Liberal watchdog Media Matters is in serious trouble after being sued by Elon Musk
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/news/media-matters-existential-crisis

Trump, Apple To Announce New $100 Billion Commitment To Manufacturing in US - President Trump and Apple are expected to announce a new $100 billion commitment b... - https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/08/06/1448241/trump-apple-to-announce-new-100-billion-commitment-to-manufacturing-in-us?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed #usa
Der Weg zu den #TYPO3 DevDays #T3DD25 [1] beginnt toll. ICE 30 Min Verspätung. Argh.
[1] muted das keyword, wenn ihr von mir nicht die nächsten 4 Tage damit belästigt werden wollt 😄
The U.S. Constitution website has removed important sections limiting states rights and removing Writ Habeas Corpus or the right to due process.

"Crisp said it "makes no economic sense to terminate NASA missions that are returning incredibly valuable data," pointing out it costs only $15 million per year to maintain both observatories, a tiny fraction of the agency's $25.4 billion budget."
https://futurism.com/white-house-orders-nasa-destroy-important-satellite
Im #live playing Liquor Store Simulator at https://www.twitch.tv/catchingfire3_ if anyone would like to join you are more than welcome #streamer #twitchstreamer #livestreamer #twitch #gaming
»Million-Year-Old Evidence of Epic Journey Near ‘Hobbit’ Island Discovered by Scientists« https://www.404media.co/indonesian-island-sulawesi-early-humans-hobbits-calio/?eicker.media #media #socialmedia
The upcoming Pixel 10 series may include a free trial of the Google AI Pro plan, according to strings discovered in the latest version of the Google app.
#Tech #Google #Android #Mobile #Technology #News #TechNews #AI #Gemini #GenAI #ArtificialIntelligence #SocialMedia #Mastodon #Fediverse

Im #live playing Liquor Store Simulator at https://www.twitch.tv/catchingfire3_ if anyone would like to join you are more than welcome #streamer #twitchstreamer #livestreamer #twitch #gaming
A new member has joined the herd.
#php #elephpant #Lego #30YearsOfPHP

"Closed Mondays", the #OpenSource #GMless card #dungeon builder, now available as #PDF on #itchio:
https://ranarh.itch.io/closed-mondays
Erstmal nur englishc, die deutsche Version folgt in Kürze.
#ttrpg #rpg #adventure #worldbuilding #collaborative #indiedev #gamedev #rollenspiel


Brooklyn Bridge from World building, New York, U.S.A. (New York City, New York)
From Digital Collections of New York Public Library
http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-e3e2-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
#NewYork #NewYorkCity #NYC #NYPL #US #USA #history #image #photo #photos #photography

Oh, i just found this in the #pixelfed repos.
That's great to see, I hope this will happen 🥰🥰🥰 looking forward for it @dansup 🤩
Informative #OpenAccess #review on #light-based #3Dprinting & post-treatments of #moulds for #PDMS soft #lithography:
https://doi.org/10.1039/D4LC00836G
#DIYbio #lab #OpenSource #instruments #stereolithography #microfluidics

「 starting with MX Linux 25, users will need to pick their preferred init system—systemd or sysVinit—when downloading the ISO, not during installation or boot 」
https://linuxiac.com/big-changes-ahead-for-mx-linux-25/
#mxlinux #systemd #sysVinit #opensource
The #TYPO3 extension t5_sal_animation v1.5.59 is now compatible with TYPO3 v13.
https://extensions.typo3.org/extension/t5_sal_animation
❗ Du Death Metal old school qui sent bon les séries B horrifiques au programme du sympathique "You and Your Friends Are Dead: Game Over" de 𝗡𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘅 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀 ...
#review #chronique #deathmetal #usa

Drupal 11: Object Oriented Hooks And Hook Service Classes #Drupal https://www.hashbangcode.com/article/drupal-11-object-oriented-hooks-and-hook-service-classes
HibanaSound is now streaming Music on Twitch: https://twitch.tv/hibanasound
You're Pretty Neat Actually 💕 Have You Had Coffee Today? 💕 Galaxy Tunes UwU
#SynthStream #twitch #GSGLive #music #musodon #synth #synthesis @synths

Latest Trends in WordPress Development for 2025 https://wpdeveloper.com/latest-trends-in-wordpress-development/ #WordPress #wpdev
Harvey Weinstein Sues ‘Finding Neverland’ Tour Producers Over $2.3M Dispute
Harvey Weinstein I Want My Fair Cut!!! Sues ‘Finding Neverland’ Tour Producers for $2.3M Published August 6, 2025…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Celebrities #Entertainment #Sports #sportsnews #tmzsports
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62830/

FDA Approves Expanded Indication for AJOVY® (fremanezumab-vfrm), The First Anti-CGRP Preventive Treatment for Pediatric Episodic Migraine
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd FDA approves single-dose AJOVY® (fremanezumab-vfrm) injection for the preventi…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Medication #adolescentpatients #adolescents #AJOVY #FDA #Health #migraine #pediatricpatients #prevention #preventivetreatment #Teva #treatmentoption
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62828/

