xethos's recent activity
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Comment on If duckweed doubles every day, why don't we eat it? in ~science
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Comment on Solo developer rebuilds Adobe Creative Suite in Rust using Claude, releases it free to all in ~tech
xethos Link ParentMore along the lines of Microsoft Word's dominance, or Excel's - it has thousands of features, of which nobody will use every one of. We can't (generally) recommend Libreoffice as a drop-in...More along the lines of Microsoft Word's dominance, or Excel's - it has thousands of features, of which nobody will use every one of. We can't (generally) recommend Libreoffice as a drop-in replacement though, because the 10% of Word's features that I use work, and the 10% of Word's features you use are broken.
A cleaner phrase might be "People only use 10% of Photoshop's feature set. The problem is that everyone uses a different 10%"
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Comment on Blocking of unverified apps on Android starts in Brazil and other three countries in ~tech
xethos Link ParentOEMs use Google's Android, or they are pushed out of the market. One of the richest companies in the history of the world tried to take AOSP to market without Google [0]. They offered free,...- Exemplary
But it seems like it still leaves quite a bit of freedom for OEM's to do their own thing?
OEMs use Google's Android, or they are pushed out of the market.
One of the richest companies in the history of the world tried to take AOSP to market without Google [0]. They offered free, 24-hour-a-day customer support for any questions their customers had, and had every incentive to keep at it and improve year-over-year to attempt to build an ecosystem. Nobody can seriously argue Jeff Bezos is unable or unwilling (when he sees long-term benefit) to play the long game.
For years, [Amazon] lost money. A lot of money. On purpose. Jeff Bezos knew that the key to long-term dominance wasn’t in short-term profits—it was in reinvesting every dollar back into infrastructure, customer experience, and market expansion. He played the long game.
But despite being the juggernaught that was 2014-era Amazon, the Fire Phone isn't for sale today. They had to partner with Foxconn, because no other OEM was legally able to bulid the device - and that's despite not insisting on their flagship product using modern-for-the-time specs, even as Bezos himself apparently wanted "a phone which could set itself apart, could compete against established phone manufactures such as Apple, and a lower-cost, bare-bones phone would hurt the Amazon brand." [2]
There are alternatives that don't have the Play Store
And they exist exclusively in China. Per Ars' article (emphasis mine) in my previous comment:
"Devices may only be distributed if all Google Applications authorized for distribution in the applicable territory are pre-installed on the device.” Google doesn’t do business in China, so there are no “authorized Google Applications” for that territory. This creates a loophole specifically for China, where OEMs can basically do whatever they want in the country without running afoul of Google’s anti-fragmentation rules."
And consumers won't stand for a phone that doesn't support their banking app, Netflix, Snapchat, and more. Google made Google Play Services a dependency of their Play Integrity API. If Amazon tried to release a new phone tomorrow, they wouldn't even be able to leverage AOSP compatibility - people don't want a phone that can't order an Uber or use the McDonalds app. This is Google making AOSP useless to any OEM that wants to sell to a Western audience; they will use Android, and all the restrictions and requirements that entails, or they will use nothing. This is Google exerting control.
AOSP doesn't have to be a complete OS for others to build on it
No, but any OEM that wants to take that chance faces a choice: they can gain proficiency in manufacturing, and build a reputation from selling Android, but they cannot even attempt to compete with their own AOSP fork while continuing that. To attempt to use non-Android AOSP is a bet-the-company move, so it should be no surprise almost none have jumped.
Google locking up OEMs by preventing them from competing with Android is control
Maybe the alternatives will improve now that AI makes it easier to do.
Respectfully, this is a joke or delusional. The code is a stumbling block, but Google's legal stranglehold on Android, Play Services, and preventing OEMs from competing with their own AOSP builds is not a problem ChatGPT can solve. And we'll never hear about it either, because again, per Ars' marvelous article, linked above:
"None of Google’s OEM requirements are ever public unless there’s a lawsuit, so we can only guess at today’s requirements from available evidence"
Frankly, we can only guess what level of control Google levies based on their actions. They have, in my mind at least, lost the benefit of any doubt, and so when something that could have been ambiguous like their current roll-out comes up, they are not given the benefit of the doubt.
