lauren

lauren , 1 day ago to Random stuff

Trump would never permit another Democrat as president.

One has to assume that whomever Trump would pick for VP would NEVER permit the House to certify a Democratic win. They'd ALWAYS push it back to the House where the GOP wins on a state by state basis. THINK ABOUT IT!

lauren , 1 day ago to Random stuff

Security experts alarmed at 'incredibly dangerous' new Google feature - This relates to #Google announcing AI to listen in on your phone calls to "detect scams". Google claims this is all on-device so it's safe.

My view based on what I know right now: HORRIBLE IDEA! -L

https://www.yahoo.com/news/security-experts-alarmed-incredibly-dangerous-160129058.html

lauren , 2 days ago to Random stuff

Supreme Court Justice Alito claims that the upside-down American flag flown at his house in January 2021 had nothing to do with it being a symbol of the Jan 6 insurrection, but was actually placed that way by his wife because she was upset about obscene neighborhood signs.

Of course, everyone knows that the common reaction to obscene signs is to fly the U.S. flag upside-down. Similarly, it is the standard symbol for running out of cookie-dough ice cream, annoying skin rashes, and clogged toilets.

lauren , 2 days ago to Random stuff

Slack users horrified to discover messages used for AI training - https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/05/slack-defends-default-opt-in-for-ai-training-on-chats-amid-user-outrage/

lauren , 2 days ago to Random stuff

***** Breaking up Google *****

I have long been opposed to government efforts to break up #Google on antitrust grounds. My general feeling about such efforts involving large tech firms is that they typically do more harm than good in the long run, and I point to AT&T as an obvious example among many.

However, the confluence of Google's "hell bent for leather" AI push, the rapid decline of Google Search, the damage Google's new AI policies are doing to websites all over the Net by taking their data and starving them for views, the continuing and worsening problems of Google Account lockouts and recovery failures and associated data loss, and the continuing acquisition of consumer product firms (Nest, Fitbit, etc.) forcing people to use Google Accounts who previously did not need to, is causing me to reluctantly rethink my positions on this issue and other issues associated with regulatory matters impacting Google.

lauren , 2 days ago to Random stuff

Got an email today from a very smart computer science professor who is totally flummoxed by the #Mastodon signup flow. He tried to follow it based on what Mastodon tells him (the standard verbiage) at my site after reading one of my posts via a URL, and despite creating several accounts at other sites doesn't understand how to use any of it. This is a smart guy. The onboarding and basic explanations situation is still a mess.

lauren , 3 days ago to Non Political Twitter

Google's sorry excuse for a "Web filter" demonstrates how much they plan to stuff AI down our throats and arrogantly starve for views the very sites that their AI is getting its info from. DISGUSTING. I'm starting to feel about #Google Search the way I now feel about #Twitter / X. Gone into the dumpster.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/05/google-search-adds-web-filter-as-it-pivots-to-ai-focused-search-results/

WolfIsMe , 3 days ago to Random stuff

Why, why WHY do we insist on using inches/miles/fahrenheit in the USA? Why can't we join the rest of the civilized world?

Anyone who thinks we shouldn't go metric should have to declare their height in cubits/rods and swear off electricity.

lauren , 3 days ago to Random stuff

There are MANY videos on #YouTube explaining the so-called "Monty Hall" paradox, some diving deeply into fairly complicated probability math.

The paradox is traced back to the very long-running "Let's Make a Deal" game show, hosted for many, many years by Monty Hall.

The paradox involves the prospect of staying with your choice of one of three doors that might contain the grand prize, or switching to another of the three doors once you're shown that one of the doors you didn't choose doesn't contain the prize.

While most people assume that staying with their current pick is a reasonable choice, the math says that you should actually (for best results in the long run) switch to the other available door. It's really quite a non-intuitive probability puzzle.

The irony is that Monty when asked about the paradox consistently insisted that the show never actually offered contestants the choice to switch doors, and that the paradox was actually based on a "what if" postulation not the actual procedure on the show!

lauren , 4 days ago to Random stuff

I'm being asked why I think #Google is pulling the standard "Undo" function out many Chrome text input right-click context menus, and replacing that menu selection (without any advance warning or explanation) with their AI-based "Help me write".

I don't know, but I can guess. I suspect it was something like this at a team meeting:

"Hey, word is that we really need to up the AI engagement metrics. What haven't we covered yet? [ laughter ]"

"Well, we could get rid of context menus Undo and replace it with an AI selection. Then when users right-click during text input, they'll get the "Help me write" prompt where they've pretty much always expected undo to be."

