1,010 karma · joined July 24, 2013
The console wars are no longer company vs company, it is company vs consumer. So much anti consumer shenanigans are going on in the video game industry a message needs to be sent.
If you care about video games, even in passing as a complete casual, please sign the petitions. I've done my dash for the UK.
You also don't necessarily need all of that to hack together an MVP. I think a lot of people are not acknowledging that and they are negatively looking down on people embracing a new way of 'writing' code. Users don't care how you make a thing, they just want the thing to work.
Before ChatGPT made a breakthrough in LLMs, code was leverage. Now, LLMs are leverage. I think people suddenly finding that their leverage has been significantly eroded is the source of the negativity towards a "vibe coder".
So while anyone can write a book (the technology has existed since about 500 CE), few do, and there are fewer really good books. No matter the medium it's how you leverage the tool(s) you got.
I think this is a Prometheus moment, LLMs are giving coding to humanity, and it's getting adopted right now by people brave enough to try and embrace it even though 'software development' might be way outside of their comfort zone. I think it's worth cheering those people on even if they fail their way forward.
In terms of value for money, I would probably go with GPT-4o mini and not Nova Pro. Maybe Amazon feels that it needs to have their own offering to stay relevant?
Apple is behind the curve like Google was prior to Gemini 2.5 Pro, but unlike Google, I cannot see Apple having the talent to catch up unless they make some expensive acquisitions and even then they will still be behind. I was shocked at how good Gemini 2.5 Pro is. The cost and value for money difference is so big that I'm considering switching away from my API usage of Claude Sonnet 3.7 to Gemini 2.5 Pro.
I think the only good Dune media besides the books was the video game Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty by Westwood Studios (RIP). Without it, I think there would be no Command & Conquer and no heyday for the real-time strategy (RTS) genre.
Disney then canned it and I'm pretty sure they removed it from Disney+ for a tax write off.
I was young when the original came out so I found it good but scary. I felt the prequel was excellent and it left me wanting more.
These days I feel a lot of my youthful nostalgia has been vandalised for a quick corporate buck. Probably the worst has been Willow on Disney+.
There are so few examples of good follow-ups to nostalgic media. The only other example I can think of is Blade Runner (1982) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017).
1. Ki (Introduction) - Sets up characters and situation.
2. Shō (Development) - Expands the characters and fleshes them out.
3. Ten (Twist) - Introduces a new element or change.
4. Ketsu (Conclusion) - Shows the outcome and connections between elements.
In contrast Western films usually follow a three act structure:
1. Setup - Introduces the hero, often stepping into the unknown, and establishes the initial conflict and sets the stage for the story.
2. Confrontation - The hero faces mounting challenges and conflicts, often involving threats to innocent people or community. Stakes are raised and the story progresses to a conclusion.
3. Resolution - The story culminates in a climatic confrontation between the hero and the villain. Some sacrifice is usually paid, the hero triumphs, justice is served and order returns to the community.
I grew up on Disney and the three act structure, so when I experienced Studio Ghibli for the first time with Princess Mononoke it felt very different, fresh and more mature. While I don't necessarily love all of Studio Ghibli's catalogue, I do treasure Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Porco Rosso.
In the case of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, I highly recommend reading the manga over watching the Studio Ghibli anime.
However, thanks to cline, aider, supermaven and v0, I decided that I could now learn enough JavaScript/React/React Native to pair program with AI code generation tools and replace the need for a technical co-founder going forwards.
I'm about halfway through the freecodecamp JavaScript Course and so far so good. The AI code generation tools for VS Codium are insane and I'm certain I'll be launching webapps and mobile apps in no time.
So if a complete beginner is reading this, I suggest copying and pasting the code into your favourite AI chat (I used Claude 3.5 Sonnet) and then prompt it to learn from the raw code.
For example, I asked Claude "what is this code illustrating?" for the React code and got a good response, and then I picked apart the list of key concepts Claude identified with further prompts.
Only after doing that was I able to get any use and understanding from the post.
So what's happening here? Well currency is being debased through Fed asset purchases. The Fed is manipulating the price of assets and flooding financial markets with liquidity, while simultaneously making it look like inflation (how it is traditionally measured) is low. Inflation measures don't take into account stock market prices.
However you can't blame them for doing this now. The system could have been de-leveraged in the 90s but post 2008 if the Fed doesn't do this the entire global financial system would collapse if the securitized collateral of the system was allowed to correct due to hypothecation. No one wants the US to end up like Argentina. So now the West is ending up more like Japan where the BoJ is the purchaser of last resort.
All my analysis points to the only chance non Boomers have is push out far into the risk curve by buying BTC, and/or the NASDAQ 100 (or the "Magnificent 7 Stocks" consisting of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla if you want to concentrate your holdings and avoid annual ETF fees).
You can forget most of what's taught in a CFA or in a Finance degree. The collateral of the system cannot be allowed to crash and so market interventions will continue until a new financial system is imposed (probably CBDCs).
Only network adoption rates seen in BTC (and more risky crypto) or growth fueled by tech/software companies (and AI by extension) eating the world can outpace Central Banks.