To be fair, ever since the advent of high power USB-C PD that really, really is not needed any more, way too many power bricks are effectively e-waste.
People already have USB-C power bricks and docks everywhere and unlike pre-USB-C generations, you can use them not just across different generations of hardware, but across vendors as well.
> unless they are upgrading from another USB-C laptop.
Which MacBooks have been for almost a decade - the 2016 MBP with Touch Bar was the first that went fully USB-C PD. Anyone who has had a MacBook in that time frame will have had at least one high power USB-C PD wall wart.
The Windows world, as usual, has been different, but even there, I'm not aware of any mainstream model being sold in the last two years without even a single PD capable port.
You mean bumped $100. M4 MacBook Pro and M5 MacBook Pro started at $1599 with 512GB SSD.
Now it starts at $1699, a $100 bump but comes with a 1TB SSD. Previously it would have cost $1799 for the 1T SSD, so it's a $100 bump on base price but you are also getting 1TB SSD for $100 less than before.
To me, this is kind of like Telecom providers giving you bandwidth headroom that realistically should have been there for a long time, but removing the option to get a cheaper plan whether you'd otherwise pay for the upgrade or not.
Like for my last upgrade, I bit the bullet and upgraded to 1TB for the first time ever instead of base storage at Apple's absurd prices, so it's good, but if I'd not have been willing to spend money on that at all, they lifted the floor.
My cell phone plan has been increasing every year by small amounts, but my usage pattern hasn't changed, and meanwhile they've restricted HD streaming using Deep Packet Inspection or whatever, so I theoretically have a 100GB full speed cap but can't practically use more than 20gb anyway, so they're pricing the bandwidth into the contract but I can't save money by getting a lower ceiling
EU doesn't forbid including. The new law requires there to be an option without the adapter. If the manufacturer chooses so they can have an option with and without the adapter.
Except that it's literally not true and people are repeating it for some stupid reason, I assume you just never actually looked it up - laptops are specifically excluded from that regulation, and in fact Apple does bundle a power adapter with their laptops, just not on the cheapest models.
> in fact Apple does bundle a power adapter with their laptops, just not on the cheapest models.
Here in the UK, they no longer include the power adapter even with the top models. I just specced out a fully-loaded M5 Max Macbook Pro, 128GB RAM, 8TB storage on the Apple Store, and it doesn't include a power adapter by default.
The 140W power adapter can be added as an option to the MacBook Pro for an additional £99 + VAT, or purchased separately. If you purchase separately you can of course choose a lower-power adapter for a lower price.
Now that a power adapter isn't included and you have to pay for it separately, it might make more sense to get one of the good brands of GaN power adapters instead, because they are smaller than the Apple ones for the same power, and have more ports.
No, it's provided by my employer so I don't really have that choice. And it's a the 16 core M4 Max, 64GB ram and 4TB storage, it's not really lacking in any way, it's a beast of a machine.
(But yes if I bought this with my own money I would have swapped lol)
Firefox has lost the plot, Orion is close but still has the odd UI bug that makes it tough to recommend, Safari is just Safari.
There is no truly good, independent, feature complete browser out there right now if you want to avoid Chrome and have something that a) works and b) isn't hostile to the userbase.
Brave at the very least said they'd keep supporting Manifest v2 extensions, though not sure how you'd acquire them anymore unless Chrome web store has kept the listings up.
Haven't checked on it since about mid last year but Facebook settings didn't work with it for me.
LinkedIn has also been especially hard to find a good blocker for to remove the sponsored/suggested posts from the timeline (it's just full of garbage engagement bait hot takes).
I just vibecoded a tampermonkey script to block scrolling on Instagram and also block reels. I also had it redirect from the `/reels/` URL to `/reel` which is just the single video view (for when friends link me memes), but it seems they removed that.
Edit, some things I've been able to us ublock origin for. Like facebook reels. Not 100% clean but enough to stop them from working (no video, just still thumbnail when you open them). In some ways that provides some reinforcement learning to the brain.
I use timelimit.io for managing screen time. Nice granular controls and schedule based rules.
I apply the 80/20 rule. 8 minutes allowed, followed by 2 minutes blocked. Then at night I reverse it. 2 minutes allowed, 8 minutes blocked. Just enough time to make one search query and then get off my phone. Or if I do get trapped by something, it's only for a short time.
Doesn't have to be. Before OpenClaw was a thing, people were experimenting with setups to allow them to drive their agent remotely.
And of course, OpenClaw is built to be a very generalist agent with a chat interface - same effective outcome as remotely controlling an AI harness, but not exactly what everyone wants.
PSA to those with family affected by dementia/Alzheimer's at a relatively early age (say <70yo): Get them tested for STDs, specifically Syphilis.
Left untreated for a very long time (decade+), it spreads to the brain and causes dementia among other things. Older generations with stigmas, taboos, or from lower educational backgrounds seem (to me) less likely to get tested, so it seems plausible.
Source: Have recently discovered this myself with a family member from their neurologist.
> Source: Have recently discovered this myself with a family member from their neurologist.
The reason this was detected is that such testing is a standard practice with new dementia patients—among many other tests that identify etiologies of dementia.
> Definitely not the case, not in all regions, not even within the same country
Perhaps—but it's also possible that whoever was in the room with the patient declined STI testing (which I have seen, and which sometimes reflects lack of knowledge around extramarital affairs).
I'm just trying to make it clear that there are dozens of reversible/non-degenerative causes of dementia and there is no way that a fully-trained neurologist doesn't have these memorized.
It's like not knowing what a type system is as a programmer with a reputable degree—impossible.
edit: in fairness, many doctors have unease around discussing sex/infidelity—but the PSA maybe should be to encourage your doctor to put aside concerns around niceties in your parent's care.
He was shot in 1918 leaving bullets in his body and left him weakened, then in 1922 he suffered at least three debilitating strokes. He lost his ability so speak and had to learn to speak again. He even proposed assisted suicide because he was suffering so much. He then had a final fatal stroke in 1924. I don't think "he looks crazy so he must have had some STD" is medically accurate or remotely appropriate on what's supposed to be an academic forum. He most likely had brain damage towards the end thus his illness of course was reflected on his body looked. Lenin's eyes reflected his post-stroke damage.
He was quite sane in his life and his work expanding on Marx is of course extremely important.
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