Ads fucking suck, and what Google is doing definitely seems like monopolistic abuse, but there are much better arguments against Google than what you’re saying. You pay your ISP to access content, not paying for the content directly. Analogously, imagine being mad at McDonald’s for not giving you free drive-through food… because you pay road taxes.
While Blizzard is very much focussed on its big money-makers like its various Warcraft games, from WoW to Hearthstone to Warcraft Rumble, as well as Diablo and the much-maligned Overwatch 2, he’s still open to StarCraft making a comeback. That said, RTS fans shouldn’t get their hopes up. While the series might return, that...
That’s because, if I remember the story correctly, StarCraft started out as a WH40K game, but Blizzard couldn’t secure the rights from Games Workshop, so they basically made their own universe with hookers and blackjack.
House Republicans have yet to coalesce around their own plan to avert a government shutdown with just 10 days until the deadline, raising the stakes for a new speaker who will have to contend with the internal dynamics of his conference and a Democratically-controlled Senate and White House....
The case will test how far the court’s conservative majority is willing to go in interpreting the scope of its 2022 ruling that expanded gun rights outside the home....
It’s not! The right of an individual to own a small arsenal with absolutely no oversight or regulation whatsoever is SCOTUS Constitutionally guaranteed, while living is not. If life were so important, why didn’t the founding fathers put that in the Constitution?
Ergo, me spending more on ammunition than my local school district spends on feeding its students clearly supercedes some random woman’s privilege to life.
See? Easy!
(If you thought any of the above sounded remotely sensical, for the love of God don’t vote and don’t have kids.)
But the right has been convinced they do. Just like how they think CRT means “teaching white kindergartners that they should feel bad for being white and are inferior to Black kindergartners.”
“Best” is very subjective, particularly about Linux.
Are you just wanting to experiment with Linux, and don’t have much in the way of a “tech” background? Do you want a distro that more or less works right away after installation? Then Ubuntu (or one of its many derivatives) is probably the better choice for you. (I personally like Mint).
Are you a power user who compiles drivers for fun? Do you think that starting your PC after uninstalling your bootloader sounds like a cool puzzle to solve? Then you’ll probably find Ubuntu too restrictive.
Wonder if this is just a preemptive measure to prevent someone from suing the city, claiming they were “aiding and abetting” women seeking abortions? After all, the law is so vague that a Republican extremist (or a Democratic rabble-rouser) could probably argue allowing women to use those roads runs afoul of the law.
Republicans gathered late in the evening to hear quick speeches from the congressmen seeking the job, though none has a clear shot at the gavel. Eight candidates are in the running for one speaker after one dropped out. Behind closed doors, they made their elevator pitches to colleagues ahead of internal party voting....
U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico said in an opinion on Saturday that a Colorado law banning so-called medication abortion reversal treatment likely violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of religious freedom. His order stops the state from enforcing the law against Bella Health and Wellness, which sued to block it, or...
Following weeks of backlash the BBC will reportedly no longer refer to Hamas as “militants” opting instead to describe them as "a proscribed terrorist organisation" or simply "Hamas." This shift in policy by the public service broadcaster was announced by the Board of Deputies of British Jews in a press release on Friday,...
But his moment in the sun was short-lived, extinguished just two days later by his long-time political rival, Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, who filed a motion to remove Mr McCarthy from his post....
I’m telling you, Molotov cocktails work. Anytime I had a problem and I threw a Molotov cocktail, boom! Right away, I had a different problem. - Jason Mendoza Matt Gaetz.
But to play devil’s (angel’s?) advocate for a minute, Microsoft can’t fix vulnerabilities in Windows without telemetry data. There’s a practically infinite combination of hardware components Windows runs on, and that makes it impossible for Microsoft to find and fix vulnerabilities and bugs in house. Older versions of Windows were so insecure in-part because Microsoft made telemetry reports opt-in, and we all know how likely the average user is to do so.
Now that’s not to say that everything Microsoft collects is appropriate; I’m only saying there is a valid case for collecting some data from users.
Oh no worries- I didn’t think you were. Just so many people jump on the “ALL DATA COLLECTION IS SPYING!” bandwagon they don’t realize there can be a perfectly rational reason for doing so that doesn’t reduce down to “The Deep State is watching everything you do!”
[A]n INI configuration file in the Windows Canary channel, discovered by German website Deskmodder, includes references to a “Subscription Edition,” “Subscription Type,” and a “subscription status.”
Humans are creatures of habit. The average user won’t switch until the pain of using what they know outweighs the pain of learning something new + the fear of something new.
Microsoft overcharges for Windows anyway. You can go to StackSocial and regularly get Win 11 Pro for $30, when the retail price is $200.
In any case, everything else tech is moving to SaaS. It’s not hard to believe that MS would “give” out a free (read: ad-laden) version of Windows, with various features enabled depending on tier of subscription. They’ve already got the technology in place with Azure Active Domain and this seems like a logical extension of that.
