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Comment This is one symptom of a deeper problem (Score 1) 237

Modern tech has a short useful life and is designed to be disposable.
Standards change, backward compatibility is becoming less of a priority, and repairability is eroding, both by technology and law.
Even worse are expensive machines like CNC or lab equipment that was built with old tech. The machines themselves were built to last, but their controllers are becoming increasingly obsolete. Some very expensive and perfectly good machines run on 286 motherboards, DOS and floppys.
I love progress, but we need to fight for backward compatibility and repairability.
A hammer from the 1800s is still usable

Comment But wait, there's more (Score 1) 111

In addition to all of the stuff in the article, there are other problems
I'm a glassworker
In the past, glassworkers used social media to show their work and make sales.
Some of the glass pieces were "functional". This is a word we use for cannabis smoking pipes.
Advertisers didn't want to be associated with "illegal drug paraphernalia". even in states where cannabis was legal, so they pressured the social media companies to delete accounts. This caused talented, hard working artists to lose sales. Some even quit glasswork.

But wait, there's more

The robots that ban accounts are stupid. Glassworkers who made objects like pendants, drinking glasses, marbles, etc were banned as well because the idiot robot misidentified the objects as pipes

Comment Fiction meets reality (Score 4, Insightful) 92

For years, people have been told a story. To get a good job, you need a diploma. NOT an education, just a diploma.
Some students, who loved to learn, worked really hard to train their minds, and as a bonus, got a diploma.
Others slouched through college, putting in minimal effort, socializing, binge drinking and cheating on exams to barely graduate and get what they believed would be the key to success, a diploma.

For the excellent, well trained minds, the diploma was nearly useless, their trained minds, knowledge and accomplishments guaranteed success.
For the slouchers, the diploma was totally useless, their laziness and lack of motivation guaranteed failure.

Comment As expected (Score 1) 74

Real progress is being made, and I expect future AI will allow us to solve previously intractable problems
Unfortunately, when billions are at stake, the hype vastly exceeds the reality
Lying salesweasels sell immature tech to clueless executives with predictable results
I find today's AI to be useful in some cases and useless in others
I also find it amusing that some believe the outrageous hype and predictions

Comment Apple is not... (Score 2, Informative) 81

..."the center of the tech universe"
They're a fashion company that sells trendy, unrepairable, throwaway devices and expects their fanbois to buy a new device whenever it's announced. They also want the old devices to end up in the trash.
They oppose right to repair and threaten independent repair shops

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