@TechTangents@dialup.space

Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

I put out a video that was critical of AI without AI being mentioned in title, thumbnail, or description. And it was dogpiled with pro-AI comments almost instantly. This video has almost 2.5X as many comments per view as my most recent "controversial" video, and 4.5 the average. I don't want to say that AI bots are being used to astrorturf videos after scraping scripts, but I have a hard time believing this is real based on experience.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Turns out the trick to getting Google Classic sans-AI is to just browse the web on a 3DS!

I can't see any possible down sides to this!

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 2mo ago

It makes sense that the good parts of Javascript ends up being the shortest programming book here.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

This is a waste of compute, a waste of energy, a waste of physical materials, a waste of transportation, and a waste of money. My grandmother got a refund. But think of how many people won't, on an unlimited scale across genres. The amateur end of this this and many other hobbies will be choked out by garbage. I don't have call to action for this, I have no idea what we can do other than educate those around us to make individual choices to not engage with deluge of slop around us.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

I pay for Google Workspace to host custom email domains so they don't get blocked by the cartel. And gmail has stupid AI nonsense in it (that is broken and impossible to disable without support due to the age of the account, I don't use it).

But the thing that drives me the most nuts about it is its insistence on replacing idioms with bland corpo speak.

I get that these don't translate well to other languages. But sanitizing all language down to a lowest common denominator is awful.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 3mo ago

Gee I sure love how AI gives the power back to the people. The people who use it to constantly flood my public email with garbage. It's so bad that real emails that aren't this nonsense are more likely to be marked as spam and filtered out now. I'm becoming increasingly tempted to just nuke this email address and move to a new one that isn't listed on the channel about page anymore.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

I always feel so smart when I actually remember to add `-j` to a `make` command.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@FreakyFwoof@universeodon.com I draw the line at companies violating copyright on a massive scale and it being hand waved away. So if you have a small scale model made with cleared data, sure. We've had OCR since the 80s, google had real time video text translation over a decade ago. We don't need LLMs or transformer models for accessibility. We need purpose built products that actually make it viable.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 2mo ago

Replying to

Final Update: I win! Mwuhahahah! $35! Sealed, which I wasn't really after but it seems like most of them still are. This is up there for the longest titles I've stalked until one gets listed for a reasonable price. And like I said, it's not like this is some popular well remembered game.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@gloriouscow@oldbytes.space I have an old LCD TV I took the panel out of. I lay it flat and place a pane of glass over the diffuser (to not scratch it since it's now exposed) and put card on top of that. Then I just take a photo of it. That gets me evenly lit backlit shots of PCBs. I have also used the TV as a bigger soft light for normal PCB photos but I find the color quality to be surprisingly bad. https://wiki.techtangents.net/wiki/Data_General_microNOVA

wiki.techtangents.net

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

But here is the crux of the issue. This whole book contains ONE pattern spread over 4 pages. It's the super faint text because they didn't change the color before printing in monochrome. It's also surrounded bye "markdown CopyEdit", I've never used ChatGPT/any-LLM but I'm guessing this is a copy paste error from the prompt. I think they stole a pattern from someone and then generated a book around it. The rest of the ENTIRE BOOK after this just just waffling on nonsense.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

This is the first thing you see when you open it. A kerning nightmare followed by three lines that all just reiterate what the "book" is about, quantity without quality is the name of the game here. There is a reason I'm not saying this is 100% AI generated yet that I will get to in a moment. It is obviously full of AI garbage like this generated image of a forest full of balls of yarn with I presume the grim reaper waiting at the end of the path to claim more souls to fill the slop machine

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

After that is a table of contents, sorry, table of "content". There are of course, no page numbers in the book so it is completely useless. I think this is more to do with how amazon publishing works. It's full of layout errors like titles on the page before subject, more kerning issues, and the empty square glyph in the bullet list because the print font didn't have the character needed.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 5mo ago

Pretty cool thing I was able to do on stream today that should be a video coming up soon, I was able to do dual monitor AutoCAD R11 using the IBM 8514 on my PS/2!

But I'm curious if anyone knows of any other programs that specifically support this config of 8514+VGA dual monitors? It's different from VGA+MDA which is a lot more common.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

It also repeats information, the copy/pasted pattern defines the shorthand, and earlier in the book the LLM built a whole table out of that. Everything else in it just reads like the life story you got before the recipe you were looking for online, completely pointless padding.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 5mo ago

Replying to

Remember when things used to come in fun colors! That Compaq Desktop on the front was iconic for the time. Most of the ones I've ever seen have the default blue/purple front. But you could actually get different colors for it! Also, these VTech phones were available in fun translucent cases!

