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Against an Increasingly User-Hostile Web

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Re: Against an Increasingly User-Hostile Web

#501

Post by vvanders »

wrycoder wrote: post #498
vvanders wrote: post #485

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think FT8 is just one aspect, I don't think you're going to see CW/SSB die off because of it. FT8 has some pretty strict timing requirements for instance that make it hard to use as a portable station. I think ham radio is split between the people who like the social/contest aspect of it and those of us who like to tinker(and a subset that covers people who like both). 97.1b pretty clearly lays out a mandate to adv…

Agreed. I have a foot in both camps myself. But there are two issues: FT8 is just a contact, with maybe a 73, so it’s even more impersonal than contesting (which is extremely popular, of course). Breaking a pileup is pretty much left to the computer, rather than due to operator skill. And the old timers on 160 who earned their DXCC (100 countries - very difficult on 160) certificates the hard way using CW / SSB aren’…

Yeah, I think there's a ton of room for FT8 if it can break out of the auto-programmed sequence, I hate that part too. I really wish it would do progressive decoding, it's possible in theory.

Over in the SOTA community we're looking at a few potential solutions. There's nothing in the core FT8 spec that mandates the standard QSO exchange and there's support for free messages(at a max of 13 chars).

As someone with a KX3 I think anyone running more than 10W is at a huge advantage ;). You're right though, the right way is to split the awards by mode/type. That said I find the content stuff just as impersonal and find the relaxed atmosphere of SOTA much more appealing.

That's what makes ham radio so awesome though, it's all fair game. I just hate to see people try to squash things just because it's not the "old way". That part seems really counter to the experimental nature of the hobby.

Re: Against an Increasingly User-Hostile Web

#502

Post by elsurudo »

submeta wrote: post #470
throwanem wrote: post #464

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes it so good?

Whatever event happens right now (WhatsApp down? Elections in a country? A TV show running on TV [1]?) go to Twitter and search for it with relevant keywords and you'll find people writing about it. [1] at least in Germany

I find it overwhelming. I don't know how to get over that.

Re: Against an Increasingly User-Hostile Web

#504

Post by CRConrad »

Semaphor wrote: post #279
Thriptic wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But many of the providers of "content" know they have little to provide, so they drag it out in video form, saving the actual information for the last 10% of the video (if ever!) 0:00 - 00:10 Useless video animation 00:10-2:00 "Hey guys welcome to my channel. Make sure to like and subscribe and let me know how I'm doing in the comments. Also make sure to check out [sponsor] and use coupon code [code] for 10% off" 2…

You also forgot the slow unboxing if it's a product review. I mean I guess some people like that, but for me, it's just another point in favor of text.

The whole "unboxing" hype, as if that were a thing. "Now let's enjoy getting this [thing] out of its packaging!" -- as if that were an essential part of the enjoyment of [thing]. It's just a prerequisite to the actual use and enjoyment of [thing], because packaging is a prerequisite of transport, storage and sales.

Who the heck came up with the silly idea that this is an event in itself? And above all, why did anyone -- or, worse, seemingly everyone -- fall for it?!?

Stop the darn lunacy now.

Re: Against an Increasingly User-Hostile Web

#505

Post by thomastjeffery »

bobajeff wrote: post #406
thomastjeffery wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mozilla is currently working hard on Servo, and regularly merging finished pieces into Firefox. Microsoft will likely always use their own engine, simply because they are obsessed with proprietary software.

Sure that's how it is today but what if Mozilla runs out of funds? Say they fail to get a lucrative search deal after the current one ends while Pocket fails to pick up the slack. What if Microsoft doesn't ever get a significant number of users on Edge? Say websites and users alike treat it like Windows Phone.

> what if Mozilla runs out of funds?

That is a very unlikely edge case. If it were to happen, Servo is an open-source project, and would likely still see development.

> What if Microsoft doesn't ever get a significant number of users on Edge?

That is somewhat more likely, but as much as I can hope, probably will not happen. At least Edge renders fairly correctly.

> like Windows Phone.

Windows Phone simply failed to get inertia. Inertia is imperative for proprietary projects to succeed.

