stellargmite

Thanks for your analysis. I was busy being angry about Bro Jogan and this diffused it and brought me back to the more important topic. I’ll give the memorandum a read.

Yeh. Never truely completely captive, but the potential shaftings they give us are hard to take. Full on denial can set in, I’ve noticed with some I know, the more we have invested into the given shittersphere. Understandable and sad. We are also talking about a relatively niche area here unfortunately. Obviously for the likes of google, amazon et al., we aren't the customer. Our relative loyalty to their walled shitterspheres are unlikely even a metric to them other than as ad / clicks/ conversion, as they'll just replace this week’s initiative with a shinier (to the masses) gadget next week. I really hope that whole industry’s days are numbered, but unfortunately all of it is a feature of consumer capitalism and not a bug. Competition, regulation , and DIY are our only defences. The fact that to varying degrees these big tech players are in control of information itself ( to anyone silly enough to consider using the yellowpages/google a fair and factual info source ) , helps them no end with whatever strategy they're onto this week.

Regarding not getting what you pay for. Ive often thought that having to pay the nominal cost price for say the firestick is merely to obfiscate what it really is. ”They should pay me for embedding this spy stick in my house” is the natural feeling, so paying some arbitrary amount to ‘purchase’ immediately elicits some sort of entitlement ( which should totally be the case ! ) in the consumer. The psychology behind such corporate behaviour is fascinating but it’s probably as much to do with regulation, ironically.

Understood . Pretty fascinating as a (many times) visitor. But glad its somewhere I could leave for greener pastures. Many there wish they could do the same I’m sure.

Go check it out yourself dude. My experience is quite different to what is so often reported - such as your point about the high speed rail. The complaints the people using it make are valid (its very experience for example) but it is far from unused. Getting on the things are almost always a gladatorial survival experience, and there are people standing (or sitting on their bags) in the aisles. All anecdotal of course. I guess your point is to do with the absolute control the state (likes to think it) has, including with large vanity engineering projects, the zero rule of law, loose and unfair regulation if any, zero workers rights and so in. All things which give most shareholders of multinationals a huge case of genital envy. The place is beyond hyper consumeristic. None of our concepts or categories apply neatly, because the place , much like the world, is massive, complex, and diverse, with many challenges. If anything I think of it as authoritarian capitalism. True socialist concepts are long gone in actual practice there.

Watched two seasons, but struggled with the second alot. The lead character rubs me the wrong way somehow. Have always had a problem with modest self-aggrandizement and maybe it hits a note of that for me. I dropped it and forgot about it. Any time I see the lead actor’s face in a thumbnail I cringe, thinking he’s about to give me some wholesome self-help life lesson.

Maybe theres some subtle transatlantic cultural pandering going on I’m subconciously triggered by as well - being non American and non British. All of that is probably as much my problem as the show’s. First season had me for a bit - the setup and character establishment worked for me. Maybe I’ll give s3 a go when I’m in the right mood.

For sure. When they had our livelihood by the balls because ‘industry staaaandaaaard’ then they stick it in a perpetually cranking vice called subscription model, we reach for any cope available. Its been decent cope and now we need a new cope.

Looks promising. Their website had me thinking I smashed my mobile glass. Nice troll

Yeh. And Adobe were trying to compete with ImageReady. What a cluster that workflow was. Fireworks was great.

I’ve used Designer for several years now in combination with inkscape very heavily for work having bashed my head against a wall called Adobe Illustrator for years - all the obvious reasons including terrible svg support. Inkscape should be supported for sure , but Designer has sped up workflow no end with what I use it for. It’s a shame that everything must enshittify.

I cut netflix and disney a year back and my kid hasn't mentioned them. age at 5 years old could be a factor - 10 might be different and harder to resist. He's hardly had any media growing up saying that. Wasn't really a planned thing so as with any parenting matters I get its whatever works for your mental survival. I have a couple of seasons of the 3 shows he has watched in the past on a Plex server incase of desperate times. Yaharrrr .

Protesting a particular issue that riles him, is completely his right and should be applauded. It’s an especially brave thing to do from within the sacred corporate halls of his holy employer, when most people value their income and reputation over life itself (of others)- a common method of control. The idea that you're not allowed to say a word in opposition unless you target every single possible google indiscretion, at apparently the exact same moment (max 30seconds as captured here possibly?) is ridiculous and pathetic. If he had stood up with a list 2000 matters to raise, would it have made it to your highly critical radar? The contractual, and geopolitical timing is kind of relevant also.

And besides , I wouldn't be surprised if this person has been dissentful in other cases in other ways internally on smaller matters that didn't make news. He appears to have a moral compass after all. If you dont have the guts to cause your superiors trouble when you know they're doing wrong then atleast offer some kind of support to those who do. Not discourage with this kind of ridiculous dissent smothering attempt.

Any effort to expose groogle’s evil on any single matter is valid.

This is reporting on a local issue . Unless there are cases where oil and gas are deforesting for new infrastructure in the same area then surely both would be targets.