This brings back old memories, from when they released the first version of Hollow (2016, I think) and I started writing a port in .Net because I thought it would be useful for some projects I was working on. I don't remember why I stopped, I guess I realized it was too much work, plus working at a low level with C# was quite a pain...
Lately I've been thinking about the unintended effects that AI tools (such as GPT-based assistants) might have on technological innovation. Let me explain:
Suppose an AI assistant is heavily trained on a popular technology stack, such as React. Developers naturally rely on AI for quick solutions, best practices, and problem solving. While this certainly increases productivity, doesn't it implicitly discourage exploration of potentially superior alternative technologies?
My concern is that a heavy reliance on AI could reinforce existing standards and discourage developers from experimenting or inventing radically new approaches. If everyone is using AI-based solutions built on dominant frameworks, where does the motivation to explore novel platforms or languages come from?
I actually think the AI is going to end up creating its own sort of machine code. Programming will be done entirely in natural language, the AI will translate to machine code and we tiny brained humans won’t even know or care what it’s doing under the hood. The idea of programming using a specific programming language is going to seem archaic and foolish.
On the flip side, the effect of “we already know how to do it this way, have good practices and tooling and educational materials for it” is often underweighted when considering the merits of a novel system. The more established something is, the better a competitor needs to be to make the switch worth it. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
There is of course a balance to be struck - keeping an open mind about new ways of doing things is important. However, in tech communities, I think there is often not enough thought given to the value of stability, despite warts.
I would add that not only the quality in general is degrading, but also the treatment of the brands and manufacturers to the customer. I believe that the feeling of abandonment (sometimes even scam) in which the brands subject their customers further deepen the feeling of lack of quality in general.
A few years ago I bought a Samsung refrigerator. It came with a big "10 year warranty" sticker. After a couple of years or so, one day it stopped cooling. I thought what a piece of crap, but at least it had a warranty. I found out, over the phone, that the 10 year warranty was only for the compressor. Still, I was lucky because it was the compressor that had gone bad. But there was more fine print in the 10-year warranty: it only covered the compressor and only the price of the part. In other words, I had to pay for the technician to come to my house and replace the part. Almost 200 dollars for a refrigerator that had cost 800 and was supposedly under warranty.
For a article on classic pens I miss something from Kaweco or Lamy as entry level, for example, or some of the classic pens from japanese brands like Pilot or Sailor.
I am very curious about the author's comments on whether all these variations have been made automatically.
I think that with a standard Ablenton project, for example, with several VSTs (this sounds like a Kontakt library) and replacing the midi clips by the Magenta's MusicVAE output for example, you could make infinite variations.
I usually use this kind of tools to get the bass score of some songs, for example. With the isolated elements it is much easier to know exactly what notes are sounding (I don't have a good ear). The same for drums or synth notes.
As after all the sound quality doesn't interest me too much to do this, I usually use iZotope RX, but I will try this tool.
Swallows also do work. I read that each swallow can eat about 800 flies and mosquitoes a day. A combination of swallows during the day and nocturnal bats would be ideal.
I have been using Midori MD notebooks for quite some time, I really like their format and paper.
I recently purchased a pack containing a Kunisawa notebook, it's so nice and well made that I'm sad to start writing in it, I'm waiting to start a project or idea for something interesting enough to release it.
That said I also think that there are many things coming from Japan that are incredibly overpriced just for the fact of coming from there, like stationery and clothes, the prices they reach when they arrive in Europe are sometimes even in bad taste, especially if you compare them with many local products that are equal or better and worth 1/3 of the price.
-Lightweight -Durable -Reasonable price
In reality, you can only choose two of these.