• 26 Posts
  • 225 Comments
Joined 1Y ago
cake
Cake day: Jun 08, 2023

help-circle
rss

These actions are being taken by .ml site admin Arthur Besse / cypherpunks. There’s nothing I can do as a mere community mod ^^


This is clearly causing pretty fundamental problems to infrastructure this community’s reliant on. Cross-promotion would be fine, imo. We just need to know what the users want of the community.


Communities on the fediverse aren’t beholden to a single instance as well. If .ml admins can’t come to agreement to refederate, y’all should contact the shinobu bot dev to start including links to ani-social discussions on this instance, and petition mods of this community to do something to help that transition (what that is? I dunno).

That said, I’m saying this having read these comments but not the og post. idk what the actual context to the conversation is, nor validity of the defederation, I’m just pro-democracy.

I of course can’t speak on behalf of N3DSdude, but I’m in support of whatever the community wants to happen, happening. Just give us reason to believe it’s actually a significant portion of the community please




I got it a bit ago, sorry for the delay; federation apparently doesn’t distribute moderation properly


Looking forward to a movie of this! I loved the tv series.



Blocks sites you specify from appearing in Google search results

I wonder if you even read my comment? Also chill, there’s no need to condescend over a search engine lmao.


There’s literally not. For blocking, sure, but not changing the behaviours of your search algorithm.


Just requires whoever picks it up be in a country that doesn’t respect US IP law.



Oh ya I use that as well, to turn Youtube results into Invidious, reddit into web.archive.org/save/, twitter into nitter, tiktok into proxitok, and AMP results into normal articles. It’s nice because, since I use kagi on my phone, it reaches where extensions don’t normally.


Totally valid. For me the killer feature is being able to change the weights for various sites, making it so websites with content that’s not useful to me or I don’t like don’t appear[1], pinning websites that I consider best-of-class for their relevant searches[2], and prioritizing websites I do like, but aren’t always the best answer[3].

They also have a “Lenses” feature that lets you make your own search lens (like I have one for Lemmy-only results), but I’ve not really had much use for those.


  1. e.g. apple.com, facebook, nypost, quora ↩︎

  2. e.g. wikipedia, the ffxiv wiki ↩︎

  3. e.g. opencritic, speedrun.com, cbc, w3schools, github ↩︎


So I’m just thinking about how this would work, in a perfectly non-competitive world:

There’d need to be some Browser Standards Association to implement and suggest browsers to add to a list of “certified browsers”, with transparent requirements to be included to ensure low quality or outdated browsers aren’t included. The OS would need to implement that entire list in a randomized format. There’d preferably be some sort of built-in pros/cons list of the browser, I suppose these could be put together by a combination of the BSA and the competing browsers.
But these pros/cons won’t be understandable or significant to 95% of people.

The BSA would also want to ensure there’s diversity not just in browser and companies (like Opera getting 3 fucking entries), but would also want to ensure there’s a variety of browser engines (preferably not just chromium and webkit).



[archive](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/TkUOF) [translation from [DeepL](https://www.deepl.com/translator#ja/en/%E6%98%BC%E7%86%8A%0A2%E6%9C%9F%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%E3%82%88%EF%BC%812%E6%9C%9F%EF%BC%811%E6%9C%9F%E3%81%A7%E3%81%AF%E5%87%BA%E7%95%AA%E3%81%8C%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8B%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E3%81%82%E3%81%AE%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A3%E3%83%A9%E3%81%9F%E3%81%A1%E3%81%8C%E5%8B%95%E3%81%8D%E5%96%8B%E3%82%8B%E5%A7%BF%E3%82%92%E8%A6%B3%E3%82%89%E3%82%8C%E3%82%8B%E3%81%A8%E3%81%84%E3%81%86%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%E3%81%AD%EF%BC%81%E6%96%B0%E3%81%9F%E3%81%AA%E8%87%AA%E8%B2%A9%E6%A9%9F%E3%82%82%E6%95%B0%E5%A4%9A%E3%81%8F%E7%99%BB%E5%A0%B4%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B%E3%81%AF%E3%81%9A%E3%81%AA%E3%81%AE%E3%81%A7%E3%81%9D%E3%81%A1%E3%82%89%E3%82%82%E4%B9%9E%E3%81%86%E3%81%94%E6%9C%9F%E5%BE%85%EF%BC%81%0A%E6%86%82%E5%A7%AB%E3%81%AF%E3%81%90%E3%82%8C%0A%E7%A5%9D%E3%83%BB2%E6%9C%9F%E6%B1%BA%E5%AE%9A%EF%BC%81%EF%BC%81%E3%81%8A%E7%9F%A5%E3%82%89%E3%81%9B%E3%81%84%E3%81%9F%E3%81%A0%E3%81%84%E3%81%A6%E3%81%B3%E3%81%A3%E3%81%8F%E3%82%8A%EF%BC%86%E5%AC%89%E3%81%97%E3%81%8B%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%EF%BC%81%E3%82%A2%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A1%E3%81%A7%E3%81%AE%E3%83%8F%E3%83%83%E3%82%B3%E3%83%B3%E3%81%AE%E3%81%95%E3%82%89%E3%81%AA%E3%82%8B%E6%B4%BB%E8%BA%8D%E3%82%92%E6%A5%BD%E3%81%97%E3%81%BF%E3%81%AB%E3%81%97%E3%81%A6%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99%EF%BC%81%0A%E4%B9%9D%E4%BA%8C%E6%9E%9D%0A%E3%82%A2%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A12%E6%9C%9F%E6%B1%BA%E5%AE%9A%E3%80%81%E3%81%8A%E3%82%81%E3%81%A7%E3%81%A8%E3%81%86%E3%81%94%E3%81%96%E3%81%84%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99%EF%BC%81%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A0%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A0%E3%82%A2%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A1%E7%89%88%E3%83%8F%E3%83%83%E3%82%B3%E3%83%B3%E3%81%9F%E3%81%A1%E3%81%AE%E6%B4%BB%E8%BA%8D%E3%81%8C%E8%A6%B3%E3%82%89%E3%82%8C%E3%82%8B%E3%81%AE%E3%81%AF%E5%AC%89%E3%81%97%E3%81%84%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%E3%81%AD%EF%BC%81)] Hirukuma: >It's the second season! There will be a lot of new vending machines, so stay tuned for that too! Yuuki Hagure: >Congratulations on the decision for the second season! I was surprised and happy to hear the news! I'm looking forward to seeing more of Hakkon in the anime! Kunieda: >Congratulations on the decision for the second season of the anime! I am glad that we will still be able to see Hakkon and his friends in the anime version!
fedilink

For me the biggest thing was motion controls in the future Xbox controller. To me that means motion controls in XInput, and a standardized motion control library on PC that’s not reliant on Steam. Hopefully means multiplats will be more willing to implement them where they make sense, for people who like them.


Internet Archive’s been victim to anti-preservation efforts for years. They’ll deal with them likely the same way they always do, and are dealing with a lawsuit right now over The Great 78 Project.



I’m gonna second both Violet Evergarden and Your Lie in April.

Violet Evergarden, hands down, is the most I’ve cried watching something.

Plastic Memories is also really good for that at the end, but the overall show imo isn’t quite as good. Still, I rated it a 9.2/10


People generally[1] like Clannad for After Story, exclusively.


  1. GENERALLY, don’t @ me if you’re different, you’re not general ↩︎


My personal recommendation of what I list below is A Day Before us. While I typically dislike shorts, it works very well with the format, and episode after episode gave me butterflies just watching it. It’s extremely sweet and cute, though as far as comedy is more “cute funny romancey stuff”. I’m sure you’ve seen/heard of most of what I have below, but just filling gaps in case you haven’t.

Yeonae Haru Jeon / A Day Before Us - anidb - MAL - AniList - Personal Rating: 10/10

  • Very heavy on cute romance. A series of shorts following soon-to-be-lovers as they come to realize what they have between each other. Streaming on Youtube.

Otaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii / Love is Hard for Otaku - anidb - MAL - AniList - Personal rating: 7.6/10

  • Primarily comedy. An otaku tries to keep her otaku and fujoshi hobbies a secret at her new workplace, but her past catches up with her when she reunites with an old friend who shares her interests, and they discover more coworkers with similar passions.

Kimi ni Todoke / From Me to You - anidb - MAL - AniList - Personal rating: 9.2/10

  • Primarily romance. Kuronuma Sawako, misunderstood because of her ghostly appearance, hopes to make friends and find romance when the popular Kazehaya Shouta starts talking to her.

Horimiya - anidb - MAL - AniList - Personal rating: 8/10

  • A bit more drama, good comedy, and cute romance. Hori and Miyamura, both hiding secret lives, cross paths and unveil their true selves, leading to the possibility of something new and unexpected.





