The cookie notices in the US have nothing to do with GPDR. They are just annoying. They are even more annoying overseas. Someone should do a study on how many people actually care and click no or tailor these? Is it < 50%?
1,613 karma · joined October 4, 2020
This is all posturing. If you want to reduce tracking, use a browser that reduces the tracking. Seriously, just use total cookie protection or something on firefox.
What is gained, SERIOUSLY, by these stupid pop-ups? I'm serious, has anyone analyzed this? It really shows how the heavy hand of govt has ZERO cost/benefit constraint or analysis. Browsing on phones is particularly painful.
I wish we could just set an accept all cookies header in our browser and govt would let these websites then stop displaying these damn notices, banners and consent boxes.
The GPDR ones (if you use euro websites) are getting even crazier.
Everyone has now been trained to click accept / accept all / OK or whatever on all these pop-ups.
Now we are starting to get the even worse GPDR ones with like 6 different options.
If I don't want you to track me using cookies I will clear them, block them or isolate them on MY machine. This doesn't require tons of click throughs. I will chose software that helps me with this.
Can I actually sue some russian website owner hiding behind some dns registration privacy domain if they use a cookie they shouldn't have? Will I collect? Or is this just tail chasing when an actual technical solution to BLOCK cross domain or other forms of cookie use are available to me.
The amount of time wasted on these nightmares, the number of clicks, the horrible impact on user experience is crazy - govt really can't seem to get this stuff right - it's mind boggling.
Let's start with simpler things.
1) Ban regulated entities from selling my info or personalizing ads to me based on my browsing history (cable companies) electric usage (electric companies) phone usage (telecom companies). No opt in or out, these are regulated folks with monopoly or close power - banned.
2) Actually ramp up real investigations of folks committing crimes online. There are billions in harm here waiting for someone to give two sh*ts about someone with their life savings stolen.
3) I have a list that goes on and on.
They should have had IPv6 with a header or config for IPv4 gateway(s) configured at the IPv6 boundary of your current network (could even be local / on device if needed). Want to talk to IPv6 - you go native. Want to talk to IPv4, connect using known prefix to IPv4 boundary gateway and it NATs you out.
The implementation / firewall changes needed for this are crazy, the config stuff also crazy, the number of layers of encryption I'm hitting (I'm IPv6 on a VPN using wireguard tunnels and browsing in SSL on my remote machine) seems nuts.
So if your neighbor is on that type of program the TV can piggyback on your or their hotspot and push back the analytics / get the ads. That's probably a pretty low cost way to solve the not plugged in or piholed issues.
Addressing the nuclear waste storage issue has value. Credible science I've seen suggests current approaches are poor relative to almost all other options.
I also like repossessing, and other countries do this (most spent US fuel has actually a huge amount of remaining life). US fuel is generally a solid that is more controllable, repossessing can create some high level by products that require vitrification as I understand it and the US doesn't have that as well established.
There are folks looking at ultra deep burial, below water tables in rock stable for millions of years. That's also interesting.
We are arguably facing a relatively pressing current issue with global warming. Nuclear does not have a lot of GHG emissions relatively. It seems we should be spending reasonable sums at least on research and perhaps very small scale demonstrator plants and waste options to see if anything can be proven out.
I don't use hulu. I license movies I like on the itunes store if I'll be watching them a few times. And stream very lightly.
I would not take it well to have to deal with ads on an expensive device, or even be forced to jump through hoops to turn them off. I'm sure Apple is leaving money on the table, but I'm very willing to pay the apple premium to have to worry a lot less about this type of total jerk behavior.
Not for everyone of course.
One model I've seen some pretty large success with is employee ownership of companies. They seem to tolerate the total disaster flake outs less than unions do. I've seen unions fight for the drunk guy who hit someone with a forklift. My exposure to employee ownership shows it is complicated and there can be problems, but for whatever reason stuff happens.
Collectives on the other hand didn't really work - too many opinions? I know berkeley's collectives all fell apart.
I'm assuming there will be claims that whatever apple is doing to keep ads out and just have their own world is violating anti-trust, but I have to say I like it.
They also do a weird aggregation thing across Amazon etc, so you have shows from multiple channels / service in one view. Not sure how that works, but from consumer side it is very nice.
In terms of workers, the govt can't go "out of business" so seems pretty rational to join a union in that context?
The other issue is politicans are total idiots. I've done enough work in govt to know that the folks making policy NEVER EVER ask the folks in charge of delivering on something what small changes would make things 100x more efficient, fraud resistant and more.
For example, PPP loans.
Everyone in govt knows that employers make payroll tax payments every other week, file quarterly reports and annual W-2's and W-3's for staff. So if you are going to do a paycheck protection program - two options. One, use the data YOU ALREADY HAVE ON FILE to auto generate loans (2.5 months of payroll) using a simple signup form with very little risk of fraud - funds can only go into the same payroll accounts deposits made from etc.
Instead, we got a totally stupid system where massive fees were paid to folks who had no clue to supposedly screen folks using easily alterable documents. The fraud if they care to look is going to be high AND the pain was extreme for folks applying. All of which could have been avoided. My point - a unionized workforce would not have messed this up as badly as a bunch of whacko political appointees with no clue, so I'm not necessarily against public sector unions if it helps with retention.
Unions work much better in public sector where they can't go out of business. Police unions, prison guard unions, teacher unions etc. I wouldn't say service or accountability is that great in these systems.
If you think Amazon is hiring based on this - fantastic, they are doomed by only hiring lazy drinking buddies and relatives. Reality? Amazon has probably a very driven workforce and working culture. But maybe you are right it's all just a bunch of drinking buddies.
Saying the boss is not interested is totally not true. When I went to school we ALL knew (even the kids) that one teacher simply basically did not teach. It didn't matter they were totally protected. Principle would have fired them in a minute. Old white dude, massive seniority, union officer I think so he also may have gotten time off teaching for that ? Anyways, the rest of the teachers were amazing, but imagine you are a female minority teacher having to deal with extra class sizes because of this dufus. At least when I was growing up the union officers was an old boys club situation.
Youtube feeds me a diet of videos that are hard to turn off, spanning literal decades and with some really weird stuff thrown in (and based on the comments, others have same experience - I'll be on a 10 year old video with positive comments from a day ago).
A common youtube quote:
No one: I want to see five year old archery videos Youtube: Here, try this
If you have an elderly relative or parents, really consider an apple device with apple care, they can walk in and out if needed to an in person store. I've seen nothing simpler. They do some basic checks, will in a fair number of cases just swap you onto a new phone, then send your other phone to be looked at more closely.
There are no 5 calls to a script reading overseas call center, no mailing it in and back.
They seem to staff reasonably for calls in, and can actually solve problems. The only other company that can solve problems like this I've used is Amazon (who refunded me an $800 charge five minutes after my inquiry despite it having been recorded incorrectly in return system so I could have REALLY imagined lots of ways this would have gotten stuc). In short, this agent was able to single handedly (maybe with an internal escalation I didn't notice) get an $800 exception approved and I had money two days later. Calling google, samsung, huwai, dell even etc for stuff is a joke by comparison. Go to this forum, sign up for this paid support plan, pay this charge upfront.