redwall_hp's recent activity
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Comment on AI isn’t replacing jobs. AI spending is. in ~comp
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Comment on AI isn’t replacing jobs. AI spending is. in ~comp
redwall_hp (edited )Link ParentIt's down to economics, more than anything. We're basically diving into stagflation right now, and companies are avoiding expansion. The 2023-2025 layoffs are primarily from: The end of ZIRP....It's down to economics, more than anything. We're basically diving into stagflation right now, and companies are avoiding expansion.
The 2023-2025 layoffs are primarily from:
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The end of ZIRP. Credit costs a lot more now, and it's caused businesses to change how they do things. Which has manifested more toward avoiding doing things and extracting more from what they already do (i.e. enshittification)
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A trap laid in a budgetary bill back in the first Trump term. They balanced out tax slashes with a change in accounting requirements for software development: typically a company would claim the cost of developer salaries in the same year as a loss, but under the new requirement they would be required to amortize the expense over a rolling five year window. So for those years (I believe it was changed back this year), paying developers was heavily disincentivized, since you'd be paying someone but only being able to claim 1/5 of the cost as an actual expenditure.
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Comment on The iPhone 16e is good, actually in ~tech
redwall_hp Link ParentThe original iPhone was like $800 in 2007, which is like $1200 adjusted for inflation. They've easily come down in price over time. And it's not like you even pay full price either...carriers are...The original iPhone was like $800 in 2007, which is like $1200 adjusted for inflation. They've easily come down in price over time. And it's not like you even pay full price either...carriers are always running trade in deals that are basically no cost to upgrade if you stay under contract for a couple of years.
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Comment on Indie Game Awards rescinds Clair Obscur's GOTY wins over use of generative AI [for now-removed background assets] in ~games
redwall_hp Link ParentIt's craft beer all over again. People get snobby over large, established players because their image of that is only microbrewers. Or indie music becoming a weird acoustic pop genre instead of...It's craft beer all over again. People get snobby over large, established players because their image of that is only microbrewers.
Or indie music becoming a weird acoustic pop genre instead of just meaning "not signed with a label."
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Comment on Statement from Mozilla's new CEO in ~tech
redwall_hp Link ParentI'm of the opinion that Apple is going to look like the smart one when the AI bubble inevitably bursts. They're not burning dumpsters full of cash building an LLM, and they've pretty much only...I'm of the opinion that Apple is going to look like the smart one when the AI bubble inevitably bursts. They're not burning dumpsters full of cash building an LLM, and they've pretty much only integrated ChatGPT with Siri, behind an "are you sure you want to?" gate. They've done some local-ML things that are fairly minor, useful in some cases and easy to ignore or disable otherwise. (And those efforts started years before LLM mania.)
They'll walk away with more user trust, a web browser that doesn't lie to you, and massive savings while their competitors are in flames.
Much like games of global thermonuclear warfare, the only way to win is to not play. And bamboozle your shareholders, so they think you're playing until the hype runs out.
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Comment on Paramount launches a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery in ~movies
redwall_hp Link ParentMaybe a year ago.Maybe a year ago.
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Comment on Paramount launches a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery in ~movies
redwall_hp Link ParentI've tried Malört, and it's actually not bad. It's not something I'd choose to have often, but it has an interesting and complex flavor that gets better after the first sip. I'd probably take it...I've tried Malört, and it's actually not bad. It's not something I'd choose to have often, but it has an interesting and complex flavor that gets better after the first sip. I'd probably take it over an extremely bitter IPA or gin.
Of course, I'm familiar with Moxie, which is the Malört of soda.
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Comment on TikTok monitored Grindr activity through third-party tracker, privacy group alleges in ~tech
redwall_hp LinkIt sounds more from the article that Appsflyer did the monitoring. Apps integrated it for telemetry for their own usage, and as usual, such information is for sale. They then sold data sets to...It sounds more from the article that Appsflyer did the monitoring. Apps integrated it for telemetry for their own usage, and as usual, such information is for sale. They then sold data sets to TikTok, who used it for ad targeting.
