"Just make something, even if it’s laughably bad. Make it yours."

Great piece by @j

https://janerationx.com/posts/in-the-beginning

My favorite laundromat just got drastically demoted. DexterPay no longer works on their machines. The biggest ones will take a credit card at a steep surcharge, but it's buggy as hell and doesn't work properly on the dryers. #enshittification #fail

How do you prefer your paid software?

#AI is the new tobacco: that industry invented scientific controversy around the unquestionable harm of tobacco and lobbied aggressively against any regulation of its sales, just as corporations now peddle tall tales about utility of AI and lobby for its use everywhere, supercharging #enshittification by normalising #slop.
It took more than half a century to reverse what tobacco industry has done to public opinion on tobacco, and the damage to public health was irreversible.

Funny and sad: I am doing a quick desk research on the uses of AI in tourism, and I struggle with a lot of content coming up on web search being AI slop of super low quality.

Eh.

#AI
#enshittification

#enshittification alert: A couple of years ago we purchased a #SleepNumber bed, and laughed at the dystopian tracking service their app offered, but could at least be opted out of. We were fine ignoring the red "Bed is not collecting data" banner at the bottom of the app whenever we needed to adjust our mattress's firmness. This is now gone. You can use an extremely hobbled version of the app that doesn't even remember what side of the bed you sleep on if you don't agree to this new TOS. 1/3

We were prepping a Jennie-O frozen turkey breast and found a ‘gravy starter’ tucked inside. Reviewing the many ingredients, we decided it wasn’t anything we’d use; nothing is easier than making gravy (drippings+corn starch+water=voila!). What ticks me off is that it added weight to the package so we paid extra $ for something we didn’t ask for or want. Guess we'll have to pay closer attention to the labels going forward. #rant #cooking #enshittification

And now my browser (Duck Duck Go) is opening half-screen.

I didn't ask for this. I don't want this. And I can't find out how to fix this.

Half of the online solutions say "Go to the Settings by clicking on the three dots on the top right of your screen..."

It won't display the top right of the screen and the three little dots.

#ComputersMakeOurLivesEasier
#Enshittification

Well my #enshittification day continues. Drove about 12 miles in pouring rain over to Best Buy in Springfield, OR to get the Apple Watch SE 44mm that we saw on their website late last night for $199, and it was $279. Opened website there to get price matching and it was also $279.

Checked Amazon and it was $267.

Drove home and ordered from Wally World's website for $199, free shipping mid next week.

These #BigBox stores and their ridiculous dynamic pricing schemes make me crazy.

Pluralistic:
Big Tech and “captive audience venues

“Enshittification is what you get when tech companies, run by the common-or-garden mediocre sociopaths who end up at the top of most businesses, are unshackled from any consequence for indulging their worst, greediest impulses”

#Enshittification #Pluralistic #sociopaths #billionaires #facebook #x #twitter
@pluralistic
https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/28/street-pricing/#sportball-analogies

I can't believe I have to ask this, but: is there a decent app for iOS that plays music I own without requiring an internet connection? #enshittification

Microsoft wants Windows 11 installs to use a Microsoft Account — confirms removal of popular setup bypass

The popular "bypassnro" command, which let users to skip connecting to the Internet and signing into a Microsoft Account, is being removed.

https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/microsoft-will-force-windows-11-installs-to-use-a-microsoft-account-confirms-removal-of-popular-setup-bypass

I've reached this point where I know Big Tech is useless unless I can free it from corporate greed with Linux and GrapheneOS.

Big Tech is like digital colonialism, siphoning creativity and exploiting consumers for profit while deepening inequality. These corporations treat individuals as mere resources in their relentless pursuit of profit.

Platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and all those other platforms are just tools for Big Tech to exploit us. They're trash.

When will you stand up against their exploitation? Look at the harm they cause!

#Microsoft is removing the possibility to use a local account with #Windows.
https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/03/28/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26200-5516-dev-channel/

"We’re removing the bypassnro.cmd script from the build to enhance security and user experience of Windows 11."

Oh, okay, but how does it improve security or user experience?

"This change ensures that all users exit setup with internet connectivity and a Microsoft Account."

Ah, so it does not improve security or user experience. It in fact is making the user experience worse, as you no longer can set up Windows offline easily.

The only reason is to force more users to sign up to Microsoft account.

Garmin announced Connect+, paid tier of their app.

Please, no.