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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 3rd, 2023

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  • You know how corporations acquire other corporations and the government dramatically reviews it for a period of time and then allows it? Trust busting is like that, but in reverse. We just need to do the opposite of what we do now. Instead of watching corporations acquire each other and get bigger, we should be busting them apart into separate entities.

    Specifically, it’s supposed to prevent business agreements and practices that are intended to hinder the ability of others to be competitive or do their own business. IOW, it prevents monopolies and industry consolidation.

    Here are a few examples of why robust anti-trust laws are needed, and need to be enforced:

    1. Everything Walmart has ever done.

    2. Everything Amazon has ever done.

    3. ISPs preventing competitors from moving into their territory so they can keep prices artificially high and quality of service low.

    4. Everything Microsoft has ever done with Windows and what they’re currently trying to do with their gaming division.

    5. The way Apple operates their App Store.

    6. Everything Nestle has ever done.

    7. Everything Google has been doing.

    I mean just look at the state of the corporate world. We got here by an endless string of unhindered massive acquisitions and undercutting competitors. Now prices go up and quality of goods go down because no one can compete, and your “choice”, when there is a choice at all, is between 2 or 3 shitty products created by corporations that operate with the exact same min-max business model.






  • Fester@lemm.eetoApple@lemmy.world*Permanently Deleted*
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    15 days ago

    My first smartphone was an early LG Optimus. Don’t remember the exact model, but it was a horrible experience. When it was time to justify an upgrade, I tried an iPhone (4S I think.) It did what I need in a phone and more, and it was smooth, responsive, and reliable, unlike the LG.

    Since then I’ve only used iPhones, and also an Apple TV, some HomePods, AirPods Pro, watches, and my wife uses a MacBook.

    My desktop will always be Windows, but I’m increasingly tempted to try Linux. I mean, I’ll never use a Mac. It doesn’t do what I need. The other Apple devices do exactly what I need and they do it well. They’re generally a pleasure to use with only a few quirks here and there - probably no more or less than modern Android devices, maybe? I wouldn’t know. I just haven’t felt the need to switch back to Android, since everything works fine. I upgrade my phone every 4-5 years.

    So I guess it’s all due to a bad first impression, thanks to LG hardware.


  • Steam, GameStop, Toys-R-Us, Walmart… Someone always makes a profit on selling games, or any products - even digital. Steam has not reinvented the wheel here. It’s not a new concept. Are you arguing that the idea of stores should be eliminated?

    In return, the game is more likely to be seen, just like placing a product in a real store where people walk by it. It also gets advertised, reviewed, has another community outlet, and Steam uses their own servers and bandwidth to distribute it.

    It’s not a bad deal for the devs and publishers.







  • Those old people probably had steady hours and earned reliable paychecks. That’s not how it’s done anymore. Employees work part time, if it can even be called that. A single restaurant has something like 200+ employees, and some can go weeks without having any hours.

    Those senior employees were too expensive. They probably weren’t fired or laid off. They were probably phased out in a flood of new hires so they would quit and not collect unemployment. Nowadays your server could have worked there for 2 years and have a few months’ worth of experience or less.





  • I feel like this is a dying gasp effort to keep the game online. I actually feel bad about it.

    Elite is one of two games where I’ve ever spent money on cosmetics. I spent like $60 on paint jobs because I actually wanted to support the game.

    I’m not sure what to think about this, because normally I hate “pay to win” and cosmetic shops alike. I wish Elite just had a subscription model and could support more stable servers or something. I don’t know how they expected to put an always-online game on sale for $5 all the time and keep it profitable without eventually running into a brick wall where they’d need to choose between shutting down and pissing off players.

    I genuinely hope this somehow turns out to be worth it for them.



  • Some crackers have whole grain versions that taste as good or better than their white flour versions. Goldfish and Cheez-its are the two that come to mind. This doesn’t make them “healthy”, but at least there’s some better fiber in there. Compare nutrition labels.

    Also try veggie chips/sticks. Again, they’re not “healthy”, but… there’s some better stuff in them than normal junk food. They are junk food with a small amount of bonus nutrition.

    Freeze-dried fruit is addicting, but expensive. Try it and/or dehydrated fruit. The latter is chewy while freeze-dried is crunchy and melts in your mouth.

    You can also try making your own nuggets or tenders with whole-grain panko breadcrumbs, and seasoning. The trick is to make it better than McDonald’s, which is easy for an adult, but tricky for kids. I don’t know the magic sauce though.

    One of the latest Splendid Table podcasts had a guest on to talk about cooking healthy for kids (or she just wrote a book about it, I didn’t listen yet.) It’s a great show. Check that out.