Category: Rant

Amazon Faces Class Action For Enshittifying Prime Video

Karl Bode – techdirt “Last week Amazon began charging Amazon Prime Video customers (who already pay $140 per year) an extra $3 extra per month to avoid ads that didn’t previously exist. […] The move this week resulted in a class action lawsuit by annoyed subscribers, whose lawyers insist that Amazon violated subscriber agreements by suddenly charging for something that subscribers understood they were already paying for: […] Prime Video’s efforts to nickel-and-dime customers is the latest example of the steady enshittification of a streaming video industry that appears to have learned nothing from the scale-chasing issues that plagued cable TV. Now that the market has saturated, streaming companies are looking for creative ways to provide Wall Street the unrealistic endlessly improved quarterly returns bean counters demand.”

Well, congrats to Amazon for joining the ad party and the enshittification of Prime Video! Now my TV watching experience comes with a side of unwanted shit called ads. I’d like to think the Class Action suit will go somewhere but I doubt it will.

 

iPad Pro rant: the clipboard saga that tests my patience daily

Let me tell you something: I love my iPad Pro. It’s a fantastic tool for reading, research, and even writing. But here’s the deal: the lack of a decent clipboard manager makes me want to tear my fucking hair out.

Every. Single. Day. I’m copying and pasting things. Snippets from articles, research notes, half-written sentences. And yet, on the iPad Pro, it’s an exercise in frustration. The measly one-item clipboard is a joke.

Sure, there are those workaround tactics that I wrote about the other day, but let’s call a spade a spade – they’re just that, work-arounds. I get pissed when I start a task that demands copying and pasting; it’s at that moment I reluctantly shift to my Mac. A move that shouldn’t be necessary yet becomes an unavoidable ritual due to the iPad Pro’s clipboard limitations.

Why should I be compelled to switch devices mid-stream just to manage a fundamental function like copy-pasting? This iPad Pro issue really bothers me, even though I enjoy using it. It deserves better, and it’s high time Apple addressed this glaring shortcoming. Fix it please, Apple.

The Opioid Crisis: A Sackler Family Affair

Dave Pell

“In exchange for a $6 billion dollar payment from the Sacklers, the arrangement would block future opioid lawsuits targeting them.” The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a deal that would have limited future damages to the family behind the deadly opiate crisis. So this is a good time to refresh your understanding of just how damaging that family business has been. The latest show on the topic is a Netflix series starring Matthew Broderick and called PainKiller. And some great reads on this topic include: Patrick Radden Keefe’s Empire of Pain (the definitive work on the Sacklers and an amazing history of how drug marketing started and thrives). John Temple’s American Pain: How a Young Felon and His Ring of Doctors Unleashed America’s Deadliest Drug Epidemic. And Eric Eyre’s Death in Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic. Of course, all the content and lawsuits in the world don’t seem to be able to make a dent in the problem.

+ DopeSick on Hulu

The Sacklers, dressed to impress in their fancy suits, are  fucking high-class drug dealers. Treat them like any other dealer: charge, convict, and throw ’em behind bars.

 

I’m done with Medium, it’s losing its soul

I’ve been cross-posting from here and writing on Medium since 2015. My articles have racked up over 100,000 views. Over this time, Medium has gone through its fair share of changes, including some recent ones.

Here’s the thing – it feels like Medium has forgotten about us writers who’ve been here for years. Now it’s like they’re chasing profits so hard that they’ve left behind those of us who’ve been posting our stuff for free and sticking around for ages. Now, it’s all about the writers in the Partner Program. The rest of us? We’re more like background noise now.

Medium’s latest tweaks to the Partner Program have made life trickier for writers who aren’t part of it. They’re now requiring partner writers to become Medium Members (which costs $5 per month) and gather up a bunch of followers before they can even join the program.

Additionally, non-partner writers are no longer included in the algorithms that elevate posts. This means non-partner writers are getting the short end of the stick, with hardly any chance of growing their audience.

Because of these changes, loads of writers who chose not to jump into the Partner Program are seeing fewer people checking out their stuff. It’s fucking frustrating, especially for those of us who’ve poured our energy into Medium for years.

So, let’s cut to the chase. Medium’s current trajectory? It’s not for me. So, no biggie – I pulled the trigger and deactivated my account yesterday. So now those 3000 monthly readers of my Medium pieces will get a 404 error smack in the face.

Later, Medium!

 

Elon Musk walks away with @x, leaves owner high and dry

After rebranding Twitter as “X”, Elon Musk took the @x handle from its original owner, Gene X. Hwang, and offered him merchandise as compensation.

Mr. Hwang received an email from the company explaining that his account data would be preserved, and he would be given a new handle. The email also offered Mr. Hwang merchandise, a tour of its offices, and a meeting with company management.

Merchandise? Let’s think about that for a minute.

The average price that Twitter handles sell for varies depending on several factors, including the length and uniqueness of the handle, the number of followers the account has, and the industry the account is in. However, Twitter handles can generally sell for anywhere from a few dollars to several thousand dollars. In some cases, extremely valuable Twitter handles can sell for much more than the average.

The @x handle is extremely valuable. It is short, unique, and has a large number of followers. According to a recent estimate, the @x handle could be worth as much as $100,000.

Elon Musk is the wealthiest man in the world. Surely he can afford to pay Mr. Hwang a fair price for the @x handle.

Elon it’s time to do the right thing. You should pay Mr. Hwang a fair price for the @x handle. Anything less is a slap in the face.

 

PGA Tour and Saudi-Backed LIV Golf Merge: Money Talks, Golf Integrity Walks

In a truly mind-boggling move, the PGA Tour has decided to cozy up to its Saudi-backed, LIV Golf. Because what better way to enhance the integrity of the sport than by joining forces with a dubious rival?

According to ESPN, the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and DP World Tour have all huddled together “under one umbrella.” I suppose it’s easier to share an umbrella when it’s raining money.

When questioned about this questionable merger, one brave PGA Tour player had a rather colorful response, exclaiming, “No f—ing way.” Can’t blame him, really. It’s hard to see the logic in propping up a sinking ship like LIV Golf. But hey, who needs rationality when there’s a boatload of cash involved?

Another PGA Tour pro complained “It’s insanity,” the PGA Tour player said. “The LIV tour was dead in the water. It wasn’t working. Now, you’re throwing them a life jacket? Is the moral of the story to just always take the money?””

Now, here comes me the disgruntled non-golf-playing fan, throwing a fit and exclaiming, “What the fuck!” The PGA should prepare for the wrath of their disillusioned players and viewers.

In summary, the PGA Tour has made a move that is as baffling as it is shame-worthy. Let’s see how this merger pans out and whether it will be remembered as a stroke of genius or a swing-and-a-miss. Golf fans, get ready for a wild ride, because it looks like the game just got a whole lot messier.

Sorry, I just had to rant about this.