StackSocial’s parent company, StackCommerce, is listed as a partner with Microsoft, so they’re probably legit. Speaking for myself, the Win 11 key and two Office keys I’ve bought before haven’t had any problems.
Two things that boggle my mind:
In a thread where the discussion is about Microsoft possibly giving away a “free” future version of Windows and monetizing features, someone thinks it unlikely that Microsoft could sell Windows now at a loss hoping to push Office 365 and OneDrive subs, and
That some people feel such a sense of entitlement they’ll go to fantastic lengths to not pay for services or products they use. They think that just because they decide a movie, or album, or operating system is too expensive they can can acquire it without paying for it. (Not you obviously, since the nagware version of Windows is technically free, just… other people).
Actually, I don’t think they care about retention at all, because to the industry retention = stagnation. They only care about new subscribers because that “shows” growth. They much prefer hearing “We increased subscriber counts by 10%!” over “We kept 100% of subscribers YoY!”
I’ve said (and read) it before: the concept of a great search engine is exactly at odds with advertising. A good search engine gives accurate results fast, while the purpose of advertising is to show users what advertisers pay to show them. In other words, it’s the difference between showing users what they want to see, versus showing users what advertisers want them to see.
Google knows that the more irrelevant results it returns, the longer you spend looking, which translates into more opportunities to show ads.
For now, sure. But corporations only bundle services to build their userbase. Once their service hits a critical mass (read: they think they can get away with it) they will break the bundle up and charge for each service individually. It’s an inherent feature of capitalism- corporations can’t leave any perceived money on the table. Why charge one price for two services, when you can charge two prices for two services? And they’ll couch it as “giving users more choice!” by noting you can only pay for one service without the other if you want- while conveniently ignoring the users who utilized both features would be paying more. Mark my words: YouTube Premium will not stay bundled with YouTube Music. At some point in the future, Google will charge for each service separately.
Well, assuming Google doesn’t randomly kill one of them off outright, that is.
The City of Calgary said Wednesday it has laid charges against a shared kitchen — used by several daycares experiencing an E. coli outbreak — for operating without the proper licence.
You laugh, but you’ll wish you had one of these when you lose your inertial stabilizers! You’ll go flying through the bridge viewscreen, but that mug will sit there watching it happen.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had requested an order that would limit revealing jurors’ names and likenesses during any trial in the case....
A Black Texas high school student who was suspended because his loc hairstyle violated the district’s dress code was suspended again upon his return to school Monday, an attorney for the family told CNN....
The majority of U.S. adults don't believe the benefits of artificial intelligence outweigh the risks, according to a new Mitre-Harris Poll released Tuesday.
Are you the best basketball/baseball/hockey/$SPORTS_BALL player on the planet? If so, cool- can I get your autograph?
If not, why even play basketball/baseball/hockey/$SPORTS_BALL? Do you play basketball/baseball/hockey/$SPORTS_BALL not because you’re the best, but because it’s theoretically possible that every single basketball/baseball/hockey/$SPORTS_BALL player better than you might all simultaneously might die, leaving you as the best on the planet? You solely enjoy activities because it’s technically but not practically possible that you would be the best ever, or “make meaningful contributions” to the sport? Or do you play just because the experience of playing is fun?
If someone told you that rock-climbing is fun, would you decide you’re never going to do it because someone else already did? Or would it make you more likely to try it, because you want to know what that experience is like first-hand? You’re ascribing nihilistic motivations to humanity that even you don’t really believe in.
The OP was asking why, in a world where AI can think smarter and faster than humans and thus do everything a human could do but better, would humans do anything at all? I was pointing out that, pragmatically speaking, that’s already the case- plenty of people do activities they’re not the best at because the act itself is what brings enjoyment.
Using OP’s logic, because Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player (or Chamberlain, or Bryant, or James, or insert whoever you think is the best) no one should be motivated to play basketball. And yet, lots of people still do, which means his premise- that people are only motivated to do things either because they’re the best at it or they can meaningfully advance the field- must be flawed.
Pragernant (lemmy.world)
Making Lieutenant? That's child's play. (startrek.website)
Chrome’s Web Store review—the next big weapon in the war on ad blockers (arstechnica.com)
When ad blocking is a cat-and-mouse game, make the mouse slowe
Valve says "technology doesn't exist" yet for full Steam Deck 2.0 (www.eurogamer.net)
StarCraft could return, according to Blizzard president, but not necessarily as an RTS (www.pcgamer.com)
While Blizzard is very much focussed on its big money-makers like its various Warcraft games, from WoW to Hearthstone to Warcraft Rumble, as well as Diablo and the much-maligned Overwatch 2, he’s still open to StarCraft making a comeback. That said, RTS fans shouldn’t get their hopes up. While the series might return, that...
With 10 days to go, House Republicans remain undecided on best strategy to avert shutdown (www.cnn.com)
House Republicans have yet to coalesce around their own plan to avert a government shutdown with just 10 days until the deadline, raising the stakes for a new speaker who will have to contend with the internal dynamics of his conference and a Democratically-controlled Senate and White House....
