David Anson / is on Nostr

My name is David Anson. I work at Microsoft where I've helped build client, server, and web apps. I contribute to OSS. Not a spokesperson. (he/him/Mr.)

Last Notes

2025-04-13 13:27:36

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@nprofile…spxs Sure. But being cut is traumatic, even if you get rehired.

2025-04-13 00:24:49

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@nprofile…spxs Here’s an example from earlier this week. No new hires without proving AI is inadequate. And given the rest of the email, I bet trying to do that is a career-limiting move. Even in cases where it’s obviously true. https://www.theverge.com/news/644943/shopify-ceo-memo-ai-hires-job

2025-03-28 21:30:47

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@nprofile…spxs Combining Silicon Valley culture and the misuse of Signal by the US government seems wrong to me. While I don’t argue with the premise that tech firms often try to reinvent everything, the news about US government officials discussing top secret data over inappropriate channels has nothing to do with that. Government officials deliberately and knowingly chose an unsafe forum that put their citizens at risk so they could avoid oversight and accountability. That’s a very different situation.

2025-03-16 23:25:36

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@nprofile…spxs I feel like this is a case where the software providers are happy about the misunderstanding – or even encouraging it. Apple’s very recent AI pullback seems a direct result of this. :(

2025-03-16 23:25:36

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2025-03-16 22:34:43

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@nprofile…spxs I’m strongly on the side that most people have no idea how these things function or what they could be good at. Your examples are good ones, but even the fundamental way people talk about AI makes no sense a lot of of the time. It’s common to see people impart intelligence or creativity or intent or thinking where absolutely none exists. It’s just a static training set and word probabilities, folks. :)

2025-02-21 23:21:08

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@nprofile…spxs @nprofile…4057 Reporting at the time (WaPo article is now paywalled) was that Apple was not permitted to disclose this order - so none of your suggestions seem viable except “Find ways to technically comply while still keeping as much as they can.”. Which is what they did.

2025-02-21 22:35:14

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@nprofile…spxs @nprofile…4057 Matt, so far I haven’t seen anyone with this take who had a suggestion for what Apple could *practically* do that would have been better than what they did. Seems to me the only other option was adding the back door. Fighting this in court is a non-starter because no way is the UK court going to entertain a case on a topic the UK government forbids discussing.

2025-02-07 00:42:10

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@nprofile…spxs I think because Mac offers ways to run untrusted code already, this approach is not meaningful because attackers can already deliver the payload. The danger is iPhone where EU mandates introduce a new path with reduced security - and a much larger install base.

2025-02-07 00:26:49

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@nprofile…spxs Apple has a strong incentive to prevent malicious apps from compromising iPhone security. Now that alternate marketplaces are mandated, this seems like their only option to prevent the running of obviously-malicious code.

2025-02-06 23:11:59

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@nprofile…spxs I feel like a lot of people are trying to misunderstand this. :) Apple has a “no pornography apps“ policy and that’s their prerogative. Blockbuster was the same back when they existed. Yes, it’s true that Safari can display pornography, but that’s not the purpose of Safari in the same way porn isn’t the purpose of the Camera app and porn IS the purpose of this app (apparently). Others arguing over the word choice here feels a little silly as the intent from Apple seems clear to me.

2023-11-14 23:45:36

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@npub1upk…tcwy Thanks for writing this, it gives me something else to look into! FYI, there is a part of your post I had to read a couple of times to understand. You talk about how sharing a Dockerfile does not guarantee identical results, but isn’t the point to share the *Docker container image* instead? So far as I know, those are 100% stable and will always produce the same results. (This felt like an unfair criticism of Docker to me.)

2023-10-30 02:11:48

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@npub15ml…2w4s But not because the old battery is approaching the end of its lifecycle - they do that because the current battery has run out and they have more work to do on their project. This is a different scenario, so it may not be representative. If cordless power tool batteries lasted the entire day/job, I think that would be a better comparison.

2023-10-30 01:58:29

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@npub1kmg…y9fw It’s an interesting piece, to be sure! One thing I’m curious about is whether there is an actual appetite for this or it’s just something that sounds good. As an example, I’ll point to recent support for user-serviceable iPhones. It is technically possible for a layperson to replace their screen, but the equipment and expertise needed to do so *successfully* is far outside the reach of most. I wonder about a difference between what people say - and what they are willing to do.