qob's recent activity
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Comment on Statement from Mozilla's new CEO in ~tech
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Comment on Statement from Mozilla's new CEO in ~tech
qob Link ParentI would say: Don't have heros. Or more specifically: People shouldn't be heros, only some of their actions should be regarded as heroic. I think it is perfectly reasonable to praise rms for his...I would say: Don't have heros. Or more specifically: People shouldn't be heros, only some of their actions should be regarded as heroic.
I think it is perfectly reasonable to praise rms for his contributions to the free software world, but also to call him out and oppose him on his weird unrelated political statements where he seems to have no expertise whatsoever. Nobody is perfect.
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Comment on Statement from Mozilla's new CEO in ~tech
qob Link ParentLinus Torvalds, Richard Stallman and many other prominent figures in the FLOSS world are also problematic personas. Mozilla also had a problematic CEO a while ago. You would have a hard time using...Linus Torvalds, Richard Stallman and many other prominent figures in the FLOSS world are also problematic personas. Mozilla also had a problematic CEO a while ago. You would have a hard time using any software (or any other type of product) if you would exclude everything that was related to jerks and weirdos.
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Comment on Statement from Mozilla's new CEO in ~tech
qob Link ParentI'm aware of all those things. It's a daunting task. The Linux commits are from corporations, even the maintainers are basically payed by corporations, but it's still a community project, even if...I'm aware of all those things. It's a daunting task.
The Linux commits are from corporations, even the maintainers are basically payed by corporations, but it's still a community project, even if the community mostly consists of corporations. We could have something similar with Chromium, but instead Google uses it to maintain control over the web.
Open source doesn't mean anything if the maintainer is Google. If Chromium were maintained by the NSA or a Nigerian prince, you wouldn't say "it's ok because it's open source". Google doesn't have user interests in mind, so it doesn't matter how open the source code is.
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Comment on Statement from Mozilla's new CEO in ~tech
qob Link ParentLadybird is a modern browser written from scratch by a relatively small team. It's still possible that it will fail or become another for-profit business, but if you drop all the cruft from the...Ladybird is a modern browser written from scratch by a relatively small team. It's still possible that it will fail or become another for-profit business, but if you drop all the cruft from the 90s, I don't think it's so unfeasable to maintain a browser.
If we can have free+libre software like Linux, VLC, LibreOffice, KDE, etc, I don't understand why we can't have a free+libre browser. We, humanity as a whole, can obviously develop and maintain multiple browsers with no noticable cost to any individual. We just do it against our own interests for some reason.
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Comment on Statement from Mozilla's new CEO in ~tech
qob Link ParentI wish they would stop competing with Google, et al. They lost the moment Google stepped into the ring. Firefox feels more and more like another corporate browser that only cares about numbers and...I wish they would stop competing with Google, et al. They lost the moment Google stepped into the ring. Firefox feels more and more like another corporate browser that only cares about numbers and not about its users. LibreOffice seems to be able to provide a good Office suite without buying into all the buzz words and corporate bullshit. Mozilla shouldn't have a CEO, it should have a community manager.
Wikipedia makes more money from donations than they can spend. I don't see why a browser that feels like it's a user agent and not a website agent should do any worse. If 8 billion people can't keep a browser alive, that just means there is zero interest and it should die. But I really don't believe that would be its fate.
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Comment on There's a secret version of Windows XP in ~comp
qob Link ParentBut you can at least google what "illegal exception" means. I have no idea how I got things running in pre-internet days. I guess they didn't a lot of time, but it was much less of an issue...But you can at least google what "illegal exception" means. I have no idea how I got things running in pre-internet days. I guess they didn't a lot of time, but it was much less of an issue because the world wasn't so centered on IT.
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Comment on There's a secret version of Windows XP in ~comp
qob LinkThat was a fun nostalgia watch. I wouldn't be messing with IDE cables and Windows drivers again for my life, but watching others do it is definitely great. Kinda like horror films.That was a fun nostalgia watch. I wouldn't be messing with IDE cables and Windows drivers again for my life, but watching others do it is definitely great. Kinda like horror films.
