No mention of the Radeon VII from 2019 where for some unfathomable reason AMD forgot about the segmentation scam and put real FP64 into a gaming GPU. From this 2023 list, it's still faster at FP64 than any other consumer GPU by a wide margin (enterprise GPU's aren't in the list). Scroll all the way to the end.
In the long run I think realizations like the authors are healthy ones.
PG is not a hero. He's just a guy. A guy who entered into business transactions with a number of people, many of whom benefitted greatly (as did Paul himself). I'm not saying any of that as a negative! Just that we have a habit of attributing superhuman characteristics to folks (Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize comes to mind) and ending up disappointed.
I'm not an affected group by any means but I still share the disappointment in the world we see today vs the possibilities I felt tech would allow when I was younger. The tech CEOs I previously viewed as visionaries now just look like a new generation of socially regressive robber barons. I wanted to be one of those CEOs, these days I'm still not quite sure what I want to be. My only consolation is knowing that I'm seeing the world more accurately than I once did.
My main question is why observability data needs (or benefits from) a tailor-made database instead of a general purpose one. In 2025, anyone working on observability who told me they have to build their own database, I would be very suspicious!
Anyone who's a whistleblower should compile key docs and put it in a "dead man's switch" service that releases your testimony/docs to multiple news agencies in the event of your untimely demise. The company you're whistle blowing against and their major shareholders should know this exists. Also, regularly post public video attesting to you current mental state.
The argument of more compute power for this plan can be true, but this is also a pricing tactic known as the decoy effect or anchoring. Here's how it works:
1. A company introduces a high-priced option (the "decoy"), often not intended to be the best value for most customers.
2. This premium option makes the other plans seem like better deals in comparison, nudging customers toward the one the company actually wants to sell.
In this case for Chat GPT is:
Option A: Basic Plan - Free
Option B: Plus Plan - $20/month
Option C: Pro Plan - $200/month
Even if the company has no intention of selling the Pro Plan, its presence makes the Plus Plan seem more reasonably priced and valuable.
While not inherently unethical, the decoy effect can be seen as manipulative if it exploits customers’ biases or lacks transparency about the true value of each plan.
The iTEAR 100 is not generally reimbursed by insurance. If you have an HSA or FSA, you might be able to get it through that. This whole medical device lifetime thing is because it’s regulated for its medical claims by FDA. Given some of the side effects noted here https://itear100.com/clinical-data.html, and how it changes the kind of tears that the user produces, I think it’s reasonable on its face to require a medical professional to review whether it’s working and needs more time with you every month.
SFPD, per stats, basically stopped enforcing traffic laws during Covid/BLM.
This leads to an overall rise in crime, as traffic stops catch way more than speeders. Criminals tend to break many laws habitually, so it is a wide net. The car bippers tend to speed off (with the famous car flying down a ramp last year as an example).
The whole chain is broken though, Brooke Jenkins as the DA is running into massive issues with SF judges who simply won't prosecute.
Big chance this will end up in another example of anarcho-tyranny. Lots of citizens will pay their fines, but the worst offenders will simple ignore the various letters - and nothing will be enforced.