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180700722
comment
bymjwx
@10:20AM
(#65958938)
Attached to: Backseat Software
We joke about this happening to cars of course but it car manufacturers thought they could get away with it we'd be bombarded with the same kind of enshitification in vehicles. They're already trying in car advertising on for size, it won't be long before "we've noticed you're near a Turd Burgers, stop in for a double colon blocker now, we will automatically redirect your navigation in 3... 2... 1..."
Of course the part of me that enjoys driving will say that cars have been on the enshitification track for years. Automatic transmissions, soft suspension, computerisation, drivers aids with their useless bings, bongs and warbles, SUVs, cars getting bigger and lardier with each iteration. It's hard to find a drivers car these days, a nice, simple, RWD, lightweight 6sp manual (they don't even need to be that powerful, my 140 HP MR2 never failed to put a smile on my face). Kids these days have no idea of the unadulterated joy of nailing the perfect gear change (You are welcome on my lawn, just don't make a mess, K, I can still remember being young).
180699288
comment
bymjwx
@08:41AM
(#65958726)
Attached to: Seven of the World's Ten Best-Selling Smartphones in 2025 Were iPhones
Ask the average consumer to name five Android vendor options. I'll bet they'd struggle to name more than three.
That's the whole point. With Android, it does not matter for the average consumer what brand it is. It does not even matter that it is Android. It's just a generic smartphone, it can install the apps they want, and people will buy whatever fits their budget and their needs, ignorant about brand and operating system. For a single vendor, it is complicated to have one model sell in large numbers, because they are generic. Or do you know what farm your potatoes come from? It's potatoes. That's all that matters.
Yep, and this is one of those nice selective statistics chosen because they can't compete with any meaningful statistics.
There are maybe a dozen different Iphones on sale... compared to thousands of Android models in all shapes, sizes, colours and specs which as you eloquently pointed out can all run everything people need them to.
It's like when someone starts focusing on how much torque their car makes... it's because it literally has no other defining features, it's not fast, it's not powerful, it's not drinks globe luggggsury (with 5 g's), it can't carry huge loads and doesn't corner like it's on rails... All they have is a large torque figure.
180699024
comment
bymjwx
@08:20AM
(#65958692)
Attached to: US Life Expectancy Jumps To a Record 79 Years
COVID deaths are down, because almost everyone who is really susceptible to COVID is either heavily-vaccinated or already dead.
Oddly enough, COVID is still going and killing people. Mostly in the US.
https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/deaths
Of the 1.5K reported COVID deaths in the 28 days until 11 January 2026, 1.3K were in the US.... And this is after several states banned the reporting of COVID deaths. Sure, you're correct that they're down but wrong about everyone being vaccinated or dead.
180698978
comment
bymjwx
@08:15AM
(#65958684)
Attached to: US Life Expectancy Jumps To a Record 79 Years
We're back to where we were 12 years ago? Saaay, pretty good. That beats most of South America! Not like, Chile. C'mon, that'd be crazy. But still, pretty good.
Yep, the life expectancy for the EU is 81.4 years... and the EU includes much of eastern Europe. The people who grew up under the USSR with the food shortages and terrible medical care are still kicking (it was only 35 years ago).
UK is 79.1 for males and 83 for females (so call it 81.5 although technically there are slightly more women), Australia is 81 for males and 85 for females.
Making it to an average of 79 is not an accomplishment.
180698910
comment
bymjwx
@08:11AM
(#65958674)
Attached to: US Life Expectancy Jumps To a Record 79 Years
I'm suspect of the numbers due to the administration upheaval, but my gut reaction was, "Duh... COVID killed off A LOT of people, and very likely was a lot of people with preexisting conditions." It'd make sense for life expectancy to increase in the years after such a pandemic.
When looking at statistics like this you tend to filter out things like COVID as it was a temporary situation. You still count deaths from pre-existing conditions, accidents, et al. where people die before they're old or non-natural causes as these continue to happen and fewer people dying from car accidents or homicides do affect the stats.
