tdsamardzhiev

They sound like a good strawman, if I ever saw one.

So, the problem is that you cannot reliably obtain genuine spare parts, not that alternatives exist, right?

Also, there are more people taking their devices to "non-legit" stores than people attempting DIY screen repairs.

Also, how on earth is bricking my phone (that I paid for) a more desirable outcome than letting me use an inferior display (that I paid for)?

Also, what about all the cases where fake replacements are actually better (e.g. swapping out a 220Hz PWM ThinkPad display for a flicker-free one)?

I honestly believe people who defend such company policies are just more focused on staying positive than on making a good argument (can't blame them, either).

There certainly is a way out of this: don't buy shitty replacements. You could still get your display replaced by a legit service before Apple introduced verifications. You might prefer that someone else takes care of your broken phone, but why'd you want to force that on everybody?

Trying (and failing miserably) to kill Control Panel blows my mind every time. There's not a single thing that Settings improves upon. Even its "touch-friendliness" is a direct result of omitting important features.

I believe Python won because of its popularity in academia.

I'd call this a stupid idea, except Roko's suggestion is exactly what the "communists" did in my country when they came to power.

> I’m not sure. But I’m open to the possibility and I think the parent makes a strong case from their description of their own experience with Iran.

Of course! I'm just observing how tech is being applied in my part of the world and assuming the same thing will happen in theirs. There's a good possibility that my hypothesis is incomplete or just plain wrong. I thought it's worth sharing nevertheless.

Both of these would only serve to amplify the power of Iranian government many fold. And there is no "maybe" and no "time to time". We're talking the de-facto tools of surveillance capitalism here. When their interests aren't aligned with Iranian government, they'd be aligned with American government, and the latter is what brought upon you the former in the first place.

To be honest, I think that tech has no solution for you, and that you're only looking there because tech's what you're good at.

Thanks for pointing that out! Interactions like these were why I started using HN back in the day.

> So my question after this story is, do you think Google leaving Russia will end up helping Russians get more educated, more wealthy, more connected to the free world?

Maybe, if the alternative is them cooperating with the dictator government for more effective surveillance and enforcement? Google from 2021 isn't Google from 2006.

I mean, 20 years ago I'd 100% agree with you, but modern-day big tech is... yikes! The only thing it'll do is prevent the emergence and spread of more open (and certainly harder to track) tech.

Both of my parents (a doctor and a teacher, because what else would Bulgarian parents be) had computers and "Computer for You" magazines, so yeah, it was quite a thing.

Additionally, most animals won't say no to milk if you offer it to them. So yeah, I guess we're the only ones who figured out how to get the milk without getting the horns :)

> Did you know it is socially awkward to respond to someone who isn't talking to you?

No, that's how online message boards work.

Many normies use Amazon store, or Samsung store, or whatever, without even realising it's a different thing.

It's good to get some exposure to content outside of your bubble. But not to a never-ending stream of crap that is trying to hack your brain.

Also XNA isn't an engine.

> since e-mail is known to amplify feelings

You wait until I tell this person about Twitter!

I used to read a lot of programming books in my early 20s, but experience taught me that everything I don't use on a daily (or at least weekly) basis will end up forgotten in no time. So now I'm just trying to work diligently and integrate stuff that offers immediate benefits. Of course, there are certain situations where, say, mad complex analysis skills would have meant shipping a significantly better product. But hey, perhaps those jumps aren't for me to make.

Individuals who learned data structures and algorithms in university 20 years ago and can recall 95% of it do exist, but there's far less of them than most people think. There's no real progress without keeping your personality and your situation in mind.

Ditto. Games certainly helped develop my problem-solving skills, but I reckon I'd have gotten 90% of the benefit in 10% of the time, and the remaining 35 hours a week would have been better spent elsewhere.

My theory is that you generate too much heat by typing that fast :)

No, seriously, what’s the secret?

> So yes, masculinity is toxic

If all you can make of it is toxicity, then perhaps you should start looking for the problem inwards.

> Michael Jordan was a hypercompetitive alpha male asshole who viciously humiliated not just his opponents, but his teammates as well.

He's a champion and did what needed to be done to elevate the team up to that standard, and keep it there. I'm sure he'd have bought them a "Snickers" if that worked better.

That means you’ve never ran a phone with a bad enough battery so that it would’ve started throttling if it were an iPhone.

It’s simple physics, nothing to do with being an iPhone or Android.

1. Sure, it's a figure of speech. And the number is way greater than two, if we're going to be nitpicky.

2. My point is that there's way more people entering, leaving, and going from A to B for whatever reason. Not trying to judge people, just stating a fact here.

Britain is so close to continental Europe that being an island is irrelevant. Also, it has a population of 66 million compared to NZ’s 5 on just as small an island.

> A child tried to kick out a window.

A 13-year-old boy. If he was 3, that'd be an acceptable excuse. At 13.. not so much. Even if he had no clue what might happen, he surely knew that vandalism is bad.

> I fully expect airplane windows to be able to withstand a kick from a child.

I know a guy who was 6'9 and 240lbs of lean muscle at 13. It's an extreme example, but the point still stands. If I were on that plane, I sure as hell won't suggest to wait and see how many kicks it takes him.

> but surely, there are better options in this case

They obviously didn't have, and it's the kind of situation where you have to restrain that person immediately. No time to reflect on your options. Still, what's your solution? Here's mine: Any person past the age of 7 who throws a tantrum gets 500 hours of community service.

Guess Fujitsu Lifebook U9311 would be an alternative? Haven't bought any of these yet though, so I can't share personal impressions.

I've been buying Fujitsu laptop for all of my friends, relatives, and family for the last 10 years, and all the issues I've had is one dead fan and one shitty touchpad. Tough, reliable, no bloatware, "Made in Japan" sticker... why does nobody in the US talk about Fujitsu laptops?!

And who exactly will the market share go to? Do you thing the privacy-conscious folks will go to Google? Or a dumbphone? Or Purism maybe? I mean, no need to fret over my photos if I can't take photos, right?

Haha, exactly! You'll have to untangle a mess no matter what you choose. It's in the name -- SOFTware! Soft, because it can and will change.

It certainly does matter, but it might not be the angle you want to approach the problem from. If you set a goal and/or find a mentor, the choices suddenly become easier, and the chance to get yourself lost in ideology -- slimmer.