7 Dec 2023 - 6 min read

My subscription reset status update: pain points, but surviving

It's been about 2 weeks since I stopped using nearly $1,000/year-worth of subscriptions and changed to free or paid-up-front options, and I wanted to give an update with some micro-details on how it's going. I have only resumed one subscription, but I've put a hard stop on all

7 Dec 2023 - 3 min read

The harmful mythology of “we didn’t use CG”

Todd Vaziri: FXRant: The Most Egregious Example of "We Didn't Use CGI" Mythology (So Far) In 2023, I can't believe we're still dealing with these ridiculous, bold-faced lies. "Gran Turismo" had over 1,100 digital visual effects - digital effects that producer Qizilbash and director Blomkamp asked for and directed.

7 Dec 2023 - 1 min read

Big month for plagiarism

Case Marshall writing for Polygon: Hbomberguy’s 4-hour YouTube plagiarism video set social media abuzz Brewis systematically goes through Somerton’s content, calling out multiple instances in which he plagiarizes — or heavily lifts from, without proper crediting — authors from other outlets, academics, and documentaries. I know it’s a lot

6 Dec 2023 - 1 min read

Google releases Gemini Nano, which runs locally on Pixel 8 (just like Apple should next year)

Casey Newton reporting on Google’s update to their AI backend, Gemini In accordance with Google’s preference for chaotic branding, Gemini will be available in three “sizes”: Nano, which is small enough to fit in a smartphone and will power features in the Pixel 8 Pro smartphone starting today;

6 Dec 2023 - 1 min read

Disney belittled Pixar’s brand

Charles Pulliam-Moore for The Verge: Pixar’s Turning Red, Soul, and Luca are getting theatrical releases Today, Disney and Pixar announced that Pete Docter’s Soul, Domee Shi’s Turning Red, and Enrico Casarosa’s Luca— all of which ended up premiering on Disney Plus due to the covid-19 pandemic

6 Dec 2023 - 2 min read

You have every right to block whoever you want (and a quick story!)

Joan Westenberg: The block button is the ultimate source of dopamine. Use it It's your right to choose who you interact with digitally, and you don't need a detailed explanation for your choices. Your online space, your rules. Ideally our feeds would not have replies from people actively harassing us,

5 Dec 2023 - 1 min read

Casey Newton’s internet problems vs. platform problems

Casey Newton: How Facebook helps predators find each other This year Stanford found equally disturbing CSAM issues at networks including X, Telegram, Mastodon, and decentralized networks generally. That Meta is subject to more scrutiny on this subject is less of a commentary on the company’s unique negligence than on

5 Dec 2023 - 1 min read

A blog without a website

theunderground.blog is a blog that only exists in RSS form. There is a home page, but that’s it. There aren’t any permalinks and you can’t link to a web page at all. It’s weird and it’s wild and I kinda love it, even if

5 Dec 2023 - 1 min read

How Be My Eyes is working with OpenAI to make a more accessible future

Steven Aquino writing for Forbes: Be My Eyes CEO Mike Buckley Talks OpenAI Boardroom Saga, ‘Life-Changing’ Tech, More Specific to Be My Eyes’ application of OpenAI’s technologies, Buckley explained he and his team provided Open AI with “very direct feedback” based on needs of the Blind and low vision

5 Dec 2023 - 5 min read

My review of the Steam Deck OLED

Valve came out of nowhere last month and announced a new OLED version of the Steam Deck (my favorite product of 2022), and this new announcement seemed like a pretty mild upgrade based on Valve's messaging. Basically, they made it sound like the Nintendo Switch OLED update, which was the

5 Dec 2023 - 1 min read

Batman: Arkham Knight is another terrible port on Switch

Richard Leadbetter writing for Eurogamer: Arkham Knight on Switch is disastrously poor Lighting is savagely downgraded, texture quality is a total mess, shadows take a trip back to PS2 era standards and geometry is culled. Arkham Knight routinely fails to hit its 30 frames per second target, often lingering in

4 Dec 2023 - 1 min read

Decentralization is the cherry on top

Flipboard CEO Mike McCue on his new podcast, Dot Social: Decentralization isn't a feature in and of itself. And you know, I think it's tough when, if you build a product that's just a clone of a closed product and it's decentralized, so you should care about this. I think

4 Dec 2023 - 1 min read

Does Birchtree have the rizz?

Jennifer Schuessler for the New York Times: Oxford’s 2023 Word of the Year Is … ‘Rizz’ “Rizz” — Gen Z (or is it Gen Alpha?) slang for “style, charm or attractiveness,” or “the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner” — has been named as Oxford’s 2023 Word of the

4 Dec 2023 - 1 min read

Greenlight everything

Tim Wu for the New York Times : Mergers Like JetBlue’s Proposed Acquisition of Spirit Usually Turn Out to Be Bad A comprehensive meta-analysis of 50 studies covering more than 3,000 contested mergers in the United States in recent decades found that “most studied mergers result in competitive harm,

4 Dec 2023 - 1 min read

Puzzmo, my favorite new website of 2023, has already been acquired

Andrew Webster for The Verge: Zach Gage’s Puzzmo gets acquired as the newspaper games space heats up As part of the deal, Gage and Therox will continue to develop Puzzmo, which currently operates as a website, with a mobile app in the works. But Puzzmo will also begin rolling