#Next Generation Computing Market

[sophiagrace3344]

Future of Next Generation Computing: Market Growth, Trends, and Key Players (2024-2032)

The global next generation computing market size is witnessing remarkable growth, having reached an impressive value of approximately USD 195.54 billion in 2023. This burgeoning market is projected to expand at a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.4% from 2024 to 2032, potentially reaching around USD 969.81 billion by the end of the forecast period. As organizations increasingly turn to advanced technologies to enhance efficiency and drive innovation, understanding the dynamics, drivers, and key players in the next generation computing market is crucial.

Market Overview

Next generation computing encompasses a variety of advanced computing technologies, including quantum computing, cloud computing, edge computing, and artificial intelligence (AI). These technologies are transforming how businesses operate, enabling them to handle vast amounts of data, execute complex calculations, and improve decision-making processes.

Market Dynamics

Market Drivers

Increasing Demand for Advanced Data Processing: The exponential growth of data generated by businesses and consumers is fueling the demand for advanced computing solutions capable of processing this data efficiently.

Adoption of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Businesses are increasingly integrating AI and machine learning into their operations. Next generation computing technologies provide the necessary computational power to support these applications.

Growth of Cloud Computing: The shift towards cloud computing is a significant driver, as organizations seek flexible and scalable solutions. Next generation computing enhances cloud capabilities, enabling faster processing and data management.

Emergence of Quantum Computing: Quantum computing is set to revolutionize various industries by solving complex problems that traditional computers struggle with, thereby driving investment and research in this area.

Key Market Challenges

High Implementation Costs: The initial investment required for next generation computing technologies can be substantial, posing a barrier for smaller enterprises.

Lack of Skilled Workforce: The rapid evolution of technology requires a workforce skilled in new computing paradigms, and the shortage of qualified professionals is a significant challenge.

Security Concerns: As organizations increasingly rely on cloud and edge computing, concerns regarding data security and privacy become paramount, necessitating robust cybersecurity measures.

Market Segmentation

The next generation computing market can be segmented based on:

Technology Type:

Quantum Computing

Cloud Computing

Edge Computing

AI and Machine Learning

End-User Industry:

IT and Telecommunications

Healthcare

Manufacturing

Retail

Government

Region:

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East and Africa

Recent Developments

The next generation computing market is witnessing numerous advancements and innovations. Major tech companies are heavily investing in research and development to enhance their offerings. For example, Microsoft is advancing its quantum computing capabilities with Azure Quantum, while IBM is making strides in developing quantum processors and cloud-based quantum computing services.

Component Insights

The next generation computing market is composed of various components, including:

Hardware: This includes servers, quantum processors, and edge devices necessary for implementing advanced computing solutions.

Software: Software solutions for AI, machine learning, and data analytics are crucial for harnessing the power of next generation computing.

Services: Professional services, including consulting and support, are essential for successful implementation and integration of next generation computing technologies.

End-User Insights

Key end-user segments driving the next generation computing market include:

IT and Telecommunications: The largest consumers of next generation computing solutions due to their need for robust data processing capabilities.

Healthcare: The healthcare industry is increasingly leveraging advanced computing technologies for data analysis, diagnostics, and patient management.

Manufacturing: The use of AI and machine learning in manufacturing processes enhances efficiency and reduces downtime.

Regional Insights

North America: The leading region in the next generation computing market, driven by technological advancements and substantial investments from major companies.

Europe: The European market is growing steadily, with increasing government initiatives to promote innovation and research in computing technologies.

Asia Pacific: Rapid industrialization and digital transformation in countries like China and India are propelling the growth of the next generation computing market in this region.

Key Players

Prominent players in the global next generation computing market include:

Microsoft Corporation

Alphabet Inc.

Amazon Web Services, Inc.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP

Cisco Systems, Inc.

IBM Corporation

Oracle Corporation

Market Trends

Increased Investment in Quantum Computing: As the technology matures, more businesses are investing in quantum computing research and development.

Growing Integration of AI with Cloud Computing: The convergence of AI and cloud technologies is creating powerful new tools for businesses.

FAQs

What is the current size of the next generation computing market? The market size reached approximately USD 195.54 billion in 2023.

What is the projected growth rate of the market? The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.4% from 2024 to 2032.

What are the key drivers of this market? Key drivers include increasing demand for data processing, adoption of AI, growth of cloud computing, and the emergence of quantum computing.

What are the major challenges facing the market? High implementation costs, a lack of skilled workforce, and security concerns are significant challenges.

