That's a really cool idea actually. I knew a guy who used to install viruses for fun on a separate machine that wasn't networked. I bet a more creative person than I could probably figure out a fun learning activity for kids using a "disposable" system
AnarchistArtificer
joined 1 year ago
Comment that I'm adding on a couple of friends'. One lives in Norway, one lived in India. They told me that both of these places have an issue with accessing media and other digital goods legitimately, often finding themselves willing but unable to pay for something (I was surprised to hear this about Norway — my friend speculates that Norway is small enough that it might simply be forgotten about when big media companies negotiate rights). They both said that VPNs and piracy are way more normalised in their home countries, because it was either that, or miss out on loads of stuff.
Feel it's useful and important to highlight that the degree to which piracy is normalised depends on where you are.
Ah, you must have access to the same internet library that my Dad used whenever I'd give him my iPod and a list of music, and he'd return it to me full of music. I don't remember when I realised that he was pirating stuff, probably about the time that I started pirating stuff.
I'm not sure. I don't plan on having kids, so this is a purely theoretical question that I won't have to answer in practice, but I think I probably would, at least to some degree.
I had a pretty iconically millennial childhood when it comes to tech; I remember my mum being on the phone to the internet people and asked "he's offering me an unlimited packaged for [money] extra. Is that good, do we need that?", to which my brother and and I vigorously nodded. We were young enough we didn't know shit, but unlimited sounded good and we weren't paying the bills. My mum probably realised we didn't know what unlimited Vs metered internet meant in practice, and opted for unlimited as the safe option, because if she felt the need to ask her children for advice, she wouldn't be great at managing a metred connection. That's the context in which I grew up and is why I'm as techy as I am today.
I learned the hard way, and whilst I don't think that's necessarily the best way to learn, I don't know how one might teach people how to recognise which "download" button to press, and when a dodgy looking site is actually dodgy. It's like internet street smarts, but what that means has changed since I was a kid, and I don't necessarily know how I'd teach that beyond the basics, like installing adblockers and other common sense things.
Your point about matching enthusiasm resonates with me. I am fortunate nowadays that many of my friends are neurodivergent, and we seem to enjoy each others' enthusiasm. We have some shared interests, but I think in a context where I can just listen and learn and not necessarily be expected to be a part of a "regular conversation" (i.e. when the primary mode of conversation is neurodivergent), I really enjoy listening to my friends nerd out about things outside of my own interest, as well as sometimes explaining my things to other people.
Outside of that framework though, before I had my current friends, I often felt like it was a smarter social strategy to just not talk about my interests at all because tempering my enthusiasm was difficult and seemed to never been enough.
I agree - it can be overwhelming to constantly be reminded of areas in which one is lacking in knowledge (like when having to learn how to solve a relatively simple error), but the availability of learning resources really helps avoid demoralisation.
I learned about this a while ago and meant to check it out, but forgot to. Thanks for the reminder!
I agree. I've been trying to move towards open source software for ideological reasons, and I'm astounded by how much my quality of life has been improved. I end up sounding like an evangelist for software that I love because I'm so shocked it's not more well known.
"analyse your scan for content to suggest a file name"
That's a 'Yikes' from me
Music taste has expanded a whole bunch but I'll always have a nostalgic soft spot for My Chemical Romance.
I wonder whether it doesn't have any inherent meaning. I mean, we all get the sense that it's an insult.
I say this because one of my favourite insult formats is "you [multisyllabic adjective] [random noun]. Stuff like "You incorrigible spade" or "You abominable turnip". They're next to meaningless, but my intention is clear
Man, that's a really dumb story that I find really relatable despite not having had any experiences like that. It feels like it'd be very in character for me though. Thanks for sharing, it helps me feel less silly in the various times where I've messed up (of which I am struggling to recall specific examples, but whatever brain part is responsible for embarrassment can remember, apparently)