ThrowdoBaggins's recent activity
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Comment on Leaker reveals which Pixels are vulnerable to Cellebrite phone hacking in ~tech
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Comment on AI generates surge in expense fraud in ~finance
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentThis was amusing to me, and I immediately pictured someone in court arguing “no your honour, all these purchases on the company card aren’t fraud, it’s stimulating the economy!”This was amusing to me, and I immediately pictured someone in court arguing “no your honour, all these purchases on the company card aren’t fraud, it’s stimulating the economy!”
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Comment on AI generates surge in expense fraud in ~finance
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI worked in a grocery store a number of years ago, and when I got promoted to the job that gave me access to some of the secure areas, I had the same realisation. At any given moment, there was...I worked in a grocery store a number of years ago, and when I got promoted to the job that gave me access to some of the secure areas, I had the same realisation. At any given moment, there was considerably more cash in the safe than was in all of the tills combined, and it was an old enough store that they didn’t have a time-based safe. I was also regularly on the closing shift, and sometimes alone, so there would be nothing physically stopping me from taking all the cash in the store just before locking up.
But also, the total amount in the safe was less than I made in a year (which was also not that much), so it was immediately pretty clear to me that it would never be worth it, even if I thought I could obfuscate or dodge the cameras to get more of a head start.
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Comment on Unfuck Google Drive (It's Gemini garbage, of course) in ~comp
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentWhile I don’t know any of the details, I suspect it’s a lot less “is it stored” and a lot more “do you promptly respond to DMCA Takedown notices when they’re sent to you” but I could be wrong and...While I don’t know any of the details, I suspect it’s a lot less “is it stored” and a lot more “do you promptly respond to DMCA Takedown notices when they’re sent to you” but I could be wrong and it is as brazen as you suggest
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Comment on Supermarket rewards card- yes or no? in ~finance
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI don’t know of a reliable option that will work everywhere, but for myself I found out that my phone is capable of two different numbers at the same time, so I have my normal SIM for my normal...I don’t know of a reliable option that will work everywhere, but for myself I found out that my phone is capable of two different numbers at the same time, so I have my normal SIM for my normal number, and an eSIM for a second phone number. I found a cheap pre-paid long expiry option (currently pay AUD$10 for a one-year expiry) and all the services that totally definitely need my number for real genuine non-spam reasons are given that number.
Once I’m sick of the amount of spam building up too much with this number, I’ll just choose to not renew it next year, and sign up again with a new number, and start over!
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Comment on Thieves steal crown jewels in four minutes from Louvre Museum in Paris in ~arts
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentIn the meantime until they actually release any, there’s always this: https://youtu.be/vwoPSdtFqHgon topic, i hope we eventually get to see a lot of cctv footage.
In the meantime until they actually release any, there’s always this:
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Comment on 'This is definitely my last TwitchCon': High-profile streamer Emiru was assaulted at the event, even as streamers have been sounding the alarm about stalkers and harassment in ~games
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI didn’t realise MCC was part of twitchcon, I’d heard about GoodTimesWithScar having difficulty because of no accessibility stuff from previous years and therefore just assumed MCC was a tiny...I didn’t realise MCC was part of twitchcon, I’d heard about GoodTimesWithScar having difficulty because of no accessibility stuff from previous years and therefore just assumed MCC was a tiny low-budget event - totally abysmal that the organisers have dropped the ball on this one year after year!
How do you not learn from the first time Scar turns up and then fix it for future years?!? “Oh maybe next year he won’t be in a wheelchair and it was just a one-off thing this year, no need to make this obvious public blunder into an actual learning and accessibility moment”
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentUnfortunately I think geostationary orbit necessarily means around the equator, because otherwise I think an enormously powerful optical telescope to be the next version of the Fish Doorbell...Unfortunately I think geostationary orbit necessarily means around the equator, because otherwise I think an enormously powerful optical telescope to be the next version of the Fish Doorbell (https://visdeurbel.nl/en/) would be amusing. Geostationary orbit is pretty far away from the surface of the earth, so maybe you could have it geostationary and angled up to Norway? But the idea of only being able to see an incredibly narrow patch of ground from so far away would be fascinating and totally useless. At the very least, cloud cover would ruin your view most of the time, and the warping/lensing effect of air currents and warm air pockets would probably make it useless even if you had an absurdly enormous aperture and lens kit
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI like the idea of your theme park being so well funded that it lasts for centuries, and therefore starts to rival some of the world’s largest open cut mines, and eventually your “haha funny theme...I like the idea of your theme park being so well funded that it lasts for centuries, and therefore starts to rival some of the world’s largest open cut mines, and eventually your “haha funny theme park” starts to genuinely impact turbulence in the airspace above, and becomes a no-fly zone.
