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prole

@prole@sh.itjust.works

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Israel quietly rolled out a mass facial recognition program in the Gaza Strip (www.theverge.com)

Israel has deployed a mass facial recognition program in the Gaza Strip, creating a database of Palestinians without their knowledge or consent, The New York Times reports. The program, which was created after the October 7th attacks, uses technology from Google Photos as well as a custom tool built by the Tel Aviv-based company...

prole ,
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Genocide apologist.

prole ,
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As someone who used to be a member of what.cd, and still has a bunch of incredible sounding FLAC vinyl rips of albums, this definitely is not true.

prole ,
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the retro sound of CDs

Your mistake is equivocating digital with analog. There is nothing "retro sounding" about CDs, you can download lossless digital versions of albums that are identical to what you'll find on a CD.

prole ,
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No, a CD that carries the actual CD logo cannot have DRM.

Is this true? If so, I'm guessing it's purely due to limitations in the hardware, rather than lack of will? I can't imagine CDs coming out these days and not having some sort of DRM.

Nintendo was able to figure it out with GameCube games...

prole ,
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RIP

prole ,
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No DRM, no remotely removing your ability to use it.

Yet.

prole ,
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This is true. That said, I've seen people claim that nobody can tell the difference between lossless and 128kbps mp3, but that's complete bullshit.

Though once you get above 192, it's pretty indistinguishable.

prole ,
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What used to have staff picks where the download amount wouldn't count negatively towards your ratio, but the upload amount would. When the Beatles remasters came out in 2008 or 2009, they put the entire collection on there, including the FLAC version. It was like 9+ gb I think, all of which was free in terms download amount. All it took was uploading for a few hours and I got my ratio into double digits. Basically made it so I never had to worry about it ever again.

prole ,
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Maybe try Google? As I said, I downloaded them I didn't rip them myself. There was this person with the username "PBTHAL" that always had to best lossless vinyl rips, if you do a search that includes that name, you might find alternate download sources for them. I think they ran their own site where they posted all of their rips outside of what, but don't know if it's still there. They were also very thorough while explaining the process, equipment, cables, etc. for each and every rip. This person was really a perfectionist, and boy did it show. There were albums that they ripped and then refused to upload because they didn't feel their rip was perfect enough.

Absolute fucking legend.

I even have FLACs of reel-to-reel versions of all Zeppelin albums, as well as, Bowie, Dylan, et. al. and they sound fantastic. Don't ask me how it's done. And given the pedigree of that website, these people took the ripping process incredibly seriously.

prole ,
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Yeah, but I imagine that CD logo is a "stamp of quality" of sorts that tells you that the disc inside fits an agreed upon, unified set of standards. And one of those standards is "no DRM."

Point was, if that standard was created or updated today, there's no shot that they wouldn't require DRM.

Maybe I'm wrong though and that's not at all what the CD logo means.

prole ,
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Yeah but it's members only right? Frankly, I'm just too old and lazy and don't care enough about that stuff anymore to go through a whole interview process and shit.

Do they have PBTHAL vinyl rips? Those were my favorite by far. That person really knew WTF they were doing.

prole ,
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Yeah but I would need to "prove" I was a member, and it's not like I still have any kind of evidence. In fact, I got super lucky to get into what in the first place as I just happened to have a screenshot of my OiNK title bar/ratio because I was messing with different CSS themes months/years prior. So when OiNK died, I was able to get into what pretty easily by showing that screenshot.

I have no such thing for what.

prole ,
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🤤

prole ,
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Amateur porn looks like shit sometimes, but 9 times out of 10, it's way better than the overproduced pro BS.

Though PH has done a pretty good job introducing the third "pro/am" quality tier that can be pretty good, I will still often take a 480p amateur video taken with a potato over the shiny, overproduced garbage.

prole ,
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Yeah, all of this news sounds cool, but I'm skeptical when all we hear is good things, especially after such tumultuous monkey trials.