It’s his suddenness that catches the eye
Florian from Kronach, Germany Dear Mike and Wes, I tried some online research and couldn’t find sufficient information…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #NFL #Homepage:CP #News:InsiderInbox #Sports
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62824/

Guardians 3-2 Mets (Aug 5, 2025) Game Recap
NEW YORK — — Steven Kwan singled home the tiebreaking run with two outs in the seventh inning,…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #MLB #Sports
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62820/

How much longer will Sidney Crosby play in the NHL?: Penguins mailbag
Sidney Crosby turns 38 on Thursday, and given the number of excellent questions I received, I decided to…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #NHL #PittsburghPenguins #Sports
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62818/

Miami Hurricanes have favorable college football scheduling quirk in 2025
The Miami Hurricanes are one of the favorites to win the ACC Championship, and the Florida-based university already…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #NCAAFootball #Football #NCAA #Sports
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62816/

Terengganu’s “Jodoh Darul Iman” Matchmaking Platform Officially Launches #portaljodohdaruliman #socialmedia #terengganu
Not AJ Dybantsa, Another BYU Star Predicted to Lead Assist Charts After Cougars’ Video Package
The college basketball world has its eyes on AJ Dybantsa, BYU’s five-star phenom. But Aaron Torres, the sharp-eyed…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #NCAABasketball #Basketball #NCAA #Sports
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62814/

£350m Wrexham sale possible as ‘dozens’ of billionaire investors contact Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac
Wrexham Community Director Humphrey Ker has discussed the future ownership of the club and whether or not Ryan…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Soccer #Allynfamily #HumphreyKer #RobMcElhenney #RyanReynolds #Sports
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62812/

Dandy opens store at Watkins Glen International for NASCAR weekend
As NASCAR weekend returns to Watkins Glen International, fans will see a new feature at the historic track…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #NASCAR #Sports
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62810/

Last week's US jobs report significantly reduced the estimates from previous months, leading to the firing of the head statistician.
In the latest Bamboo Weekly, we examine the government's data, calculating these changes ourselves. Were these the biggest-ever downward revisions?
Improve your #Python #Pandas skills every Wednesday with new, real-world data-analysis problems: https://BambooWeekly.com

Will Team Europe ignore one of its hottest players?
If you look hard enough, it’s not difficult to see. The 2025 Ryder Cup is playing out a…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Golf #Sports
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62809/

U.S. envoy Witkoff meets with Vladimir Putin in Russia for renewed ceasefire talks
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday, the Kremlin said, days before a deadline imposed by the U.S. president for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or potentially face severe economic penalties.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/moscow-talks-witkoff-putin-1.7602058?cmp=rss
#Putin #USA #Russia #News #USANews #RussiaNews
Rumor: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra camera could be much more light sensitive, making it a huge leap compared to the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
#Tech #Samsung #Android #Mobile #Technology #News #TechNews #Business #Photography #Photos #Photographer #SocialMedia #Mastodon #Fediverse

The #drupal AI initiative team is looking for input on its roadmap 🤖🛤️ — you can help by completing their 10–15 minute survey 📝:
Survey closes Sunday, August 10, 2025 ⏳

#OpenAI offers 20 million user chats in #ChatGPT lawsuit. #NYT wants 120 million.
A few details on supporting rendering mode in visionOS widgets
https://stepinto.vision/example-code/widgets-adapting-content-to-rendering-modes/
I have been silenced on YouTube for a week for making an anti-Trump joke. This video was fine on every other platform (including TikTok). It is now clear that Google is cozying up with Trump and that it is NOT a place for TikTok refugees.
#YouTube #censorship #antifascist
Major new malware strain targets crypto users via malicious ads - essentially robbing the people of their tokens.
#Tech #PC #InfoSec #Security #CyberSecurityNews #Crypto #Hacking #Technology #News #BTC #CyberSecurity #Business #TechNews #Bitcoin #Crypto #Cryptocurrency #Ethereum #SocialMedia #Mastodon #Fediverse #Economy

