Andaith (u/Andaith) - Readit News

Andaith commented on U.S. Federal Data Is Disappearing notus.org/trump-white-hou... · Posted by u/giuliomagnifico

Andaith · a month ago

Will some(most? a few?) state govts start publishing all the same data just for their own state?

I wonder if this will become a competitive advantage? States that publish nothing will get less FDI or local investment because the risks are harder to calculate?

Actually, will this affect different types of insurance?

It's such an insane problem for a developed nation to have, has anyone given serious thought to the long-term affects of this?

Andaith commented on Apple testing new App Store design that blurs the line between ads and results 9to5mac.com/2026/01/16/ip... · Posted by u/ksec

andsoitis · 2 months ago

You don’t think the hardware and software ecosystem are superior to the competition?

Andaith · 2 months ago

Not OP, but I think they still have the lead in hardware. However, I'm using an iPhone 14 which apparently released 4 years ago now, and it's still plenty fast enough for all my needs. If it lasts another 4 years, I won't update. That's probably their problem.

Do I think the software ecosystem is superior? I _hate_ using the app store with a passion. I _hate_ trying to find an app for my needs(most recently a gym app) and there's 40 options and they're all a monthly subscription. I _hate_ the advertising that my children get trapped in while playing a game(I sometimes have to switch to data so that my pihole isn't used so that the ads can load so that the game will work at all), but the ads don't have a timer or an X in the top right, you have to interact with them the right way to escape.

But most of all, I _HATE_ that all my daughter wants is a draw-by-numbers game and there's literally hundreds of almost identical games which all charge $10+ a MONTH for the privilege.

Nah, I don't think the software ecosystem is superior. Although Google trying to stop sideloading does make me think they're happy racing to the goddamn bottom.

Andaith commented on How I block all online ads troubled.engineer/posts/n... · Posted by u/StrLght

mr_windfrog · 3 months ago

I'm using Firefox + uBlock Origin, and this combo blocks ads perfectly for me. Anyone else using the same setup?

Andaith · 3 months ago

+ ghostery + pihole.

I like his suggestion of VPN via cloud. I might set up something with wireguard or tailscale for that.

I don't really use youtube, but my family does, so If anyone knows a way to get a better ui experience as a google tv app I'd be keen to hear it?

Andaith commented on Why have so many people stopped posting on social media? rte.ie/brainstorm/2025/11... · Posted by u/austinallegro

Andaith · 4 months ago

I wonder if it's because social media started out as connecting with people you know, and maybe their friends, so you can maintain/expand your social circle, or join new ones? But now it's an algorithmic feed(they're all feeds) designed to maximize engagement with the app, and socializing is a distant 2nd(or 10th) priority for the app makers?

I read HN & Reddit, but the only "social" media I still use regularly are group chats with <10 people in them.

Andaith commented on Ask HN: What's the point of starting a startup if the failure rate is so high? · Posted by u/anon115

Andaith · 4 months ago

Because you have an idea for a product/service that you think people will want/need enough that they'll pay for it?

Because you think you can create the product/service before you go bankrupt, and that you can then sell it for a price the market can bear that will allow you to make a profit?

It's not just a coin flip, which is the impression you get looking at statistics too much.

Andaith commented on UK pauses intelligence-sharing with US on suspected drug vessels in Caribbean theguardian.com/uk-news/2... · Posted by u/beardyw

Andaith · 4 months ago

As I understand it, the old system was:

- UK, Canada, Guyana, probably more countries shared intelligence on suspected drug vessels in Caribbean

- US Coast Guard accosted said vessels, searched them, arrested everyone if anything illegal was found.

Now it's:

- UK, Canada, Guyana, have all said they're not going to share intelligence, decreasing(by whatever percentage) the chances of finding a drug smuggling boat, and increasing the chance of it making its way to the USA.

- US Navy blows up what boats it does find without checking them for drugs, increasing(by whatever percentage) the chance of killing innocents, and degrading intl law & norms.

What does the US benefit from this new policy?

(Edited for formatting)

Andaith commented on American Heart Association says melatonin may be linked to serious heart risks sciencedaily.com/releases... · Posted by u/pogue

Andaith · 4 months ago

There's a thing going on in Australia with Melatonin. It's not OTC, it's a prescription thing. BUT doctors typically just tell people to buy online from America because it's much cheaper. So the TGA(Therapeutic Goods Administration) did some testing of what you can get online from America:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-29/tga-safety-concerns-o...

and are now recommending not to buy online because the doses are completely unregulated. They even reached out to companies like iHerb and asked them not to sell to Australians.

So, whatever dose you think you're taking, assume it's a bit of a guesstimate...

Andaith commented on Be Careful with Obsidian phong.bearblog.dev/be-car... · Posted by u/allenleee

Andaith · 5 months ago

Somebody read that recent open letter to the Obsidian Team and realized the security implications rather than just the inconvenience :D

So far I have uninstalled all themes & plugins except the kanban board - I'm working on it. I'll use core obsidian and that's all.

Andaith commented on Layoffs in U.S. are at their highest level since 2020 cbsnews.com/news/layoffs-... · Posted by u/sciencejerk

thegrim33 · 5 months ago

Cool. As per the guidelines, why would "good hackers", on a tech forum, find this "intellectually satisfying"?

Andaith · 5 months ago

Most of us are interested in complex systems, and the economy is a very complex system, and discussing the outcome of some of the most significant blunt changes to this system counts as "intellectually satisfying"?

Also, it's going to affect all our lives somehow, even if we're not watching from the inside.

Andaith commented on Death of Michael Ledeen, maker of the phony case for the invasion of Iraq spytalk.co/p/death-of-a-m... · Posted by u/nabla9

somenameforme · 10 months ago

This is 100% it, but this goes far beyond just Bush or Iraq. If you ever want to understand what's really happening in US geopolitics, their paper, Rebuilding America's Defenses [1], is critical reading. It describes every motivation, goal, and purpose with 0 effort to fluff it up for public. This absolutely transcends parties as well. It is the position of the US political establishment. For instance Robert Kagan is the founder of the Project for the New American Century and his wife is Victoria Nuland who served as deputy head of state under Biden.

It's not easy to give cliff notes, because there's too much to say. But in general, this was at the time when the USSR had still only relatively recently fallen and the US was not only essentially the king of the world, but had 0 meaningful competition for said claim. The goal of PNAC, and of the US political establishment, was to take this scenario, expand it, and perpetuate it. So the primary point was to prevent the rise of any other power and to essentially dominate the world primarily through being seen as the unquestioned premier military power, which would entail dramatic increases in military spending, regular demonstrations of power including preemptive and unilateral attacks on other countries if necessary, and so forth, wrapped in a tidy package of 'spreading democracy and freedom.'

Most famously they acknowledged that all of their goals would be quite difficult without, in their own words, something like a new Pearl Harbor: "Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event—like a new Pearl Harbor." 9/11 happened less than a year later, and everything went into overdrive, a trend that continued long after Bush was but a fading memory.

[1] - https://archive.org/details/RebuildingAmericasDefenses

Andaith · 10 months ago

I thought this was all history, but:

> Develop and deploy global MISSILE DEFENSES to defend the American homeland and American allies, and to provide a secure basis for U.S. power projection around the world.

> Control the new “international commons” of space and “cyberspace,” and pave the way for the creation of a new military service - U.S. Space Forces - with the mission of space control.

They really just kept at it, huh. Although this part is interesting:

> The Joint Strike Fighter, with limited capabilities and significant technical risk, is a roadblock to future transformation and a sink-hole for needed defense funds.

Wonder why it wasn't cancelled then? Change of mind, or just too many greased palms?