• slazer2au@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    The majority of technologies that power the internet were developed in the 80s and refined in the 90s. Everything since then is built as a layer of abstraction on top of those core technologies.

    • mspencer712@programming.dev
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      4 months ago

      Also, the development and evolution of these open technologies relies on human interest and attention, and that attention can be diminished, even starved, by free, closed offerings.

      Evil plan step 1: make a free closed alternative and make it better than everything else. Discord for chat, Facebook for forums and chat/email, etc.

      Step 2: wait a few years, or a decade or more. The world will largely forget how to use the open alternatives. Instant messengers, forums, chat services, just give them a decade to die out. Privately hosted communities, either move to Facebook, pay for commercial anti-spam support, spend massive volunteer hours, or drown in spam.

      Step 3: monetize your now-captive audience. What else are they going to use? Tools and apps from the 2000s?

      • forgotmylastusername@lemmy.ml
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        4 months ago

        We are facing a very real possibility of the end of the web browser as we know it. Google owns the chromium engine. Mozilla is on ever more precarious footing. It’s become logistically impossible to build competing products except for tech giant. Even then everybody else gave up and went with chromium.

        • errer@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          And Mozilla is largely funded by Google. We all just hope they don’t pull the rug from them but I have no faith that our inept, slow government would stop that from happening before it’s too late.

          • Liz@midwest.social
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            4 months ago

            Almost certainly the entire reason Google is funding Mozilla is to try and stave off antitrust lawsuits.

            • Iron Lynx@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              The official reason is so that Big G is the default search engine on every install.

              But that may very well just be a smokescreen.

            • 50MYT@aussie.zone
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              4 months ago

              Yep.

              Google will spend more on a legal team working out how to prevent the lawsuits in the first place than they would be giving to Mozilla

            • Waffelson@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              I think this reason is stupid. Why can’t there be a duopoly in the browser market like in the phone market? Even if there is no firefox, there will still be safari on its own engine

              • Liz@midwest.social
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                4 months ago

                I think the phone market should also be broken up.

                The reason a doupoly is bad in any market is that it’s essentially next to no choice for the consumer, and the businesses can force changes to the market that are anti-consumer with little reprocussion. In any given market the minimum number of legitimate competitors necessary for meaningful competition will be different, but even three is too few in the web browser game, especially when the market shares look like this.

      • corsicanguppy
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        4 months ago

        But nntpd is still out there. Rebuilding Usenet will suck. But it’s not impossible. Start from the net2 sites again.

        Old mail RFCs included an instant message channel. I’m sure I saw code in either sendmail or uw-imap for it too.

        I like the fediverse, but the old ways are still valid for their particular payload.

    • 3volver@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      The key word is “majority”. I think IPFS will gain more popularity moving forward especially if fascism and censorship continue to rise.

      • Mike1576218@lemmy.ml
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        4 months ago

        And IPFS is not build on 90s tech?

        Also compared to TOR, IPFS has 0 censorship resiliance.

        I was a bit exmited for IPFS for a moment, but th more i tried it and thought about it, the less I saw a reason to use it.

    • SurpriZe@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      An example of the flip side? Something built on the newest technology from the bottom up?

  • sudo42@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    If you value your privacy and you have a choice between using a browser to access a service vs installing their app, use the browser.

    Online services can get much more information about you through an app vs the browser. Browsers are generally locked down more. Apps in general have access to much more information from your device.

  • hedgehogging_the_bed@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    The interview is a vibe check first and foremost. If you vibe with the team we will overlook other things in your application. If you made it to interview, we already think you’re good enough so don’t stress trying to impress or apologize.

    Managers are mostly people who get tired of watching other people do things badly and decide to try to do better. You don’t need a special degree or any magic to be a good manager, you should like people though.

    Everyone is faking it to some degree.

    • haui@lemmy.giftedmc.com
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      4 months ago

      The „you have to like people“ part took me nearly 20 years to figure out. I hate people in general with possible remedy for people who are nice. I‘m exceptional at managing people, I just dont vibe with them. This leads to absurd situations where everyone is happy, professionally but folks just hate my guts.