I see 7.

ditto, sawk, vulpix, feebas, onyx, ekans, metapod

Also he lists hadoop twice

Edit: I see I also made the onyx/onix mistake that someone made in this thread.


cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/5555641 > [archive.org](https://web.archive.org/web/20230918130151/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/unity-reportedly-told-dev-planned-parenthood-and-childrens-hospital-are-not-not-valid-charities) > > >Developers of indie puzzle game Orgynizer have claimed that Unity said organisations like Planned Parenthood are "not valid charities" and are instead "political groups." > > > >In a blog post, the EU-based developer LizardFactory said the plans to charge developers up to $0.20 per install if they reach certain thresholds would cost them "around 30% of the funds we have gathered and already sent to charity." > > > >As Unity clarified the runtime fee will not apply to charity games, LizardFactory reached out to the company to clarify their game would be exempt from the plan. > > > >However, Unity reportedly said their partners were not "valid charities" and were viewed as "political groups." > > > >Profits made from the game go directly to non-profit organisation Planned Parenthood and C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Michigan. > > > >"We did this to raise money for a good cause, not to line the coffers of greedy scumbags," the developers wrote in a blog post. "We have been solid Unity fanboys for over ten years, but the trust is scattered all over the floor." > > > >The developers are considering a move to open-source game engine Godot, "but we will have to recode our entire game because we refuse to give you a dime," they wrote. "This is a mafia-style shakedown, nothing more, nothing less." > > > >Today, Unity responded to the ongoing backlash and apologised, acknowledging the "confusion and angst" surrounding the runtime fee policy. > > > >The company has promised that changes to the policy will be shared in "a couple of days."
fedilink

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/5555641 > [archive.org](https://web.archive.org/web/20230918130151/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/unity-reportedly-told-dev-planned-parenthood-and-childrens-hospital-are-not-not-valid-charities) > > >Developers of indie puzzle game Orgynizer have claimed that Unity said organisations like Planned Parenthood are "not valid charities" and are instead "political groups." > > > >In a blog post, the EU-based developer LizardFactory said the plans to charge developers up to $0.20 per install if they reach certain thresholds would cost them "around 30% of the funds we have gathered and already sent to charity." > > > >As Unity clarified the runtime fee will not apply to charity games, LizardFactory reached out to the company to clarify their game would be exempt from the plan. > > > >However, Unity reportedly said their partners were not "valid charities" and were viewed as "political groups." > > > >Profits made from the game go directly to non-profit organisation Planned Parenthood and C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Michigan. > > > >"We did this to raise money for a good cause, not to line the coffers of greedy scumbags," the developers wrote in a blog post. "We have been solid Unity fanboys for over ten years, but the trust is scattered all over the floor." > > > >The developers are considering a move to open-source game engine Godot, "but we will have to recode our entire game because we refuse to give you a dime," they wrote. "This is a mafia-style shakedown, nothing more, nothing less." > > > >Today, Unity responded to the ongoing backlash and apologised, acknowledging the "confusion and angst" surrounding the runtime fee policy. > > > >The company has promised that changes to the policy will be shared in "a couple of days."
fedilink

[archive.org](https://web.archive.org/web/20230918130151/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/unity-reportedly-told-dev-planned-parenthood-and-childrens-hospital-are-not-not-valid-charities) >Developers of indie puzzle game Orgynizer have claimed that Unity said organisations like Planned Parenthood are "not valid charities" and are instead "political groups." > >In a blog post, the EU-based developer LizardFactory said the plans to charge developers up to $0.20 per install if they reach certain thresholds would cost them "around 30% of the funds we have gathered and already sent to charity." > >As Unity clarified the runtime fee will not apply to charity games, LizardFactory reached out to the company to clarify their game would be exempt from the plan. > >However, Unity reportedly said their partners were not "valid charities" and were viewed as "political groups." > >Profits made from the game go directly to non-profit organisation Planned Parenthood and C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Michigan. > >"We did this to raise money for a good cause, not to line the coffers of greedy scumbags," the developers wrote in a blog post. "We have been solid Unity fanboys for over ten years, but the trust is scattered all over the floor." > >The developers are considering a move to open-source game engine Godot, "but we will have to recode our entire game because we refuse to give you a dime," they wrote. "This is a mafia-style shakedown, nothing more, nothing less." > >Today, Unity responded to the ongoing backlash and apologised, acknowledging the "confusion and angst" surrounding the runtime fee policy. > >The company has promised that changes to the policy will be shared in "a couple of days."
fedilink

Japanese copyright law protects all works “in which thoughts or sentiments are expressed in a creative way, and which falls within the literary, scientific, artistic or musical domain.” The laws automatically provide the following rights, without the need for formal declaration or registration.[1]

Since the 90s[2], Copyright in the USA and all trade partners they have leverage over[3], copyright has been automatically applied to all works without the need for registration. A creator can voluntarily put their work into the public domain, but this is an extra step they must do themselves. As a company, there’s little reason to actually do this and give up your ability to protect your works and brands. Especially as a publicly traded company, you may even be putting yourself at risk for lawsuits by not profit-seeking as much as you can.

Strictly speaking, this very comment is under various levels of copyright, albeit the ability to protect it is both dubious and very unlikely.[4]

“is there anything from Japan that I don’t have to feel guilty about sharing with my friends and family (but mostly friends)?”

If you’re concerned about observing copyright law, then practically the answer is no. Literally, the answer is that any cinematographic work before 1954 in Japan is in the public domain. The highest rated anime from that time period would be Manga Futatsu no Sekai (Two Cartoon Worlds) which scores a 5.38 out of 10 on anidb.

A court case in 2007 ruled that works released before and in 1970 are protected by copyright until 38 years after the creator’s death. Works beyond that are protected for 70 years after the author’s death, or 70 years if they’re not made under the name of a single author to the work.

TL;DR copyright is on almost anything you’d want to share from Japan until it’s 70 years old. We’ll see the Astro Boy anime hit the public domain in the year 2033.


  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_Japan ↩︎

  2. 1999 for Japan specifically ↩︎

  3. This is a general statement. Please research particular locales for specific situations per country ↩︎

  4. https://ipsolutionslaw.com/copyrights/photographers-and-artists-beware-social-media-post-forfeit-copyright/ ↩︎


I beat Kingdom Hearts 1 last week, so this week I’m doing Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories! I think I’m about halfway through now, just finishing floor 12 I think, but the battle’s been rough on me to say the least. I think I’m gonna need to grind up some cards and levels today to get past it.


Theft from billion dollar companies is a cool thing to do 😎


the most insufferable neckbeards

https://lemmy.one/pictrs/image/b7ad3f91-d781-4085-9757-873ed7e6f4ee.jpeg

he was being a pedant about what constitutes search results

You mean they were being precisely accurate

Fucking suburbanite straight white male energy stfu

I’m not male

If I wanted your opinion, I’d ask

You posted to a public forum, but man you’ve really got an attitude about any contest to what you’ve said.


Legitimately, what part of that was deceptive? They outright stated that those specialized widgets you can’t disable. Your post here is far more misleading in comparison.


cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/5340114 > [ghostarchive](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/k63Rn) > Original Discussion^[https://lemmy.world/post/5057297] > > >San Francisco police told Polygon that officers responded to Unity’s San Francisco office “regarding a threats incident.” A “reporting party” told police that “an employee made a threat towards his employer using social media.” The employee that made the threat works in an office outside of California, according to the police statement.
fedilink

[ghostarchive](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/k63Rn) Original Discussion^[https://lemmy.world/post/5057297] >San Francisco police told Polygon that officers responded to Unity’s San Francisco office “regarding a threats incident.” A “reporting party” told police that “an employee made a threat towards his employer using social media.” The employee that made the threat works in an office outside of California, according to the police statement.
fedilink

Unity: YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND! YOU DON’T KNOW THE FULL STORY
Devs: You’re charging us based on how many times a game gets installed and reinstalled, or opened in streaming services?
Unity: Oh so you do have the full story. What’s wrong with that?

Plainly, whoever’s at the head of this doesn’t understand developers or the industry, and is likely refusing to listen to their subordinates.


Yup, no information on how they actually get that information. The only assumption I can make is that it’s some sort of telemetry in the installer or the engine


I’m thinking they might addsome engine-side telemetry we don’t know about, but they’re refusing to actually say anything about how they’re tracking this.


How does Unity track my installs?

All they’ll say is what amounts to “just trust us, it’s fiiiine”


X/Tweet/thing from Stephen Totilo

NEW - I got a major update from Unity about their new fees

  • Unity “regrouped” and now says ONLY the initial installation of a game triggers a fee
  • Demos mostly won’t trigger fees
  • Devs not on the hook for Game Pass

This is a truly pathetic attempt to save face. Fuck Unity, its now proven definitively that they cannot be trusted for current and future projects. The only thing they’ll learn from this is to not be so loud about these sorts of changes.


