A weak theory, but Poland being one of a handful of countries with a reasonable claim to “inventing” the computer probably helps, mostly indirectly. When deciding to invest in tech education things like that can make a big difference by stoking some national pride. The UK has absolutely benefited from Turing’s legacy keeping us involved in tech (despite everything).

The camera bump sure isn’t going away for a folding phone. cameras have fundamental volume requirements to maintain quality, if they don’t think they can justify making the normal iPhone thick enough to enclose the camera then there’s no way in hell they’ll think the folding phones doubled width can include it, if anything you’d expect it to be more prominent on a folding model

I think I read that the issue is relatively new thanks to a software update (speculation in another thread, so questionable veracity). So perhaps a change that wasn’t flawed by itself but by bad luck combined with this radiation sensitivity to make the issue significant.

But also solar flares are kind of rare, especially on the stronger end, so easy to imagine bug reliant on them sitting idle for years.

I understand now you’re focused on an academic definition in the game theory sense, personally I don’t think this has much utility in considering actual games, but I’ll acknowledge that by that definition you’re probably correct. I suspect by that most “AIs” in games wouldn’t pass the bar of counting as an agent, even generous definitions that would accept a flow chart would probably concider most AIs to be part of the game state rather than another player (eg the nazi soldiers in wolfenstein aren’t playing to win, they’re set dressing for you to kill). The opponents in Civ are more likely to count as agents perhaps.

AIs in games are just flow charts, that’s almost universally true, almost nobody has put an actual maximiser in a game. But I suppose maybe that counts if you’re feeling very generous.

The map in pressure wash simulator is certainly not dynamic as you describe, I was speaking a little sarcastically, but you could call it asynchronous gameplay, it was crafted by the developer anticipating your play. but no, it cannot respond to the players actual decisions.

Depends if you define game ais as “agents”, otherwise your definition of game only allows multiplayer games.

Or you could say the opposing agent in powerwash simulator is the map itself, their “win condition” is overwhelming you with dirt and hiding it in weird places.

As someone who hates multiplayer games (minus coop games I play with friends, but coop breaks your definition too) I am bemused to discover I have never actually played games except maybe back as a kid when I played goldeneye and the couple times I might have played lol or similar before concluding it was crap 😄

Maybe a better definition of “game” is needed. I suspect the underlying point you’re trying to make is that this game requires no skill and is therefore little more than a Skinner box, that’s a valid criticism in my book.

I largely agree, software patents are a joke for sure.

FPS games are the same, just repeated finding and clicking on things.

Rectangle is obviously the standard shape of phone and had been since before mobile phones basically.

Rounding of corners is standard engineering practice, sharp edges are a weak point, rounding them off increases the overall strength.

What is described is not aesthetics or ornamentation, it’s an engineering imperative obvious in airplane windows, car windows, diaries (many have their corners rounded anticipating wear and tear), pockets (many pockets are rounded off instead of sharply square to prevent the corner failing).

Apple could perhaps argue nobody had rounded the corners as much as they did in earlier phones, without further altering the design beyond a rectangle. But that shouldn’t give them such a wide patent, a narrow patent on the specific shape would be sufficient.

Another way to put this. If the shape you’re trying to patent has a css property dedicated to it (corner-radius) it may not be sufficiently specific.

Indeed, I was channeling Captain Swing, well spotted!

I really must commend you for overcoming your natural murderous inclinations and managing to become a useful member of society despite the depression in your front lobe. Keep resisting those dark temptations!

Sadly ai didn’t invent that annoying trend, they learnt it from shitty web articles designed to maximise eyes on ads from before ai. Rather than ai shit, it’s just ai regurgitated human shit, which is not any more tasty of course.

Outer wilds, if you manage to

You get the end credits but with a kazoo rendition.

Like, “well done dipshit, I guess this is the end”.

The age is useful when considering risk of enshitificarion. A well established and respected vpn has probably figured out how to run profitably, and will probably only go to shit after being sold out or a similar major internal upset, a 3 month old vpn may be offering below cost deals to undercut (or just catch up with) the market whilst the startup funding lasts, in which case they’ll have no choice but to start turning the screws once they have some customers

The difference between a fascist government and a democratic government can be distressingly thin, something we should all be aware of by now.

In this case, the EU has just proven it is currently on the right side of that divide. When extremely unpopular and authoritarian ideas were considered, the public felt able to voice their disapproval and the government felt they had to listen. That is a crucial step. Good for you all.

Sadly it likely will continue to require major work to keep the public on guard against future attempts like this one, but that’s life.

Removed by mod

Agreed

I’m all for supporting an alternative, however it’s done.

But between the google walled garden and the apple one, I slightly prefer the apple one for having marginally better privacy.

Though as a dev with dev accounts for both, I already can run whatever the hell I want on my own devices, so i admit to having no real skin in that game.

Or maybe “if I have to be trapped in a walled garden, why would I pick Google’s shitty one?”

If near infrared (1000nm) can become uv with the wrong material, surely visible light from the sun can do the same and would become an even more dangerous wavelength? Or is this an effect that only happens to near-infrared? Ive not come across it before…