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Comment on What ridiculous thing would you spend billions on? in ~talk
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentAt first I read your comment and thought “but that’s just not-attached glasses” but then had the much better idea of both monocles being for the same eye, so your monocle is wearing a monocle.At first I read your comment and thought “but that’s just not-attached glasses” but then had the much better idea of both monocles being for the same eye, so your monocle is wearing a monocle.
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Comment on Meta: AI chat interactions on Facebook and Instagram will be used for ad targeting in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI think you’re 100% correct, and the companies get to hide behind “but we told users (buried 60 pages in the EULA that nobody reads) that they must have permission to upload any content, so it’s...I think you’re 100% correct, and the companies get to hide behind “but we told users (buried 60 pages in the EULA that nobody reads) that they must have permission to upload any content, so it’s not our fault, the user should have not done that!”
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Comment on Discord says 70,000 users may have had their government IDs leaked in breach in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI’ve seen so many companies use that excuse that it’s starting to feel weak, especially since there are also examples of companies just saying “nah I’m not playing your games” and just geoblocking...I’ve seen so many companies use that excuse that it’s starting to feel weak, especially since there are also examples of companies just saying “nah I’m not playing your games” and just geoblocking that region. I think especially for something as popular as Discord, just saying UK isn’t allowed to access any 18+ discord servers/channels would have at least convinced some politicians to pay attention, and maybe opened up the conversation to “hey maybe there should be a better way of verifying age before you do something like this?”
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Comment on Discord says 70,000 users may have had their government IDs leaked in breach in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentThe issue isn’t in age verification (in a vacuum) it’s that we have nothing to sit on the massive sliding scale between “we would like to know if you’re underage” and “we would like to see enough...The issue isn’t in age verification (in a vacuum) it’s that we have nothing to sit on the massive sliding scale between “we would like to know if you’re underage” and “we would like to see enough proof of identity that we could plausibly open a bank account under your name” and the world is just not ready for age verification right now. I’m incredibly disappointed that the Australian and UK governments saw this obvious issue and decided to not do anything about setting up dedicated, thoughtful age verification options.
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Comment on Why cassette tapes are coming back in ~music
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI imagine the same could be true of cassette tapes, with many of the same limitations. You could hand-crank the reels to feed the cassette tape through the reading bit, and have wires nearby to...I imagine the same could be true of cassette tapes, with many of the same limitations.
You could hand-crank the reels to feed the cassette tape through the reading bit, and have wires nearby to have a current induced directly in the wires, and have that induced current physically move the magnet in a speaker, with no external electrical power used in this process. It would just be very quiet unless you had incredibly sensitive components at each step of the way.
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Comment on Why cassette tapes are coming back in ~music
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentAs someone who didn’t really have vinyls in the house growing up, but did have I disagree. Hearing those pops and crackles I would just think “i guess that’s how physical media goes” and when I...As someone who didn’t really have vinyls in the house growing up, but did have I disagree. Hearing those pops and crackles I would just think “i guess that’s how physical media goes” and when I hear the cassette tape warping the pitch and speed, “ah yes this tape has been played many times”
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Comment on Tildes Minecraft: What do you want to see in the next season? in ~games
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI’m in favour of discouraging the nether roof portals we had, as it can make long distance travel too accessible and trivialises the danger of the nether (usually you would have the trade-off of...I’m in favour of discouraging the nether roof portals we had, as it can make long distance travel too accessible and trivialises the danger of the nether (usually you would have the trade-off of easier long distance travel mitigated by either the inherent danger of the nether, or the effort and resources required for building safe tunnels throughout the nether)
The biggest reason I originally set up portals on the nether roof these last two seasons was because my home was otherwise pretty far away, and it made early (pre-elytra) trading and resources easier. However I’d happily trade that convenience for high speed rail.