Facebook and Google also push analytics suites and advertising targeting products that apps use, and they harvest the information from them in aggregate and use them in the same way.
This isn't unusual. It's terrible that we don't have privacy laws with suitable teeth, but this is such a commonplace behavior that pasting the "TikTok did a thing, rarr outrage noises" nonsense over it elicits an eye roll.
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Comment on Paramount launches a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery in ~movies
redwall_hp LinkWarner Bros Discovery board rejects rival bid from Paramount The Netflix deal will proceed.Warner Bros Discovery board rejects rival bid from Paramount
The Netflix deal will proceed.
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Comment on Anyone know of any good way to transfer Apple Music playlists onto a hard drive? in ~tech
redwall_hp Link ParentHaha. I was just thinking, after I posted, "I guess there's ALAC, but surely that's uncommon enough it's just a digression..." I guess I was a bi off on that one lol. IIRC, they used to charge...Haha. I was just thinking, after I posted, "I guess there's ALAC, but surely that's uncommon enough it's just a digression..." I guess I was a bi off on that one lol.
IIRC, they used to charge extra for ALAC on the iTunes Store, but the default was AAC. It's not something I've thought about in quite some time.
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Comment on Anyone know of any good way to transfer Apple Music playlists onto a hard drive? in ~tech
redwall_hp Link ParentClarification: m4a is not anything related to Apple. It's the MPEG4 audio container format, usually using AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), which is the successor to MP3. MP3 is antiquated, and AAC was...Clarification: m4a is not anything related to Apple. It's the MPEG4 audio container format, usually using AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), which is the successor to MP3. MP3 is antiquated, and AAC was designed to replace it decades ago, producing smaller files and fixing issues like aliasing on percussion.
AAC is widely supported by modern media players, and easily has more support than FLAC. There's also no reason to transcode a lossy-compressed file to FLAC.
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Comment on Your grocery store is a bewildering sea of overly processed food. Here’s why and what to do. in ~health
redwall_hp Link ParentTacos are traditionally tortillas, typically corn. Hard "shells" are a 20th century United States thing. Pork is a fairly common filling as well. What restaurants keep referring to as "street...Tacos are traditionally tortillas, typically corn. Hard "shells" are a 20th century United States thing. Pork is a fairly common filling as well.
What restaurants keep referring to as "street tacos" everywhere now are just tacos.
Fajitas are peppers, onions and meat cooked hot and fast, like cooking with a wok, until it's sizzling and you're concerned about not accidentally burning everything.
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Comment on Twenty years of digital life, gone in an instant, thanks to Apple in ~tech
redwall_hp (edited )Link ParentI got a used two disk Synology NAS, threw a couple of 8TB drives in it, plugged the Ethernet into the router, and walked through a setup wizard basically. It was trivial to put it in a RAID-1...I got a used two disk Synology NAS, threw a couple of 8TB drives in it, plugged the Ethernet into the router, and walked through a setup wizard basically. It was trivial to put it in a RAID-1 equivalent and end up with a shared volume prepped for TimeMachine. Now my Mac constantly backs files up to the NAS, for about as much effort as setting up a router or game console.
That doesn't help in the event of catastrophic corporate malfeasance locking you out of hardware, email, etc, but it at least is essentially for the (probably more likely) case of hardware failure causing a loss of projects or photos or such.
Never forget we have only two companies that can fuck up, ban you without recourse or explanation, and basically make it impossible to have a smartphone. (If only Apple's services division was as good as the sales support...they've been nothing but stellar with dealing with computers lost in the mail for me.)
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Comment on Lord of the Rings Extended Editions returning to theaters with a 4D twist in ~movies
redwall_hp Link ParentI watched Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair last week, and it was well worth it. I'd never seen them in a theater before, and it makes a huge difference. The additional animated scene also adds a...I watched Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair last week, and it was well worth it. I'd never seen them in a theater before, and it makes a huge difference. The additional animated scene also adds a lot to it.
There was an intermission, and I had dinner and a pot of coffee.
