Powderhorn

Powderhorn , 1 month ago to Technology in Going Dark: The war on encryption is on the rise. Through a shady collaboration between the US and the EU.

I've been with Mullvad for over a year at this point. This sort of analysis (as well as being able to mail cash) makes me feel confident that I made the right choice to ignore every entreaty (before SponsorBlock) about NordVPN.

NordVPN: We have the budget to pay influencers, and it's likely coming out of the U.S. Treasury.

Powderhorn , 1 month ago to Technology in New Windows AI feature records everything you’ve done on your PC

That closing quote is ominous:

"Recall is currently in preview status," Microsoft says on its website. "During this phase, we will collect customer feedback, develop more controls for enterprise customers to manage and govern Recall data, and improve the overall experience for users."

I read "so, yeah, we built in all the telemetry connections we swear we'll never use ... just for testing, ya know?"

Powderhorn , 1 month ago to Technology in New Windows AI feature records everything you’ve done on your PC

I have to believe at this point that a serious generation gap exists if there is an audience for this sort of constant monitoring. Because that's what it is.

Where it goes and whether Microsoft can be trusted are of course very valid concerns, but Jesus tap-dancing Christ, this is surveillance before the data go anywhere. Add that to your AI assistant that works best with the camera on, et voila!

No doubt Google is going to say "hold my beer," and there's no pure Linux offramp on the overwhelming majority of Android hardware, so even if you've told Microsoft to fuck off ...

Powderhorn , 1 month ago to Technology in Online Content Is Disappearing

Poorly thought-out Facebook posts are forever; coverage of city council malfeasance from two years ago, not so much.

Powderhorn OP , 1 month ago to Science in Flood of Fake Science Forces 19 Journal Closures

Fixed the hed. Archive link should be viewable.

Powderhorn OP , 1 month ago to Chat in And then, just after midnight, I got the call from my ex-wife, wanting to visit

I'm aware of the cliche. What is why I drove from Portland to Tsawwassen on Thanksgiving night 1999 to catch the ferry over to Vic and bring my Canadian girlfriend down for the rest of the weekend.

I just thought that would be the end of it.

Powderhorn OP , 1 month ago to Chat in And then, just after midnight, I got the call from my ex-wife, wanting to visit

She felt it was preferable to still having anything tying her to her father. For valid reasons.

The collar is just inexcusable. I hope for the sake of my neck that it's gotten a bit duller over the years.

Powderhorn , 1 month ago to Science in Herpes cure with gene editing makes progress in laboratory studies

Worth noting: this is 90% effective for HSV-1, but not tested on HSV-2. That's on their radar for research. It's nonetheless a breakthrough, and the Hutch has pulled off some interesting things in the past, so I'd imagine they'll get there.

Powderhorn OP , 1 month ago to Technology in Apple, SpaceX, Microsoft return-to-office mandates drove senior talent away

Sure as fuck happened to journalism. Except they had the balls to offer buyouts instead of just saying "your service counts for nothing unless I see the back of your head every time I meander around with a coffee mug."

The truly absurd bit of it to me is absent Covid, already working remote for years would not have been a problem. I went remote in 2016, and there's no fucking way I'd be like "oh, the recent grads you hire to chew and spit out are an issue for remote? Sure, why don't I restart the pointless thing of driving for an hour and a half a day with concomitant fuel costs, having to choose my food for the entire day at 7 a.m. or paying four times as much, and generally being more surly in my personal life so that you, dear boss, can prove you have something to do?"

Powderhorn OP , 1 month ago to Technology in Major ChatGPT-4o update allows audio-video talks with an “emotional” AI chatbot

How impressive this is will hinge on whether there were any shenanigans behind the demos. I find it difficult to take breathless announcements at face value given recent issues.

Powderhorn OP , 1 month ago to Chat in What the hell is the reverse of impostor syndrome called?

I have been trying for so many jobs, and I never qualified in tech. I'm trying to determine what this now looks like. Journalism is this sort of thing where there is a substantial wall at roughly Sept. 10, 2001.

From here, those aware of how shit worked up to there was not ideal.

Powderhorn OP , 1 month ago to Chat in What the hell is the reverse of impostor syndrome called?

Dunning-Kruger applies when you aren't already competent.

Powderhorn OP , 1 month ago to Chat in What the hell is the reverse of impostor syndrome called?

I was angling for a coding role in my last job search. I am not in the area code of a know-it-all there. But here, I just apply 26 years of experience to determine news value.

Powderhorn OP , 1 month ago to Chat in What the hell is the reverse of impostor syndrome called?

It's only hubris when it leads to your downfall.

Powderhorn , 1 month ago to Politics in New York Times editor says Trump's danger to democracy is not a top concern

It's abundantly clear that we are not going to learn from history.

The really fucking ironic point is bin Laden's stated goal was to destabilize the U.S., and boy, howdy. No need to enumerate the problems stemming from that.