I'm just waiting for a whistle blower to dump a bunch of evidence a decade from now showing all the horrific Unit 731- esque shit they're currently covering up in the name of science. But by that point we'll be receiving all our news directly into our cerebral cortex using "Musk-X" brand implants, so it will never be seen or reported on. And yes, even the poors have them; their units are subsidized by the unavoidable ads being drilled directly into their subconscious.

All you folks with kids have such a bright future for them to look forward to!

prole ,
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Honestly, gotta be one of the best album covers ever.

prole ,
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The Firefox hate seems so irrational to me. Like it's not completely natural or something. People were SO QUICK to come here and shit talk Mozilla without giving the actual content of the article a second thought to realize that this makes them look good.

prole ,
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Yeah just an honest broker looking for the best product right? So much so that you weren't even willing to correctly parse the title of the article, and took it to mean the complete opposite of what it actually says.

Right.

prole ,
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And the best browser right now is Arc, which just opened up their Windows Beta to the public

Lol, you do realize that ending your comment with a plug for a different browser doesn't exactly make you look like an honest broker... Just a heads up for next time.

prole ,
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When it's bad Elon did it personally and when it's good he had nothing to do with it.

No... If it's actual tech, Elon had nothing to do with it because he's a fucking idiot that's never actually created anything of value. He's not an engineer, he's a guy with a shit load of money that made a couple smart investments early on.

He had no role in the development of PayPal.

He didn't even "start" Tesla, he bought enough shares to get control and became CEO years after the company was created by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.

Dude does nothing but take credit for the work of actual engineers.

prole ,
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Tesla existed for years before Musk bought himself into the CEO position.

US sues Apple for illegal monopoly over smartphones (www.theverge.com)

The US Department of Justice and 16 state and district attorneys general accused Apple of operating an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market in a new antitrust lawsuit. The DOJ and states are accusing Apple of driving up prices for consumers and developers at the expense of making users more reliant on its iPhones.

prole , (edited )
@prole@sh.itjust.works avatar

People voted for a more sealed phone with their wallets.

LOL imagine if capitalism actually worked this way...

Edit: People seem to be missing the point. I am aware that phones with 3.5mm jacks exist. I also just understand that capitalism and "free markets" don't actually work the way people seem to think they do. Maybe if the headphone jack was the most important feature to people, it would do better. Or maybe if it was an mp3 player and not a phone. Or maybe, simply, if it was manufactured by a brand people have heard of. Sometimes it's literally that simple.

But that isn't the case, is it?

prole ,
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and the market still showed they wanted wireless

Or maybe people just need phones and there are only like 3 actual options.

prole ,
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If you own a phone, Apple impacts your life. Don't be naive.

prole ,
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Also, as everybody knows, governments can only do one thing at a time.

prole ,
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but the UI is substantially better than Android.

Yeah, hard disagree

For one, you can make Android look/behave like anything you want.

prole ,
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Maybe people aren't spending $500-$1200 on a device just because it has a headphone jack. Like that's anyone's top concern.

prole ,
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Apple impacts your life, if indirectly, by shaping the market that they control over 50% of. I haven't owned an Apple product since my 4th gen click wheel iPod, and I'd be a fool to suggest that their decisions don't have an influence on my life.

prole ,
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Lol ok semantics.

"Impact" doesn't mean "direct" necessarily, that's why the word is often used with the word "direct" or "indirect" as a modifier.

prole ,
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Are you asking me to explain microeconomics to you? Ask 100 people in the US if they've ever heard of Zen Phone, and 99 will tell you no.

And, again, that's nobody's top concern. Maybe if it was an mp3 player, rather than a phone, whether or not it has a headphone jack would be higher up on the priority list.

prole ,
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Exactly my point

prole ,
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I don't know, I can comprehend it just fine.

prole ,
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Lawsuits are for civil cases. If someone breaks a law, they're charged by authorities at their discretion.

prole ,
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Then just roast that shit a little bit first...

prole ,
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For BankID it somewhat does, because only registered services can make the request

I'm not an expert on digital banking, but this sounds like a no-brainer... Aside from marginally increasing compliance costs, why would this not just be the norm everywhere?

