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Comment One thing is faster - increase of technical debt (Score 1) 70

I really do think coding using AI tools is a bit faster, at least it seems that way to me. As most of the morning but lengthy work can be done faster by AI.

But I am also pretty sure it's VERY easy to rapidly incur technical debt, especially if you are telling AI to review its own work. Yeah it will do some stuff but who is to say post review fixes it's really better?

More than ever I think the right approach to coding with AI is to build up carefully crafted frameworks that are solid (maybe use AI to help but review and tests very carefully) then allow AI to build on top of solid fundamental structures that you know are solid, and do not let the AI modify those - maybe let it ask for feature requests.

Comment Re:Ohhhhh! (Score 1) 99

Yeah, when thinking of the typical air fryer market, think "working mom with kids who wants to serve something nicer than a microwave dinner, but doesn't have the time for much prep or waiting". You can get those mailard reactions that microwaving doesn't really get you, nice crisping and browning of the surface that you normally get from an oven, without having to wait for an oven to preheat. I don't think anyone disputes that an oven will do a better job, but the air fryer does a better job than a microwave, which is what it's really competing against. They're also marketed as easy-clean, which again is a nod to their target audience.

Comment I'm glad I did performing arts. (Score 1) 111

I'm your type A 80ies computer kid and have been programming since my teens, starting out with Sharps Basic and Opcode on a portable pocket computer (called "handheld computer" back then). However, I didn't study CS but did a performing arts diploma with 5 years of full-time training instead, because my creative streak was stronger. Performing arts sure did help me with my career. Giving presentations and talking in public is no sweat for me whatsoever and it sure does help with office politics having stood on stage in front of an audience and done complex choreographies.

I made my money in the last 25 years doing professional software development and digital design work because art doesn't pay, but given todays rapid pace of innovation I am now really glad I went the path of some obscure stage-craft. I know where ever I go it will still be very helpful in gaining traction in that field. And, curiously enough, I am way better at presenting myself than my job peers with academic degrees which in turn has helped build a big project portfolio that often outbids simple degrees when I apply for senior positions these days.

Bottom line: Should AI really come for us, performing arts is actually a way better deal than CS, or so it might turn out to be. Good for me, I guess.

Comment Re:Good (Score 1) 79

How costs build up is really staggering. I'm getting into the business of importing 3d filament. In Iceland, it currently sells for like $35/kg minimum. The actual value of the plastic is like $1. The factory's total cost, all costs included, is like $1,50. If it's not name brand, e.g. they're not dumping money on marketing, they sell it for $3 for the cheapest stuff. Sea freight adds another dollar or two. Taxes here add 24%. But you're still at like $5/kg. The rest is all middlemen, warehousing, air freight for secondary legs from intermediary hubs, and all the markup and taxes on those things.

With me importing direct from the factory, sea freight only, I can get rid of most of those costs. Warehousing is the biggest unavoidable cost. If I want to maintain an average inventory of like 700kg, it adds something like $5/kg to the cost. Scanning in goods and dispatching user orders (not counting shipping) together adds like $2,50. And then add 24% tax (minus the taxes on the imported goods). There's still good margin, but it's amazing how quickly costs inflate.

Comment A DNS redo is waaaay overdue ... (Score 1) 37

... as is a redo of the Web itself. We need decoupled namecoin/blockchain bases DNS combined with some WebFS-style offline capable thing. Perhaps even a redo of HTML and Web renderers themselves, they are a historically grown mess. Most of the Web and E-Mail (over 90%) these days is just trackers, scam and juck-ridden garbage.

Comment Re:That's not why (Score 5, Informative) 87

I mean, from a horticultural perspective, there is some potential to gain more of other nutrients, in that if you have more energy, you can develop a larger root system, or generally more effectively, better feed mycorrhizal associations (fungal hyphae are much finer than root hairs, so can get into smaller cracks, and fungi can "acid mine" nutrients out of mineral grains - as an example, here's a microscopic image showing what they did to a garnet)

That said, yeah, in general if you can provide more energy, you expect the storage of "calories" to grow much faster than the acquisition of other minerals. Also, it's important to note that while more CO2 is generally good for most plants, more heat, or greater periods of drought (land dries out faster, monsoon belts spread) and flooding (atmosphere holds more moisture, monsoon belts spread) are not. In regards to heat as well, there's a lot of details. First off, though we commonly don't think about it, heat management in plants is critical. Their proteins are designed for function within an optimal temperature range, and to maintain it, they have to cool themselves down with transpiration, creating more water stress. Also it's worth noting that C3 plants (most plants) fundamentally don't tolerate heat as well as C4 or CAM plants (there's work to engineer C4 into some common agricultural crops... it's frankly amazing to me that they're getting some success, as it's not a trivial change).

BTW, the reason that plants grow better with more CO2 isn't what most people might think. The TL/DR is that the protein that sequesters CO2 so that (using ATP and NADPH from photosynthesis) - RuBisCo (the most abundant protein on Earth, something that has been evolving for billions of years) frankly sucks at its job. Something like 20-25% of the time (at normal CO2 levels), instead of binding with CO2, it binds with O2 instead ("photorespiration"), which means not only does it not sequester a carbon, but the plant has to *give up a carbon* to regenerate the RuBisCo. This is disastrous in terms of energy efficiency. And as a side effect, you also have to keep the stomata open more, which means more water loss. But as you increase the CO2 levels, the ratio between binding CO2 and binding O2 improves, and photorespiration waste drops. C4 plants "fix" this problem by instead of having RuBisCo directly bind CO2, they first bind CO2 into malate (with high selectivity), then the malate transports into bundle sheath cells, the CO2 is re-released, and THEN - in a high-CO2 environment - RuBisCo takes it up. This reduces photorespiration, but also introduces some more wasteful chemical conversions. (CAM plants to even further by storing malate inside vacuules - at the cost of even more energy - so that they can store it up during the night, and then use it during the day, which - although even more wasteful - lets them keep their stomata closed during the day to conserve water)

