ptz

Not affiliated with this, lol, but it was recommended to me in another comment thread, and it seems to be relevant to what this community is about. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I do have it on order.

I'm also still fine-tuning the direction of this community. I'm thinking something between Digital Minimalism and Neo-Luddism with a side dish of "this is what's pissing me off about tech lately". Like, I'm not against tech by any means, and I still like it, but I don't want to be enslaved by it. Anyway, suggestions are welcome for that.

Synopsis

"Newport is making a bid to be the Marie Kondo of technology: someone with an actual plan for helping you realize the digital pursuits that do, and don't, bring value to your life."--Ezra Klein, Vox

Minimalism is the art of knowing how much is just enough. Digital minimalism applies this idea to our personal technology. It's the key to living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world.

In this timely and enlightening book, the bestselling author of Deep Work introduces a philosophy for technology use that has already improved countless lives.

Digital minimalists are all around us. They're the calm, happy people who can hold long conversations without furtive glances at their phones. They can get lost in a good book, a woodworking project, or a leisurely morning run. They can have fun with friends and family without the obsessive urge to document the experience. They stay informed about the news of the day, but don't feel overwhelmed by it. They don't experience "fear of missing out" because they already know which activities provide them meaning and satisfaction.

Now, Newport gives us a name for this quiet movement, and makes a persuasive case for its urgency in our tech-saturated world. Common sense tips, like turning off notifications, or occasional rituals like observing a digital sabbath, don't go far enough in helping us take back control of our technological lives, and attempts to unplug completely are complicated by the demands of family, friends and work. What we need instead is a thoughtful method to decide what tools to use, for what purposes, and under what conditions.

Drawing on a diverse array of real-life examples, from Amish farmers to harried parents to Silicon Valley programmers, Newport identifies the common practices of digital minimalists and the ideas that underpin them. He shows how digital minimalists are rethinking their relationship to social media, rediscovering the pleasures of the offline world, and reconnecting with their inner selves through regular periods of solitude. He then shares strategies for integrating these practices into your life, starting with a thirty-day "digital declutter" process that has already helped thousands feel less overwhelmed and more in control.

Technology is intrinsically neither good nor bad. The key is using it to support your goals and values, rather than letting it use you. This book shows the way.

The Department of Justice has amended its antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation, alleging that Ticketmaster's introduction of nontransferable tickets and the SafeTix system was primarily intended to stifle competition from rival platforms like StubHub and SeatGeek, rather than merely to reduce ticket fraud. "The complaint, which was amended on Monday after 10 states joined the DOJ's lawsuit, cites internal Ticketmaster documents obtained during the legal process," notes The Verge. From the report:

In 2019, Ticketmaster rolled out SafeTix, which replaced static barcodes on electronic tickets with encrypted barcodes that refresh every 15 seconds. Ticketmaster marketed SafeTix as a way of reducing ticket fraud, but the complaint claims reducing competition was âoea primary motivationâ for the new ticketing system. [...] The amended complaint includes new information about Ticketmaster's dominance of the events market. One internal Live Nation document cited in the complaint notes that Ticketmaster is the primary ticketer for approximately 80 percent of arenas across the country that host NBA or NHL teams. As of 2022, Live Nation-promoted events accounted for 70 percent of all amphitheater shows across the country, according to internal Live Nation events mentioned in the complaint.

The DOJ alleges that because of Ticketmaster's conduct, consumers have âoepaid more and continue to pay more for fees relating to tickets to live events than they would have paid in a free and open competitive market.â The exact amount of monetary harm is still unknown, the complaint claims, and will require discovery from Ticketmaster and Live Nation's books, as well as from its third-party competitors.

Per Wikipedia, RAS Syndrome is short for Redundant Acronym Syndrome and was coined in 2001 in a light-hearted column in New Scientist.

A person is said to "suffer" from RAS syndrome when they redundantly use one or more of the words that make up an acronym or initialism with the abbreviation itself.

e.g. "I had a hard time entering my PIN number into the ATM machine because its GUI interface was unintuitive"

The sentence still makes sense and, depending on the acronyms used, is more clear. Different industries use the same acronyms for different things. If you're working with people from different industries, sometimes those overlap; having the last word spelled out can help distinguish which is being used.

There are few linguistic hills I'll die on, but this is one of them. This post brought to you by a coworker who didn't like that I said "PIN number".

Many Procreate users can breathe a sigh of relief now that the popular iPad illustration app has taken a definitive stance against generative AI. "We're not going to be introducing any generative AI into our products," Procreate CEO James Cuda said in a video posted to X. "I don't like what's happening to the industry, and I don't like what it's doing to artists."

The creative community's ire toward generative AI is driven by two main concerns: that AI models have been trained on their content without consent or compensation, and that widespread adoption of the technology will greatly reduce employment opportunities. Those concerns have driven some digital illustrators to seek out alternative solutions to apps that integrate generative AI tools, such as Adobe Photoshop. "Generative AI is ripping the humanity out of things. Built on a foundation of theft, the technology is steering us toward a barren future," Procreate said on the new AI section of its website. "We think machine learning is a compelling technology with a lot of merit, but the path generative AI is on is wrong for us."

I love seeing a product where not shoving in "AI" is the feature. Hope to see more.

It really looks like a laptop, but it’s actually a 14″ 1920 x 1280 monitor and USB keyboard in a laptop form factor.

There is also an integrated trackpad, speakers and mic, and a rechargeable battery. That makes it capable of providing its own power, and it can even function as a power bank in a pinch. There’s an HDMI input on one side, and on the other is a full-featured USB-C port that accepts video input via the DisplayPort altmode.

Spotify

Don't count on the Deep Space Nine star angling for a Star Trek: O'Brien any time soon.

DS9: 1x14: Storyteller

In his defense, it's his one and only half-ass, and it was intentional.

And if you don't get the reference in the title: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqURRsNLxB4

LOGAN COUNTY, W.Va. (WVVA) - A family’s pet kangaroo was on the loose in Logan County this morning.

The kangaroo slowed traffic on Mud Fork Road in Verdunville according to one of the drivers on his way to work.

“I was driving to work, and we had five cars in front of us that stopped in the middle of the road,” said Noah Manns. " I was trying to look around and see what the holdup was, and when I was able to get into view, I saw a kangaroo hopping up the road.”

When the kangaroo had finally moved off the road, Manns was able to get photos of it.

Manns did not contact law enforcement because he knew the owners, who had bought the animal as a baby.

“I called my friend, and she immediately got ahold of the owners,” said Manns.

The kangaroo was caught and is now back home with its family.