Ask anyone who works support how fucking stupid the general population

They’re going to have a huge selection bias though - much of the “general population” will start elsewhere with things like documentation or brains.

I forgot about that! And most songs sound like ass when you hear it over a phone, especially before whatever they did in the last decade to make voice calls more clear

I don’t think that’s going to be an unpopular opinion around here. Maybe a little tricky in the logistics of distinguishing between an artist and influencer and finding an artist who you like and can pay for a phone background, but other than that you’re not going to find many Lemmings saying “no, pay an influencer!”

Remember when people paid for ringtones? Doesn’t mean it isn’t stupid, especially as a subscription, but people do stupid things and other people take advantage.

Not really. There were plenty of random pages, but you really had to seek it out to see it. Now an overwhelming majority of non-ad posts are stuff like this (and I wouldn’t be surprised if they pay to have this stuff seen, basically making it an ad)

I’m not sure that’s necessarily true. There are plenty of military contractors out there, and a driver is the kind of position you would expect to be likely contracted out. That in no way makes one a soldier.

The Bolt is ok. It has a screen and Android Auto and stuff, but I only use it for Android Auto navigation and energy stats when I’m curious. For pretty much everything else, there are good ol’ fashioned buttons.

Oh, it does have OnStar and some stuff associated with that, but GM discontinued the worst of it after a class action lawsuit.

Part of the problem comes when companies go out of their way to provide a service on their end that could be covered reasonably easily on the consumer’s side of things. Why put a few cents worth of storage in a device and make it locally accessible when you can make it cloud-connected and hosted to turn it into a revenue stream?

Another example, GM has had OnStar for ages. It does the same things your cell phone does, so it’s hard to justify the subscription. Plus Android Auto/Car Play works really well and relies on something you update more often. So naturally, GM revamped their infotainment to do the things you’d have your phone do and got rid of Android Auto/Car Play.

Maybe, maybe not. If we’re going to bring totally unrelated industries into the mix, Spirit and JetBlue airlines had their merger blocked. Airlines and grocery stores have a bigger public interest in not having monopolies than theme parks, which often have arguable monopolies in many places already if a major city only has one theme park.

More importantly, you said that they’re already the same company. That is definitely not the case at this point.

I’m not a fan of the company, but at least this one has a handful of different platforms underneath it - Oculus, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. Having Facebook the product and Facebook the overarching company kind of ads a little complication.

I don’t quite feel the same way about Alphabet/Google, but at least that’s more subtle.

X can fuck the duck right off.

They’re still working on it. A few states’ attorneys general are suing to stop it while Krogway try to make some “totes not a monopoly” changes. Here in Colorado that means selling off some stores.

It’s a battery. You put it in the car, and it powers it. How much support does the manufacturer need to provide that can’t be baked into the initial cost?

“initial” could very well be the key word here. Same goes with any new technology, including the relatively outdated Chevy Bolt design (which was pretty expensive at launch and is now a dime a dozen)

Honestly, my biggest issue with LLMs is how they source their training data to create “their own” stuff. A meme calling it a plagiarism machine struck a chord with me. Almost anyone else I’d sympathize with, but fuck Spez.

I mean, the headline does say 20 years soooo…

Also, Teslas are approaching 10 years old and as far as I know their batteries are still going strong (yes, I know their quality control is otherwise sketchy). The Nissan Leaf batteries are getting pretty sketchy, but they don’t have any battery conditioning - just air-cooled. That’s not doing longevity any favors. All other major EVs have battery management systems and seem to be holding up ok. They’re also generally warranted for 8 years. I don’t think they’d only have a 2-year buffer between warranty and expected life.

Oh please let that be a reason accidentally spit out by one of those plagiarism machines some day

My dad thought it was silly for me to replace my gas powered motor with an automatic throttle control that doesn’t really work with an electric one, but having no knowledge or desire to rebuild a carburetor (like him), I think I made the right move.

Yes! I’m amazed at how few responses here bring up the lack of attraction in a mall. Nearly every square foot has been given up for dumb kiosks for cell phone cases or something like that. There’s just nothing to give some warm fuzzies about visiting - a water feature, a kids play area… Heck, I grew up near the first indoor mall and at one point they had a giant parakeet cage. If one landed on your finger, you could keep the bird.

Generally speaking, people who contribute to society.

I don’t see “gambling on the right cryptocurrency” as a contribution to society. I also don’t see how “individuals that own the overwhelming majority of dollars, euros, etc.” wouldn’t simply become “individuals that own the overwhelming majority of cryptocurrency” by virtue of working with that

Ahhh yes. Some of them are just made up things that people say is totally money, while the others are actually just made up things that people say is totally money. Huge difference, I’m sure.