X/Tweet/thing from Stephen Totilo

NEW - I got a major update from Unity about their new fees

  • Unity “regrouped” and now says ONLY the initial installation of a game triggers a fee
  • Demos mostly won’t trigger fees
  • Devs not on the hook for Game Pass

This is a truly pathetic attempt to save face. Fuck Unity, its now proven definitively that they cannot be trusted for current and future projects. The only thing they’ll learn from this is to not be so loud about these sorts of changes.


Unity rushes to clarify price increase plan, as game developers fume
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/5186904 > [archive](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/F1KD2) > > > >Unity, the tech company behind one of the most popular engines for creating video games, is scrambling to clarify how a price increase for its services will work, after its announcement Tuesday morning broadly infuriated the game development community. > > > >Why it matters: The fees, which Unity said are essential for funding development of its tech, left many game makers wondering if having a hit game through Unity would cost them more money than they could make. > > > >- Developers spoke throughout the day of delaying their games to switch to rival Epic Games' Unreal Engine or other services on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. > >- But by the evening, Unity exec Marc Whitten was updating Axios on the policies, potentially defusing some concerns raised by game creators. > > > >Details: The new "Runtime Fee" announced Tuesday morning is tied to a player's installations of a game, an action that previously didn't cost developers anything. > > > >- With Unity's new plan, developers who use Unity's free tier of development services would owe Unity $0.20 per installation once their game hit thresholds of 200,000 downloads and earn $200,000 in revenue. > >- Developers paying over $2,000 a year for a Unity Pro plan would have to hit higher thresholds and would be charged with lower fees. > >- The newfee system will begin at the start of 2024. > > > >Yes, but: Game developers, rallying on X, began fuming immediately that any game enjoying a spike in installations due to a big sale, inclusion in a charity bundle or even just by being included in a popular subscription service like Microsoft's Game Pass, would trigger back-breaking Unity fees. > > > >- "Stop it," development studio Innersloth, makers of the hit Among Us, tweeted Tuesday evening. "This would harm not only us, but fellow game studios of all budgets and sizes...." > >- Another studio, Aggro Crab, called on Unity to reverse its plans, saying that it feared that its next game, set for release to the 25 million subscribers on Game Pass, could incur fees that "threaten the stability of our business." > > > >The intrigue: Unity has scrambled to clarify and in one key case alter what it has said about its policies around the fees. > > > >Zoom in: After initially telling Axios earlier Tuesday that a player installing a game, deleting it and installing it again would result in multiple fees, Unity'sWhitten told Axios that the company would actually only charge for an initial installation. (A spokesperson told Axios that Unity had "regrouped" to discuss the issue.) > > > >- He hoped this would allay fears of "install-bombing," where an angry user could keep deleting and re-installing a game to rack up fees to punish a developer. > >- But an extra fee will be charged if a user installs a game on a second device, say a Steam Deck after installing a game on a PC. > > > >Between the lines: Runtime fees will also not be charged for installations of game demos, Whitten said, unless the demo is part of a download that includes the full game (early access games would be charged for an installation, he noted). > > > >- Games offered for charity or included in charities will be exempt from the fees. Unity will provide a way for developers to inform Unity that their games are being offered that way, Whitten said. > >- As for Game Pass and other subscription services, Whitten said that developers like Aggro Crab would not be on the hook, as the fees are charged to distributors, which in the Game Pass example would be Microsoft. > >- Runtime fees will also not be charged for installations of game demos, Whitten said, unless the demo is part of a download that includes the full game (early access games would be charged for an installation, he noted). > > > >Of note: Whitten estimates that only about 10% of Unity's developers will wind up having to pay any fees, given the thresholds games need to hit. > > > >What they're saying: "Our core point with this is simply to make sure that we have the right value exchange so that we can continue to invest in our fundamental mission to make sure that we can deliver the best tools for people to make great games." > > > >- "It's not fun to get a bunch of angry feedback on any particular day. And I think that that is us needing to clarify some of these points. > >- "But we're we're listening and we will continue to make sure that we deliver the best that we can." > > > >Go deeper... Unity CEO: Generative AI will make better games, but won't steal jobs
fedilink

Unity rushes to clarify price increase plan, as game developers fume
[archive](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/F1KD2) >Unity, the tech company behind one of the most popular engines for creating video games, is scrambling to clarify how a price increase for its services will work, after its announcement Tuesday morning broadly infuriated the game development community. > >Why it matters: The fees, which Unity said are essential for funding development of its tech, left many game makers wondering if having a hit game through Unity would cost them more money than they could make. > >- Developers spoke throughout the day of delaying their games to switch to rival Epic Games' Unreal Engine or other services on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. >- But by the evening, Unity exec Marc Whitten was updating Axios on the policies, potentially defusing some concerns raised by game creators. > >Details: The new "Runtime Fee" announced Tuesday morning is tied to a player's installations of a game, an action that previously didn't cost developers anything. > >- With Unity's new plan, developers who use Unity's free tier of development services would owe Unity $0.20 per installation once their game hit thresholds of 200,000 downloads and earn $200,000 in revenue. >- Developers paying over $2,000 a year for a Unity Pro plan would have to hit higher thresholds and would be charged with lower fees. >- The newfee system will begin at the start of 2024. > >Yes, but: Game developers, rallying on X, began fuming immediately that any game enjoying a spike in installations due to a big sale, inclusion in a charity bundle or even just by being included in a popular subscription service like Microsoft's Game Pass, would trigger back-breaking Unity fees. > >- "Stop it," development studio Innersloth, makers of the hit Among Us, tweeted Tuesday evening. "This would harm not only us, but fellow game studios of all budgets and sizes...." >- Another studio, Aggro Crab, called on Unity to reverse its plans, saying that it feared that its next game, set for release to the 25 million subscribers on Game Pass, could incur fees that "threaten the stability of our business." > >The intrigue: Unity has scrambled to clarify and in one key case alter what it has said about its policies around the fees. > >Zoom in: After initially telling Axios earlier Tuesday that a player installing a game, deleting it and installing it again would result in multiple fees, Unity'sWhitten told Axios that the company would actually only charge for an initial installation. (A spokesperson told Axios that Unity had "regrouped" to discuss the issue.) > >- He hoped this would allay fears of "install-bombing," where an angry user could keep deleting and re-installing a game to rack up fees to punish a developer. >- But an extra fee will be charged if a user installs a game on a second device, say a Steam Deck after installing a game on a PC. > >Between the lines: Runtime fees will also not be charged for installations of game demos, Whitten said, unless the demo is part of a download that includes the full game (early access games would be charged for an installation, he noted). > >- Games offered for charity or included in charities will be exempt from the fees. Unity will provide a way for developers to inform Unity that their games are being offered that way, Whitten said. >- As for Game Pass and other subscription services, Whitten said that developers like Aggro Crab would not be on the hook, as the fees are charged to distributors, which in the Game Pass example would be Microsoft. >- Runtime fees will also not be charged for installations of game demos, Whitten said, unless the demo is part of a download that includes the full game (early access games would be charged for an installation, he noted). > >Of note: Whitten estimates that only about 10% of Unity's developers will wind up having to pay any fees, given the thresholds games need to hit. > >What they're saying: "Our core point with this is simply to make sure that we have the right value exchange so that we can continue to invest in our fundamental mission to make sure that we can deliver the best tools for people to make great games." > >- "It's not fun to get a bunch of angry feedback on any particular day. And I think that that is us needing to clarify some of these points. >- "But we're we're listening and we will continue to make sure that we deliver the best that we can." > >Go deeper... Unity CEO: Generative AI will make better games, but won't steal jobs
fedilink