180698826
comment
bymjwx
@08:05AM
(#65958658)
Attached to: Linux Gaming Developers Join Forces To Form the Open Gaming Collective
>"OGC looks like a little emoticon of a guy holding his dick."
Have no idea what you are talking about. The website has no emoticon. Their logo appears to be the black bold san-serif "OGC_" with the underscore being blue and flashing.
https://opengamingcollective.o...
Turn the logo on it's side.
This was first discovered when the UK's Office of Government Commerce did their logo.
Couple of other good examples on that page as well.
180698784
comment
bymjwx
@08:01AM
(#65958648)
Attached to: Cory Doctorow On Tariffs and the DMCA In Canada
I think I spotted the pro-billionare shill.
Doctorow is an open source advocate. Something that, famously, DOESNT pay well. If he is a grifter, what is the grift? Spend your career championing FOSS and losing out to big tech for peanuts?
it is right to be skeptical that Canada can wean itself off of the big tech lobbying teat, but calling him a grifter is just a laughably bad take. It shows you donâ(TM)t know what the word Grifter means.
Yep, a grifter is a rent seeker, someone who wants money for doing or providing nothing. Someone who is cheating and/or swindling you out of money.
Doctorow actually produces shit, he's an author and a journalist. It's not uncommon for independent journalists to get funding from donations, with the consolidation of media conglomerates (buying up all the independent publishers) it's often the only way and better than being beholden to the likes of Murdoch. He's not like Trump or Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (Tommeh Robinson) who just fleece people to pay for their lifestyle and contribute nothing in return (or just make things worse).
180698714
comment
bymjwx
@07:53AM
(#65958630)
Attached to: Comcast Keeps Losing Customers Despite Price Guarantee, Unlimited Data
As T-Mobile taught us, price guarantees are worthless. Verizon charges an economic conditions fee regardless of guaranteed prices.
Yep, contract law is to protect the businesses from you, the little people, when they screw you over.
Hell, even here in the UK it's only been a year since mid contract price rises have to be expressly stated in pounds and pence (actual money) instead of vague allusions to a percentage.
180698678
comment
bymjwx
@07:51AM
(#65958628)
Attached to: Universal Basic Income Could Be Used To Soften Hit From AI Job Losses In UK, Minister Says
If it is being targetted at specific industries then it is by definition NOT a Universal Basic income
Yep, "universal" means everyone gets it... If it's only for specific industries it's just subsidising pay so that employees can be paid less.
Given it's Jason Stockwood. he's probably trying get (more) subsidies for his businesses.
180698650
comment
bymjwx
@07:48AM
(#65958620)
Attached to: Universal Basic Income Could Be Used To Soften Hit From AI Job Losses In UK, Minister Says
There are no AI job losses in the UK or anywhere else. Maybe a few call center jobs. The rest is just excuses for a restructuring. But this is par for the course: everyone is using AI to push their own agenda.
There are a few, but it's not the bloodbath that certain people are predicting (and certain businesses are, for some reason, desperately hoping for).
If your job is basically applying rules to data, you can be replaced by AI... Like say if your job is just putting together dashboards in PowerBI it's probably time to learn how to drive a lorry. If your job requires accuracy, intellect or being able to work with incomplete information, you're pretty safe.
180698622
comment
bymjwx
@07:46AM
(#65958616)
Attached to: Former Google Engineer Found Guilty of Stealing AI Secrets For Chinese Firms
He uploaded the information to his personal Google Cloud account.
When an employee working for Google committing an active act of espionage is THAT fucking stupid, it really puts the artificialinintelligence.
This is like a bank teller robbing their own bank and then asking for a safe deposit box. A 12-year old can feel the embarrassment here.
This is what happens when a society devolves into being loyal to nothing but a pay cheque.
You'll always find people willing to be disloyal or treasonous for a payday... but in making the almighty dollar the supreme power, you're just making them cheaper and more readily available to anyone who wants them. This also means they aren't the smartest cookie in the jar either.
