Posts by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
(DIR) Post #AcpZyAtR6WlU0Bf3ZI by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-15T10:10:27Z
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I'm fairly certain this would be illegal in many, many jurisdictions. https://www.404media.co/cmg-cox-media-actually-listening-to-phones-smartspeakers-for-ads-marketing/
(DIR) Post #AcpaB9OPzfGp76L9U0 by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-15T10:38:11Z
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@mansr Same for iOS. I reckon this is, to use the technical term, "marketing bollocks". But putting my former-marketer hat on I find it astounding that any company would either promise it could do it, or suggest it would be a good thing for anyone (including clients - if they phrased it as "imagine a world where your competitors could overhear all your conversations at work" I don't think it would have the same impact)
(DIR) Post #AcqLSMO5d1lSBUtWc4 by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-15T17:46:48Z
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Anyone else hungry?
(DIR) Post #Acrw6Dhx6qYWM9S1rs by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-16T10:55:46Z
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There's a post doing the rounds which says that Meta's terms and conditions mean they plan to harvest Mastodon users' personal data to target them with ads. Unfortunately that post is misreading the T&Cs, and cherry-picks from a section which is clearly about Threads users, not "third party service users" (ie. us). Here's the full, unedited section.
(DIR) Post #Acrw6Fqt8atN0ReC4e by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-16T10:57:13Z
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Note that last part, which details how they use data from here - it doesn't contain anything about ads. Seperating it out like this is the lawyer's way of making it clear that this is what applies to third-parties, and that the above applies to Threads users (otherwise it's just repeating what they already have covered).
(DIR) Post #Acrw6Hn3vn1J19sAO8 by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-16T10:58:31Z
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Do I trust Meta? Nope! But this is not the smoking gun that it is being portrayed as. And, as I have to caveat every single time, I 100% support any instance or individual that wants to block, mute, or otherwise not engage with a Meta property.
(DIR) Post #Ad0Bn7mV22Emd3iVu4 by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-20T13:03:32Z
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Does anyone make a laptop like the old ThinkPad X61 these days? Small, great no-compromise keyboard, good battery life?https://youtu.be/TUA7Ct9Sq8A?si=3udiaPfyyxPKTWLw
(DIR) Post #Ad0TpdVbq45wmhAEUa by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-20T15:33:25Z
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@pesekcuy Oh that reminds me of the late 90s and hunting through the electronics shops in Tottenham Court Road for rare and cheap import Japanese laptops… good times!
(DIR) Post #Ad3seHE1QfdqodUv1U by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-22T08:11:08Z
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@Bernard @aardvark @parismarx Porn is protected free speech under the US constitution. It is banned on Substack. It’s a bogus argument to say they are just following the USC - they are making their own choices, based on their own values.
(DIR) Post #Ad4NIq8Gr6bidJQXxo by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-22T11:12:03Z
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So I was writing a story the other day and realised that my go-to trick for getting out of any plot hole that I've dug myself into is “throw in some Cthulhu”. Struggling with a time travel story? Bring in Cthulhu. Thriller plot gone awry? Throw in some Cthulhu. I may have to write this up as a self-help guide for writers. #writing
(DIR) Post #Ad4NIqwxod9nAX91yi by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-22T13:53:13Z
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"Four weddings and a Cthulhu"
(DIR) Post #Ad4NIs3NiFsuaj9fcW by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-22T11:12:19Z
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I might also have to try this for non-fiction, too.
(DIR) Post #Ad6Bpgx1Cd9yZzyy00 by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-23T10:52:54Z
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From a non-US perspective, this whole blue bubbles obsession is just so weird. Are you feeling OK, America? https://mjtsai.com/blog/2023/12/22/beepers-final-fixes-and-government-investigations/
(DIR) Post #AdFWIb0s6aiA4FU4OW by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-27T21:36:12Z
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New ChatGPT feature! A dial that lets you increase the racism!
(DIR) Post #AdMjBDpX5k85mbwwkq by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-31T10:14:53Z
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This is a classic bit of meaningless tech boosterism. Annualised revenue of $1.6bn sounds good! But not if you're spending billions more than that... which OpenAI will be. I would be willing to bet that, without the Azure credits which form the bulk of Microsoft's investment, they would be losing money on every query. https://wccftech.com/openai-annual-revenue-reached-1-6-billion/
(DIR) Post #AdMjBFrNXqnK4upRuS by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2023-12-31T10:18:35Z
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This line pretty much nails why this "astounding" revenue number is leaking now: "The massive growth will likely pique investor interest, as according to Bloomberg, OpenAI is looking to commence a fresh round of funding"
(DIR) Post #AdZfBsblbea5UZ32ci by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2024-01-06T13:10:48Z
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One thing I will always give Google some credit for: it's astoundingly easy to get your data out of it. He said downloading 200Gb of files and photos from an old Google Drive. In 2Gb chunks.
(DIR) Post #AdeCRPOBbWwZFbqGDA by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2024-01-08T18:37:24Z
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OpenAI claiming they couldn't operate if they had to pay creators for content they use is almost hilarious, until you remember that they can't operate without a massive subsidy from Microsoft either. It's almost as if this is a land grab to create a monopoly, rather than an actual business that could be profitable in a competitive market.https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/08/ai-tools-chatgpt-copyrighted-material-openai
(DIR) Post #AhrEXWY1PpqPNKur9U by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2024-05-06T12:15:49Z
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Next time anyone you think is left wing expresses any kind of support for the homophobic transphobic scumbag that is George Galloway, send them this link. https://www.threads.net/@lbc/post/C6lnLEioMgy
(DIR) Post #AhvCFx0irkNOxafn4i by ianbetteridge@writing.exchange
2024-05-05T18:25:11Z
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That sucker is going to get very disgy@samhenrigold https://hachyderm.io/@samhenrigold/112388808476418330