ben_w (u/ben_w) - Readit News

ben_w commented on Y Combinator files brief supporting Epic Games, says store fees stifle startups macrumors.com/2025/08/21/... · Posted by u/greenburger

tekkk · 5 hours ago

What a stupid argument. Maybe grandpas and grandmas should get a different phone then, like a Doro, and stop bringing the rest of us down. And it doesn't even hold water as my mother has been scammed by legitimate App Store apps that have charged extra-fees just because they could.

ben_w · 4 hours ago

> Maybe grandpas and grandmas should get a different phone then, like a Doro

They did, they got an iPhone.

> my mother has been scammed by legitimate App Store apps that have charged extra-fees just because they could.

Did it empty her bank balance by abusing the private NFC payment APIs that Apple are being ordered to open up?

Did it cryptolock all her files?

Did it activate the camera and mic to spy on her for blackmail?

These are things that we need to worry about with random things we download on desktop these days. It's not 2007 any more, I have an entire spare computer for untrusted software.

ben_w commented on Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City cnbc.com/2025/08/22/waymo... · Posted by u/achristmascarl

MisterMower · 2 days ago

No, it would be like a city building a dog park and then having parents bring their kids to the park and demanding that dog owners keep their dogs on leashes while in the park.

By your logic, this is fine because the kids aren’t pooping in the park which degrades it less.

Never mind that the park was created for dog owners, and their enjoyment of it is impaired by these new restrictions placed on them by people who shouldn’t even be there.

ben_w · 2 days ago

Your analogy is the bad one here.

To be like that, almost everyone would need to own a dog, and everyone including the non-dog-owners would have things delivered by dog, the dog park would have to actively block access to most places, and the fees for the dog owners pay for the dog park would have to be insufficient for the dog park and the park instead subsidised by general taxation even from the people who only get stuff delivered by dog… which would be quite fair and reasonable because almost all the damage to the dog park that the maintenance fees would need to cover, would be due to specifically the delivery dogs.

The actual point of the dog park fees in this scenario would be to reduce the usage of the dog park, due to everyone riding their dogs everywhere. Which is a heck of a mental image.

Roads aren't for pleasure, they're economic infrastructure that some people happen to enjoy.

ben_w commented on Elon Musk on software engineers: ‘There will be no code writing in the future' medium.com/utopian/elon-m... · Posted by u/hhs

roscas · 2 days ago

Engineers are harder to replace than CEO's.

Even a very small model can replace any CEO. Also for politics.

ben_w · 2 days ago

> Even a very small model can replace any CEO.

Not convinced.

Sure, an LLM trained today on pre-TBC/hyperloop data could probably work out everything wrong with the idea, but IMO is unilkely to be able to raise capital the way even a 25th percentile CEO could manage — i.e. only at all in bull markets, and even then not as effectively.

ben_w commented on AI is a Junior Dev and needs a Lead getparthenon.com/blog/ai-... · Posted by u/vinhnx

mepian · 2 days ago

Juniors usually learn on the job.

ben_w · 2 days ago

Indeed, but once they've done that learning they quickly stop being called "juniors".

ben_w commented on Waymo granted permit to begin testing in New York City cnbc.com/2025/08/22/waymo... · Posted by u/achristmascarl

MisterMower · 2 days ago

What do you think taxes on gasoline are for?

You’re absolutely right, roadways are insanely expensive. That’s why it’s infuriating to see entire lanes expropriated for cyclists.

ben_w · 2 days ago

Road wear is fourth power of axel weight, so trucks/lorries are overwhelmingly the cause of what repair money gets spent on fixing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_power_law

Complaining about cyclists getting bike lanes is like complaining about pedestrians getting footpaths.

ben_w commented on The warning signs the AI bubble is about to burst telegraph.co.uk/business/... · Posted by u/mgh2

stockresearcher · 4 days ago

There's been a lot of articles lately and they're getting a lot of traction because they are exactly what a lot of people want to hear. Expect the "success" in collecting clicks to result in even more articles reinforcing it.

Are we in an AI bubble, and if so, is it about to burst? If the answer to both of those questions is Yes, we will not know for months. Looking back is the only way to really know.

So be careful with your investments and other decisions. There aren't many things more dangerous than hearing what you want to hear. Don't let your guard down, and maintain your critical thinking.

ben_w · 4 days ago

> If the answer to both of those questions is Yes, we will not know for months. Looking back is the only way to really know.

