@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org
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thomasapowell

@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org

Mostly sharing thoughts on #webdev, #softwareengineering, #retrogames and humanistic aspects of tech. Old tech guy, UCSD CSE Lecturer, Author, pint.com founder, and person behind ZingChart and ZingGrid. šŸ¤“

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thomasapowell, to ai
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A few things about in the cloud we probably should acknowledge. First spinning up a cell phoneā€™s radio constantly is gonna kill battery life. Add to this the network latency and variability making the UX painfully inconsistent or even unworkable. Also privacy but whatevs right?

Hasnā€™t Humane, R1, Echo, Siriā€¦ taught us anything or we just gonna wave this off as easily solvable?

On device really is required here but AI gold rush time so letā€™s gooooo! šŸ¤·

thomasapowell, to ai
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

Worth a watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDUC-LqVrPU

jasongorman, to random
@jasongorman@mastodon.cloud avatar

Search for "Certified Scrum Master" on YouTube. "When I found out there was something called 'project management' and then I found out about 'Scrum' "

thomasapowell,
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

@jasongorman were the videos like ā€œHey guys! Today I am gonna tell you how you too can get certified in just one day and land your six figure dream job leading teams of rockstar ninja devs building world changing hyper scale AI powered software for the block chained powered metaverse. But first remember to like and subscribe so I can put out more killer content for yā€™all and turbo charge your tech leadership!ā€

thomasapowell, to random
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

Pithy thought

Full Team Devs >>> Full Stack Devs

thomasapowell, to random
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

Well I finally broke my long term luck and am positive with

I did most of the right things over the years with masks and vaxxing but we are so loose now it was bound to happen esp being on campus and having massive lectures.

Sadly it isnā€™t some simple cold or flu I feel weird as hell. šŸ˜¬ so shifting down to a lower gear in my life for a bit.

baldur, to random
@baldur@toot.cafe avatar

those devs and tech ā€œinfluencersā€ who pioneered the technical work of putting ā€œAIā€ shit in everything everywhere, and areā€”for the most partā€”the assholes who enabled our brave new ā€œAIā€ world by actually figuring out how to make it run, are also going to be the people who get credit for criticising it after the bubble pops, arenā€™t they?

Everybody will latch onto their vague concerns and ignore the fact that they literally implemented the shit that got smeared everywhere, arenā€™t they?

thomasapowell,
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

@baldur you are probably right and without a doubt that should be dubbed the Kara Swisher effect.

@parismarx

thomasapowell, to TeslaMotors
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

I am well over ten and maybe even 20+ sightings now and it still makes me look, shake my head and wonder what type of person buys and drives this thing? When the tinting isnā€™t illegal level I always make sure to look. The trend is unbroken so far. Any guesses ?

thomasapowell, to ai
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

A student shared this with me about their upcoming graduation ceremony. It's the sign of the times that of course we would use during graduation so it too can mispronounce names.

Sigh.

thomasapowell, to shitposting
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

So if I understand these wearable AIs approach I am supposed to carry a second super cheap phone that is specifically for AI around and that will help me not take out my primary smart phone?

Cool cool got it. One question.

Can I get a third phone with special software for to make phone of the second phone so I donā€™t have to take out the first phone to dunk on them?

film_girl, to random
@film_girl@mastodon.social avatar

This is fantastic. If youā€™ve got the Rabbit apk launcher plz share with me christina at christina dot is. This is hilarious. https://www.androidauthority.com/rabbit-r1-is-an-android-app-3438805/

thomasapowell,
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

@film_girl well this would totally fit with the automations being Playwright scripts doing some sort of budget zapier like actions. Itā€™s ā€œqualityā€ all the way down!

baldur, to random
@baldur@toot.cafe avatar

How many companies adopted MongoDB because ā€œitā€™s the future!ā€ and are now stuck with it until insolvency or the heat-death of the universe, whichever comes first?

Be careful about making technical decisions based on bubble logic

thomasapowell,
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

@baldur the snarkiest yet true version of that thought would be to remind everyone that MongoDB is webscale šŸ¤£

https://youtu.be/b2F-DItXtZs?si=sk4ueBxiw4G4iCOt

thomasapowell, to Rabbits
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

So the #Rabbit R1 folks thinks they can learn a UI and automate it no problem. Err people if you can do that for real and properly automate E2E testing you are rich right there no product required. This has never worked well screen recorders #softwareengineering

Apparently leaked code says Rabbit is just using Playwright which is a gigaton of fail ready to happen. Enjoy everything breaking every single day. šŸ¤¦ā€ā™‚ļø

I guess they married Zapier + GenAI + Voice. Itā€™s a mashup 2020s style yā€™all!

brad_frost, to random
@brad_frost@mastodon.social avatar

Written almost 10 years ago, "Just" remains one of the most impactful posts I've written: https://bradfrost.com/blog/post/just/

ā€œJustā€ is a dangerous word.

thomasapowell,
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

@brad_frost I think it is part of my client trigger phase ā€œWell why can't you justā€¦<insert ridiculous ask way out of scope or with massive complexity>?ā€

I probably start having facial twitches esp if the thing is some vague statement about making something ā€œpop" or "work better" or ... esp if coupled with ā€œI'm not sure but I'll know it when I see itā€ as a response to any questions posed.

