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billybuckwheaton Penguin Mail – open-source Rust email client for Linux with AI

Same here. While I'd rather not have an embedded AI chat window, is there a way to disable it?

Many years ago, I worked at a company that used Tcl as the scripting language for its primary product. At one point, a hotshot product manager started agitating to replace it with something more modern. He claimed that Tcl was dying because (wait for it) there were no books being published about it at the time. I guess he was wrong ... :-)

billybuckwheaton Privacy experts warn of gaps in NZ law, as camera glasses hit Kmart shelves

It's still a closed garden not under your control.

billybuckwheaton Fastmail Down for Anyone Else?

The web interface is telling me it's offline and can't reconnect to the server. I can use the mobile app fine. Wondering if part of that has to do with me having shifted my data to Fastmail's EU servers recently.

[edit] It's now back to some semblance of normal.

billybuckwheaton Privacy experts warn of gaps in NZ law, as camera glasses hit Kmart shelves

Ironic that you're espousing taking back one's own data but using Substack ...

billybuckwheaton Book sellers raise alarm over 'horrific' destruction of rare titles to feed AI

Full headline: ‘More than just objects’: Australian book sellers raise alarm over ‘horrific’ destruction of rare titles to feed AI

billybuckwheaton AI buildout poses latest inflation threat

Full headline: "Massive AI buildout poses latest inflation threat as consumers pay more for laptops and electricity"

billybuckwheaton Ask HN: Do you have more or less than 1Mb text of your own writing?

Apologies for not replying sooner. I can't give you a ballpark figure, partly because I'm too lazy to go and check. But I've been writing since ... well, forever. Both personally and professionally. Do that regularly, and even in small amounts, and the number of words and pages and files adds up.

billybuckwheaton Ask HN: Do you have more or less than 1Mb text of your own writing?

Far, far more than 1 MB.

billybuckwheaton [dead]

Care to expand?

billybuckwheaton Ask HN: Who uses Aurora Store here?

If I can't get an app via F-Droid or Obtainium, I turn to Aurora.

billybuckwheaton [dead]

Great demo. I'm sold ...

billybuckwheaton [dead]

And the original report: https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/ai-...

billybuckwheaton New Zealand passes solar tipping point

I don't get the active mortgage requirement either and I live in NZ.

billybuckwheaton Ask HN: Why are companies so distrustful of remote employees?

It's about control. If a middle manager (or higher) can't see you, they don't believe that you're working. No matter how much work you actually get done.

billybuckwheaton Ask HN: How many tabs do you have open in the browser(s) and why?

On my work computer, at least four - one each for the web apps, like Notion or Monday.com in which I'm working. Sometimes, I have a couple of tabs open for each app.

On my own computer, two maybe three - one for email, one for Nextcloud, and whatever one I'm using for browsing.

billybuckwheaton Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly building an AI clone to replace him in meetings

Back in the 1980s, some Japanese companies had rooms in which you could whack at an effigy of the boss with a shinai. Just to let off a bit of steam. Will Meta's workers be able to do something like this with Zuckerberg's AI clone?

billybuckwheaton A city that wasted nothing [video]

"The extraordinary efficiency of Japan’s Edo economy"

billybuckwheaton Pure Blog

"A simple PHP based blogging platform."

billybuckwheaton Show HN: My store was attacked, and Stripe finished the job

You're pointing at Stripe's main page which isn't showing 1) how your store was attacked, or 2) how Stripe finished the job.

billybuckwheaton I Fell in Love with Calendar.txt

Been giving calendar.txt a third try since discovering it back in 2023. I got an LLM to code me up a simple graphical front end that makes working with a calendar.txt file a bit more palatable. So far, so good.

billybuckwheaton EPA Moves to Roll Back Drinking Water Standards

I'm sure that RFK Jr. will soon be touting the wonders of raw water (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_water).

billybuckwheaton [dead]

Next up, the American version of the Reichstag fire (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire) ...

billybuckwheaton Tesla Adds Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) Support to Model Y Performance

True. And more cars from China, Europe, and Korea are starting to include Vehicle to Grid (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle-to-grid) as well.

billybuckwheaton Tesla Adds Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) Support to Model Y Performance

> Tesla finally catching up to Ford/GM.

As well as most Chinese and European EV makers. Five years too late but right on time?

billybuckwheaton [dead]

Maybe you should ask a medical professional about this.

billybuckwheaton Do you have a collection of old tech?

Not any longer. I had a nice little collection of pre-2000 portable computers and devices. Things like an Atari Portfolio, a Tandy 102, a Zoomer PDA, a couple of HP palmtops, and a Palm Pilot or two. And a few more. All were in great working condition. But I sold every last one of them about 12 years ago.

billybuckwheaton Do dashes indicate AI writing?

I've been using en and em dashes since the 1990s (with word processors and with LaTeX). I'm not the only one, either. As another commenter pointed out, no way am I going to alter the punctuation I use just because generative AI has hijacked and overused an aspect of that.

billybuckwheaton Musk Says Grok Chatbot Coming to Tesla Vehicles by Next Week

I'd rather not drive a car with any AI chatbot installed.

billybuckwheaton AI-Enabled Trash Trucks Will Scan Your Trash to Scold You About Recycling

The waste collectors in Christchurch, New Zealand do occasional spot checks of home recycling bins and leave a little note (checklist, actually) letting you know what shouldn't have been put in the bin. They take it away regardless in the first instance; not sure what happens in the second.