• 0 Posts
  • 23 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
cake
Cake day: August 27th, 2023

help-circle

  • or blocked updates

    This in particular. Windows intentionally destabilises itself if you prevent it from updating or powering off when it realises there is an update available.

    This could be non-malicious, such as refusing to collect spyware reports from a potentially infected box, and the box needs to connect to MS to function properly, It could be a tool to force people to “reboot to solve your issues”. Hard to tell without running afoul of the Computer Misuse Act.




  • Take it at face value. The comment is a historical correction and gentle reminder that we only have one chance to prevent data from walking out the door, regardless of how friendly the platform is. Once your data is out, it’s out. Guard it well.

    Is FaceBook detrimental now? Yes it is, unquestionably.

    Was it always? No, it wasn’t.

    Should we de-federate? Absolutely. Yesterday and retroactively, if possible.

    Which of those are open source projects that anyone can fork and/or run their own instance of at any time, providing a place for people to seamlessly transition from Reddit, Google, or Apple if they don’t like what those companies do with their platform?

    Reddit. Once upon a time.

    I lived through using 8" floppies, so yes, I remember.

    Ah, 8" floppies. Good memories. And bad. “Please read that… Why aren’t you reading it? If you’re not going to read it, spit it out… Let go. Now try again. Why is it blank? It wasn’t blank after I wrote to it. Why did you wipe it? Damn.” It was the best of times.

    I was so excited when 3 1/2" introduced attached switchable write protection. The peak of convenience.


  • the worst example of an awful tech company for their entire existence

    Not to stir the pot, but at one point Zuck was an idealist. Circa 2008? When interviewed by a news corporation about privacy concerns he said, and I quote, “It’s your data. You own your data.” At the time, he hadn’t monetized with anything more than ads, and I think he truly believed it.

    A short few years later he saw the opportunity to become a multi-billionaire and probably decided ethics and idealism is for poor people. Much the same as Reddit, Google, Apple, etc. Do you remember? Those of us who lived through it remember.

    One day, the largest Lemmy instances may be no different. Time will tell.








  • Kindness@lemmy.mltoProgrammer Humor@lemmy.mlAnd don't forget RTFM
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    7 months ago

    When I’ve spoken with people who say they ‘want to code, but don’t know how to start,’ dollars to doughnuts it’s the same problem as wanting to learn hacking, artistry, or science. (I think the original comic was drawing.)

    There isn’t a solid reason for why they want to learn X, the wanters just think it would be cool to *be an X-er", and want anyone to hand it to them.

    The people who want Y, and need to learn X to accomplish it will take the first step. Though many won’t follow through if goal Y is too high. I’ve pointed people to the resources to learn X countless times. It’s only the people who want Y, and are willing to learn X to achieve it, that succeed. Hacker, Coder, Engineer, Artist-er, and on and on. You can lead a horse to water, but not teach it how to drink.


  • I don’t.

    The core issue: Who determines merit, ability, and position? The people who write the rules are the actual government, and governments secure their own power. Like every flawless paper-government system, it crumples as soon as the human element wets the paper.

    However, assuming the rule book could be written flawlessly, with “perfect” selfless humans writing the initial rules and then removing themselves from power, there are unsolved issues:

    • Popularity contests in determining merit. (I like Johnny Depp better than Amber. Who loses more status?)
    • Comparing apples to oranges. (Are Athletes or Artists more worthy, what about the Plumbers and Mailmen?)
    • Power corrupts.
    • Do morals and ethics have a say in merit? (Save the entire planet, then start kicking cats. Still a hero?)
    • How long does a merit last? (When a champion, or athlete, is no longer fit, are they de-positioned? Look at Rome.)
    • Brilliant mathematicians get rewarded with what? (Better supercomputers, or political power? What qualifies them to make policy?)



  • Likely, but I’m hoping they last a decade like usual. I’m only slight jaded, and have similar reservations from similar history. Google, Apple, Facebook, and Reddit all had similar ideals. (“Don’t Be Evil.” Part of open source before it was popular. “It’s your data. You control your data.” Freedom of speech/information and, “Bits are not a bug.”) [Insert Joke: “My back hurts” or “Get off my lawn.”]