With that said, I’d like to add my voice to the request to not use Incendium, so that we can still access the Nether roof as needed for farms etc. and partly because I still haven’t really fully explored the vanilla nether in quite some time, and it’s not as barren and featureless as The End.
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Comment on Tildes Minecraft: What do you want to see in the next season? in ~games
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentThank you, I appreciate the ping!Thank you, I appreciate the ping!
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Comment on Tildes Minecraft: What do you want to see in the next season? in ~games
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentI believe the concern about graves was that it can make death seem like a minor inconvenience instead of a genuine threat to be avoided, and so for some players it would trivialise some gameplay...I believe the concern about graves was that it can make death seem like a minor inconvenience instead of a genuine threat to be avoided, and so for some players it would trivialise some gameplay (for example, “let’s kill a warden with no armour or weapons”).
I think that the server has grown to include a wider variety of players, so I would like the option there for the people who want it, maybe as an opt-in choice? I know a few fellow tildes lurkers who joined the server but had previously played Minecraft nearly exclusively in creative or peaceful mode, so dealing with hostile mobs even in the mostly lit up cities when building a house was a bit much for them and they didn’t stick around as much.
As another point to reinforce that idea, I believe for the sake of villager breeding and trading, the best option is to have the server difficulty on Hard, because that means villagers killed by zombies are always zombified. But the higher difficulty also means mobs do much more damage than on Easy, which makes fighting them even more daunting for the aforementioned non-combatant player.
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Comment on Tildes Minecraft: What do you want to see in the next season? in ~games
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentNow I’m imagining a command block in the middle of tildetown with a button that plays the Mario coin sound and drops your own head whenever you press it, and people walking past just seeing piles...Now I’m imagining a command block in the middle of tildetown with a button that plays the Mario coin sound and drops your own head whenever you press it, and people walking past just seeing piles and piles of heads as TaylorSwiftsPickles is frantically pressing the button as if she were trying to play Rush E on a single wooden button!
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Comment on I am angry at Google and wanted to share (rant) in ~tech
ThrowdoBaggins Link ParentYeah I assumed it wasn’t just “do they use my local currency” but more like “do they acknowledge purchasing power or just shove the number through a currency converter” like so many places do....Yeah I assumed it wasn’t just “do they use my local currency” but more like “do they acknowledge purchasing power or just shove the number through a currency converter” like so many places do.
I’ve found that lots of smaller online shops all use Shopify, and I’m pretty sure they default just run it through a converter. For totally separate reasons, I’m starting to get frustrated by that too.
If a website URL ends in .com.au and I’m paying in Australian dollars with my Australian bank card and delivering to an Australian address, it’s always a nasty surprise to then be hit with an “international transaction fee” out of nowhere, because the website is just a reskinned version of some overseas “main office” location but they never warn me about that during the checkout process at all.
I’m similar to you but have different problems — I know I want to have my own domain and set up emails away from google, and I know FastMail has all of these selling points and more. They’re an Australian company, and while our government isn’t exactly privacy-focussed when it comes to the internet, we do have strong customer protections. So I know that if FastMail tries to pull a switcheroo and suddenly start monetising my data, they’ll likely have the ACCC knocking on their door pretty quickly demanding answers. And for now, their business model is “if you’re paying for the service, then we don’t need to sell your data to cover our costs” and yeah they’re not the cheapest deal out there, but if anything that means I trust their business model to hold up for longer than if they were super cost-competitive.
But I haven’t taken the leap yet because I don’t know how to buy an email domain, or if it’s different to buying a normal web domain, or who I should buy it from, or who I should use as my... “registrar”? Is that the company who looks after your domain for you? Do I need one company to look after “Throwdo owns the @Baggins.com.au domain” and a different company for running it as an email domain, or are they the same thing?