PuddleOfKittens's recent activity
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Comment on Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads in ~tech
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Comment on Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentWhat's the difference between built-in electronics, and a built-in computer? Obviously, a fridge is an electric device so inevitably must have electronics of some sort. "A built-in computer",...What's the difference between built-in electronics, and a built-in computer? Obviously, a fridge is an electric device so inevitably must have electronics of some sort. "A built-in computer", interpreted literally, means it has a microchip, but honestly microchips are so damn cheap and reliable that they're commonly used nowadays just to remove a few copper wires from the wiring plan of the electronics- in other words, the difference is fuzzy at best, and realistically no longer exists.
But, when people say "a built in computer" nowadays, they tend to basically mean 'smart functionality' - which will usually run on one of those existing cost-saving microchips (presumably beefed up slightly, and including a few extra components like the WiFi). The thing is, the computing power for e.g. [remote-controlling your kettle] is basically a $1 chip vs a $2 chip. It's not going to make a difference whether the electronics are worth salvaging.
Seriously, I've looked into making a literal desktop computer from a microchip, and the answer is kind of really dumb: the keyboard is more expensive than the chip. It's not a "fully functional computer", if only because the definition of "fully functional" ought to be that someone would actually use the thing.
Interpreting your comment charitably though, I think your implicit argument is that microchips ought to be recycled because they're very expensive to produce, environmentally speaking. And while that's a problem, I think trying to address it at the fridge side is bad, because fundamentally it's a market problem - if the chips aren't properly priced, then the solution is to properly price the chips, not bemoan that people don't value the underpriced thing. Of course they'll undervalue the underpriced thing!
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Debunking myths on farmworker pay
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Comment on Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentIt kind of is. See, ads are only useful if they reach people with money. If Samsung sold a version without ads for a higher price, then the people with money would buy that thing and then Samsung...It's almost as if that ad data is worth more than the dang $2500 I gave them for the TV.
It kind of is. See, ads are only useful if they reach people with money. If Samsung sold a version without ads for a higher price, then the people with money would buy that thing and then Samsung wouldn't be able to sell ads.
I might actually get that when my finances are crap
lol, typo?
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Comment on Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI keep thinking that in an ideal world, I would actually not want a standalone device, I'd want to be tied into the ecosystem. If there was a company or institution that wasn't evil, and that just...but it would be much better for that to be a standalone device so that you're not tied into the Samsung ecosystem
I keep thinking that in an ideal world, I would actually not want a standalone device, I'd want to be tied into the ecosystem. If there was a company or institution that wasn't evil, and that just worked like how I buy A4 paper without caring what brand it is, or whether it's compatible with my printer's ink/toner (because it just is).
It really is absurd that we have a bunch of different ecosystems, all of which we expect to fuck us over, and the best idea everyone has is "try to go without ecosystems by eschewing technology/’smart’ devices as much as possible".
My big fantasy is that everyone remembers that The Government Can Do Stuff, and we make a publicly-funded company whose goal is to just make functional devices that work, and provide nifty features without trying to devour your soul.
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Comment on Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentWhat if you can easily turn off the ads? Then you get what's basically a free discount, thanks to all the other people who don't/can't turn off the ads. I know this is like suggesting a...What if you can easily turn off the ads? Then you get what's basically a free discount, thanks to all the other people who don't/can't turn off the ads.
I know this is like suggesting a "low-asbestos house", but this is rational for some buyers, and has basically already happened with smart TVs -and now all smart TVs have ads by default.
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Comment on Should I take a job to work on something I don’t believe in? in ~life
PuddleOfKittens LinkIf the company is actively terrible and you want it to fail, then you should simply help them do that. Take the job, and simply be the worst employee you can be - without pissing off colleagues or...If the company is actively terrible and you want it to fail, then you should simply help them do that. Take the job, and simply be the worst employee you can be - without pissing off colleagues or impairing your career, of course.
This will require prioritizing. Your boss may tell you that being late to work is bad for the company, but the reality is that it doesn't make much difference, so you should instead save your political capital and strive to arrive on-time every day unless arranged otherwise with your boss.
Damaging a company to the tune of millions of dollars only requires one exceedingly poor decision made in the right area, so keep your eyes open for it and make plausibly reasonable decisions in the meanwhile.
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Comment on Has anyone else run up against higher costs due to the US tariffs? in ~society
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentMilitarily, that's kind of bad - imagine if all AR-15s were Chinese. Except there's not much point building Western drone factories right now, since the moment the Ukraine war ends, you know...The entire hobby has been shaken to the ground because of tarrifs, since virtually all of the parts are Chinese.
Militarily, that's kind of bad - imagine if all AR-15s were Chinese. Except there's not much point building Western drone factories right now, since the moment the Ukraine war ends, you know Ukraine will retool their military drone factories for selling on the civilian market, and prices will absolutely flatline.