"I like that. It'll be right in their faces. Do you think there will be any blowback from people not finding Undo in those context menus anymore?"

"Naw, pretty much everyone knows the keyboard shortcut for undo is Control-Z. They can just use the shortcut. Only a fool wouldn't know that. And we don't care about fools!"

"Absolutely. OK, I'm in. Should there be any kind of warning or explanation for this?"

"No way -- let it be a surprise to the users! More impact!"

"Wow, I can feel those AI engagement metrics going up already!"

"Great work, team! All AI, all the time!"

dangillmor , 4 days ago to Random stuff

If you care about voters being genuinely informed on key issues, the absolute worst thing about presidential so-called debates is live audiences filled with partisans.

But for media corporations, it's all about money -- and they love these events because they generate ratings.

lauren , 4 days ago to Random stuff

Reminder: Control-Z (^Z) is UNDO! In their continuing push to force AI down users' throats, #Google has removed the standard "Undo" option from the top of many right-click context menus as displayed by the Chrome browser, replacing it with a useless "Help me write" function (protip: Do your writing yourself!)

Google's removal of the widely used and pretty much universally forever undo function is already causing problems for users who have been using it for many years and are unfamiliar with the associated shortcut. This really is a slap in the face to nontechie users in particular who tend to rely on context menus and not shortcuts.

So yeah, you can use keyboard Control-Z to UNDO, but if you don't already know that, you're screwed, because Google removed Undo from the menus without any warning or explanation. How Google has fallen.

dave , 9 days ago to Random stuff

What happens when Bluesky runs out of money?

lauren , 10 days ago to Random stuff

***** Google and Seniors *****

Lauren's Blog: https://lauren.vortex.com/2024/05/09/google-and-seniors

Google refuses to create a specific role for someone to oversee the issues of older users, who depend on #Google for so many things but so often get the shaft and lose everything when something goes wrong with their accounts. Google should AT LEAST (I still think the role is crucial), be providing focused help resources and a recurring (at least monthly) blog to help this class of users ("Google for Seniors", "Google Seniors Blog").

This would all be specifically oriented toward helping these users deal with the kinds of Google Account and other Google problems that so often disproportionately affect this group.

This would be good for these users (who Google unreasonably and devastatingly considers to be an unimportant segment of their user base) and frankly good for Google's PR in a highly challenging and toxic political environment.

I'm so tired of having so many people in this category approach me for help with account and other Google issues because they never understood the existing Google resources that, frankly, are written for a different level of tech expertise and understanding.

I have more detailed thoughts on this if anyone cares. No, I'm not holding my breath on this one.

--Lauren--

lauren , 13 days ago to Random stuff

At all future candidate debates, the first question should be, "Have you ever shot a puppy?"

ZachWeinersmith , 15 days ago to Random stuff

So there's a lot of kvetching, from myself included, about how the modern internet has gotten worse, usually due to a combination of SEO, social media gone evil, and the prevalence of money as more and more of a guiding factor in tech.

But of course the old internet had the problem of being fairly boring. The interesting question is how to get a third way. I've heard a few proposals:

lauren , 16 days ago to Random stuff

When the cat settles down during the night in the middle of your bed, do you:

lauren , 16 days ago to Random stuff

In 1968, massive campus protests against the Vietnam war spread to the Democratic national convention in Chicago that year, which became a violent confrontation between protesters and police. The result was the election of Republican Richard Nixon, who enormously escalated the war, including the invasion and mass bombing of Cambodia.

lauren , 20 days ago to Random stuff

I'm frequently asked to explain #Google's Privacy Sandbox that is supposed to replace third party cookies and why the former is more privacy-positive.

Unfortunately, though I like to think that I understand it, I've still found this to be nearly impossible to explain effectively to nontechies. And nearly impossible to explain to other techies.

Not a good sign for the Sandbox.

w7voa , 21 days ago to Random stuff

“South Dakota law states that dogs who attack and kill livestock can be put down,” says Gov. Noem amid the criticism over her shooting to death a family puppy.
https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/2024/04/28/gov-noem-expands-reactions-anecdote-about-shooting-dog/

tchambers , 25 days ago to Random stuff

The folks working on @loops might want to hurry up.

