Hacker News: ascagnel_

New comment by ascagnel_ in "Your ePub Is fine"

ascagnel_ — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 10:26:08 +0000

They also either could not or would not write efficient Flash clients on Mac OS or Linux, while the Windows version was fine.

I bounced around a lot between the three OSes at that time, and Flash was bad enough on the other two that I would almost automatically reach for Windows when I had to use it.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding"

ascagnel_ — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 02:24:24 +0000

In general, managing a single device is always going to be easier than managing multiple -- fewer things to keep charged, fewer updates to run, less stuff to carry, etc.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "MacBook Neo is so popular that Apple doubled production"

ascagnel_ — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 03:09:41 +0000

The first iPhone launched without a carrier subsidy.

When the iPhone 4 launched on Verizon in 2011, you could either spend $200 and get locked into a 2-year contract, $300 and get locked into a 1-year contract, or buy the thing outright for $650. Since you didn't get a discount for bringing your own phone to Verizon, it was more cost-effective to get the subsidized phone.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "Disney erased FiveThirtyEight"

ascagnel_ — Wed, 20 May 2026 14:17:10 +0000

The Telecommunications Act of 1996.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996

It passed with support from both parties in both the House and Senate.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "Disney erased FiveThirtyEight"

ascagnel_ — Wed, 20 May 2026 14:14:18 +0000

> (And if you’re left-leaning, you can’t pin this mess on the “corporation-friendly” Republican Party because it was Bill Clinton who put his signature on this mess!)

I would argue Clinton's presidency moved the Democrats from a center-left party to a center-right party, given its platform of welfare reform and free trade at the expense of labor rights and the social safety net.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "Amazon workers under pressure to up their AI usage are making up tasks"

ascagnel_ — Fri, 15 May 2026 19:34:03 +0000

And then there was Bill Atkinson.

https://www.folklore.org/Negative_2000_Lines_Of_Code.html

New comment by ascagnel_ in "Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license"

ascagnel_ — Thu, 07 May 2026 12:02:34 +0000

Microsoft moved to a subscription service because they botched the launch of the Xbox One, with users accumulating digital libraries on the PlayStation, and that failure is something that has continued to drag them further and further down.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "Valve releases Steam Controller CAD files under Creative Commons license"

ascagnel_ — Thu, 07 May 2026 12:00:04 +0000

Also, it's something of a pragmatic choice -- Valve did put major effort into native Linux games around 2013, but the effort fell flat for a number of reasons.

Proton is them trying a different path towards severing or lessening the Windows dependence, in my opinion.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "The Classic American Diner"

ascagnel_ — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 06:05:25 +0000

I'm shocked that Tops earned #1 -- they did a remodel a few years ago and started taking reservations (and turning people away during busy periods if they didn't have one), and it's much less of a diner and much more of a restaurant nowadays.

Also, the Bendix Diner is closed, likely permanently, because of fire code violations.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "Apple's accidental moat: How the "AI Loser" may end up winning"

ascagnel_ — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:56:48 +0000

> Chicken and egg problem, if no-one buys it, no-one will develop any killer apps.

Disagree on this. Going back as far as VisiCalc, it's about a device making space for a killer app, and that killer app selling devices. Apple has torched so much developer good-will that even a lower price wouldn't make the space for a killer app.

When was the last time a new, mobile-first killer app came out?

New comment by ascagnel_ in "Costco sued for seeking refunds on tariffs customers paid"

ascagnel_ — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 13:06:59 +0000

Costco requires a membership, and they do store credit back at higher tiers. They absolutely know what every member buys.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "Apple approves driver that lets Nvidia eGPUs work with Arm Macs"

ascagnel_ — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 23:31:45 +0000

More to the point: having a monopoly isn't de facto illegal (just look up natural monopolies), it's using the monopoly power in an anti-competitive way that's illegal. Microsoft wasn't charged with having a monopoly, they were charged because they used that monopoly to exclude Netscape Navigator and force bundling of IE.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "Epic Games to cut more than 1k jobs as Fortnite usage falls"

ascagnel_ — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 20:21:46 +0000

The exclusivity deals they struck early on are an albatross that still drags them down. I think the audience would have been much more receptive to deals like Alan Wake 2, where that money spigot got turned into something totally unique that wouldn't have existed without that capital investment.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis"

ascagnel_ — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 20:58:18 +0000

Two organizations that love money (Apple & F1) collaborating to make a ton more money.

The tech for in-cockpit capture and presentation of the races themselves was great, but the dialogue and basically everything off-track was boring or rote.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "Amazon Ring's lost dog ad sparks backlash amid fears of mass surveillance"

ascagnel_ — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:15:58 +0000

> They're even wearing fascist style uniforms and all the commercials are so over-the-top

The big clue to me is when they visit the recruiter. The man is sitting at a desk and says something along the lines of "the galactic marines made me the man I am today", only for him to push back and reveal he's lost both his legs.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mLt-lDOzD1k

New comment by ascagnel_ in "X offices raided in France as UK opens fresh investigation into Grok"

ascagnel_ — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 12:57:43 +0000

More to the point, now that most productions are using intimacy coordinators, there's a degree of certainty around the consent of R-rated images.

There's basically no consent with what Grok is doing.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE"

ascagnel_ — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:23:51 +0000

I'm not sure of the immigration status, just an article that called out ~70 transfers from MPD DOC to ICE following incarceration. I'd imagine it's a mix of documented and undocumented immigrants, as being convicted of a crime is a valid reason for the state to revoke a visa.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE"

ascagnel_ — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:10:53 +0000

MPD _is_ sharing and coordinating with ICE _when they're supposed to be_. MPD has already transferred ~70 people to ICE for deportation this year alone, after they completed prison sentences (which ICE claimed as their own arrests).

New comment by ascagnel_ in "FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE"

ascagnel_ — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:08:55 +0000

Not a MN resident, but both the daycare my child attended before starting school and every daycare in my area have a combination of tinted/obscured windows and strict access control, even for parents (eg: a parent isn't allowed to make a "surprise inspection" without a court order).

If anything, I'd be suspicious of (and not send my child to) any daycare that _didn't_ have those security features.

New comment by ascagnel_ in "Heathrow scraps liquid container limit"

ascagnel_ — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:57:02 +0000

I'd believe that. I was in a situation where a bag started smoking _in the security checkpoint_ (it was a camera battery failing), and the TSA agents all abandoned the checkpoint. As a result, the FAA issued a full ground stop and had re-screen every passenger in the airport.