But, why would Ukraine wait? They have the drone factories running now, so why wouldn't they cash in on their drone expertise to get some money flowing through their domestic economy? Presumably either 1) they don't have any spare capacity and 100% of all output increase is going straight to the military, 2) it would be too onerous to switch from military to civilian context (e.g. civilians don't care about being resistant to jamming/electronic warfare but do care about the drone lasting a long time before it breaks (military drones tend to be shot down etc so lifetime is less important), or 3) they're concerned about accidentally leaking military secrets re: drone production, to Russia.
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Comment on My guess and opinion on the common blockers to Linux adoption in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentLet's compare computer literacy to actual literacy: In actual literacy, you're taught by your parents and then at school, formally, from a young age. It's mandatory. There's an official character...Let's compare computer literacy to actual literacy:
In actual literacy, you're taught by your parents and then at school, formally, from a young age. It's mandatory. There's an official character set and spelling system; it doesn't change and you only need to learn it once in your lifetime. Learning spellings of new words is a continuous process, but people might misspell obscure words and that's just normal.
For computer literacy, you're on your own. You might be taught the basics informally, but that's it. There's no standard - there's Mac, Windows, Linux, when just looking at the OS. Even if you learn your app, like MSN Messenger and Windows XP, you'll have to relearn once everyone switches to Windows 10 and WhatsApp. Specifically, you'll have to learn on your own time. If you put it off long enough, everyone might just switch to Telegram and then you won't have to figure out WhatsApp. Also, app interfaces are changed by the corporations all the time. Sometimes to improve the UI, sometimes just for rebranding reasons. And some parts are actively intended to be confusing (see: privacy consent form).
If we treated computer literacy like actual literacy - formal education, standardised universal interfaces, not constantly changed - then it wouldn't be a problem. People still wouldn't have "common sense", but that's true of everything. Ask any expert on any particular appliance how to use the tool properly that people don't do, and they'll give you quite the little rant usually.
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Comment on My guess and opinion on the common blockers to Linux adoption in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentNot sure about the Ubuntu App Store, but on KDE's 'Discover' it works great... except for when there are edge cases. Any error message? Either straight terminal barf, or just nothing. Sometimes it...Not sure about the Ubuntu App Store, but on KDE's 'Discover' it works great... except for when there are edge cases. Any error message? Either straight terminal barf, or just nothing. Sometimes it tells me to go manually unlock dpkg in terminal. Much room for improvement.
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Comment on Did NASA just find alien life on Mars? Here's what we know. in ~space
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentIt is the necessary first step on answering whether there's life on Mars though.It failed to prove that hypothesis. It’s a subtle but important difference: it doesn’t prove past life on mars; it failed to prove there wasn’t past life on mars.
It is the necessary first step on answering whether there's life on Mars though.
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Comment on Charlie Kirk shooting: US President Donald Trump says suspect in custody in ~society
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI know, but omitting the one seemed way too subtle.Also those are basically the same word
I know, but omitting the one seemed way too subtle.
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Comment on Conservative activist Charlie Kirk shot and killed at Utah college event in ~society
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentOkay, starting from the top: The core premise of the 2A being a right is that it was intended to ward off tyrants. Namely, 2A would guarantee that there would be gun owners who would fight against...Okay, starting from the top:
The core premise of the 2A being a right is that it was intended to ward off tyrants. Namely, 2A would guarantee that there would be gun owners who would fight against the tyrant in question. With their guns.
In that context, if there are as many gun-owners supporting the tyrant as there are opposing them, then there's no net military advantage against the tyrant from gun owners, and therefore gun ownership does not ward off the tyrant.
Thus, the value of the 2A is contingent on the majority of gun owners (discluding cowards) being opposed to tyrants. And thus if the majority of gun owners are inclined to support the tyrant, then the 2A is useless at its intended purpose.
Or to put it another way: the 2A is only useful here if Leftists can shoot the Charlie Kirks of the world but the MAGA crowd doesn't shoot back. If the MAGA crowd shoots back every time the Left shoots fascists, then the Left loses and all the 2A has done is better arm Trump's support base compared to if civilian guns were banned.
I'm assuming that the US gun owners are either roughly 1:1 Left/Right, or the Right gun-owner crowd outnumbers the Left.
I'm conflating gun-ownership with 2A because 1) I didn't want to write the extra paragraphs on such a minor detail, and 2) anyone who owns a gun generally supports the notion of owning guns given that they own a gun. Also 3) the majority of guns are owned by major gun fans, i.e. one guy with 9324235 guns..
