There are some good arguments in favor of understanding corporations as artificial, intelligent meta-(or super-)organisms: Corporations are aware of their predators (government agencies) and aim to extinguish them (see regulatory capture) Corporations prioritize their own survival over secondary goals (profits, growth, etc). To avoid death, it may shed massive amounts of its body (close stores,… Continue reading Corporations are agentic AGI
Category: Blog
How I live in a rural area without a car
or: eBikes, the underestimated mobility revolution.
Kagi: A Google alternative that just kinda.. is?
After seeing the raving reviews about Kagi by esteemed authors Doctorow and Koebler, I decided to use the search engine myself. Compared to my reviews of other services (especially: Ground News), this one is somewhat more difficult to grasp for me. But just to get started, here's some thoughts: Using kagi becomes very transparent very… Continue reading Kagi: A Google alternative that just kinda.. is?
Don’t use Ellipses in menu items; the HIG are out of date
I'm going to assert that the human interface guidelines on this subject are outdated. For this, I need to go into some depth first. If you're just interested in when to use it, I make my recommendation at the bottom. The historyThe problemsWhen to use ellipses today? The history This is an ancient convention among… Continue reading Don’t use Ellipses in menu items; the HIG are out of date
No more twitter
FYI: Following my other post, I have now deleted my twitter account. I don't think I'll return even in a post-musk world; I no longer need it. https://leo.wattenberg.dk/2022/11/02/sunsetting-social-media-and-the-dawn-of-group-chats/
Sunsetting Social Media and the Dawn of Group Chats
Social media is a fluke. The battleground of attention isn't why it got big in the first place, and with the rise of group chats, it will die fairly soon.
Mastodon is not the solution, but yet another problem
We all know that big tech has a problem, from unfair policies to monopolistic bullying behavior. Back around new year 2018, I finally had enough and made an account on Mastodon - a federalized, not-for-profit-but-for-good kind of Twitter alternative. I'd be a trendsetter, I invited all my friends, some of which joined as well -… Continue reading Mastodon is not the solution, but yet another problem
Sport und Gewalt
Ein Gedanke, der mir seit Jahren immer mal wieder im Kopf herumschwirrt, ist folgende Positionierung des Deutschen Olympischen Sportbunds zum Thema eSports: Eine weitere Entscheidungsgrundlage war der Inhalt der Spiele und die entsprechende Darstellungsform am Bildschirm. In vielen Spielen ist die Vernichtung und Tötung des Gegners das Ziel des Spiels. Insbesondere die deutlich sichtbare und… Continue reading Sport und Gewalt
The Work of Art in the Age of NFTs
Every time I see NFTs in the context of “making digital art unique/owning art”, I have to think of Walter Benjamin’s „The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” from 1935. TL;DR is you just need to replace „mechanical“ with „digital” and you’re done. The context for Benjamin’s essay is the rise of… Continue reading The Work of Art in the Age of NFTs
Die Digitale CD
Mama will ihrer Freundin eine CD schenken. Problem: Die gibt's nur noch digital. Nichts einfacher als das, denk ich, wir laden die einfach runter und ziehen die auf einen USB-Stick. *Edward A. Murphy lächelt müde* Zum ersten Mal in meinem Leben ist das Problem nicht digitaler Natur. Der Download klappt und spuckt eine ZIP aus.… Continue reading Die Digitale CD
Leo Wattenberg 