@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

paulthenerd

@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social

The name is Paul, I live in #NorthernIreland with my partner and our cute British shorthair #Cat Truffles and ragdoll cat Gizmo. I like #Music, #Books, #VideoGames, #Food, #Tea and #Rum. These things will be the subject I toot most about.

Going to try and keep it positive and fairly wholesome.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

paulthenerd, to chrome
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

I think it’s a bit weird to be drawing comparisons between and . Safari doesn’t and likely will never have the web browser market share and thus complete dominance that IE had. Its market share is tiny in comparison. A better comparison would be the browser and the engine itself built on (yes it’s important to include the engine too) and you’ll see that Google’s dominance is more far reaching than Safari on iOS and is probably on the same level as IE back in the day at this point.

The “browser choice” warriors love to focus on iOS and ignore the bigger issue of the dominance of the engine in the wider web browser market. All it’s doing is handing the keys of the web over to Google.

Use Safari or .

paulthenerd, to AppleWatch
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

I think of my as an iPhone accessory. Just like how my Apple Pencil is an ipad accessory. Just like how my PS Portal is a PS5 accessory. Just like how the Steam Dock is a Steam Deck accessory. I don't see anything monopolistic in that. None of those accessories really pretend to or are built to be anything else.

paulthenerd, to threads
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

Are we really going to do the whole discourse again? For gods sake respect the decision of your admin, they are smart enough to do right by their users by acting in keeping with the values the seek to foster for the community.

davidbisset, to apple
@davidbisset@phpc.social avatar

isn’t innocent but…

“Apple killed the Amazon Fire Phone”

…made me do a legit spit take. 😂

watching arrested development GIF

paulthenerd,
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

@davidbisset call me cynical but throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks isn’t the best way to bring an antitrust suit, and there does seem to be a lot of that with this one. You’d think they’d learn from the FTC’s miserable failure with the Activision Blizzard thing

majorlinux, to China
@majorlinux@toot.majorshouse.com avatar

I think this is what the kids call "losing the plot"

House bill doesn't protect your data, just restricts the selling of it - Desk Chair Analysts

https://dcanalysts.net/house-bill-doesnt-protect-your-data-just-restricts-the-selling-of-it/

paulthenerd,
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

@majorlinux Does it though? As far as I can see the bill does nothing to reign in the data brokers so not much restricting happening

paulthenerd, to Twitch
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

One thing I do miss from deleting my account is the section. There are some really talented people there streaming music. Are there any people out there streaming music via ?

paulthenerd,
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

@gcrkrause I plan to, but I’ve also learned of the directory that has a music section https://directory.owncast.online/

paulthenerd, to TikTok
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

Hypocrisy, thy name is America.

As The US Freaks Out About TikTok, It’s Revealed That The CIA Was Using Chinese Social Media To Try To Undermine The Gov’t There

https://www.techdirt.com/2024/03/18/as-the-us-freaks-out-about-tiktok-its-revealed-that-the-cia-was-using-chinese-social-media-to-try-to-undermine-the-govt-there/

ChrisMayLA6, to Economics
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

This graphic (circulated by Bridget Doran on LinkedIn) neatly sums up the problem with the simple message that growth needs to be prioritised & measured via a nominal GDP measure.

In this sense it reflects a heckle reported by Anand Menon nearly a decade ago, during a lecture on GDP & the problems of growth:

'That’s your bloody GDP. Not ours'!

The simple truth that growth is unevenly distributed is often lost in policy discussions!

#economics #growth #inequality #GDP

paulthenerd,
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

@ChrisMayLA6 Absolutely, all talk of growth and GDP means absolutely nothing to people who do not share in the result of said growth/GDP. Those in power (and who want to be in power) don't get that because they are sharing in the result of the growth/GDP.

paulthenerd, to sciencefiction
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

More for fans

https://storybundle.com/worldsf

ppatel, to TikTok
@ppatel@mstdn.social avatar

Americans wondering about the effects of a ban can look to India, which banned TikTok and 200 other Chinese apps in 2020. Most people simply turned to Instagram or YouTube

https://restofworld.org/2023/america-india-tiktok-ban/

paulthenerd,
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

@ppatel that’s what Congress wants. The Meta does business with US data brokers and the alphabet soup agencies do business with the data brokers. TikTok does not do business with US data brokers

paulthenerd, to music
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

Went to redownload some from my library that I had previously paid for only to find that the music is nowhere to be found.

Apparently Bandcamp deletes purchased music from libraries when artists/labels pull it from the store. That's less than ideal. Might have to reevaluate my opinion that Bandcamp is a better deal for musicians AND fans.

paulthenerd, to science
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

We get so much talk of “video game preservation”, this is far more important. We could one day lose vital scientific research. Losing video games would be a bit sad but we’d survive, losing scientific research would be devastating and it would take decades to recover, if we ever do.

