tauon's recent activity

  1. Comment on What can be done about Linux being slopified? in ~tech

    tauon
    Link Parent
    Edit, but posting standalone because I think it’s worth it: LWN: Development statistics for the 7.2 kernel About the article’s last plotted graph (take a look!): (sentence in bold highlighted by me)

    Edit, but posting standalone because I think it’s worth it:

    LWN: Development statistics for the 7.2 kernel

    About the article’s last plotted graph (take a look!):

    The noteworthy part of the plot, though, is at the right-hand side, where the number of commits carrying Fixes tags increases dramatically, after having been roughly level for quite a few releases. That, it seems, is what happens once large numbers of people start turning LLMs toward the task of finding bugs in existing software. This is going to be an interesting trend to watch. The number of bugs cannot be infinite — even in the kernel — so the rate of bug detection and fixing must eventually fall off. The existing bugs will have been fixed, and LLM review will have reduced the number of new bugs introduced. At least, that is the hope.

    If that drop-off does not happen, there will be some interesting questions to answer. It seems reasonably clear that the spread of LLMs has enabled people to create kernel patches who would not have been capable of doing so before. If that is true, it is not much of a stretch to conclude that, in many cases, the submitters of these patches do not fully understand what those patches do. Perhaps the LLMs are good enough that this understanding is no longer necessary, but it could also be that we are creating a pile of code that nobody has ever really understood, but which will need to be maintained in the coming years.

    The Linux kernel is aimed at production use, not research or experimentation. But there is currently a massive experiment being run on the kernel's development processes and community. This community has absorbed new processes and tools many times over its 35-year history, and will almost certainly find a way to do that this time as well. But that absorption has not always been without turbulence along the way.

    Meanwhile, there are nearly 14,000 non-merge changesets sitting in the linux-next repository and poised to be pulled for the 7.3 release; over 1,100 of them contain Assisted-by tags. It would seem that the high level of activity that has characterized recent releases will not be ending anytime soon.

    (sentence in bold highlighted by me)

    15 votes

  2. Comment on What can be done about Linux being slopified? in ~tech

    tauon
    Link
    Setting maybe aside your concerns about reactionary language, I can’t really discern from Linus’ comments how “slop” is coming to the Kernel project, as opposed to any LLM contribution undergoing...

    Setting maybe aside your concerns about reactionary language, I can’t really discern from Linus’ comments how “slop” is coming to the Kernel project, as opposed to any LLM contribution undergoing the regular process of review, sign-off, and ultimately responsible (human) person via the sign-off/DCO.

    I get the feeling this issue isn’t about code quality alone, as “slop” would imply to me at first. But if that’s really the case, maybe a better name is required. “Opposing LLM contribution on moral grounds” or similar, perhaps?

    If that is not the case however, could someone enlighten me where you see cracks in the way Linux/-s wants to handle this topic going forward? Genuinely asking, as I felt the decisions so far to be coming from a mostly realist/pragmatic standpoint.

    46 votes

  3. Comment on Productivity tools on MacOS in ~tech

    tauon
    Link
    As a Mac customization nerd, I’ll try and remember to reply more in-depth later. But for now, in addition to the others’ recommendations, in case you’re a video person, Quinn Nelson of Snazzy Labs...

    As a Mac customization nerd, I’ll try and remember to reply more in-depth later. But for now, in addition to the others’ recommendations, in case you’re a video person, Quinn Nelson of Snazzy Labs has multiple videos on cool/interesting macOS apps (two of the more recent ones here and here).

    You’re probably, nay, almost definitely not going to need even close to all of these apps, but he does include some nice inspirations even for improvements to the “basics” of computer usage on a Mac from time to time.

    3 votes

  4. Comment on Ocean death countdown in ~enviro

    tauon
    Link
    Probably the most stunning takeaway is right in one of the first paragraphs:

    Probably the most stunning takeaway is right in one of the first paragraphs:

    According to Scripps Institution of Oceanography, oceans have absorbed 90% of Earth’s excess heat since 1970, saving humanity from itself. If not for the oceans, that amount of heat would cook people alive. Scripps references a jarring study: “The heat energy absorbed by the ocean’s upper 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) between 1955 and 2010 would have warmed Earth’s atmosphere +36°C (64.8°F) rather than the current +1.5°C above preindustrial.” That’s lethal!

    12 votes

  6. Comment on Best options for domain registrar and static site hosting in 2026? in ~comp

    tauon
    Link Parent
    Speaking of European, I’ve been with very content with Ionos for domain, web hosting (both via provided hosting and simply a bare VPS), as well as email, actually.

