News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

spiclk

Re:AI is a tool and using it well takes skill on Tuesday October 13, 2026 @05:12AM (#50068820)
This is the very core of my issue with "AI". From a resource usage point of view, it cannot hope to compete with a developer armed with a banana.
Re:"Just Ask Claude" Is a Rare and Valuable Skill on Monday October 12, 2026 @10:08AM (#50056700)
If you ask me to "check what AI says", I will ask you to do it yourself and to kindly replace me with your AI for all future interactions.
You got me, although arguably still vegan at least!

On the other hand, I doubt the article is talking about replacing petroleum based products with coal based ones :)

Petroleum is plant-based (just to nitpick).
IMO, they will introduce their own class of bugs that will defy static analysis.
> move fast and break everything

That's what the Climate Catastrophe is going to do if nothing changes!

If only we'd all made do with 640k!
It sounds like the person whose device is being searched could legally disable the data connection before the search.
A comparison would be physical keys found during a police search - under what circumstances can the police legally use those keys to search other, locked locations?
Does "search your phone" include any externally-hosted content that can be accessed by said phone?
Re:The last time my family was replaced by technology on Wednesday September 30, 2026 @09:55AM (#49909026)
The current trend of comparing AI development to the development of motorised personal transport makes it very easy to remind everyone that undoing the effects of decades of blind "progress" once the negative externalities become unavoidable is much easier said than done.
Double incapacitation has happened at least once before - Helios flight 522 (another wild and this time tragic story).
We have no way to predict what will happen, even in the broadest sense. Global climate is the literal grandaddy of chaotic systems.
My transport costs are essentially zero, and maintenance so far has consisted of occasionally oiling the chain (although this is a new bicycle).
That cost per kWh is only helpful if you can charge your car at that rate!
Re:Prompting Claude Opus 5.5 on Monday September 28, 2026 @07:14AM (#49876255)
It's significantly more sustainable, as is that new-fangled bicycle.

On the other hand, if your destination really is that important, feel free to blast there in a cloud of fumes and pollutants.

The primary cause of this current price differential is the enormous taxation applied to diesel and petrol in the UK. Obviously this situation won't last.
Re:Prompting Claude Opus 5.5 on Monday September 28, 2026 @06:45AM (#49876015)
And of course, we now know that encouraging everyone to own and rely on a contraption that emits fumes and other pollutants for its entire operating life was a bad idea.
Hopefully the article authors are only attempting to reach their target audience, but please don't encourage numerical illiteracy!

One-tenth the (fuel) cost, or 90% cheaper.

(That is, if you own a house with off-street parking).

Re:Prompting Claude Opus 5.5 on Monday September 28, 2026 @05:21AM (#49875456)
Remember how we were going to be "left behind" if we didn't "keep up"? I'm so glad I haven't wasted any time or effort learning how to kick each month's flavour of idiot assistant.
Users of these devices already share that data with Meta.
Re:US diesel hits record $6 a gallon on Iran supply shock on Monday September 14, 2026 @06:08AM (#49694441)
"Brown gold" is worth a lot less per unit, so yes, it really does matter. It's a corresponding ~10x increase in the amount of material that has to be transported for the same effectiveness in crop fertilisation.
Re:US diesel hits record $6 a gallon on Iran supply shock on Friday September 11, 2026 @08:50AM (#49657566)
We're going to need a lot of EV trucks, to transport the ~2 billion tons of manure.
Re:US diesel hits record $6 a gallon on Iran supply shock on Friday September 11, 2026 @07:16AM (#49656483)
"clean" - only at the point of use! (I'm using the traditional definition of "clean", as in, "not making a mess").
Re:US diesel hits record $6 a gallon on Iran supply shock on Friday September 11, 2026 @06:23AM (#49656056)
It's not our fault that we use oil and gas for daily activities (including going to protests). It's the governments' and corporations' fault for making us do it (or maybe not stopping us).
Re:US diesel hits record $6 a gallon on Iran supply shock on Friday September 11, 2026 @06:19AM (#49656029)
Yes, it all makes a lot more sense when you include the geopolitical context. China has an enormous abundance of coal and relatively little oil.
Re:US diesel hits record $6 a gallon on Iran supply shock on Friday September 11, 2026 @06:13AM (#49655989)
How do we stop the demand for plastics (and any other number of process chemicals) and fertiliser?

Also - while it may encourage production at other sites with a higher cost of production, higher prices in general will slow demand.

Re:US diesel hits record $6 a gallon on Iran supply shock on Friday September 11, 2026 @05:25AM (#49655583)
The "just stop oil" folks must be delighted with the direction of things in the middle east.