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 5mo ago

Replying to

These calculators are still sold today, I feel like this one speaks for itself.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 5mo ago

Replying to

I had NO IDEA Mavicas were so expensive. $700 for one blows my mind. There were flash format cameras before this with more capacity. Sure, floppies were convenient, but $700! And don't get me started on that memory stick trying to look practical at the bottom...

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

But it gets weirder! This is the only 5.25in drive I have ever seen that is the same vertical size as a Sony OA-D3#V series drive! I have wondered about the origin of their size for a long time and was speculating it was a one-off. But clearly not!

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 5mo ago

Replying to

RAM was so cheap it was free! (with purchase of 30GB HDD) It's somewhat interesting how computers have evolved from this time. 1000X more RAM to have 32GB isn't that uncommon. But 1000X HDD space to have 30TB is relatively rare. Online media has definitely played a part, but I think general "do everything" usage of computers for normal people has massively dropped off as well making large storage needs much more niche.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

Update: The exact same two games are still for sale, a third seller just listed one for $90. If you need me I'll just be screaming into the void.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 5mo ago

Replying to

I have been on the look out for vintage computer furniture for years, I actually have some pretty cool pieces. But the one thing that eludes me is the *right* 00's desk. Look at how wildly varied they were back then! Integrated CD storage, printer shelves, raised CRT platforms. We had it all! I think it will be one of those "I know it when I see it" finds to get the right one. But these were made cheaply and most of them are really beat up now.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 5mo ago

Replying to

Palm Pilots! I rocked one of these hard during a little after this era. I thought the Palm III monochrome was so cool. It sucked and the touch panel was bruised so I was constantly recalibrating it. But man I loved that thing. I always wanted the dock for it but never got one back then. I should really do a palm video some time...

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 5mo ago

Time continues to be a flat circle, this is from April 1987 talking about how you will still need programmers even with application generators.

Source: https://books.google.com/books?id=Zx4i2o3UhvEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

As a side bar, I hope Stephen Manes feels vindicated, since the whole article is really about wanting a more accessible language to usurp C. Which is exactly what happened with Python.

books.google.com

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 5mo ago

Replying to

I'm not sure how true this was everywhere else, but here in Arizona if you left your CDs in one of these in your car in the summer, the PVC sleeves would bond to the disc and rip off the data layer when you try to pull them out. Even if that didn't happen, you know you were never putting them all back in the jewel cases and ain't no one got time to go flipping through these at goodwill. So they're all just trash now.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

However, if you try to install it into a computer, you're going to notice something odd. It's too big, no wait, it's too small? It is not a standard height. It's not just the bezel being big either, the drive fills in all the space vertically. Using what seems like a full size NEMA stepper in the back probably didn't help.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

At first blush you'll notice the really unusual disk latch. It clicks in and is held down with a latch unlike Tandon TM100's that have a lame channel system. And when you open it, it is spring loaded to eject and present the disk! https://youtu.be/79UAq5HT9xw

Remex RFD480 Drive Eject

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 5mo ago

Replying to

And speaking of "Got it", the Sound Blaster Live X-Gamer which I found an example of in the box pretty recently! https://dialup.space/@TechTangents/115517101108958956 Also, some video card by a company that I'm sure won't go bankrupt 4 months after this ad was printed. Definitely not. (I would buy so many Voodoo 3 PCIs at $70 in the box now lol)

dialup.space

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@alisynthesis@io.waxandleather.com If it seems like it would be helpful go ahead! It would be nice to spread education about the subtle scams out there like this.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

"Slimeline" gets even worse as a name, here's an InfoWorld article calling half height drives "slimline" Source: https://books.google.com/books?id=GzAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA61&dq=slimline+floppy+drive&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjp9Ze6nrKUAxVIle4BHYaFGxUQ6AF6BAgHEAM#v=onepage&q=slimline%20floppy%20drive&f=false

books.google.com

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@FreakyFwoof@universeodon.com I appreciate you being cordial about it. I didn't go into all the details they told me, it was not a local model though. As an "influencer" I don't want to endorse people using using AI. And I gave examples of why I think it is bad in the video. To divulge more from my conversations with JJ, he enjoyed the video. And the ATAboy also sold out after the video went live. There is no ill well between he and I.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 5mo ago

