41 pointsby abdelhousni9 hours ago2 comments
  • olivierestsage5 hours ago
    Been amazing to see how far tech companies have fallen in public esteem (good). I remember when my friends and I would get together to watch the new MacBook announcements, eager to see what was coming. Feels as distant now as sk8erboi culture.
    • atonse3 hours ago
      Doesn’t help that they’ve gotten so big. They’ve become “the man” the establishment that has a direct line to everyone’s brains.

      And have in so many cases abused their power.

      All that not counting the stagnation and enshittification.

      I also used to get together with friends to watch Apple Keynotes. They were so much fun.

      But now they’re just extremely sanitized pre produced videos (basically ads) that lack any sort of soul.

      Yes yes I know they were always mainly ads. But there was something to be said for people presenting on stage.

      • dangus2 hours ago
        Back in the day, these companies stayed in their lane, so to speak.

        When you bought a computer, that’s all it was. It had much more of a toy or appliance like appeal rather than this deeply integrated life augmenter. The idea that a company like Apple or even a bigger (at the time) company like Microsoft would own a movie/TV studio and broadcast major league sports was an insane idea.

        I will say regarding keynotes, it wasn’t limited to the genuine nature of the companies. The 90s and 2000s were just on different levels of the pace of technology development. I am sure that even Microsoft had an exciting keynote or two and they were the evil empire in those days.

  • exabrial7 hours ago
    I think the one benefit people are overlooking is that there is an opportunity to increase power generation.

    Rather than saying "no", how about making the new datacenters fund nuclear, solar, and grid battery?

    • subscribed3 hours ago
      New datacenters aren't harmless (noise or NoX pollution is real), and they'll consume more than they generate.

      Yours better off mandating solar panels on parking lots (especially in the US!), etc.

    • blibble7 hours ago
      > how about making the new datacenters fund nuclear, solar, and grid battery?

      good luck with that

      any promises will be ignored, avoided or dumped onto regular people the very moment the approval is granted

      • icwtyjj6 hours ago
        What about a making it prerequisite? Demonstrate you have built the nuclear/solar/whatever capacity to cover your own energy before you're allowed to build a datacenter?
        • blibble6 hours ago
          if it's connected to the grid and you make them buy capacity, they will write a contract to sell the same amount of capacity the moment it's approved

          and you've accomplished nothing

          and if you make them hold a certain position they'll simply sell in another subsidiary, or use derivatives

          the only way to deal with this type of parasitism is blanket refusal

        • _aavaa_6 hours ago
          > nuclear

          See you in 15 years I guess.

          Many site are already building their own capacity, but doing it (unfortunately) with gas turbines.

        • dangus2 hours ago
          I think this is the wrong way to go.

          Let them buy energy, but why aren’t utilities’ power rates more strictly regulated?

          Residential rates should be locked in with inflation, allow business rates to increase.

      • gruez6 hours ago
        >any promises will be ignored, avoided or dumped onto regular people the very moment the approval is granted

        Doesn't seem too hard to force the datacenter to put up a bond for it, and then if the requirements/timelines aren't met the bond's seized.

        • blibble5 hours ago
          it's exceptionally hard because energy is fungible

          try writing the contract, say, requiring 500MW of new gas generation to be built locally to power the DC, which is grid connected

          they'll then secretly write a contract to sell 500MW of gas generation on the open market, conditional on approval

          at some price they'll find a buyer, at which point 500MW increase in grid capacity has been cancelled out despite them actually building the plant

          and all it cost them was the difference in the contract price

          • 3 hours ago
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