      So, I now work alone and am happy with it. :)

        • ditty@lemm.ee
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          4 months ago

          God I wish I was part of your team

          As a fellow non people person

          Press X to doubt.

        • Sciaphobia@lemm.ee
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          4 months ago

          I actually am genuinely interested in that fellow’s reasoning behind believing both that his job of managing people is successful, and also that all the people he managed do not like being managed by him.

          Anecdotally, I have encountered workplaces containing a manager or employee that was universally disliked, and it was never because they were doing an awesome job. They did appear to think that people disliked them personally but benefited from their results. Often they seem to also believe those results would be unachievable in ways that do not produce the distaste. I am not sure these contradictions are entirely defensible.

    • elbowgrease@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      people are generally ok. put them in a situation where they can climb over other people to advance and watch the rot begin.

      so, while people are generally ok, corporate people are generally not.

    • IninewCrow
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      4 months ago

      Personality, presence and confidence

      Natural self confidence, but NOT an arrogant selfish confidence.

      Some people naturally have confidence and presence and some people need to build it as a skill.

      I know guys and gals with little to no knowledge or skill build up careers because they just knew how to talk and connect to people.

      I also know guys and gals with years of education and degrees but have little to no way of politely or easily getting along with people.

    • neidu2@feddit.nl
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      4 months ago

      Can confirm with a very condensed anecdote: I once applied for a job that required engineering degree in electronics or mechanics. I’m a hischool dropout. Interview went well, and I got a job offer a month later. I got the impression that they were more interested in the right type of person with relevant hands-on experience, and in my case that experience meant IT/Linux (I was always a hobbyist geek)and being used to operating heavy machinery (Grew up on a farm).

      I’m still in the same industry, and I earn more than my friends with masters degrees.

  • cooltrainer_frank@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Former process engineer in an aluminum factory. Aluminum foil is only shiny on one side and duller on the other for process reasons, not for any “turn this part towards baking, etc” reasons.

    It’s just easier to double it on itself and machine it to double thickness than it is to hit single thickness precision, especially given how much more tensile strength it gives it.

    Also, our QA lab did all kinds of tests on it to settle arguments. The amount of heat reflected/absorbed between the two sides is trivially small. But if you like one side better you should wrap it that way, for sure!

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    4 months ago

    The cost of digital advertising cannot be justified by its effectiveness (or rather lack there of). We’ve collectively spent hundreds of billions of dollars creating the infrastructure for invasive hyper targeted ads that do not get better results than simple billboards and terrestrial TV ads even now. We’ve created a global economy of marketing, media, advertising and sales solely reliant on technofeudalist overlords who’ve provided very little actual improvement of anything.

  • stufkes@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    The use of chatgpt for writing is so widespread in higher ed, it will cause serious problems to those students when entering the workforce.

    Lots of fancy stuff is written about how we just have to change the way we teach!, and how we can use chatgpt in lessons! blablabla, but it’s all ignorant of the fact that some things need to be learnt by doing them, and students can’t understand how they hurt their own learning, because they don’t know what they don’t know.

      • bleistift2@sopuli.xyz
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        4 months ago

        I used to think that at least the parts that are Fairtrade wouldn’t be affected as much.

    • Tekkip20@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      If I’m not mistaken Nestlé, the firm that makes various brands of chocolate, are known or at least have been known to include slavery in really poor parts of the world.

      When I look at a bottle or a cuddly packaged bit of chocolate, I shudder to think the shit conditions that a person, a child even was forced or on crap pay to produce that from the cocoa farming…

      • hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        4 months ago

        Ne*tle also does this thing where they lie to mothers in ‘third-world countries’ (I hate that term but can’t think of a better one rn) by telling them that their baby formula is better than actual milk, then give them some, which the mothers mix with dirty water, and when they can’t afford the formula, they’ll just give the babies plain dirty water.

