GitHub Copilot is generally available

Re:GitHub Copilot is generally available by threatofrain on Tuesday June 21, 2022 @02:17PM (#31827236)

The time savings win is really that marginal. I'm not sure I can save more than 3 hours per year with Copilot. And this isn't saving 3 hours in a single week, this is saving a few seconds here and there accumulated over a year.

Saving time with Copilot is itself a learning process and a probabilistic affair. Copilot can win you a few seconds at a time, but can easily set you back minutes if you aren't careful or experienced. It's the probability of a downward spike in time-win that makes it such a gamble. Such complex deals just turns on the cautious side of my brain.

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Re:GitHub Copilot is generally available by tnorthcutt on Tuesday June 21, 2022 @02:24PM (#31827297)

Just to clarify: are you saying you'd pay $20 for an hour saved, but not $33.33 for an hour saved?

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Re:GitHub Copilot is generally available by threatofrain on Tuesday June 21, 2022 @02:25PM (#31827311)

I'm saying that at $100 yearly I'm on the fence of maybe yes or no. At $60 yearly I'm auto-yes without having to think in rational terms. I guess I'm just not at that place in life where $100 is the tier in which I think emotionally.

Also, if I magically knew that I could save you 3 hours yearly, but it were spread out over the course of a year, and that your savings would occasionally spike down into negative and then slowly climb up, I just wouldn't entertain such a complex offer at such low numbers. People pay insurance just to avoid such incidental downward spikes.

Copilot's biggest limitation right now is that you can't dare to allow minutes of savings per day without inviting the risk of a severe spike in debugging time, the kind that wipes out all your savings. This means you cannot spike up.

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Re:GitHub Copilot is generally available by craigkilgo on Tuesday June 21, 2022 @03:17PM (#31827923)

Sharpe ratio too low

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