Supreme Court leans toward upholding law that bars those accused of domestic violence from having firearms (www.nbcnews.com)
The case will test how far the court’s conservative majority is willing to go in interpreting the scope of its 2022 ruling that expanded gun rights outside the home....
Max users grandfathered into $15.99 ad-free plan lose 4K, HDR next month (arstechnica.com)
cross-posted from: feddit.ch/post/2075926
I've Been To Over 20 Homeschool Conferences. The Things I've Witnessed At Them Shocked Me. (www.huffpost.com)
CNN Host Left Stunned As IDF Confirms Israel Hit Refugee Camp With Airstrike (newrepublic.com)
NewRepublic.com
The ASUS Eee PC and the netbook revolution (www.spacebar.news)
A software company called Threads says Meta tried to buy its domain and kicked it off Facebook (www.engadget.com)
Kevin is on tactical. We can't lose. (startrek.website)
Texas Republicans Ban Women From Using Highways for Abortion Appointments (www.newsweek.com)
Lubbock County, Texas, joins a group of other rural Texas counties that have voted to ban women from using their roads to seek abortions....
Elon Musk Offers to Also Ruin Wikipedia (www.rollingstone.com)
It's Day 20 with no House speaker, and lower-level names seek Trump's support and race for the gavel (apnews.com)
Republicans gathered late in the evening to hear quick speeches from the congressmen seeking the job, though none has a clear shot at the gavel. Eight candidates are in the running for one speaker after one dropped out. Behind closed doors, they made their elevator pitches to colleagues ahead of internal party voting....
Colorado cannot ban unproven abortion pill reversal treatment, judge says (www.reuters.com)
U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico said in an opinion on Saturday that a Colorado law banning so-called medication abortion reversal treatment likely violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of religious freedom. His order stops the state from enforcing the law against Bella Health and Wellness, which sued to block it, or...
Squadron 42: Hold The Line (www.youtube.com)
It turns out Squadron 42 is NOT vaporwave. Nice!
BBC Confirm Policy Change On Describing Hamas In Meeting With Jewish Leaders (www.mediaite.com)
Following weeks of backlash the BBC will reportedly no longer refer to Hamas as “militants” opting instead to describe them as "a proscribed terrorist organisation" or simply "Hamas." This shift in policy by the public service broadcaster was announced by the Board of Deputies of British Jews in a press release on Friday,...
Cities: Skylines 2 "absolutely cannot" have the decade of DLC features that the original game added | GamesRadar+ (www.gamesradar.com)
Matt Gaetz got what he wanted. Now what? (www.bbc.com)
But his moment in the sun was short-lived, extinguished just two days later by his long-time political rival, Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, who filed a motion to remove Mr McCarthy from his post....
Windows: we noticed that you kept the useless search bar disabled since 2015, so we sent an update that re-enabled it without your permission (feddit.it)
For my “convenience” and because in this way they can show ads and clickbait...
"An intern?" "Ah, no, this was before the rebranding." (startrek.website)
Mastodon actually has 407K+ more monthly users than it thought (techcrunch.com)
USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible (www.pcgamer.com)
POV) You use Windows 11 and set up Pihole for the first time. (sh.itjust.works)
This is AFTER debloating all the MS bs as much as I can....
Windows 12 May Require a Subscription (www.pcmag.com)
[A]n INI configuration file in the Windows Canary channel, discovered by German website Deskmodder, includes references to a “Subscription Edition,” “Subscription Type,” and a “subscription status.”
Still one of the funniest moments in Star Trek (startrek.website)
Say goodbye to the COVID-19 vaccination card. The CDC has stopped printing them (apnews.com)
Netflix is planning to raise prices… again (www.theverge.com)
How Google Alters Search Queries to Get at Your Wallet (www.wired.com)
Ad-free Facebook, Instagram access planned for $14 per month in Europe (arstechnica.com)
Meatloaf likely source of Calgary daycare E. coli outbreak as shared kitchen charged (www.cbc.ca)
The City of Calgary said Wednesday it has laid charges against a shared kitchen — used by several daycares experiencing an E. coli outbreak — for operating without the proper licence.
I had always wondered the same thing about these cups (startrek.website)
Streaming giants have banded together for lobbying power (www.theverge.com)
Georgia judge orders jurors’ identities to stay secret during Trump election trial (www.nbcnews.com)
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had requested an order that would limit revealing jurors’ names and likenesses during any trial in the case....
Black Texas student given additional suspension for loc hairstyle (www.cnn.com)
A Black Texas high school student who was suspended because his loc hairstyle violated the district’s dress code was suspended again upon his return to school Monday, an attorney for the family told CNN....
Most U.S. adults don't believe benefits of AI outweigh the risks, new survey finds (www.axios.com)
The majority of U.S. adults don't believe the benefits of artificial intelligence outweigh the risks, according to a new Mitre-Harris Poll released Tuesday.