Aviation weather for Dallas Fort Worth International airport (USA) is “KDFW 061353Z 17006KT 10SM CLR 28/22 A3018 RMK AO2 SLP209 T02780222” : See what it means on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/kdfw/en #dallas #fortworth #usa #dallasfortworthinternationalairport #kdfw #dfw #metar #aviation #aviationweather #avgeek #airport vl
How to Deploy #Bugzilla on #Ubuntu #VPS (5-Minute Quick-Start Guide) This article provides a step-by-step guide detailing how to deploy Bugzilla on Ubuntu VPS.
What is Bugzilla?
Bugzilla is an open-source bug tracking and issue management system developed by Mozilla. It is widely used by software #development teams to track bugs, enhancements, and other project issues ...
Continued 👉 https://blog.radwebhosting.com/how-to-deploy-bugzilla-on-ubuntu-vps-5-minute-quick-start-guide/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon.raddemo.host #opensource #selfhosted #bugtracking #issuemanagement #selfhosting #letsencrypt
WhatsApp Adds Security Feature to Help Users Spot and Avoid Malicious Messages https://gbhackers.com/whatsapp-adds-security-feature-avoid-malicious-messages/ #CyberSecurityNews #cybersecurity #whatisNew #WhatsApp
Trying to make a slow motion effect but ended up affecting jump height.
Microsoft has now announced that it has replaced the Windows Blue Screen of Death with a new Black Screen of Death, featuring a revamped interface.
"The new UI is simpler, and more aligned with Windows 11's design language," explains Microsoft.
#Tech #PC #InfoSec #Security #CyberSecurityNews #Microsoft #Technology #News #Computing #CyberSecurity #Business #TechNews #Windows #SocialMedia #Mastodon #Fediverse

【 #スタレ #初見 】思い・・・出した!となるのかならないのか。前世の美男子ペアによる封印解除の時【 あこうむろう #崩壊スターレイル 】 https://www.kusogame.com/66342/ #anime #Fate #FateStayNight #FGO #game #GamePlay #honkai #HonkaiStarRail #Honkai:StarRail #StarRail #StarRail #ubw #VTuber #youtube #youtuber #アーチャー #あこうむろう #あこむろ #アニメ #イベント #エフジーオー #ゲーム #ゲーム実況 #ゲーム配信 #スターレイル #スタレ #ストーリー #セイバー #なろう #バーチャルYouTuber #バーチャルユーチューバー #フェイト #ベロブルグ #ヤリーロ #ヤリーロVI #ユーチューバー #ゆーちゅーぶ #同行 #同行クエ #和服 #和装 #型月 #実況 #実況プレイ #崩壊 #崩壊:スターレイル #感想 #振り返り #男性 #着物 #考察 #銀郎 #黒髪

https://www.clickasnap.com/image/12009259
Stunning Marble Mountain Landscape with Surrounding Cityscape and Nature in Da Nang, Vietnam,
Photographed with Sony ILCE-7M4 and Sony Lens FE 24-70mm f/2.8
#Vietnam #Vietnamese #danang #photography #travel #travelphotography #landscape #nature #socialmedia #photooftheday

feeling old, installed theme in thunderbird!
#boost #matrix
https://www.stephensemler.com/p/which-party-is-more-out-of-step-with
#Politics #Democrats #Republicans #Liberals #Conservatives #Vote #Election #DemocraticParty #DNC #RepublicanParty #RNC #GOP #DonaldTrump #Trump #JDVance #Vance #JoeBiden #Biden #KamalaHarris #Harris #TimWalz #Walz #Democracy #US #USA #ElonMusk #Musk #Fascism #Fascist #BernieSanders #Sanders #AOC #FraudSquad #Progressive #Progressives
Wenn man die Teilnehmer zwingt, so zu tun, als sei der Workshop geil gewesen 😜
#T3DD25 #TYPO3

Werder sichert Namen des Weserstadions durch Partnerschaft https://www.dieniedersachsen.de/sport/werder-sichert-namen-des-weserstadions-durch-partnerschaft-3042456?utm_source=Mastodon&utm_medium=dpa&utm_content=textlink #Fußball #Bundesliga #Deutschland #WerderBremen #Bremen #Bremen
No matter how experienced you are in #collaboration / #opensource , when joining a new community, you are a newbie. And that is how it should be. In a zero trust environment, you have to earn that trust through contributions.
It is good to experience this every once in a while.
macOS Tahoe will be the last new macOS release to support any Intel Macs. All new releases starting with macOS 27 will require an Apple Silicon Mac.
#Tech #Apple #InfoSec #Security #MacNews #iMac #Technology #iOS #News #Computing #CyberSecurity #TechNews #macOS #iOSDev #SocialMedia #Mastodon #Fediverse