[ghostarchive.org](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/7XNnJ) :::spoiler Summary and Key Moments Courtesy of [Kagi Universal Summarizer](https://kagi.com/summarizer/index.html): >Elon Musk acquired Twitter in a $44 billion deal finalized in October 2022. The excerpt describes Musk's initial reluctance to join Twitter's board, followed by his decision to pursue a full takeover as a way to fulfill his long-held vision of an "everything app." Musk had to negotiate with Twitter's CEO and board, and also secure financing from investors like Larry Ellison. The closing of the deal allowed Musk to immediately fire Twitter's top executives, which he viewed as justified due to concerns about user metrics. Throughout the process, Musk's enthusiasm for the platform fluctuated alongside his concerns about content moderation and the company's challenges. - Musk started buying shares of Twitter in January 2022 after deciding he wanted to "push his chips back on the table" following Tesla's success. - Musk saw Twitter as a way to fulfill his original vision for X.com, which he wanted to be an "everything app" for financial and social uses. - Musk grew concerned about the "woke mind virus" and felt Twitter suppressed anti-establishment voices. - Musk agreed to join Twitter's board but later decided he couldn't fix the company that way and made an offer to buy it outright. - Musk had to find outside investors like Larry Ellison to help finance the $44 billion deal. - Revelations of problems at Twitter led Musk to try to renegotiate the deal price or back out, but he eventually went through with the original terms. - Musk was surprised by Twitter's lax and "coddling" culture when he took over. - Musk fired Twitter's top executives like CEO Parag Agrawal shortly after closing the deal. - Musk saw an opportunity to fire executives "for cause" and prevent their stock options from vesting. - Musk aims to fulfill his long-held vision of creating an "everything app" by overhauling Twitter. ::: :::spoiler Full Article Text >In April 2022, things were going surprisingly well for Elon Musk. Tesla >stock had risen 15-fold in five years, making it worth more than the next nine auto companies combined. SpaceX in the first quarter of 2022 launched twice as much mass into orbit as all other companies and countries combined. Its Starlink satellites had just succeeded in creating a privately owned internet, providing connectivity to 500,000 subscribers in 40 countries, including Ukraine. > >It promised to be a glorious year, if only Musk could leave well enough alone. But that was not in his nature. > >Shivon Zilis, who manages Neuralink (Musk’s company working on implantable brain-computer interfaces) and is the mother of two of his children, noticed that by early April he had the itchiness of a video-game addict who has triumphed but couldn’t unplug. “You don’t have to be in a state of war at all times,” she told him that month. “Or is it that you find greater comfort when you’re in periods of war?” > >“It’s part of my default settings,” he replied. As he put it to me, “I guess I’ve always wanted to push my chips back on the table or play the next level of the game.” > >This period of unnerving success coincided, fatefully, with a moment when he had exercised some expiring stock options that left him with about $10 billion in cash. “I didn’t want to just leave it in the bank,” he says, “so I asked myself what product I liked, and that was an easy question. It was Twitter.” That January, he had confidentially told his personal business manager, Jared Birchall, to start buying shares. > >The way that Musk blustered into buying Twitter and renaming it X was a harbinger of the way he now runs it: impulsively and irreverently. It is an addictive playground for him. It has many of the attributes of a school yard, including taunting and bullying. But in the case of Twitter, the clever kids win followers; they don’t get pushed down the steps and beaten, like Musk was as a kid. Owning it would allow him to become king of the school yard. > >More than two decades earlier he had started a company called X.com, which he wanted to make into an “everything app” that would handle all of a person’s financial transactions and social connections. When it merged with a payment service co-founded by Peter Thiel called PayPal >, Musk fought furiously to keep X.com as the name of the combined company. His new colleagues resisted. PayPal had become a trusted brand name, with a friendly chirpiness similar to that of Twitter, whereas the name X.com conjured up visions of a seedy site you would not talk about in polite company. Musk was ousted, and he remains unwavering to this day. “If you want to just be a niche player, PayPal is a better name,” he says. “But if you want to take over the world’s financial system, then X is the better name.” > >By the time he started buying its shares, Musk saw Twitter, whose name he likewise felt was too niche and precious, as a way to fulfill his original concept. “Twitter could become what X.com should have been,” he told me that April, “and we can help save free speech in the process.” > >By then, a new ingredient had been added to this cauldron: Musk’s swelling concern with the dangers of what he called the “woke mind virus” that he believed was infecting America. “Unless the woke mind virus, which is fundamentally anti-science, anti-merit, and anti-human in general, is stopped, civilization will never become multiplanetary,” he told me gravely. > >Musk’s anti-woke sentiments were partly triggered by the decision of his oldest child, Jenna, then 16, to transition. “Hey, I’m transgender, and my name is now Jenna,” she texted the wife of Elon’s brother. “Don’t tell my dad.” When Musk found out, he was generally sanguine, but then Jenna became a fervent Marxist and broke off all relations with him. “She went beyond socialism to being a full communist and thinking that anyone rich is evil,” he says. The rift pained him more than anything in his life since the infant death of his firstborn child Nevada. “I’ve made many overtures,” he says, “but she doesn’t want to spend time with me.” > >He blamed it partly on the ideology he felt that Jenna imbibed at Crossroads, the progressive school she attended in Los Angeles. Twitter, he felt, had become infected by a similar mindset that suppressed right-wing and anti-establishment voices. > >One night after it became public that he was buying Twitter stock, Musk called Parag Agrawal, the software engineer who had taken over from Jack Dorsey as Twitter’s CEO. They decided to meet secretly for dinner on March 31, along with Twitter’s board chair Bret Taylor. > >Musk found Agrawal to be likable. “He’s a really nice guy,” he says. But that was the problem. If you ask Musk what traits a CEO needs, he would not include being a really nice guy. One of his maxims is that managers should not aim to be liked. “What Twitter needs is a fire-breathing dragon,” he said after that meeting, “and Parag is not that.” > >Musk hadn’t yet thought about taking over Twitter himself. At their meeting, Agrawal invited him to join Twitter’s board, and he agreed. For a brief couple of days, it looked as if there would be peace in the valley. > >Luke Nosek and Ken Howery, Musk’s close friends and fellow PayPal cofounders, paced around the mezzanine workspace of the Tesla factory and headquarters in Austin, Texas, on the afternoon of April 6, the day after the announcement that he was joining the Twitter board. They were wary. “It’s probably a recipe for trouble,” Musk merrily conceded as he sat down at a conference table overlooking the assembly lines. “It’s very clear that the inmates are running the asylum,” he said of Twitter’s workers. > >He repeated his simple view that it would be good for democracy if Twitter stopped trying to restrict what users could say. Despite sharing Musk’s libertarian views on free speech, Howery pushed back gently. “Should it be like a telephone system, where the words that go in one end come out exactly the same on the other end?” he asked. “Or do you think this is more like a system that is governing the discourse of the world, and maybe there should be some intelligence put into the algorithm that prioritizes and deprioritizes things?” > >“Yeah, it’s a thorny question,” Musk answered. “There’s an ability to say something, and then there is also the issue of to what degree it’s promoted or amplified.” Perhaps the formula for promoting tweets should be more open. “It could be an open-source algorithm placed on GitHub so people can sift through it.” > >Musk then threw out a few other ideas. “What if we charged people a small amount, like two dollars a month, to be verified?” he asked. Getting a user’s credit card, he said, would eliminate bots, provide a new revenue stream and facilitate his goal of turning Twitter into a payments platform, like he had envisioned for X.com, where people could send money, hand out tips and pay for stories, music and videos. Because Howery and Nosek had been with Musk at PayPal, they liked the idea. “It could fulfill my original vision for X.com and PayPal,” Musk said with a gleeful laugh. > >His brother Kimbal told him over lunch the next day that it would be better to start a new social-media platform based on the blockchain. Musk was intrigued and got into giddy mode. Perhaps, he said half-jokingly, it could have a payment system using Dogecoin, the semi-serious cryptocurrency whose development he had been quietly funding. After lunch, he sent Kimbal a few texts fleshing out the idea for “a blockchain social media system that does both payments and short text messages like Twitter.” > >He then flew to Larry Ellison’s Hawaiian island, Lanai. He had planned the trip as a quiet rendezvous with one of the women he was occasionally dating, the Australian actress Natasha Bassett. But instead of using it as a relaxed mini-vacation, he spent his four days there figuring out what to do about Twitter. > >He stayed awake most of his first night stewing about the problems Twitter faced. When he looked at a list of users who had the most followers, they were no longer very active. So at 3:32 a.m. Hawaii time, he posted a tweet: “Most of these ‘top’ accounts tweet rarely and post very little content. Is Twitter dying?” > >About 90 minutes later, Twitter CEO Agrawal sent Musk a text message: “You are free to tweet ‘Is twitter dying?’ or anything else about Twitter, but it’s my responsibility to tell you that it’s not helping me make Twitter better in the current context.” It was a restrained text, carefully worded to avoid implying that Musk no longer had the right to disparage the company. > >When Musk got the text, it was just after 5 a.m. in Hawaii, but he was still going strong. He shot back a scathing reply: “What did you get done this week?” It was the ultimate Musk put-down. > >Then he texted back a fateful three-shot volley: “I’m not joining the board. This is a waste of time. Will make an offer to take Twitter private.” > >Agrawal was shocked. “Can we talk?” he asked plaintively. > >Within three minutes, Taylor, the Twitter board chair, texted Musk with a similar plea to talk. “Do you have five minutes so I can understand the context?” he asked Musk. > >“Fixing Twitter by chatting with Parag won’t work,” Musk answered. “Drastic action is needed.” > >Musk says that it became clear to him when he got to Hawaii that he would not be able to fix Twitter or turn it into X.com by going on the board: “I decided I didn’t want to be co-opted and be some sort of quisling on the board.” There was one other factor. Musk was in a manic mood, and he was acting impetuously. > >As was often the case, his ideas fluctuated wildly with his mood swings. Even as he was barreling toward buying Twitter, he was texting with Kimbal about their idea of starting a new social-media company. “I think a new social-media company is needed that is based on the blockchain and includes payments,” he wrote. > >But by later that afternoon—Saturday, April 9—he had embraced the idea of buying Twitter. “It already has a base of users,” he told me. “You need that booster to launch X.com.” He sent a text to Birchall. “This is real,” he assured him. “There is no way to fix the company as a 9% shareholder.” > >Musk then flew to Vancouver to meet his on-and-off girlfriend Claire Boucher, the performance artist known as Grimes. She had been pushing him to go there so that she could introduce their son X (yes, X) to her parents and aging grandparents. But when it came time to drive to see her parents, she decided to leave Musk back in the hotel. “I could tell that he was in stress mode,” she says. > >Indeed he was. Late that afternoon, Musk texted Taylor his official decision. “After several days of deliberation—this is obviously a matter of serious gravity—I have decided to move forward with taking Twitter private,” he said. > >That night, after Grimes returned to their hotel, he unwound by immersing himself in a new video game, “Elden Ring,” which he had downloaded onto his laptop. Elaborately rendered with cryptic clues and strange plot twists, it requires intense focus, especially when it comes to calculating when to attack. He spent a lot of time in the game’s most dangerous regions, a fiery-red hellscape known as Caelid. “Instead of sleeping,” Grimes said, “he played until 5:30 in the morning.” > >Moments after he finished, he sent out a tweet: “I made an offer.” > >Musk then set about finding outside investors who would help him finance the purchase. He asked Kimbal, who declined. He was more successful with Larry Ellison. “Yes, of course,” Ellison had answered when Musk asked earlier in the week if he was interested in investing in the deal. > >“Roughly what dollar size?” Musk asked. “Not holding you to anything, but the deal is oversubscribed, so I have to reduce or kick out some participants.” > >“A billion,” said Ellison, “or whatever you recommend.” > >Ellison had not tweeted in a decade. In fact, he could not remember his Twitter password, so Musk had to personally get it reset for him. But Ellison believed that Twitter was important. “It’s a real-time news service, and there’s nothing really like it,” he told me. “If you agree it’s important for a democracy, then I thought it was worth making an investment in it.” > >One person who was eager to be in the deal was Sam Bankman-Fried, the soon-to-be-disgraced founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Musk’s Morgan Stanley >banker urged him to call Bankman-Fried, saying that he “would do the engineering for social media blockchain integration” and put $5 billion in the deal. > >Despite having kicked around with Kimbal the idea of building a social network on the blockchain, Musk felt that this approach would be too sluggish to support fast-paced Twitter postings. So he had no desire to meet with Bankman-Fried. When his banker persisted by reiterating that Bankman-Fried “could do $5bn,” Musk responded with a “dislike” button. “Blockchain Twitter isn’t possible, as the bandwidth and latency requirements cannot be supported by a peer to peer network.” He said he might at some point meet with Bankman-Fried, “so long as I don’t have to have a laborious blockchain debate.” > >Bankman-Fried then texted Musk directly to say he was “really excited about what you’ll do with TWTR.” He said he had $100 million of Twitter stock that he’d like to “roll,” meaning that his Twitter stock would be converted into a stake in the new company once Musk took it private. “Sorry, who is sending this message?” Musk texted back. When Bankman-Fried apologized and introduced himself, Musk replied curtly, “You’re welcome to roll.” > >That led Bankman-Fried to call Musk in May. “My bullshit detector went off like red alert on a Geiger counter,” Musk says. Bankman-Fried began talking rapidly, all about himself. “He was talking like he was on speed or Adderall, a mile a minute,” Musk says. “I thought he was supposed to be asking me questions about the deal, but he kept telling me the things he was doing. And I was thinking, ‘Dude, calm down.’” The feeling was mutual; Bankman-Fried thought Musk seemed nuts. The call lasted a half hour, and Bankman-Fried ended up neither investing nor rolling over his Twitter stock. > >Musk successfully put together his financing, and the Twitter board accepted his plan at the end of April. Instead of celebrating that night, Musk flew down to his Starbase rocket-launch site in south Texas. There he participated in the regular nightly meeting on redesigning the Raptor engine and, for more than an hour, wrestled with how to deal with unexplained methane leaks they were experiencing. The Twitter news was the burning topic around the world, but the SpaceX engineers knew he liked to stay focused on the task at hand, and no one mentioned it. Then he met Kimbal at a roadside cafe in Brownsville that featured local musicians. They stayed there until 2 a.m., sitting at a table right in front of the bandstand, just listening to the music. > >In the months between the deal agreement and the official closing, Musk’s moods fluctuated wildly. “I am very excited about finally implementing X.com as it should have been done, using Twitter as an accelerant!” he texted me at 3:30 one morning. “And, hopefully, helping democracy and civil discourse while doing so.” > >A few days later, he was more somber. “I will need to live at Twitter HQ. This is a super tough situation. Really bumming me out :( Sleep is difficult.” He was having doubts about taking on such a messy challenge. “I’ve got a bad habit of biting off more than I can chew,” he admitted in a long talk with me one night. “I think I just need to think about Twitter less. Even this conversation right now is not time well spent.” > >Revelations from a whistle-blower and others had inflamed his conviction that Twitter had been lying about the number of actual users and that his original offer of $44 billion was too much. He wanted a better deal. Throughout September, he was on the phone with his lawyers three or four times a day. Sometimes he was in an aggressive mood and insisted that they could beat the lawsuit that Twitter had filed in Delaware seeking to force him to go through with his first offer. “They are shitting bricks about the dumpster fire they’re in,” he said of the Twitter board. “I cannot believe that the judge will railroad the deal through. It would not pass muster with the public.” > >His lawyers finally convinced him that he would lose the case if they took it to trial. It was best just to close the deal on the original terms. By that point Musk had even regained some of his enthusiasm about taking over the company. “Arguably, I should just pay full price, because these people running Twitter are such blockheads and idiots,” he told me in late September. “The potential is so great. There are so many things I could fix.” He agreed to an official closing of the deal in October. > >Musk scheduled a visit to Twitter in San Francisco for Wednesday, Oct. 26, to poke around and prepare for the official closing of the deal, which was scheduled for that Friday. He seemed amazed as he wandered around the headquarters, which was in a 10-story Art Deco former merchandise mart built in 1937. It had been renovated in a tech-hip style with coffee bars, yoga studio, fitness room and game arcades. The cavernous ninth-floor cafe served free meals ranging from artisanal hamburgers to vegan salads. The signs on the restrooms said “Gender diversity is welcome here,” and as Musk poked through cabinets filled with stashes of Twitter-branded merchandise, he found T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Stay woke,” which he waved around as an example of the mindset that he believed had infected the company. > >Between Twitterland and the Muskverse there was a radical divergence in outlook. Twitter prided itself on being a friendly place where coddling was considered a virtue. “We were definitely very high-empathy, very caring about inclusion and diversity; everyone needs to feel safe here,” says Leslie Berland, who was chief marketing and people officer until she was fired by Musk. The company had instituted a permanent work-from-home option and allowed a mental “day of rest” each month. One of the commonly used buzzwords at the company was “psychological safety.” Care was taken not to cause discomfort. > >Musk let loose a bitter laugh when he heard the phrase “psychological safety.” It made him recoil. He considered it to be the enemy of urgency, progress, orbital velocity. His preferred buzzword was “hardcore.” Discomfort, he believed, was a good thing. It was a weapon against the scourge of complacency. Vacations, work-life balance and days of “mental rest” were not his thing. > >He became amused and then repulsed by how Twitter’s iconic blue bird logo was plastered everywhere. He is not a chirpy person; he relishes dark and stormy drama rather than chipper and light chattiness. “All these damn birds have to go,” he told a lieutenant. > >The closing of the Twitter deal had been scheduled for that Friday. An orderly transition had been scripted for the opening of the stock market that morning. The money would transfer, the stock would be delisted, and Musk would be in control. That would permit Agrawal and his top Twitter deputies to collect severance and have their stock options vest. > >But Musk decided that he did not want that. On the afternoon before the scheduled close he methodically planned a jiu-jitsu maneuver: He would force a fast close that night. If his lawyers and bankers timed everything right, he could fire Agrawal and other top Twitter executives “for cause” before their stock options could vest. > >It was audacious, even ruthless. But it was justified in Musk’s mind because of his conviction that Twitter’s management had misled him. “There’s a 200-million differential in the cookie jar between closing tonight and doing it tomorrow morning,” he told me late Thursday afternoon in the war room as the plan unfolded. > >At 4:12 p.m. Pacific time, once they had confirmation that the money had transferred, Musk pulled the trigger to close the deal. At precisely that moment, his assistant delivered letters of dismissal to Agrawal and his top three officers. Six minutes later, Musk’s top security officer came down to the second-floor conference room to say that all had been “exited” from the building and their access to email cut off. > >The instant email cutoff was part of the plan. Agrawal had his letter of resignation, citing the change of control, ready to send. But when his Twitter email was cut off, it took him a few minutes to get the document into a Gmail message. By that point, he had already been fired by Musk. > >“He tried to resign,” Musk said. > >“But we beat him,” his gunslinging lawyer Alex Spiro replied. :::
fedilink