Who are the leading players in the market? Major players include Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, IBM, and Cisco.

Which regions are driving the market growth? North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific are the key regions driving growth in the next generation computing market.

[poonamcmi]

Next Generation Computing Market is Estimated to Witness High Growth Owing to Developments in Cloud Computing

Next generation computing includes technologies like cloud computing, edge computing and quantum computing. Cloud computing provides on-demand access to shared computing resources like servers, storage, networking, software and analytics over the internet. It allows business and individuals to avoid upfront infrastructure costs while paying only for resources that are consumed. Edge computing moves computing and data storage closer to the sources of data generation like Internet-connected devices. This ensures lower latency and faster insights from real-time analytics of data generated at the edge. Quantum computing uses the principles of quantum mechanics like superposition and entanglement to process information exponentially faster than classical computers for specific problem sets.

The Global Next Generation Computing Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 168.57 Bn in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 19% over the forecast period 2024 to 2031.

Key Takeaways

Key players operating in the Next Generation Computing are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Alphabet Inc. (Google), AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.), Apple Inc., IBM Corporation, Intel Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, NVIDIA Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Qualcomm Incorporated, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SAP SE, Supermicro Computer, Inc., Tencent Holdings Limited, and Texas Instruments Incorporated.

The Next Generation Computing Market Size in cloud computing and edge computing adoption across industries, increasing investments in quantum computing research and expanding application landscape of advanced computing technologies.

Technological advancements fueling the next generation computing market include developments in cloud, edge and quantum computing offerings, next-gen processors and hardware, 5G and wireless technologies enabling IoT/edge devices, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Market Drivers

Rapid increase in data volumes generated across industries is driving the need for scalable and efficient next generation computing platforms. Proliferation of IoT devices connected over networks is another key factor pushing the demand for distributed and real-time computing power. Growing requirement of advanced analytics, simulation and modeling capabilities for applications in transportation, healthcare and manufacturing is boosting investments in high performance cloud, edge and quantum solutions.

Challenges in Next Generation Computing Market

The Next Generation Computing Market Size And Trends is currently facing challenges such as high infrastructure costs for setting up data centers and lack of skilled workforce. Setting up data centers requires huge capital investments which is a major challenge for small and medium organizations. There is also a lack of skills required for managing big data, cloud, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. Setting up high performance computing infrastructure also requires significant upfront costs which small players find difficult to afford. Cybersecurity also poses a major challenge as more applications and data shift to the cloud. Protecting massive amounts of data from unauthorized access and ensuring privacy has become critical.

SWOT Analysis

Strength: Scalability and flexibility of cloud computing; Growing demand for high performance data analytics and AI Weakness: High initial infrastructure costs; Cybersecurity and privacy challenges Opportunity: Growth of IoT and edge computing; Increased focus on automation and application modernization Threats: Dependency on few technology giants; Stringent data protection regulations

Geographically, North America currently holds the largest share in the next generation computing market mainly due to heavy investments in cloud computing and data center build outs by major tech companies in the US. The Asia Pacific region is expected to be the fastest growing regional market during the forecast period driven by rapid digital transformation initiatives across industries in major economies like China and India. Countries are implementing national level programs to promote adoption of advanced computing technologies.

In terms of value, the next generation computing market is highly concentrated in the US currently, accounting for over 30% of the global market size. This is attributed to widespread cloud adoption by businesses as well as strategic investments by leading technology firms in the country to develop high performance computing infrastructure and next generation capabilities. China is expected to emerge as the fastest growing geographical market during 2024-2031 driven by government support for digitalization of industries using emerging technologies. Get More Insights On, Next Generation Computing Market For More Insights Discover the Report In language that Resonates with you

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About Author: Ravina Pandya, Content Writer, has a strong foothold in the market research industry. She specializes in writing well-researched articles from different industries, including food and beverages, information and technology, healthcare, chemical and materials, etc. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravina-pandya-1a3984191)

[research-reports-blogs]

The next generation computing market is poised to significantly influence the technology landscape, expected to achieve an impressive CAGR of 19.1%. This growth is projected to result in a substantial market size of US$ 783.64 billion by the year 2033.

Adoption is reaching its peak due to the new computing architectures' ability to fulfill the needs for data processing, transfer rates, and energy usage. Healthcare, IT & telecom, manufacturing, and other industries are just a few of the industries that the market participants serve with a variety of services solutions.

