modifier

Years ago, when this policy was first being contemplated, someone at google plugged a number, likely larger than this, into a spreadsheet analyzing the cost/benefit of spying on their customers.

This is just post-activation operating expense from their perspective.

Pseudo-intelligence

Hold my beer.

+1 now, and that’s for introducing me to the feature.

My only quibble would be to swap “pay” for “invest” which captures both the dynamic of up front expense and expected savings from ending recurring subscription fees. That’s how I look at it. Every penny I put into my own digital sovereignty is an investment that will yield returns both financial and otherwise.

I’m not sure how long you’ve been here - not assuming how long you’ve been lurking, or that this is your first account, but I think it really is easier not to care here. All kidding aside, try it. You don’t have this whole upvote/award dopamine cycle here, and in many cases, anyone can see the number of downvotes a comment has vs upvotes - something that reddit long ago “fuzzed” along with actual vote counts.

For instance, the comment I’m replying to has 3 upvotes (one of them mine), and 1 downvote as of right now. This ratio may stay the same, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you got more downvotes, because your comment was a kind of dismissive reply to a comment that probably represents what a lot of folks who’ve been here a while feel, which also came from a user that is very active and generally well liked. I could not begin to tell you their upvote count (can’t even see my own) as a proof of their popularity, so I just have to go by what I observe in my day to day, and this place is still small enough that you see familiar usernames in a variety of communities.

This is still kind of a small town, and you may come to see this bug as a feature in time. I did.

Found a way!

I want to pay. I want creators to be fairly compensated for their work. I just want a structure that doesn’t require a predatory middleman that adds no value.

The seas are truly splendid. I can only but pity the landlubbers.

I say this quite a bit. Whatever the opposite of buyer’s remorse is, that is how I feel about the Steam Deck. Hands down the best purchase I made last year, and that is continually affirmed.

It sounds like that is the same as saying “you can’t oppose corporate monopolies without openly opposing fascism”

There is a lot of risk in that sort of intentional abdication of nuance, hopefully self-evident to you and to all who read this.

I bet if we all try we can remember the name Tilley Lockey because it’s a pretty badass name and arguably cooler than bionic girl

People Everywhere Be Knowing About Crispin

And that’s why I came here before potentially seeing something that would make me sad in the article.

Fireworks for me. I miss that whole suite though.

Ukraine likely adopted that posture well before The Tantrum.

No ransom. This might be someone’s hobby project but it is dangerous, or will be, to the handful of dweeby, fake-ripped broligarchs that want to control ALL of our conversations.

And the board is probably afraid to fire him now too.

Dang does the bee actually have a stinger? I didn’t expect this level of almost-but-not-quite self-awareness from them.

Exactly.