Ernie Smith

Editor of Tedium, an offbeat newsletter that’s been rocking since 2015. I complain on the internet a lot, and I accidentally made a search engine.

Interests: #writing #news #history #technology #retrotech #weird #geoworks #freelance

Tedium: https://tedium.co/
&udm=14: https://udm14.com
Portfolio: https://erniesmith.net/
Verified Journalist: https://www.verifiedjournalist.org/people/@[email protected]

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Last Notes

2024-06-25 20:04:32

Still no follows. https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/25/24185226/meta-threads-fediverse-likes-replies

2024-06-18 04:15:07

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I love when you hit a certain level of popularity that the thing you’re known for gets recommended to you. It has happened to me a couple of times in the past month

2024-06-16 07:02:30

I’ve been thwarted. I cannot find the piece of info I was looking for. I thought it would be easier than this. I’m so mad.
Let me tell you what it is: There was a time before the JPEG file took over the world that it appeared with a specific application, “OS/2 Image Support.”
It was literally the first example of an application with JPEG support—a fact that is documented in multiple places—and yet, it is nowhere on the internet. This is such a damn shame.

2024-06-13 20:05:12

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I want to go into a rowdy bar, tap the shoulder of the dude with the biggest muscles in the place, and say to him, “I’m pretty sure you’re an AI bot,” just to see what he does.
The injuries received will be for science.

2024-06-13 19:56:46

The new lazy take is accusing someone you disagree with of being AI.
It particularly stings when the insult is made in-person.

2024-06-11 03:37:45

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On the one hand, yes, I agree with this. On the other, it’s hard not to look at the mess Adobe just created for itself, the mess Google just created for itself, and the mess Microsoft just created for itself … and not feel happy that someone appears to understand how to do this dance.
Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of reasons to be skeptical, but Apple is the only company that led with guardrails, and that means something.

2024-06-11 03:05:58

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I’m not saying I *love* what they did or even trust them as far as I can throw them. Just that they nailed their messaging on this one thing.

2024-06-11 03:02:01

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I think the best we can hope for is what Apple did today—admitting it’s following a new trend, but being careful to emphasize that it requires our trust to follow down this road.
You follow me—and know I usually hate whatever Apple’s doing. But I found myself feeling like they did a surprising job of maintaining a balance on a sensitive topic.

2024-06-10 16:11:53

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I echo Adrian’s points (thanks for adding me to the post). Ironically, I worked in the same WeWork where Medium’s DC office was located and always kicked myself that I never made an intro.
That said, to get to the point being made here, I do worry about the quality factor. I have seen a lot of content come up in Medium recently that feels AI-written or encourages get-rich-quick schemes. I know Medium does a lot of lifting here and I still maintain a subscription .

2024-06-07 17:57:49

I am now in the Dumb Domain business. Buy a Dumb Domain from my store.
It will generate new domains every time you reload the page. See what you get. And tell a friend.
https://dumbdomain.store

2024-05-24 23:12:09

With anything suitably technical, the fediverse is the place to be.
I can't believe observers are still doubting the value of this place.
https://cyberplace.social/@GossiTheDog/112497916099437764

2024-05-24 07:48:22

Hard to disagree with this take.
https://www.computerworld.com/article/2117752/google-gemini-ai.html

2024-05-22 00:29:30

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I think you had the most nuanced take about this thing, it looked three steps ahead. You see where the puck is going and called it out as soon as I discovered it. I think as a writer, I respect critiques like that way more than people who knee-jerk.

2024-05-22 00:28:01

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And you’re probably right to be. I think *most* people not paying attention is really the bet they’re making. They don’t want a ScarJo moment with this.

2024-05-22 00:23:54

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I do think it points to a user backlash to the changes announced at I/O though

2024-05-22 00:21:42

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I don’t fundamentally disagree with your point about this possibly being ephemeral, BTW, and maybe making things worse for some searchers. I presented it as a something you could make a default, or switch to the other full-fat search.

2024-05-22 00:19:41

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I wrote about that find I pointed out the other day (around Google Web view) that you immediately critiqued, and it went extremely viral.
https://tedium.co/2024/05/17/google-web-search-make-default/
It’s weird, your critique was the harshest criticism I’ve seen about the whole thing. The critique I’ve mostly seen otherwise is that we should all be using DDG instead.

2024-05-21 23:47:59

Google post just hit 50k.

2024-05-20 22:14:24

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Someone created a tool to make this easier. https://tenbluelinks.org
Going to add this to my post.

2024-05-17 21:31:37

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that's pretty cool! Given the way Google reshapes our meaning so often on specific searches that can really come in handy!

2024-05-17 14:33:52

How I fixed Google so it doesn’t shove AI into my face anymore.
https://tedium.co/2024/05/17/google-web-search-make-default/
new @npub1tq6…hvnc

2024-05-17 01:34:41

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By adding udm=14 to any Google URL parameter, it forces Google to present a knowledge-panel-free search.
That means no AI, no gaming the results, and as far as I can tell for now, no ads. It makes a great default search.

2024-05-17 01:28:59

Tip: If you want a suck-free Google experience, set this parameter as your default search engine.
https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14

2024-05-08 00:03:25

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I haven’t found an equivalent—I just use Retropie via Steam.

2024-04-16 05:04:22

Man decides that powerful tech reviewer doing a fair review of a bad product is somehow unethical for telling the truth.
This is literally the worst take I’ve ever seen.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/278/677/704/999/687/original/b147bedf547f65f4.png

2024-04-15 22:30:13

This is going to work exactly the opposite of the way Elon thinks it will: The bots will pay and the regular users will not.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/15/elon-musk-plans-to-charge-new-x-users-to-enable-posting/