Replying to

And on the complete opposite spectrum of the advances of RAM and storage space is the humble scanner. Seen here with specs that are probably better than what most scanners today can do. This is also one of the things in this ad where I get to go "Got it". This is a pretty solid scanner, but being from the 00's and scanners being inherently boring I'll never have a chance to use it in a video.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

I still have no idea where this size comes from, but now I know I can stop associating it with the Sony drives. I will be continuing my quest to find more information on this unusual form factor. For now I've added this drive to my wiki so the info is in a more publicly available place: https://wiki.techtangents.net/wiki/Remex_RFD480

wiki.techtangents.net

Remex RFD480 - Tech Tangents

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

Oh you know what, those are 8-in drives! Hah! It gets even worse!

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

And here's the kicker, the Remex was first! Bitsavers has a manual for it scanned: https://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/remex/floppy/Remex_RFD480_RFD960_Product_Reference_Manual.pdf In the manual there is a mechanical draft, with a date barely legible, I believe 08/12/81. This most likely predates the original Sony OA-D30V drive that was made for a word processor that the was released in late 1981. So this "standard" is earlier than the Sony drives!.

bitsavers.trailing-edge.com

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@FreakyFwoof@universeodon.com I imagine that a large amount of current assistive technology will start to rely on AI now because of the massive scale of the data it has. I would be prefer that as a public service instead of a for profit company, but that's not the world we live in. OpenAI purported to be that, but lied. So as non-AI options are replaced or stagnate, you won't have any viable options and I wouldn't blame anyone for using assistive AI tools. It isn't a cut and dry problem, like much of life.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@DarkMatterZine@mastodon.social @joannaholman@aus.social @Su_G@aus.social

found a good website run by a real person and bought a pattern online

"Good" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. These are the people we have steered away from scam websites that are likely to steal your CC info. If an AI pattern book can pass as looking legit, so could a scam site.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 5mo ago

Replying to

Well, that was all the stuff that jumped out at me as interesting. It's a shame it was crumpled up and torn or I would try to archive it but I don't really think it's worth it. I'll end with this though, look back through at how many things had manufacture rebates as part of the discount price. Holy moly, I forgot how bad and scammy that was. At least that has basically died off now.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

Oh yeah, I left this out. That manual does give the drive form factor a designation. But it is "slimline". So...yeah. I'm not going to find many helpful results searching for "slimeline 5.25in drive" here.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@fozztexx@mastodon.fozztexx.com Ooh, that's an excellent theory that I hadn't thought of! That appears to be a bit taller though, the manual claims it is 2.1in tall so about 0.15in shorter than your 8in drive there.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 5mo ago

Replying to

There wasn't a lot of software in the whole thing, but I forgot I wanted to get a copy of Reader Rabbit with a mic. I remember using it, but not much else. Of all the things in this ad sheet, this might be the only one that starts a new ebay search lol.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@gloriouscow@oldbytes.space I love the links to teacher course guides. If I had ever encountered something like that when I was in school I would have rioted. I already thought math classes were structured to waste a massive amounts of time repeating the same questions over and over. If I found out a teacher didn't even care enough to check the questions were real I would have just flunked out for refusing to engage with it.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@vwestlife@mastodon.social That's what I'm going with so far for the name on the wiki page. Ironically, the space left between the Remex drive and the normal half height drive is exactly the same height as a modern slimline optical drive.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@colinstu@birdbutt.com I self host a lot of stuff (like this mastodon account) but email is the line I draw in the sand. As much as I would love to own that process, I don't want to deal with spam, deliverability, clients, etc. I will not get enough of a return in personal satisfaction/security on the continual investment of effort/frustration to maintain it.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@petrillic@hachyderm.io I think I have one, but no media. And definitely no SCSI controller for the PS/2. Not that it would really matter because it's slot starved. But I could totally see one of those being useful back in the day!

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@leeloo@c.im I am a webmail noob. I've bounced off of every single local client. Part of it is that I really like the fact that when I close *just* the web browser, the entire world goes away and I have peace.

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Tech Tangents @TechTangents@dialup.space

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@the_turtle@mastodon.sdf.org It would have been pretty rough to put an 8514 in it since you only have three slots and for AutoCAD might need a RAM card for more than 6MB. Mine's the lowest spec though at 16MHz, but it's still pretty snappy with ACAD once I figured out how to setup the RAM for it!

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