Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web • Hacker News Board

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#421

Post by sidewndr46 » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 7:25 PM UTC

patrickk wrote: post #126

skummetmaelk wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It corrupts and twists everything it touches into a constant hustle for eyeball-cash This cannot be overstated. Everything today is a battle for eye-balls and ad money. The corruption is insane. You can't even buy appliances designed perform their function well. Instead you can buy cheap junk for less than cogs because they make money selling your data to ad companies instead of making money by making products that…

> You can't even buy appliances designed perform their function well You can't research good appliances either online, because the SERPs are stuffed with SEO-ed blogs and sometimes industry magazines, monetized with Amazon affiliates or other networks, with titles like "5 best dishwashers in 2022". Unless you know someone in the industry or offline with knowledge you don't know what to buy. This is noticeable in many…

This was my experience when trying to buy a new fridge. Due to the design of my kitchen, there is a very narrow choke point leading into it. There is no door. As a result I have to very careful when shopping for fridges. Mostly simply will not fit.

Almost everything about fridges nowadays wants to promote the virtues of the amazing new features associated with them.

After hours of searching, I narrowed it down to 3 models. All were the most basic fridge & freezer combo I could find. Exactly one of them was in stock, so I got that one.

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#422

Post by driverdan » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 7:27 PM UTC

perryizgr8 wrote: post #114

gundmc wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do adblockers help with native product placement? Or are you saying you might as well not pay for premium if you'll still have to deal with the product placement anyway?

A combination of ublock origin and sponsorblock will make youtube completely ad free. Even the in video adverts are gone.

You can pay for YouTube Premium and still use sponsorblock.

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#423

Post by BuckRogers » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 7:27 PM UTC

SamBam wrote: post #194

williamdclt wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only solution I found to that is to bypass google completely and directly go search on Reddit, where real humans have human opinions (sometimes HN, too).

And unfortunately, you're never really sure on Reddit, either. I found I was too willing to put those, what, 5-10 voices telling me to pick a certain brand up on a high pedestal, because they seemed like real people. They didn't sound like advertisers. But, honestly, how hard is it to fake 5-10 accounts to push your product, or buy high-karma accounts? My go-tos are sites like Wirecutter, where it seems like the hit…

I'm a Consumer Reports + self-investigation guy (using all sources). I do use Wirecutter but I put low weight on their ultimate recommendations. I use them to find what else is out there.

The main issue with most review sites is that they're kids. Companies like NYT/Wirecutter don't want to pay old men that are experts in manufacturing. They hire kids with little life experience to review something like a washing machine. They haven't had 2 or even 1 washing machine in their entire lives. They wouldn't even be capable of doing a teardown. Let alone identifying which parts are quality vs not.

Unless of course your main qualification is not trying to find something that is built to last. Which is the hardest thing to get these days. Finding garbage like electronics and software is easy. Everyone wants to sell you software rather than high quality manufactured goods. And I want the least software possible as I'm very anti-technology for a software developer.

My research sources would be roughly in this order:

1. Consumer Reports (teardowns, can't beat this method. You pay them directly, if interested in least conflict of interest)

2. Wirecutter (good for a free source, but puts near-zero weight on reliability)

3. Amazon reviews (can find some old timers reviewing there but always keep in mind that most people aren't very intelligent. They maintain nothing and won't skim a manual)

4. Reddit (a lot of zero life experience kids on that, meaning generally anyone under 40)

5. Then whatever else you can find on the web

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#424

Post by foxfluff » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 7:28 PM UTC

Workaccount2 wrote: post #148

skummetmaelk wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about making content that people actually feel like they obtain value in their lives from. They'd pay for that. Instead we have the majority of content creators engaged in an arms race to hijack your attention and produce the most outrageous, rather than best, content possible because more outrage = more eyeballs = more ads.

No, they wouldn't pay for that. This is a dumb myth that people use to brush off their guilt. If something can be taken for free with no repercussion, most people will take it for free . We're in a feedback loop where content is being pulled towards the lowest common denominator of people who don't ad-block, which is a terrible uninformed click-bait hellhole. You can ad block, I do myself (with a pretty big whitelist…

As long as it is possible to make money with ads, the web will be full of SEO-optimized trash, clickbait, and other worthless "content" full of ads, and it will drown out anything of quality. If you're giving them ad views, you're partly responsible for and contributing towards the sorry state of the internet. Start blocking ads, and ask everyone you know to do the same.

