Hacker News: steebo

New comment by steebo in "IPv6 just turned 30 and still hasn't taken over the world"

steebo — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 00:11:25 +0000

I don't see the difference. You are describing the adoption curve (a logistic function) for almost anything.

As with IPv4/IPv6, with Python 2.7/3 you had, even at the very end, a group of stubborn maintainers who didn't put in the effort to transition.

The hard end of Python 2.7 support took care of all that in a hurry.

New comment by steebo in "IPv6 just turned 30 and still hasn't taken over the world"

steebo — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 15:43:29 +0000

This feels a lot like the arguing that went on during the transition to Python 3. The Python 2.7 hangers-on were so preoccupied with themselves that they didn't notice that the pool of people interested in having the argument at all was getting smaller and smaller.

Until somebody turned off the lights, that is. It is not much fun arguing with yourself in the dark.

I think that's what needed and needs to be done here. I will agree with the IPv4 advocates on one thing: IPv6 adoption has been slow in part because it doesn't work like IPv4 + kludges. That is the point. Clinging to IPv4 standard practices while you switch is just going to make you miserable.

In 2006, the hesitation to go to IPv6 made sense. Support was spotty. In 2026 it does not. IPv6 support is now more than adequate, and a clean cut will force the stragglers to get their asses in gear in a hurry ("fix your IPv6 support RFN or enjoy nobody using your product"). Change is painful, learning new stuff when you were getting by just fine on the old stuff is painful, I get it. But it will happen whether you like it or not. Why not just get it over with?

I finally made the switch to IPv6 last year, and I wouldn't go back.

The pain of change is real, but mercifully, it doesn't last. Within a year this debate will seem quaint.

New comment by steebo in "AGI Is Not a Milestone"

steebo — Thu, 01 May 2025 19:55:20 +0000

I put it in the text field when I made the submission. I assumed it would go in a summary block beneath the link (and it's not made clear what the function of the text field is, apart from being "optional.")

As you can see, I don't do this often.

New comment by steebo in "Office is too slow, so Microsoft is making it load at Windows startup"

steebo — Thu, 01 May 2025 13:01:46 +0000

There are alternatives. Loads of them. But using them requires thinking about what office software you use, which is too much for the vast majority.

New comment by steebo in "Retailers will soon have only about 7 weeks of full inventories left"

steebo — Thu, 01 May 2025 12:41:38 +0000

Checked luggage gets opened legally without the owner present all the time.

New comment by steebo in "AGI Is Not a Milestone"

steebo — Thu, 01 May 2025 12:25:15 +0000

With the release of OpenAI’s latest model o3, there is renewed debate about whether Artificial General Intelligence has already been achieved. The standard skeptic’s response to this is that there is no consensus on the definition of AGI. That is true, but misses the point — if AGI is such a momentous milestone, shouldn’t it be obvious when it has been built?

In this essay, we argue that AGI is not a milestone. It does not represent a discontinuity in the properties or impacts of AI systems. If a company declares that it has built AGI, based on whatever definition, it is not an actionable event. It will have no implications for businesses, developers, policymakers, or safety.

AGI Is Not a Milestone

steebo — Thu, 01 May 2025 12:25:15 +0000

Article URL: https://www.aisnakeoil.com/p/agi-is-not-a-milestone

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43856762

Points: 36

# Comments: 10

New comment by steebo in "How Democrats Drove Silicon Valley into Trump's Arms"

steebo — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 22:17:51 +0000

"Everything was great until they told us we couldn't take all the money."

New comment by steebo in "Meta blocking news links in Canada"

steebo — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 09:22:04 +0000

As a Canadian, I applaud this. And I hope the government sticks to its guns. This is not just about "big Canadian media", it affects a lot of small outlets who draw from the journalism fund as well.

It was stupid to allow media business models to depend on monopolistic search engines and social media platforms in the first place. This stuff is like hard drugs. For everybody.

And getting off the smack is painful.

The Canadians who care about this are going to find other ways to get their news. And the ones who don't weren't part of the real readership in the first place.

New comment by steebo in "Meta blocking news links in Canada"

steebo — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 09:13:22 +0000

Theatrics are a part of politics. Do you think you're the only one who sees through them? Who cares what they call it?

New comment by steebo in "On the Proper Use of Post-Its"

steebo — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 07:44:06 +0000

"A Post-It’s easy unstickability is its biggest feature and its downfall.

When you yank a note from the bottom, it curls. That curling is just enough force to lift the note off the paper, the whiteboard, or whatever it’s stuck to."

What do the properties of the adhesive have to do with this? Nothing.

New comment by steebo in "Tell HN: Getting Ready for Unemployment"

steebo — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 07:13:31 +0000

This is not consistent with my experience in Germany at all. Companies everywhere are looking for educated people. The demand for people with programming skills borders on desperation! Do you have a degree and a pulse? Do you show up for work on time, communicate clearly and keep your promises? Somebody will gladly hire you! You just have to keep at it.

One thing the OP might try is to manage their expectations. My fear is that tech has been so hot for so long that people have forgotten what the normal world feels like.

That world is not horrible. There are many levels between the entry-level and top-paid positions. And there are thousands of companies outside the tech bubble with opportunities suitable for a programmer or developer. I believe that the best opportunities are in the intersection between programming and some other field.

(You are right that they will probably not be found on HN.)

New comment by steebo in "Normalising Layoffs/Firing"

steebo — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 06:59:46 +0000

Is it that you feel that the posters are doing the trivializing, or society as a whole?

My impression is that nobody treats these layoffs as trivial. Recessions, downturns and the resulting employment uncertainty are cause for anxiety everywhere.

New comment by steebo in "IQ scores are falling and have been for decades (2018)"

steebo — Sat, 14 May 2022 19:22:51 +0000

PFAS is in so many common consumer products you might well say "it is in everything." That outdoor jacket you're wearing? Coated in PFAS. Your stain-resistant couch? PFAS.

All textiles break and release fibres, and we inevitably end up eating them.

And if you are cooking with a non-stick pan, it is a guarantee that you are ingesting them. It doesn't have to be the PTFE itself, the emulsifiers (such as PFOA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfluorooctanoic_acid) are more volatile and have been measured in food cooked with non-stick pans.

New comment by steebo in "IQ scores are falling and have been for decades (2018)"

steebo — Sat, 14 May 2022 14:33:36 +0000

An environmental cause appears likely, since this trend is being observed in many countries. Both the increase in IQ to 1975 and the drop thereafter could have environmental causes.

The increase could be due to improved nutrition following WW 2, such as better access to food overall and the iodization of salt.

For the decline, my money is on PFAS (https://www.sixclasses.org/videos/PFAS) and organohalogens more generally. Iodine is also a halogen, and all the other halogenated compounds we are pumping in the environment could interfere with iodine metabolism. These compounds are in nearly everything, and we're using ever larger quantities of them.

There is evidence this affects fetal development and cognitive functioning years later (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2799472/), which is also why jurisdictions are banning flame retardants (https://www.tuvsud.com/en/e-ssentials-newsletter/consumer-pr... https://www.sixclasses.org/videos/flame-retardants )