Esme Povirk @madewokherd@computerfairi.es
Joined Aug 2018
I will use every tool at my disposal to remove annoyances that exist because otherwise someone might make less money, including not being able to put something on the device I want or modify it in the way I want.
No quarter for technology that sucks on purpose. I will block your cookie banner, ads, trackers, interstitial videos, pull quotes, related articles, algorithmic recommendations, and anti-ad-blockers. I will use an OS where sometimes the sound breaks and I have to reboot the audio service to avoid an OS that wants to show me ads. I will put all of my games on this handheld PC, even the ones intended for a console, sometimes with modifications.
Esme Povirk
boosted
By popular request: here's the majority AI view, writing up the reasonable, thoughtful take on LLMs that (in my experience) the vast majority of people in tech hold, that gets overshadowed by the bluster and hype of the tycoons trying to shill their nonsense. https://www.anildash.com//2025/10/17/the-majority-ai-view/ Please share!
@mavica_again I think the only system I've used without any issues was a Chromebook, so that checks out.
I hold out hope that immutable OSes can work. Not for me, though, I insist on tinkering and creating problems for myself.
Sparing use of generative AI has made my life better. It is good at a few things. It also is doing large scale harm due to overinvestment, a pathological insistence on bigger and more resource intensive models, lies about its capabilities and limitations, and a flood of junk information added to the Internet. And probably other stuff I've missed.
Brains are apparently very happy to do what they're told, but no one understands the UI, which varies on an individual basis and mostly consists of finding the right metaphor.
Something I think I would enjoy using: an integrated GUI shell/terminal/text editor. So I could do stuff like collapse the output of a running (or completed) command, or pop it out into a new window.
Esme Povirk
boosted
We each have different needs, different boundaries, and different ways of thinking about what's important to us.
I once dated someone who wouldn't kiss anyone other than her husband, and had random sex with strangers. Kissing for her was extremely intimate, but safe sex was like candy.
I spent more than 10 years thinking about what I wanted in a tattoo, and what it meant to have that permanently inked into my skin. A friend had a childhood cartoon character tattooed on her ankle, not because it would always mean something to her, but because of what it meant to her during that period of her life.
I had a long-term relationship with a woman who never talked about her queerness or relationships in her workplace. I have friends and colleagues who over many years never told me anything about their families, and I never asked.
https://madewokherd.nfshost.com/bookmarks/technology/ Updated my online bookmarks with links to Linux distros and static site generators. Feel free to reply if you have thoughts/disagree, I'm not married to any of this, but be constructive about it.
Oh no there are 4 different gui environments to choose from
Was looking at alternatives for when Google restricts apk installs and now "what if I used a Linux phone?" has hooked itself in my brain
re: starting a Linux distro argument probably
@budsofstone Got a link for more info on AI coding and debian? I tried searching but only found AI-related things and a non-committal stance from some months ago.
@zhenboli Oh I hadn't heard of that. Seems like they have something similar for other desktops too: https://fedoraproject.org/atomic-desktops/
Might be a better idea than Debian if you want a stable desktop.
starting a Linux distro argument probably
Trying to figure out what Linux distro I'd recommend and I'm coming up with Debian (for stability), Arch (for tinkering and frequent updates), Bazzite (for gaming if you don't want to tinker), AntiX (if you have <=4GB of RAM).
I know Ubuntu's value-add is supposed to be usability, but I don't feel like it's more usable in practice than one of those alternatives depending on your situation.
Esme Povirk
boosted
When we start to get in touch with our physical reactions towards things, we start to gain information about what we really feel about things, because our nervous systems have had years and years and decades of experiences reacting to things.
Esme Povirk
boosted
I've accidentally discovered something seemingly counter intuitive. I get much more done, and done at higher quality, if I just sit and relax and do nothing when I'm tired or stressed or overwhelmed.
All my life I've been called lazy and told to just push through it. If there's a hard deadline I may have no option but to just pushing through, but if not, if I can give myself some time and space (and not stress on it or feel guilty) then in time I will be full of energy and brain power to be productive. How did it not occur to me to try this before now? (Okay, okay, I know why it didn't. Still it would have been a grand bit better to have had this information oh, say, five decades ago.)
Esme Povirk
boosted
I was contemplating on what makes "good taste". And in the end I came to think that it mostly has to do with the appreciation for skill, effort, and expertise. People with "good taste" are people who value other people and the efforts they make to do something they care about...be it mundane or spectacular. It's all about people. And process.And caring.
re: LLM uses
So far ChatGPT seems to be pretty good at this.
Esme Povirk
boosted
It would be easy to make the world a better place, but if people were happier, they’d probably buy less stuff
Joined Aug 2018
