peak_dunning_krueger

peak_dunning_krueger , 3 months ago to Technology in Microsoft to separate Teams and Office globally amid antitrust scrutiny

As a side note, because I don't know how American antitrust laws work, maybe someone can explain:

They are "separating" the products, but it's still all owned by Microsoft. So what's the intended effect here? There is still the global megacorp you can't escape in control of both. How does this harm the "trust" that's supposed to be fought with "antitrust" laws?

peak_dunning_krueger , 3 months ago to Technology in Blizzard locks you out of account if you don't agree to new terms; no ownership, forced arbitration

Internet companies usually have clauses that they can terminate the agreement at any time for any reason, including "because they feel like it". They usually don't have to tell you why, either.

Same deal with all the "licensing" things and "digital goods ownership". In two words: you don't.

But it's been that way for ages.

peak_dunning_krueger , 3 months ago to Technology in Solid: Your data, your choice.

Let's be real here: They are trying to create a "platform"^TM and "ecosystem"^TM to later wall off, embrace, extend, extinguish or otherwise enshittify.

There is no actual problem they are solving.

It's venture capital bait.

peak_dunning_krueger , 3 months ago to Memes in Give me your best memes!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CfLt2jwZZs

peak_dunning_krueger , 3 months ago to Technology in Never-before-seen Linux malware gets installed using 1-day exploits

That's not good, but it's not like we can switch to a more secure alternative. ;)

peak_dunning_krueger , 3 months ago to Technology in HP’s 'All-In' Printer Rental Watches Everything You Print, Tells HP All About It

Oh sure. They could do this. But they don't.

But there is absolutely no way to verify what they are doing, no fear of getting caught and thus there is no incentive to behave with integrity.

At least my state of knowledge is that this: https://reproducible-builds.org/ isn't fully functional and even if it were what HP does on their machines is closed source stuff.

And even if there were companies or organizations that are big enough to enforce transparency, like a big multinational or a government, there will be plenty of cases where smaller companies with sensitive data can't, like doctors offices or independent lawyers.

It is way easier to charge for a "data privacy" subscription tier and then still just not honoring the wording of that, than to actually put in the effort.

peak_dunning_krueger , 3 months ago to Technology in HP’s 'All-In' Printer Rental Watches Everything You Print, Tells HP All About It

If anyone seriously believes HP will develop two copies of operating software, one with "send everything to HP" and one without, they are delusional.

It may very well be that there will be a contract saying something completely different than what is happening in those machines.

peak_dunning_krueger , 4 months ago to Technology in Millions of research papers at risk of disappearing from the Internet

...and whose fault is that, private publishing industry? Hmmm? Who didn't invest here?

Also #politics for allowing it to happen of course.

peak_dunning_krueger , 4 months ago to Technology in Happy 10 million! According to FediDB, we have hit 10 million users across the Fediverse!

Yes, but I don't think it matters. It's not hyper specialized yet, but the initial problem of "there are no users" is gone. I don't think anything can stop the fediverse now. The protocol is just too useful to not support.

peak_dunning_krueger , 4 months ago to Technology in Nitter is over - It's been a fun ride

Not sure about unsung, but definitely heroes in my book.

peak_dunning_krueger , 4 months ago to Technology in TfL's AI Tube Station experiment is amazing and slightly terrifying: Mind the Orwellian Surveillance Apparatus

And to be fair, this Orwellian oversight could be a good thing. Literally over the last few weeks, we’ve witnessed a huge manhunt for a guy suspected of being involved in a chemical attack. At the time of writing, he was last seen on the Victoria Line. So if this AI technology had already been rolled out across the Tube network, it could have conceivably been possible to find him before he had even left the station.

But what makes the tech powerful is also what makes it scary.

Really. Ya think. What gave it away.

You know what this feels like? It feels like this sketch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_4J4uor3JE

peak_dunning_krueger , 4 months ago to Memes in Paying for free software

The game Mindustry is one example.

Yes. And as you can see it has 14k reviews on steam while factorio has 141k reviews.

It's also a game, so there is no productivity gain or loss associated with it. There is no on call IT support, but you also don't need any and if something breaks, you lose nothing except the ability to play THIS game for a short while. It's not a... webserver you run your online shop through where every hour of downtime costs you X hundreds of euros or dollars.

The game was also made by what looks like one guy. It's not, you know libre office. With hundreds and thousands of contributors and a huge problem of how to distribute the money.

Of course you're allowed to distribute it. And of course you're allowed to charge for it. But realistically, nearly nobody would use it.

peak_dunning_krueger , 4 months ago to Memes in Paying for free software

The cost of switching to an unfamiliar Interface and workflow is high enough, charging money to do it will further increase the barrier to entry.

Paying for open source software sounds good on paper, but if it is required, the software will never accumulate the users to make the development have any meaning.

There has to be a "try it before you buy it" too. Otherwise the permutations of scams are obvious and nobody will fall for that. Idk how you would prove that the software works, without giving an actual copy of the software.

Also, legalities between different countries. You will just not get your money back from "trustworthy nigerian software dev who just needs 50$ to give you some software".

So no.

Do donate if you can though. If you value the software you use, you will pretty obviously recognize the utility and the cost to you, should it go away.

peak_dunning_krueger , 4 months ago to Technology in ‘Zombie Offices’ Spell Trouble for Some Banks - The New York Times

That is true, nevermind me.

peak_dunning_krueger , 4 months ago to Technology in ‘Zombie Offices’ Spell Trouble for Some Banks - The New York Times

This is a good post, but I'm not sure it belongs in technology. Hmm.