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The Tyranny of the Marginal User

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Re: The Tyranny of the Marginal User

#801

Post by narag »

dredmorbius wrote: post #790
narag wrote: post #776

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The eyesight I wouldn't complain at all. Until recently I didn't need glasses, except for reading. Hypermetropia is also called far-sightness for a reason. Worst period is when I only used glasses for the screen. Someone would come to interrupt and talk, I took the glasses off, then we were commenting on the screen contents, I put it on again, then back to talk and glasses off... At home I use a 27'' screen with the…

Gradient lenses may be in your future... The problem of focusing at multiple distances is ... a challenge.

IDK, those are a different version of the annoyance. Instead of changing glasses, you change the angle.

Re: The Tyranny of the Marginal User

#802

Post by dredmorbius »

abricot wrote: post #796
dredmorbius wrote: post #740

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember WAP, and had an early-phase smartphone with limited Web support (Palm Treo/Centro) which ... remains one of the better phones that I've had (hard keyboard among other features). You wouldn't want to read much on that, but as a quick on-the-go reference, particularly when travelling, it was handy. One of my daily drivers is a large (13.3") e-ink tablet. Reading on that is actually a pleasure, though it's le…

Check out eInkBro Browser if you haven't already. It saved my sanity when I started using my eInk tablet.

Oh, I'm a huge fan and can't live without it.

I've reported issues / feature requests to Daniel multiple times, most of those have been addressed.

The "save to ePub" feature is among my absolute favourites. It's simply genius:

https://toot.cat/@dredmorbius/107958709435468728>

Re: The Tyranny of the Marginal User

#803

Post by zerbinxx »

bigstrat2003 wrote: post #616
vore wrote: post #614

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a ridiculous out of touch take. Of course young people know what desktop computing is like: they use it at school for class and use it at home for gaming. Have you considered that people might prefer mobile is preferable because it’s, well, mobile and you don’t have to lug a big ol’ machine around?

I'm skeptical of your claim that young people are actually using desktops in those situations. As far as I've seen, young people are primarily gaming on consoles and are using stripped down devices like Chromebooks at school. It's also been noted that computer skills have gotten markedly worse among young people in recent years, which suggests they are not in fact being exposed to desktops regularly. And I definitely…

Yeah, 90% of the time when I’m using my phone (e.g. right now), I’m at home, on my couch. I could be using my laptop or desktop which are both close within reach, but I like being able to read HN while my partner plays Zelda.

I’m not exactly the demographic of “only uses mobile” - I am very much a “pre-mobile internet user” (coding, games, music all required me to pick up some desktop skills) but can attest to the fact that I don’t hate the experience in a way that’s commensurate with how much I’d hate having a hot laptop on my stomach or sitting in some other room typing this out.

Re: The Tyranny of the Marginal User

#804

Post by cdogl »

shaftoe wrote: post #711
cdogl wrote: post #699

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can’t even imagine being asked about this part of my life in a career context. I’m 35 and for the better part of a decade I’ve just been asked about my previous roles. Seems like most organisations simply couldn’t care less where I’ve come from. Maybe it’s an Australian cultural thing.

No, this is pretty typical (I'm American). The only time people who are more than a few years into their career are asked about degrees (and grades) in an interview is at very bureaucratic organizations or when being interviewed by someone themselves barely out of school who lacks awareness.

Thanks for the clarification.

> is at very bureaucratic organizations

Seeing as this career is a golden ticket with a guaranteed job for life if you’re half competent, I’d spin the complaints from some about these practices around: if an organisation is so detached from the realities of commercial software delivery and what makes a good hire that they’re asking about high school or your degree (and you do have experience), you’ve just received a boon of you all the information you needed. They’re not worth your time and don’t have their eyes on the ball. I’d just be thankful to have dodged a bullet!

Re: The Tyranny of the Marginal User

#805

Post by dredmorbius »

ilyt wrote: post #799
dredmorbius wrote: post #740

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember WAP, and had an early-phase smartphone with limited Web support (Palm Treo/Centro) which ... remains one of the better phones that I've had (hard keyboard among other features). You wouldn't want to read much on that, but as a quick on-the-go reference, particularly when travelling, it was handy. One of my daily drivers is a large (13.3") e-ink tablet. Reading on that is actually a pleasure, though it's le…

I find that it heavily depends what kind of scrolling happens. I am fine with "instantly jump by constant amount per mousewheel click" Smooth scrolling ? Much worse Smooth scrolling custom-implemented in JS, with ramp-in ramp-down speed? Close the webpage

On desktop, I have the option of scrolling via spacebar or page-up/down keys.

