I like containers. But they do have a habit of nurturing cludgy temporary hacks into permanent infrastructure, by sweeping all the ugly bits under the big whale-shaped rug.

I’d say it’s more that parents (companies) should be more responsible about what they tell their kids (customers).

Because right now the companies have a new toy (AI) that they keep telling their customers can make thunder from clapping. But in reality the claps sometimes make thunder but are also likely to make farts. Occasionally some incredibly noxious ones too.

The toy might one day make earth-rumbling thunder reliably, but right now it can’t get close and saying otherwise is what’s irresponsible.

Generally you want to the reference material used to improve that first version to be correct though. Otherwise it’s just swapping one problem for another.

I wouldn’t use a textbook that was 52% incorrect, the same should apply to a chatbot.

Seems a hard sell to go subscription on such a niche platform. I wish anyone luck that could challenge the Apple/Android duopoly though.

As an aside, can we get back into desktop cubes again? With all the upheaval in Windows land it’s the sort of eye candy that can win over new Linux users.

Any distro should be fairly stable and supported on an older Thinkpad.

I’m currently using Debian stable on my X220 and it’s rock solid.

I think it’s becoming fair to label a lot of commercial AI “scams” at this point, considering the huge gulf between the hype and the end results.

Open source projects are different due to their lack of commercialisation.

There’s satisfaction to be found when labour results in a tangible and lasting result.

Some of the people I know who quit the IT industry did so because they felt all of the effort they put in never seemed to achieve anything. Too many jobs at startups who exist only to be bought and shut down by bigger fish for some IP etc.

For some work is not just about wages or challenges, it’s about building something useful and meaningful, whether figuratively or literally.

It’s all vertical video as well. YouTube pushes Shorts fairly aggressively on the desktop website, and it’s a crappy experience.

can also easily cause depression by constantly seeing (usually) fake people flaunting their (usually) fake life and wealth

That’s a problem with many social media platforms and the “influencer” culture they host. Instagram has been particularly criticised for this.

These heavily curated content posted on these platforms does not reflect the warts and all reality of real life. People who get too engrossed in it can quickly start to feel their lives are inadequate.

I’m not sure what the solution is for this, other than trying to better regulate the algorithms used by these platforms.

Compiz won over so many new users back then. Wobbly windows and desktop cubes may not have been super practical, but they sure looked impressive.

What is with Linux projects and confusingly pronounceable names? Even the name “Linux” itself has a fair bit of spoken variation.

Then there’s Ubuntu, and GNOME with the hard G to name a few.

Creating the website is more or less a solved problem, but they have to keep coming up with new ways to exploit the website’s visitors for profit. The demand for infinite growth is never satiated.

eBay’s revenue in the last financial year was over $10 billion, I’m sure that $3 million fine will make sure they never terrorise innocents again.

Apple is pushing productivity as the main application for Vision Pro, to the point they don’t even call it VR but spatial computing instead. I don’t think gaming is really for a focus for them at the moment, instead they want to try and tap into other markets who aren’t using VR currently.

MTG cards can already get pretty wild, to the point that some card combinations almost rewrite the rules of the game.

I hate to think what sort of mad abilities LLM hallucinations would create.

The iPhone was a still more natural progression from previous mobile phones people already owned and understood though.

There’s no precedent at all for using a headset for most people however, so it’s much harder sell to get them to take the leap.

It’s a big ask for an unproven platform. But then the same could be said for the original Mac, which launched in 1984 at $2500, which would be $7000+ today.

I suppose the question is will Vision Pro be the next Mac or the next Lisa.

This is going to be an interesting launch. There’s been rumours about low production volumes so availability may get pushed back much further than February. Which will make judging the initial impressions harder when there are so few devices in peoples hands (or on heads).

I’m also a bit surprised by the lack of build up from Apple. There’s been no push on whatever third party apps are going to be ready for this. The Apple Watch had two dedicated events in the lead up to launch. Even the press release seems a bit basic, most of the imagery seems to be reused from the first events press materials.

This is the biggest product introduction since the iPhone but it’s being handled rather quietly.

Cypher was right. Ignorance is bliss.