Re: Against an Increasingly User-Hostile Web

#506

Post by bobajeff »

thomastjeffery wrote: post #505
bobajeff wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure that's how it is today but what if Mozilla runs out of funds? Say they fail to get a lucrative search deal after the current one ends while Pocket fails to pick up the slack. What if Microsoft doesn't ever get a significant number of users on Edge? Say websites and users alike treat it like Windows Phone.

> what if Mozilla runs out of funds? That is a very unlikely edge case. If it were to happen, Servo is an open-source project, and would likely still see development. > What if Microsoft doesn't ever get a significant number of users on Edge? That is somewhat more likely, but as much as I can hope, probably will not happen. At least Edge renders fairly correctly. > like Windows Phone. Windows Phone simply failed to g…

I think Mozilla is already cutting projects because they know their next search deal won't be as lucrative as their previous ones. Software development costs money.

Edge came out in 2015 if it doesn't have inertia yet then you have to at least wonder if it's another Windows Phone.

Re: Against an Increasingly User-Hostile Web

#507

Post by anigbrowl »

visarga wrote: post #387
anigbrowl wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is deliberate. Have you noticed how google makes it...very very difficult to get results of things in date order? When I've asked people who work there why (often in relation to things where the date information is well-structured, like legal opinions or scientific papers) they always respond with some vague and very obvious bullshit. Long story short, a lot of the large internet companies withhold or ob…

> a lot of the large internet companies withhold or obscure functionality that users really want For example, Google only lets you get a few results at the top of their search. What if you want to get the whole 100,000 of them? Sometimes it's important, for science.

I'm surprised there's no way to pay for that access.

Re: Against an Increasingly User-Hostile Web

#508

Post by sfink »

justinclift wrote: post #203
annabellish wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It always astonishes me how many people who are ostensibly against the webkit derivative hegemony won't even consider recommending Firefox. It's certainly a competitive browser, and personally my favourite, and Mozilla does fantastically important work balancing out an otherwise entirely corporate, ulterior-motive laden browser market.

> ... and Mozilla does fantastically important work balancing out an otherwise entirely corporate, ulterior-motive laden browser market. Mozilla seems to have become infected with the same ulterior-motive laden evil though. :( Example happening at the moment: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/10/09/mozilla_tests_cliqz...

I wouldn't go by the negative tone of that article. The whole point of the cliqz experiment is to try out a possible alternative to one part of today's privacy-destroying web. You are not going to tracked through an indirection through cliqz anyway, but if i understand correctly, even that is only a way to make prototyping feasible to see whether it's worth proceeding with a fuller, architecturally privacy preserving implementation.

Re: Against an Increasingly User-Hostile Web

#509

Post by lovich »

s73ver_ wrote: post #495
lovich wrote: post #482

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me, content creators using psychology tricks to try and get the value out of me, my eyeballs for advertisers, before I have the ability to evaluate their value to me, the actual useful part of their content, is hostile. Maybe the soup Nazi was a bad analogy, but how about a car salesman who knowingly sells you a lemon? They could be nice and polite up front and do everything they could to make you feel comfortable…

Your analogies are not working. They are not at all on point, and they are not at all relatable to the situation.

I think we don't agree on the definition of hostile. For me, if someone does anything to benefit themselves at my loss, it's a hostile act. There is a spectrum, trying to stab me certainly rates higher than trying to squeeze a few pennies out of a deal with me, but it's still hostile

Re: Against an Increasingly User-Hostile Web

#510

Post by thomastjeffery »

bobajeff wrote: post #506
thomastjeffery wrote: post #505

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> what if Mozilla runs out of funds? That is a very unlikely edge case. If it were to happen, Servo is an open-source project, and would likely still see development. > What if Microsoft doesn't ever get a significant number of users on Edge? That is somewhat more likely, but as much as I can hope, probably will not happen. At least Edge renders fairly correctly. > like Windows Phone. Windows Phone simply failed to g…

I think Mozilla is already cutting projects because they know their next search deal won't be as lucrative as their previous ones. Software development costs money. Edge came out in 2015 if it doesn't have inertia yet then you have to at least wonder if it's another Windows Phone.

> if [Edge] doesn't have inertia yet then you have to at least wonder if it's another Windows Phone.

I would venture to say that it does have inertia. As a browser, it does not need anywhere near the inertia a new closed platform (Windows phone) does.

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