Because for the past 30 or so years, it has worked very well for MS to keep their main products barely useable, rely on lock-in and chase the next big thing so they can get their dirty hands on it early and lock more people into more products.

That is exactly wrong. Beta versions are there to find bugs. If nobody complained about them, they won't be found. So if you try beta versions, please DO complain about bugs.

I guess "vibe-something" is going to be the anti-word of 2026. People are slowly waking up to what it actually means to let the AI do the work.

I'm not dissing AI, I'm using it extensively myself and there's a few AI whitepapers with my name on them. But like any tool, it can be great when used correctly and ruin your day when not.

That doesn't mean what they do is automatically legal.

I'm pretty sure there's a demand for "murder my husband", or for "can someone please drown my neighbour". And yet it's illegal to offer such services.

Also: Voters. Smokers are still a fairly substantial fraction of the population, enough to swing a vote, especially if, and that appears to be the trend in most western democracies these days, there are two opposing political sides roughly evenly matched.

I mean, does it not strike anyone as a very weird coincidence that we have almost perfect 50/50 splits in so many countries?

No, but they do everything BUT force to make it the most attractive option. Just as one silly example: With wages and prices as they are, having both partners work full-time is basically required unless you're in the top few percent of earners or inherited wealth. So who's going to cook? After a long work day? Convenience food is the obvious choice. You are not being forced, but unless food is a high-priority item in your life, you are very much steered into that direction.

Or maybe it's because crude oil prices are down.

https://www.businessinsider.co...

It's a buyer's market.

The Metro wouldn't be safe by modern standards. Of course an old Honda Civic hatchback wouldn't be, either.

I've seen some vehicles with OEM-recommended 0w20 experiencing this issue. Dropping in some "compliant" 5w30 hurt fuel economy a touch but fixed the issue immediately.

BYD and free markets don't mix.

Who knows, he has apparently taken a bunch of videos of various components of Schpaze Yikes from various angles:

https://www.youtube.com/@OlegM...

But then it really depends on his FSB/SVR rank, which is not public.

Do you automatically assume people support Trump when they criticize China? Perhaps Taiwan, Vietnam, the Phillipines, etc would enjoy having a word with you.

Also a 40% stake in a business often makes the CCP the largest single shareholder in a corporation. Other investors wouldn't dare overrule the party when voting on any issue where the CCP chooses to take a stance. All it takes is one board member to monitor the corporation and its executives. That serves as a reminder that the corporation must serve party interest above all else.

Soft power doesn't require complete control.

China seizes control of enterprise at a phenomenally higher rate than any Western power. There is no equivalence.

Meanwhile:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=...

It is called "a perl one-liner".

We used to cobble them all the time in the few minutes between important tasks back in the day before the social networking and vibe-coding took over.

The "tough on crime" stance doesn't concern white-collar, billionaire crime. That one falls squarely into the "settlement" or "pardon" category, except in the rare cases that other billionaires were the target of he said crime. Mostly.