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malvim

414 karma · joined January 18, 2009

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malvim··on Most data centers refusing to say how much water, electricity they use
Well, even if you're right, try proposing those bills and then reckon with the deafening wails of the "free-market-big-government-taxation-is-theft" crowd. And the politicians that are in the pockets of BigCo that will say that kind of stuff.

Policies are simple a lot of times. Politics against the interest of big money isn't.

malvim··on I Don't Want the Details
What I got from parent comment, and I agree, is:

If I trust you know what happened, and trust you to know what to do so it doesn’t happen again, why do I need to know? And how will I know (and endorse) your decision if I don’t know what happened?

It seems weird.

malvim··on I don't want the details
Except if you don’t know the details, how will you be able to make an informed decision on what happens next?

- We’ll just fire joe - Ok cool

I agree with the parent comment. You need SOME level of detail, otherwise your decision might as well be a guess.

malvim··on EPA says power for data centers can sidestep pollution laws
Yeah, username checks out
malvim··on Amazon Is Creating the Biggest Pollution Source in the Country
They’re absolutely not that incompetent. They’re on the pockets of people who profit directly from this.

Follow the money, and all that.

malvim··on The Warp Agent CLI
We also have a bunch of agents and harnesses for free
malvim··on U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio reaches 123%
Except these programs keep your people alive and healthy and able to work and consume and live. The other money just kills people. And it’s also not just about this “operation” (aggression war). It’s about the whole military budget. Come on, now.
malvim··on Our position on open-weights models
No. The point is that people are using AI for this, which was the question your parent comment was answering.

Humans select the wrong targets, computer select the wrong targets. It’s just that people really don’t care unless it’s hurting their bottom line.

malvim··on Show HN: Searchable directory of 22k+ products from worker-owned co-ops
Probably from actually paying human beings for their work
malvim··on Brazil's Pix payment system faces pressure from Visa and Mastercard
Lots of countries around Brazil are taking pix. Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay.

And you can totally expand the idea. The fact that you need national id for pix doesn’t mean the idea “doesn’t scale.” It means the current implementation of it is not focused on use by visitors.

I really don’t understand what you’re getting at, it seems like a pretty narrow view of the possibilities.

Meanwhile US citizens are using paper (cash and cheques) for lots of transactions. Or one of the big credit card corporations.

malvim··on If America's so rich, how'd it get so sad?
Rioting is undemocratic…

Yeah, I guess we ARE hard-working sheep and get what we deserve…

malvim··on Backblaze has stopped backing up OneDrive and Dropbox folders and maybe others
> Or that they're targeting the mass retail market, where people are technically ignorant, and "unlimited" is required to compete.

So… Marketing has taken over, just as parent comment said. Got it.

malvim··on Liquid Glass Is Permanent
Postponed my ios update as much as I could. Things are now brighter, bigger, full of animations, and somehow worse to read and use.

Some buttons are so big and colorful and confusing that I feel like I’m using a child’s toy, or windows xp. This is horrible.

malvim··on “Collaboration” is bullshit
Guy sees a lot of problems stemming from wrong assumptions, bad management, bullshit jobs “needed” by the capitalist mode of production and profit motive, badly conducted wars, what have you.

Guy concludes the problem is “collaboration”, in general.

Yeah, no.

malvim··on Jensen: 'We've done our country a great disservice' by offshoring
That is a fundamental distinction, yes. But the notion that exporting brings wealth to a country is… kinda not really the case anymore.

If that wealth is ending up in very few people’s hands, and if said people are wealthy enough that they keep their money offshore (which is the case a lot of the time), what is the big difference in making something you can export?

malvim··on Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes
… including in the US
malvim··on Trump says Venezuela’s Maduro captured after strikes
You… What?

How can you say that like it’s a real argument? You’re REALLY, in 2026, defending that the US is “bringing democracy” to other countries by force?

