Ed Zitron's rant was a long read, but it sure did resonate with me. I've been in IT for quite a while (our first computer needed an upgrade for lower-case characters) and the current state of tech is utterly depressing. After reading the post, I think that our nerd culture in IT paved the way for the techbros. We need to take a hard look at ourselves, if we want to support this dystopian future we're heading towards.
Back then, with the family computer (now having 16Kb and lower-case), computing was magical. You all know how it felt like, everything seemed possible, the screen was a window into the future. There were constant leaps in technology - we could store and edit audio, then video, instant worldwide communication. I'm sure that you believed, like I did, that IT could really improve people's lives and make the world a better place.
But now, the meaningful improvements have become fewer, evolutionary. Consider the updates from your current phone and the last. Maybe the camera was a bit better, but did it really excite you or change your life? What about your laptop? Hardware is plateauing. Just like software.
I know that the engineering behind large enterprises like AWS or Netflix is just fantastic and improving all the time. But from a user's point of view, not much has changed in a while.
Here's the problem. We techies believe in the future, that we can change the world. And we are such insufferable know-it-alls that want to help you, and will help you, if you want it or not. There is nothing that could not be improved without computing and digitization. It's how we are trained to think, it's in our DNA. While you are speaking, we are making notes of redundancies, mentally tsk tsking your Excel sheets. We view the world a set of problems to be solved.
So then you have a site like (the olde) reddit, or your car, or your TV. All fully functional and fulfill all your needs. But we simply cannot admit to ourselves that our job is done - we must solve the next problem. Even if it isn't a problem you've got!
And so we get computers in everything. In your TV, your car, your alarm clock, your living room lamps and kitchen appliances. All with their host of issues. And we get algorithms in everything, giving us suggestions and sending us reminders.
Current tech is intrusive, overbearing and patronizing - that's putting it nice. A bunch of well-meant ingenuity is being wasted on problems nobody has.
We need to take people and their time serious, let them do their shit and just leave them the fuck alone when the job is done.
You see, that is another perfect example for why earth has to be flat, anything else just isn't logical!
Which of the following best describes your race or ethnic background?
Seriously, WTF? Why the hell is this relevant? Is this some American thing?
Show the rest of the comic - I dare you!
Actually no, I hated the Vista era UI design. Linux themes were positively garish, add MacOS looked like a candy store. CDE greatly impressed me back then. It looked like it was made by adults for adults. Highly legible, and the pastel colors are being emulated by Solarized.
I'm sure that those UIs were a product of the times. The 90's and noughties were loud and colorful and exciting and everything looked like a comic. Now that we live in more depressing times, we can look to the science of perceptual psychology.
You see, we have an attention budget, we need to process what we see. Visually complex UIs need to be parsed, and that takes mental effort, and that robs us of mental energy to focus on our work. It's not a crippling effect, but it's there.
Look at street signs and corporate logos, they easily lodge in our mind. Effective advertising has a clear and simple visual language, and this is what UIs should strive for.
What could've been his grudge against Andretti? On paper it made their bid made a lot of sense.
Slogging through FFXIII here. It's super linear and repetitive, but just what I need right now.
Did I mention I'm lactose intolerant?
I don't know of it's exactly that font, but it looks like OpenDyslexic.
Ich sekundiere dies.
The people here tend to talk funny and gatekeep about it, but if that doesn't bother you - feel at home!
Just stop!
But what helped me: often smoking is part of a daily routine or ritual, so mix up your routine. Take up a new hobby or take the bus instead of the car. Go for a walk after lunch. Giving up smoking is a big change, so don't be afraid to make big changes. Get new clothes. Make new friends. You have discarded your old identity as a smoker. Still smoking? Doesn't matter! You already want to stop - you're becoming that person already.
And don't be so hard on yourself if you have a smoke now and then. Be conscious of what situation or routine triggered the reflex, and change it in future. If you have a smoke every few days or weeks, don't sweat it, you've broken addiction as far as I'm concerned!
Thanks. Damn autocorrect.
Back in the 80s, Don Norman popularized the term affordance. Humans need something to push, pull, turn or otherwise interact with. We are physical beings in a physical world.
Driving vehicles is potentially life-endangering. Just because the technology is there and cheaper does not mean that humans can push aside their physiological limitations in a critical situation.
Take the emergency blinker. You know where it is, you see it all the time - it's right there in front of you! But when a real emergency happens, you'll be fumbling for the button, concentrating on the situation at hand. Now imagine that button on a touchscreen.
Also greatly helped by the free pitstop.
Just recently saw a video of an experimental self driving vehicle from Bosch - from the 90's!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTnBiTIvGqY
You could imagine we'd be much further now, considering how far computing power, computer vision and AI have come.
Also not exactly cheap!
If you're into self-hosting there's Wallabag, but it's not half as slick as Omnivore.
OSS Read-it-Later service Omnivore sells out to AI startup ElevenLabs
I've been a big fan of the slick interface of Omnivore. It could process web sites, email newsletters and RSS feeds.
The users have just been informed that Omnivore has "joined" the AI startup Eleven Labs. It may be bitter how OSS projects are being sucked up by AI, but that alone sounds innocuous enough.
What is upsetting is that the users have only until the 15.11 to export their data, after which the service will be deactivated. The export format is only usable with Eleven Labs, and exports for Pocket, Instapaper, etc are not offered, which I find just insulting.
I remember he was crazy like that during his first race in Brazil and thought he would calm down with the years. Nope, still crazy.