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Comment on Charlie Kirk shooting: US President Donald Trump says suspect in custody in ~society
PuddleOfKittens Link Parent"Cold iron" was repellent to fae because it was technology; real high-tech stuff. There's no chance a fae could be found on the internet, my silly friend."Cold iron" was repellent to fae because it was technology; real high-tech stuff. There's no chance a fae could be found on the internet, my
Seeliesilly friend. -
Comment on Charlie Kirk shooting: US President Donald Trump says suspect in custody in ~society
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentFae rings are great, they'll teleport you straight to the 22nd century! (Note: one-way)Fae rings are great, they'll teleport you straight to the 22nd century! (Note: one-way)
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Comment on Conservative activist Charlie Kirk shot and killed at Utah college event in ~society
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI don't think 2A supporter minorities can separate themselves from the 2A-supporter majority opinion. Simply because gun-wielders cancel out. If the majority of people owning guns support the...I don't think 2A supporter minorities can separate themselves from the 2A-supporter majority opinion. Simply because gun-wielders cancel out. If the majority of people owning guns support the regime, (BTW yes I'm swapping from "2A supporters" to "gun owners" here, but I think that's reasonable, they're the same crowd) then the minority who don't will lose any civil war due to being outgunned (yes I know civil wars are more complicated than that).
BTW
trump pedals.
Pedals = those bike things, peddles = travels from place to place selling <thing>. You mean peddles.
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Comment on Conservative activist Charlie Kirk shot and killed at Utah college event in ~society
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentIsn't there a cruise missile smaller than a tank? I want to see that policing.Isn't there a cruise missile smaller than a tank? I want to see that policing.
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Comment on How is Linux these days? in ~comp
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI have an axe to grind: Android is not Linux, in any way that matters. It doesn't use the Linux kernel (it uses forks of Linux, but not the mainline branch), it isn't open-source (AOSP is...That said, Android is Linux
I have an axe to grind: Android is not Linux, in any way that matters. It doesn't use the Linux kernel (it uses forks of Linux, but not the mainline branch), it isn't open-source (AOSP is open-source but Android has tons of proprietary stuff, and especially the Google service APIs that half the apps depend on by default, which is only supported on Android and iOS), and writing your own app for Android is harder than writing an app on Windows.
The only phone that runs Linux is the PinePhone (and a handful of other niche phones). The various smartphone Linux distros don't really benefit from the domination of Android in particular, with the strongest argument being basically "at least it's not as locked down as iOS", which sure, but iOS was never going to be the only OS as long as Samsung etc wanted to get into the smartphone hardware business (which was inevitable given the profit margins and size of the original iPhone's userbase).
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Comment on What's your go-to hot sauce? in ~food
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI suspect that the condiments were chosen based on how well they went with the cuisine, and the cuisine was chosen based on how well it went with the condiments. So swapping condiments between...Every place that grows peppers has its own constellation of seasonings used in making condiments that go with the cuisine.
I suspect that the condiments were chosen based on how well they went with the cuisine, and the cuisine was chosen based on how well it went with the condiments. So swapping condiments between cuisines would be like swapping colors between color palettes.
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Comment on I built my own phone... because innovation is sad rn in ~tech
PuddleOfKittens Link ParentI want a phone that I can securely hold one-handed and touch every point of the screen (with the one hand), ideally while keeping the 6" screen. In practice, this means changing the shape of the...I want a phone that I can securely hold one-handed and touch every point of the screen (with the one hand), ideally while keeping the 6" screen.
In practice, this means changing the shape of the device - maybe adding some sort of nubbin at the back I can hold, while I maneuvre my thumb to be able to tap the opposite side of the screen.
I excluded the touchscreen monitor because I don't know enough about fridge monitors, but I'm guessing those things are the fairly small type of monitor and not a proper desktop sized one - at which point the same argument applies that nobody really wants to re-use the screen, for the same reason laptops are 13" and not 8".
If the fridge screen was physically modular in that it was basically just a slot with a purpose-built iPad that had a wired plug to talk with the fridge's chip, would that be any different to a literal iPad stapled to the fridge door? Half the point of integrating the functionality into the fridge is that the module slots and sockets are expensive, and nobody wants to pay for the extra expense - so companies make cheap shit that's integrated because it's cheap, and coincidentally also shoddy/unreliable because it's cheap. For instance, touchscreens are often used because they're a single screen with a single wire, which nowadays is cheaper than having a bunch of custom knobs/buttons with labels. This might not be the case for fridges, but it's why cars have been moving to touchscreens.
I've never seen a fridge that has a calendar, AIUI they add stuff like internal cameras that let you check what's in the fridge without opening it and letting the cold out - a really cool energy-efficiency measure, if the manufacturing energy of the electronics is low enough. Although, having a calendar interface on the fridge honestly makes perfect sense to me, because it's an attempt to skip the 'pull out tiny screen from pocket and futz around with finding the app' problem. Food is inherently time-sensitive, and deciding how to schedule your time re:food generally involves going to the fridge and checking inventory already. In a sense, moving various app functionality to an appliance's screen would be an attempt to appliance-ize phone apps.