Huh. You’d think more instances were blocking, given the amount of buzz.
Being generallky in favor of letting individual users make this call that’s… mildly encouraging. Of course I happen to be in an instance that is blocking, so…
It’s worth noting that this still splits Mastodon pretty much in half. That’s arguably a bigger concern than anything else Meta may be doing. They may not even have to actually federate to break Mastodon, which is a very interesting dynamic.
They take away the ability to include links in video descriptions. That’s still not related to watching videos, but it seems like a legit eff you to small content creators.
Turns out when you stop using it the recommendations become more and more unhinged and take on a slight pleading tone.
It’s weird and kinda satisfying to watch, honestly.
Incidentally, I dropped Youtube’s web app like a rock when they started messing with adblockers and today they emailed me to say they’re cutting down features in my account because “I don’t have enough of a history”.
I swear, these decaying tech firms just don’t get the value of not appearing to be flailing in desperation.
They’re actually fairly rare and not particularly compatible. My 3.5mm earbuds plug in natively to my Switch, my phone, my PS5 controller, my laptop and my desktop PC.
I recentlly upgraded my PC headset and moved the old one to use in my bedroom only to discover that because it’s USB I can only use it with my laptop.
So yeah, no, not obsolete and not the same.
Yeah, but “recent” here is a bit of a stretch. Apple removed the headphone jack from their phones seven years ago. Lagless bluetooth audio is only just now tehcnically possible and still widely unsupported. it’s absurd, and I honestly think it justifies not just seeking a phone with an audio jack but also moving on from the bluetooth standard altogether.
Bluetooth still lags. To this day. Don’t ask me why or how, given it’s the year of our lord 2023, but I can tell there is lag in most bluetooth headsets even in video content, let alone games.
So yeah, I have a Sony Xperia 1 IV, which not only has the headphone jack but forward facing stereo speakers and no notch or camera punch-hole. To my knowledge it’s the very last flagship phone with that specific feature set.
I didn’t decide on sarcasm, as much as defaulted to it.
As for the other thing… look, I have an RF shielded wallet. Do I think somebody is going to sneak behind me with a card reader and try to steal five bucks from me? No, not really. Do I find the notion of them being able to do it without having to physically tap my crotch less secure? Probably.
I, for one, can’t see a problem with extending the range of the technology we use for keys and payments by four to six times.
I mean, what could go wrong with being able to read secure data at a distance with fewer requirements for precision and proximity.
Oh, hard disagree on the last part, at least.
As always in left-leaning spaces, the best way to disarm any threat of reform is to wait for whatever purity test over a random issue to trigger a schism, sit back and watch. It’s not even the first time it happens to Mastodon specifically.
In this case, a potential competitor that already has a reputation for being overcomplicated and having bad UX now needs an extra FAQ item called “can I interact with Threads from Mastodon?” and the answer is “it depends”.
It’s terrible, self-destructive and worse than either a yes or no call. Zuck boned Masto by federating a handful of employee accounts only AND he’s still going to get the plausible deniability in front of regulators from federating with whatever’s left. I’d be impressed if I thought Meta did it on purpose instead of it being entirely self-inflicted.