This definetely will happen. Imagine you are attempting to run for the mayors office, a high position in a company, or anything similar, your opponent will gladly dig up some post where you stated something that became controversial over time.

It is a bit similar to have dug up drunk party pictures from college or university, only that in the future these takes will be judged in a more unpredictable manner: With party pictures that show you drunk, you can estimate yourself that this might not be a goog idea to have them spread over the internet, as they put you in a bad light.

But when you state that rich people should be taxed accordingly, because they benefit from the same infrastructure and law should apply to everyone equally or empolyees shouldn’t be harassed by their employer because they want to organize in a union then these statements could be held against you in the future. Who knows, maybe pro-union-talking will be outlawed in the future.

That is, why the ability to maintain anonymity and privacy on the internet is extremely important, and we must not give that up. In the past, well before the internet, people died for the privilege to speak free.

With this attempt to normalize biometric identification, soon it will not only be about individually targeted ads as a method to try to sell stuff to people, but also to hold each user accountable for what is posted and commented anywhere. This is bad. An ad at least can be ignored or blocked. But if someone comments or posts or shares anything that goes against any political agenda, this might lead to trouble in real life. Users, who today do not seem to be very concerned about online privacy, probalby will not recognize the implications, until it ts too late.

I suspect that many internet users will provide biometric identification eventually, as I can assume that online services display a “false positive” - a popup that tells the user to perform an age verification, despite the desired content is neither nsfw nor otherwise unsuitable for children.

Those who try to maintain their online anonymity and privacy will be percieved as “sketchy” in the future, because ThEy MuSt HaVe SoMeThInG To HiDe.

Related (absolutely worth a read):

How 3M Executives Convinced a Scientist the Forever Chemicals She Found in Human Blood Were Safe

You are right. From what I saw Linux-based OSs have come a long way. The issue with Linux is when it comes to professional environments, that are not IT-related: There are niche programs that are used in certain professions that were written to work on Windows computers exclusively. They are not availiable for other OSs, because they are not wide spread or popular with non-professionals. Also, Microsoft Office (especially Outlook and Excel) is very dominant within the professional field - up to a point that it can’t be changed easily. All this does not apply to users who use Linux computers outside a professional enviroment, as there are alternatives for popular programs and services already.

I can relate. It is like those tool bars that were installed automatically if you weren’t attentive while installing software when Windows XP still was around.

They like to suffer, I let them.

Me too. I always suggest to them to install UBlock origin (or any ad blocker compatible to their browser), along with add ons that get rid of cookie consent banners. If they follow my advice, I will invest my time into helping them to make their OS a little bit less annoying (e.g. switching off telemetry data and uninstalling Copilot). If they can’t be bothered with at least installing an ad blocker, I will not waste my time on them. They clearly want to suffer.

Edit: The screenshot displays a Windows Vista UI. These Toolbars must have been aorund also while Windows Vista was around. I didn’t know that, because Vista made me settle into the other walled garden.

This is because waterproof devices will be might be exempt from having to have replaceable batteries.

Some manufacturers are already eyeing an exemption for batteries used in “wet conditions” to opt out electric toothbrushes and possibly wearables like earbuds and smartwatches. The exemption is “based on unfounded safety claims,” states Thomas Opsomer, policy engineer for iFixit, in RepairEU’s post.

Source

Rawdogging the internet applies to those who do not set up their phones properly. This applies to both IPhone and Android users. It is uncool that Apple only allows Webkit based browsers, where uBlock Origin doesn’t work. But even Safari Browser can be set up properly in the settings. Additional to that, there are extensions that block ads and trackers. I use a combinatiion of three extensions and I haven’t seen any ads so far:

KaBlock!
Hush Nag Blocker
Ad Guard (I only use the free tier)

This vehicle shows that electric cars suitable for daily use could have been a thing for decades already. With upcoming advancements in battery technology GM could have been what Tesla was a decade ago and nobody would have to fear the uprise of Chinese cars, displacing domestic car makers in the very near future. The unwillingness of long term investments in favor for short term profits by selling combustion-powered cars rendered GM to a bystander in EV developement.

Well researched and informative as always!

your overly detailed explanation is very believable

I hope so, that’s why the explanation is so detailed.

I am right-handed, and I tought myself to use my mouse with the left hand when working on my laptop.

The reason for that is that I have a couch, where the ottomane (the “long” part where you can rest your legs on) is attached to the right side (referenced to my seating position), meaning that, when sitting on this side of the couch, the arm rest of the ottomane is to my right side which doesn’t leave enough room to operate the mouse without obstruction.

The side left to me (where the rest of the couch is), is unobstructed and leaves enough room to place and operate the mouse there.

At first, it was hard to navigate with the non-domiant hand, and I used it for navigating within the web browser. The majority of mouse navigation in a browser is scrolling anyway.

After a just a few of weeks I noticed that handling the mouse with the left hand became more and more precisely. Now I use my left hand exclusively with the mouse. I even noticed that when doing stuff in Blender or Affinity for example, keyboard shortcuts are more accessible to me with the right hand when working with a laptop.

When at work however, I use the mouse with my dominant (right) hand, as the desk layout allows me to do that.

Seeing these Powerpoint slides again makes me realize that grapic design is really their passion.

He had some pretty accurate predcitions which came true: flash based mobile websites (3:42), video conferencing (3:46), virtual reality and the improvement of CGI (4:37).

You always have to keep in mind that Veritasium gets sponsored by companies that take part in their videos, so the content is biased. For example, they did a video about self driving vehicles where this whole video basically was an advertising for, i think, it was Waymo. This video in particular sparked some controversy, although it was announced that this content is being sponsored at the beginning of the video (it is the very definition of what an influencer does - advertising!). Or another example: the video where they tested and compared different types of night vision goggles, which was “influenced” by the military, as they are the main user base and also developer of these devices.

I like to watch most of their videos nonetheless, as they are educational and well-explained. But I see this kind of video content as entertainment rather than education, as I don’t know what parts are researches badly or explained wrong. I see it similar to Wikipedia, where school teachers tell their students not to rely on it alone - but it can serve as a good starting point into further research.

not these ones.

Additional Information (absolutely worth a read): How 3M Discovered, Then Concealed, the Dangers of Forever Chemicals

Not that I know of. I think they automatically use the mask that works “best” while these codes are generated. I have tried some (free) QR code generators and there is no hint that the mask can be choosed.

If you have Affinity Designer 2, you are able to generate QR codes within the software. No need to sign up for a free one. But when creating a QR code with Affinity, there is no option to choose the mask.

that is cool.

I feel the same. When I learned about them, I used them for easy access (although a third party app was necessary at the time) to certain websites: I have several house plants at home. I made little signs with the latin name of the plant and a QR code that leads me to a website where care instructions are shown (how many times the plant has to be watered, how much of sunlight these plants have to be exposed to, etc.). It came handy sometimes, especially when leafes were turning yellow. Care instructions could be looked up easily.

Also on business cards: On the back side of my business card there is a QR code that - when scanned - puts the contact information into the adress book. This came in handy a few times when you have to work with workers at a construction site.

I think the major breakthrough came with the Covid pandemic, where these codes were everywhere. Also, later phones do not require a third party app which lowers the entry bar to make use of these codes significantly.

What I don’t like is that restaurants start to use them exclusively, as a substitute for a printed menu.

Probably safer than eating tide pods.