living like its 2009...
Today I opened my university's Canvas and attempted to take a quiz. The quiz did not load. Instead, I saw a ransom note from the hackers who have been attacking Canvas. Frustrated, I watched the due date of my quiz come and go with no way to submit anything. It isn't even guaranteed I'll be able to submit the last coursework and exams I have this semester, since it isn't clear when the attack will…
I never downloaded TikTok and never will. I blocked all YouTube Shorts from my desktop homepage, recommendations, and search. I do not use Youtube on my phone (where it's difficult to block Shorts.) If someone is playing Shorts on a TV I will physically leave the room. When I noticed I was opening Reels when I went on Instagram, I deleted the app, then my account. Same with Snapchat; when I kept…
I keep seeing takes about how AI shopping agents will help kill the sectors of the economy that extract money by adding enough friction to experiences that people are willing to pay more to avoid the annoyance. If this ends up coming completely true, it'll probably be a good thing (for consumers at least.) Running an AI model is far from cheap. Yet, many people have already gotten used to having…
My Phone: A Success Story (for now) My iPhone home screen is text-only, with shortcuts to tools I use. I don't have a single distracting app installed. My screen is always in grayscale. I have Screen Time set on potential distractions, most notably Safari, and my dad has the password so I can't just disable restrictions. (I wonder how he felt when I asked him to set a password after years of…
A few years ago, I used Pinterest. These days, I hear Pinterest is full of AI slop , but back when I used it, it was "real" content. My main goal in using Pinterest was improving my personal style. I was never really into fashion, but for some reason I've forgotten (end of quarantine? high school?) I wanted to change that. I had heard in the past that Pinterest was great for putting together…