        • Jayjader@jlai.lu
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          4 months ago

          An important part of that process that needs mentioning is that when the mothers are convinced by Nestle to feed their babies formula instead of their breast milk, their bodies will stop producing the milk before the baby is weaned from it.

          So Nestle literally endangers babies’ lives just to sell more baby formula.

  • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
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    4 months ago

    The world is littered with fake empty buildings used to obscure phone line junctions and internet provider stuff.

    Almost every neighbourhood has one. But they look like normal houses, so you can never tell unless you know where to look for.

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    4 months ago

    Building HVAC engineering (equipment sizing, ducting design, etc.) has been largely handwavy bullshit for a very long time and only recently has moved towards any sort of precision. Not uncommon to find boiler plants that are 3-4 times the maximum heating load in the winter, or fans running at 100% 24/7 when code only requires half of that.

    Costs just get passed on to tenants so there was never much motivation to do better, the only reason building owners are moving now is because of government regulation and incentive programs.

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    4 months ago

    Most of hacking is done by mass effort with maybe a couple percent of people that aren’t doing basic things to protect themselves being affected. That couple of percent is enough to keep the hackers flush. (So please, follow basic cybersecurity steps, people.)

    The plain truth of the matter, though, is that if a hacker or group of hackers is targeting someone individually for reasons, that person is in real trouble.

    This has been a PSA for everyone chasing fame and clout.

    • MagicShel@programming.dev
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      4 months ago

      I miss the days of Anonymous (there was a sub group of the actual hackers whose name I can’t recall and a bunch of wannabes I guess providing them a crowd to lose themselves in) doing justice hacks. Not that they were always on the right side of things, but now everything is state actors trying to bring us all closer to Armageddon.

    • kevincox@lemmy.ml
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      4 months ago

      Tips for being secure online:

      1. Use your browser’s password manager to generate random passwords.
      2. In the rare case you need to manually enter your password into a site or app be very suspicious and very careful.
      3. Never give personal information to someone who calls or emails you. If necessary look up the contact info of who called you yourself and call them back before divulging and details. Keep in mind that Caller ID and the From address of emails can be faked.
      4. Update software regularly. Security problems are regularly fixed.

      That’s really all you need. You don’t even need 2FA, it is nice extra security but if you use random passwords and don’t enter your passwords into phishing sites it is largely unnecessary.

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        4 months ago

        Im not so sure about your number 1. Fine if otherwise they won’t use one but personally I use bitwarden online for unimportant ones and a local keypass for important ones.

        • kevincox@lemmy.ml
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          The reason I say browser password manager is two main reasons:

          1. It is absolutely critical that it checks the domain to prevent phishing.
          2. People already have a browser and are often logged into some sort of sync. It is a small step to use it.

          So yes, if you want to use a different password manager go right ahead, as long as it checks the domain before filling the password.

          • dev_null@lemmy.ml
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            What do you mean a password manager that checks the domain? Isn’t the auto fill based on the domain? I can’t imagine how a password manager could fill a password without checking the domain, it wouldn’t know which password to fill after all. Do any actually exist?

            • kevincox@lemmy.ml
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              There are some password managers where you need to either manually look up passwords and copy+paste or autotype them or select the correct password from a dropdown. Some of these will come with an optional browser extension which mitigates this but some don’t really tract domain metadata in a concrete way to do this linking.

              Some examples would be Pass which doesn’t have any standard metadata for domain/URL info (although some informal schemes are used by various tools including browser-integration extensions) and KeePass which has the metadata but doesn’t come with a browser extension by default.

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                4 months ago

                I see, so you mean manually getting the password out of the manager instead of domain based autofill.

  • Yerbouti@lemmy.ml
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    4 months ago

    The quality of education at college and university is in free fall.

    • Mathazzar@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      The navy manual for troubleshooting equipment in the field includes “lift 3-6 inches and drop”

      • AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Percussive maintenance can help sometimes. It’s not a permanent fix but you can’t always do the right fix in the middle of the ocean. Things it can help with: dislodging debris in mechanical components, reseating electrical connections that are corroding, and making yourself feel better.

