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torqueehmada

6 karma · joined June 7, 2025

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torqueehmada··on Chatbots are replacing Google's search, devastating traffic for some publishers
If nobody writes it, the LLM can't learn it. This is going to be a fascinating shift of resources. I suspect it will have the inverse effect of eroding traditional journalism outlets to retrofit for the new model, while boosting smaller competitors, but with everyone going to subscription based. The content creators could make a significant amount of money.

Then again, this would be a great time for state-sponsored media, if we didn't have such an anti-intellectual assclown as president and the lacky congress/scotus.

torqueehmada··on I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water
Go find out and tell us. That would be really helpful information.
torqueehmada··on I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water
Not the person you asked, but the chlorine level is very high in my muni water so I like running it through a Britta charcoal filter. If I'm in a rush, tap is fine.
torqueehmada··on I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water
Incoming anecdata:

I'm in my 50's and consult consumer reports whenever I need to buy a white-box appliance. I've moved a few times so I find myself having to do this more than most people.

The qualm I have with CR goes back to the 1980's when I was a bike mechanic for many years. I had a broad knowledge of all the current brands, and knew which bikes were cheap junk. CR had incorrectly ranked the quality of the bicycles largely due to how they "felt" while riding them. One bike, which was actually good quality, got dinged because it wasn't adjusted properly ("Shifter did not engage lowest gears." or something like that). That one article tainted my opinion of them for anything that requires "tuning" by an expert.

YMMV. Mine has for 40 years. :)