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pgrote

5,434 karma · joined February 28, 2012

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pgrote··on See's Candies is Warren Buffett’s ‘dream’ investment
>How does one even know if the Vitamin C is Vitamin C?

Good question. For the last few years I've subscribed to Consumer Lab. They have a rigorous testing program for vitamins and supplements.

https://www.consumerlab.com/about/

pgrote··on Alphabet Announces First Quarter 2022 Results
It is a fantastic service. It is a little concerning Google hasn't touched it since it matured. $17.99 for commercial free YT for a family is a bargain considering how much we use it. I have to think there is a major price increase coming.
pgrote··on Google Drive: Shortcuts replacing files and folders stored in multiple locations
Thank you for the clarification. I should have specified I turn on sync through Google Drive once a month and not a direct copy. Going forward if I stay with Google Drive I'll need to switch off sync and just do a direct manual copy.
pgrote··on Google Drive: Shortcuts replacing files and folders stored in multiple locations
I use Google Drive as a trailing safety backup. Client installed on a machine that updates once a month with all the files from drive. Manual process. In case something happens and a folder gets wiped off of Google Drive I can walk over and transfer the files from the trailing safety backup since Google Drive actually copies the files.

Under the new process the files will no longer exist on the drive, but will now be links to files on Google Drive. Is that correct?

pgrote··on You cannot police misinformation in a fair, reproducible, and representative way
I wouldn't consider that misinformation. At the time those statements were made it was thought the vaccine would prevent transmission. Not a medical expert, but I always thought the reason you got a vaccine was to prevent infection. Measles vaccine is somewhere near 97% effective at stopping infection. Heck, even when the vaccines for covid first came out it was big news if there was a breakthrough infection.

Fast forward to today. The general consensus is the vaccine typically prevents serious illness and death in most cases for the common variants. It doesn't do a great job preventing infection.

One of the mistakes those in charge made was never admitting something like the following when new, solid information was understood:

1) We were wrong. 2) This is something we've never seen. 3) We're learning as we go. 4) It doesn't do what we said or thought it would do, but it does this.

No one in real power ever says anything remotely like it. They speak in absolutes and it has gotten so bad they are choosing to misrepresent studies to suggest following a path they think is best versus admitting the studies just suck.

Misinformation flagging for something like covid was never going to be practical to implement as there was so much changing on a such a limited timeframe. Toss in politics and the governing structure of the USA and it was never going to work.

pgrote··on Music subscriber market shares Q2 2021
We subscribe simply because it is the only service that works on family plans without any friction on Echo devices. Tried to get Pandora and Spotify to work, but there was always a problem or the skill would fall apart over a period of months.
pgrote··on Music subscriber market shares Q2 2021
Pandora isn't on the list, but I am unsure they are global. When they were purchased by Sirius I wanted to move to a Sirius subscription, but found out they would not port over your Music Genome Project information over. You would have to train it again. No other service has a feature that works so well.

We keep it just for that reason.

pgrote··on Eyeo wins German copyright decision, sets legal precedent for who ‘owns’ HTML
I think that is a legitimate question. The issue becomes there is no standard or method to ensure acceptable ads. A static ad without javascript is acceptable to me. Maybe not to someone else.

But ... the ad industry would never accept a static ad more akin to a billboard than a tracking device. Many times in the past malware has found its way into networks run by the more highly regarded ad systems.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malvertising

If a content publisher refuses to let people read articles without a subscription or with an ad blocker, I am ok with that. It is their choice.

pgrote··on Hackers disrupt payroll for thousands of employers, including hospitals
>A month-old ransomware attack is still causing administrative chaos for millions of people, including 20,000 public transit workers in the New York City metro area, public service workers in Cleveland, employees of FedEx and Whole Foods, and medical workers across the country who were already dealing with an omicron surge that has filled hospitals and exacerbated worker shortages.

I was surprised when it first happened there wasn't more publicity. To find out it is still going on a month later is jaw dropping.

pgrote··on UberEats took unauthorized amount (and not willing to pay it back)
This is the one thing I cannot wrap my head around. How does anyone make any money on orders this low? Based on the screenshot the total was 12.28. UberEats takes 1.00 for a fee and I think some from the vendor. The delivery person gets 1.29.

Does UberEats pay a minimum for the delivery to the delivery person and the tip is addtional? If so, whose end does it come out of?

Are the delivery services trying to make it up in volume?

pgrote··on Amazon will leave remote work decisions to individual team leaders in new policy
And the first domino falls for the transformative generational change in the work environment. A couple of decades ago it was business casual. How far we've come.
pgrote··on Old Mouse Dot Com
The old urban legend of the IBM service alert for field techs.

https://www.neystadt.org/john/humor/IBM-Mouse-Balls.htm

pgrote··on There are six internet links on my office on wheels—seven when Starlink arrives
When Windows NT released ISDN bonding it seemed magical.

It was short lived magic as DSL came along. lol

I had no idea bonding was still a thing.

pgrote··on Do adults need tetanus booster shots?
According to the article, yes.