Element X preview is now on Android too!
[archive.org](https://web.archive.org/web/20230906215721/https://element.io/blog/element-x-android-preview/) >Psst… don’t tell anyone, but: Android development on Element X has now caught up with iOS and we’ve released an early edition of Element X in the Google Play Store. > >Since we published our first release of Element X for iOS on the App Store in July, we’ve been swamped with Android users asking how to get involved too; and so now we’re officially making Element X goodness available on both platforms. > >As a reminder, Element X is the fastest Matrix client ever - up to 6000x faster than any other Matrix client; and aims to be not just the best Matrix client, but the best messaging app in the world; better than Telegram, WhatsApp, iMessage and other mainstream messaging apps. > >In particular, Element X provides instant launch, instant sync and instant login (once your account is warmed up). It also has a far cleaner - more intuitive - interface, making it quicker and delightful to use. Under the hood, we’ve rewritten the engine of the app in Rust, giving spectacular performance and sharing reliability between both iOS & Android. > >![](https://lemmy.ca/pictrs/image/ba79be82-1e9f-498c-9e39-943d834ce9be.png) > >Now, today’s release isn’t finished yet; it focuses on messaging rather than collaboration use cases (so no filters, threads or spaces), encryption UI isn’t finished, and account registration and management isn’t hooked up yet. However, it’s still very usable as a daily driver for experienced users, and so this is intended as a preview to let more early adopters play with the app as soon as possible (and see how well it performs in the wild!). Meanwhile we’ll be following up with a much broader release once account management is in place in a few weeks. > >To use Element X you need a homeserver with sliding sync support (e.g. matrix.org). Support in Element Cloud is coming shortly, and much much more - watch this space! Please let us know how you get on at #element-x-android, and please submit feedback from within the app if you hit any bugs.
fedilink