This is how the tree of ultracapitalism bears fruit. At least traditional fascism had a solid concentration on the nationalism part ( uber alles).
180685556
comment
bymjwx
26 @07:54AM
(#65956344)
Attached to: Experian's Tech Chief Defends Credit Scores: 'We're Not Palantir'
credit existed before credit scores did, and could easily exist without credit scores and credit score companies
And credit scores are almost entirely a US phenomena. Most countries don't use them as laws (and common sense) tell lenders to evaluate things for themselves. Risks and liabilities are evaluated by a lender on a per application basis.
Experian still tries to "sell" their credit scores but the lenders aren't buying.
I find the entire idea of a single company able to determine if you're good or bad and if someone should do business with you to be rather Orwellian... kind of what China does with Social Credit but more opaque.
180685514
comment
bymjwx
26 @07:45AM
(#65956334)
Attached to: Brandon Sanderson's Literary Fantasy Universe 'Cosmere' Picked Up by Apple TV
Sanderson will be the architect of the universe; will write, produce and consult; and will have approvals. That's a level of involvement that not even J.K. Rowling or George R.R. Martin enjoys.
Uh, that kind of assumes J.K. Rowling or George R.R. Martin ever wanted that duty.
I wish him all the best luck with success here, but this move just might expose the real reasons writers don’t often become screen writers, producers, or directors. It’s certainly not a mix of hats easily worn by anyone, and hopefully won’t taint a literary style a lot currently favor. Unlike the writers desk, the movie set will never enjoy the creative solitude of only the creator involved. You're suddenly dealing with 99 opinions on how to deliver the story instead of one.
RR Martin specifically stated in an interview that he didn't, that translating things to screen was the show runners problem.
I think a lot of book to film projects fail because the author takes too much editorial control, almost to a dictatorial level. The Expanse series differed from the books quite a bit but honestly, it was better because books can explain things in ways that are very difficult to put on screen so things get changed to make shows work. And S4 of the Expanse ended up being better than the book it was based on (Cibola burn was the weakest of the 9 books).
180678248
comment
bymjwx
026 @08:56AM
(#65954262)
Attached to: Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold Will Cost $2,900 in the US
We will see more and more of these luxury goods coming out that only 10-20% of the people can afford, and they still won't own it. A smartphone is an expensive device they sell you for good money, and they continue making good money on it, because you have no choice but run the OS and the apps they want you to run. I still can't understand how most people don't see or care about that. Happy and own nothing, indeed.
You have a strange idea of unaffordable. I could afford a US $3000 phone but the thing is, I don't want one (maybe the reason I can spend $3000 is that I tend to make careful, considered purchases rather than frivilous ones).
However this is largely due to Trumpy Tariffs. The price of the phone in Korea is 3,590,400 Won, which is about US$ 2,500 which includes the 10% sales tax in Korea and we can assume that the quoted US price isn't including local sales taxes.
180677964
comment
bymjwx
026 @08:49AM
(#65954246)
Attached to: Amazon To Shut Down All Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh Stores
Too bad about the Amazon Fresh, I used it for years as a convenient Amazon returns drop off location.
Of course never bought anything, as it was substantially overpriced with the same stock as the nearby Walmart (and the panopticon check out didn't instill confidence).
Here in the UK they've partnered with the supermarket chain Morrisons... so occasionally put an item in my basket that is sold by Morrisons without realising it and when I go to buy it there is usually a deal breaker like "you need to add another £34 to this basket" where I don't want to buy 40 quid worth of shit, I just want the one item I have selected but there is literally no way to get past this and few other sellers of the item so it usually ends up with me saying "fuck it, I'll just drive to Boots/ASDA/M&S or wherever and buy it there".
Amazon seem to be doing their best to chase me back to brick and mortar stores.
Nowt against Morrisons mind you, do the odd online order from them but they're not convenient to me so I usually go to another supermarket.
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