I mean... It was rhetorical. I know why.

prole ,
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Haven't played this game, but it seems it fits closer to "rogue-lite"

prole ,
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If only we had people shouting from the rooftops for decades (100+ years?) to warn us about where capitalism inevitably leads... How could anyone have seen something like this coming??

IRS has launched its free tax filing service, Direct File, in 12 states (arstechnica.com)

"Direct File provides a free, secure option for taxpayers with simple tax situations in 12 states to file their taxes directly with the IRS," the Treasury Department said. "Direct File is easy to use, with no hidden junk fees, and works as well on a smartphone as it does on a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer. Direct File...

prole ,
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Cool!

Avast fined $16.5 million for ‘privacy’ software that actually sold users’ browsing data (www.theverge.com)

Avast, the cybersecurity software company, is facing a $16.5 million fine after it was caught storing and selling customer information without their consent. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the fine on Thursday and said that it’s banning Avast from selling user data for advertising purposes.

prole ,
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The only way to fully prevent it is to remove the profit-motive altogether.

prole ,
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This is the inevitable long term goal and result of capitalism.

prole ,
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That you, Steve Huffman?

prole ,
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My questions is: what kind of person reports shit like this to Disney? How the fuck would their lawyers even be aware of something so stupid and pointless?

prole ,
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So you explained it to the employee and they still didn't get it? You are already donating your time to the food bank, I feel like most people would understand if it were framed like that.

prole ,
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To be fair, a big part of a functioning society is a government with proper regulations in place so that people are not expected to be experts in literally every field before making a purchase or performing some kind of action. Obviously, calling it "protect[ing] them from themselves," is dismissive and patronizing, but it's pretty much why we need government in the first place.

For example, the EPA recently issued a recall for ground cinnamon from certain specific (dollar store) brands due to unacceptably high levels of lead. Without the career scientists (and yes, bureaucrats) working for that regulatory agency, millions of people would have continued consuming the product and feeding it to their kids (low-income folks too in this case, given the brands) literally indefinitely.

Without the EPA, every person who buys cinnamon is what, expected to use mass spectrometry to determine the exact molecular make-up of every spice (or in the case of the EPA, literally any food or prescription drugs you may ever consume) before using?

If they didn't do their cinnamon research, then they deserved it, and the government should have no involvement? What happens in cases where companies hide dangerous issues in their products to avoid losing profits?

What if there's literally no way for anyone but a scientist, with extensive lab access and at least 4+ years of university to know that there is an issue with a product (or a construction site, or a drug, or water treatment, etc)? They're the only ones who should be able to properly avoid using a product that may kill them and their children? And even then, only when it's a product they're an expert in?

Not saying you're a libertarian, just like pointing out the obvious things that make it so so stupid.

prole ,
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Anyone who has ever heard a 128kbps mp3 side-by-side with a 320kbps (or really anything above 192kbps in my experience) version can tell you that bitrate definitely matters. The better audio equipment you play it through, the more noticeable it is.

It definitely becomes inaudible at a certain point, but back in my CD ripping days, I'd scoff at anything below 192kbps

prole ,
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I have, yes.

UK Trial: Pornhub's Chatbot Halts Millions from Accessing Child Abuse Content (www.wired.com)

A trial program conducted by Pornhub in collaboration with UK-based child protection organizations aimed to deter users from searching for child abuse material (CSAM) on its website. Whenever CSAM-related terms were searched, a warning message and a chatbot appeared, directing users to support services. The trial reported a...

prole ,
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Google now gives you links to rehabs and addiction recovery centers when searching for harm reduction information about non-addictive drugs.

prole ,
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It's called rent seeking, there's no need to coin a flashy new name.

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