Hacker News: strict9

New comment by strict9 in "The Last Quiet Thing"

strict9 — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 19:02:16 +0000

It is true commercial versions are slightly more expensive. But this is the tradeoff of buying something more durable and meant to be used continuously.

But it's not true that they are difficult to buy.

For my two examples: Commercial washer/dryer sets available through any appliance dealer. Commercial hospitality TVs and other commercial electronics are available via Grainger.

New comment by strict9 in "The Last Quiet Thing"

strict9 — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 18:12:29 +0000

This is an interesting and more apt way to frame smart features.

One way I've found to avoid objects that come alive is to buy the commercial version.

- TVs aimed at commercial hospitality businesses let you avoid a lot of the bloatware and smart features that come bundled with it

- Commercial washer/dryers let you avoid bluetooth and wifi and other junk not needed to wash your clothes. These are available without the coin operated features

Commercial versions of consumer products are usually simpler, more durable, and don't have advertising and smart features.

New comment by strict9 in "Ask HN: What dev tools do you rely on that nobody talks about?"

strict9 — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:49:54 +0000

I've been using ack for a very long time, maybe 15 years.

It's like grep but faster and easier to use. I still use it all the time, even in the era of Claude.

https://beyondgrep.com/

I hate customer-service chatbots: Consumer-AI relationship off to rocky start

strict9 — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:19:47 +0000

Article URL: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/01/ai-chatbot-customer-service-complaints-refunds.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47602087

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by strict9 in "Iran-backed hackers claim wiper attack on medtech firm Stryker"

strict9 — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 14:05:23 +0000

It appears personal devices were also impacted by this via Microsoft Intune. That app is presented to employees as a way to get their email/slack on their personal device without giving IT systems access to it.

IT systems around the country say that they have no access to your personal data and there they can only block access to Intune apps.

But the linked reddit thread[1] in this article notes personal devices getting wiped and locked out.

[1]: https://www.reddit.com/r/cybersecurity/comments/1rqopq0/stry...

Iranian Hacktivists Strike Medical Device Maker Stryker and Wiped Systems

strict9 — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 13:54:56 +0000

Article URL: https://www.zetter-zeroday.com/iranian-hacktivists-strike-medical-device-maker-stryker-in-severe-attack-that-wiped-systems/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47350578

Points: 54

# Comments: 2

Private Equity Debt Left a Leading VPN Open to Chinese Hackers

strict9 — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 20:44:29 +0000

Article URL: https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/how-private-equity-debt-left-a-leading-vpn-open-to-chinese-hackers

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47093687

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

AWS outages caused by AI coding bot blunder, report claims

strict9 — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 19:41:16 +0000

Article URL: https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/multiple-aws-outages-caused-by-ai-coding-bot-blunder-report-claims-amazon-says-both-incidents-were-user-error

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47092865

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

New comment by strict9 in "The recurring dream of replacing developers"

strict9 — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 16:42:47 +0000

As I have heard from mid level managers and C suite types across a few dev jobs. Staff are the largest expense and the technology department is the largest cost center. I disagree because Sales couldn't exist with a product but that's a lost point.

This is why those same mid level managers and C suite people are salivating over AI and mentioning it in every press release.

The reality is that costs are being reduced by replacing US teams with offshore teams. And the layoffs are being spun as a result of AI adoption.

AI tools for software development are here to stay and accelerate in the coming months and years and there will be advances. But cost reductions are largely realized via onshore/offshore replacement.

The remaining onshore teams must absorb much more slack and fixes and in a way end up being more productive.

Target's dev server offline after hackers claim to steal source code

strict9 — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 18:08:04 +0000

Article URL: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/targets-dev-server-offline-after-hackers-claim-to-steal-source-code/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46592026

Points: 15

# Comments: 1

New comment by strict9 in "Firefox is becoming an AI browser and the internet is not at all happy about it"

strict9 — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 18:31:28 +0000

>Primarily because web search these days is so shitty but that’s besides the point.