"Even though it happens rarely, people can still get tetanus and experience serious or deadly effects. There is no cure for tetanus, and no definitive proof that you will have lifelong immunity with childhood vaccinations alone. So for now, the CDC continues to recommend booster vaccines every 10 years to help your immune system protect against these infections. If you have questions about the tetanus and diphtheria vaccine, talk to your doctor."

pgrote··on The ownership and future of Mullvad VPN
Kape also just bought Expressvpn.

https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/expressvpn-joining-kape/

It was a bummer to see the news.

pgrote··on The SEC has told us it wants to sue us over Lend. We don’t know why
Someone snagged an image.

https://www.ilbe.com/view/11365594888

pgrote··on Show HN: We built an end-to-end encrypted alternative to Google Photos
I noticed on one of the screenshots there are buttons labelled "When in Rome" and "Christmas 2019". What do the labels reference? Are you using tags added from the photos metadata? Thanks!
pgrote··on 40M People Rely on the Colorado River. It’s Drying Up Fast
I have thought about this for the last year and tried to learn as much as I can. Yes, it is expensive.

Does it matter at this point?

Most experts don't seem to think there will be enough precipitation over the next decade to refill existing reservoirs let alone replenish the almost wiped out aquifers. This isn't a case of 1 or 2 rainy seasons making up for what is lost.

If the US wants to continue growing into inhospitable areas and growing crops in areas where water is unavailable, serious work needs to start on desalination efforts.

It will be expensive. There will be an environmental impact. It will take years to build as the US no longer can do public works quickly.

Desalination is the only long term solution for the US west if you do not want to limit land use.

pgrote··on Amazon Kindles with 3G will start to lose cellular network access in December
This is for cellular connections.

"Amazon’s Kindle e-readers with built-in 3G will begin to lose the ability to connect to the internet on their own in the US in December, according to an email sent to customers on Wednesday. The change is due to mobile carriers transitioning from older 2G and 3G networking technology to newer 4G and 5G networks. For older Kindles without Wi-Fi, this change could mean not connecting to the internet at all."

pgrote··on Gizmo’s Freeware Says Farewell
I believe the submitted link should point to this page:

https://www.techsupportalert.com/content/time-say-farewell.h...

pgrote··on Why Windows 11 is forcing everyone to use TPM chips
We use refurbished HP Xeon Workstations, Z240s, etc. and they only support TPM 1.2 and cannot be upgraded to TPM 2.0 according the what I can learn from HP's online support.

Unless I am missing something, our machines will not run Windows 11. It seems this will occur with many people using refurbished machines. So odd.

pgrote··on What a Wuhan lab leak would mean
>possibly that the entire Communist apparatus of control might crumble amid intense public anger.

I am ignorant of Chinese attitudes toward their government, but why would this be one of the effects? China officially had few cases and deaths from covid-19. They were heavy handedly effective at stopping it from gaining traction. Why would a lie about the origin cause Chinese citizens to rise up?

pgrote··on Charter charges more money for slower Internet on streets with no competition
> I think T-Mobile and Verizon are available in the $50-60 range

5G is unavailable in my area, so I haven't been able to see plans. Are there data limits? Throttling after a certain amount?

pgrote··on YouTube Will Monetize Videos Without Paying Content Creators
Of all the services we pay for, our family derives the most value and enjoyment from the YT Premium program. This includes Netflix, Disney, Curiositystream, Hulu, etc.
pgrote··on Stripe Payment Links
It always amazes me when things like this happen. If you look at the comments on this post you'll see people responding as if this a terrific new idea/frontier. Others respond with links to existing solutions as you did; Gumroad was my first thought, too.

And to me, this is one of the main benefits of hackernews. I don't know everything, I don't know everything available, so I take value from everyone adding the options they know about.

pgrote··on A CBP contract shows the risks in connecting your vehicle and your smartphone
>on sale 9 years from now (2030) will be vastly superior to today's offerings

I hope you are right. Discounting the environmental and societal impact of mining the materials needed for these advancements and the electrical generation, my concern is selfish. We drive for vacations and sometimes push 12 hours a day. A quick fill up of gas in the minivan seems better than an hour or two of charging.

Others have mentioned hybirds alleviate the long distance concern. There are minivan and larger vehicles already using hybird technology, so it should work out. It is such a wild change to think about.

pgrote··on Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ from Covid Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts Now Believe
>lack of long term safety trials. is she antivax/antiscience?

I don't think so, but in our cultural climate those who bring up real, substantive questions about the process can be brought up. It is a shame since the MRNA vaccines are new for such widespread usage.

For me it came down to risk/reward. A year of being a hermit and the impact on my family tipped the scales.

When I had both doses and the time after I had no reaction. Others in my family had some sort of reaction even if it was just a sore arm. Does that mean it didn't work? No idea and there isn't a long term study to look at to learn from.

pgrote··on An update to our YouTube TV members on Roku
If you're going to reference the contract, release the specific sections of the contract. If you're going to reference Roku demands, release the emails.

It is tiring when 2 corporations sling it at each other without any backup.

Maybe after the HBO fiasco and now this it's time to reassess choosing Roku devices as the default.

pgrote··on Twitter locks out Irish Bishop after he criticized euthanasia
>Alright, let's say you get appointed at Twitter to clean up this mess.

Announce a sale of intellectual and physical assets and close down. I would realize the company is a negative drain on society.

pgrote··on Changes to sharing and viewing news on Facebook in Australia
>Google has been in a constant arms race against unscrupulous SEO practices ever since.

One company controls 80% of what is found on the internet. They set rules, restrictions, penalties that are not public. They do not pass any sort of regulatory muster. They rip and tear through businesses standing in their way. They crush out a person's online existence through never explained reasons. They use every advantage they can to tweak a human's emotions, drive and needs to feed more and more advertisements.

You suggest those trying to use every advantage they can to rank higher unscrupulous?

Google's fight to keep search results crisp ended soon after they began selling advertising. Google long ago quit innovating search to be better for people, they've made it better for advertisers.

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