    • mspencer712@programming.dev
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      What? Did I turn it off and on again? I’m a very smart technology person, of course my big brain already thought of that. I develop software for a living. It couldn’t be that simple or I wouldn’t be calling you.

      . . .

      Turning it off and on again worked. My shame is immense and I have wasted everybody’s time.

      (And that is how I learned to embrace my own idiocy and do the recommended, simple troubleshooting tasks without questioning them.)

      • JokeDeity@lemm.ee
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        4 months ago

        Dude, I just had my mechanic call and tell me my car was out of oil. I’ve never felt so dumb and ashamed.

    • whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works
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      4 months ago

      Well it didn’t work, my grampa is still sleeping, i’ll try the unplug for several minutes trick, I’ll let you know

    • BCsven
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      4 months ago

      And if that doesn’t work unplug it for a while and plug it back in.

      • librejoe@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        isn’t that what they are researching with psilocybin? I could use that big time to reset my head. I have severe health anxiety.

    • scottywh@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      This is a funny joke and all but it’s so far from actually true.

      Source: 27 years working in I.T.

  • SirSamuel@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    These aren’t secrets, but may not be well known (unless you watch LPL):

    Sentry Safes aren’t safes, they are fire boxes with a fancy lock.

    High security locks are not high security because of the lock design, but because the keys are very difficult to have duplicated.

    No one (except maybe intelligence agencies) breaks in to a house by picking a lock, especially in the US. Windows, weak door frames, and, in a pinch, making a hole in the wall are all faster ways of getting in.

    Car keys are so expensive because many manufacturers charge a subscription or per-use fee to access and program the keys to the ignition. These costs are passed on to consumers

    No one is picking your locks just to move things around or steal small, insignificant items. You are either suffering from a mental disorder or a trusted member of the household is gaslighting you (it’s not gaslighting though, you’re your grasp of reality is slipping. Don’t call me for a pick proof lock, just get help please)

    Some manufacturers (you know, in China) will put any sticker you want on the products they produce, including UL and ANSI stickers. Before buying a product that is supposedly fire-rated, such as a fire safe, check the UL website to verify the item is actually listed with them.

    “Grade 1” door hardware sold in stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot is, at best, Grade 2, and is likely Grade 3 (residential grade). These grades are really just about how durable the product is over time, and how much abuse they will endure by the public.

    And just a little practical advice. Find a qualified, honest locksmith before you need one. We’re like plumbers. If you wait until you have an emergency to find one, the quality will be questionable. There are a lot of scammers out there. If you don’t have a resource for locksmiths beyond Google, look on the ALOA website for members in your area. The good ones will know who the other good ones are, and won’t be shy about sharing that info if they are unavailable or too far away

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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      Spooks (including the domestic FBI-type ones) definitely pick locks. They also have things like spray-on dust to hide the fact they’ve been in a place.

      No one is picking your locks just to move things around or steal small, insignificant items. You are either suffering from a mental disorder or a trusted member of the household is gaslighting you (it’s not gaslighting though, you’re grasp of reality is slipping. Don’t call me for a pick proof lock, just get help please)

      I have someone like this. Glad to hear it’s common-ish. She’s “getting help” but the doctors can’t do much more than we can.

      • SirSamuel@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Yeah those cases are sad. I tend to just say my prices really high, and if they persist in wanting me to come out I suddenly don’t have availability because of the “big government project” I’ve been hired to do. Even if they were worth the trouble of all the follow-up “someone broke in, you have to fix my locks” calls that inevitably come, I couldn’t in good conscience take their money.

        Last time it happened a lady wanted me to install Schlage Primus deadbolts on her house because her neighbor was “breaking in and moving things to mess with me”. I gave her a quote that was 5x higher than it should have been. I kid you not, she said, “Okay, but I’ll have to wait a couple of weeks to get the money. My husband said I couldn’t change the locks anymore and that this is all in my head.” Poor lady. I saved her number so I wouldn’t forget if she called again, but I never heard from her. Hopefully she got the help she needed, but probably she got divorced and is living on the streets.

      • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
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        They also have things like spray-on dust to hide the fact they’ve been in a place.

        New excuse for when someone complains about how I haven’t cleaned recently.

    • SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      I learned to pick locks in my youth. I absolutely have picked my way into places and things to fuck with friends and family, but I always tell them. At some point.

      One of my favorites was getting into my friend’s garden shed and turning everything upside down, then a few weeks later rearranging everything so it was a mirror image of how it was previously.

    • I Cast Fist@programming.dev
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      If there’s one thing the Lockpicking Lawyer taught me, is that the vast majority of locks only work because almost nobody bothers to learn lockpicking. Some “extra safe” locks being defeated by a fucking magnet of all things always amuse me

    • evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world
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      Sentry Safes aren’t safes, they are fire boxes with a fancy lock.

      Judging by the one I bought when I went off to college to keep some documents safe, they don’t even have fancy locks. I misplaced my key, but I was able to open it in the same amount of time with a pumpkin carving knife as a jiggler.

      • SirSamuel@lemmy.world
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        Yeah that’s was probably a 1200 or their document box. I was thinking of the “safes” they sell with a dial or keypad lock. They can be defeated in about the same amount of time. I won’t say how, but YouTube has more than one video showing how it’s done

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          I won’t say how, but YouTube has more than one video showing how it’s done

          You just said how.

          (And I’m kidding!!!)

    • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
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      Deviant Olam is another good one for physical security. After seeing a few of his videos on gun “safes”, I looked into genuine gun safes (TRTL 30x6 or better, and/or DoD-approved weapons containers) with S&G mechanical locks, and the prices are eye watering. An S&G lock by itself ain’t too bad–about $600, IIRC–but the safe body itself was $15k+, easy. …Without shipping included, since there’s no fucking way I’m getting that into my basement myself. Most gun “safes” are not even UL-listed Residential Security Containers, and you get into $2000+ for one that meets that basic, very, very minimum level of protection. (Yes, I looked in the local gun stores that carry them.) The fact that most gun “safes” aren’t capable of resisting an 18" prybar that’s used continuously for 15 minutes is not a pleasant thought to think about.

    • WIZARD POPE💫@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      The fact that breaking a wall to get into the house is even a viable option honestly baffles me as a person living outside the US

    • Ragnarok314159@sopuli.xyz
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      The UL one is very applicable.

      Chinese motor manufactures will often copy a design (completely rip it off) and make changes to make it even cheaper to manufacture. These make the motor no longer UL compliant. Sometimes these changes lead to it becoming unsafe, but good luck suing a Chinese manufacturer in China if your house burns down. However, they will still put a UL sticker on it and call it a day.

      I used to work in motors and turbines and will outright refuse a motor made in China. Always buy motors from US or Mexican manufacturers (inside the US, cannot speak for EU). A good way to find out where the motor was made is looking to see the company that made it - and 100% your HVAC company didn’t manufacture the motor, they bought it from a B2B supplier you likely never heard of.

    • KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      No one is picking your locks just to move things around or steal small, insignificant items. You are either suffering from a mental disorder or a trusted member of the household is gaslighting you (it’s not gaslighting though, you’re grasp of reality is slipping. Don’t call me for a pick proof lock, just get help please)

      or it’s probably monoxide poisoning.

    • laughterlaughter@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      No one (except maybe intelligence agencies) breaks in to a house by picking a lock, especially in the US. Windows, weak door frames, and, in a pinch, making a hole in the wall are all faster ways of getting in.

      It reminds me of a friend who visited me from Colombia (we grew up together down south.) We were walking around a neighborhood in Vermont. He said “I’d love it if we had houses like this one in Bogota. Why don’t we?!” And I replied “Because they’d be broken into in two seconds.”

  • Skanky@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    A lot of the “generic” or “store brand” packaged foods are literally the same exact product as the name brands, only in different boxes/bags