norb's recent activity
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Comment on Oracle, Silver Lake consortium to control 80% stake in TikTok in US in ~finance
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Comment on Oracle, Silver Lake consortium to control 80% stake in TikTok in US in ~finance
norb Link ParentYou went down the MUCH higher road to get to your destination than OP was going for, I think Mostly a reference to his egg shaped head:...You went down the MUCH higher road to get to your destination than OP was going for, I think
Mostly a reference to his egg shaped head: https://media.newyorker.com/photos/59096d4cebe912338a3768f4/master/w_2240,c_limit/150518_r26512.jpg (link borrowed from u/hungariantoast)
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Comment on Bill under consideration by US Congress would make it easier to revoke or deny US passports to citizens in ~society
norb LinkThere isn't a "value" the Republican party espouses to "hold in the highest regard" that they aren't willing to toss aside as soon as they are in power. It might be the most infuriating thing...There isn't a "value" the Republican party espouses to "hold in the highest regard" that they aren't willing to toss aside as soon as they are in power.
It might be the most infuriating thing about the time in which we are living -- the blatant hypocrisy is just astounding.
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Comment on Pentagon authorizes up to 600 US military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges in ~society
norb (edited )Link ParentI totally agree, but the whole point here is to just get these court cases over with as quickly as possible to start removing people as quickly as they can. When Trump first announced his...I totally agree, but the whole point here is to just get these court cases over with as quickly as possible to start removing people as quickly as they can.
When Trump first announced his deportation goal of millions of people, a lot of observers said something to the effect of "Well good luck getting them all through the courts" and that's what they're doing here.
It's just another instance of them subverting our normal processes to meet their own ends. This isn't about helping to keep anyone here or give anyone the true due process we all expect from our system of justice and government; it's about putting the veneer of "legality" over their operations so that they can point to the courts and say "See? We did what we're supposed to do so this is all above board."
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Comment on Spotify is adding direct messaging to their music streaming app in ~tech
norb Link ParentI think the struggle in this space is the licensing costs required to provide a competing service. If you didn't basically invent the service model (Spotify) or have massive amounts of cash to get...I think the struggle in this space is the licensing costs required to provide a competing service. If you didn't basically invent the service model (Spotify) or have massive amounts of cash to get going (Apple, Tidal, YouTube, etc.) I don't think you can break in. Bandcamp might be the closest we have to that, and they still have corporate masters and you have to individually pay for anything you want to stream in their app (I know you can stream a lot of things from their website but to use their app like any other streaming music service you do need to pay for the songs or albums first).
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Comment on Spotify is adding direct messaging to their music streaming app in ~tech
norb Link ParentI also made this switch after being a paying Spotify user since the very first day it became available in the US. It took me a couple weeks to get used to, but now I am happy I did. No more...Also happily switched to Apple Music. It is basic but it does no more than it needs to.
I also made this switch after being a paying Spotify user since the very first day it became available in the US.
It took me a couple weeks to get used to, but now I am happy I did. No more skipping past podcasts or audiobooks. No more paying more money for those same features I don't want. I was able to upload old albums that I've ripped from CDs that aren't available to stream and sync those across devices. And I get lossless audio out of the box (also without any additional subscription fees - which is what I expect Spotify to do if/when they actually get lossless audio).
Apple isn't perfect by any means, but I think they just get how these services should be separated to be a better overall experience.
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Comment on Spotify is adding direct messaging to their music streaming app in ~tech
norb LinkIt's great that all these companies are more than happy to open up more avenues for scammers. DMs turn into cam girl or crypto grift delivery pipelines as soon as they are stood up. Hope they're...It's great that all these companies are more than happy to open up more avenues for scammers. DMs turn into cam girl or crypto grift delivery pipelines as soon as they are stood up.
Hope they're building good blocking and reporting tools....
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Comment on US government snaps up 10% of Intel for $8.9B in ~tech
norb Link ParentA struggle I have on here is trying to make my point without pointing fingers at/offending the OP. I need to work on that. I addressed it to "you" which is part of my issue. I mean the royal "you"...A struggle I have on here is trying to make my point without pointing fingers at/offending the OP. I need to work on that.
I addressed it to "you" which is part of my issue. I mean the royal "you" as in people in general. Trump gets me worked up and I vent which doesn't help.
And I 100% think this isn't a good thing, because on the whole Trump is verifiably awful.
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Comment on Spotify is adding direct messaging to their music streaming app in ~tech
norb Link ParentHA turn it off! They won't let you turn off audiobooks or podcasts, so I wouldn't expect that to be an option here based on past results.HA turn it off! They won't let you turn off audiobooks or podcasts, so I wouldn't expect that to be an option here based on past results.
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Comment on US government snaps up 10% of Intel for $8.9B in ~tech
norb Link ParentI think looking back at that situation 2008 and expecting the same result this time is foolish at best. First, the motivations were very different then vs. now. In 2008 there was a real and...I think looking back at that situation 2008 and expecting the same result this time is foolish at best.
First, the motivations were very different then vs. now. In 2008 there was a real and understood problem that was going to cause massive financial fallout. Valid concern that the economy was going to crash hard.
Second, the people in charge then were actively looking out for the welfare of the country, knew what they were doing, and set the entire thing up to be undone in the future (once we made back our loans plus interest) which is what happened.
This time, you have Trump and his cronies (who are not the best people, mind you) doing this to use as leverage against others. He's not taking on Intel to "save the economy." There is a slight argument to be made for the national defense angle in that we need chips and processors for all kinds of things, and having a company here building them within our borders is definitely necessary. But the reality here is that he's using this as leverage over other companies. It's a threat he can deploy as needed to keep the other oligarchs in line. He could achieve the same thing by not tariff-ing every damn country on earth and instead building a partnership with companies from those countries.
