#tech rant

[x-leather-murder-bear-x]

I personally don’t give a fuck about all of this red note/tik tok bullshit. It just shows how dependent on technology and lonely some of y’all motherfuckers are.

[alynnl]

Well. My desktop just about self-terminated when I was trying to catch up on asks. And I honestly can’t afford a brand new replacement. I’m unsure about what I should look for in a refurbished one as far as specs for regular browsing, video watching, chatting and music listening. It looks like I might have to get used to permanently being stuck with mobile browsing.

Happy freakin holidays to me.

[avkamfher]

"Consider use the phone app. . . "

Not everything needs to be a damned phone app. Let me use the website like god intended you soulless company. Let websites be fucking websites.

[adrekiy0]

lukewarm take: if microsoft hates third-party emulation and piracy so much, they should push for disc drives to come back and make their own emulator that works with xbox discs (totally not just me being salty about games i physically own being impossible to find anywhere)

[that-one-lotr-orc]

So I was on a holiday in Sweden, and on the ride back, in a bathroom stall on a camping in Danmark, something occurred to me. Danish internet is incredibly shit.

I was sitting on the edge of a lake in a nature reservation in Sweden, with maybe 20 people permanently living within 100km, and I got (a bit shotty) 4g. I could send pictures through whatsapp (it took a minute to send, but hey, middle of nowhere, what you expect?).

At the same time, I am taking a shit on a camping in Danmark, trying to read up on my Discord convos, and it just. wont. load. I’m within 20 kilometers of the center of Kopenhagen, AND I CANT GET ENOUGH INTERNET TO LOAD FUCKING DISCORD MESSAGES

Danmark, the fuck?!?

[regsagc]

The technical term is Digital Rights Management (DRM) and it is a whole family of software whose only purpose is to restrict the owner of the computer from doing useful things that would otherwise be simple.

The stated purpose is to prevent screen-recording of videos for pirating a show, and I don't know if the additional restriction of screenshots is a side-effect of the DRM method used. Maybe it's just the developer of the software wanting to earn their keep by going above and beyond.

In either case, it goes against the fundamental principle that if you own a computer, you are the one who decides what it does and what software runs on it. The video clip is right there, and actively fucking with how it is played to prevent the user from saving and screenshotting it is anti-user and anti-freedom.

hbo max blocks screenshots even when I use the snipping tool AND firefox AND ublock which is a fucking first. i will never understand streaming services blocking the ability to take screenshots thats literally free advertising for your show right there. HOW THE HELL IS SOMEBODY GONNA PIRATE YOUR SHOW THROUGH SCREENSHOTS. JACKASS

[elb0wn00dle]

iim trying to upload a custom ringtone to my phone why does windows 11 have to make everything so fucking hard ToT just LET ME RENAME THE FILE EXTENSION!!!! I used my work computer at my job which runs like windows 10 and it was SO EASY ToT why do these tech giants think that "simplifying" their UI and making a bunch of weird drop down menus that you have to navigate is a good idea? its so stupid

[mtjapblogger]

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE: First impressions of Samsung's more affordable, premium tablet.

When it comes to premium tablets, the iPad and the Surface are by far the most popular. Samsung tablets are a complicated mix of good and bad. The Galaxy Tab A tablets are okay for basics like checking email, social media, and reading ebooks. The Galaxy Tab S tablets, like the Galaxy S phones, are high-end and are good for gaming, photo and video editing, and are actually able to replace a laptop…

[radhew]

As some rando with an heavy interest in AI, I really really like this take.

As amazing and cool as this technology is and regardless of how much I adore it, having generative tools of this caliber is a brand new thing with no rules or regulations on it. And the first thing that'll happen with something like that is exploitation for a quick buck. Everyone knows this, and in small cases this can be properly mitigated without too much hassle.

However, AI is going to change how we do so many things. This is NOT a small case and these conversations NEED to be had. This is really frustrating because, understandably, nobody WANTS to have this conversation as a public figure. It's a fucking dumpster fire right now, with early adopters clearly having no interest in respecting the wishes or wellbeing of the very artists that made it possible. Personally, I wouldn't like to have a calm and rational conversation with someone making a copy of my face and parading it around over theirs, either. Plus, if you're too easy on them, your followers are gonna feel like you don't have their back.