The Voting Rights Act is facing the biggest threats in its 60 years
https://lemmy.ml/post/34252226
Openvibe now has rss feed support.
This app🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
#openvibe #mastodon #bluesky #social #rss
The Voting Rights Act is facing the biggest threats in its 60 years
https://lemmy.ml/post/34252194
ONLINE AGORA!
Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition [LIVE 8]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4fRUzflhig
EDF 6 até 2x/dia (10h e/ou 20h) no canal de cortes.
#vTuber #VtuberBR #vTuberBrasil #Steam #PCGame #YouTube #Video #LiveNoYouTube #LobatoGameplays #HorizonZeroDawn #HorizonZeroDawnCompleteEdition #Alloy #Aloy
Aviation weather for Ronald Reagan Washington National airport in Washington, D. C. area (USA) is “KDCA 061352Z 06006KT 9SM FEW050 FEW070 BKN100 OVC150 23/19 A3036 RMK AO2 SLP279 T02330194” : See what it means on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/kdca/en #washingtondc #usa #ronaldreaganwashingtonnationalairport #kdca #dca #metar #aviation #aviationweather #avgeek #airport vl
Dr. Datenschutz Shortnews im August 2025 – KW32
Im Bereich Datenschutz ergeben sich stetig neue Entwicklungen und Entscheidungen, die sowohl Unternehmen als auch Verbraucher vor spannende Herausforderungen stellen. Alle zwei Wochen werfen wir einen Blick auf die wichtigsten Ereignisse, die die Datenschutzlandschaft bewegt haben. Hier erfahren Sie(...)
https://www.dr-datenschutz.de/dr-datenschutz-shortnews-im-august-2025-kw32/
#EU-Kommission #Microsoft #Urteil #USA
Dassault Aviation rejoint l'open source avec le TOSIT : une avancée pour l'innovation collaborative dans l'aéronautique.
https://www.zdnet.fr/actualites/dassault-aviation-adhere-a-lopen-source-avec-le-tosit-479941.htm
#Innovation #AerospaceEngineering #OpenSource #TOSIT #DassaultAviation #CollaborationTechnologique
#Palestinian resistance factions released 2 videos of emaciated #occupation #soldiers in their captivity, aiming to show #Israel that the conditions of its captives are no different from the catastrophe #Palestinians in #Gaza are facing due to the #Israeli #blockade.
#Palestine #MiddleEast #Genocide #Israeli #Politics #Egypt #Lebanon #Syria #Iraq #Iran #SaudiArabia #Qatar #Yemen #USA #Zionism #BDS #Ceasefire #ArmsEmbargo #Netanyahu #FreeGaza #FreePalestine
Nice idea. Easily create HTML from Python code with https://htpy.dev
The one thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't generate XHTML, i.e. no self-closing tags and stuff. Not sure whether that's a dealbreaker for me or whether I should just finally stop my 2000s webdev attitude.

Interessantes Video zu diversen Systemen, das Alter eines Users herauszubekommen von einem Programmierer.
Interessant auch die #AI von #YouTube,um das Alter zu bestimmen. Was du siehst,"verrät" dein Alter. Siehst du Videos über Minecraft, so bist du 7. 😉
https://youtu.be/-iVkfYuXN7M?si=cGNmfAk0YenweSMq
大野智が本音を暴露wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww【2chまとめ】【2chスレ】【5chスレ】 https://www.vivizine.com/934753/ ##2ch ##2ちゃんねる #2ch面白いスレ #2ちゃんねる #5ch #johnnys #UCfpDFgEbnzzEVcqnA4hf8Tw #YouTube #youtuber #ジャニーズ #なんj #なんj民 #ニュース #はねうま #ハネウマライダー #ゆっくり #中居 #中居正広 #大野智 #芸能 #芸能ゴシップ #芸能人

Thumbnail Design
Requester: Adrien D @adrien_linuxtricks
Organisation: LinuxTricks
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/@AdrienLinuxtricks
Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJQzHDmsPes
Title: Personnaliser GNOME avec les thèmes design de Vinceliuice !
---
Design & Concept : FoJI Creative Studios
Designed in : Pointe Noire, RC
Client Town-Country: Dijon, France
Available on #YouTube 😊
---
フォジ クリエイティブ スタジオのチーム ⚙️
(コーヒー休憩中、でもいつでもここにいるよ) ☕

