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Comment Re:Could be a good thing? (Score 1) 24

Totally, even though for the most part I don't actually use any of the new features, I get it, but it is a little frustrating when software that I depend on and use all day, every day, takes a nosedive in quality, so I really do hope this new thing helps them bring the quality back up to where it was a few years ago, rather than adding even more features...

Comment Could be a good thing? (Score 1) 24

I've been a Thunderbird user since forever ago, and I've only had two big issues in all that time, and both instances I think were due to changes in the mailbox/account format on disk, and they were fixed fairly quickly, so major kudos to the devs for that.

I've noticed a drop in the overall quality of the software in the past couple years, so hopefully this gives them an infusion of cash to get things back on track. I guess there's always Betterbird. I was just looking at switching yesterday, since I currently have an annoying issue with emails correctly tagged and filed as spam causing system new mail notifications, which is something I've never experienced. I suspect it has something to do with the switch to native system notifications on linux... I've went looking to see if there's a bug report about it, and so far, nothing. I guess I'll have to file one myself.

Comment Re:prices falling (Score 1) 21

I pay $2.50/month for about 25MB of data per month ($10 prepaid card every 120 days) from PagePlus (a verizon mvno), which doesn't sound like much, but is sufficient for quick calls, texting, text-only email and even live traffic mapping, since the balance carries over, taking care of occasional heavier usage. I do have to be careful using my phone when not on wifi, but it's a no-brainer when even the lowest cost "unlimited" plan costs 20 times that.

Unfortunately, it's often difficult to get them to take my money (their website sucks) and they're probably going to go away relatively soon, so I'll probably have to switch to US Mobile or something else for ~$20/month, which still isn't bad I guess, but adds up quickly when you're paying tor 6 phones...

Comment Re:You can literally just download the whole site (Score 4, Informative) 51

My thoughts exactly! I have a few (very old) copies of Wikipedia hanging around somewhere. I should go torrent a fresh copy. Way back when, I used to keep a text-only copy on my phone (Kiwix, which appears to still be a thing) for when I didn't have data. I bet I still have that SD card somewhere. I think it was about 10GB uncompressed back then.

I guess it goes to show how stupid and greedy these AI companies are. I'm sure that a lot of the primary training data for most models *is* Wikipedia. So letting all these AI bots go nuts hitting the public servers over and over again for slightly updated content is just plain lazy. Grabbing diffs from a mirror every month and updating a local copy isn't even hard, or maybe just spend an infinitesimal amount of that VC money on a Wikipedia API subscription. Sheesh.

Comment Re:No (Score 1) 191

I sincerely hope you're right about that, though it seems to me that stupidity itself isn't the problem we face, that would be greed combined with irrational fear along with the societal delusion that all of us are temporarily embarrassed billionaires, just waiting for our "big break". Spoiler alert: the big break isn't coming for *any* of us that aren't already billionaires.

Comment Re:Wrong dimension (Score 1) 79

My last phone was a moto G (2017) and it was the perfect size at 5.2". I just recently had to replace it with a (second hand) pixel device, not because I wanted one (I wanted another Moto G, but they're 7" now) but because it's (just) pocketable at 6.1". "Small" smartphones seem to not exist anymore. I don't care at all about "thin" phones either. I just want an android phone that fits comfortably in my front pocket and has 2+ days of battery. The Zenfone would have worked, but is expensive and att & tmobile only.

Comment Soda (Score 2) 116

This study may be biased, but that doesn't change the fact that a single 12 oz can of soda can contain more than 40 grams of sugar. Most humans shouldn't consume more than about 100 grams of sugar per day, and 50 is more like it. Come on people. Have your sugar in your after-dinner dessert. If you're thirsty, drink water, or at least find a beverage that doesn't contain more sugar than a slice of cheesecake. Hell, drink beer. That's better for you than pepsi or whatever anyway. I wonder how much sugar is in Brawndo.

Comment Re:What? (Score 1) 72

I live in the US, though I can't stand "regular American" beer, which is mostly crappy "pilsner" at best, though there are a few good ones from Canada. I like German-style (dry, crisp) pilsner, and enjoy a hefeweizen from time to time. There is good Belgian beer, though I've not experienced it as particularly foamy. The English make ale I like (Bass for one, though I don't like it above 10C) and I like a good heavy porter or stout with dessert sometimes, but I mostly drink a locally brewed IPA or two with dinner. No such thing as too hoppy for me, though some varieties are better than others for my taste. I find it aids digestion.

10-20 years ago, there was a craft beer (mostly IPA) renaissance over here, and man were there some great IPAs, though unfortunately that has faded, as many of the good craft breweries get bought up by Inbev or other huge conglomerates and ruined. There are still a few good ones left, but at some point I'm probably going to have to start brewing my own.

I've never seen the point of a "head" on a beer. For me, it just gets in the way of being able to actually drink the liquid, but I guess to each their own.

Comment Delusional (Score 1) 107

I love science fiction as much as the next person, probably more, but the headline is totally delusional. There's no way that's happening by 2050, though if we cut it out with the hair-brained schemes (and wars and other stupidity, like the race to be the world's first trillionaire) and actually continue doing (and meaningfully funding) the work of installing solar panels and other renewable energy sources everywhere, ideally in micro-grids, with distributed local storage and/or more long haul HVDC lines, we could not only have enough solar energy for Europe by 2050, but a good chunk of the rest of the planet too. That is not a technological problem anymore. Hasn't been for at least a decade. It's a social/political problem.

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