Ian Betteridge

Journalist, anecdontalist. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. There is no future in England's dreaming.

Public Key

npub1etd9hnt8wj65tx5jydf9sfa56tp7l9rw8dgq2ar0gqyad45qtrrq5w8yx6

NIP-05 Address

ianbetteridge_at_writing.exchange@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsv4kjme4nhfd29n2fzx5jcy76d9sl0j3hrk5q9w3h5qzwk66q933sexhugc

Author Public Key

npub1etd9hnt8wj65tx5jydf9sfa56tp7l9rw8dgq2ar0gqyad45qtrrq5w8yx6

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Last Notes

2024-06-07 09:40:36

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@npub186u…nqw7 Well there is that

2024-06-07 09:02:07

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It's just a massive own-goal which will probably undo much of the gains he might have made with elderly voters from the national service nonsense. "Remembering the fallen" is a bit of a religion for that demographic – and Sunak just ignored it. Wow.

2024-06-07 09:01:49

Leaving aside all points about policy (and I think everyone knows how I feel about that) Sunak's decision to leave France, avoid a commemoration of D-Day (which Starmer went to!) and come back *to do a recorded interview* show quite how bad at this whole politics thing he is. Truly terrible.

2024-06-06 17:48:37

Whooo! I know what I’m doing this weekend
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/570/932/682/587/220/original/f4dfed14075ad2b5.jpeg

2024-06-05 18:49:44

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@npub1jw3…h3v8 Result!

2024-06-05 17:35:25

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@npub12d9…z92a And it is VERY entertaining!

2024-06-01 17:40:56

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@npub1gj8…jhul Absolutely no, under any circumstances

2024-05-31 21:21:05

Of course a venture capitalist doesn’t believe that corruption should be punished. That would threaten his business too much.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/537/794/232/867/469/original/5a6cb0bc10ba3799.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/537/794/290/171/965/original/fa8bbaa25e9b06ed.jpeg

2024-05-31 21:10:36

In journalism it’s always important to get the local angle
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/537/753/042/445/993/original/4d57ffda268d93f1.jpeg

2024-05-27 16:57:45

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@npub1pcr…tq84 Hopefully nothing so horrific.

2024-05-27 16:55:24

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@npub13zy…3zww Ahh, Kim’s handwriting once again foxes the nation

2024-05-27 16:47:43

The traditional way of testing out a new Apple Pencil.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/514/070/103/091/097/original/5b760282da3fea92.png

2024-05-27 16:43:24

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@npub1vfd…dmff Novel: middle class voyage of discovery. Movie: Cthulhu is in the shed.

2024-05-27 16:38:49

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I guess I will find out at some point. (2/2)

2024-05-27 16:38:48

Round in the side garden there used to be a low, neatly trimmed little hedge, acting as a little break between gardens. Because I haven’t touched it for about four years, it’s become a large unkempt hedge, with brambles growing through it and crawling over the top of the old shed. This week’s job: tame that hedge. The shed used to be my father in laws and is basically untouched - I think I have been in there twice, and have never used it. Lord knows what’s inside. (1/2)

2024-05-27 16:03:45

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@npub12jv…gf8c You can stick with Windows 10 longer, although it will cost you:
https://uk.pcmag.com/migrated-3765-windows-10/150002/microsoft-extends-security-updates-for-windows-10-beyond-2025-for-a-price

2024-05-27 12:00:39

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@npub18x5…fsql Not, of course, if you’re using incognito mode with edge, Firefox, chrome or Opera.

2024-05-27 10:22:59

Now about these options you're presenting me with...
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/512/555/734/069/048/original/5dba2bcfc87cf571.png

2024-05-27 10:14:52

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@npub1cvv…mv8d Another thing I've always said is I can teach almost anyone to write a news story in a day – it's a formula, craft not art. Where the magic happens is when you find out the information to put in it.

2024-05-27 10:01:45

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This is what journalism mostly is: persistently pulling at the thread of something you find, to the point where you know something interesting is going on. It takes time and effort, but anyone can do it – you just need to be methodical. As I always say to new journalists, if you think you're job is writing, you're in for a disappointment.