    The good news is Framwork is priced at near parity of Apple’s products, which makes them unlikely to be bought out; they’re much more likely to get too greedy, and compromise on their ideals.


  • Hi. Let’s set the table here. Context: What future advantage or benefit do you expect to get by investing?

    • Your budget was initially $500.

    • The absolute cheapest you can have a brand-new complete Frame Work 16 is $1,621 and 5 to 8 months (Ships Q2) assuming you get the cheapest of everything and don’t purchase secondary storage. You will have a low-end laptop with the ability to trivially upgrade it later.

    For an additional $1,100 what do you expect to gain? In reality you can get an equivalent performance for $200, so the question then becomes $1,300 for what?

    For $2,187 you can have an equivalent to this $1,100 ThinkPad that will likely last you 7-10 years unless it breaks first. What are you investing in for $1,087?

    For $2,734 and ~8 months, I can have a high-end laptop, not the most expensive options, but my personal preference to tide me over for 10 years. Is whatever I’m looking for worth $2,200? Possibly.

    • For hardware I can have schematics to, after signing an NDA.
    • For hackability.
    • For a laptop I won’t void the warranty for fixing.
    • For never having to remove 17 screw, 5 stickers, 5 more screws, an excessive amount of plastic tabs, and possibly adhesive.
    • For almost indefinite access to parts. Parts that won’t disappear from the market in 1-3 years, unless the company goes under. (Yay Cali for the 7 years of parts… we’ll see how toothy it is and how long it can withstand legal and technical sabotage. Like Apple’s software locks.)
    • For a laptop with parts I like. (AMD open-sourcing like mad-lads, but not quite FLOSSing.)
    • For a company that I can trust for a decade before they see the dollar dollar bills. Like Google, Facebook, Reddit, etc.
    • For sustainably sourced parts.
    • To support a company that won’t put me through a hoop circus just to tell me I have to buy a new product because they screwed up?

    If I could get it in 30 days, maybe. If I have to wait a financial quarter, or 2, and a half… maybe I’ll wait until they ramp up production, and see what innovations they have in a year. (Related: The week I decided to buy, was legitimately the day they opened for Framework 16 orders, which I would’ve sworn was Framework 15. Must be losing my mind. In any case, maybe I’ll still get the 13 and save $500.)

    Is it worth it for you? Depends on your financial situation and what you value.



  • Existential Crises Have an End.

    How would you deal with an indeterminate life?

    What if you just continued to exist without end, watching everything you love disappear? Family, friends, trends, places, things. Everything is ephemeral, including you. But if you weren’t, what purpose would your life serve? If you had no end? What meaning is there in existing indefinitely? Would you seize the day? Make every day count? Would you just exist without putting any effort in? Would you turn in circles asking yourself why you, what for, to what end if you have none? What would you look like, if you had an infinite amount of time to puzzle over the question you’re asking yourself now?

    For me, the situation didn’t change. So what if I’ve got an infinite lifespan? The “Big Questions” are practically the same. When I look at how mind-boggling the universe is compared to me, how huge; how intricate; how minuscule the pieces are; and how (in)significant I am, it’s easy to get lost in between. Then I’ll take a deep breath, see the beauty of everyday mundanity, and remind myself: I don’t need to go looking for the big picture. For me, I should be the big picture.

    There is an ominous, unknown, and imagined cloud, which exists only in your mind. You may go about fearing it, and make the time before the actual storm more miserable. Alternatively, and possibly preferably, you can laugh, cry, and spend your time doing what’s best for you and those around you. Not a purpose, just a mindset. And that’s my big picture. My tapestry. The story I tell is guaranteed to end, be forgotten. But my decisions, I am bound to live with… for a lifetime. Until the end of my tapestry. Focus less on what is outside your tapestry, unless you like it. You can decide some of the things that enter your tapestry, if you are conscious and purposeful about obtaining it.

    Perhaps a more practical answer is: When you are doing something, do it. Reserve your focus for what you want to focus on.

    You have a finite amount of time in front of you, right now. Question for question, what are you going to do with that time?