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Comment on Blocking of unverified apps on Android starts in Brazil and other three countries in ~tech
xethos Link ParentGoogle ruling Android with an iron fist isn't new, and if you don't see it, I suspect you aren't looking for it. Not every instance is in the name of security, sometimes they claim to fight for...- Exemplary
Google ruling Android with an iron fist isn't new, and if you don't see it, I suspect you aren't looking for it. Not every instance is in the name of security, sometimes they claim to fight for developers in the name of fragmentation.
But dictating which of their apps appear where on a brand new Android handset, regardless of who it's sold by, is control. Telling OEMs they will either release Android (TM) handsets, or AOSP-derived operating systems, but not both, is control. Letting core AOSP apps wither and die, while pushing their proprietary apps, is control. Releasing their proprietary Play Integrity API, instead of building it into AOSP, is control.
Ars called it over a decade ago [0]. Then they added a few updates as their article made the rounds in 2018, because it was still so relevant, it wasn't worth updating - not enough had changed to warrant more than minor revisions. Now, in 2026, Google continues to centralize control
Android is Google's operating system. Everyone else just lives there.
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Comment on Interview: Firefox’s chief on why he hopes a redesign will help win users from Chrome in ~tech
xethos Link ParentWhile important, public vs private does not change the point that catering to existing users will slow the bleeding, not stop it, and that Mozilla needs to continually (if slowly) gain new users...While important, public vs private does not change the point that catering to existing users will slow the bleeding, not stop it, and that Mozilla needs to continually (if slowly) gain new users to counter-act natural attrition
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Comment on Does the dryer shrink your clothes? in ~life
xethos Link ParentNotably, long dry winters IIRC. Given his penchance for energy efficiency, I'm surprised he doesn't look at "More energy efficient to air dry" and "Damp clothes adding moisture to an excessively...Notably, long dry winters IIRC. Given his penchance for energy efficiency, I'm surprised he doesn't look at "More energy efficient to air dry" and "Damp clothes adding moisture to an excessively dry home in winter" as killing two birds with one stone.
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Comment on Ed Sheeran’s tour in trouble after opening acts drop out in solidarity with rapper Macklemore in ~music
xethos Link ParentHe's "apolitical" when it can come at a monetary cost. He'll say Russia's war with Ukraine is wrong and host benefit concerts when it won't put him between opposing Isreali genocide, and rich...Remaining apolitical and neutral is just not possible when you're such a big name. Evidently, he is loyal to nothing but money.
He's "apolitical" when it can come at a monetary cost. He'll say Russia's war with Ukraine is wrong and host benefit concerts when it won't put him between opposing Isreali genocide, and rich venue owners.
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Comment on Compact phone in the works for the fans of small phones in ~tech
xethos Link ParentMy Key2LE and KeyOne both lasted a pretty easy day-almost-two on one charge, with batteries in the 3Ah neighbourhood, and my current phone is similar. Either (or more likely, a combination of) we...My Key2LE and KeyOne both lasted a pretty easy day-almost-two on one charge, with batteries in the 3Ah neighbourhood, and my current phone is similar. Either (or more likely, a combination of) we have very different use-cases, or Google Play Services (disabled on all my devices) is heavier and thirstier than most people would find plausible.
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Comment on UBlock Origin got turned off with my most recent Brave browser update. Any alternatives? in ~tech
xethos Link ParentExactly. Upstream has broken OP's workflow, and right now is the best it will ever work forevermore - uBlock Origin will only get more broken from here on out. As people have been told for months...Exactly. Upstream has broken OP's workflow, and right now is the best it will ever work forevermore - uBlock Origin will only get more broken from here on out. As people have been told for months now, downstream does not have the manpower to keep manifest V2 around due to the speed at which Chromium moves, and things are going to break
The only answer is to move away from Chromium-based browsers
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
xethos Link ParentI'm personally not convinced the abysmal state of software is due to AI. Google dropped VOIP around Android 10, roughly 6 years ago, and turned Maps from a method of organizing the world's...I'm personally not convinced the abysmal state of software is due to AI. Google dropped VOIP around Android 10, roughly 6 years ago, and turned Maps from a method of organizing the world's information to being primarily ad-focused several years ago as well. Microsoft was struggling with Windows monetization and slow-to-open applications like the file explorer, and even the Start Menu, since well before AI as well - and this doesn't even touch on SteamOS beating Microsoft in gaming benchmarks, and doing so running Windows system calls, leading Microsoft to launch project K2. Apple did not abandon their Human Interface Guidelines and push out LiquidGlass because of Claude.