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Comment on The DoorDash problem: How AI browsers are a huge threat to Amazon in ~tech
qob Link ParentDepends on how you define capitalism, which nobody can be bothered to do it seems. Worker cooperatives, for example, can participate in capitalism without prioritizing profits over everything else.Depends on how you define capitalism, which nobody can be bothered to do it seems. Worker cooperatives, for example, can participate in capitalism without prioritizing profits over everything else.
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Comment on The DoorDash problem: How AI browsers are a huge threat to Amazon in ~tech
qob Link ParentExactly. It's one of those rare situations where we can sit back and watch our enemies fight each other. The winner will eat our souls, but for now we can enjoy the mess.Exactly. It's one of those rare situations where we can sit back and watch our enemies fight each other. The winner will eat our souls, but for now we can enjoy the mess.
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Comment on Moana (2026) | Official teaser in ~movies
qob Link ParentI suspect the reason is that you can't make a good story by throwing money at writers. It's a creative process, and that's something you can't really force. I vaguely remember reading that paying...I suspect the reason is that you can't make a good story by throwing money at writers. It's a creative process, and that's something you can't really force. I vaguely remember reading that paying people more money makes them less creative.
If you could convert money to genius, all of our problems would've been solved thousands of years ago.
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Comment on An AI-generated country song is topping a Billboard chart, and that should infuriate us all in ~music
qob Link ParentSorry, I don't know why I put that question there. Of course the creation of music is at least as important as listening to it. Some of the best melodies I've ever heard was me whistling to...Sorry, I don't know why I put that question there. Of course the creation of music is at least as important as listening to it. Some of the best melodies I've ever heard was me whistling to myself.
I guess my point was: If music creation is holy and can be desecrated by mindless repetition, countless numbers of musicians have been guilty of doing exactly that throuout history. AI is just making it easier for non-musicians to repeat popular patterns.
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Comment on An AI-generated country song is topping a Billboard chart, and that should infuriate us all in ~music
qob LinkI don't understand the issue. Is the point of music the production process or that it is being enjoyed by the listeners? People have enjoyed canned music that reuses the same recipes over and over...I don't understand the issue. Is the point of music the production process or that it is being enjoyed by the listeners? People have enjoyed canned music that reuses the same recipes over and over again at least for decades, but probably since the first dinosaur made a chirp. AI seems to be extremely good at pandering to popular demand. Whatever people like, AI reproduces it. So this is not surprising at all.
I don't like AI at all and I have never really used it, but if the ability to make orchestral music with a click of a button means we can finally get rid of the music industry and go back to playing guitar for your friends, I'm all for it.
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Comment on OpenAI moves to complete potentially the largest theft in human history in ~tech
qob LinkSo much is wasted on all this profiteering. Just the money spent on figuring the legal intricacies of using copyrighted data for training is probably enough to end world hunger. We could make all...So much is wasted on all this profiteering. Just the money spent on figuring the legal intricacies of using copyrighted data for training is probably enough to end world hunger.
We could make all AI companies non-profit and allow them to use our collective knowledge freely for the collective good and there would only be winnners. But no, winning is not enough, it has to an absolute victory where everyone else is completely destroyed. So the top 1 % fight each other over billions while the 99 % are nothing but a commodity.
I'm currently reading the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy, and I'm rooting for the aliens. Maybe they are even worse to each other, but at least it's for their common good and not to win at Cookie Clicker.
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Comment on Supermarket rewards card- yes or no? in ~finance
qob Link ParentGood point. Thank you. Although the article seems to support my main point: Algorithms are far from perfect and we shouldn't automate so many decisions based on them. It's relatively harmless (but...Good point. Thank you.
Although the article seems to support my main point: Algorithms are far from perfect and we shouldn't automate so many decisions based on them.
