Gaslighting is another way people justify abuse

I can probably help with some of the explanation on this. Not necessarily the data stealing side of things but definitely how they killed off competition. Youtube operated at a loss for a looong time while providing a stable and well functioning platform where creators could make a decent amount of money this resulted in year over year userbase growth. This not only made it harder for other platforms to break into the market as no creator would want to spend time making content on a platform with less users but also the other platforms did not have the capital behind them to operate at such a loss so they die out or they get purchased by google/youtube for a bargain and get shut down. Now youtubes userbase is so captive that they are pretty much free to essentially abuse their users almost as much as they want because as a viewer theres not really any other platform out there that has the creators you watch and as a creator theres no platform thatll get you enough views to be sustainable. Its a cycle that has to be kicked off by something big like youtube going down because thats the only way users are going to migrate.

You kind of see something similar with big box stores, companies moving into areas or even just gas stations. Big gas station companies arent in the gas business, they are in the real estate and convenience store business. They often sell gas at a loss even though they have their own fuel logistics supply chain. Other stations who rely on income from fuel sales and less so convenience sales struggle because they cant secure the selection in the store and dont have their own fuel logistics. Many go belly up unless they have something unique that keeps people coming in like restaurants or a unique drink selection. Once most if not all the local stores go out of business then the big store prices rise and the consumer is abused.

Google has stated that theyve operated youtube at a loss for a very long time but (and this is my speculation) its been done intentionally to edge out the competition and retain sympathy from its userbase to justify the abuse. Youtube is making massive revenue but they are spending it. If google/alphabet didnt see it as a profit stream it would have been killed a long time ago. My theory is they are sorta playing the game from both sides and overspending on overhead and padding the execs wallets more and more just to tell investors and shareholders that while revenue has increased, so has overhead/labor/etc just to take home their own fat paycheck while also milking their userbase for as much as they can. At some point its gunna break but execs have already made out on their goods. Yes video hosting and platform development is expensive but I do believe youtube is not spending most of its money there and that it doesent need all the overhead spending think of how crappy their content review system is. Nothing gets seen by a human except in very specific circumstances

You’re minimizing the abuse. Used to be fine with ads when it was 1-2 max but then it got abusive and greedy. Someone who yells at you once or twice may just be angry, upset, or so on. Someone who yells at you constantly is abusive

Its because those touch screens have clunky UI and are slow if they made it simple and straightforward instead of a question for every page it would be as fast if not faster than a person ordering at a register. Most PoS systems are touch screen nowadays so literally all your doing instead of putting in the options in yourself is telling someone else what to put in. They also do it hundreds of times an hour so they are way faster that someone whos only used a kiosk a few times

Its getting real close and I like Affinity’s workflow much better. Theres a few small bugs here and there. If anything im a Freelance professional but its my hobby first. Ive used Photoshop/Lightroom, GIMP/RawTherapee in the past on the photography side and Inkscape on the Graphic design side but now I mainly use Designer 2 and Photo 2. Granted my workflow is probably a decent bit different than a studios and I dont know what specifcs a studio needs over something like my workflow. What sorta challenges did switching to Affinity present for your studio?

Isint Steam a form of DRM? You effectively cant play your games if you dont have an account I thought

Why not customer led like a co-op?

Its more of just how the bike feels when im on it. It feels solid and substantial has weight but still feels nimble. The places where you’re in contact with the bike feel thought out. The Z900 to me feels more raw and kinda plastic-y not necessarily like a toy but more like a well modified car that prioritizes performance over small details and comforts. Really it comes down to what you like the feeling of more to me its pretty much the top gear meme “that is brilliant, but I like this” If you can catch a demo day for each one I highly highly recommend it.

So I have a tracer 9 GT with the same CP3 engine and I gotta say its a real gem of an engine. The z900 may have an extra cylinder and its also fun to ride but i like the balance thst the 3 cyl brings its just more versatile? Both are great bikes but to me yamaha just feels a touch more refined

Bombardier?

I think AI can be good its just being fumbled so hard right now

Why not a recyclable cardboard tube like oats come in sometimes? Probably easier for logistics too when packaging (of course retooling all the equipment from like 1988 wouldnt be easy but its one and done)

??? Why? That thing is gunna get so greasy

So we’re starting to get to the point where its theoretically possible for computers to get real organic viruses? “Sorry boss I cant work today my computer caught Covid and coughed on me so now I have it too :(”

You play X4 though? That game eaaaats my time its so enjoyable

I think its more that you can supplement you normal power draw so your electricity bill isint so high

Publix subs also rock and are filling

That explosion doesent seem much bigger than a firework thats smaller than the battery’s size. With as much as a car weighs and the amount we already do to protect batteries in electric cars i imagine the explosion from these could be easier to manage safely than a lithium fire. I also wonder how harmful the fumes are compared to lithium

Ill play a little devils advocate here. You ever try to take multiple product shots of some foods and have it look good for the whole photoshoot? Cereal especially, its gunna get soggy, the milk will have bits of the cereal that have broken off floating around or itll start to get discolored. Not to mention that milk will be sitting under hot studio lamps for at least as long as the photoshoot goes which can go on for a grip there will be thousands of shots from multiple angles, same shots with the lighting moved around and changed and not to mention the photoshoots are usually of multiple products or the same product with different platings/bowls/etc so theres gotta be an inventory of of these products ready to swap out without them being disturbed. Photographers that tend to do the big stuff also tend to be very passionate and very serious about it as photography is an art form after all. As a consumer I would prefer honest representation of the product to be shown but as a photographer I do understand wanting to get the best look of the product and I know my 3am 2nd bowl of cereal isint ever gunna look like the picture on the box.

Fun fact: Ice that is usually always depicted in beverages is not actually ice but rather a gelatin or some other gelatinous material that wont melt under the lights this is true in movies too because you dont want ice clinking in glasses while actors are trying to have a conversation. And the frosting effect you usually see thats not CG effects is usually some form of aerosolised glue. Its actually fascinating all the effects that you can do to make stuff look a certain way in studio conditions without the use of CG

It has gotten better but man still so much undelivered. Im just sad and im tired of being sad. Im fully pledging to never buy a big publisher game unless it absolutely proves itself first and even then im still gunna be hesitant cause vote with your money and all that. Honestly outside of KSP2 Ive already been purchasing and playing mostly indie games for the last 2 years anyways