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appleiigs

2,088 karma · joined August 3, 2016

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appleiigs··on macOS Golden Gate Is a Buggy Mess
There is no benefit for upgrading from Sequoia to Golden Gate. UI isn't better looking or faster. Siri AI is not great. More bugs, not less.
appleiigs··on US private credit defaults hit record 9.2% in 2025, Fitch says
LBO firm will create a new company called Acquisition Co. ("AcqCo") and put $500K of cash into it (equity). The Blue Owl will lend $2M to AcqCo (debt). AcqCo uses the $2.5M to buy the vet clinic. AcqCo will use cash flow from vet clinic to pay Blue Owl loan interest. If AI makes vet clinic lose revenue because customers treat Fluffy's ear infection at home, then Blue Owl and LBO firm are in trouble.

So the debt isn't "pushed" and it's not risk-free as the original comment said... also not Venture Capital. Lots wrong in that comment.

appleiigs··on IBM CEO says there is 'no way' spending on AI data centers will pay off
Your blog article stopped at token generation... you need to continue to revenue per token. Then go even further... The revenue for AI company is a cost for the AI customer. Where is the AI customer going to get incremental profits from the cost of AI.

For short searches, the revenue per token is zero. The next step is $20 per month. For coding it's $100 per month. With the competition between Gemini, Grok, ChatGPT... it's not going higher. Maybe it goes lower since it's part of Google's playbook to give away things for free.

appleiigs··on J.P. Morgan's OpenAI loan is strange
Yeah, I thought it was weird right away too, but brush it off as a tech blog... but then I realized it's actually a finance website. Ruins the credibility of the website instantly.

The $4B revolver will likely sit undrawn. When it gets drawn, there usually a specific plan to reduce it back to zero. It's not for building data centres, a revolver typically used just for timing differences like a credit card is used (and the lenders will be paying attention). Also, when things get bad, there are covenant triggers which would allow lenders to renegotiate.

appleiigs··on Apple introduces a universal design across platforms
It's button camouflage.

My 82 year old mother has enough trouble figuring out what is a button vs. what's not. She just taps everything on screen to find out. This is going to make it worse.

appleiigs··on Taxes and fees not included: T-Mobile's latest price lock is nearly meaningless
It's not only meaningless due to T-Mobile being untrustworthy, it's meaningless if it's for a specific network speed or volume. For example, would 3G and a 2GB plan for $50 lifetime guarantee be useful?
appleiigs··on Preferring throwaway code over design docs
My boss would take a piece of data/input and run it through the entire process. It's a string data here, converts to number here, function transforms it here, summarized here, output format there... You wouldn't run into data type issues or have an epiphany that you're missing a data requirement.
appleiigs··on Preferring throwaway code over design docs
If you create the plan like a mathematical formula like my boss did, the evidence becomes irrefutable... like a mathematical proof. The article does mention that the plan is communication tool.
appleiigs··on Preferring throwaway code over design docs
I had a boss who had a math degree. He'd map out the flow from start to finish on a whiteboard like you see mathematicians on TV/movies. Always had the smoothest projects because he could foresee problems way in advance. If there was a problem or uncertainty identified, we'd just model that part. Then go back to whiteboard and continue.

An analogy is planning a road trip with a map. The way design docs most are built now, it shows the path and you start driving. Whereas my bosses whiteboard maps "over-planned" where you'd stop for fuel, attraction hours, docs required to cross border, budget $ for everything, emergency kit, Plan A, Plan B.

Super tedious, but way better than using throwaway code. Not over-planning feels lazy to me now

Sure, everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth; however, that saying applies to war, politics, negotiations, but not coding.

appleiigs··on 'I grew up with it': readers on the enduring appeal of Microsoft Excel
If any Excel alternative wants to make a dent in market share, they need an option for users to mimic all the main Excel shortcuts. Google Sheets is close so it's useable; however, trying to use something like Apple Numbers is like switching from querty to dvorak.
appleiigs··on Using an 8K TV as a Monitor
The general advice is to have top of monitor at eye level, but it's been wrong advice for me personally. I now put the middle of the monitor at eye level. Keeps my head up and posture better. Leaning back instead of stooping.
appleiigs··on Using an 8K TV as a Monitor
Does any one else have mouse lag with giant high pixel density monitors?
appleiigs··on A Man Who Thought Too Fast (2020)
Poker has strategy, randomness and asymmetric info.
appleiigs··on Regular expression functions in Excel
I realized that long ago... it's incredible that it took this long given how common it is in programming.
appleiigs··on Morgan Spurlock has died
As part of an intro to optimization class in university, we inputted gov't nutrition health guidelines and the McDonalds nutritional menu into a model. Solved how we could hit the health guidelines (min and maximums) by only eating McDs. Basic conclusion is McDs is fine if you don't eat the fries or sodas.

