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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 12th, 2023

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  • Thorry84@feddit.nltoAndroid@lemmy.worldPlay Store is Bad
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    11 days ago

    I really hate it when I search for an app the search result is on the right and the sponsored result is on the left. It makes zero sense and they only do it so people misclick and Google can charge the sponsored app for that. It’s the kind of shit that just makes the world a worse place, in the name of earning a few more bucks. Google could have made billions forever and be the good guys, instead they choose to be assholes because number must go up.






  • You are right in how wasteful it is, especially since it turned out a lot of those satellites don’t even make it to 4 years.

    However there is zero risk of space trash with Starlink. They orbit so low, it’s basically within the atmosphere still. They need to constantly boost themselves, otherwise they fall down and burn up. So these satellites are coming down within years all on their own, even without any controlled disposal.

    It’s insanely wasteful, but it keeps SpaceX in business launching every week, which is kind of the point. But at least there isn’t a Kessler syndrome waiting to happen.



  • Who fucking cares at this point? Trump has done so much worse things by now. He can’t legally be president for a third term, so it’s not like it’s gonna impact his re-election. Most of the world already hates the man and think he is vile and disgusting. What is one pee tape going to change.

    The pee tape could release today and be barely in the current news cycle. One camp will say “This just confirmed what we already knew”, the other camp will say “Fake news”. And tomorrow it will be forgotten.

    No, it has to be something way worse than a simple pee video.





  • Yup, that’s the one.

    I think where I live it’s a company that offers the whole thing white label to supermarket and other shops. The systems are very similar across a bunch of different stores, but the branding is specific to the store. So their logo, their colors. Not just on all the UIs (both the scanner and the checkout), but also the physical hardware colors.

    The hand scanners all run Android, the other day I got one that said Google Play Services had crashed. The scanner itself is probably made by Zebra and then customized by the company providing the scan and checkout solution.

    It has become super common around here, to the point where I’m annoyed when it isn’t an option and I have to use the self-checkout where you need to scan at the checkout.


  • No, the hand scanners aren’t connected to the kiosks. They are at the entrance, you pick them up, scan all you want to buy. Then at checkout you place the scanner into a kiosk, it knows what you bought and you can checkout as usual. Every once in a while a store employee takes the scanners and puts them into the holders in the entrance. Depending on the size of the store there can be up to a hundred of these scanners available.

    Other stores do the same, except your phone is the scanner with an app you can download. It works basically the same way. Most stores that offer the app also offer the hand scanners, which I prefer.


  • For me personally, the self checkout is just a way better solution to the problem. It’s for me much faster and more efficient. It’s also easier for the store itself. The best kind of self checkout for me is where you can scan everything with a hand scanner or app whilst shopping. Then just pay at the self checkout and walk out. That way I just put the stuff in my bag directly, instead of from the shelf into the basket or cart. Then from the cart to the checkout and then from the checkout into my bag. It also spreads out the action of scanning the products, which means avoiding a slow and repetitive task scanning it all in 1 go. I’m also not blocking a checkout whilst scanning. I hate it when stores that offer the hand scanner have people scanning a whole cart full of stuff at the checkout. And then bagging it of course, which blocks a checkout for ages. Just go to the regular checkout if you want to do that, the cashier is faster than you are and you can focus on bagging exclusively.

    However the lack of human contact is an issue. I’ve seen a lot of stores that offer self checkout recently make one or two lines available for chatting. It’s just the regular oldskool cashier, but they are relaxed about it and chat with the customer. This means people in a hurry or that don’t need contact right then can go fast through the self checkout. And people who like to chat can use the chatty checkout with a good old human being.

    This for me is the best way to apply new tech, all of the benefits for all parties involved and hopefully none of the downsides.



  • And for the most part this is true. People who don’t do little calculation puzzles for fun often have trouble with basic arithmetic without getting a calculator (or likely the calculator app on the phone). I know when I’m doing something like wood working and I need to add and subtract some measurements, I use a calculator. I could do it without, but chances are I would make a simple mistake and mess up my work. It’s like a muscle, if you use it, it will become stronger. If you don’t use it, it becomes weaker.

    However there is a huge difference between using a calculator for basic arithmetic and using AI. For one thing, the calculator doesn’t tell you what the sums are. It just tells you the result. You still need to understand each step, in order to enter it. So while you lose some mental capacity in doing the sums, you won’t lose the understanding of the concepts involved. Second of all, it is a highly specific tool, which does one thing and does it well. So the impact will always be limited to that part and it’s debatable if that part is useful or not. When learning maths I think it’s important to be able to do them without a calculator, to gain a better understanding. But as an adult once you grasp the basic concepts, I think it’s perfectly fine not to be able to do it without a calculator.

    For AI it’s a bit different, it’s a very general tool which deals with all aspects of every day stuff. It also goes much further than being a simple tool. You can give it broad instructions and it will fill in the blanks on its own. It even goes so far as to introduce and teach new topics entirely, where the only thing a person knows is what the AI told them. This erodes basic thinking skills, like how does this fit into my world view, is this thing true or false and in what way?

    Again the same concept applies, where the brain is a muscle which needs to be given a workout. When it comes to a calculator, the brain isn’t exercising the arithmetic part. When it comes to AI it involves almost all of our brain.