[quecksilvereyes]

oh my god do not click links in emails that tell you to verify your data or your bank account gets locked or click links in messages telling you your safety protocol is ending, like, tomorrow, you will get SCAMMED SO BAD AND YOU WILL LOSE A LOT OF FUCKING MONEY never ever let anyone pressure you into giving away login information especially to your online banking by creating a sense of urgency oh my GOD

some things to look out for

1. spelling mistakes. do you know how many rounds of marketing and sales experts these things go through? if theres a spelling mistake dont click it

2. not using your name. if an email adresses you with "dear customer" or, even worse, a generic "ladies and gentlemen", it is most likely not actually targeted to you

3. verifying or login links. even IF your bank was stupid enough to send these to customers, dont EVER click those. look at me. they can legally argue that youve given your data away and thus they dont have to pay you anything back DONT CLICK THAT FUCKING LINK

4. creating a sense of urgency. do this or we lock your account next week. do this or your ebanking stops working tomorrow. give us all your money in cash or your beloved granddaughter will get HANGED FOR MURDERING BABIES. no serious organisation would ever do something like that over email or sms. ever. hands off.

5. ALWAYS CHECK WHO SENT YOU THE EMAIL. the display name and the email adress can vary a LOT. anyone can check the display name. look at the email adress. does it look weird? call the fucking place it says its from. you will likely hear a very weary sigh.

6. if its in a phonecall, scammers love preventing you from hanging up or talking to other people to have a little bit of a think about whats happening. there should always be a possibility to go hey i wanna think about this ill call back the official number thanks.

7. do not, i repeat, do NOT a) call a phone number flashing on your screen promising to rid your computer of viruses after clicking a dodgy link and b) let them install shit on your computer like. uh. idk. teamviewer.

7.i. TEAM VIEWER LETS PEOPLE USE YOUR COMPUTER HOWEVER THEY WANT AS LONG AS THEYRE CONNECTED. IF YOU DONT KNOW FOR FUCKING SURE YOURE TALKING TO ACTUAL TECH SUPPORT DONT GIVE ANYONE ACCESS TO YOUR COMPUTER.

fun little addendum: did you know a link can just automatically download shit? like. a virus? an app you can't uninstall unless you reset your entire device? dont click links unless youre extremely sure you know where they lead. hover your mouse over it and check the url.

thanks.

[david843346]

Next-Generation Computing Market: Global Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2036

Research Nester Analytics LLC ’s recent market research analysis on “Next-Generation Computing Market: Global Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2036” delivers a detailed competitor’s analysis and a detailed overview of the global next generation computing market in terms of segmentation by component, type, deployment, organization size, end-use industry, and by region

Request Free Sample Copy of this Report @

Increasing Implementation of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Drive Growth of the Global Next-Generation Computing Market

The newest tech innovation, the Internet of Things, generates enormous amounts of data from networked devices such as home automation systems, GPS beacons, and virtual entertainment. The large volumes of data generated by these channels are increasingly being managed and stored through the use of next-generation computing. It generates a lot of sensitive data and stimulates interest in computing that is next generation. It entails monitoring temperatures, preparing for hardware failures, and turning on autonomous driving. There will be roughly 15.14 billion IoT devices by 2023. For instance, for the past seven years, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Exascale Computing Project (ECP) has brought together a diverse team of computing professionals to improve next-generation computer architectures and revolutionize scientific modelling. One of the distinguishing features of ECP is its cooperation with industry partners that have advanced exascale research and development and successfully combined hardware, software, and applications to establish a fully functional exascale ecosystem.

Some of the major growth factors and challenges that are associated with the growth of the global next-generation computing market are:

Growth Drivers:

Surging Adoption of Cloud-Based Computing Solutions

Development of Artificial Intelligence's Integration in Diverse Industries

Challenges:

Implementing computer technology can be costly, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. Costs associated with implementation substantially impede adoption and limit market expansion. Lack of qualified personnel capable of managing and implementing next-generation computing technology is upending the market. Growth will likely be limited as companies find it difficult to hire the right people to support their technological expenditures. Next-generation computer technology is handling large and sophisticated amounts of data, which is increasing security concerns and increasing the likelihood of security breakdowns and cyberattacks. This component carries the risk of causing data loss, theft, and compromise in addition to having a significant impact on the adoption of different technologies. The high cost of computing technologyis expected to hamper the market growth.