This is the software quality of the best programmers money can buy, from the best leadership these outrageously well-funded boardrooms can attract. AI is infecting other industries, but AI is not the reason I don't take the major software companies seriously
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
xethos Link ParentPerhaps beside your point, and it was just an example, but cybersecurity isn't taken seriously either. The people that do the work, and give a damn, are serious people that do good work, and my...Perhaps beside your point, and it was just an example, but cybersecurity isn't taken seriously either. The people that do the work, and give a damn, are serious people that do good work, and my hat's off to them. Corporations do not, generally, take cybersecurity seriously, and the public knows it. That's how we end up with scenes like this [0] one from Mythic Quest
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
xethos Link ParentI work with systems ajacent / parallel to emergency services communications, and we have fallback systems we test fairly frequently, as the system is put in maintenance mode for upgrades,...I work with systems ajacent / parallel to emergency services communications, and we have fallback systems we test fairly frequently, as the system is put in maintenance mode for upgrades, maintenance, testing, etc.
Large vehicles continue to have air brakes that fail safe, and collision-avoidance is the backup to people - which I actively turn off because my Honda thought it saw something on the highway, on a clear day, and decided to emergency stop at highway speed.
I'd also like to point to Toyota's spaghetti code being at least partially blamed (rightly or wrongly) for unintended acceleration.
You're not wrong, some industries are safety-critical and need to have good quality controls in place for software. But my core argument is that I don't believe for a moment it's anywhere near the majority that is safety-critical, and of the majority that isn't safety critical, the quality leaves quite a bit to be desired
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Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech
xethos Link ParentI support the overall point. But after becoming completely disillusioned with how major tech companies behave, after seeing Google at their best become what they are now, after becoming beyond fed...sometimes it also results in negligence on vital software, and someone gets hurt
I support the overall point. But after becoming completely disillusioned with how major tech companies behave, after seeing Google at their best become what they are now, after becoming beyond fed up with the state of software being shoved everywhere it does not belong:
What vital software?
Because I don't think it's a thing outside of specific industries. Someone will point me to THERAC-25, but that adds to my point - it's been decades, and that's what we have for examples. Tell me aerospace has problem and I'll agree. People can get hurt there, but there are pretty strict human factors requirements there too.
Like today I'll use the software in my car, or on the bus, to get to work, but a glitch in my infotainment system is not going to kill me. The bus having delayed stop announcements isn't life-threatening. My fiancee will change her flight online, use her VISA, chat on Discord... and none of that is life-threatening. At most the VISA is kept secure because it's cheaper for VISA not to be inundated with calls of "I need my money back"
There are a handful of places where, if software goes wrong, people can and will get hurt. It's just a miniscule minority, and I think the absolute state of modern software supports that assumption. Google pays for some of the best programmers in the world (that are willing and able to work there), and not only could they not be bothered to support VOIP, they can't always get their dialer to recieve phone calls [0, 1]. If that is software engineering at it's modern best, am I wrong for thinking so poorly of it?
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Comment on How long can I go with an obsolete phone? in ~tech
xethos Link ParentTruth be told, so would I. I've resorted to using OSM when out'n'about, looking up directions on desktop before leaving, and (as a last resort) OSM's spoken turn-by-turn directions, as my areas...Truth be told, so would I. I've resorted to using OSM when out'n'about, looking up directions on desktop before leaving, and (as a last resort) OSM's spoken turn-by-turn directions, as my areas are reasonably well mapped - and if they aren't, they're added to my to-do list lol
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Comment on How long can I go with an obsolete phone? in ~tech
xethos Link ParentLate, but I'm still stuck on why you're stuck with Google either way. Either you make the jump to GrapheneOS (and drop Google), or you could just run adb disable on all Google software you don't...Late, but I'm still stuck on why you're stuck with Google either way. Either you make the jump to GrapheneOS (and drop Google), or you could just run adb disable on all Google software you don't want now.
