@ernie@writing.exchange
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ernie

@ernie@writing.exchange

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

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

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ernie, to random
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This is my annual reminder that Tailor Brands is a bad company and if you’re starting an LLC, they are a bad choice. I canceled my services with them and went with a local company that specializes in LLCs to manage my registered agent, and I will end up saving $400 per year by doing so.

Don’t let the pretty website designs fool you—those are the ones that will charge you an arm and a leg. When signing up for an LLC, you want a website that looks ugly.

ernie,
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

Businesses are now required to submit beneficial ownership reports. The service I’m now working with offered it for free as part of my $49 signup fee.

Tailor Brands wanted $199 and repeatedly tried to upsell me on it through text messages.

ernie, to random
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Working on a piece about the optical mouse, which will require me to face the unfortunately true fact that the guy who made the first mouse for the IBM PC is a prominent modern-day anti-vaxxer.

Gonna have fun threading that needle!

ernie,
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Imagine you invented a device literally everyone uses, and this is how you spend your time.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/10/05/1036408/silicon-valley-millionaire-steve-kirsch-covid-vaccine-misinformation/

ernie,
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@PadreWil FWIW it works for me without being logged in or signed in.

ernie, to random
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Your “just use DuckDuckGo” thought is original and nothing I haven’t heard before, please share it

ernie,
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I cannot with these purity tests. It's so boring and it doesn't actually solve any problems

ernie,
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@scottmiller42 it just feels like an excuse for a purity test, DDG is fine, but it’s lacking a bunch of things I need as a professional researcher.

ernie,
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@scottmiller42 Yep. This is exactly it. All it does is discourage people.

ernie, to random
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Gonna hop in a time machine to 2015 just to share this story with my Twitter followers.

ernie, to random
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Here’s a left-field one: Adobe is messing with Delta, the iOS emulator. https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/17/24159268/delta-emulator-logo-change-app

ernie, to random
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In response to this post I wrote this morning, I keep seeing folks saying, “just switch to DuckDuckGo!”

DuckDuckGo is not a 1:1 solve. There is too much important information buried specifically in Google that it does not have direct access to, including:

  • 400+ years of book scans, including of copyrighted material not available elsewhere
  • The largest easily accessible history of Usenet
  • The easiest-to-use archive of patent filings
  • A number of newspaper scans not available elsewhere
ernie,
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

I realize that it might be hard to hear, but Google gatekept a lot of important information behind its platform that may be hard to otherwise access.

DuckDuckGo is a solution for one element of Google’s search. But Google’s search moat is frustratingly multifaceted.

ernie,
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@mitch one hopes

ernie, to random
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

Hacker News man upset that I suggested thing he doesn’t like might have good ideas.

ernie, to random
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I like how these LinkedIn folks see a person who has been freelance for more than a year and their first instinct is to send you a note offering you recruiting services.

No, you don’t get it. I want this.

ernie, to random
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Just hit 5K followers on this not-quite-hellsite. Happy to be here.

ernie,
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Pretty sure #5,000 was @Wraithe.

ernie, to random
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This Metal Jesus Rocks video starts with Kelsey Lewin pulling out like 30 different random handhelds and then transitions into LGR wearing a Phar-Mor shirt.

It’s basically everything I want in a YouTube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAFkxtVFM_g

ernie, (edited ) to random
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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 @tedium

EDIT: Nobody cares if you use DuckDuckGo, you do you

ernie,
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

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

ernie,
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

@sbi @ironicsans @tedium @cstross DDG is not a 1:1 fix for Google. I keep bringing it up, but folks keep swatting it away.

When DDG has an archive of 400+ years of book scans and patents, it will be comparable. Until then, it’s not.

ernie,
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

@ozeng @tedium This is tiresome.

ernie,
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

@ozeng @tedium

https://writing.exchange/@ernie/112458422202955141

ernie, to random
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

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

ernie,
@ernie@writing.exchange avatar

@jhpot Wrote something, feel free to link if you do end up going with it: https://tedium.co/2024/05/17/google-web-search-make-default/

ernie,
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@Newmy @jhpot Try it in incognito mode. I would be curious if it worked there.

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