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/4549425 > [^archive.org^](http://web.archive.org/web/20230903124918/https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/square-enix-confirms-final-fantasy-16-pc-version-and-dlc-plans/) > >Square Enix has officially announced a PC version of Final Fantasy 16 is in development, in addition to two pieces of paid DLC. > > > >More details will be shared on Square Enix’s plans for Final Fantasy 16 for PC before the end of the year, it said. > > > >Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida shared the news during a PAX West panel on Saturday, along with news that a significant update has released for the PlayStation 5 version. > > > >“It’s been just over two months since Final Fantasy XVI’s release and we’ve received an enormous amount of feedback from players around the world,” Yoshida said via a pre-recorded video. > > > >“The development team and I have also been watching your videos and streams, paying special attention to what everyone thinks of Final Fantasy XVI. We put our all into creating this game, so it’s a real joy to see so many different reactions. > > > >“And so as an expression of our sincerest gratitude, we are releasing a free update available for download today.” > > > >The full patch notes for the new update can be found embedded below. Yoshida highlighted the fact that it’s added new controller layouts, a weapon skin feature allowing players to change the appearance of Clive’s weapon, and alternate outfits for Clive, Jill, Torgal, Ambrosia and Joshua. > > > >“As I mentioned earlier, we’ve seen so many opinions and reactions from our community of Final Fantasy XVI players,” Yoshida continued. “But one thing that came through particularly strongly was how people wanted to see more of Valisthea’s story and spend more time with her inhabitants. > > > >“To accommodate, the development team has started work on two instalments of paid DLC. > > > >“Finally, while Final Fantasy XVI was released as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, we are aware that many of you have been asking for a PC version. So allow me to take this opportunity to officially announce that development on a PC version is currently underway. > > > >“I hope to be able to give you more information on both the DLC and the PC version before the end of this year, so please stay tuned.” > > > >Final Fantasy 16 was released for PS5 in June, and Square Enix claimed that it would remain exclusive to Sony’s console for at least the remainder of the calendar year. > > > >Prior to the game’s release, Yoshida said he’d like to see a PC version of the game released “eventually”. > > > >“First of all, it is true that Final Fantasy 16 is a six-month limited time exclusive on the PS5 platform,” he told the Japanese PlayStation Blog. “However, it is a completely different story that the PC version will be released in half a year. I will make it clear, but the PC version will not come out in half a year. > > > >“This is because we spent a lot of time and money optimizing the PS5 platform to deliver the best gaming experience. Of course, I would like to release a PC version at some point so that everyone can play as many games as possible. > > > >“However, even if we start optimizing the PC version after the PS5 version comes out, we won’t be able to optimize it in half a year, so it won’t come out in a short span of half a year. I would like to release it eventually, and I think I will, but I am not at the stage where I can say when.”
fedilink

^[archive.org](https://web.archive.org/web/20230823173417/https://blog.bioware.com/2023/08/23/an-update-on-the-state-of-bioware/)^ > Hello again, > > Today, rather than discuss one of our upcoming projects, I’d like to share an update about the studio itself and outline our vision for BioWare’s future. > > In order to meet the needs of our upcoming projects, continue to hold ourselves to the highest standard of quality, and ensure BioWare can continue to thrive in an industry that’s rapidly evolving, we must shift towards a more agile and more focused studio. It will allow our developers to iterate quickly, unlock more creativity, and form a clear vision of what we’re building before development ramps up. > > To achieve this, we find ourselves in a position where change is not only necessary, but unavoidable. As difficult as this is to say, rethinking our approach to development inevitably means reorganizing our team to match the studio’s changing needs. > > As part of this transition, we are eliminating approximately 50 roles at BioWare. That is deeply painful and humbling to write. We are doing everything we can to ensure the process is handled with empathy, respect, and clear communication. With that last point in mind, I want to take a moment to explain how we got here, what we’re doing to support our colleagues, and what this means for BioWare’s current and future games. > > # WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW > > After much consideration and careful planning, we have built a long-term vision that will preserve the health of the studio and better enable us to do what we do best: create exceptional story-driven single-player experiences filled with vast worlds and rich characters. This vision balances the current needs of the studio—namely, ensuring Dragon Age™: Dreadwolf is an outstanding game—with its future, including the success of the next Mass Effect™. > > We’ve chosen to act now in part to provide our impacted colleagues with as many internal opportunities as possible. These changes coincide with a significant number of roles that are currently open across EA’s other studios. Impacted employees will be provided with professional resources and assistance as they apply for these positions. > > While it’s unlikely that everyone will find a new role within the company, we are committed to supporting our staff as they navigate this change. Our sincere hope is that they can continue their exemplary work at studios who stand to benefit immensely from their talents. > > # IMMEDIATE IMPACT > > If you’re wondering how all of this will impact development of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, let me be clear that our dedication to the game has never wavered. Our commitment remains steadfast, and we all are working to make this game worthy of the Dragon Age name. We are confident that we’ll have the time needed to ensure Dreadwolf reaches its full potential. > > I can also tell you that every member of our team, even those departing BioWare, deserves credit for crafting a spectacular experience. These are our colleagues and friends, and we would not be here without them. I am so proud of all the work our team has done. > > # WHAT COMES NEXT > > While this is an extremely difficult day for everyone at BioWare, we are making changes now to build a brighter future. We’re excited for all of you to see what we’ve been building with Dreadwolf. A core veteran team led by Mike Gamble continues their pre-production work on the next Mass Effect. Our commitment to quality continues to be our North Star. > > As cliche as this sounds, there truly is never a good time to enact changes like this, but we trust that we have the right leaders and team in place with vision, passion, and proven track records to deliver world-class Dragon Age and Mass Effect experiences that our fans will love. > > For now, I want to thank everyone at BioWare—past and present—for making the studio what it is. I also want to thank our community for your continued support. We’re eager to reveal more about Dreadwolf, and we look forward to discovering what else the future holds. > > Gary McKay\ > General Manager, BioWare
fedilink

