leo

leo, 10 months ago to random

I sincerely hope Threads follows through with their plan to federate. It will give other Fediverse users a controlled pipeline to the zeitgeist.

By judiciously following Threaders here we’ll be able to have safe access to the people, news, and brands we could never convince to use Mastodon without having to submerse ourselves into the massive, undifferentiated flood of info over there.

This is a good thing, yes?

leo, 11 months ago (edited 11 months ago) to random

Don’t kid yourself. “Artificial intelligence“ is just Big Tech’s way of saying “hey, it’s not our fault. It’s the machine’s!“ In point of fact, every malign use of “AI“ is really just some human-composed algorithm doing something that maximizes profit or control at the expense of people. We must not let these companies off the hook. They’re in charge. Not the machine. Pay attention to the man behind the curtain.

leo, 1 year ago to random

Having spent a little time on Bluesky (leolaporte.me) I'm here to report that I'm sticking with Mastodon.

Too many people want Bluesky to replicate Twitter - and the outrage machine is already spinning up.

The ATProtocol is interesting - but I'm not sure it's significantly better than ActivityPub.

The homegrown feel here just feels better to me. More small town than big city. But I'll keep an eye on Bluesky. I'm not writing it off yet.

leo, 8 months ago to random

I love the simple FidoNet BBS rules. There are only two:

• Don't be excessively annoying.
• Don't be easily annoyed.

I was a FidoNet Sysop in the mid 90s and I can verify that the rules worked. Word to live by.

https://wiki.c2.com/?FidonetRules

leo, 10 months ago to random

RIP reformed hacker and security expert Kevin Mitnick 1963-2023.

20 years ago, Kevin joined the Screen Savers to get on the Internet for the first time since his conviction. We brought in some special guests to advise him.

https://youtu.be/heiHrcFlqu4

leo, 6 months ago to random

I'm freaking out. I just created a GPT to help me answer Lisp questions. I uploaded 10 of the best Lisp books (including Graham, Norvig, Siebel, and Touretzky) and it's giving me great answers. This is even better than the Hyperspec. What an amazing tool. It took me less than half an hour. I'm blown away.

https://chat.openai.com/g/g-HrUtFVno8-lisp-expert

leo, 10 months ago to random

Loads of fun visiting the Computer History Museum in Mtn View with two bona fide geeks.

A book titled How To Make A Fortune On The Information Superhighway
The carterfone. In 1968 the FCC ruled against Ma Bell and forced the company to allow third-party hardware on its network.
Nerds eating in-n-out burgers.

leo, 7 months ago to random

Yep that's really me on Facebook. I think I need an account there to keep an eye on disinformation and the 2024 election.

I might follow some friends, too.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552198112267

leo, 9 months ago to random

What a surprise! Ordered April 2022. Arrived August 2023. Thank you Panic!

leo, 11 months ago to random

Can't say I'm in any way excited about Vision Pro. It's tough to bet against Apple in anything -- they'll spend billions trying to create a market -- but I can't imagine any normal people buying it at $3500.

As for what it might look like in 5 years I'm thinking landfill.

leo, 11 months ago to random

Loving this new 15" MacBook Air.

Its native 2880 × 1864 display is super crisp and clear. Although I'm not running it at the "default" resolution but at the easier to read 1/2 rez.

leo, 9 months ago to random

Hey TWiT fans who live in Wisconsin or near Green Bay - we are going to Lambeau Field for a game this year.

If we have a meet-up on Friday night in Green Bay, September 29th, at 6 pm - would you come say hi?

Please respond to this post if you will come. I am trying to get a headcount.

leo, 7 months ago to random

I think it might be time to warm up the Lisp muscles. The Advent of Code is right around the corner. I stalled out last year on Day 16. Stupid binary tree searches get me every time. But this time I WILL be ready!

https://www.redblobgames.com/pathfinding/a-star/introduction.html

leo, 11 months ago to random

I think I found out where the missing metaverse legs went.

leo, 8 months ago to random

We're about to fly home but thanks to everyone in Green Bay - we had an amazing time. See you again soon!

leo, 11 months ago to random

I think you do lose points @glennf for saying Apple would never ship a "waist-hung lump" however.

Honestly the Vision Pro looks like a disaster in the making and I think it's not going to reflect well on Tim Cook.

leo, 3 months ago to random

Mikah unboxed the Vision Pro yesterday. It was more fun watching him play with it than actually trying it myself.

Mikah wearing the Vision Pro for the first time. Not sure who he's talking to.
Mikah wearing the Vision Pro for the first time. Looking at his hands.

leo, 8 months ago to random

Don't forget @TWiT fans - our Green Bay WI meetup is tonight at the Hinterlands Brewery across from Lambeau Field. I'll see you there starting at 6p!

https://twit.tv/posts/inside-twit/twit-meetup-leo-laporte-green-bay

leo, 1 year ago to random

25 years ago today a minor cable channel named ZDTV (later TechTV) launched. https://youtu.be/9GjuA-sO9Bk #zdtv #techtv #amazeyourself

leo, 6 months ago to random

And now I've got a GPT expert on Emacs. Ingested all the Emacs manuals and Mickey Peterson's excellent Mastering Emacs. This is so much better than searching manuals. I'm blown away.

https://chat.openai.com/g/g-ceQ8Ju6Rg-emacs-expert

leo, 3 months ago to random

We're tearing down the paywall!

https://twit.tv/posts/inside-twit/club-shows-now-open-everyone

leo, 6 months ago to random

In case anyone is interested this is what my emacs looks like with Monaspace Neon Var...

Really nice legibility.

leo, 5 months ago to random

A rap song in the style of Run DMC to welcome back Mary Jo Foley to Windows Weekly on @TWiT for the day. It's a Christmas Miracle!

https://sl.bing.net//jHVDdC4J3Tw

Generated by Bing Chat using suno.ai.

leo, 4 months ago to random

I just completed "Wait For It" - Day 6 - Advent of Code 2023 #AdventOfCode https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/6

Well that was easy.

leo, 2 months ago to random

I just completed "The Floor Will Be Lava" - Day 16 - Advent of Code 2023 #AdventOfCode https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/16

That was fun. But where are the pathfinding problems?