mike10921 (u/mike10921)

mike10921 commented on What I've learned about open source community over 30 years opensource.net/lessons-le... · Posted by u/throw0101b

account42 · a year ago

These are great things to do if you want to buld a community around a project (which does help keep it going). But it's also OK to just build what you want and publish that and then maybe accept contributions under whatever terms you feel like. Community management really is an entirely different skillset from software developement and I wouldn't want anyone to be discouraged from open sourcing their software if they are not a "people person" and don't want to deal with all that. Just sharing your work already makes the world better and you are NOT required to do anything more than that.

mike10921 · a year ago

Back in the day, Open Source projects thrived on the enthusiasm of creators who didn't view software development as a means to make money. Instead, they saw it as an opportunity to build a community and create superior products through collaboration.

However, the landscape has shifted. When an Open Source project becomes successful today, creators often transition the original product into a proprietary version with added features and support, available only through paid access. This practice undermines the original Open Source project, and usually end off killing the original project.

mike10921 commented on Fort Botox, Where a Deadly Toxin Yields $2.8B Drug (2017) bloomberg.com/news/featur... · Posted by u/Tomte

reaperman · 2 years ago

Sure, but it's only the USA paying the most truly ridiculous prices. They're usually quite affordable in the rest of the world.

mike10921 · 2 years ago

The reason is that labs can decipher the drug contents and produce the drugs at a fraction of the cost. Of course, these companies never paid for the research and cost to bring to market. So yes US citizens end up carrying the cost, but in practicality, a very big number of life-saving drugs originate in US companies. I am definitely not defending these companies just pointing out the basics.

mike10921 commented on Fort Botox, Where a Deadly Toxin Yields $2.8B Drug (2017) bloomberg.com/news/featur... · Posted by u/Tomte

Sparkyte · 2 years ago

You go to any country outside of North America and you can get medicines the exact same ones for a fraction of the cost on the dollars. US generally is up charged due the ability squeeze insurance and then the patient. So definitely greed, some regulations should be applied. Insurance companies would be happy to not be squeezed, if some sort of regulation was made to prevent squeezing it would be nice. Even a culture where doctors were glorified over YouTube stars would help too. Asia for example if you're a doctor you're making money! But the scary thing is that doctors in Asia don't charge 100,000 USD for said surgery. Just think about it.

mike10921 · 2 years ago

I'm the last to defend the drug companies, but at a basic level, they get the right to sell at high prices because of the cost to bring to market which is absolutely enormous. Once it goes to market the cost of producing the drug is often very low compared to the price but it's in order to encourage companies to invest in future drugs.

mike10921 commented on Bard's latest updates: Access Gemini Pro globally and generate images blog.google/products/bard... · Posted by u/meetpateltech

resters · 2 years ago

I've tested bard/gemini extensively on tasks that I routinely get very helpful results from GPT-4 with, and bard consistently, even dramatically underperforms.

It pains me to say this but it appears that bard/gemini is extraordinarily overhyped. Oddly it has seemed to get even worse at straightforward coding tasks that GPT-4 manages to grok and complete effortlessly.

The other day I asked bard to do some of these things and it responded with a long checklist of additional spec/reqiurement information it needed from me, when I had already concisely and clearly expressed the problem and addressed most of the items in my initial request.

It was hard to say if it was behaving more like a clerk in a bureaucratic system or an employee that was on strike.

At first I thought the underperformance of bard/gemini was due to Google trying to shoehorn search data into the workflow in some kind of effort to keep search relevant (much like the crippling MS did to GPT-4 in it's bingified version) but now I have doubts that Google is capable of competing with OpenAI.

mike10921 · 2 years ago

On the flip side, I find that GPT4 is constantly getting degraded. It intentionally only returns partial answers even when I direct it specifically not to do so. My guess is, that they are trying to save on CPU consumption by generating shorter responses.

mike10921 commented on Okta says hackers stole data for all customer support users bloomberg.com/news/articl... · Posted by u/tysone

mike10921 · 2 years ago

They cant get away with "oh shiz we screwed up", this is the essential part of their business. If you're unable to perform the fundamental service you are offering, it's indefensible. Okta having a security breach is like a pizza shop owner who's unable to make a pizza.

mike10921 commented on Tesla Cybertruck payload capacity 29% less than promised cleanenergyrevolution.co/... · Posted by u/ronron4693

mike10921 · 2 years ago

This is similar to discussing the off-road capabilities of a Range Rover. The extent of off-roading for most Range Rovers is typically just driving onto a front lawn. Most cybertruck owners will likely show little to no concern about its towing capacity.

mike10921 commented on InstallAware First and Only to Source Decentralized Setups on BitTorrent (2019) installaware.com/download... · Posted by u/installaware

wintorez · 2 years ago

I think the full potential of BitTorrent hasn't been realized yet. It works great for content distribution.

mike10921 · 2 years ago

Who could forget trying to download a game that was two Gigs, and it would give an estimate of a week :)

mike10921 commented on Google faces antitrust probe in Japan for pushing search default english.kyodonews.net/new... · Posted by u/anigbrowl

mike10921 · 2 years ago

The usual movie: Google pushes its monopoly with shenanigans, they get sued, and if they lose they pay a random fine that is a drop in the ocean. Nothing changes and shenanigans continue.

mike10921 commented on Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses meta.com/smart-glasses/... · Posted by u/mfiguiere

ziziyO · 2 years ago

I don't understand how putting a camera on a pair of glasses is what meta/rayban wanted to spend time on.

mike10921 · 2 years ago

I'm no fan of either company but the general concept is that Meta specializes in software not fashion, so partnering with Rayban will allow people to feel fashionable while using Meta's device (and of course allowing meta to follow their every move).

mike10921 commented on AOL pretends to be the internet thehistoryoftheweb.com/po... · Posted by u/janvdberg

mike10921 · 2 years ago

Short version via ChatGPT (for the lazy but curious like myself):

Between 1994 and 1998, AOL (America Online) emerged as a significant player in the digital landscape. Initially established in 1985 as Quantum Computer Services with a product that connected Commodore 64 computers to an online network, it expanded and rebranded under Steve Case's leadership. Case envisioned a simple, user-friendly online platform, and AOL's chat feature became its most notable offering. While AOL was initially a closed system, unlike the open protocols of the wider Internet, its aggressive marketing campaigns successfully lured millions of Americans into its ecosystem. Ted Leonsis, who joined AOL after the acquisition of his company Redgate Communications, envisioned AOL as an all-encompassing digital entertainment hub. However, as the broader Internet gained traction, AOL felt compelled to integrate certain Internet protocols, eventually even providing its users with browsers to access the larger World Wide Web. By 1997, AOL was the gateway to the Internet for nearly half its users. Yet, its aspiration to be a distinct multi-generational platform faded as it became synonymous with the broader web. This evolution culminated in AOL's acquisition of Netscape in 1998, signaling its full immersion into the wider world of the Internet.