greggsy's comments

On: Don't force your kids to do math

[greggsy]

There’s a fine line between chores and games.

Imagine having to move a round thing around some other people to get that thing into a square frame. Then, imagine that you can only use your feet!

On: Google is winning on every AI front

[greggsy]

‘think soon people expect this service to be provided for free’

I have been using the free version for the past year or so and it’s totally serviceable for the odd question or script. The kids get three free fun images, which is great because that’s about as much as I want them to do.

On: Google will let companies run Gemini models in their own data centers

[greggsy]

You’re making a lot of assumptions there. It’s trivial to monitor traffic patterns from modern appliances, even if it’s encrypted.

Also, companies have been sharing data with cloud security organisations for years now. There a robust means of assessing the risk. License agreements are a very real thing.

[fxtentacle → greggsy]

I don't fully disagree, but the only reason why this product is noteworthy is precisely because companies don't trust cloud providers with their data anymore. And while you might be able to prevent data exfiltration by monitoring the traffic patterns, you probably can't prevent sabotage that way.

[greggsy → fxtentacle]

I’m confused and not sure what you mean.

Are you implying that Google will sell a product that is designed to ‘sabotage’ their own customer’s business? The legal and reputational damage far outweigh the value of stolen information.

Or do you mean that it could be a vector of attack? That can happen with literally any piece of software, hardware, or appliance you install in or out of your datacentre.

[michaelt → greggsy]

> Are you implying that Google will sell a product that is designed to ‘sabotage’ their own customer’s business?

The US government is constantly telling us that the likes of Huawei and Hikvision are doing precisely that, despite being subject to the same risks of reputational damage.

Of course, the same could be said of everything else in the data centre. It's not like Google are somehow more vulnerable than Juniper or Cisco or Unifi or Dell or Intel or whoever.

[surajrmal → fxtentacle]

It's the same folks it always has been. Google is just trying to win those customer's business that would never have otherwise chosen Google. I'm sure these on prem solutions are not nearly as cost efficient as running the same workloads in Google data centers. Most companies would not pay that difference unless forced to via regulatory requirements.

[pqtyw → fxtentacle]

> don't trust

That and there are various regulatory, political etc. reasons. Also I'm not sure about the "anymore" IMHO a lot more companies trust cloud providers with their data than they did 10-20 years ago .

[sitkack → fxtentacle]

I would have more problems with it even being on the network before we start talking about exfiltration.

On: Nintendo unveils Switch 2 ahead of June 5 launch

[greggsy]

Cripes that’s incredibly expensive for a lower spec handheld

[johnnyanmac → greggsy]

The specs seems to exceed that of the Steam Deck. And that was barely selling at a profit for a while. I'm not really mad at the specs.

[downrightmike → johnnyanmac]

But no linux or steam

[johnnyanmac → downrightmike]

I mean, yes?. Also no Playstation or Xbox. If Linux/steam is your deal breaker nothing Nintendo did would change your mind.

[bmacho → johnnyanmac]

The same is illegal for Apple, to sell phones and be a middleman for every app purchase. I hope the EU will do something about it.

[johnnyanmac → bmacho]

Maybe game consoles will come down the road. But I'm doubtful. These consoles are ephemeral compared to the IOS platform and aren't thought of as used for general computing (even if the hardware can be used as such).

All the console manufacturers are also software developers, so I fear pushing too hard will simply mean the end of dedicated game consoles instead of the freedom of them

[nolist_policy → bmacho]

The Switch doesn't have enough users or revenue to fall under the DMA.

On: OpenWrt Two Approval

[greggsy]

I hope it isn't a surprise that every country with sufficient resources and motives will do it to everyone else.

On: OpenWrt Two Approval

[greggsy]

Mikrotik devices compete in the mid-tier commercial and prosumer markets (the same market Unifi compete in).

GL.Inet are firmly in the personal and budget enthusiast market.

The price differences between those two markets is almost 2:1.

[msh → greggsy]

What devices are you comparing? I don’t see anything near those price differences.

On: Using Gorilla glass for home building

[greggsy]

That’s neat but very difficult to maintain, let alone transport. Large panes will also bow under that kind of pressure.

[DeRock → greggsy]

> Large panes will also bow under that kind of pressure.

They typically have support pillars arrayed throughout the panel to prevent any bowing or flexing.

On: Using Gorilla glass for home building

[greggsy]

Many Australian jurisdictions require the energy efficiency rating to be included with the listing, which factors in things like double glazing.

Their value is absolutely recognised as something greater than maintenance in this market.

On: 23andMe files for bankruptcy to sell itself

[greggsy]

Interested to know whether the collection statements can persist, or if they can just send a generic ‘we’ve updated our privacy policy’ email.

On: Apple restricts Pebble from being awesome with iPhones

[greggsy]

Your phone and Mac have strong trust at the OS, hardware, and manufacturing level.

[saagarjha → greggsy]

Ok but that strong trust lets them do exactly what was mentioned above.