As a creator, the simplest and most effective way to deal with this is to come out and be like "Fuck AI, it's awful." Gets rid of the weird tech bros and proves your solidarity with artists. Hell, that may be even the best way to deal with it right now, I dunno. But people who are already interested in AI aren't going to be the ones listening.

That's why I have so much respect for content creators who can prove there are good uses for AI, (even if it is just silly little prompts, I think that's just as valid and frankly hilarious) while still being able to note just how dangerous it is for people's careers, livelihood, and...well, this may or may not be a little dramatic, but the growth and evolution of art itself. Not only do we need to talk about what ethical AI use is, but we also need to show people what it looks like. There's never gonna be a definitive answer, and AI in general is always gonna be a grey area every person will have a unique stance on. But creators have the opportunity to help formulate guidelines and, more importantly, hard lines that you do not cross.

For example, DougDoug recently made a super funny video where he had ChatGPT essentially try to beat the entirety of Pajama Sam 1 while speaking in-character as Sam himself, just by describing what was going on in the game to it. What stands out to me in this video is the fact that he used ElevenLabs to give this fake Sam his own voice, but he specifically went out of his way not to use voice files from the game to train the voice. Instead, he used horrific combinations of the voices of his friends, (after getting permission, of course) and then put a filter on it to give it that Humongous Entertainment audio stank. Not only did it lead to a very funny bit in the video itself, but it also showed a line: He wasn't gonna make a voice actor say lines that they didn't give nor were paid for, and considering we're just now leaving the trend of presidents playing Minecraft, I think that's such an important boundary to set.

All this to say: I hope Penny does actually do episode 3 of Sonic Destruction sometime soon. I think it would be really nice to have a big voice when it comes to derivative work outright say where she draws the line. Maybe I'm a little biased because of how much I love technology, though, and because it feels really shitty to be the bad guys here. (Which, for the record, we definitely are right now.) I definitely don't blame her if she doesn't, to be clear. Nobody wants to address the elephant in the room, especially when said elephant has a fucking turret mounted to it and is starting to look a little sickly.

But, man...we need to talk.

As you've said more Sonic Destruction is coming, do you have a line or two from ep 3 you could share that doesn't have a huge spoiler or anything tied to it?

It has not been written haha. I wanted to write it a lot sooner but truth be told I've been kinda intentionally not interacting with my usual AI channels as a small show of solidarity with the writer's strike going on, since though AI is not the biggest concern of the strike necessarily it is a talking point that is brought up and part of the fight is for regulation of AI tools in artistic industry, which is something I agree with. I do think that there is an ethical place for AI tools in creative work, Sonic Destruction is not the first example of something like that (plus it helps that kinda the whole point of SD is to giggle at how silly the idea of writing an entire script with little to no human input is anyway), but right now the technology is being pushed in a direction that is designed to replace humanity in art with efficiency, and maximize return on investment. Which is just... not the point of why we create, imo. So it's a subject I care enough about to shoot myself in the foot a little lmao.

I HAVE actually considered moving forward on the video anyway and maybe using its reach to communicate some of my stance on these ideas, but I'm not sure how tasteful it would be to do so. I defer to public opinion on that, so if you have any opinions feel free to let me know.

[somerandomcockroach]

[1stunseeliefaelass]

I dunno what is going on, but I'm fuming now. TUMBLR KEEPS BREAKING MY HEADER IMAGE. It is NOTHING nsfw, or weird in the slightest. I dunno what their problem apparently is, but a silhouette of Death's HEAD AND FACE is NOT nsfw, at all. Who the hell, keeps messing it up? Is this some stupid glitch that keeps screwing it up? Whatever it is, I would like some answers right about now. Cus I'm done getting screwed over by nonsense and disobedient technology. Pardon the rant, but technology breaking or being stupid is one of my most anger inducing peeves.

Update: It has been fixed now. Feel free to ignore the rant now. Admittedly I feel pretty stupid over it. Trust me.

[turtleblogatlast]

One of the earliest examples of Leo’s “I’ll do my own thing to accomplish our goal without discussing it with my team first” is in episode one. It’s super, super quick, and ultimately inconsequential, but it subtly sets up a great precedent that I think is very interesting.