I mean, he's got Lutnik out there saying they're "thinking about" how to nationalize defense companies next: https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lxcigwllzp2u
And don't get me wrong, I am a supporter of nationalized industries where we as a nation can take the profits and re-invest them in our country. The problem I have is that Trump is a selfish asshole and there's absolutely no way anything he takes will ever get redistributed to the people he actively hates and fights against (i.e. our own citizens). This will go to line his pockets, his family's pockets, and the pockets of his chosen oligarchs.
And no offense to you u/stub250 but I am just generally tired of people treating Trump like past presidents, and his administration like past administrations, when it has been shown time and time again that he is NOT like any leader we've ever had. The GOP is not the party it was even 15 years ago, either. They are just as complicit in this entire thing as he is, maybe even more so. So looking backwards and trying to apply that logic to Trump is dangerous.
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Comment on What's a question you could ask to determine if someone is an expert in your line of work? in ~talk
norb Link ParentI also work in cybersecurity. For me, I don't think there's a single question you can ask to determine someone's expertise - the entire profession is too broad and there's too much stuff to know....I also work in cybersecurity. For me, I don't think there's a single question you can ask to determine someone's expertise - the entire profession is too broad and there's too much stuff to know.
But I can tell you that I can spot a fake IT admin from a mile away after just a few minutes of conversation.
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Comment on What's a question you could ask to determine if someone is an expert in your line of work? in ~talk
norb Link ParentI have a degree in GIS. I do not do anything with GIS. Sometimes I wish I'd chosen a different path 20 years ago...I have a degree in GIS.
I do not do anything with GIS.
Sometimes I wish I'd chosen a different path 20 years ago...
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Comment on What broke your heart? in ~life
norb Link ParentI still have some hope, but I'm also still heartbroken. And to be honest, I think we're on the slippery slope now and we'll only stop when we hit the bottom, whatever that is. Until then we won't...I still have some hope, but I'm also still heartbroken.
And to be honest, I think we're on the slippery slope now and we'll only stop when we hit the bottom, whatever that is. Until then we won't be building much of anything, just trying to keep together whatever we can on the way down.
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Comment on What broke your heart? in ~life
norb Link ParentYes I meant the good ol' USA. And yes, 100% about the "story" of America. I ate that propaganda a lot harder than I realized.Yes I meant the good ol' USA. And yes, 100% about the "story" of America. I ate that propaganda a lot harder than I realized.
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Comment on Meta allegedly pirated terabytes of porn to trick the BitTorrent protocol into letting them pirate books faster in ~tech
norb Link ParentI wonder if its possible to write a custom torrent client that misidentifies itself (to avoid being banned from the site) and then scrape torrents to monitor who is advertising it? You wouldn't...I wonder if its possible to write a custom torrent client that misidentifies itself (to avoid being banned from the site) and then scrape torrents to monitor who is advertising it?
You wouldn't even necessarily need to download the data to monitor it that way as far as I know.
I'm also not an expert on the BitTorrent protocol, so maybe that isn't possible for some reason.
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Comment on Meta allegedly pirated terabytes of porn to trick the BitTorrent protocol into letting them pirate books faster in ~tech
norb Link ParentI think assuming they were downloading books only is why it seems weird. But if they also wanted to ingest video or audio, then seeding these types of things makes a lot more senseI think assuming they were downloading books only is why it seems weird. But if they also wanted to ingest video or audio, then seeding these types of things makes a lot more sense
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Comment on What broke your heart? in ~life
norb LinkWatching my country slide inexorably to authoritarianism/fascism and feeling powerless to affect any real change in any meaningful time frame.Watching my country slide inexorably to authoritarianism/fascism and feeling powerless to affect any real change in any meaningful time frame.
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Comment on uBlock Origin Lite for Safari in ~tech
norb Link ParentI use Pi-hole just for this! I also run one in the cloud with Wireguard VPN built in to tunnel the DNS traffic when I'm not at home. You can also do the same on your home network and VPN back in...I use Pi-hole just for this! I also run one in the cloud with Wireguard VPN built in to tunnel the DNS traffic when I'm not at home. You can also do the same on your home network and VPN back in to that when you are away - but the cloud one runs me about $5 a month so I'm ok with it.
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Comment on I am new to Mac OS, give me your favorite or preferred settings/ tools! in ~tech
norb LinkA couple that I'll share: Raycast - Which is a Spotlight replacement. I've found it faster, and it has a lot of customization options like shortcuts that you can configure Prompt - A really nice... -
Comment on <deleted topic> in ~society
norb Link ParentI mean, to be honest, it won't be a "cancel all elections" type of situation. I think we're well on our way to breaking them in a lot of little ways. CISA pulling back from providing support to...I mean, to be honest, it won't be a "cancel all elections" type of situation. I think we're well on our way to breaking them in a lot of little ways.
- CISA pulling back from providing support to election officials.
- Gerrymandering kicking into over drive.
- ICE agents scouting out polling locations and/or harassing people there, keeping others at home.
- Rolling back voting options - less early voting days, fewer ballot drop offs, etc.
So anyways, I'll keep saying it
This article leaves out a bit that I found in another one that says the algorithm will still be owned by China.
If the original fear that caused the ban to be put in place in the first place was that the Chinese were controlling what US persons were seeing, and thereby pushing some narrative, then we've not fixed that at all. I'm not surprised in the least, but I find that much more interesting than whatever oligarch Trump has signed up to get the money out of this thing.