rich_27's recent activity
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Comment on Amazon’s promotion of ‘Melania’ has critics questioning its motives (Amazon has spent 35M on marketing on top of its 40M budget) in ~movies
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Comment on Amazon’s promotion of ‘Melania’ has critics questioning its motives (Amazon has spent 35M on marketing on top of its 40M budget) in ~movies
rich_27 Link ParentI guess it's the difference between being a president and being a president who's seemingly unimpeachable despite having committed crimes and continues to see support despite running the country...I guess it's the difference between being a president and being a president who's seemingly unimpeachable despite having committed crimes and continues to see support despite running the country into the ground.
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Comment on The downfall of OnePlus will be studied | The "enthusiast brand" arc in ~tech
rich_27 Link ParentThis is my framework 13 I've used daily since 2022: https://postimg.cc/gallery/FmTRkHf It is by far the most reliable and durable laptop Ive ever had and I'd buy one again in a heartbeat. At some...This is my framework 13 I've used daily since 2022: https://postimg.cc/gallery/FmTRkHf
It is by far the most reliable and durable laptop Ive ever had and I'd buy one again in a heartbeat. At some point in the last couple of years it picked up a small, purely cosmetic dent in the casing, but it has not affected the screen at all and I could fairly cheaply replace the case if I so desired. I'd rather it didn't have a dent, but I'd choose a laptop that lasts 4+ years and still feels as functional as when new over one that doesn't dent every time.
I did have an issue with the keyboard coating flaking off after a few years, but I think that was a manufacturing defect and when I contacted support about it a little under 2 years into owning the device they sent me a replacement input cover kit at no cost with zero hassle.
I ended up compiling a history of my other laptops for comparison, in case it's of interest to anyone:
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Sony VAIO 17" VGNFW45X, Sept 2009 - Feb 2012, £???:
Power port snapped off the laptop completely. It was clearly a manufacturing defect. Sony product support denied any responsibility and said that it was due to non-standard use. They wanted to charge me £60 just for diagnosis.
It was a beast of a machine, but it was a beast to lug around and felt plasticy and a bit crap. Noisy as all hell. -
MacBook Pro 15" (late 2011), Feb 2012 - Nov 2015, £1,350:
Dec 2013 I had the power block and power cord replaced under warranty. Dec 2014 I upgraded the RAM and replaced the harddrive with an SSD (£270). Jan 2015, bright green lines visible on display, full display replacement done under AppleCare. May 2015 I replaced the airport card (£60). Unclear from my emails if it were a new issue or complication from the display failure, but following a botched repair through AppleCare in Oct 2015 and what looks like multiple escalations, they ended up sending me a new MacBook. I wanted out of the apple ecosystem and so sold the replacement MacBook.
I liked my MacBook, probably my second favourite laptop after the framework. The only other one that has felt high quality. It was basically the last of the user serviceable Macbooks and I don't think I'd have been happy with it if I hadn't been able to upgrade the RAM/SSD/etc. -
Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (128GB / Intel Core i5), Nov 2015 - Nov 2018, £870
Repeated issues with the type cover, I think two or three replacements. Screen shattered when it fell off my bed and landed on the corner, had that fixed. Stopped being able to charge even with a replacement adaptor in the end.
In general I really disliked the device and regretted going for it, but couldn't justify the cost of the £2k Surfacebook. -
Dell XPS 9365, Nov 2018 - Mar 2022, £1,200
Good when I bought it, but felt flimsy and didn't work particular well as a convertible device; way too heavy to use as a tablet and annoying to use standing like an A, plus the webcam was at the bottom of the screen so people only saw your hands in a video call when using it as a laptop. Started really slowing down after a couple of years and needed replacing. -
Framework 13, Mar 2022 - Jan 2026 (ongoing), £1,450
Feels great, still works just as well as it did when I bought it. The keyboard feels really nice to type on, and it's the only laptop I've seen that gets close to a MacBook in terms of trackpad feel/quality. It puts every other laptop I've owned to shame in one capacity or another.
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Comment on Ashes of Creation founder resigns as studio begins mass layoffs in ~games
rich_27 LinkSomething feels really off about a game that was crowdfunded being destroyed due to corporate mismanagement. In my mind, crowdfunding something should put a responsibility of acting in the...Something feels really off about a game that was crowdfunded being destroyed due to corporate mismanagement. In my mind, crowdfunding something should put a responsibility of acting in the interest of the backers, and hence should not be run by a board and tanked by (I assume) profiteering at the expense of quality/success/etc. of the product.