Linus responds to The Problem with LMG
[Context](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGW3TPytTjc)[^piped^](https://piped.video/FGW3TPytTjc)^-^[^invidious^](https://inv.tux.pizza/watch?v=FGW3TPytTjc)^-^[^lemmy^](https://beehaw.org/post/7146382) > There won't be a big WAN Show segment about this or anything. Most of what I have to say, I've already said, and I've done so privately.\ > To Steve, I expressed my disappointment that he didn't go through proper journalistic practices in creating this piece. He has my email and number (along with numerous other members of our team) and could have asked me for context that may have proven to be valuable (like the fact that we didn't 'sell' the monoblock, but rather auctioned it for charity due to a miscommunication... AND the fact that while we haven't sent payment yet, we have already agreed to compensate Billet Labs for the cost of their prototype). There are other issues, but I've told him that I won't be drawn into a public sniping match over this and that I'll be continuing to move forward in good faith as part of 'Team Media'. When/if he's ready to do so again I'll be ready.\ > To my team (and my CEO's team, but realistically I was at the helm for all of these errors, so I need to own it), I stressed the importance of diligence in our work because there are so many eyes on us. We are going through some growing pains - we've been very public about them in the interest of transparency - and it's clear we have some work to do on internal processes and communication. We have already been doing a lot of work internally to clean up our processes, but these things take time. Rome wasn't built in a day, but that's no excuse for sloppiness.\ > Now, for my community, all I can say is the same things I always say. We know that we're not perfect. We wear our imperfection on our sleeves in the interest of ensuring that we stay accountable to you. But it's sad and unfortunate when this transparency gets warped into a bad thing. The Labs team is hard at work hard creating processes and tools to generate data that will benefit all consumers - a work in progress that is very much not done and that we've communicated needs to be treated as such. Do we have notes under some videos? Yes. Is it because we are striving for transparency/improvement? Yeah... What we're doing hasn't been in many years, if ever.. and we would make a much larger correction if the circumstances merited it. Listing the wrong amount of cache on a table for a CPU review is sloppy, but given that our conclusions are drawn based on our testing, not the spec sheet, it doesn't materially change the recommendation. That doesn't mean these things don't matter. We've set KPIs for our writing/labs team around accuracy, and we are continually installing new checks and balances to ensure that things continue to get better. If you haven't seen the improvement, frankly I wonder if you're really looking for it... The thoroughness that we managed on our last handful of GPU videos is getting really incredible given the limited time we have for these embargoes. I'm REALLY excited about what the future will hold.\ > With all of that said, I still disagree that the Billet Labs video (not the situation with the return, which I've already addressed above) is an 'accuracy' issue. It's more like I just read the room wrong. We COULD have re-tested it with perfect accuracy, but to do so PROPERLY - accounting for which cases it could be installed in (none) and which radiators it would be plumbed with (again... mystery) would have been impossible... and also didn't affect the conclusion of the video... OR SO I THOUGHT...\ > I wanted to evaluate it as a product, and as a product, IF it could manage to compete with the temperatures of the highest end blocks on the planet, it still wouldn't make sense to buy... so from my point of view, re-testing it and finding out that yes, it did in fact run cooler made no difference to the conclusion, so it didn't really make a difference.\ > Adam and I were talking about this today. He advocated for re-testing it regardless of how non-viable it was as a product at the time and I think he expressed really well today why it mattered. It was like making a video about a supercar. It doesn't mater if no one watching will buy it. They just wanna see it rip. I missed that, but it wasn't because I didn't care about the consumer.. it was because I was so focused on how this product impacted a potential buyer. Either way, clearly my bad, but my intention was never to harm Billet Labs. I specifically called out their incredible machining skills because I wanted to see them create something with a viable market for it and was hoping others would appreciate the fineness of the craftsmanship even if the product was impractical. I still hope they move forward building something else because they obviously have talent and I've watched countless niche water cooling vendors come and go. It's an astonishingly unforgiving market.\ > Either way, I'm sorry I got the community's priorities mixed-up on this one, and that we didn't show the Billet in the best light. Our intention wasn't to hurt anyone. We wanted no one to buy it (because it's an egregious waste of money no matter what temps it runs at) and we wanted Billet to make something marketable (so they can, y'know, eat).\ > With all of this in mind, it saddens me how quickly the pitchforks were raised over this. It also comes across a touch hypocritical when some basic due diligence could have helped clarify much of it. I have a LONG history of meeting issues head on and I've never been afraid to answer questions, which lands me in hot water regularly, but helps keep me in tune with my peers and with the community. The only reason I can think of not to ask me is because my honest response might be inconvenient.\ > We can test that... with this post. Will the "It was a mistake (a bad one, but a mistake) and they're taking care of it" reality manage to have the same reach? Let's see if anyone actually wants to know what happened. I hope so, but it's been disheartening seeing how many people were willing to jump on us here. Believe it or not, I'm a real person and so is the rest of my team. We are trying our best, and if what we were doing was easy, everyone would do it. Today sucks.\ > Thanks for reading this.^[https://linustechtips.com/topic/1526180-gamers-nexus-alleges-lmg-has-insufficient-ethics-and-integrity/page/16/#comment-16078641; [archive](https://web.archive.org/web/20230815031007/https://linustechtips.com/topic/1526180-gamers-nexus-alleges-lmg-has-insufficient-ethics-and-integrity/page/16/)] Check LinusTech's profile for further discussion and comments he's had.^[https://linustechtips.com/profile/3-linustech/; [archive](https://web.archive.org/web/20230815042629/https://linustechtips.com/profile/3-linustech/)]
fedilink

[HELP] vaultwarden+cloudflared with docker compose
I'm used to cloudflared CLI, and would prefer to keep the config files server-side. My docker-compose.yml file is: ```YAML version: '3.9' services: vaultwarden: image: vaultwarden/server:latest container_name: vaultwarden restart: always environment: - WEBSOCKET_ENABLED=true volumes: - ./vw-data:/data tunnel: container_name: cloudflared-tunnel image: cloudflare/cloudflared restart: always command: tunnel --config /etc/.cloudflared/config.yml run volumes: - ./cloudflared:/etc/.cloudflared ``` My config.yml is: ```YAML tunnel: [tunnelid] credentials-file: /etc/.cloudflared/[tunnelid].json ingress: - hostname: [mydomain] service: http://localhost:80 - service: http_status:404 ``` I've noticed online people setting an env variable TUNNEL_TOKEN, but since I'm using self-hosted files, my token is a cert.pem. Another issue however is that when I run this and try to browse to the page, I get the error `ERR Request failed error="Unable to reach the origin service. The service may be down or it may not be responding to traffic from cloudflared: dial tcp 127.0.0.1:80: connect: connection refused`. Any assistance would be beloved ♥
fedilink



Postal Devs ask fans to pirate games instead of using key resellers, giving explicit permission to fans
Running With Scissors: > Key reselling websites hurt indie developers like us. There are many ways to obtain our games and we STILL prefer piracy over people buying from those websites.\ > Illegaly obtained keys are a source of money for scammers and it could even affect you as the customer in some cases. NiX: > I love you guys and postal series, but I’m not made of money, if I can get a game for cheaper I’d rather pay less than more. Running With Scissors: > Which is why we're telling you to pirate our games instead of paying a scammer who will cost us money and probably even get your key revoked\ > Our games are cheap right now through official sites. Is saving a few cents worth lowering the chances for releasing another POSTAL game? NiX: > Isn’t pirating illegal? You want your fans get fines and shit? Now they are on sale so I might pick up some but normally i still rather get the game of g2a for cheaper Running With Scissors: > You can't get fines if the owners of the IP give you permission to download.\ > Just know that by getting on G2A, we not only get no money, we also have to pay for the chargeback, that's the core of the problem and it means no new games in the future and no more RWS
fedilink

> Thousands of Reddit communities [are still dark](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/15/23762103/reddit-protest-api-changes-indefinite) in protest of the API changes that are forcing some third-party developers to shut down their apps. It’s a startling change for many members of the Reddit community, but it’s one that Reddit CEO Steve Huffman tells The Verge that he’s fine with making. Those third-party apps, in his eyes, aren’t adding much value to the platform. > “So the vast majority of the uses of the API — not [third-party apps like Apollo for Reddit] — the other 98 percent of them, make tools, bots, enhancements to Reddit. That’s what the API is for,” Huffman says. “It was never designed to support third-party apps.” According to Huffman, he “let it exist,” and “I should take the blame for that because I was the guy arguing for that for a long time.” > Huffman now takes issue with the third-party apps that are building a business on top of his own. “I didn’t know — and this is my fault — the extent that they were profiting off of our API. That these were not charities.” > I asked him if he felt that Apollo, rif for Reddit, and Sync, which all plan to shut down as a result of the pricing changes, don’t add value to Reddit. “Not as much as they take,” he says. “No way.” > I also asked if Huffman truly believes that the blackouts haven’t impacted his decision-making around the API pricing changes at all. “In this case? That’s true,” says Huffman. “That’s our business decision, and we’re not undoing that business decision.” > We’ll have more from our interview with Huffman soon. > While the company does “respect the community’s right to protest” and pledges that it won’t force communities to reopen, Reddit also suggests there’s no need for that; more than 80 percent of the top 5,000 communities by daily active users are now open, according to [a fact sheet shared by the company on Thursday](https://www.redditinc.com/blog/https-www.redditinc.com-apifacts). In the fact sheet, Reddit writes that there are more than 100,000 “active communities,” that the company sees 57 million “daily active uniques,” and that there are more than 50,000 daily active moderators. > Reddit users have been in revolt after Apollo for Reddit developer Christian Selig revealed [at the end of May](https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/31/23743993/reddit-apollo-client-api-cost) that he’d be on the hook for $20 million per year under Reddit’s new terms. At the height of the protests last week, more than [8,000 subreddits](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/13/23759634/8472-subreddits-have-gone-dark) had gone dark, and even though the protests were only supposed to last from June 12th to June 14th, [many have extended their blackouts](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/15/23762103/reddit-protest-api-changes-indefinite). > There are some cases focused around accessibility where [Reddit has made exceptions](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/7/23752804/reddit-exempt-accessibility-apps-api-pricing-changes) to allow apps to continue operating. “The ones that actually are doing good for our users — RedReader, Dystopia, Luna — like actually adding real value at their own cost? We’ve exempted,” Huffman says. “We’ll carry that cost.”
fedilink

