Ghostalmedia

Ghostalmedia , 21 hours ago

Apple has now gotten caught for doing this to Jon Stewart and now Robert De Niro in a month’s time. Not great.

Kind of a bummer, AppleTV+ actually has really good content now, and this makes me not want to support it.

Ghostalmedia , 15 hours ago

What are you smoking? Just about all of us here are shitting on Apple for doing this.

Ghostalmedia , 5 days ago

I’m not a big fan of the high fees, but I’m even less of a fan of big developers being treated differently than the little guy.

Ghostalmedia , 5 days ago

Poor Seth Rogan

Ghostalmedia , 6 days ago

This is what happens when you invest in a platform run by a glorified ad-tech company.

Ghostalmedia , 6 days ago

My hot take, Dorsey‘s messaging around this was shit. People are very much still being given feedback from their managers and are building out ways to address performance problems.

The primary avenue for growth and addressing performance problems is your reoccurring review with your manager and or 360 reviews.

If you’re on a formal PIP filed with HR, that’s often the last straw at most companies. There are companies that are exceptions to this rule, but it usually means you’ve already not met the feedback you’ve been given during your normal quarterly or biannual reviews.

When my colleagues and I put people on a PIP logged with HR, it is truly the last straw. It’s been people who repeatedly bully coworkers, don’t show up to work, say they’re going to do something then never follow through, etc. It’s people that many others in the company routinely complain about. And despite being given repeated feedback during reviews, and guidance on how to grow, they don’t change.

Ghostalmedia , 6 days ago

IHMO, the phrase “PIP” is pretty bad.

Most actual performance improvement stuff is done during regular quarterly or biannual reviews. If you get put on a proper “PIP” that really just means “I’ve been talking to you for several quarters about your performance problems, things have not changed, now I’ve contacted HR, and this is the last opportunity you have to turn this ship around.”

Ghostalmedia , 5 days ago

Exactly. Although, most halfway decent people managers have already documented those things have given that feedback in writing during normal review periods.

I feel like the real reason for a PIP is that most people managers really dread laying people off. Even if that person at risk is super incompetent or a piece of shit. Knowing that you’re putting someone’s financial and or medical stability at risk is a big deal.

The PIP is often there so you’re giving it one last try, and most importantly, not doing it alone. You have HR to consult with on making some tough decisions.

Although, to Dorsey’s point, this often means that a well documented problem employee is allowed to make the workplace miserable for another 3-6 months. And that’s not fair to everyone else.

We’ve all worked with that one toxic person who makes us ask “why is this person still here?” It’s not uncommon for that person to be riding along on a PIP for a bit. PIPs are kept private because people gossip. If more ICs knew who was on a PIP and why, less people would be up in arms about what Dorsey is doing.

Ghostalmedia , 5 days ago (edited 5 days ago)

I get the impression that most people don’t know how performance improvement is handled at most tech companies. The PIP isn’t the start of a plan to help people grow and course correct from some bad behavior. It’s usually the end of the line.

If you’re not doing something well, or you’re pissing off your coworkers, the main way this gets handled is through quarterly reviews, 360 feedback, goal setting with your manager, etc.

If several quarters have gone by, and you’re still getting trash feedback, that’s when HR gets contacted and you get put on a formal PIP.

This sucks because you can have a toxic employee that, for example, bullies others and is difficult to work with. You can work with them for a couple quarters and document the performance problems, and if they stills don’t turn the ship around after 2 or 3 quarterly reviews, you then need to keep them around for another quarter or two on a PIP.

And all that time they’re making everyone else miserable. Other people in the office shouldn’t have to suffer simply because someone couldn’t stop acting like an ass after already being reprimanded for many months.

Ghostalmedia , 5 days ago

Yeah, although if the manager has been doing their job, all of that stuff is already written down and documented in quarter reviews, 360’s, and goal setting.

My guess is that Dorsey is basically just saying, we already have months of documentation. Adding another 3 or 6 months is probably just going to drag things out and continue to piss of the people who are struggling to work with the problematic person.

Ghostalmedia , 5 days ago

I’m sure there are folks who abuse the system. I’m just speaking from my experience and what I have observed with my peers. When folks in my org are on a PIP, they’re almost always people that are widely known to be a problem.

Moreover, when I’m talking to my fellow directors / managers at my company about people in their orgs that are on PIPs, those are almost always people that my org constantly complains about.

The experience of one person doesn’t reflect the behavior of the entire industry. But I feel like I’ve collected enough experience and a broad enough peer network to know that my experience is not uncommon at all. I’ve heard these stories a LOT over beers.

Ghostalmedia Mod , 7 days ago

Looks like 256 color GIF.

Ghostalmedia , 8 days ago

Tankless water heater owner here.