The book "Fast Food Nation" was an optional reading. It explained how McD single-handedly improved the quality of beef and potato industry in the US.

appleiigs··on 7.4 earthquake in Taiwan, 34km depth
> 1) They're engineered.

Famous last words.

appleiigs··on TSMC is having more luck building in Japan than in America
Especially with the US social media trend of anti-work and quiet-quitting
appleiigs··on Egypt announces $35B deal with UAE to buy premium Mediterranean area
Yes, it's similar to someone buying land in California. You still "own" the land, but it's still in United States. Ras el-Hekma is still in Egypt. It just happens to be owned by UAE.
appleiigs··on Testing how hard it is to cheat with ChatGPT in interviews
You're not asking the correct questions as an interviewer. You should be asking specific questions about projects they've worked on, or about them personally to get to know them. ChatGPT should not be able to answer. Pretend you're Harrison Ford in Blade Runner.
appleiigs··on Tech Billionaires Need to Stop Trying to Make the SciFi They Grew Up on Real
Elon Musk single handedly pushing usage of solar and reducing fossil fuels in cars. Jeff Bezo drove costs down for consumer products. Peter Thiel and Elon at PayPal reduced financial transaction costs... and then you're complaining they didn't do enough?
appleiigs··on Little macOS Apps That Make a Big Difference in 2024
Definitely gets the point across in an instant. Excellent marketing.

It's insanity that even when Messages.app is closed, the messages still pop up. Even when not screensharing - I still get an audible ding sound when I'm on video conference.

appleiigs··on The housing market looks like a bubble, 2008 regulator says
The gov't isn't really in control of housing prices. First, they (congress + Fed) have some tools but they can be limited in effectiveness. Second, gov't doesn't seem to be functioning effectively themselves right now.
appleiigs··on Oil sector is lobbying for inefficient hydrogen cars to delay electrification
Also, it's not a complete failure according to the article he mentions "The 20-page report doesn’t argue for hydrogen’s complete removal from the energy mix. In fact, REI argues that hydrogen is vital for industries where decarbonization is particularly tricky (think: aviation, shipping, and steelmaking). However, to use hydrogen in place of electrification via other renewable sources is a mistake, REI says."
appleiigs··on ”Be Useful”
My recollection was that he was a good governor but tied up with political red tape. Also, compare him to other California governors since then and he doesn’t seem so bad.
appleiigs··on The TRON Project: How Japan almost ruled IT (2022)
I thought they were going to continue their 80s dominance with their robot technology, starting with those amazing vending machines. But then nothing happened.
appleiigs··on When I stopped trying to self-optimize, I got better
I see what you are saying. You can indulge too much. There is a certain amount of discipline required. In my method, I have to work for the 20 mins. Essentially practice focusing, work through the restlessness.

I also have things during the 20 mins to help me stretch it out - such as sitting outside while working (or have window wide open) or TV and music on for the background noise.

For the 10 mins of distractions, definitely have to be strict about it. Can't stretch that. It goes by very fast. Can't go out to do errands just because I feel like it.

As an aside note, doing 10 mins of house chores multiple times a day really adds up. Lot of satisfaction, and more importantly focus gained!, when the house is tidy.

appleiigs··on When I stopped trying to self-optimize, I got better
Working from home really helped me. I use the Tomato/Pomodoro technique, but backwards. I let myself be distracted for 10 minutes first, then I work for 20 mins after. Distractions such as laundry, reading news come first, which relieves the feeling that I need to do something else, calms me down. Then I can do 1 work task for 20 mins. Then when I feel restless again I spend another 10 mins doing what my mind wants (eg. brush dog)… then back to 20 mins of work.

For me the point of the timer is to snap me out of the distraction or I’ll be on Hacker News for an hour.

appleiigs··on My solopreneur story
People voluntarily pay him $45K/mo. for his products… Makes you claim of “largely useless products” obviously false.
appleiigs··on To build ships that break ice, U.S. must relearn to cut steel
Ok, so those company dictators are interested in national security instead of profits? The entire topic here is how to maintain or build skills within the U.S.
appleiigs··on To build ships that break ice, U.S. must relearn to cut steel
Or maybe this is bad news, because the youth do not realize what is at stake. After all the article is talking about skills that we have lost relative to other countries which may not like the U.S. very much.
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