framework doesn't open source their firmware. despite major demand from their community [0]. they're the only ones among major manufacturers of linux-ready laptops (novacustom, starbook, system76) who haven't bothered to do it. i consider framework to be driven by marketing more than values or honesty
i've wasted 2 weeks of my adult life on diy mechanical keyboards.. i did build one in the end. unless you're in desperate need of a recreational hobby, i'd not advise anyone to get into it. i'm convinced the whole thing is manchild territory
I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it "manchild" territory: hobbies are fine, and if your hobby is DIY mechanical keyboards, more power to you.
Where I start to break out the scepticism is when people start talking about how much more productive they are because of their fancy keyboard, or how important exactly the right keyboard is to productivity.
That's mostly nonsense.
I've got valuable work done in a whole variety of more and less ideal/noisy/comfortable/uncomfortable environments on a 13 inch laptop using its built-in keyboard.
The primary driver that makes you productive or non-productive is your motivation. If you want to get it done you'll get it done. To a very large extent, everything else is incremental. Multiple monitors, fancy keyboard, cool mouse, ergonomic chair, whatever. They're nice, and they do help a bit. But, fundamentally, what really gets things over the line is desire, motivation.
Whereas a lot of this work adjacent stuff is a form of procrastination.
I've gone through a similar experience with musical instruments and studio gear, versus actual music creation. At some point you just have to stop tinkering and start making music, and what I've realised is that the only item I have available to me at almost all times to do that is my laptop, so maybe I should focus on working in the box instead of on acquiring more hardware.
I have to disagree. It isn't nonsense that a good keyboard feels good, and something that feels good makes someone more productive by inspiring them.
What is nonsense is that everyone cares. For some people it won't make any difference. It also won't make any difference in the quality of work (except in the case the keyboard is broken) when you force yourself to work.
If a good keyboard gets your over the hump and working then it isn't procrastination.
I really hated most keyboards but had realized that some keyboards were better than others: for example in the nineties I had an amazing keyboard on a Mac. Then I worked on IBM Model M a tiny bit (big mainframe terminals).
So I started looking for both a shape and a switch that'd suit me. I obsessed over it.
I even got a few collectible ones: a very rare split Cherry MX-5000 keyboard (comes stock with cherry brown switches but they could be swapped) and then the rare real "industrial" IBM Model M (in olive grey instead of beige color).
Eventually I found out Topre switches on the japanese HHKB keyboars (Happy Hacking Keyboard) and as I've got family in Japan, I had three HHKB Pro JP shipped to me (when family would come to visit).
I don't speak/type japanese but I dig that japanese version as a very narrow spacebar and hence more modifiers and modifiers that are easier to reach with the thumbs.
Been a happy camper since more than 10 years now.
So basically... Maybe I obsessed over it a bit but then I eventually "found" my keyboard and it's the HHKB Pro JP and found my switch: and my switch is Topre and nothing else.
> the much promised impacts aren’t there and aren’t coming anytime soon
at least according to industry analysts, the thesis at the moment is that reasoning models (which loop over their own output and backtrack if necessary) will bring fidelity close to 100% and find novel solutions not present in the training dataset. but they consume more tokens, they require more computing and the infra for it is still being built. so the outlook for those impacts is ~2030
what is fidelity meaning here? creating perfectly lifelike images and video or code that is "perfect" even with imperfect inputs? or something else...?
> Do these people realize that every time they sell a piece of their soul to increase their personal wealth it destroys a piece of their society? Do they care?
you should look into how wealthy elites live. this is not "their" society, they are completley detached from it. their homes are surrounded by tall walls [0]. they have their own neighbourhoods. they buy themselves islands to party on. they fly there using private jets. they talk with each other in private signal groups or at off-the-record clubs. they build themselves bunkers. they invest in chartered cities. that is the psychology of wealthy people. they are not and do not wish to be a part of society
in fact, they don't want society to exist as society at all. because while they unite and collude, they simultaneously discourage everyone else from doing the same. in his davos speech [1], carney himself quoted the phrase "workers of the world unite" in order to discredit it. he gave it as an example of dishonesty, something worthy of scorn. due to its use by communist regimes. historically his point is valid. but the subtext is clear
yeah exactly. it's bizarre to highlight that quote from his davos speech completley out of context. he inteded it as a way to completely discredit communism. and to ridicule the idea of unionization. he then spent 10 minutes passionately making the case for continuing the neoliberal capitalist agenda
That is...also a misrepresentation of what Carney was saying.
He was referencing the words of a writer from Czechia, a country where communism discredited itself, who discussed how people pretended not to notice the gap between the government's rhetoric and its actions, and compared it to how countries politely have pretended to ignore the gap between the aspirations of the "rules-based international order" and how it played out in practice.
Of course, he could have used as an example a different dissident who said something similar from a different country who operated under a different totalitarian regime. Or skipped the analogy to political repression altogether. You could say that reflects Carney's particular biases, I guess, but I wouldn't go further than that. At no point does he ridicule or even mention unionization.
i agree that discrediting communism wasn't really the topic of his talk. but the phrase is a call to unionization in itself. especially when shopkeepers use it, like in the story carney referenced. capable politicians don't leave clear subtext like that to chance. which is why it's bizarre to highlight it without context, like in OP's message. on its own it doesn't convey the scorn with which carney framed it
this was formely the fanbase of the dark enlightenment movement. an avantgarde techno-capitalist alt-right underground culture. Musk, Thiel, a16z, Altman, Srinivasan, many in the Trump administration (including Vance) have acknowledged their involvement with it. the ideological underpinnings are mainly given by two philosophers/bloggers: nick land and curits yarvin. the rest of the people at those parties are like a fanbase to this movement, but it includes podcasters, influencers etc. mostly edgy upper middle-class american kids. the characterization is pretty accurate and nothing new.
but apparently after the catastrophic failure of the MAGA movement they're shifting gears:
> A year ago, when I last wrote about the Bay, I was surprised and dismayed to find that edgy right wing black pilled nonsense was considered ‘cool’. ...... Sometime in the last 6 months, everyone collectively decided that being super right wing is actually really cringe. ...... But regardless of the reason, everyone agreed: “wow, it’s kinda really embarrassing that we spent so much of last year partying with real life eugenicists.”
Edit: New York had pretty much the same thing, called the Dimes Square movement. it was linked to the controversial remilia/milady NFT collection
any website that is using Cloudflare and has a legal obligation towards you (like processing refunds, registering complaints, GDPR data requests, etc.) can be forced to fulfill that obligation via manual human labour. just contact them and say you're unable to do it using their website because the Cloudflare service is blocking you
i suggest talking to people about their experiences with tech. i've been surprised how much they've soured on it. and how aware they are regarding issues like privacy, effect on mental health, predatory business models etc. show them the wikipedia page for enshittification and they'll go 'oh so that's the word for it!". also i have VMs running completely vanilla browsers, connected directly to clearnet. and i still get captchas or outright blocks by normal websites like clothing retailers. the internet is a disaster for everyone at the moment
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