But as AI expert Justine Moore pointed out on social media site X

HAhahahahahahah

In other news, science has indications the sun may be hot as a muthafucka.

I followed instructions to install Debian on a spare drive and gave it a go and do you know what, it was fine. It made me realise 90% of what I do is in a browser anyway, so why did I have a hang up about having the exact same browser experience in a slightly different operating system?

That’s how it’s done people. Alright let’s go 2025 Year of the Linux Desktop (Again)! Chop chop! Let’s move out!

For anyone unaware, the “music industry” had a brief period around 1960-1978 where they led youth culture and brought some decent artists to the fore, including [everyone]. Which was ironic as they started mostly as a goof by rich people or a front by the mafia.

A “record deal” was always a sucker’s deal because they’d loan you $300,000 or whatever and then decide how much you’d paid them back over however many years you made them money. The companies didn’t buy videos or tour buses or billboards or anything -they fronted the money and the artist paid for that, usually without knowing it.

Around 1980, in a coke-fueled bender that lasted over a decade, they decided “fuck it” and just screwed everyone they could for every dollar they could. Fortunately, they were so stupid and up their own asses that mp3s destroyed them after a decade of them trying to decide who was going to get fucked more than who else. (Anyone remember the DAT wars?)

Billions were made but the artist usually only saw a small fraction of that because record companies were “riding the gravy train” and living fat off all the money. Nothing has changed. No one is going to wake up. It was always this bad. It’s just that being a touring musician used to be at least a job and a career and now it’s pretty rare.

If it helps, think of it like this - there’s no one in any seat of real power in the “music industry” who is a musician. They don’t give a shit about what they’re selling, it could be cow pies for all they care - they’d look and act exactly like they do now because it has 100% nothing to do with music. It’s just marketing a persona and bilking them for all they can.

And it’s been that way the entire time. Yes, there are exceptions, but not many.

I’ve been asking that for about 15 years. If you’re just now considering it, in 2039 you’ll still be asking it.

A fair point, though “a ton of money” is essentially 1% of their net profits for the year. Selling Chrome to someone who gets another .5% is not going to do anything at all.

So it is on firefox as well . . ? And also with Edge, for those poor bastards.

Why not just force them to pick a different default? Or something meaningful like splitting them out of Alphabet entirely? Or stop sucking? Okay, well that last one may be hard to administrate.

What the what?

“sell your browser, that’ll limit your search monopoly”

. . . HAH?

You just wanted a pepsi! And they wouldn’t give it to you!

Yay!

HA!

What a joke.

Oh man there’s nothing i like better than rating some poetry.

True. But back then they made money on advertising. Now we’re funding them directly.

Do you part - cancel the service.

Death to Comcast, Disney, and IBM.

Okay! Bye!

The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders on Thursday announced that it is suing the social media company X, accusing it of spreading disinformation.

After Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, discovered that it was the target of a disinformation campaign this past summer, the Paris-based group filed 10 reports of policy violations with X, formerly known as Twitter.

Since none of the posts in question have been removed, RSF opted to sue the company in French courts “for its complicity in disseminating false information, misrepresentation and identity theft,” the group said in a statement.

Because no one made a droolproof guide to migrating to Mastodon and Bluesky put money into it.

For people who can’t remember their password, it’s preferable.

*golf clap*

“The economics are likely to be grim,” Marcus wrote on his Substack. “Sky high valuation of companies like OpenAI and Microsoft are largely based on the notion that LLMs will, with continued scaling, become artificial general intelligence.”

“As I have always warned,” he added, “that’s just a fantasy.”

lol