I… How?

malvim··on Wall Street ruined the Roomba and then blamed Lina Khan
Yes, such are capitalism’s incentives, I’m afraid.

But this could have been managed. FDR managed it, other governments somewhat managed it with policy in times of war, like WW2.

The US had the technology edge for DECADES. More industrialization would lead to more inovation and more jobs. They could invest in factories and the like, and even marketing, since “american made” has always been a fine talking point for companies. But it was cheaper in the short term to ship it to China and just not care about the future.

The governments didn’t care, the companies (owners, shareholders) certainly didn’t care, and as a result, decades later, they’re stuck with fascism. Which I don’t think they care about either.

malvim··on Jimmy Lai Is a Martyr for Freedom
Did big businesses in the West really think “investing” in China would lead to “freedom” and such? Isn’t that framing a bit naive?

They went to China because it was cheaper. They went there in detriment of their countrymen that went without jobs, in detriment of the environment (what with all the shipping boom that followed), even in detriment of their own countries, since this would stifle development and industrialization. And they KNEW that technology transfer would follow, because China had made it clear.

No one forced them to do it. They did it knowingly in the name of short and medium-term profit. I’m not even judging if that is bad (I do THINK it’s bad overall, but I’m not arguing it here). I’m just pointing out what happened.

So now the West must not be surprised. And they aren’t! They just need to craft narratives that will paint them in good light.

malvim··on Chomsky and the Two Cultures of Statistical Learning (2011)
I don’t think they’re disgusted by Chomsky’s work because it’s wrong. They’re disgusted because of the recently surfaced ties with Epstein.

Not sure the approach holds.

malvim··on Wall Street ruined the Roomba and then blamed Lina Khan
* Surprised Pikachu face *
malvim··on Wall Street ruined the Roomba and then blamed Lina Khan
No one ever forced any company to work with China. They all went to China over decades because it was cheaper and made more profits, knowing full well there’d be technological transfer since it was always China’s goal and even explicit in contracts and agreements.

Being surprised now that profits became technology transfer and China is now a real competitor is useless. They knew it, just didn’t think the Chinese could be real players in tech, or didn’t care because short-term profit was more attractive.

So it was profits then, and if you’re asking “what sort of VC deals were they shackled by”, it’s profits now. So the point of the article still stands, Wall Street screwed them over.

malvim··on JetBlue flight averts mid-air collision with US Air Force jet
They could also not invade a country that did nothing to attack them, but I guess that’s asking too much.
malvim··on JetBlue flight averts mid-air collision with US Air Force jet
I’m sorry, which hostile nation?
malvim··on JetBlue flight averts mid-air collision with US Air Force jet
Yes. The tanker plane with its turned off transponder off the coast is totally not a military operation.
malvim··on Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros
This is how cable worked, no? And how streaming has been working. And it MIGHT be getting things cheaper, maybe? I guess?

But watching specific stuff you want is hell. The cognitive load of searching a bunch of services, or finding a site that tells you where to watch, then it’s not in that same service in your country, you might have to pay extra, or sign up for another streaming service or… Holy cow, it’s a terrible experience.

I’m not saying I have a better idea, or that it couldn’t be worse. But it’s terrible.

malvim··on How Cops Are Using Flock's ALPR Network to Surveil Protesters and Activists
Hm, the State thoroughly coopting private enterprises to oppress their people… I wonder what’s the name of that…
malvim··on Montana becomes first state to enshrine 'right to compute' into law
Okay, sorry, I’m not from the US. I thought the constitution might have something along those lines. I’m clearly wrong.

No wanting to bash this new law, just wanted to understand what it’s supposed to effectively change.

malvim··on Montana becomes first state to enshrine 'right to compute' into law
I mean, isn’t there also law that says people have basic rights to food, housing, healthcare?

What will this law change, effectively?

malvim··on Say Hi to Kit
I saw it and immediately thought Clippy. I’m pretty sure this is indeed going to be AI-related somehow.
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