strawberrypuree

Is there a particular reason why you chose AZW3 instead of KFX? I'm no expert but it was my impression that KFX is more modern and has better options on the Kindle.

There are several places on the spectrum between total shutdown and perpetual support. Google hasn't made it vary far to the right on this spectrum.

So the lesson is: if you use Google products, you better hope you use them the way most people do, otherwise the company will take it away from you.

This is what it means to be a company with no vision.

I’m one of those schmucks who thinks the solution to ignorance and misinformation is education, and that there should always be more options for voters, not fewer. It’s not about credit to the voters, it’s about making sure the avenues for change are always open. That’s one thing I love about California — it’s a fucking mess, we have no one to blame but ourselves, and there’s always someone trying to do something about it. Compare this to the Texas style of democracy — legislature meets only ever other year and if you don’t like something you can get out - I’ll take the California way.

OpenAudible works to remove the DRM on Audible books. Worst case, grab the CD versions from your library and rip them yourself.

It’s a shame about the notes on Kindle, I don’t think those are something you can back up / transfer. Really makes me wish that the open source alternatives had the same level of polish and feature set.

Google Play Music was launched in 2011. If users don’t take action, their legally purchased music will be deleted and they won’t have access to it.

For comparison, iTunes Music store was launched in 2003. I still have access to songs I bought with my mom’s credit card when I was 15. I’m 32.

Which company respects users more?

> And it's a bit insulting to say California voters don't have the wherewithal to digest political advertisements and make their own decisions.

On top of this, voters don’t even need to digest political advertisements. The state sends a booklet that describes all the proposition, the pro position, rebuttals to the pro position, the con position and rebuttals to the con position, plus how much money was spent from each side, plus who made those contributions. All there, in black and white, in your mailbox.

Cigarette taxes are overwhelmingly paid by the poor, and impact them disproportionately. They do not have a significant impact on the smoking rates (people who would have quit due to the price already have) and there’s no data on how that tax money is spent to offset the externalities.

Some info: https://priceonomics.com/how-cigarettes-tax-the-poor/

TL;DR cigarette taxes feel fair to non smokers because it appears to discourage a habit with bad outcomes, but economically they aren’t effective.

> but I am not sure where you would draw it.

I am sure where to draw it: at using machine learning. How did I draw this line? I saw the disparate impact machine learning has vs traditional media, by sheer measurement of friction. Traditional media requires intentionality on the part of the target: picking up a newspaper, turning on a television and tuning to a station. ML on social media exploits key weaknesses in human psychology combined with unprecedented data collection to nudge individuals to read/believe/buy. This is wrong, it’s clearly wrong, and should be illegal.

The sort of slippery-slope arguments are necessary and important but should not paralyze us from taking action against it.

No lucid assessment of “free speech” entertains a definition that includes “the use of machine learning to target messages to individuals in order to make money.” In the same way me sitting outside your house watching when you come and go to determine the best time to place a political flier on your door so you’ll see it when I want you to, surveillance capitalism it not free speech.

Since I can't edit my comment, I'll correct it here. As others have pointed out, I bought and returned the "Base Station" because it only had 2 coils and needed precise placement. I have not used the "Base Station Pro" (but will give it a shot, since it has some advanced tech). I jumped the gun on my comment, so the above comment is not accurate.

The OSH Act applies to work performed by an employee in any workplace within the United States, including a workplace located in the employee's home. [0]

[0]https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/1999-...

Unfortunately this base station does not live up to its promises. You still have to perfectly place your phone to get a charge, unless you want to position it horizontally and take up 2 charging coils to get it right. I returned it.

Is there a crowdsourced, fact-focused social network that doesn’t depend on ad revenue? WT.social? We need moderation with popular support, and a values system that isn’t influenced by capitalist concerns.

The GP established there are legitimate conversations being had about aspects of the Holocaust that do not deny that it happened. This is a nuance that sets a precedent for other discussions of controversial topics. I think it’s important that common people understand the difference between Denial, Revisionism, and legitimate debate, and have a way of discovering this information without being lumped in with antisemites

I somewhat agree that it doesn’t “need” to happen on Facebook, and I think it’s OK to stake that out as a rule: Don’t debate anything about the Holocaust on Facebook, take it elsewhere. Meet with your history buff friends on Telegram and hash it out.

This is not true for billions of people for whom Facebook is the web. Their businesses run on it, their family only communicate through it, and giving it up would mean disconnecting, essentially, from their entire world.

> It should be noted that there actually are debates among historians about the Holocaust but these are not over whether it happened [...]

Will this be allowed on Facebook? I don’t have an opinion either way, but I think the original concern with removing “Denial” content was that it would impact this type of debate.

Build quality is not the be-all, end-all of measurements in deciding the “best” car. This is a really common viewpoint among Tesla owners. We have our gripes, but those gripes are overshadowed by other things like the infotainment, acceleration, software, etc.

I'm not as pessimistic as all that, but I agree that vigilance is necessary. The good thing about going with the external box solution is that as if the company doesn't align with your values on this issue, you can unplug it and install something else. If that something else exists, of course.

I am interested to know if this will have any impact on a person’s sleep. It’s my understanding that the laying down position is best reserved for sleep and sex, else you risk disrupting your circadian rhythm.

Apple TV doesn't include ads, and doesn't sell your viewing habits to third parties who create profiles of you. [0]

Your TV manufacturer does.

[0]https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww/

What’s the difference in terms of impact to the users? Even if they are not selling “AznHisoka watched x minutes or y show on this date,” they are using it to influence your behavior through ads.

The device only cost $12.05 because it's being subsidized by data collection to track your viewing habits and make targeted ads.

Isn’t the average student loan debt ~$36k? That’s not much more than a new car. And there’s income based repayment. And it gets forgiven after 20 years. The interest rates aren’t too bad (I recall having one at 6%).

I really don’t see what all the fuss is about.

Try using NextDNS to block HN. This is what I do on mobile -- I bury the NextDNS app in a folder and it requires several steps to un-do it. iOS 14 allows you to set DNS without using the VPN setting.

This is a sleight of hand on Amazon's part. Humans looking at a palm print and identifying the person is not a concern, it's computers looking at a palm, associating it with a credit card, which can then open up a trove of behavioral data to push (i.e., ads) to people. It's disingenuous, like putting someone in a tiger cage and saying "Don't worry, there's no way you can drown in here -- we made sure there's no water."

Reducing phone addiction by making the phone less appealing to look at.

This is why I have high respect for Apple, which routine ships new accessibility features and maintains them, despite them being very low usage. A few of those features end up becoming handy for non-accessibility users, like the ability to make your screen black and white on the iPhone or the ability to detect sounds.

Case in point, the off-maligned McDonald's woman. Take a look at the burns that woman sustained and the facts of the case to see how much of a hit job that was.

>Of course I'd be a lot more comfortable if the video (and mapping) didn't go through these two companies

The obvious concern is the video itself, but there are many data streams adjacent to the core product, like behavioral data.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/01/ring-doorbell-app-pack...