The latter means better performance and dramatically better battery life, and you get to test which apps you can use without Google early. Further, unless you're expecting baseband attacks (which aren't exactly common), the safest thing to do is drop all proprietary apps - an opaque app with malicious dependencies, Meta-supplied SDKs, or generally poor respect for the users' privacy is the much more likely threat, and minimizing non-FOSS apps is something you're planning to do anyways as you de-Google in the future.
Purging Google from your current handset is all upside
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Comment on Why does WhatsApp drain so much phone battery? in ~tech
xethos Link ParentIf it's not immediately duplicable on others' iPhones, I wonder if it's related to how many (and how acive) group chats you're included inIf it's not immediately duplicable on others' iPhones, I wonder if it's related to how many (and how acive) group chats you're included in
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Comment on Fines doubled as teens outsmart Australia's world-first social media ban in ~tech
xethos Link ParentI mean, I am an outlier living in a city with competently run public transit, but mostly yes? Twitter or Instagram-exclusive means it's not for me. I've done both, drive around and look, and...I mean, I am an outlier living in a city with competently run public transit, but mostly yes? Twitter or Instagram-exclusive means it's not for me. I've done both, drive around and look, and just... call the business. I'll look up directions before I leave, remember addresses, and just generally live like it's 2006, [modified, 4G-enabled] BlackBerry and all. Biggest change is the mobile web has gotten (mostly) better.
The only flaw is how much harder it made dating, but I'll burn that bridge if I'm ever looking again - and I'm sure living in the small town of Red Deer, AB (at the time) didn't help
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
xethos Link ParentI don't recall actually having to use my keys... ever? I do have to put in what is effectively a second password (that I could choose, not the recovery key), and in ElementX I have "Allow Key...meaning you can lose your conversation history when installing on a new phone if you don't have the keys from your old one and no backup
I don't recall actually having to use my keys... ever? I do have to put in what is effectively a second password (that I could choose, not the recovery key), and in ElementX I have "Allow Key Storage" enabled, which would be enabling the exact behaviour I see.
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Comment on Google must pay record €4.1 billion fine, top EU court rules in ~tech
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Comment on Google must pay record €4.1 billion fine, top EU court rules in ~tech
xethos Link ParentTo call Google controlling (at the time of this lawsuit) is an understatement. The fact that Apple does not impose their will on other OEMs or hardware partners may not be great for those that...To call Google controlling (at the time of this lawsuit) is an understatement. The fact that Apple does not impose their will on other OEMs or hardware partners may not be great for those that dearly want to use iOS, but it's legal to refuse to sell their OS. Google's contractual requirements for selling an Android branded handset, on the other hand, were found abusive, illegal, and anti-competitive.
Simply put, there are some things money can't buy. A license to run iOS is one of them. That doesn't make Google's contract for hardware partners legal.
The range of videos may be interesting, and it's currently open via MPV and buffering to "run ahead" before I watch, but there's no chance I'm letting this pollute my YouTube watch history or recommendations.
It's a ~5 month old channel with videos every day with the exact same art style, all obviously AI generated. There's no chance anyone can do any kind of reasonable background research, art, voice-over, editing, etc, unless the majority of the work is AI. And I'm not going to reward that with YouTube views and ad money, because I do not want YouTube to become exclusively slop.
People cannot compete with this kind of low-effort video, but if we keep sharing it, it'll eventually out-compete human creators, and effectively drive them to extinction on YouTube.
EDIT #1 - Beyond the weird pauses in between dialogue segments, the AI even talks under itself (around 7:50). I've been recommended this channel before by YouTube, and get the impression I made the right call with "Don't recommend this channel", even if the questions are entertaining.