It's always a controversial topic and rarely has any level of insightful or genuine discussion. Best to avoid unless your idea of living is engaging in meaningless social media pile-ons or rage-baiting.
Pirating is even more woke than watching Netflix or Disney+! Take that Ron DeSantis!
I think the Wikipedia article needs to be updated to be honest. Continuing to describe it as a "conspiracy theory" is quite misleading given the phenomenon is already underway and only picking up pace.
That was an excellent read. I have often wondered myself how other people are going when I see them so adamant that they'll never use a mainstream social media/messaging service ever again and now refuse to be friends with anyone who does. I've heard "if my friends won't value my privacy, they're not real friends", or variations of it, so many times in privacy communities.
Wonder if ads actually makes up for the difference or if it’s just under priced to push people towards it.
The ads are almost certainly making up the difference and then some, otherwise I don't see why Netflix would pursue that strategy at all. The only other theory I can think of is that people are less likely to initially cancel an $8 monthly subscription than a $19 subscription, and are therefore more likely to forget to cancel it in the future.
Like the rest of the tech industry, Netflix is way past the point of making a loss just to drive growth and is now obsessed with driving maximum profits because their shareholders are demanding (or are owed) returns on the big investments they made in a different financial climate years ago. That's why Netflix is introducing ads, pushing up prices and cracking down on shared subscriptions (and now even a one-off payment to "add" an account member from outside of your household) and cancelling projects with real artistic merit at short notice when they don't show immediate signs of becoming the next massive hit. It's all about making as much money as possible now. We are no longer in the age of focusing on providing a reasonably priced and objectively good service and that will drive people back to piracy, just as it has done previously.
How is the standard plan a bad value?
Because of how it is priced relative to the other tiers. It is significantly closer in price to the highest tier ($7 gap) despite being almost identical to the lowest tier in terms of features ($11 gap). The only meaningful difference is ads. It's very clear that Netflix is trying to price out customers who are unwilling or uninterested in paying for all the features limited to the highest tier (4K, double the simultaneous streams, better audio, etc) and force them on to the cheaper, ad-supported plan instead because they believe they can make more money this way.
Additionally, the middle tier is priced closer to the highest tier to imply that the highest tier is great value (because it has so many extra features for a smaller price increase than between the lowest tier and the middle tier). This is a classic retail strategy designed to trick consumers into spending more money than they originally needed or wanted to because "it's better value". Consumers often conflate "better value" with "saving money", even though they are doing the complete opposite when they pay $7 more for features they didn't initially care about at all.
This is even more concerning (or funny, depending on how dark your humour is) when you realise that it will be replaced by AI-generated webpages. Humanity's presence on the internet is disappearing before our eyes.
I think the previous model had the best battery life of any phone GSMArena had tested, so I guess that's the niche. But I'm sceptical of a crossover between people who buy phones with with an extreme focus on battery life and people who buy phones with pretty unimpressive and out of date mid-range processors. Particularly at the price the 10 series retails for. I'm struggling to understand why Sony continues with the 10 but I guess there is a market somewhere.
Through subscriptions. Both Google and Samsung are focusing heavily on that at the moment. That's also why their unique software features are often free at first. If Galaxy AI started off as a monthy subscription everyone would ignore it but their plan is to get you reliant on it then introduce a fee.
That's a boring answer but it is sadly true for Google and every other big tech company currently. They focused on massive growth for years off the back of heavy investment but now that the financial climate is bad and interest rates are up, all these companies suddenly need to refocus the business around profitability. It's why this wave of enshittification has hit the internet within the last few years.
The funny bit to me is how obvious they are about restructuring their business model. Netflix clearly wants a greater proportion of their revenue to come from advertisers, so they're charging exorbitant prices for the 4K and, in particular, standard plan while keeping the "ad-supported" plan fairly low. They were probably seeing waves of short-term subscribers in response to big releases and are trying to bait those people into staying subscribed permanently while also milking then through advertisements. I wouldn't be surprised if the standard plan is removed at some point because it's such bad value now.
None of that has anything to do with what I said (clumsiness). Thank you for replying to a comment you didn't even bother to read, very respectful of you.
Aww...I have tried running with my toy poodle but he's a bit too fussy. Prefers to be off-lead playing chasey in a big open space.
I would argue the opposite. These big companies have discovered what they believe to be the Holy Grail of technology (generative AI) and are now in a race unlike any seen before to deploy it as quickly as possible to the world and gain market dominance. Big tech is completely out of control right now, even the CEOs are describing it as "frantic" behind the scenes.