This is reasonably determinative (the scroll distance is the same in each case), convenient (it's easy to hit those keys), and not confusable with other intent actions. That last point is key as very often when I'm attempting a scroll action on a touchscreen interface I instead commit a click action (usually navigating off-page). Which is maddening.

On touchscreens, not only can I not scroll by a prescribed amount, not only is input through an onscreen keyboard completely crippled, but there's an ever-present drag/click ambiguity which on Android at least (and from my limited experience with iPhones suggests there too) is everpresent.

Add in e-ink, and there are the additional levels that refresh rates drop low enough that following scrolling is tedious, and the display technology makes the many, many paints of a long scroll expensive in terms of battery life. Web browsing drains battery at 10x the rate of my e-book reader.

Einkbro at least mitigates some of that. Going back to Firefox or Onyx's Chrome-based browser is excruciating.

Re: The Tyranny of the Marginal User

#806

Post by liamwire »

whack wrote: post #478

This is a hilarious read but I think the author is too optimistic about the state of humanity. Marl isn't the "marginal" user, Marl is the "average" user. If the average user actually cared about deep and meaningful content, then any A/B test that throws her under the bus in order to please Marl will show bad data, and the proposed change would be killed. Yes, the author tries to hand-wave this away as "product is st…

Well said.

Re: The Tyranny of the Marginal User

#807

Post by dredmorbius »

narag wrote: post #801
dredmorbius wrote: post #790

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gradient lenses may be in your future... The problem of focusing at multiple distances is ... a challenge.

IDK, those are a different version of the annoyance. Instead of changing glasses, you change the angle.

Pick your poison.

Re: The Tyranny of the Marginal User

#808

Post by galaxyLogic »

Fripplebubby wrote: post #745
Fripplebubby wrote: post #732

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree this happens a lot, but isn't this an area of financial life that is regulated, governed, and monitored by states today? I am not familiar with the policies or regulations in play here but this seems very addressable by the institutions and regulatory bodies that exist today in most (all?) countries. A solved problem, in other words.

For example the income tax or other taxes already capture a portion of foreign workers' incomes that the state wants to capture without discouraging workers too much and working elsewhere, according to their economic models and policies. I suppose different countries have different strategies on this, rich countries are trying to benefit from foreign labor and capture some taxes from them while less rich countries ar…

Right and workers are the ones who build the country. The more workers there are the bigger the gross domestic product. Now if some money enriches people in other countries that means they will buy more Coca-Cola! This planet is not a zero-sum game. When people help each other that helps everybody. The exception is of course countries which start wars.

I mean if USA had never allowed immigrants to come here where would we be economically?

Re: The Tyranny of the Marginal User

#809

Post by galaxyLogic »

Spivak wrote: post #774
astrange wrote: post #462

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is silly because you don't have to imagine any scenarios. Good economic models are based on empirical data, not on imagining things, and "immigrants don't increase unemployment or decrease wages" is just about the strongest empirical result there is. The reason being that someone moving closer to you increases demand for labor more than supply, and immigrants generally have complimentary (slightly different) ski…

And if you subscribe to MMT you should love immigrants because they're free "unemployed" people you didn't have to spend money raising so you have greater runway to print more money without inflation.

And if they are illegal immigrants, even better, they will work hard for a very small salary. They even do very little crime because they don't want to be thrown out of the country.

I think in general immigration from say Mexico to US is a loss for Mexico and a win for US.

Re: The Tyranny of the Marginal User

#810

Post by galaxyLogic »

ThinkBeat wrote: post #421
galaxyLogic wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your post reminds me of xenophobes who lament the arrival of immigrants. The immigrants are taking their jobs they are saying. Such a viewpoint can be countered with the imaginary scenario where you live in a country with only 2 people. How well are they doing? There are no stores to buy goodies from because who would create such a store for just 2 people? Perhaps an immigrant, could open a deli! When there are more…

Your scenario leaves a lot to be desired. Yeah two people only. Well Your scenario can easily be countered with the imaginary scenario that you have a town with 1 billion residents, far too little housing, no green space left due to trying to provide housing and the city only has natural resources for perhaps 300.000.000. Now 100.000.000 immigrants arrive. There is not enough food, water, hygiene. Hopefully, opening…

Country of two people is not hard to imagine, think of a desert island with Robinson and Crusoe.

Overpopulation could be a problem but when people become better off financially they for some reason tend to have fewer children.

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