This is not a very good article.

It’s full of very weird qualifiers: “not a programmer,” “studied computer science,” “tech writer.” This person is not an average user, and they kind of do everything they can to make sure the reader knows that. Then, while trying to say Linux is for average users, the author suddenly is claiming to be just that.

Linux is easier to use now than when I started using it, a little over six years ago. But it does require at least a basic curiosity to learn.

That is actually not true. Not downplaying the significance of these effects, but…

In the 60s and 70s a large number of planned parenthood clinics were in low-income and predominantly black neighbourhoods, aimed at reducing the number of black babies.

In the same era birth control (more appropriately termed eugenics) programs forcibly sterilized black and indigenous women. Where it was presented as an option, the consequence for not following through on these doctor’s “recommendations,” were threats to withhold healthcare or public assistance. The statistics through the 60s and 70s were that roughly 1 in 4 were non-consenually sterilized.

But also, yeah, the results of this trial are fucked and people are right to be skeptical of this drug.

So I promise I’m not trying to be a dick here. While what you’re saying is essentially reasonable, it’s actually not true.

The amount of emissions in these small, wildly inefficient engines is considerably worse than even a large pickup truck. The reason is because emissions standards, including the introduction of catalytic converters, etc. don’t apply to lawn equipment. The result is that these don’t actually burn fuel correctly, and spew out lots of harmful pollutants in a way that even large ICE vehicles don’t.

https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/emissions-test-car-vs-truck-vs-leaf-blower.html#:~:text=Distilling the above results%2C the,than the crew cab pickup.

https://grist.org/technology/lawn-equipment-pollution-report/

Like sure, there are larger sources of emissions, but I’m kinda in favor of making changes that would offer a large benefit proportionate to the amount of lifestyle change needed to make the switch. As in, making this switch would be easier than not. These emissions produce no benefit to us, and they cost us a weird amount of money to produce.

Fuck leaf blowers. I don’t care if they’re quieter. The term here is “polishing a turd.” They don’t really solve any problems. They’re not good at removing debris, but just blowing it to a place where someone else will deal with it.

Also… removing debris on its own is a dubious pursuit, since “debris” could also be termed “stuff that holds moisture longer and slows the effect of drying soil during drought conditions.”

The fact that generative AI is being used as a means of large corporations consolidating even more wealth rather than attempting to free the working class from shitty, menial jobs shows that we’re way the fuck off with how we conceptualize of “work”.

This should be a good thing, but for lots of people this will suck.

America desperately needs to enact policies that put restrictions on wealth accumulation. There are lots of ways to do this.

Excellent

Fwiw I fully support your reasoning that TikTok in particular should be viewed as a source of particularly insidious propaganda at this moment. I’ve been tracking this for years and it seems very obvious to me.

However… when you’re talking about Instagram you’re talking about the company that offered the tools used in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Disinformation on Meta is not new, and quite suspiciously, Meta is shutting down CrowdTangle (a tool developed by Meta for tracking disinformation) just months before the US federal election. https://www.wired.com/story/meta-kills-crucial-transparency-tool-worst-possible-time/

Fuck TikTok, and also fuck Meta. I can be happy that tiktok might be banned and also despise Meta

I don’t know if they’re aware of this, but they’re also urging users to ditch Microsoft as a matter of course.

There is nothing more permanent than a temporary solution that works

I think it’s primarily targeting the handheld gaming market

I get what you’re saying, kind of…

But also, most modern earbuds usually sound quite good. Quality in general has become such a bizarre moving target, but here’s my take: We’ve become so used to constant improvement at the expense of satisfaction. I can barely notice the difference between 1080p and 4k. In my mind they’re both “good quality” and therefore I’m satisfied. Same goes for audio quality. I’ve used a few pairs of earbuds and they have sounded “good.”

As a culture, we need to stop with throwing away of perfectly good devices, because it’s extremely harmful to the planet’s occupants.