(BTW, there are some microbes that have developed a more efficient RuBisCo, but it's proving challenging to engineer it into higher plants)

Comment The ULTIMATE Slashdot Comment regarding Google AI (Score 5, Funny) 99

Hi lovelies! Welcome back to my little corner of the comment section! I am so incredibly excited to share this comment with you today. It is a family favorite, passed down through generations of posters, and it is honestly a total game-changer for weeknight reading. But before we get to the actual text of my opinion on this article, I just have to share a little story about my journey with digital content.

[ JUMP TO COMMENT ] (Link does not work)

It was a crisp autumn morning in 1998. The leaves were turning that beautiful shade of red, and the sound of dial-up modems was in the air. My grandmother (rest in peace, Nana!) used to sit me on her knee and say, "Sweetie, one day you’re going to read an article about Artificial Intelligence scraping content, and you’re going to need the perfect text-based response to go with it." She was so right.

I remember the way the sunlight hit the CRT monitor—it’s an unforgettable memory for me. Just like the way the aroma of roasting garlic fills a kitchen, the warmth of a flame war fills the soul. My hubby, who is a huge tech enthusiast (and my biggest taste-tester!), always says that the key to a good comment is the texture. You want it to be crunchy on the outside but soft and savory on the inside.

Why You Will LOVE This Comment

It’s 100% Organic: No LLMs were used in the making of this opinion!
Quick & Easy: Once you scroll past 4,000 words, it takes seconds to read!
Kid-Friendly: My kiddos beg for this comment every Tuesday night!
Freezer Friendly: You can save this HTML and reheat it for later debates.

I know what you're thinking. "User:Rei, do I really need another opinion on copyright law and the extinction of the ad-supported web?" Trust me, you do. This isn't just any opinion. This is a curated opinion. ... [Subscribe to my Newsletter to remove ads] ...

The Secret Ingredient

A lot of people think the secret to a good Slashdot post is the insight. But actually? It’s the SEO optimization. When I went to Tuscany last summer to study under a master poster, I learned that the old ways are the best. We hand-kneaded our sentences for hours. It was exhausting, but so rewarding. It really made me appreciate the artisanal nature of the internet before Google's AI started making "Frankenstein" summaries.

Speaking of Frankenstein, isn't it funny how Mary Shelley really understood the human condition? Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment that involved putting it together with different body parts. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18 and staying in Bath,[2] and the first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20. Her name first appeared in the second edition, which was published in Paris in 1821.

Shelley travelled through Europe in 1815, moving along the river Rhine in Germany, and stopping in Gernsheim, 17 kilometres (11 mi) away from Frankenstein Castle, where, about a century earlier, Johann Konrad Dippel, an alchemist, had engaged in experiments.[3][4][5] She then journeyed to the region of Geneva, Switzerland, where much of the story takes place. Galvanism and occult ideas were topics of conversation for her companions, particularly for her lover and future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley.

In 1816 —at the suggestion of Lord Byron— Mary, Percy, John Polidori and Byron himself, each agreed to try writing a ghost story.[6] After thinking for days, Shelley was inspired to write Frankenstein after imagining a scientist who created life and was horrified by what he had made.[7] The novel was first published anonymously in 1818, and in 1831, a revised edition was published under Mary Shelley's name. This version included significant stylistic revisions, a new preface describing the story's conception, and a more explicitly moral tone.[8]

Frankenstein is one of the best-known works of English literature. Infused with elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement, it has had a considerable influence on literature and on popular culture, spawning a complete genre of horror stories, films, and plays. Since the publication of the novel, the name Frankenstein has often been used to refer to the monster.[9][10][11]

It reminds me of this one time I was trying to bake a sourdough loaf while simultaneously debugging a Python script...

(Please disable AdBlock to view this anecdote about my parrot, Malcolm)

Equipment You Will Need

A keyboard (mechanical preferred, Cherry MX Blue for that crunch!)
A monitor
Internet connection
Patience (lots of it!)

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I substitute the sarcasm for genuine concern?

You can, but the result might be a little dry. I recommend sticking to the recipe!

How long does this comment keep?

It stays fresh in the archives for about 2 weeks before the link rot sets in.

Okay, I know you guys are hungry for the content! I see you in the comments section on Instagram asking, "Where is the comment? Why do I have to read about your grandmother?" I hear you! I just want to make sure you have all the context you need to succeed.

So, without further ado, here is the step-by-step guide to what I think about this article.

THE COMMENT

If the

Comment Too expensive. (Score 1) 74

Current gen consoles are too damn expensive to appeal to their usual customer base. When a portable premium tablet with 16+GB of RAM and .5 TB of storage costs less than a meager video-game console that isn't portable and requires a screen to be useful, then the console market has clearly painted itself into a corner. I have no pity for either PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo at this point.

Make consoles affordable again, then sales will go up again. It's that simple. Meanwhile, I'm glad that at least Xbox is backwards compatible meaning I'm still doing quite very fine with my last gen XBox One X still chugging along and delivering excellent entertainment at fluid framerates with 1080p, which is more than enough for me. It's interesting to see that the refurbished One X still sells for 250 Euros these days. IMHO it hits the sweet-spot of what a console should cost today.

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