But I have zero interest in 4D stuff. Being pushed out of a comfortable position is the last thing I ever want, and from what I've heard, there's some risk of it causing issues with neck musculature, which I can get just from sleeping in a hotel bed...
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Comment on How Europe is gearing up to follow Australia's teen social media ban in ~tech
redwall_hp (edited )Link ParentAs usual, I side with the Electronic Frontier Foundation: https://www.eff.org/issues/age-verification All attempts at age verification online are nothing more than de-anonymization attempts to...As usual, I side with the Electronic Frontier Foundation: https://www.eff.org/issues/age-verification
All attempts at age verification online are nothing more than de-anonymization attempts to further authoritarian social control. Even device-based ones have fingerprinting concerns, or further the repeated attempts for device attestation (i.e. online services no longer working if the owner of hardware has root access).
Even if social media was conclusively bad for peoples' health (and we're far from having evidence of that), this paternalistic attempt to mold society to someone's preference is still unethical and incompatible with a free society. It's counter to peoples' right to freedom of speech and association. And that's the last thing anyone needs going on with a global rise of fascist movements. (And yes, it fits into the Project 2025 puzzle.)
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Comment on Whatever happened to _____? in ~talk
redwall_hp (edited )Link ParentWhat I recall them saying when season two can out was that it resolved the Piltover/Jinx/etc stories and was the end of Arcane. But they fully intend to make other League of Legends shows, TBA,...What I recall them saying when season two can out was that it resolved the Piltover/Jinx/etc stories and was the end of Arcane. But they fully intend to make other League of Legends shows, TBA, set in other regions. They'll just have different titles.
IIRC it's already confirmed that the other shows will cover Noxus, Ionia and Demacia. Arcane already spent a bit of time setting up Noxus, so presumably it's next.
I don't play League of Legends, but I'm a big fan of Arcane.
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Comment on How Europe is gearing up to follow Australia's teen social media ban in ~tech
redwall_hp Link ParentI'm going to say it: an incalculable number of young people will kill themselves over this. Many, many people are only alive today because they were able to, though the internet, find information...I'm going to say it: an incalculable number of young people will kill themselves over this.
Many, many people are only alive today because they were able to, though the internet, find information and people like them. Whether that's LGBT teens having the tools to find out why they're different and navigate that, or nerds finding like-minded people while they're trapped in a desert of fools.
And this is precisely what this growing global movement is about at its core: social conservatives desperately trying to stop the youth from becoming "woke," by isolating them. And implementing de-anonymization of the internet for censorship and control for everyone.
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Comment on Question regarding these songs and autotune in ~music
redwall_hp (edited )LinkIf you hear it, it's a deliberate style choice. Antares AutoTune has been predominantly used for the sound, like one would use a vocoder, since Cher. If used for actual pitch correction, it's...-
If you hear it, it's a deliberate style choice. Antares AutoTune has been predominantly used for the sound, like one would use a vocoder, since Cher.
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If used for actual pitch correction, it's mostly indistinguishable. If you want to sound like T-Pain, you need the singing skill to deliberately miss the notes by just the right amount.
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You almost certainly have not heard a song recorded in the past thirty years that doesn't use pitch correction, and now timing correction. It's an essential part of modern studio recording, drastically reducing takes and improving quality.
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Celemony released Melodyne in 2000, which makes the original AutoTune look laughably basic. It analyses a recording and renders every sung note visually, allowing you to manually adjust the pitch and timing. The results are absolutely transparent, and you're not ever going to know it was used. And it was. On everything.
The fundamental nature of recoding vocals is they sound absolutely nasty straight out of the microphone/preamp. There's also a whole chain of compression, EQ, and synthetic reverb applied to keep your ears from bleeding. And most songs also layer many takes to get enough presence in the mix.
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Magnitude 7.6 earthquake hits northern Japan, tsunami warning issued
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Comment on Winter boot recommendations for women in ~life.style
redwall_hp Link Parent*Fills Stein**Fills Stein*
I believe so, yes. I recall being annoyed that one thing I really wanted to happen was bolted onto the rest of that.