#onthisday
1926 Olympic gold medalist Gertude Ederle 1st women to swim the English channel
Listen to learn all about it:
https://dailysportshistory.com/episode/gertrude-ederles-historic-english-channel-swim-7u8i
#sports #sportshistory #podcast #sportspodcast #swimming #england #endurance #womenpower
#usa #Olympics
AI Customer Support Devalues Customers And The Company That Adopts It
I noticed an article on MacRumors that Apple is getting ready to roll out it’s “AI-powered Support Assistant.” Apparently Apple’s only willing to take the risk with tech support and not customer support. That’s where money might exchange bank accounts.
This is the way the world is spinning at the moment. My prediction is that companies will ratchet back these cost saving moves but not until the realize what it costs in customer loyalty. We have to go through the suck, before we get to the less suck.
I base that prediciton on my experiences spending the better part of this Summer and past Spring helping clients and a few relatives, some elderly, work to cut back on expenses and take care of some warranty repairs for appliances. (Hint: Ditiching warranty services is one way to cut montly costs.)
Timing is everything. My efforts coincided with several of these companies caught in the process of switching to AI solutions for customer and tech support. To be direct, it was a mess. For me, the customer, and also for the employees left holding the bag on the other end of these crazy corporate strategies.
No one would argue that most customer and technical support systems were in good shape previous to these kind of moves. They were indeed ripe for re-inventing and they have always been easy marks for the bean counters to cut corners.
Chatbots had already begun to proliferate, descended from automated phone trees like some form of inverted evolution that only a sadist could love. No one would ever conclude that they had been intelligently designed. My previous experiences were always hit and miss, but at least I understood that if I followed the steps I could eventually reach someone on a phone or live chat. During these transitons that became nigh on near impossible.
Prior to one of the companies I worked making the switch, it had become obvious that they had abandoned call centers and let their agents work from home. I kid you not, I spent one phone call with a barking dog in the background of whatever small quarters this rep was in, and another with two small children fighting with each other in the background of another call.
Let me give you one example from my recent experience with one company undergoing a transiton to AI tech and customer support.
Sears Home Services
Sears Home Services has been a popular home warranty service for many throughout the years. It’s been apparent for a while that services like these have lost their luster and some have devolved into scams. But for folks of certain generations they were always in the monthly budget. In my experience with one of my clients, prior to their switchover, it worked about as well as it was advertised to work. You made a call, talked with an agent, set up an appointment, a technician arrived to check things out, ordered parts if necessary, rescheduled the appointment, and then came back to effect the repair or replacement.
The first repair I assisted with happened just like I described above. The entire process from first call to final signoff on the repair took 10 days.
The second call not so much.
I guessed things were in trouble when the phone number prominently displayed on the webpage would not yield a method of speaking with an agent, but kept pushing me to their chatbot. The chatbot had limited options that you could select. It did not have a way to enter any request beyond those options. My guess is the company didn’t want customers speaking to an agent.
Undaunted, I did the usual online searching for phone numbers and finally stumbled on to a Reddit thread where users experiencing the same problems were reporting phone numbers that worked. Until they didn’t. It was a cat and mouse game of dialing a phone number before it was changed or taken out of service. That lasted about a week.
Finally I succumbed and scheduled an appointment via the chatbot. That chatbot sure was happy. I was told the support technician would contact me the night before to schedule a more specific appointment window. Things were looking up. That call never came. The morning of the appointment I got a text telling me the appointment was scheduled between 8 and 5pm. In my previous experiences these appointments were scheduled in four hour windows.
On the afternoon of the repair, at 5:30pm I got a phone call from a support person saying he would be their in a half-hour. He showed up 45 minutes later. He diagnosed the issue, said he would order parts and they would be shipped directly to me. This was a change I’ll describe later. He then said he needed to go sit in his truck and work with the system to get the parts ordered and that would take a half-hour or so becuase the system was constantly kicking him out mid-order and he would have to start over.
When he came back to finalize everything for that appointment he reiterated that this new system was screwed up. I told him I wasn’t a fan either. We had a good conversation.
Previously, according to him, each night technicians like him would get a list of their appointments for the next day. They would go to a drop ship pickup location for any parts for that day’s appointments, head out and do the work. Now the system sent parts directly to the address of the repair and required the customer to reschedule the next appointment once the parts arrived. Because customers were not receiving notifications of these part shipments, the parts would just show up, often get returned, delaying the inevitable service.
Most striking in his telling was the fact that he no longer received the next day’s list of appointment the night before. Only the first one for the day. Once that was completed he would receive his next appointment. Again, according to him, the previous system in place for dispatching personnel was pretty good at scheduling the next day’s appointments with minimal travel time between appointments. Now with the new system, he would find himself traveling between appointments, often located far apart, more than he would working the repairs.
To begin to bring this ancedote about this repair to a close, suffice it to say that the entire episode from first call to eventual repair has not yet been completed. It begin on May 20. Once it was determined that the appliance needed to be replaced, not repaired (that took two appointments,) a new one was ordered. Then canceled by Sears Home Repair’s system. Then re-ordered.
