Because it normalises dangerous bullshit and that should be a line in the sand for any responsible human. You can’t dismiss it because it’s part of a much wider pattern that is fuelling the justification of other dangerous bullshit we used to suppress in the pursuit of harmony.

It’s a shame that Casio are relentlessly pushing the g-shock watches upmarket. Part of their appeal was that they were affordable and tough. I still put on a g-shock if I absolutely have to know the time and couldn’t be faffed winding an automatic.

The GB-800 is pretty cool, has a step counter and the time can be kept by using the g-shock app including adjusting for daylight saving. The 5600 is my favourite though.

Im not sure that's the case, they've been doing MR-G watches for a long time (29 years) as a push upmarket. Just look at the latest GW-BX5600 (released in 3 days) it has a new MIP LCD panel on a new module. This retails for $150 .. no doubt the module will be put in much more expensive watches but one thing Casio continues to do is produce good value digital watches and at the lower price points. im hoping they add a model like the 5600u, with this module, with a screw in case back and higher quality resin. Also, my current favourite is the JDM yellow (original style) LCD F-91W. That was released 4 years ago and cost me $11 plus shipping. long live Casio!

Casio is leaving money on the table by not producing MR.G tier $5,000+ G-Shocks. Every other watchmaker is moving upmarket as well, most of them are far more greedy than Casio has been.

You can still get a DW*-5600 for $60 and a GW*-5600 for $120, Casio still offers value for a good price :)

I wear a Swiss three-hander that costs more than a MR.G, so my perspective on watch value might differ from the average person.

I'm wearing a ~$4000 MR-G today and I'm really happy with my choice. IMO the best thing about Casio as a brand is that they sell $15 watches and $8000 watches that do basically do the same things but appeal to different people. The existence of the higher end models doesn't diminish the utility or value of the classics. There's really something for everyone.

What's the appeal of a step counter in a Casio? For me this is just highlighting their utter lack of meaning- and useful innovation.

It was unexpected I guess. I bought that watch second hand and didn’t realise it had that function. I like it a lot better than a smart watch.

An interesting article about a deeply weird man. Though I’m still confused as to whether he’s trying to initiate an apocalypse of some kind. Outwardly his creepy investments in surveillance tech are a real cause for concern if directed at an evil intent.

> if directed at an evil intent

"When", not "if"; simple matter of time. In fact, knowing no better, I would say it has happened already.

Only 100? Amateurs.

C# is the right answer here.

I occasionally buy mix tapes from op shops. There is something weirdly intimate about listening to them. Part of it is the unique sequencing or the song choices. Part of it the handwriting on the insert. It’s a unique experience and perhaps a little creepy. Fun though.

What's an op shop?

A charity shop / thrift store

In theory you could make a Bluetooth 5 app that works like those Cardo motorcycle intercoms (2 to 20 riders on the same conversation over BLE I think). I should look into it.

You could argue that the “best” programming environment available for DOS machines was dBase. dBase III in particular. For storing rows of data and building text interfaces it was very impressive. Not for games, but for information systems that ran a lot of small business back then.

Clipper

The central issue here is whether the money pouring into AI companies is producing anything other than more AI companies.

I think the article's premise is basically correct - if we had a 10x explosion of productivity where is the evidence? I would think some is potentially hidden in corporate / internal apps but despite everyone at my current employer using these tools we don't seem to be going any faster.

I will admit that my initial thoughts on Copilot were that "yes this is faster" but that was back when I was only using it for rote / boilerplate work. I've not had a lot of success trying to get it to do higher level work and that's also the experience of my co-workers.

I can certainly see why a particular subset of programmers find the tools particularly compelling, if their job was producing boilerplate then AI is perfect.

Yeah AI code is ideal for boilerplate, converting between languages, basically anything where the success criteria are definite. I don’t think there is a 10x productivity upgrade across the board, but in limited domains, yes, AI can produce human level work 10x faster.

The fundamental difference of opinion people have here though is some people see current AI capabilities as a floor, while others see it as a ceiling. I’d agree with arguments that AI companies are overvalued if current models are as capable as AI will ever be for the rest of time, but clearly that is not the case, and very likely, as they have been every few months over the past few years, they will keep getting better.

Which way is the rate of change going?

Whether you like it or not, somebody selling keeps most of us in a job. Mostly I’m a software developer but I’m in a role now that requires selling. The simple truth is that most people need some kind of push to get them to make a decision. Whether that’s a needs based thing as described in “buyer-pull” or a couple of little harmless manipulations doesn’t really matter in the end. As long as the customer got what they wanted it’s mutually beneficial.

And bonus: you get to keep a job sheltered away from the grotty truth of how the money is made that funds your salary.

Unfortunately my company needs sales, because other companies have sales. That's a nuclear weapon situation. Sales gives a leverage, pushes company ahead of competition. So the competition have to have sales as well.

I find this situation toxic, but that's just sad truth of the world.