Study finds that we could lose science if publishers go bankrupt

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/03/study-finds-that-we-could-lose-science-if-publishers-go-bankrupt/

paul, (edited ) to TikTok
@paul@oldfriends.live avatar

effort to thwart legislation backfires

One rep office said, "American phones were geolocated and TikTok users were locked out of the platform until they called their members of Congress. ByteDance weaponized the app against America, and that is exactly why the Congressman supports this measure"

Some teens threatening suicide if app is blocked, "The iron grip that TikTok has on the minds of young people is a profound public health hazard," another Rep office said
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68517607

paulthenerd,
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

@paul not ideal obviously but it still doesn’t justify an unconstitutional ban

paulthenerd, to VideoGames
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

Lots of talk about the "pandemic boom" but not one mention of rising interest rates which I'd wager is a bigger part of the equation seeing as how #Layoffs are affecting more than just the #VideoGames and #Tech industries. When you live through the better part of 15 years with near 0 interest rates, borrowing so cheaply, then #InterestRates rising again is inevitably going to have an effect. It is very likely that these companies over leveraged themselves on cheap credit and are now feeling the pinch.

What is going on with layoffs in the video games industry?

https://www.eurogamer.net/what-is-going-on-with-the-video-games-industry

paulthenerd, to WFH
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

Daily reminder that is about commercial real estate and pointless managers justifying their jobs, it is not about productivity or efficiency

ChrisMayLA6, to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

David Rowland, (Centre for Health & the Public Interest) on #Labour's #NHS plans:

They're based on a 'series of misunderstandings about the role the private sector currently plays in the NHS.. [the plans] will cost the taxpayer a lot more as very large profits are being made from NHS care by private companies.

[it] also diverts income away from NHS hospitals, leaving them with less money & staff to do the complex work that the private sector won’t do'!

Will #WesStreeting listen?

quoted, FT

paulthenerd,
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

@ChrisMayLA6 Labour are responsible for the role the private sector plays in the NHS in no small way; they don't misunderstand it, they misrepresent it because several of the top people in the party have ties to health companies

paulthenerd, to linux
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

As much as has improved over the years, native Linux gaming really hasn’t improved a whole lot. I still find myself having to force a native game to use quite frequently when I play on

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

It is strange how many completely arbitrary and unproven numbers we live by:

10k Steps
The BMI
2000 Calories
6 inch Penises
8 Glasses of Water
8 Hours of Sleep
8 Spiders A Year

paulthenerd,
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

@RickiTarr get your 5 a day is another

ChrisMayLA6, to bookstodon
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

Defend our

(from @tomgauld)

@bookstodon

paulthenerd,
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

@ChrisMayLA6 @tomgauld @bookstodon I always find it odd that people are so passionate about saving pubs for socialising related reasons but the same cannot be said of public libraries. My public library's summer book club was a terrific social experience when I was growing up, it saved the summer holidays in many ways

paulthenerd, to linux
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

All operating systems suck, all that matters is finding one to use that sucks in ways you can tolerate/work around

Same goes for

luckytran, to random
@luckytran@med-mastodon.com avatar

This is terrifying. Police in the UK will be given the power to arrest people if they are wearing face coverings at specific demonstrations, the Home Office has said. Protesters who wear masks could face arrest, up to a month in jail, and a £1,000 fine.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/08/masked-protesters-could-soon-face-arrest-says-home-office

paulthenerd,
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

@luckytran That's nothing. You can get a £2500 fine and 6 months in jail if the police think you raised your voice too much at a protest

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/face-masks-public-protests-crackdown-fine-jail-b2492901.html

paulthenerd, to coffee
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

It really is funny how tastes evolve.

I used to be big into but these days I trend more toward

I used to be big into but I have really gone off recently as I've gone down my journey.

There was a time I used to think I could get into / but have gone off that too.

I used to be about mixed spirits but now I primarily look out for spirits I can sip neat.

Maybe its to do with getting older but my palate for different things really has evolved.

paulthenerd,
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

@zdl the problem with scotch for me is that it’s all about heavy aging and I just don’t like it. Then there is the really peaty stuff like Isley I can’t get on with. I’m not a fan of heavily aged rums either because they inevitably take on too much of the ex whisk(e)y barrel and you lose a lot of what makes rum so good. Thankfully there are some cracking younger rums on the market I can sip neat

paulthenerd, to tea
@paulthenerd@cupoftea.social avatar

Opinion: once you've tasted a good loose leaf , there really is no going back to bags, especially from the big teabag brands. There is just no comparison for me

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