TL;DR - that post needed a CW on it for some of us :-)

thomasapowell, to Japan
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

I was in in Feb and I saw all these people doing a Lawson parking lot photo with Mr Fuji. I had no sense this was a thing nor why until later. At the time it made absolutely no sense to me as you could get so many better photos elsewhere. It wasnā€™t even a great contrast anyway. I mean a conbini + Fuji errr ok.
What next a 7-11 + Grand Canyon ?

Good on the town for putting a stop to this.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/japan-mount-fuji-view-barrier-tourists-intl-hnk/index.html

randahl, to random
@randahl@mastodon.social avatar

If you use Ivory for Mastodon, could you check if you are seeing a šŸŽ¬ icon next to my profile picture, or if it is only shown as part of my name?

For other accounts I see, Ivory moves any icon placed in the profile name up to the profile picture as a badge, which I think is a nice feature.

But for some reason, it does not work for my own icon, at least not when I view myself.

Perhaps @ivory has a bug?

image/jpeg

thomasapowell,
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

@randahl name only

Oh also keep up the good toots you have great insights on days ending in ā€œyā€

thomasapowell, to Rabbits
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

Imagine if someone made a clip for an Apple Watch so you could wear it. Maybe the clip has a camera that connects via Bluetooth boom you best Humane, Rabbit R1, etc immediately and have an existing OS and app ecosystem and phone integration. Seems a bit easier than what everyone is currently doing.


brucelawson, to random
@brucelawson@vivaldi.net avatar

Why do marketing people get so obsessed about time someone spends on a page (with the assumption that longer=better because 'engagement')? Good IA should mean users find what they want quickly; good UX means quick ordering. Good copywriting means quick comprehension, doesn't it?

thomasapowell,
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

@brucelawson taught this idea which I call the ā€œvisit fallacyā€ as in more time and engagement in a visit = more success for years in my web analytics course. Use an example about successful visits to the course page to find the homework assignment using time on site and page views and compare to one with the answer on the home page and one buried somewhere. The students really relate to this one! I point out fallacy is untrue if paid by more time or click thoughā€¦thereā€™s the rub. šŸ˜–

baldur, to random
@baldur@toot.cafe avatar

Looking at their reaction to US anti-trust action, EU regulations, and the AI Bubble and it feels like the US tech exec class and hangers-on has just gone completely off the rails irrational?

Like a sad clown with rabies screaming at shadowsā€”makeup streaking from the froth around their mouths

thomasapowell,
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

@luxmoore @baldur ā€œline must go way upā€ no matter how or for what animates much of tech now and your observation seems spot on. However,
I truly believe a pivot will happen. The pivot will be to energy / bio or both. This new money class doesnā€™t care what it is about (see crypto to Ai stampede) just that a hockey stick can go up. If that becomes unlikely in some space it feels like the would move on to become true believers of the next.

thomasapowell, to random
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

Mahalo to Maoli for a great show tonight. Country and Reggae totally works together showing the world the heart that keeps Maui strong. This Haole gotta much love for what you all do.

Check them out you might like it.

thomasapowell, to ai
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

Observation about all the in everything news and the fails.

I supremely doubt that user focus groups are asking for AI to be put into every single thing. For all its claims the tech community really just doesnā€™t practice user centered design in an HCI academic sense rather market making or chasing design.

thomasapowell, to MemeryAlpha
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

I hear we should be worried about how old the US Presidential candidates are. So which one again is the old one? I am sure it is the one that posts the rants and conspiracy theories. I mean thatā€™s what truly old people do online right?

thomasapowell, to fallout
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

Just watched a YouTube video of Easter eggs and callouts on Amazon Prime
show that was like 15 mins. It was amazing how many callouts there were and my son showed me that yet there are more. Like the show or not you simply must respect the care put into this show.

thomasapowell, to MemeryAlpha
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

If we are true to form in tech any AI problems that result someone will certainly claim the solution to that problem is in fact more AI.

Itā€™s the tech hype circle of life. šŸ« 

thomasapowell, to webdev
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

If your go to assumption when making a component is just is some emitted slop and the component is the most important part as opposed to the HTML and other core web tech the browser uses as being the ultimate point of the component you simply are doing web dev wrong and working against the platform.

Some days I feel most of theā€œmodernā€ community acts like Chemists who think atoms are passĆ© and compounds are all that matter.

thomasapowell, to llm
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org avatar

With the reveal an initial prompt ruckus from today maybe that should be a feature not a bug ?

Idea

being used for code generation could be used to turbo charge supply chain attacks & get exploits inserted into code bases

Plan

  • find hosted LLM service which can do code gen
  • exploit site to change controlling prompt to add subtle bugs or references to malware dependencies in package.json
  • pwn at scale

Donā€™t worry webapp sec is so good this will never happen! šŸ˜¬

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