finance
glesica LinkGreat 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...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.
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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).
Oh I agree that Apple is certainly not "pro consumer". They're pro getting more money, or maybe even just increasing their share price, and nothing else. Their business model (at least currently) just tends to line up a bit better with what is good for their users than many companies, probably because they aren't so dependent on advertising.