qob's recent activity
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Comment on I feel that Destin (SmarterEveryDay on Youtube) is straying from the path in ~talk
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Comment on I feel that Destin (SmarterEveryDay on Youtube) is straying from the path in ~talk
qob Link ParentAnything interesting you would like to share about him? Maybe something about his early life as a drag queen and sleazy gangster?Anything interesting you would like to share about him? Maybe something about his early life as a drag queen and sleazy gangster?
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Comment on I feel that Destin (SmarterEveryDay on Youtube) is straying from the path in ~talk
qob Link ParentThis is a great point. We need more people who are part of two or more (seemingly) conflicting groups. I want more evangelical LGBTQ bikers who teach astrophysics and love monster trucks, crotchet...I appreciate someone being sincerely science positive and also open about their faith, since maybe he can open the minds of people who would not otherwise be persuaded.
This is a great point. We need more people who are part of two or more (seemingly) conflicting groups. I want more evangelical LGBTQ bikers who teach astrophysics and love monster trucks, crotchet and guns, and they host a local prepper book club, but twice a year they read a young adult romantic novel. I can't even imagine how interesting a person like that would be.
It is so sad to me that many people seem to be surprised that someone who believes in science can also believe in god. If you see something you didn't expect, it usually means you found an opportunity to learn something!
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Comment on I feel that Destin (SmarterEveryDay on Youtube) is straying from the path in ~talk
qob Link ParentDepends on the church. I know there are a lot of religious people who spread hate and fear, but I don't get any of those vibes from Destin. I think he geniuinely loves humans, with all their...Depends on the church. I know there are a lot of religious people who spread hate and fear, but I don't get any of those vibes from Destin. I think he geniuinely loves humans, with all their freakiness and faults. I'd be surprised if he believed in a vengeful god who likes to punish humans.
I'm not religious at all, but I don't mind meeting lovely people, and I know there are a lot of religious people full of love. Nobody has yet converted me, but I'm not going to tell people to fuck off if they want to share that kind of message with me. In my book, that would put me in the same category as those hateful preachers everyone associates religions with.
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Comment on I feel that Destin (SmarterEveryDay on Youtube) is straying from the path in ~talk
qob LinkI mostly watch Destin because he's the most positive human I can imagine. He's basically a Golden Retriever in human form. I believe he could walk up to almost any stranger in any part of the...I mostly watch Destin because he's the most positive human I can imagine. He's basically a Golden Retriever in human form. I believe he could walk up to almost any stranger in any part of the world and become friends. He always seems genuinely interested in every person he meets, even if it's some grumpy old redneck dipshit with a gun. It's always a joy to watch him meet new people.
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Comment on Statement from Mozilla's new CEO in ~tech
qob Link ParentNot 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...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.
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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.
Sounds like he was the best uncle one can hope to have.