    Speaking of European, I’ve been with very content with Ionos for domain, web hosting (both via provided hosting and simply a bare VPS), as well as email, actually.

    1 vote

  7. Comment on Apple announces iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone in ~tech

    tauon
    Link Parent
    Absolutely agree. For all the computational power these things have, it’s about time the EU mandated a big red “I know of the danger, now give me a terminal/root shell” button on mobile phones.

    Absolutely agree. For all the computational power these things have, it’s about time the EU mandated a big red “I know of the danger, now give me a terminal/root shell” button on mobile phones.

    3 votes

  8. Comment on In search of the hypothetical iPhone Duo buyer in ~tech

    tauon
    Link Parent
    Love your dual/inside e-ink screen idea, but I’ll pitch you a slightly different, yet related concept: Colorful/regular screens on the large inside (as even color e-ink, once more widely...

    Love your dual/inside e-ink screen idea, but I’ll pitch you a slightly different, yet related concept: Colorful/regular screens on the large inside (as even color e-ink, once more widely available, won’t ever match e.g. OLED of course), with an e-ink display on the outside for “static-ish” displays like clock and calendar, and of course reading!

    Reference point: The Russian YotaPhone 2 from 2014, which had two screens, one normal and one e-ink, just not foldable.

    3 votes

  9. Comment on What are we in a golden age of? in ~talk

    tauon
    Link Parent
    You’re right, and I think it’s because I had an inaccurate scenario in my mind: I mixed up completely novice learners with those who already “know” how to program, and just want to increase their...

    You’re right, and I think it’s because I had an inaccurate scenario in my mind: I mixed up completely novice learners with those who already “know” how to program, and just want to increase their scope.

    Basically, if you can spot the bullshit, and know not to learn from that, you’d be fine – but then the question arises how big exactly that target demographic is. It apparently seems to include me and skybrian, though :)

    2 votes

  10. Comment on What are we in a golden age of? in ~talk

    tauon
    Link Parent
    What if you used it as a starting point to read, modify, learn from after the initial generation to have some appropriate code you can look at? I’m definitely not saying that’s how most people...

    and you most certainly won't be learning anything very well at all by generating it.

    What if you used it as a starting point to read, modify, learn from after the initial generation to have some appropriate code you can look at?

    I’m definitely not saying that’s how most people would go about it, just that having essentially a personalized tutor for ≈free is incredible to those who are curious enough.

    Edit: Basically what skybrian said in another thread, but less generalized, is what I’m talking about, too. :-)

    3 votes

  11. Comment on Webcomic of the author's experience in an abusive school that was a part of the Troubled Teens Industry in ~life

    tauon
    Link Parent
    Same. It was just so… captivating, I couldn’t help but read the entire thing (I’d discovered it briefly after the author completed the series, IIRC) in like two sessions, only pausing due to some...

    I still vividly remember first reading it several years ago, increasingly horrified but utterly unable to stop reading.

    Same. It was just so… captivating, I couldn’t help but read the entire thing (I’d discovered it briefly after the author completed the series, IIRC) in like two sessions, only pausing due to some (little) sleep + the following daytime obligations. The fact that it isn’t fiction is beyond words, and simply horrifying.

    7 votes

  12. Comment on McDonald’s built a 515-page dossier on me in ~tech

    tauon
    Link Parent
    Lucky for you, they have to fulfill that request within about 30 days. :-)

    I expect for that to not happen.

    Lucky for you, they have to fulfill that request within about 30 days. :-)

    10 votes

  13. Comment on McDonald’s built a 515-page dossier on me in ~tech

    tauon
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Take a guess as to what happened after the app was introduced and enough data was collected? They could hike prices because they knew the aggregated “pain point” prices that were juuuust still in...

    As long as they aren’t charging me extra

    Take a guess as to what happened after the app was introduced and enough data was collected?

    They could hike prices because they knew the aggregated “pain point” prices that were juuuust still in reach of customers’ wallets without driving them away completely.

    15 votes

  14. Comment on Seedless blackberries and cherries that grow on bushes vie to be the future of food in ~food

    tauon
    Link Parent
    Well, seedless fruit by definition can’t really spread in the wild (like it was the fear about golden rice back then), so the only effects left could be on a) other wildlife b) human consumers,...

    any unforeseen consequences

    Well, seedless fruit by definition can’t really spread in the wild (like it was the fear about golden rice back then), so the only effects left could be on a) other wildlife b) human consumers, which ought to be rather easy or at least doable to check for ahead of time. Oh, and c) on the farmers who will eventually be rug-pulled into extortionate prices, of course.