My tankless heats up around the same time as my old tank. Although the tankless uses energy around the time we shower, cook, and do laundry. The tank generally replenishes just shortly after we do that stuff.

Also, our tankless is smart and begins to heat a recirculator at predefined times of the day / week - or it can learn your usage patterns and only start up then.

It’s also worth noting that tankless water heaters aren’t all electric. There are lots of different solutions - one being gas.

All in all, our utilities bill has gone down. My only gripe is that the devices are much more complex. So if something goes wrong, a lot of plumbers get confused. You needs to be half-plumber half-IT guy to troubleshoot a lot of new tankless machines.

Ghostalmedia , 8 days ago

Just make sure to do your research. And by that I mean, make sure to hire a plumber that is very familiar with tankless systems.

I have a tankless, and I like it, but I’ve learned that you need a plumber who is super familiar with tankless systems, and specifically, your brand of tankless.

Tankless systems are much more complex than a big dumb tank of water with a temp sensor. If your plumber doesn’t know how to troubleshoot the electronics, recirculating system, valves, etc, it can be frustrating - and you could be stuck without hot water for a while if something goes wrong.

Ghostalmedia , 7 days ago

Agreed. I’m just saying that there lots of different tankless solutions, and something like peak electrical grid times do not impact all tankless systems in the same way.

IMHO, gas tankless systems are kind of the hybrid car of the water heater world, and electric tankless the pure EVs. They’re both better for the environment, but the gas tankless still produce carbon. You’re only cutting emissions but about 20%-30%.

Electric = zero emissions + doesn’t need to vent + free heating if you have solar + might require both a plumber and an electrician to do the install

Gas = often gets hotter faster and handles load better + can be cheaper if you have cheap natural gas + still produces carbon + needs a stupid vent

Ghostalmedia , 7 days ago

I feel like that stuff could be done with a physical dial for temp and some version of this for recirculating. https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/ed3da799-dfd5-4113-ab1a-d183a6484696.jpeg

Ghostalmedia , 7 days ago

I assume that the person above is referring to a natural gas tank system and not a heat pump tank system.

That all being said, this is something that the department of energy has studied. Depending upon household use, a tankless option can be much more energy efficient.

Here is a gas tank system compared to a gas tankless

energy.gov/…/tankless-gas-water-heater-performanc…

Ghostalmedia , 7 days ago

TIL about power requirements. Interesting.

I ended up going gas tankless. Not by choice though. Our contractor went rogue and assumed that’s what we wanted.

Oh well, it solved a problem that we had. We couldn’t fix a tank inside the basement because we were turning it into a room. We needed something that could live outside.

Ghostalmedia , 8 days ago

And if you use LinkedIn, Blueksy, Instagram or Threads, you’ll find us there as well.

Good news everyone, you can chat with Flipboard on Linked In as well. /s

Ghostalmedia OP , 8 days ago

We like to hike in the hills behind our home, and there are a lot of foxes in the area. Her favorite thing is to roll in fox shit.

This go around she stumbled upon a fresh pile of diarrhea.

Ghostalmedia OP Mod , 8 days ago

Yes

Ghostalmedia OP , 9 days ago

Is this what the French mean by eau de “toilette?”

Ghostalmedia , 8 days ago

Diarrhea under your hat is always good go-to.

Ghostalmedia , 9 days ago

My bet is on Google or Anthropic filling the void. This space is moving fast and Altman’s new devision will already be several years behind.

Ghostalmedia , 9 days ago

Mostly starting over code wise.

I’ve had to rebuild a thing or two in my day, and building it the second time is always faster, but still, you’ve got to write all the crap over again.

This will undoubtedly be way faster than doing a startup from scratch, but they’re literally starting from a position of having no code checked in at all.

Ghostalmedia , 9 days ago

You’ve been downvoted, but the posts from his sister definitely don’t look great, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was why the board kicked him out.

Ghostalmedia , 10 days ago

There’s a line?

Ghostalmedia , 11 days ago

The energy generated by this virus is how the infected undead will continue to walk the earth.

Ghostalmedia , 11 days ago

Giving your iCloud credentials to a third party is already sketchy. It gives them the ability to read your messages, documents, health records, etc.

Nothing / Sunbird basically said “trust me bro, we’re super secure.” Then they did this right out of the gate.

What a bunch of morons.

Ghostalmedia , 10 days ago

All Pei did was put a Nothing skin on Sunbird. It was Sunbird that didn’t encrypt the comms.

That said, Pei was so damn thirsty for marketing attention that Nothing obviously didn’t fully vet the security around Sunbird’s product.

Ghostalmedia , 10 days ago

My guess is this feature isn’t targeting Android users. It’s targeting iOS users in the US that are due for a phone upgrade.