On the night before the scheduled delivery I got a call that it would be delivered the next day. That morning I got a call saying the delivery would take place that morning. Ten minutes later I got a call saying that the appliance had not been delivered to the delivery driver. (It was too large for a home delivery.) This necessitated canceling the order, re-ordering and a repeat of the process.
Somewhere in the middle of the process phone calls with agents became possible again. Progress? Not quite.
After several discussions with several agents I discovered that they were as challenged as their customers were by the new system. I’m sure you’ve played the escalation game to get to a supervisor and I played that game here as well. At last count I’m waiting on approximately 7 phone calls from supervisors that never came in.
Eventually the appliance was delivered to the delivery person. But there was no record in the system of an appointment to install the new one and remove the old one as per the warranty.
It took a month and two more canceled appointments for installation before Sears finally gave up and said a check would be forthcoming to cover the installation costs. That check has yet to arrive. (That’s why I consider the transaction not completed.) We did get the appliance installed on our own.
But of course, we did receive the usual survey request asking us to rate how well Sears Home Repair Services performed. Once the check arrives and clears the bank, my client will be cancelling that warranty. That will be our response.
Xfinity
One bill I was working on reducing for another client was Xfinity. I probably don’t need to say more if you’ve ever dealt with that company. But I will. I simply wanted to call and discuss plan options for reducing the bill.
No where was I able to get through to a live person. I was sent links to chatbots that would promise a live person, if I followed along, but those calls never connected.
I eventually took a trip to an Xfinity store and got the info and made adjustments to my client’s bill in person. The staff member at that store told me that they were seeing more foot traffic because the online and phone systems were such a mess.
Back to Apple
Now, I began this post mentioning Apple’s move to a generative AI based technical support system. I find this greatly disappointing. In general, because I believe this type of cost cutting move represents a decline in how I value a company because it represents a decline in how these companies view their customers. And in Apple’s case, I have typically found Apple’s tech support to be better than most companies. Not perfect. Still flawed. But better than most.
I’ve had to work through some tricky issues over the years with Apple’s technical support. Some easily resolved. Some not so. One of those issues required several months worth of conversations, eventually reaching up the chain to Craig Federeghi, before getting the issue resovled. I can’t imagine any tech support system being able to measure up to what Apple has currently, even with flaws and failures that require steadfast persistence and often negotiation.
In my attempts to aid my clients I’ve tried some of the AI chatbots that aren’t part of the specific company I’m working with. Typically they spit out much of what I imagine is in the documentation most phone bank customer service reps use to begin a diagnostic process. (Yes, the device or appliance is plugged in.)
I imagine that Apple will use this new system to handle those rudimentary requests that come in that I’m sure fill up the tech support queues and can be resolved easily. I can only hope Apple then passes more difficult issues to an actual human being who can do the type of intervention necessary to reach a resolution. Heaven help us all, and Apple, if they ever automate the degree of support that requires screen sharing over to a robot.
I have yet to meet anyone in the real world that thinks AI on any level is going to fulfill anything close to the promises made by those pushing it. Folks have already seen and felt the results of these early efforts and have turned sour on the entire concept. I think of this like I imagine the last century’s transition to the automobile. Regardless of how some felt upon seeing the first automobiles on the same streets as pedestrian and horse traffic, everyone knew, for better or worse, it was a future they would have to adapt to.
I have encountered a few business owners who think AI will help them create efficiency and reduce costs, but their discussions about what is possible demonstrate a real hype-fed ignorance and hoped for way of cutting costs. I have one client who is smitten with the promise, but is constantly getting bitten by the results.
I’m betting Apple’s move will take a bite out of its customer satisfacton numbers as well.
(Image from Munthia on Shutterstock)
You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.
#ai #ArtificialIntelligence #chatgpt #CustomerSupport #TechnicalSupport #technology #Writing
For the last couple of years I have started to spread a little bit of money around to various project. I support Wikipedia, Signal, pixelfed, NOYB and a few others. I took a look at my annual contributions and realised that it corresponded to roughly 0.7% of my disposable income (or my income times 0.007). To me, it is below the threshold of what I would even realise that I spent. It is roughly the amount I would pay if I went out with a friend for dinner and had a couple of beers. Given the value I get from using all of the great projects in the #fediverse and other open tooling, I think it is a reasonable amount to pay back - #YMMV, ofc.
0.007 has a nice ring to it - so by this I am starting what I have decided to call "the zero-zero-seven initiative". The purpose is to create awareness about financial contribution to the projects we use every day.
3/
US gov is using Ukraine war to expand its US oil industry among other things. It doesn't care at all about Human rights.
If it did, it would do something about Gaza.
All the noise about human rights is just a tool to further business interests.
it is no coincidence that lack of democracy and human rights is a problem only in countries not subservient to US business interest. Venezuela, Iran, Russia are bad but Saudi, Iraq, Israel are fine.
#politics #oil #usa #humanRights
Seems like she's spent a lot more time at #realestate conferences than at #antigenocide rallies since the election tho.
You’re a fucking idiot #genocide apologist if you believe this!
#Politics #Democrats #Republicans #Liberals #Conservatives #Vote #Election #DemocraticParty #DNC #RepublicanParty #RNC #GOP #DonaldTrump #Trump #JDVance #Vance #JoeBiden #Biden #KamalaHarris #TimWalz #Democracy #US #USA #ElonMusk #Musk #Fascism #Fascist #BernieSanders #Sanders #AOC #FraudSquad #Progressive