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#425

Post by bluGill » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 7:29 PM UTC

cgriswald wrote: post #405

version_five wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just an aside as a former carpenter: Battery powered hand tool systems are a big cost now, especially that brushless motor have got so good. Its important to think about them as a system, like will replacement batteries still exist in 2 years, can more tools work with the same battery, etc. That makes it harder to try something and see how good it is. I agree with you re many tools though. For tools I'd recommend tal…

Can anyone explain why such systems are so seemingly successful? I find it surprising. It seems great to create vendor lock-in, but they also change the form factor frequently enough that you have to replace your entire system in order to benefit from it being a system anyway; at which point you might change vendors. It feels like the first vendor that stops changing form factor wins; but they all still keep changing…

The major brands do not change formats often. The store brands do change formats though. By Milwaukee or Dewalt and you will have tools and parts for many years, or even Ryobi if you want to save a penny. (There are others, just the 3 that come to mind).

The thing about their system is the whole only works so long as they keep you locked in. Once you make a choice you are locked into that choice and won't be looking at alternatives - but if they change batteries you suddenly are faced with the loss of your entire investment and so you are likely to look at the competition and might buy something else. That makes changing battery formats less attractive to the big brands trying to get people who buy a lot of tools.

The store brands have a different motivation: they know you won't be buying them again anyway, so they don't care. Changing formats means they can come up with some tiny reason the new one is better and try to sell the next customer on how their new battery is better.

If you are not a buying a lot of tools your plan isn't bad, just throw away the tools when the batteries die in 10 years. The tiny reasons some battery is better - over 10 years might add up to something slightly better than before anyway.

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#426

Post by sidewndr46 » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 7:29 PM UTC

brewdad wrote: post #343

bbarn wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Harbor Freight's "low quality" tools will work for a great many average home owners doing some upgrading or light work. We absolutely fall into the trap of wanting the best thing ever, but how many people actually need the top of the line Milwaukee or Makita brand biscuit joiner for the 2 tables they ever make at 200$, vs the Harbor Freight one at 60 that you can probably find a coupon for to make it 45-50? On that n…

I managed to get a 48" flex bit stuck in my wall when I was running ethernet last summer. Since it was the last hole I needed and it only cost me $9 at Harbor Freight, I left it in the wall and called it good. The $90 bit from Home Depot probably would have meant removing a bunch of drywall and then having to patch it. The batteries on my ~20 year old Craftsman cordless drill are finally getting to the point where th…

I have a 72 inch drill bit "stored" up in my attic amongst the rafters. There was one particular location where I really needed it at that time, so I just left it up there. I think it costs $15 off Amazon. If I never need it again, I figure I can deal with the hassle of getting it down from the attic.

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#427

Post by ratww » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 7:30 PM UTC

kuboble wrote: post #401

9dev wrote: post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This strategy is smarter than it sounds at first. If you don't have any obvious criteria for comparison available, failing fast and iterating on that is a way to come up with criteria by yourself.

It requires a strong character to throw away things when they don't work well. I bought the cheapest drilling machine and it is so bad I end up borrowing one from a neighbor when I need to drill something. But I can't make myself to throw away the useless one.

I’m also unable to throw things away, but I do give things away or sell at a fraction very often. It’s also a fun past time. I don’t have anything useless at home anymore.

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#428

Post by eyeundersand » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 7:31 PM UTC

crispyambulance wrote: post #274

20after4 wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

uBlock alone seems to do the trick for YouTube.

I think they're talking about in-video ads? I could be totally wrong, but ublock-origin just keeps certain things that match a pattern from appearing in the html. It can't remove the annoying "in-video" ads, right?

uBlock Origin blocks in-video ads too! Not sure if this has been referenced elsewhere in the comments but their 'element picker' mode is also fantastic and extremely useful in making webpages with huge banners and popups less annoying. Honestly, being on the web without uBlock Origin (and Vimium) just feels like a sub-par experience.

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#429

Post by dustymcp » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 7:31 PM UTC

hattmall wrote: post #221

patrickk wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You can't even buy appliances designed perform their function well You can't research good appliances either online, because the SERPs are stuffed with SEO-ed blogs and sometimes industry magazines, monetized with Amazon affiliates or other networks, with titles like "5 best dishwashers in 2022". Unless you know someone in the industry or offline with knowledge you don't know what to buy. This is noticeable in many…

One market where this has always been a problem is tools. So almost 20 years ago we were told in shop class that the industry magazines and reviews were basically all paid for by manufacturers. The solution we learned was to always buy the cheapest option first. If it breaks or fails to meet your needs understand how and why and then move on to a more costly tool that you can demonstrate is better in the specific way…

This is how my sad thought me to buy tools just seems insane to go expensive cause best every time..

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#430

Post by sergiotapia » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 7:32 PM UTC

marcodiego wrote: post #278

I wanted to show a video on YouTube to a friend. He passed me his cellphone. I searched and found the video and then something very strange happened: a completely unrelated something started playing. I said "Sorry I don't know what is this. This has nothing to do with what I wanted to show you." He then explained me that was just an advertisement and the video would play soon. People are used to abuse. My internet is…

I switched from iphone to android just because I could install youtube vanced (and really any apk I want). I'm done with walled gardens.