2024-05-27 10:00:35

There are definitely times when the Urge to do Journalism bites. For example: I'm sat drinking a coffee overlooking Whitstable harbour. There's a ship unloading, and I search for the name. This leads me to find out that it was impounded earlier this year for a bunch of safety violations, and is owned by a reasonably elaborate bunch of shell companies. Probably nothing illegal, but quite a lot of playing "pass the asset" from one company to another.

2024-05-27 09:14:10

Every time Elon Musk has run a software company he’s failed. So of course his VC mates are falling over themselves to give him money for xAI, because VCs make rational decisions.

2024-05-27 09:04:29

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@npub1y9w…4ayf ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

2024-05-27 08:59:31

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@npub1y9w…4ayf Speaking of good things… what’s the plan with iA Writer for Windows? It’s still easily my favourite writing app on that platform.

2024-05-27 08:56:38

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@npub1y9w…4ayf Oh now I’m tempted.

2024-05-26 20:08:51

You know, Bing, these are not the most helpful suggestions for follow on searches for my query about Lenovo Copilot+ PCs.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/509/192/096/779/402/original/affa2bd156e22414.png

2024-05-26 13:22:52

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@npub1lna…86xs That’s the future I want to see in my lifetime

2024-05-26 12:58:25

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@npub1xsy…cevg So, so tempted

2024-05-26 12:54:56

Tempted to write an article headlined "Are LLMs really artificial intelligence?" because... well you know what the answer is.

2024-05-26 10:54:03

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@npub12mc…xdp7 That bird is just so round, it's like birds I would draw when I was three years old. Adorable.

2024-05-26 10:44:38

Someone should probably tell Rishi Sunak that if he seriously believes that young people are being radicalised, teaching them how to shoot modern weapons might not have the outcome he thinks it will.

2024-05-26 10:40:36

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@npub1m95…e2mh I love it (although probably not as much as some of the local cats do)

2024-05-26 10:39:20

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@npub14fx…jp2v It's a really good question! Apparently the answer is "no one really knows".
https://www.dictionary.com/e/cut-the-mustard/

2024-05-26 09:55:26

One of the delights of this time of year: the tiny fledglings working out that you can go into the peanut feeder and just grab food. The little floofball at the top hasn’t got it yet
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/506/786/647/350/559/original/fab6cb782a81e2a2.jpeg

2024-05-26 09:28:56

My fabulous friend Emily is standing for the Green Party in Kettering, and you can contribute to her campaign.
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/green-mp-for-kettering

2024-05-26 09:08:05

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@npub1dpw…tz9l I wrote this mostly as a bit of snark, but the more I think about it the more I think that a voluntary, paid way of people in my age bracket giving something back wouldn’t be a bad idea.

2024-05-26 08:44:14

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@npub1f6a…pnql When it gets things right, it really is magic.

2024-05-26 08:22:28

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@npub1vj2…thgx Green Party member reporting for duty :)

2024-05-26 08:22:02

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@npub1ekp…lvl3 And then taken out the back and given a second one.

2024-05-26 08:19:53

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Also, if "I got us through a World War" wasn't enough to get Churchill elected, it seems a little unlikely that your botched "getting through" the pandemic is going to cut much mustard.

2024-05-26 08:18:45

I haven't really been keeping up with the omnishambles that is the Tory election campaign, so I'm only just finding out that "we got you through Covid" is one of their campaign lines. Sure, you got us through it, by setting rules that you were ignoring at the time to such a degree the PM had to resign.

2024-05-26 08:10:53

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@npub1kx8…0sus Y’reet, youth?

2024-05-26 08:09:56

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@npub1xr9…f2ld In the glasshouse, throwing stones 😀

2024-05-26 08:05:44

I would be much more supportive of compulsory national service for 50-60 year olds. The ones who got free education, affordable housing to buy, etc. It’s about time we gave something back to our country.

2024-05-24 20:15:54

Hey, Copilot, you OK hun?
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/497/897/539/018/014/original/ad835b1514f0adfc.png

2024-05-24 19:29:16

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@npub1yx6…zf5r Point 3 - WAIT what what what?

2024-05-24 19:25:38

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@npub198t…hasj Why did I not know about espanso? NEIL THIS IS YOUR FAULT.

2024-05-24 18:58:17

Curry sweats are the best sweats

2024-05-24 17:31:17

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@npub13h2…fr8q And I did, loudly and longly.