【種明かし】有名マジシャンがTVで演じる手品!最強のトランプの空中浮遊マジックです!簡単にできるプロ級マジックです。
#YouTube #動画 #ビデオ #共有 #カメラ付き携帯電話 #動画機能付き携帯電話 #無料 #アップロード #チャンネル #コミュニティ #ユーチューブ #YouTubeマジック種明かし動画集 #YouTubeマジック種明かし動画集 #YouTube #動画 #ビデオ #共有 #カメラ付き携帯電話 #動画機...

君を捕まえたら、RICKY......!
RICKY、君を捕まえたら、RICKY......!
WHEN I CATCH YOU, RICKY
RICKY, WHEN I CATCH YOU, RICKY
#ReBoot #meme #ricky #tiktok #animation #cgi #Canada #mainframe
Gena Heraty: ‘Please release her’ – charity appeals to kidnappers
Kathleen Davey was raised in Haiti by missionary parents and still has relatives living there; two of her…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Environment #Science
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62769/

Curiosity rover celebrates 13 years on Mars with well-deserved naps and Red Planet ‘coral’
Thirteen years into its mission, NASA’s Curiosity rover is still uncovering Martian mysteries — and learning to do…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Space #Science
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62767/

Bad Gas – UConn Today
Elias Uddin, assistant professor of animal nutrition, is investigating how changing ruminant nutrition can reduce the amount of…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Genetics #Science
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62765/

Rabid raccoon found in Berlin | Latest News
BERLIN, MD – Officials are warning locals about a rabid raccoon found in the area. The Worcester County…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Wildlife #Berlin #rabid #rabies #raccoon #Science #worcestercountyhealthdepartment
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62763/

Jeff Buckley died young but is immortalized in a new documentary
Jeff Buckley captivated an audience of generations with his transcendent voice and soaring guitar. After his untimely passing…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Movies #Entertainment #Film #interview #report
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62761/

3 Classic Rock Songs Guaranteed To Lift Your Mood
Music remains one of the most powerful and mysterious tools to make us feel better. The right song,…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Music #classicrock #Entertainment
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62759/

Seth Meyers Absolutely Loses It Over 1 Element Of Modern Life
Seth Meyers is well and truly DONE with being asked to rate everything under the sun. On Tuesday’s…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #TV #Entertainment #SethMeyers
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62757/

FBI report disproves Trump’s claim of a Biden-era out-of-control crime wave | US crime
When Donald Trump fought for and won the 2024 presidential election, his victory was built partly on the…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #UnitedStates #Us #USA
https://www.newsbeep.com/43324/

Best Books of August 2025 According to Ana Huang
It’s the end of summer which means one thing: If you haven’t found a beach read, it’s not…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Books #Entertainment
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62755/

Running #ipados 26 beta, and I keep thinking if Apple took each apps accent color and used it to subtly tint the glass, it would help separate the glass controls from the content behind them?
Waterline becomes tallest building in Texas at 1,025 feet
Austin’s new 1,025-foot Waterline tower is now the tallest building in Texas, surpassing Houston’s JPMorgan Chase Tower. HOUSTON…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Artsanddesign #Arts #ArtsAndDesign #Design #Entertainment
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62753/

Margot Robbie soon to be a giant Barbie in a remake that leaves no one indifferent
The meeting between Margot Robbie and Tim Burton promises an explosive blend of talent and originality. Known for…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Celebrities #Entertainment
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/62751/

OK, #godot question. I've got a vboxcontainer full of items. I want to shrink away any items that get deleted. I figured I'd use a tween on .scale, and they do shrink - but the vboxcontainer continues to allocate space so it's really awful.
How do I get this to work?

I was trying to select sprites and sprite-sheets that I want to use for my game. Since I have a growing collection of bought or self-drawn files it was impossible to get a good overview.
Especially seeing the animations in action - all at once.
None of the usual image viewers were giving me that overview.
So I made a tool-script in #gdscript for #godot that processes an absolute filesystem path, loads valid images and tries to detect animations and puts them on a loop.

pytest fixtures nuts and bolts - revisited
https://pythontest.com/pytest-fixtures-nuts-bolts-revisited/
A series on pytest fixtures gets an update
- posts split into one concept each
- made sure all of the info was correct for modern versions of Python and pytest
- examples reran to make sure output is correct
#Python #pytest
@HowardGees what the #fediverse needs is an Old Cables Home or a Cables Library 🤔
With the recent GitHub news (https://www.businessinsider.com/github-ceo-developers-embrace-ai-or-get-out-2025-8), there's always the offer to join the Federated Nexus Git (https://git.federated.nexus, a Forgejo instance)!
Register on our website: https://federated.nexus!
Alternatively, Codeberg is a really good option too!
#Forgejo #Git #Github #FOSS #FederatedNexus #Alternative #SelfHost
#APuZ - Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte: #Streitkultur – mit Bernhard #Pörksen und Saba-Nur #Cheema
Moderation Sarah #Zerback
Auf #SocialMedia-Plattformen, im Bundestag und in #Talkshows wird heftig gestritten und auch beleidigt. Debatten über #Streitthemen wie Migration oder das Gendern scheinen immer schärfer zu werden, die Fronten immer mehr zu #verhärten.
Podcast der @bpb herausgegeben von @hauseins
Webseite der Episode: https://www.bpb.de
Mediendatei: https://mediathek.bpb.de/audio/1/569513.mp3
https://www.pub-x.com/687569/ ユンホの言葉がファンの心を動かした理由とは?東方神起の感動エピソード #KPopBoys #KPopIdols #short #shorts #youtube #アイドル #あげあげ #イケメン #かいせつ #かっこいい #かわいい #ショート #スピリチュアル #モチベ #モチベーショ #やる気 #ユーチューブ #ユンホ(YUNHO) #ランキング #可愛い #向上心 #男 #男性 #美男 #自己啓発 #自己肯定感 #解説

