I know it's par for the course these days, but that's a lot of Js and CSS for a single page app with some text, a few images, and a list of collapsible info sections (whose animations aren't very smooth).
Generally speaking, I share the HN consensus on age verification laws. But, there is a real problem with kid's unfettered internet access. Just think about all the adults who are hopelessly addicted to social media. The negative affects are amplified when it comes to developing minds.
My SO has been teaching for nearly 20 years now, and mental health in kids has fallen off a cliff in the last two decades. I could fill this page with online bullying stories. Some of which, are especially cruel. Half her students are on medication for anxiety. It's out of control, honestly.
That said, I don't know how to solve it. It's easy to put this on the parents, but that's not the answer. Otherwise, it would be solved already. Some don't care. Some don't have the time to care because they're trying to keep the lights on, and dinner on the table. And, some simply think it doesn't apply to them or their children. Parents on HN are hyper-aware of this sort of thing, but that's definitely the minority.
I know a family that would be most folks least likely candidate for something bad to happen online. Single income, relatively well off, the parent at home has an eye on the kids 24/7. And, if you met the kids, you would most likely qualify them as "good kids". Without going into detail, their life was turned upside down because one of the kids was "joking around" online.
Again, I don't know what the answer to the problem is. Clearly, age verification laws are a veiled attempt to both collect and control data. And, EFF's emphasis on advertising restrictions as a solution, seems off the mark. There's more to it than that. Idk, this shit makes me want to log off permanently, and pretend it's 1992.
Look into the JUCE framework for building your own tools. I was using MaxMsp for a while, but would always think to myself "This would be so much easier to accomplish in pure code". So, I started building some bespoke VST's.
There's a learning curve for sure, but it's not too bad once you learn the basics of how audio and MIDI are handled + general JUCE application structure.
Two tips:
Don't bother with the Projucer, use the CMAke example to get going. Especially if you don't use XCode or Visual Studio.
If your on a Mac, you might need to self-sign the VST. I don't remember the exact process, but it's something I had to do once I got an M4 Mac.
I haven't really found anything yet that Gemini can't do in python for this.
LLMs have absolutely killed any interest I use to have in the max/pd/reaktor wiring up boxes UI.
I have really gone further though and thought why do I even care about VST or a DAW or anything like this? Why not break completely free of everything?
I take inspiration from Trevor Wishart and the Composers Desktop Project for this. Wishart's music could only really be made with his own tools.
It is easy to sound original when using a tool no one else has.
> I haven't really found anything yet that Gemini can't do in python for this.
Python for audio apps? First I've heard of this. Is it a "Python acts as a thin wrapper over C" or something?
> I have really gone further though and thought why do I even care about VST or a DAW or anything like this?
Been there. I started making music on a Windows 95 PC, built up a studio over the years (including some DIY hardware), and eventually was using Logic as glorified multi-track recorder + effects rack. These days, I've kind of went back to my roots, and I'm doing a lot of sample chopping. Only difference is: I'm using my own sounds as source material.
Hear, hear. Dragging cables around with a mouse was a hard sell in the first place, but now it’s pretty much inconceivable.
I’ve been using LLMs to help build out audio-related projects that I didn’t think I’d get a chance to pursue until I retired.
Under the hood, are they crap? Maybe. Probably, even. But they function well enough to make my own weird music with, and they’re available for use now - not twenty years from now when I retire.
The era of custom software on tap is here. As someone who is primarily interested in making unique stuff, it’s a great time to be alive.
This is really impressive. As a former designer, I'm equally excited that people will be able to generate images like this with a prompt, and sad that there will be much less incentive for people to explore design / "photoshopping" as a craft or a career.
At the end of the day, a tool is a tool, and the computer had the same effect on the creative industry when people started using them in place of illustrating by hand, typesetting by hand, etc. I don't want my personal bias to get in the way too much, but every nail that AI hammers into the creative industry's coffin is hard to witness.
I feel you. Infact, IMO, SWE1 level coding industry seems to be a couple years lagging on this aspect.
The trouble is that learning fundamentals now is a large trough to go past, just the way grade 3-10 children learn their math fundamentals despite there being calculators. It's no longer "easy mode" in creative careers.
I think those old TUI systems are analogous to learning Vim. At first, you don't wtf is going on. But, the more time you spend with it, the more it's ingrained, and eventually becomes second nature.
I've seen many of these systems over the years. Before I moved into software full time, the company I was working for was transitioning from a TUI to a GUI based system. The long time sales and warehousing staff absolutely hated it. Which, yes, is par for the course with any new system. But, I really believe there is an (potential) efficiency to a TUI system that makes it superior to a GUI when dealing with prototypical business operations (order entry, inventory lookup, etc).
Which makes me think, is there a market for "modern" TUI systems?
Working with FoxPro, I'm assuming. I spent several years dealing with xBase systems, and it was honestly a nightmare. I suppose if you've never used any other language or database, you wouldn't notice. Plus, the bit relative to the OP, it's a mostly worthless skill.
Man, this would have came in handy when I was trying to extract data from .dbf files. Ended up writing something in Go while referencing the dBase IV spec. Lots of trial and error as I recall.
There's a few tools out there, another one I tried in Common Lisp but it was a horrible pain in the ass to get working. Figured to search for perl scripts because it's pretty much fine with old as hell encodings (latin-1) as it was originally developed contemporary to those, and that came up. There's also this, but it was written for dBase III and idk how well it works with fox pro
Hahaha this woulda saved me some time. We considered porting the app to be a web app but after some time it was obvious that wouldn't have been as good
I know someone who had an older Chrysler 300, and you had to take a wheel off to change the battery. Baffling. I'm not much of a mechanic, but the Honda's I've owned over the years have all been easy to work on. At least in the engine bay.
BMW can be kinda a pain (its under a liner in the trunk, making you work at weird angles (and part emptying your trunk) but the benefit is your battery isn’t exposed to the elements and probably lasts longer for that reason.
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