2024-05-24 17:30:36

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@npub1ssd…gd7s Nowhere near enough.

2024-05-24 17:30:25

I'm playing with using Orion, the webkit-based browser made by Kagi. So far it's pretty impressive. Mac/iOS only at the moment, but they're planning a Linux version too
https://orionfeedback.org/d/6363-orion-for-linux

2024-05-24 12:31:21

Oh and if people could stop saying interesting things to me for about four hours I would greatly appreciate it.

2024-05-24 12:27:52

Can I just have a small moment to swear about websites which only work properly on Chromium based browsers? Can I?

2024-05-24 12:13:24

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@npub1cvv…mv8d Tick, tick and tick again!

2024-05-24 12:13:12

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@npub1527…eh7n At the moment I just remove the search bar from any Windows machine I use, becuase search is so bad it's a waste of space.

2024-05-24 12:12:36

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@npub1skz…mvht Whoa, I cannot tell you how bad that is as a default behaviour for password fields. I would run a mile.

2024-05-24 12:11:45

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@npub1qrq…fnks And you are right to be suspicious

2024-05-24 11:49:53

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@npub1pre…99k7 It's a good question, and I think points to another important point: the over-use of “AI”. If a system can't learn, it's not machine learning.

2024-05-24 11:48:26

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@npub16u7…uend Absolutely not trusting of MS. But neither am I going to dive in and *assume* that a tech works in a particular way without that tech being in my (and more qualified others) hands.

2024-05-24 11:24:10

People: "Machine learning needs to be entirely local and controlled by the user, not done in the cloud!”
Microsoft: “Here's a machine learning system that's entirely local and controllable by the user”
People: "Not like that".
(Snarky comment, but a serious point: machine learning *should* be local, not cloud based, and it *should* be controllable by the user. This *can be* useful tech. Do I trust MS to do it “well enough”? Nope. Is it still a step forward that it can be done? Yep.)

2024-05-24 08:52:26

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@npub1vg3…fvc9 yeah, totally. Anything which uses even basic machine learning algos is now “AI”.

2024-05-24 08:48:02

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@npub154q…evek Yup. "What’s our AI strategy?" is the new “what's our Blockchain strategy?”

2024-05-24 08:47:22

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@npub1y30…ja63 Don't get me started. When I rant about this, there are a lot of “AND ANOTHER THING" moments.

2024-05-24 08:39:46

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@npub1y5h…7m3c Got to get those VC dollars!

2024-05-24 08:39:25

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@npub12zn…z0zw I am looking forward to someone doing this.

2024-05-24 08:39:15

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@npub1y30…ja63 WELL... not if you talk to the youth, who all thing LLMs when you say "AI”

2024-05-24 08:34:02

The funny thing about Microsoft's new Recall feature is how little actual "AI" it's doing. It's basically just making automatic screen captures, then running OCR and image recognition to create a semantic index you can search. Unless I'm missing something, there's no LLM (or small language model) used in it. Maybe in parsing queries?

2024-05-24 08:13:08

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@npub1tzk…phly Just the standard stuff that comes with Wordpress.com (I don't self-host)

2024-05-22 08:38:51

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@npub17nv…6ykh I'm a bit baffled by the passwords thing. It's not a keylogger, so you would have to be showing a password in plaintext on screen for it to be readable. How often does someone do that?

2024-05-22 08:35:27

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@npub12jc…a4uc Well exactly.

2024-05-22 07:40:57

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@npub199l…vjgv I totally have to visit sometime.

2024-05-22 07:26:27

This is just such a weird reading of this. The data is encrypted AND if you have Windows 11 Pro, also protected by Bitlocker. You would have to be parsing the sentence pretty oddly to read it as "not encrypted on Windows Home".
Maybe this is a privacy PITA, but writing breathless pieces based on press releases is just silly. Let experts pick it apart when they have their hands on it.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/483/539/592/066/328/original/4e06db0fd3d221b5.png

2024-05-19 14:38:05

Well that’s quite pretty
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/468/261/603/653/700/original/9a5a7a3dc1b9877a.jpeg

2024-05-19 14:36:33

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@npub1e2p…ljvc “Get this damn hippie off there! I didn’t come for some gooder!”