A suggestion for a future #Mastodon update:
When a word filter is triggered and the user has those posts filtered, and receives notification of a post being filtered due to matching X filter, when the user clicks "Matches filter 'X'", provide an "Edit filter" option next to the "Hide post" option.
Why in the world does this compile and run? It crashes when presenting the view. #SwiftUI

Až díky BlueSky bridge jsem poprvé zahlédl, jak vypadají quoted posts na Mastodonu.
#quotepost #Mastodon

80. Jahrestag: Hiroshima mahnt
Heute ist der 80. Jahrestag des Atombombenabwurfes auf #Hiroshima. Eine besondere Bedeutung erfährt dieser Tag durch die aktuellen Bestrebungen, ab 2026 weitreichende #Waffensysteme wie Raketen des Typs Standard Missile 6 (SM-6), nuklear bestückbare Marschflugkörper des Typs #Tomahawk sowie hypersonischen Waffen in #Deutschland durch die US- und #Bundesregierung. Das Netzwerk Friedenskooperative stellt eine umfangreiche Übersicht zu den Aktivitäten rund um die Gedenktage zur Verfügung. Aktuell finden sich in dem Terminkalender mehr als 80 Veranstaltungen bundesweit. Beteilige dich an den Aktionen! Hier findest du alle Infos und Termine.
Es waren nur wenige Wochen zwischen dem ersten #Atomtest im US-Bundesstaat New Mexico und dem ersten #Praxistest in Hiroshima. Am 16. Juli 1945 war die im #Manhattan-Projekt entwickelte #Atombombe auf dem Testgelände bei #Alamogoro gezündet worden; ihre Sprengkraft betrug 21 Kilotonnen TNT. Die Explosion war erfolgreich, aber über die tödliche Wirkung konnte der Test nichts Definitives aussagen. 20 Tage später detonierte die 12,5-Kilotonnen-Bombe mit dem niedlichen Namen "Little boy" in Hiroshima, drei Tage später eine weitere Bombe namens "Fat Man" über #Nagasaki. Die Wirkung der Bomben war kolossal: Zwischen 90.000 und 200.000 Menschen starben unmittelbar. Weitere 130.000 Menschen starben bis Jahresende. Bis 1950 war die Zahl der Spätopfer in beiden Städten auf insgesamt 230.000 gestiegen. Strahlenopfer sind auch heute noch in der dritten Generation zu beklagen.
„Der obige Befehl ergeht an Sie auf Anweisung und mit Zustimmung des Kriegsministers und des Generalstabschefs der amerikanischen #Streitkräfte.“(Befehl an den General Carl #Spaatz, Oberkommandierender der amerikanischen strategischen #Luftwaffe für den Abwurf der Atombombe auf Hiroshima)
„Ich habe nie bereut und mich nie geschämt, denn ich glaubte damals, dass ich meine patriotische Pflicht tat, als ich den Befehlen folgte, die man mir gab.“(Oberst Paul W. #Tibbets, der die Atombombe über Hiroshima ausklinkte)
Obwohl #Japan zum damaligen Zeitpunkt militärisch bereits am Ende war, nahm die U.S. #Militärführung unter der Führung von US-Präsident #Truman zehntausende von Opfern in Kauf: 140.000 starben bis Ende 1945 an den Folgen des Abwurfs.
Der zweite Atombombenabwurf auf Nagasaki geschah drei Tage später, am 9. August 1945. Die Opfer steigerten sich dadurch auf über 250.000.
Zum vollständigen Beitrag in unserem Blog.

kinda says it all that the freaking Wall Str Journal is a more accurate source of info on economic effects of tariffs then #mastodon #tariff #Trump

Nuovo passo per l'epopea "connessione SFTP via python".
Ho correttamente caricato un file (e segnalato via mail la cosa per evitare casini), ora devo capire come impostare il tutto per metterlo in produzione al posto di quello schifo in powershell che si rifiuta di loggare alcunché.
Who does not love baked potatoes? That perfectly baked potato is super tender, and we load it to the nines with butter, sour cream, cheese, and more butter. #cooking #food #recipes #flipboardusergroup #fediverse #sides #vegetables #SummerRecipes
Posted into Giangi's Kitchen Recipes @giangi-s-kitchen-recipes-giangiskitchen