In my opinion crowdfunding should not be treated as just another source of venture capital. Kickstarter projects are not presented as speculative investments and a collection of backers do not have the same power and ability to seek legal recourse that a investor would when mismanagement destroys a project before delivery.
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Comment on Lawsuit alleges that WhatsApp has no end-to-end encryption in ~tech
rich_27 Link ParentDo you have any reason to believe most of WhatsApp is E2EE - beyond Meta say it is - or is this an assumption? Meta have been repeatedly shown to lie when it serves them; see repeated denial of...Do you have any reason to believe most of WhatsApp is E2EE - beyond Meta say it is - or is this an assumption?
Meta have been repeatedly shown to lie when it serves them; see repeated denial of correlation between social media use and a decline in teen mental health despite published evidence (if I recall correctly:) demonstrating causality, and it recently coming out that there is intentional design targetting making social media particularly addictive to teen users.
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Comment on I feel that Destin (SmarterEveryDay on Youtube) is straying from the path in ~talk
rich_27 Link ParentPractical Engineering is one of my favourites, to add another high quality educator to your listPractical Engineering is one of my favourites, to add another high quality educator to your list
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Comment on There's a secret version of Windows XP in ~comp
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Comment on Battlefield 6 developer issues report on kernel-level anti-cheat, citing success in ~games
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Comment on There's a secret version of Windows XP in ~comp
rich_27 Link ParentWhy did you quit Linux, out of interest?Why did you quit Linux, out of interest?
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Comment on Battlefield 6 developer issues report on kernel-level anti-cheat, citing success in ~games
rich_27 Link ParentTo try and make it clear for you, creesch's point is not "we can't trust these companies so they are lying", it's "we can't know whether or not these companies are lying so we shouldn't blindly...To try and make it clear for you, creesch's point is not "we can't trust these companies so they are lying", it's "we can't know whether or not these companies are lying so we shouldn't blindly trust that they're not". The point is not "it's not proven true so it's false", it's "this doesn't prove it true and there's nothing to prove it false so we can't know, keep that in mind".
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Comment on When a notable face disappears in ~tildes
rich_27 Link ParentYeah, I was trying to scope this thread away from another discussion on transparency, as that seems to be a topic that has already been discussed and didn't seem to lead to a productive...Yeah, I was trying to scope this thread away from another discussion on transparency, as that seems to be a topic that has already been discussed and didn't seem to lead to a productive conversation. I think irrespective of transparency on bans, there is still impact and fallout to notable figure leaving the community, and hopefully this will remain a useful place to discuss that
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When a notable face disappears
Disclaimer: I don't quite know how to address the topic, so I want to state I'm trying to approach this with sensitivity; I hope this might lead to a helpful and insightful conversation on a...
Disclaimer: I don't quite know how to address the topic, so I want to state I'm trying to approach this with sensitivity; I hope this might lead to a helpful and insightful conversation on a potentially difficult issue. Apologies if I don't quite get it right!
I noticed the absence of a name I'd become familiar with on Tildes and wanted to start a discussion on how the community should handle situations where a person of community renowned abruptly departs.
The user in question is @daychilde, who is one of the users I'd seen around quite a bit. I've been on Tildes for quite a while now, and would like to think I've had a positive - if not vast - contribution. Overall, I probably read more than I respond; I bring this up because I am aware that I probably represent the voice of a significant portion of the userbase here: I'm figuring stuff out as I go and probably am not in the loop on the majority of stuff going on on Tildes. All in all, I don't recognise a lot of names on Tildes, but @daychilde is/was a character who stuck out and seemed to have a significant impact on the community.
From what I deduce, @daychilde has been banned some time in the past week, and I thought it worth discussing given there are at least a couple of things left in the lurch as a result that people might seek information on. The ones that have crossed my vision are the following:
https://tildes.net/~tech/1od9/personal_offer_do_you_have_a_website_based_project_youve_been_wanting_to_do_but_worried_about_cost
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https://tildes.net/~life/1n7e/daychildes_walking_threadAt the risk of broaching a difficult topic - I'm not looking to cause drama or speculate - we should probably discuss the fallout of a situation like this. Hopefully at the very least this topic might be something others can find if they also become aware of the departure of a notable person and are looking for confirmation or where might be appropriate to discuss any fallout that might occur.
