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Oracle’s TikTok deal accomplishes nothing

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Re: Oracle’s TikTok deal accomplishes nothing

#51

Post by anaganisk »

lawnchair_larry wrote: post #35
pphysch wrote: post #33

It actually accomplishes the 1-2 goals of the operation: * Political win for Trump being "hard on China" * Paycheck for Trump's donor Ellison Let's not pretend that there was any legitimate national security threat coming from the funny video app. That was and is a yellow peril fantasy from the outset.

You’re very wrong on the security threat. I think people just like to dismiss anything if Trump also said it. Nobody should be using TikTok and we have said this for a while. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/ne... https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/26/reddit-ceo-tiktok-is-funda...

As if US based companies dont snoop on data at all, dude big G and F has more data about anyone than any other company in the world.

Re: Oracle’s TikTok deal accomplishes nothing

#52

Post by pphysch »

lawnchair_larry wrote: post #47
pphysch wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These allegations apply to virtually every social media SaaS. You're fooling yourself if you think this TikTok debacle is anything but an desperate assault on a foreign company by sinophobes and competitors. And Trump's capitulation confirms that!

You’re fooling yourself if you think this is somehow racist.

It varies from person to person. Many people are legitimately miseducated about topics like China, communism, etc. and buy into the absurd "comic book villain" canards because that is all that Western corporate media exposes them to.

However, others come from a genuine belief in Western (white Anglo) racial/political supremacy and see the peaceful rise of China as an existential threat to that concept of supremacy and Western civilization. Which is equally absurd.

Re: Oracle’s TikTok deal accomplishes nothing

#54

Post by dlivingston »

nikkwong wrote: post #9
vezycash wrote: post #3

Used the app for a few days, and realized that keeping TikTok out of the hands of US tech companies is best for the users. 1. Registration not needed - without nagging. First thing Microsoft would have done is to require signup to use. 2. (Most important) copyright hunters will have a harder time ruining the experience. 3. Includes the ability to DOWNLOAD videos! (this blows my mind. I mean, consider the cat and mous…

Yeah. This kind of interface problem is absolutely mind blowing to me. iOS especially always feels almost dumb enough to be unusable to me in comparison with my computer. For example, the other day I just wanted to download an Mp3 to my phone so I'd be able to play it at night with the cellular network turned off. It ended up taking almost an hour to figure out. Downloading a file to the filesystem is nigh impossible…

I’m not sure exactly what you tried, but it’s actually quite easy to download a file to the Files app.

As a quick sanity check: use something like YoutubeToMP3 [0] to generate an audio file. Then, clicking the URL of that MP3 will prompt a download modal that will save straight to the Downloads folder in Files - right from Safari.

[0]: https://ytmp3.cc/

Re: Oracle’s TikTok deal accomplishes nothing

#55

Post by nikkwong »

dlivingston wrote: post #54
nikkwong wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. This kind of interface problem is absolutely mind blowing to me. iOS especially always feels almost dumb enough to be unusable to me in comparison with my computer. For example, the other day I just wanted to download an Mp3 to my phone so I'd be able to play it at night with the cellular network turned off. It ended up taking almost an hour to figure out. Downloading a file to the filesystem is nigh impossible…

I’m not sure exactly what you tried, but it’s actually quite easy to download a file to the Files app. As a quick sanity check: use something like YoutubeToMP3 [0] to generate an audio file. Then, clicking the URL of that MP3 will prompt a download modal that will save straight to the Downloads folder in Files - right from Safari. [0]: https://ytmp3.cc/

I would love this to be the case. If it really is this easy then I have failed my job as the head technologist of.. well, my family.

This is the interface I'm presented with when I open a .mp3 file in a web browser [0]. None of the available options prompts me to any file system access or the "Files" app. I've diven deep into the settings, permissions, and other menus to no avail. Am I missing something obvious?

[0]: https://imgur.com/2HKrCSz

Re: Oracle’s TikTok deal accomplishes nothing

#56

Post by Barrin92 »

Firebrand wrote: post #7

Is there anyone that comes out worse from the U.S. + China TikTok saga than Kevin Mayer? He left leading Disney's streaming division after being passed over for CEO to become Bytedance's COO and CEO of TikTok, only to leave three months later during the company's toughest time. Now we learn Bytedance isn't actually selling its operations to Oracle and the the most valuable startup in the world marches on to market do…

Was there ever any information on what specifically made him leave? I can't imagine he was completely unaware of the fact that there are tensions around TikTok and that it would impact his job.

Re: Oracle’s TikTok deal accomplishes nothing

#57

Post by rottingfruit »

wombatmobile wrote: post #25
shadowtree wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MS own LinkedIn ... I think you'd be surprised.

TikTok makes people dance and smile. LinkedIn... uh, LinkedIn... Yeah, no. Not surprised.

I’m not a fan of this take. I think dancing and smiles is a great way to veil something more dangerous. I’m not saying tik tok specifically is doing so but just because something looks like a toy doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous underneath.

Re: Oracle’s TikTok deal accomplishes nothing

#58

Post by newen »

DudeInBasement wrote: post #20
leptons wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That makes it less of a sale and more of a glorified hosting deal. It lets Trump say he’s solved the problem but doesn’t do much else. [from the article] Trump is in every way no different than a 3rd world dictator. And this is just yet one more way.

It's not Trump, it's presidential powers. Over time, the congress has 'delegated' more and more powers to the president making the US more and more a revolving dictatorship.

Too true. In most other countries, no one office holds this much power.

Re: Oracle’s TikTok deal accomplishes nothing

#59

Post by dlivingston »

nikkwong wrote: post #55
dlivingston wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure exactly what you tried, but it’s actually quite easy to download a file to the Files app. As a quick sanity check: use something like YoutubeToMP3 [0] to generate an audio file. Then, clicking the URL of that MP3 will prompt a download modal that will save straight to the Downloads folder in Files - right from Safari. [0]: https://ytmp3.cc/

I would love this to be the case. If it really is this easy then I have failed my job as the head technologist of.. well, my family. This is the interface I'm presented with when I open a .mp3 file in a web browser [0]. None of the available options prompts me to any file system access or the "Files" app. I've diven deep into the settings, permissions, and other menus to no avail. Am I missing something obvious? [0]:…

Looking at the title bar of the app, it’s clear it isn’t Safari or even a web browser proper - what app are you using?

Re: Oracle’s TikTok deal accomplishes nothing

#60

Post by Spivak »

evan_ wrote: post #48
joncrane wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So this is basically telling China: Hey we know you're spying using TikTok. Share the tool you use to spy so we can see, too. China said: OK fine but you can only spy on your own citizens. Plus we also still get to. Is that right?

yes but not just spy, they're eager to use the algorithm for propaganda purposes. Having it run by a trump loyalist is the outcome they wanted, they're going to turn it into Fox News for gen z.

This is such a weird take as someone who is on TikTok and really enjoys it. The app is a just mirror for your interests with an insanely good discovery system. Whatever you like and interact with it shows you more of and it tests the waters occasionally to try and find new things you might like.

My TikTok is cooking, home decor, gardening, fashion, makeup, pop punk music, longboarding, bullet journaling, and mental health.

Like you could be right that TikTok will change for the worse maliciously but such a change would kill what makes it worth using.

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