    6 votes

  15. Comment on Ukrainian aircraft in Leipzig near which drone was found was loaded with ammunition in ~society

    tauon
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Not if nothing comes of it. The German leadership has lost the plot, and Russia is practically encouraged to go even further and further, because it’s been demonstrated time and time again that...

    Intending to blow up planes on German territory is a new level of stupid.

    Not if nothing comes of it.

    The German leadership has lost the plot, and Russia is practically encouraged to go even further and further, because it’s been demonstrated time and time again that the federal government won’t do much of anything in response – not after the 2014 annexation, not after a state-ordered assassination right in the capital in 2019, not after the 2022 invasion, not now.

    Another thought I read online: This might be a strategic move to provoke feelings of “we can’t afford to supply Ukraine, we need all the resources here to defend ourselves already” among the German population.

    Together with their propaganda arm being represented in not just one, but now almost two political parties as well, they have all the prerequisites for FUD in every direction: Some will continue to think Russia isn’t the enemy, some will become frightened, some will lose focus in the constant news cycle. In every case, Germany is weaker.

    You might even argue it was actually beneficial that the plane didn’t blow up, better than if it had, for strategic FUD-spreading reasons, a battle which Russia is currently winning against a good portion of the EU: An active war would be lost, but this, together with digital and infrastructure sabotage, improves their odds of coming out on top.

    Edit:
    And it’s a reminder that we’re completely defenseless against drone warfare. See just today’s events for another example of demonstrating just that power… Reporting seems to be exclusive to the SZ newspaper’s article at the moment yet, I’ll try to update with a better link (in English and freely accessible) when it’s out.

    Update: the promised non-German article

    12 votes

  16. Comment on Four top Google AI researchers form new startup in ~tech

    tauon
    Link Parent
    I feel like this might still be underselling it a little. Cf. also this joke (tweet, but Xcancel link) I saw posted earlier today: It’s obviously exaggerating the corporate politics inside Google...

    a move that exposes the changing power structure inside Google

    I feel like this might still be underselling it a little.

    Over the past year, Google lost several top researchers, including Peter Norvig, who spent 25 years as Google’s head of research, to A.I. start-ups such as Recursive Superintelligence, one of the many other companies focused on recursive self-improvement.

    Cf. also this joke (tweet, but Xcancel link) I saw posted earlier today: It’s obviously exaggerating the corporate politics inside Google (… at least I hope), but it’s not hard to imagine why all this talent would become fed up with it and leave for elsewhere, especially when there’s plenty of other places to bring and apply it to without the BS.

    6 votes

  17. Comment on Four top Google AI researchers form new startup in ~tech

    tauon
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Oh man, for the first time in a really long while, these reminded me of the equivalent Chuck Norris-style jokes for security analyst/essayist/person Bruce Schneier: https://www.schneierfacts.com/

    Oh man, for the first time in a really long while, these reminded me of the equivalent Chuck Norris-style jokes for security analyst/essayist/person Bruce Schneier:

    https://www.schneierfacts.com/

    • Hashes collide because they're swerving to avoid Bruce Schneier.
    • When Bruce Schneier divides the circumference of a circle by the radius, the answer is rational.
    5 votes

  18. Comment on The AI design aesthetic that is taking over the internet in ~comp

    tauon
    Link Parent
    While I agree that it’s pretty ironic, it might be useful for some handwritten sites, too? Impeccable apparently has a slop detector tool you can just point at any site you develop on, and the...

    While I agree that it’s pretty ironic, it might be useful for some handwritten sites, too?

    Impeccable apparently has a slop detector tool you can just point at any site you develop on, and the ruleset looking for “overused”/cliché styling would be applied just the same.
    Hell, it’s probably even a decent way of learning some jargon if you’re very new to it, if nothing else.

  19. Comment on Is there a way to filter out everything posted by a user? in ~tildes

    tauon
    Link Parent
    Fair enough, mea culpa :P

    Fair enough, mea culpa :P

    3 votes

  20. Comment on The AI design aesthetic that is taking over the internet in ~comp

    tauon
    Link Parent
    Have you tried one of the currently-hot “de-slopify” skills yet to see what they have to say (or change) about your design? Maybe it’s not as bad as you thought (I’ve found after spending some...

    Have you tried one of the currently-hot “de-slopify” skills yet to see what they have to say (or change) about your design? Maybe it’s not as bad as you thought (I’ve found after spending some time with a design or other thing like that, familiarity can have an effect on your own internal impression, both positive and negative, and then when you show it to others, all those details aren’t ever even noticed). And if it is, they ought to be able to tell what to change in order to make it less generic, too.

    Some currently popular tools for this seem to be the taste skill and impeccable.

    5 votes