The global next-generation computing market is segmented component, type, deployment, organization size, and end-use industry, where type is sub-segmented into high-performance computing, quantum computing, cloud computing and edge computing. By the end of 2036, the cloud computing segment is anticipated to garner the largest revenue of USD 4087.66 billion with a CAGR of 19.54% over the forecast period. The primary drivers of the cloud computing industry are the increasing acceptance of remote work and the need for cloud-based business continuity solutions and services.

Over the forecast period of 2024-2036, the Asia Pacific next-generation computing market is predicted to develop at a CAGR of 20.74%. The Asia Pacific market was worth USD 89.96 billion in 2023, and it is expected to be worth USD 1004.26 billion by the end of 2036. The next-generation computing market in Asia-Pacific makes use of cutting-edge technology in the area, such as cloud computing, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. The market for next-generation computers is anticipated to expand as a result of the growing use of digital technology across a range of sectors, including manufacturing, banking, and healthcare. The market is anticipated to be driven by factors including the growing usage of IoT devices, the requirement for dependable and efficient computing infrastructure, and the growing need for big data analytics. The Asia-Pacific consumer IoT market was estimated to be worth 14.29 billion US dollars in 2022.

Access our detailed report at@

[fairsweetlonging]

svsss horror game au where shen yuan is first in line to buy the pidw-inspired rpg where you play as a wandering cultivator with amnesia, and are taken in by the cang qiong sect during the head disciple days of the last peak lord generation.

because pidw knows its audience, a large part of the marketing was focused on the romance and action aspect of the game, with additional lore from deleted novel scenes—how could shen yuan not buy this game? maybe the peak lords will finally be more than props in the background! the romance aspect seems to be at least somewhat tastefully done, if he can trust the leaks, with more emotional depth than fetish fulfillment (shen yuan swears that if there is even one unskippable cutscene of some peak lord's feet he's going to chuck his computer out the window).

shen yuan customizes his character, going all out on the clichés because why not, giving him white hair and peerless beauty and all the characteristics of an A+ wife (beauty is power in pidw), actually excited to play the game. the first part is standard, you wake up in a barn with amnesia, only a sword and some items to your name, and have to do some tutorial quests to get used to the game mechanics. it's simple enough. eventually, you end up in a village that shen yuan is certain is possessed, because all the NPC's act very unnatural and strange, and it's pretty unsettling. here, the player is supposed to meet the cang qiong head disciples on their own quest, who naturally think the player is the most interesting person they've ever seen, a super special cultivator, and will take him in because the player is the most coveted character in the universe (apart from luo binghe, that is).

of course, before shen yuan can get very far, he ends up being transmigrated into the game as his own character. it could be way worse: he's a cultivator, peerlessly beautiful, destined to be picked up by the most prestigious sect, and has his own protagonist halo of sorts. he's honestly pretty excited about this

until he finds out that the marketing heavily downplayed the horror elements of the game.

shen yuan is calmly eating a meal in an inn of the village, waiting for the next quest point to start, when suddenly,

[ system notification ]

"you are being observed"

observation level: ???

entity classification: unknown

engagement protocol: do not acknowledge

right after, the windows go dark, not closed or shuttered, dark, as if something large has just leaned against the side of the building. no one else acknowledges this.

shen yuan shakes it off. it's just a game, it's... ambiance, that's all. build up.

he walks through the streets of the town, using his low-level talismans to try and find traces of the entity he's supposed to defeat or uncover to complete the quest. he pauses beside a broken cart, one of its wheels is half-sunk in the mud. the system pings again.

[ system notification ]

"it's behind you."

note: do not turn around.

(option to suppress message: [ ] not recommended)

the street is utterly silent. a prickle begins at the base of his skull. something is there. some deep animalistic part of him is already screaming not to look.

it disappears. he earns 5 survival points. he hopes he won't have to earn any more.

later that night, shen yuan looks for shelter, finding an old shrine visible from the road, just at the side of town. he steps inside and sees old incense sticks, some forgotten offerings. it's simple, but dry. it will do.

he crosses the threshold—

[ mission triggered ]

mission objective: hide

time limit: unknown

condition to complete: remain unnoticed

footsteps crunch in the leaves outside. every nerve in him goes rigid—not human.

too heavy. uneven. it's coming.

shen yuan ducks behind the offering table, body pressed flat against the ground. he slows his breathing, barely daring to blink. a screen in his peripheral vision blinks to life.