Ran another yearly PB this week: down to 24:22 at this morning's Parkrun. I was actually a bit worried beforehand because I thought I might not have recovered from a slower 8 km run I did mid-week, but once I got going I felt great.
8 seconds is very close, you are definitely capable of running that pace. I think you'll crack it with your next attempt!
Depends whether you're relying on the algorithm (recommendations) to find new groups or whether you're manually searching for and vetting these groups yourself. If it's the latter then it's not luck, that's a safe and smart approach to take with social media.
The thing people miss when they boast "wElL I DoNT uSe iT sO nOt mY pRoBlEm" is that an increasingly large proportion of our society does use these shit platforms, and for longer periods too. We have to live in this world with all the brainrotted zombies so it is actually our problem too.
groups are great at isolating you from the weird conspiracy theory public content in comments.
Joining groups is actually what drives people into those conspiracy black holes because of the way the recommendation algorithm is designed. It will recommended you more and more extreme groups because they are what keeps people using the platform for longer.
I stumbled across this today and thought it was worth sharing. I have used every one of these ROMs except /e/ and they are all good projects in their own right.
"I downloaded this app called Parallel Live which makes it look like you have tens of thousands of people watching. Instantly, I became the life of the party."
A market for manipulating Reddit using AI have emerged.
Even in states that don’t have daylight saving, most people favour it. However, support is strongest in the country’s south, where the difference between summer and winter daylight hours is greater.
Cafe owners have tried to keep prices low but are being squeezed out by tight margins.
Politicians are all too aware that a metaphorical poverty freight train is coming for a generation of renters, but can a collision be avoided, asks David Taylor.
Coles plans to ‘optimise its workforce’ with big data and AI tools from a controversial tech company.
Normally I tune out to this annual debate since it feels so polarised and stale, but the messaging from Woolworths, Cricket Australia, the Australian Open and others this year suggests big companies are concerned about an attitude shift within Australian society. It seems they've decided the inevitable backlash is now worth it because the silent majority has begun leaning in favour of change.
Is this just a natural result of this being the first post-referendum Australia Day or is there a longer-term change unfolding here?
This isn't particularly recent news but it hasn't been reported on much for how significant it is. The TL:DR is that many 4G phones use 3G for calls or don't support VoLTE with Australian telcos. The shutdown will leave a significant number of Australians with phones that cannot make phone calls, forcing them to buy a new one.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Cheng Lei arrived in Melbourne earlier today and has been reunited with her family after three years in detention.
Guardian Australia political editor Katharine Murphy talks to opposition MP Julian Leeser about the centre-right perspective on the voice to parliament and how the referendum could still succeed
Guardian Australia political editor Katharine Murphy talks to opposition MP Julian Leeser about the centre-right perspective on the voice to parliament and how the referendum could still succeed.
Digicel Pacific's network resources are likely being used by private spy firms to track unsuspecting people on the other side of the world and steal their call, message and location data, according to an expert cybersecurity analysis.
Australians will cast their first referendum vote in more than two decades in October, deciding the fate of a constitutionally-enshrined Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament.
As cost-of-living pressures continue to climb, people are looking for creative ways to save. One method gaining popularity on social media is called "cash stuffing". It's a reinvention of the old envelope system our grandparents used to use, and it's bringing back the use of physical cash.
The independent tribunal that sets politician pay has determined to give federal MPs a 4 per cent pay rise, saying previous pay increases have been conservative.
As Australia tries to control the risk of rabies from the importation of cats and dogs, these pet owners say the country's strict policy has cost them time, money and in one case, their dog's health.
Most Americans have very little choice but to provide their personal information to credit bureaus. Hackers have found a way into that data supply chain, and are advertising access in group chats used by violent criminals who rob, assault, and shoot targets.
It doesn't have to be the most practical or common distance. Just whichever one you enjoy the most in the moment. For example I currently run 5 km a lot at the moment due to lower levels of strength in my calves and the practicality of it (5 km doesn't take much time out of the day), but I definitely enjoy 10 - 12 km runs a lot more and would like to build up to them again. They give me more time to enjoy the sensation of endurance running and I like the harder mental challenge of maintaining a consistent pace over a longer period.
Whenever I run at larger events I always find it interesting to see the way other people run and how much it can vary from person to person. And whilst there are some traits that you might see more often in stronger or weaker runners, there are always people who surprise me by running faster or slower than their style suggested at first glance.
Can you describe your running style? What does it look like? Does it have any quirks or things that make it recognisable to others? Has it changed over time?