Using printed master spools in a filament dryer
I've been considering getting refills to reduce my plastic consumption, which means I would have to print master spools with PLA or PETG.
Because I don't consume my filament quickly enough, I got the Sunlu S2 filament dryer, which heats up the filament to 50-60C.
My question is: would it be OK to put a master spool in the dryer, or could it potentially deform?
Polarized sunglasses and visors don't match, kids
Just found out that polarized sunglasses and helmet visors are a bad combination. I was greeted with a whole new colorful world!
Seriously, it almost made me nauseous.
So I learned that gas can go bad, will be paying for that lesson
A few weeks ago I discovered a canister of gas, about half a year old from another project. I did notice it smelled a bit weird, but the smell didn't register enough to keep me from topping off the tank with it.
After that, I had business about 550km away and thought it a perfect opportunity to take a ride. After not even 100km, the motor started stuttering, warning lights flashed and then it cut off completely. There was a gas station close by, so I stuttered my way over and filled up again. The whole trip took way longer than planned, because the motor would start stuttering again after less than half a tank and I would have to fill up again.
Arriving, the motor would die under 2000rpm, so I had to keep it at least at 4000. The backfiring didn't help my mood much either.
On the way back, the bike was much better behaved, and I hoped that it finally burned through all the bad gas. Relief! Thought I'd treat it with some [additive](https://www.liqui-moly.com/en/motorbike-4t-bike-addi
So, Fedora 40 is out, any guess as to when we can expect Nobara 40?
Pretty much the title. I'm not a regular on Discord and the website doesn't have any info about a release plan.
Fairphone presenting a tablet on 09.04? (no, actually earbuds)
I just got an email from Fairphone that something new is coming on the 09.05 - a whole new category.
My hot take is on a tablet. What do you think?
Edit: so the whole new category is earbuds. Somewhat disappointing, but replaceable batteries for earbuds are nice, I guess.
Flashforge Adventurer 3 hangs after booting up - but only when online
I've been using a rebranded Flashforge Adventurer 3 (it's actually a Bresser Rex that I got 50% off at Aldi) and have been really happy with it. The build volume is a bit smallish, but for most of what I'm doing it's fine.
So today I boot it up and after a while, it just hangs after a minute or so. I switched it on and off, did a factory reset, tried disconnecting mains for a while, nothing helped. Also checked my DNS blocker to see if some internet requests were getting blocked.
But what did work - weirdly enough - was to deactivate wireless. It's a small nuisance copying files over via USB, but one I can live with. At least I can continue printing!
Big Rock Moto tests the Alpinestars Halo Jacket
Got this as my first jacket and have been using it in the heat, in rain and in freezing weather. It really is the one jacket for all situations.
The only thing that bothers me is that the shop where I got it only had it in black. The other colorways look a lot better!
Had my first ride, did a stupid
Just this weekend I got my first bike - a Honda XL750 Transalp. Winter is coming where I live, so when I saw a blue sky, dry roads and temperatures just over 0, I thought I could have a little ride. But that wasn't the stupid, even though I forgot the keys after being completely suited up with thin jogging gloves and winter gloves.
There wasn't any stupid during the ride, although I forgot the keys again after putting on the two pairs of gloves after a little break. Or that I kept hitting the hazard lights by accident, or the high beams.
The stupid was when I got back and rolled into the driveway. I wanted to slowly roll in and park in front of the wall of the garage. Had the clutch pulled and apparently twisted my wrist to get my thumb on the kill switch. The motor revved up so loud it scared the whole family out the house and onto the porch, where they witnessed me rolling towards the wall, bumping into it because I was so startled I didn't remember to apply the brake and me fa
Having my exam tomorrow - super anxious and excited!
My father was a rider, and in later years he often tried to convince me to take up the hobby. The kids were little and money was tight, so I had to say no. But every now and then I would look up bikes on the internet and dreamt a little how it would be.
After finally getting the seal of approval from my wife, I got a course this fall. The driving instructor looks like a homeless Santa with half a mouth of teeth - but he used to do track days and enduro trips through the alps, so he knows his stuff. I looked forward to every session and really had fun, even when I got drenched in rain. And now my exam is tomorrow, and I'm super anxious and excited, maybe even a little terrified. A little bit because of the exam, but more so because of what comes afterward!
In welche Randsportarten seid ihr so unterwegs?
Mein Schwiegervater ist recht sportbegeistert - zumindest, wenn es um das Schauen geht. Kürzlich habe ich mitbekommen, dass er auch zu Baseballspiele geht. Da ich auch mal in der Schule Baseball gespielt habe und es eigentlich ganz cool fand, bin ich mal mit.
Und da habe ich gelernt, dass unsere Stadt eine Bundesliga-Mannschaft hat, die sogar 2 Mal Meister war. Was die Zuschauerzahl betrifft, erübrigt sich ein Vergleich zu Fußball ganz klar. Allerdings hätte ich nicht gedacht, dass Bundesligaspiele bei Damenvolleyball sogar viel größer sind. Erster Eindruck: es ist mehr los an einem Fussballspielfest mit unserem Kleinen.
Es waren vielleicht 300 Leute da. Die gegnerische Mannschaft hat den Parkplatz mit ihren Wohnwagen zugestellt. Es gab Fritten und Würstchen, und ein Stand mit Kaffee und Kuchen (bestimmt von den Vereinsmitgliedern gespendet).
Aber ganz ehrlich? Alles völlig egal! Ich will nicht sagen es waren entschleunigende drei Stunden, aber Baseball ist schon eine recht gemütl