Just sayin'....

https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/23/24137638/senate-passes-tiktok-ban-bill-divest-bytedance-foreign-aid

lauren , 27 days ago to Random stuff

Tomorrow on my usual Monday evening national network radio tech segment, I'll be discussing DARPA's test of an AI controlled jet fighter having a dogfight with a human pilot in another jet. AI controlling jet fighters. What could go wrong? Oh, Skynet is calling. I'll ... be ... back.

GottaLaff , 29 days ago to China

AFP—US House votes to ban #TikTok if it doesn't cut ties to #China

SteveBellovin , 1 month ago to Random stuff

Cleaning out my office, I found my old Unix licenses.

arstechnica , 1 month ago to Random stuff

DARPA’s AI test pilot successfully flew a dogfight against a human

After flying against simulated opponents, the AI agent has taken on humans.

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/04/darpas-ai-test-pilot-successfully-flew-a-dogfight-against-a-human/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

dangillmor , 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago) to Random stuff

I'm wondering if there's a precedent for one country deliberately bombing another country's embassy (killing a senior government official) in a third country?

Anyone know?

lauren , 1 month ago to Random stuff

Personally, I'd like to teleport the entire Middle East to Pluto. But then the Plutotonians would probably retaliate.

lauren , 1 month ago to Random stuff

I believe that only the U.S. and Australia permit pharmaceutical ads on television. I don't care what they do Down Under in this regard, but these endless repetitive disgusting med ads should be banned from U.S. television just as cigarette ads were many decades ago.

lauren , 1 month ago to Random stuff

The NY Trump trial starting next Monday won't be televised, but here's what I predict we're in store for.

The trial will be running mon-tue-thu-fri. Unless granted an absence by the judge, Trump apparently must attend this criminal trial every day it is in session.

Reporters will be permitted to live report from the courtroom and overflow room. So there will be a continuous stream of information (mostly textual, I assume) pouring out, that will accompanied by drawings of participants and other extras.

To what extent there will be wall-to-wall coverage on the news networks is unclear, but the trial itself is expected to run six to eight weeks or so.

Buckle up.

lauren , 1 month ago to Random stuff

Trump's Truth Social reportedly has now wiped out all gains since it went public recently.

lauren , 1 month ago to Random stuff

So some colleges are now hitting $100,000 a year in tuition fees. Just for reference, when I was an undergrad at UCLA, for most of the time (it went up a small amount toward the end) the fee was $208.50/quarter (yes, this number is burned into my brain). So, in today's dollars that would be about $1550. Multiply by 3 for three quarters attendance per year and that was $4650. Let's call it $5000/yr in today's dollars. Somebody in the educational system is getting rich somewhere today.

lauren , 1 month ago to Random stuff

I've been involved with the Internet continuously pretty much since its earliest ancestor ARPANET days at UCLA ARPANET site #1.

I can assure you that the ARPANET and the Internet into which it evolved were NOT designed to provide a means for a handful of powerful AI firms to suck the world dry without permission or compensation of information en masse, that has mostly been put online for free as a public service, all to enrich the coffers and stockholders of those firms, while giving only lip service (if that) to ethical considerations, and giving the sites from which they slurp data the finger, while laughing all the way to the bank.

rbreich , 1 month ago to Random stuff

FYI, the lottery is a regressive tax disproportionately paid by the people who can least afford it, and little of the proceeds actually go to community funding.

We should fund community services by taxing the rich, not by conning working people into thinking they'll become rich.

lauren , 1 month ago to Random stuff

What's the difference between Big Tech AI firms' training data collection practices vis-a-vis bank robbers?

NOTHING.

lauren , 1 month ago to Random stuff

The AI race is triggering the very worst instincts of Big Tech.

mattblaze , 1 month ago to Random stuff

About six months ago, I made multiple sets of refundable plane and hotel reservations at different places along the path of totality for Monday, every one of which is now forecast for heavy cloud cover.

Sorry, everyone in those places.

lauren , 1 month ago to Random stuff

#Google's CEO Sundar says that AI will turn out to be more important than "fire" or "electricity".

I assert that AI may turn out to be more dangerous in its own way than hydrogen bombs.

dangillmor , 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago) to Random stuff

The endlessly spinning wheel in Ubuntu software update has returned me to the command line, which no average user of a modern operating system should ever, ever have to use...

Update: To be clear (I apparently wasn't clear enough), I often use the command line. What I was trying to say is that "regular" (i.e. non-nerdy) folks should never have to do this.