When the boys need to grab the medallion from Splinter without Splinter noticing, Raph, Mikey, and Donnie huddle together with Raph taking the lead in trying to devise a plan to get the mystic device. Meanwhile, Leo slinks away and grabs the device by clocking the situation (by knowing his father well enough to predict his actions - something he does with each family member multiple times in the series) and making a move on his own.

It works out perfectly fine, and is ultimately the best move, and it’s honestly okay that he didn’t consult everyone for something so small when it’s such a non issue to get it, but it nicely sets up how this tends to go in the series, including how it goes in the movie.

To be honest episode one is actually really good at setting up a lot of things for each character in the long run, this is just one example that caught my attention, as small and unassuming as it is.

[adrekiy0]

mint machine's refusing to connect to wifi and the hardware clock's lost about four months of time. might pick the nuclear option and try installing arch on it if i can't get shit to work

[sandwhich-lady]

I am begging to know how the projections work in the dome in dimension 20. Like specifically in never stop blowing up, who controls which projections come on and when? Is it brennan? The projections crew? A combo of both? Are the panels an led wall or are they using actually projectors? How many?? How small are those projectors? How big? How are those placed for the image to flawlessly cover the whole dome? Was mapping that a nightmare? Do they use qlab?? How goddamn powerful are those projectors to have such high quality and brightness? Is it a bunch of really powerful short throw projectors? Do they project from the back or the front? How do they do that? I want that job how does one get that job. Anyway shout out to all the tech/art elements of never stop blowing up and dimension 20 in general yall rule

[tragedy-for-sale]

Age of the Batch

This has been on my mind lately

Getting a few things out of the way. None of their wookiepedia pages state how old they are (not given a BBY year). If you simply look up their ages, it places Omega at 12 years (which is confirmed unless I dreamt that), and the batch at 13 (which is incorrect). We also know the oldest clones are 13 (26) by the end of the war.

Omega is older than the batch; Which crosses out the possibility of them being 13/Gen Ones. This means the oldest they could be is 12 (24) by the end of the war. We also know Omega was old enough to remember seeing the mutations of the batch get enhanced. So the question arose of what was the youngest age Omega could consciously remember that and also be an effective lab assist? Around three or four would be the youngest.

When Omega is explaining to the batch, she tells them '...sent to be with the other clones.' Does this infer they went back to their growth jars in those giant rooms, or out consciously? Since we know Omega is able to remember their mutations being done, that means the batch did not initially have all their mutations and had to be modified later in development. (Which complicates things based on the nature of how genetic mutations work). But that's a lot to get into at this moment and I'll spare you that rant because maker I could go on.

If the oldest the batch could be is 12, that would mean their got their mutations at age 2 (4) at the earliest. However, I feel like there is an emphasis on Omega being older than them, not the same age. We can infer the batch did not join the war right away because of the time of their introduction.

I feel it is more likely for the batch to be closer to 11 (22) by the end of the war. That would place them at 8 (16) years at the start of the war, and maybe they didn't make their debut in the war until a year later at 9 (18). This also puts Omega at a standard 4 years older, this makes the most sense because then she would be old enough to remember them being created and getting genetically enhanced during a time in development that's actually scientifically feasible.

If they were making their marks as extremely effective soldiers, who's to say they weren't rushed off to war prematurely. It is said in The Clone Wars that young clones were rushed into service before their 10-year training span was up, and the batch was likely a part of those groups.

[waywardsou2]

Ok listen up, this had been rolling around in my head for ages now and my dumbass is finally making a post about it!

When Hunter missed that jump to the Marauder on Daro he fell off a fucking cliff like...if y'all go back and watch that episode he fucking sliped, fell onto his back, down a mountain, a really long fall onto some trees down another cliff and onto the ground.

YET HE GOT UP RIGHT THE FUCKING WAY AND WAS READY TO FIGHT

YET WHEN TECH FELL FROM THAT RAIL CAR ON EIRADU HE JUST DIED AND LEFT NO TRACE?!?!?

DAVE FILONI WHAT KIND OF BULLSHIT OF THIS?!?!?!?!?! HMMM? EXPLAIN THIS SHIT TO ME?! COME FIGHT ME AND EXPLAIN THIS TO ME, RIGHT NOW!