“Blue bubbles” is one of the reasons people stick with the platform in the states. And saying your Android phone supports that could allow you to tap into a much larger market in the US. Apple controls more than half of the smartphone market in the states, and default messaging apps also dominate on in the states.

Ghostalmedia , 10 days ago

I imagine Nothing’s Infosec team must be terrible or non-existent. Any half decent infosec team would immediately raise red flags and pull in the legal dept as soon as they heard “let’s let our customers give their iCloud credentials to a small vendor we just hired.”

Ghostalmedia , 10 days ago

I think they actually got more press for fucking it up than launching it.

Ghostalmedia , 10 days ago

Apple’s health app is basically a platform that can store and unify data from the Apple Watch, and other iOS compatible biometric devices for blood pressure, diabetes, weight, etc.

It can also download your electronic medical records from hospitals and can locally consolidate your hospital’s data with the data you’ve collected. Like your hospital’s medical records app, you can either store an encrypted copy of all this data locally, or you can save an encrypted copy on iCloud. Your choice.

IMHO, the health app is particularly useful in places like the US. The US is supposed to have accessible and interoperable electronic medical records, but it’s kind of a shit show. That data can be hard to collect, consolidate, and parse.

I’ve had some very serious medical issues that resulted in complex hospitalizations and treatment regimens, and I’ve found the app VERY helpful. It’s allowed me and my doctor to work through past treatments and nail down medications and dosages that would get me out of the hospital and not prolong a stay.

All in all, medical records and biometric monitors are a fragmented cluster fuck. Especially in the dates. Apple health tries to clean that shit up, and in the process, entice people to spend $400 on a smart watch.

Ghostalmedia , 11 days ago

Mods tools on Lemmy are pretty rudimentary. We mods can ban users, ban users for a defined period of time, and or ban user while removing all their content posted to a particular community.

As for posts and comments. We can remove them with or without providing a reason in our logs.

If you’re worried about getting banned or having content removed, you can see all of that in Lemmy’s public mod logs.

Ghostalmedia , 10 days ago

If Apple doesn’t want to fix that thing, they should kill it and start shipping computers with their trackpad by default. Their trackpads are actually good.

Ghostalmedia , 11 days ago

E2E encryption is one of the main points of iMessage.

Giving your iCloud credentials to someone that isn’t Apple is already kind of shady. They needed the security around this product to be bullet proof. I don’t know why anyone would be quick to trust Sunbird after this.

Ghostalmedia , 11 days ago

Given Nothing and Sunbird’s small marketshare, I assumed Apple was probably going to let Sunbird slide. Now I hope they bring the hammer down.

E2EE is one of the main points of iMessage. Security minded iMessage users are not going to feel comfortable if a Sunbird user is on the other end.

Sunbird / Nothing needed to play this very carefully. Users are giving them their iCloud credentials and are technically giving them the ability to view encrypted comms, documents, photos, password wallets, health records, etc.

Shit like this is unacceptable.

Ghostalmedia , 11 days ago

Yeah, but what about the other user who’s texting a sunbird client and thinks everything is E2E encrypted?

Ghostalmedia , 11 days ago

Yeah, to be fair, the current state of encryption has been one of the major grievances with RCS.

The fact that Apple is pushing for a more universal E2E standard, and having Google onboard for it, is a good thing for everyone.

Also, those unencrypted messages will be called on their clients. Messages on Android gets the no lock icon, and Messages in Apple’s ecosystem gets green bubbles.

This Sunbird thing is some bullshit because people think it’s encrypted, and it isn’t. Unencrypted comms are getting blue bubbled.

Ghostalmedia , 11 days ago

Do you have anything substantive to say around E2EE encryption on iMessage?

The whole point of E2EE is so that a middle man, including the Apple, cannot read it. Apple has been very publicly opposed to providing encryption backdoors that could be accessed by Apple, law enforcement, etc. Backdoors usually get sniffed out and become widespread security vulnerabilities.

Ghostalmedia , 11 days ago

That’s not how E2EE works. If they did have a back door, that would eventually get exploited and we’d all learn about it.

Ghostalmedia , 11 days ago

Nope. There are two links. You’re probably only looking at the blog post.

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/c8ce27ad-dca3-473c-b25b-0e1d5f9c582d.png

Ghostalmedia , 11 days ago

True, but often times stuff like this boils down to the city planning and city budget, not the state. And a lot of major metro areas are pretty blue, even in red states.

Oftentimes the biggest barrier is that the bones of US city planning was done with cars in mind, and trying to accommodate bikes afterwards is difficult. Which is why US cities that want bikes struggle with supporting them.

Many old European city layouts were baked before cars were a thing.