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admg

52 karma · joined July 29, 2011

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admg··on The downfall of National Geographic
I definitely think the content is dumbed down compared to my issues from ten years ago. Regarding the political stuff, I'd say there's a notable lean in the writing but imo that isn't the worst offender in it's decline.

The kids content they put out is great, we don't get the magazine (probably should) but have 3 or 4 of the big encyclopedia's and they're fantastic.

admg··on Microsoft Teams Premium: powered by OpenAI’s GPT-3.5
Can they just start by getting it to hold the setting for a default microphone/audio output?
admg··on Rishi Sunak will be next UK prime minister
The infosys part is pretty infuriating. He pushed through off payroll working reforms to make business a bit more nervous about using contractors then handed some more massive uk public sector contracts to infosys. Massively corrupt.
admg··on New York rolling out noise law, listening tech for souped-up speedsters
Seems sensible, especially if the upgrades to the cars are already illegal! From my time in the city (Edinburgh so not exactly NYC) the biggest improvement would've been better sound insulation between walls, you really could hear everything from neighbours even when I was in old tenement buildings, though they were better than the newer builds which had paper thin walls. Seems like the better plasterboard (dry wall I think its called in America) is only marginally more expensive than the rubbish that gets used but that margin isn't worth it to the flat builders/repairers!
admg··on Climate change: IPCC report is 'code red for humanity'
We're living through a strange time but please do not be defeatist and try not to let alarmist (it's trying to push certain actors into action quite rightly) make you feel that like that should ever be appealing.
admg··on CEO of a top Bitcoin exchange warns: crackdown on cryptocurrencies may be coming
Totally get your point here, however the counter that always gets me is the rate of quantitative easing in the US/UK. Not sure on accuracy of this but I've seen figures(cityam website) saying around 18% of all US dollars were created in 2020. There's a good argument that it's safer financially to put money into crypto. Personally I feel quite unsettled with both traditional finance and crypto at the moment.
admg··on TV detector vans once prowled the streets of England
The night garden is definitely trippy. For the occasions that I lose the battle and let my son have some tv before bed, cbeebies actually goes a great wind down job with the night garden.
admg··on Brexit deal mentions Netscape browser and Mozilla Mail
Fairly standard for the type of quote the bbc likes from academics unfortunately.
admg··on Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up
Don't experience the lag but my fans and energy usage goes haywire on my top of the line 2018 15" pro.
admg··on Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up
Meh pay doesn't bother me - that's an internal problem for them. What does bother me is firefox on a mac (2018 15inch pro), it just trashes the battery life. Too many tabs open and the fans go haywire, energy usage spikes etc. My mac is at 140 cycles with approx 72% of the design capacity of the battery left, I'm convinced this is because of firefox's bad performance. Might not be but it's the biggest suspect.

I've been using firefox since the really early days and I eventually gave up on mac and started using Brave. Still use it on windows work machines or occasionally on ubuntu where it doesn't have these problems.

admg··on German digital bank N26 is facing outcry from its staff over management
Very true! A real difficult task for startups when they try to hire too quickly.
admg··on German digital bank N26 is facing outcry from its staff over management
That's fascinating. I can see both the positives of it and the downsides. I recently (around two years ago) worked for a startup which grew too quickly and made some really bad hiring decisions which left them with a lot of loud, disgruntled employees - these works council right's would've crippled the company instead of just setting it back a few years.

On the other side I've worked for a larger financial services company more than a few years ago which would've really benefited from this sort of setup as the management was pretty callous in regards to when it got rid of employees or changed incentives at last second or diluted them severely.

admg··on Software made me loathe my car
That must be wrong, I have the petrol equiavalent, a 320i and it cost me £32K brand new in the UK.
admg··on Europe is edging towards making post-car cities a reality
It sure does, Edinburgh also no plans to make life easier and sustainable for families who actually live here. Train services are unreliable, ever increasing property prices in the city itself and even the satelite towns are getting more expensive. Commuting into Edinburgh is a nightmare and likely to get worse.
admg··on Ask HN: What people skills do you wish you learned earlier in your career?
People bond/interact over shared experiences. You mention kids, I used to become extremely bored over listening to other peoples stories about their kids. Now that I'm a father myself I don't listen to the story about their kid with any more interest but I understand that they just want to talk about the trial's they may be going through at any particular point.

On passive consumerism, unexamined life... I'd suggest trying to understand who it is you're talking to. Sometimes that will be a fair judgement, othertimes you'll find that people are trying their best to earn for their families, look after others and simply want some luxury to unwind before getting back to whatever takes most of their waking hours. However without knowing who you're talking to thats all speculation.

On a practical level, I would suggest you should surround yourself with like minded people. Either work in academia or aim for companies with a higher bar to enter, that should help.

admg··on Apple Engineers Its Own Downfall with the Macbook Pro Keyboard
Thats interesting to know, thanks for the tip!
admg··on Apple Engineers Its Own Downfall with the Macbook Pro Keyboard
I'd agree with that, I run stock ubuntu on a thinkpad t460p. I have only one issue which is that display scaling is not fractional, its in set values which doesn't play well with resolutions above 1080p. Thats a gnome issue though and doesn't stop the screen working perfectly when the resolution is set to 1080p instead of 2550x1440 or whatever it is.
admg··on Intel CEO resigns after relationship with employee
I too have a i7-3770 and it runs fantastic. I've only just realised that it is actually 6 years old, theres just not the incentive to upgrade that there once was.
admg··on I Don’t Know How to Waste Time on the Internet Anymore
Definitely interested if you go ahead!
admg··on More diagnostics data from desktop
I've seen popcon in Debian before, tbh I thought it was already in Ubuntu! Some will be happy with and it and some won't, as long as its optional and presented clearly I don't see an issue. Sending crash reports without asking permission... that should probably be independently set from the rest of this opt-out.
admg··on More diagnostics data from desktop
Seems like can opt out easily, and the information given appears reasonable so will quite happily check this box.
admg··on What happens when patients find out how good their doctors are? (2004)
It really should but I think thats a much more difficult problem to politically explain why every case is unique!
admg··on Amazon Key is a new service that lets couriers unlock your front door
I have my amazon safe space set to my greenhouse, imagine my surprise when I found their delivery person had put my item in my green bin instead. Not a chance would let them have access to my locks to my house.
admg··on How Gmail’s New Inbox Is Affecting Open Rates
I guess at least they're referring to them as customers instead of consumers for a change.
admg··on Probably not for hackers
I'd like one too, if you've still got them!

Email in profile :)

Thanks

admg··on BitTorrent's Bram Cohen Patents Live Streaming Protocol
thanks
admg··on BitTorrent's Bram Cohen Patents Live Streaming Protocol
Have you got any links to more info about that? That seems like it would cause a bit of a backlash against BT?
admg··on Private justice: How Hollywood money put a Brit behind bars
Thanks for the info, a quick google showing the rarity of private prosecutions in Scotland is definitely encouraging!
admg··on Private justice: How Hollywood money put a Brit behind bars
I can't believe what I've just read. A civil case yeah why not but criminal charges and imprisonment from a private entity after the CPS have basically said its not worth it? Scary.
admg··on Please Learn to Code
If only :)

The more likely thing (in my opinion) is that people who're passionate about coding will learn on their own and seek out material without the help of these sites. Most of this stuff will probably pass as a current net fad. There has never been a lack of available learning material & people keen to share their knowledge on the net!

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