It's relatively harmless (but still harmful) in the case of advertising, but any profit-oriented company sitting on a pile of personal data will monetize it in any way they can and let the individuals or society take care of the fallout. They don't care if they are wrong 1, 10 or 20 % of the time as long as there's a net profit.
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Comment on Supermarket rewards card- yes or no? in ~finance
qob Link ParentYears ago there was a case where the parents of a pregnant teen learned that they will be grandparents soon because the grocery store sent their daughter some coupons for motherhood paraphernalia....Years ago there was a case where the parents of a pregnant teen learned that they will be grandparents soon because the grocery store sent their daughter some coupons for motherhood paraphernalia.
You might say that the parents should know about that. But infering information from data is never perfect. If your rent goes up because the credit score company of your landlord thinks you are more likely to miss your payments because their AI found a correlation between increased Mountain Dew consumption and missed rent payments, and your grocery store told the credit score company how much Mountain Dew you buy to make a few pennies, your rent goes up for no reason and literally nobody knows why.
Even if the algorithms that make predictions about you from your data are perfect 99.999% of the time, they will still be wrong all the time because they make so many predictions. And you have no way to correct any mistakes because you don't even know about them.
If a guy with a notebook would follow you and note down everything you buy, you would probably freak out. But if the guy is invisible, it's totally fine even if you know what he's doing.
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Comment on Supermarket rewards card- yes or no? in ~finance
qob Link ParentWhy do they need to track individuals for that insight? They obviously know what they are selling when they are restocking. If their vegan section is always sold out, they can restock more...Why do they need to track individuals for that insight? They obviously know what they are selling when they are restocking. If their vegan section is always sold out, they can restock more frequently to sell more. Why do they care how much of their vegan stuff is bought by single millenial pregnant donkeys? Profit maximization. By playing their game, you are effectively saying: Milk me for as much money as you can! Manipulate my thoughts as you please to make the rich richer! I am yours and I'm loving it!
I gladly pay what they ask, but I'm not investing in the ad industry that is spending countless billions every year into manipulating me to buy crap I don't need. Fuck that all the way to hell and back. You can put your stupid reward card into my cold dead hand.
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Comment on The liquid air alternative to fossil fuels in ~enviro
qob Link ParentYou probably need much less rare earth minerals for that kind of storage. It would be nice if we had alternatives to batteries in case of WWIII. Some diversity is usually a good idea even if one...You probably need much less rare earth minerals for that kind of storage. It would be nice if we had alternatives to batteries in case of WWIII. Some diversity is usually a good idea even if one solution is best in most regards.
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Comment on We’re seniors. It’s not our responsibility to fix the housing supply. in ~society
qob Link ParentIf you can build desirable cities from scratch, why is nobody doing it? It's not like investors don't have the resources. Imagine you could get New York rent profits, but your only costs would be...If you can build desirable cities from scratch, why is nobody doing it? It's not like investors don't have the resources. Imagine you could get New York rent profits, but your only costs would be land and construction. Investors would be all over it.
Cities are complex systems. A small variable can lead to extreme effects. You can't design this, it has to grow organically, and it can fail at any time, because your city doesn't just have to be nice to live in, it has to generate enough profits to stay alive.
I don't know about other countries, but in Germany we have the same problem: Trendy cities are too expensive and nobody wants to live in rural ghost towns are dying. And I've heard similar things about cities like London or Paris.
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Comment on We’re seniors. It’s not our responsibility to fix the housing supply. in ~society
qob Link ParentI guess it makes sense to not build homes if housing is a business. With too much supply, profits will drop. But there will always be areas where demand is so high that supply will never be able...I guess it makes sense to not build homes if housing is a business. With too much supply, profits will drop.
But there will always be areas where demand is so high that supply will never be able to catch up. You'd have to cover everything in skyscrapers to fit all the people who want to live in the trendiest districts, and then nobody wants to live there anymore.
Not sure what you think your comment is adding to the discussion, but I don't have any gripes with Google in particular. I'm against all giant for-profit companies, especially those that have monopolies and are too big to fail.