For @daychilde in particular, this website seemed to be a resource that helped him manage his life. I wonder if we should consider whether there is some duty of care to users to depend on Tildes in some capacity?
There are also people who might be looking to discuss the hosting that he had offered/agreed, and might now be left in the lurch.
Unfortunately I don't have solutions, but I didn't see any discussion or information on this kind of a topic, nor any precedent for this kind of a situation!
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Comment on The world’s most-visited museum shuts down, in response to mass tourism in ~travel
rich_27 Link ParentThis is the bit I didn't really understand: government funding is dropping off but they have more tourists than ever; shouldn't the revenue from tickets fill in for the lack of subsidy? Unless...This is the bit I didn't really understand: government funding is dropping off but they have more tourists than ever; shouldn't the revenue from tickets fill in for the lack of subsidy? Unless there's a mandated ticket price cap or the like, why is the museum chronically underfunded? If the museum isn't making enough to cover maintainence, they need to up the ticket price, surely?
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Comment on I’m going to calculate π on the Moon. Literally. in ~science
rich_27 LinkAm I missing something here? Is this not taking up a spot that could be used for doing science to do something computationally worthless? Perhaps this is just using a platform to generate the...Am I missing something here? Is this not taking up a spot that could be used for doing science to do something computationally worthless?
Perhaps this is just using a platform to generate the revenue needed to fund a mission, but I feel like Matt Parker could have done this but also said "50% of the computation time allocated to this will be used to run a science experiment one of you designs", or something
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Comment on LLMs and privacy in ~tech
rich_27 LinkMy understanding is that the way to do this is to run an LLM locally. You need pretty beefy spec to do so, but that means all your data stays on your machine. I should caveat: this is just off the...My understanding is that the way to do this is to run an LLM locally. You need pretty beefy spec to do so, but that means all your data stays on your machine. I should caveat: this is just off the top of my head, I haven't tried it, and I'm not well read on the subject!
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Comment on Researchers secretly ran a massive, unauthorized AI persuasion experiment on Reddit users in ~tech
rich_27 Link ParentSee: https://tildes.net/~tech/1ns7/researchers_secretly_ran_a_massive_unauthorized_ai_persuasion_experiment_on_reddit_users#comment-fi9q -
Comment on What is your weirdest kitchen appliance and what do you think of it? in ~food
rich_27 Link ParentI'm surprised! I find store bought fresh pasta is so much nicer than dry pasta, so I'd assume pasta you made yourself would be a lot nicer too!I'm surprised! I find store bought fresh pasta is so much nicer than dry pasta, so I'd assume pasta you made yourself would be a lot nicer too!
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Comment on What is your weirdest kitchen appliance and what do you think of it? in ~food
rich_27 Link ParentWhat does it do that a normal bread knife doesn't?What does it do that a normal bread knife doesn't?
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Comment on ADHDers, how do you speed-up, bypass, or otherwise eliminate the "ramp-up" period required for big tasks? in ~health.mental
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Comment on Any real AI recommendations from the community? in ~tech
rich_27 Link ParentA professional programmer I know used copilot for a while and has since stopped again, after experiencing it slowing stuff down a lot. He describes it as the Copilot Pause, where you're...A professional programmer I know used copilot for a while and has since stopped again, after experiencing it slowing stuff down a lot. He describes it as the Copilot Pause, where you're introducing a lot of micro-stops where you're waiting for the AI model to generate the next suggestion to see if it's what you want. His experience is oftentimes it would have just been quicker for him to write the next bit. Have you experienced the same thing?
I think one of the big problems is how we counter mass media influence and its use to manipulate public opinion. With societal progress and technological advancement, lots of aspects of life are better than ever before, and yet the consistent vibe is that the world is burning and everything is terrible. I suspect the focus on negatives and news feeds often being depressing thing after depressing thing is no accident, and that there is a systematic effort to keep us feeling like we have no ability to effect change and that there is no point in trying. I suspect that is a big contributor to the apathy we see when it comes to demanding effective leadership/governance that operates in the interest of the population.