Obviously there are a lot of reasons for this. But I think one of the most important reasons is that there is so few organic interesting content destinations anymore.

Sure there are some neat shopify stores, news sites, and a few dedicated souls keeping up blogs. But so much of the casual browsing that the web once was has been obliterated by the move to social media.

And what hasn't moved is now a mess of AI generated fluff or link farms.

I used to think Google made search worse to increase ad revenue. And maybe it's tangentially related. But the stuff I used to search for and find and get inspiration from has moved to walled gardens. Reddit is one of the few remaining open web destinations left.

AI can't solve that problem.

New comment by strict9 in "Mozilla's new CEO is doubling down on an AI future for Firefox"

strict9 — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 17:26:34 +0000

Almost all tech CEOs think we want an AI button on every window, every app, every dialog. Always there no matter what to make workers more productive or need fewer workers or whatever.

The reality is that even the most ardent supporters of AI want it only in a single web page or in their IDE and that's about it.

New comment by strict9 in "Native ads coming soon to Stack Overflow and Stack Exchange"

strict9 — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 14:43:49 +0000

Stack Overflow should have been a strong connection for developers who started building software prior to 2022.

A niche place to find the solution for something getting in your way.

Instead, my own experience and every anecdote I've ever heard from those who tried participating mirrors this one.

Genuine questions and thought out responses closed in the harshest way possible.

If the policy on duplicates weren't so rigidly and coldly enforced it would be a place I've visit frequently to learn.

Instead I avoid it and do not feel bad that it's been superseded by LLMs. Which sucks because good human responses are far more preferable.

Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26

strict9 — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 14:37:55 +0000

Article URL: https://www.macrumors.com/2025/12/02/apple-pushes-ios-18-users-to-ios-26/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46134965

Points: 14

# Comments: 4

New comment by strict9 in "Cloudflare Global Network experiencing issues"

strict9 — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 13:58:31 +0000

And all of these outages happening not long after most of them dismissed a large amount of experienced staff while moving jobs offshore to save in labor costs.

New comment by strict9 in "Cloudflare Global Network experiencing issues"

strict9 — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 13:56:41 +0000

Most or all of these lost significant institutional knowledge through layoff after layoff and jobs moved to lower cost countries.

Maybe a coincidence or maybe not.

New comment by strict9 in "Amazon confirms 14,000 job losses in corporate division"

strict9 — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 15:01:52 +0000

>It basically needs to replace its present Balmer with a Satya.

You had me all the wya until this line.

New comment by strict9 in "More big companies bet they can still grow without hiring"

strict9 — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 17:00:43 +0000

Interesting insight. High interest rates keep new startups low. Well, not counting AI startups I guess.

And the lack of new (non-AI) startups allows bloated incumbents to get by without innovating or offering new products. Quality destroying measures like offshoring and outsourcing are easier to pull off. As is allowing services and standards to slide.

Maybe we'll only know once interest rates come back down. Or once the AI-replacing-workers veil has been lifted.

I think this dynamic is an under appreciated source of the chart that shows the decoupling of the job market with the stock market [1]

[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/how-scary-is-the-scariest-ch...

Public Montessori programs strengthen learning outcomes at lower costs: study

strict9 — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 19:29:59 +0000

Article URL: https://phys.org/news/2025-10-national-montessori-early-outcomes-sharply.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45674002

Points: 374

# Comments: 243

New comment by strict9 in "Fury Mounts over a Global A.I. Frenzy"

strict9 — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 17:50:56 +0000

In the past large developments would win over local government support with promises of jobs and investment in the local economy.

Now the only promises are a strained grid, higher energy bills and loud noise. It doesn't help that AI has been falsely attributed as the reason to lay people off in the past few years by CEOs who are actually just cutting costs or moving jobs offshore.

This situation probably gets worse before it gets better for the companies deploying new data centers.