While I agree we'll only know after it happens, when bubbles pop, they can do so suddenly and at such speed that markets get closed for trading to stop panic sales.

The day before? The hour before? Can all seem fine. So we don't know if we're months away, years, or if it's tomorrow.

> There aren't many things more dangerous than hearing what you want to hear.

In general, and not just in investments.

ben_w commented on AI crawlers, fetchers are blowing up websites; Meta, OpenAI are worst offenders theregister.com/2025/08/2... · Posted by u/rntn

renewiltord · 4 days ago

There's a protocol for that. Just reject the connection. Don't implode, just write some code. Your business model isn't my problem.

ben_w · 4 days ago

Reject 900k different connections from different origins each asking for what would in isolation be fine and the only problem is the quantity?

ben_w commented on Do Communication Skills Matter? · Posted by u/tsrubin

ben_w · 4 days ago

If software engineering is an engine, communication skills are a steering wheel:

No matter how strong the former, without the latter you probably won't end up where you wanted.

ben_w commented on Mark Zuckerberg freezes AI hiring amid bubble fears telegraph.co.uk/business/... · Posted by u/pera

indoordin0saur · 4 days ago

I've heard of high 7-figure salaries but no 9 figure salaries. Source for this?

ben_w · 4 days ago

"Why Andrew Tulloch Turned Down a $1.5 Billion Offer From Mark Zuckerberg" - https://techiegamers.com/andrew-tulloch-rejects-zuckerberg/

ben_w commented on Fed up with U.S. health care costs, these Americans moved abroad washingtonpost.com/busine... · Posted by u/littlexsparkee

billy99k · 5 days ago

"The rest of the world just shakes its head at the US healthcare system."

Perhaps on the cost, but the US has the best doctors in the world. If I need major surgery, I know I can get it in a reasonable amount of time. In many other countries in Europe or even Canada, the government gets to decide if I need to get it or not and the wait time could be in years.

Everyone says the elderly in the US will go broke after a single major surgery. My dad is on Medicare with a low-cost supplemental insurance. He's been in multiple hospitals for the last 6 months and short-term care for the last 6 weeks.

He was treated for sepsis twice and got a pacemaker installed (this doesn't include drugs, meals, everything else that comes with his stay). His cost out of pocket? $0.

My elderly relatives have to wait many months to get surgery in Canada. The UK also has a failing healthcare system. The issue is that in times of economic downturns, socialized medicine gets cut.

I don't think I've seen a single example of socialized medicine that doesn't end up with long wait times for major surgeries or the government making health decisions for you.

A better system would be to have no insurance on procedures that are extremely common (where the free market can reduce the costs, like Lasik eye surgery) and only have insurance on ones that aren't so common and won't benefit from the competition.

ben_w · 5 days ago

> Perhaps on the cost, but the US has the best doctors in the world. If I need major surgery, I know I can get it in a reasonable amount of time. In many other countries in Europe or even Canada, the government gets to decide if I need to get it or not and the wait time could be in years.

With unbounded money, perhaps.

For the average person, the difference in life expectancy suggests perhaps not.

> Everyone says the elderly in the US will go broke after a single major surgery. My dad is on Medicare with a low-cost supplemental insurance. He's been in multiple hospitals for the last 6 months and short-term care for the last 6 weeks.

The elderly? Medicare in particular (I had to look it up) is for over 65s and a few other groups, not everyone.

As I see them, the complaints are for people in general, and there's plenty of examples of medical bankruptcies in the USA: https://www.cgaa.org/article/medical-bankruptcies-by-state

> My elderly relatives have to wait many months to get surgery in Canada. The UK also has a failing healthcare system. The issue is that in times of economic downturns, socialized medicine gets cut.

The USA's government-funded healthcare costs more per capita than the NHS, despite only being for a subset of the population, supplemented by private insurance, and getting worse outcomes.

> I don't think I've seen a single example of socialized medicine that doesn't end up with long wait times for major surgeries or the government making health decisions for you.

"Under capitalism, man oppresses man. Under socialism, it's just the opposite." - old Soviet quote.

In the matter of "making health decisions for you", all you do is replace governments with corporations, hence what was carved onto the bullets that killed the CEO of United Health.