::: spoiler I can't find the source, the the original was this ![](https://lemmy.ca/pictrs/image/0e37095a-600e-4e58-948c-6996769ffc08.png) :::
fedilink

Privacy Evaluation - Reddit App is worse than Facebook, Tiktok, Snapchat, Instagram
## For comparison [Facebook's evaluation](https://privacy.commonsense.org/evaluation/Facebook)\ [Tiktok's](https://privacy.commonsense.org/evaluation/TikTok---Real-Short-Videos)\ [Snapchat's](https://privacy.commonsense.org/evaluation/Snapchat)\ [Instagram](https://privacy.commonsense.org/evaluation/instagram) # Evaluation contents for Reddit: Score: 52% Warning\ [Methodology](https://privacy.commonsense.org/resource/privacy-ratings) > **Overview** > Reddit is a popular platform that enables users to post, ask questions, and discuss anything. The terms provide that information posted by users is generally publicly accessible by anyone, even those without a Reddit account. The Privacy Policy clearly discloses the categories of personal information collected, including email addresses, IP addresses, and cookie information. While the Privacy Policy states that Reddit shares personal information with third parties, it does not state what information is shared. The terms clearly state that personalized advertisements are displayed to Reddit’s users. The Privacy Policy fails to address whether third parties are required to provide the same level of security protections as Reddit when processing and storing users’ personal information. The terms state that no one under the age of 13 is allowed to use Reddit’s services. > Reddit can be accessed through its website, and is available for download at the iOS App Store, and the Google Play Store. The Privacy Policy and User Agreement used for this evaluation can be found on Reddit’s website, iOS App Store, and the Google Play Store. Additionally, other policies used for this evaluation include: Content Policy. This evaluation only considers policies that have been made publicly available prior to an individual using the application or service. > **Safety** > The terms provide that “much of the information on the Services is public and accessible to everyone, even without an account. By using the Services, you are directing us to share this information publicly and freely.” While, the terms further state that Reddit has no obligation to screen, edit, or monitor user content, the User Agreements allows “Moderators” to voluntarily monitor user posts of specific groups. Likewise, Reddit provides the Moderator Guidelines for Healthy Communities as a recommended list of objectives to follow as a Moderator. The terms do not clearly state whether users can control how their personal information is displayed to others. Privacy > The Privacy Policy discloses that Reddit collects personal information including names, email addresses, IP addresses, and location. Furthermore, the Privacy Policy states that Reddit automatically collects usage and behavioral activity. The terms do not clearly indicate whether the company limits the collection to only information that is specifically required for Reddit’s Services. The Privacy Policy includes a clear section disclosing the personal information collected by third parties, including information collected by Embedded Third Party content, Advertisers and Potential Advertisers, and Linked services. The Privacy Policy fails to disclose what personal information is shared with third parties but states that Reddit does not sell personal information to third parties. The Privacy Policy clearly indicates Reddit’s purpose for sharing users’ personal information with third parties. The Privacy Policy discloses that third party cookies may use information collected from cookies to build a profile of users’ interests and deliver advertising to the user on other sites. > The Privacy Policy states that a user can manage and control certain choices with regard to third party advertising and analytics, and further discloses that the user can generally opt out of receiving personalized advertisements from certain third-party advertisers and ad networks. > Security > The Privacy Policy provides that Reddit implements reasonable security measures to protect users’ confidentiality. The Privacy Policy provides users a method for enabling two-factor authentication. The Privacy Policy fails to address whether Reddit encrypts all user data while in storage. The terms state that before Reddit processes a privacy rights request concerning a users’ personal information, that Reddit must verify the request with access to the users’ Reddit account or to a verified email address associated with the Reddit Account. > **Compliance** > The terms state that the users can create and upload content to Reddit. The Privacy Policy provides that users may designate an authorized agent to exercise privacy rights on behalf of the user. The Privacy Policy provides users with the privacy rights of: accessing and changing personal information, delete personal information, and delete the user’s account. The Privacy Policy does not address whether users can download or export their personal information. While the terms state that no one under the age of 13 may use Reddit’s services, the terms fail to provide whether Reddit knows it collects information from children under the age of 13, or whether Reddit deletes personal information from children under the age of 13 if collected without parental consent.
fedilink

What does the Report button do?
I know it sends notification of the report, reason, post, w/e to mods, but is it to just community mods, or also *your* instance mods and/or the community's instance mods and/or the reported person's instances mods?
fedilink

[Solved]Cloudflare 502 on Self-Hosted Owncast Server
Okay, so I followed some guides starting with [this one that uses CLI](https://yewtu.be/watch?v=hrwoKO7LMzk) but then ended up roughly-following [this Docker guide](https://www.crosstalksolutions.com/cloudflare-tunnel-easy-setup/). I'm running Ubuntu so I had to figure some things myself. My SSL settings are set to encryption mode full, my tunnel settings are as follows\ ![](https://lemmy.ca/pictrs/image/3c53b946-57f3-44bb-a2be-76871a886be0.png) ![](https://lemmy.ca/pictrs/image/bce74f01-431c-4e73-a5b2-e71d0c457dc1.png) My Owncast server is set up to 30050 and I can even connect fine through external IP, but Cloudflare's not cooperating. When I connect via my hostname, I get a 502 error, and on the server side I get the following errors: ``` ERR error="Unable to reach the origin service. The service may be down or it may not be responding to traffic from cloudflared: dial tcp 127.0.0.1:30050: connect: connection refused" cfRay=7d6fe3954bcd5419-YYZ event=1 ingressRule=0 originService=http://127.0.0.1:30050/ ERR Request failed error="Unable to reach the origin service. The service may be down or it may not be responding to traffic from cloudflared: dial tcp 127.0.0.1:30050: connect: connection refused" connIndex=1 dest=https://live.ramram.ink/favicon.ico event=0 ip=198.41.192.7 type=http ``` I also confirmed that on the local machine, running curl 127.0.0.1:30050 works fine.
fedilink

Online Commentator’s take on the ongoing enshittification of the internet (Discord’s next)
>Twitter, Reddit and Discord are simultaneously going to shit - because enshittification is what happens when suddenly money isn't free any more and borrowing carries an interest rate > The fediverse is not very well connected suburbs, good for what it is but doesn't do the same job > bsky is gonna do its own fediverse (with beer and shitcoins) and it's fun right now as a single instance with good users, but the staff are the sort of barely-crypto-reactionary free speech warriors who will never block the nazi instances > [youth pastor voice] you know, there's someone else who talked about the tendency of the rate of profit to fall > EDIT: to clarify: Discord is ticking along for now, but they hired some ex-Facebook execs, employees are in revolt and the org is hollowing out. hence (a) bad decisions (b) glitching https://archive.is/fI3hq
fedilink

LibRedirect - A web extension that redirects sites like Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube to privacy friendly alternative frontends.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/625644 > Personally use this tool on a daily basis. YMMV wrt the frontends provided, but I use it as my daily driver to help me evade Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube's tracking of everything I do.
fedilink

LibRedirect - A web extension that redirects sites like Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube to privacy friendly alternative frontends.
Personally use this tool on a daily basis. YMMV wrt the frontends provided, but I use it as my daily driver to help me evade Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube's tracking of everything I do.
fedilink

PSA: make an effort to comment in non-reddit stuff too
I don't want to come off as preachy, and I love the waves of new users. I'm just concerned about the stability of the Lemmy userbase if the highest commented posts stay "I'm leaving reddit" and "things reddit did" type threads. This is something I also need to work on aha, but it's really important to be active in topics and activities you're interested in outside being a (potentially former) redditor. Happy lemming, friends!
fedilink