2024-05-17 11:39:03

There's a wonderful tone which the seriously Christian* take when scolding someone who thinks their very conservative views = the heart of Christianity. This is that tone.
(*That's people who take the teaching of Christ seriously, who focus on peace and tolerance, rather than BURN THE UNBELIEVERS)
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/456/226/103/202/731/original/97c736a20645000a.jpg

2024-05-16 07:36:41

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@npub13y8…hxk4 WELL... I would say Google enabled it, publishers created it. No one made us move to a free/maximum ads model. Some went down the paid subscriber model and have done well from it.

2024-05-16 07:33:51

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@npub1g53…wrrc I would worry about AI lying if humans weren't also absolute masters at it.

2024-05-15 07:35:44

"Google will now do the Googling for you, and everyone who benefited from humans doing the Googling will very soon need to come up with a Plan B." Spot on, and what I've been saying for a while.
https://www.platformer.news/google-io-ai-search-sundar-pichai/

2024-05-14 17:58:33

If you’re in publisher SEO and the Google IO demos aren’t making you consider a new career, you’re probably not paying attention…

2024-05-12 08:20:28

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@npub18jk…gark aww thank you!

2024-05-12 06:48:22

WELL
https://www.instagram.com/p/C61VHqdIlb6/?img_index=1

2024-05-11 10:32:15

"But does it run Linux?" #OldNerdJokes
https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/10/24153897/dell-xps-qualcomm-snapdragon-x-elite-leak

2024-05-11 10:04:15

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@npub17er…ht66 Oh totally. DHH is a complete asshat. But the points made about the ad are correct.

2024-05-10 12:20:17

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@npub14gd…7cgr Entirely accurate 😀

2024-05-10 10:50:30

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@npub1fg4…22tg Tneir record is highly mixed. iPhones tend to get used a long time (my old iPhone 10 is still in use by one of my relatives!). But their anti-repair practices are appalling.

2024-05-10 10:32:50

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@npub1fg4…22tg Professed quite often. Real? Well….

2024-05-10 08:44:37

I think is spot on. The culture has changed (and Apple doesn’t see it). But also Apple’s place in the culture has changed and it is just another tech giant. I would argue, though, that’s down to Apple itself, and its behaviour. https://daringfireball.net/linked/2024/05/09/dhh-crush

2024-05-09 22:21:35

This ad was all “lemmings” and no “1984”
(And you really need to know your Apple marketing history to get that…)
https://9to5mac.com/2024/05/09/ipad-pro-crush-ad-apology/

2024-05-09 15:40:37

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@npub12ks…kf3h 🫣

2024-05-09 15:35:07

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@npub12ks…kf3h What have they done now?

2024-05-09 07:08:13

Possibly my favourite Steve Albini story. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/sep/30/steve-albini-rant-about-dance-music-turned-into-billboard

2024-05-08 17:03:15

Nooooo
https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/may/08/steve-albini-us-alt-rock-musician-and-producer-dies-aged-61

2024-05-07 21:11:27

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@npub1zfn…ke9v 1871?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan_Act

2024-05-07 20:05:50

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@npub1txd…txmn Of course, there actually is a minifig.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/401/602/588/259/288/original/fc250e6686d3eba6.jpeg

2024-05-07 20:03:59

Worth noting: “tandem OLED” isn’t an Apple thing. In fact, those screens have been around a couple of years, mostly being using in automotive where the long life, brightness and lack of burn-in are really valuable. I *think* the iPad Pro is the first device to use it outside of cars, though.
https://www.oled-info.com/apple-aims-adopt-tandem-oleds-its-next-ipad-pro-tablets

2024-05-07 19:54:24

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@npub1qdf…wn0r It’s the fringe. I can’t resist the fringe.

2024-05-07 19:52:35

Lord help me I’m watching “Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”. Easily the worst of the series. But hey Cate Blanchett.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/401/550/462/156/659/original/3b8cb97f0da1a156.jpeg

2024-05-07 19:26:29

This is such a lovely thing to listen to.
https://music.apple.com/gb/album/reynardine-feat-sam-hall/1696622891?i=1696622894

2024-05-07 17:13:45

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@npub1esw…830x I wonder if it's down to the horsepower required to run that screen – plus of course limited quantities at the moment (and I don't imagine that Apple sells a huge boatload of iPad Pros at those prices)

2024-05-07 17:11:44

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@npub1cw5…y3qz Same as me!