[ environmental mechanic activated ]

microphone mode: ON

sound detection level: HIGH

a semi-transparent sound meter appears. with every shaky breath, the bar pulses red. shen yuan clamps his hands over his mouth.

something passes, just beyond the shrine's opening. large. the system does not count down. there is no timer. the floor boards moan faintly beneath a ponderous weight, something drags across the ground.

shen yuan forces his body still, trembling so hard it hurts his teeth.

it leaves. the system congratulates him for surviving. it doesn't tell him what he just survived.

it's a relief when the head disciples of cang qiong show up, and the story delves into romantic cliches and relationship prompts. he gets to see liu qingge shirtless. shen qingqiu is typical tsundere. yue qingyuan is the soft gentle type. shang qinghua acts... off. he isn't what shen yuan thought he would be, less cunningly charming, more, well. nervous. of all the head disciples, he's the only one who actually seems like he doesn't want shen yuan to be here, always looking around.

like he knows shen yuan didn't come alone.

more instances like this occur. one moment, he's farming reputation points and relationship points with the other characters, doing quests and gathering memory fragments that will help unlock the player's backstory, the next, the system seems determined to make the game hell.

it always comes out of nowhere

[ system update ]

"warning: your heartbeat has been logged by another entity."

would you like to mute heartbeat tracking?

[ ] yes

[ ] no

[ ] it's too late.

he can never figure out what's following him, what that creature from the village is, but it's always there. no one else seems to notice, not a single talisman or ward can stop or detect it.

it comes even when he's in bed, still faintly blushing from a wife-plot equivalent where he fell from a ladder and was caught in wei qingwei's arms. he got to pet the pangolins too!

he's just about to fall asleep when the system pings:

[ mission objective: survive until dawn ]

hint: do not scream

somewhere beneath the floorboards under his bed, something begins scraping. like claws trying to memorize the layout of the house from below. shen yuan doesn't dare move. sleep never comes that night.

*

he can farm intelligence points by attending classes, and being the monster and plant nerd he is, qian cao peak is his first choice (it's either that, being beat up by bai zhan disciples that aren't even liu qingge, or running into shen qingqiu).

in the middle of a lesson on demonic poisons, the system pings quietly

[ system message ]

"one of the bodies in the infirmary is not a body"

objective: don't lose sight of it

shen yuan turns his head, slowly, to the curtained recovery beds along the wall. the curtain on the last one is slightly open.

it wasn't before.

mu qingfang continues speaking. shen yuan doesn't dare to look away.

*

one day, the thing starts to catch up

[ mission failure ]

"the sound you made has been registered"

estimated proximity: 00:00:17

do you want to run?

[ ] yes (not recommended)

[ ] no (not recommended)

*

[ emergency notice ]

"you were seen"

objective: hide

time limit: expired

success rate: 2%.

do you want to proceed?

[ ] yes

[ ] yes

*

[ achievement unlocked: it found you anyway ]

*

anyway, can you tell i had fun with the horror prompts? ^_^

i just have sooooo many ideas for the player's backstory, where it seems the character is just a blank slate for the player to project themselves onto, but there is so much more to them than you think. im also having loads of fun with the creature that follows the player around, i love making it as disturbing as possible.

mild spoiler: the creature is real and connected to the player. other characters can't detect or interact with it, but it's slowly growing stronger. shang qinghua is, of course, airplane, and as he was directly involved with the production of this game, he knew that as soon as an OC showed up, that thing wouldn't be far behind.

also, i love the idea of shang qinghua being stuck in a dating simulator as one of the options to romance. now shang qinghua has to play along with his own cringy cliche meetcutes, like showing the player around, flirting with the player, and generally playing the role of suave administrator with a dark secret (he's terrible at it). he had to do the "there's an eyelash on your cheek allow me" move on the player (shen yuan), and almost cringed out of his own skin. though, shang qinghua is the only one who can properly emphasize with the player, because he actually knows what horrid creature is stuck to him and what kind of horror scenarios the player has to go through (accidental cumplane? it's more likely than you think).

it's a bit of a mindfuck too, because shang qinghua can't tell whether the player is also a transmigrator, a puppet controlled by someone from another dimension, or a fleshed out OC of the system. he's also not allowed to ask, so it remains ambiguous. until, of course, they find out they're transmigrators and shen yuan has to deal with the fact he almost romanced airplane.

shen yuan makes a joke about defeating the creature with the power of love. shang qinghua says he wished it was that easy.

[ecrivainsolitaire]

A summary of the Chinese AI situation, for the uninitiated.

These are scores on different tests that are designed to see how accurate a Large Language Model is in different areas of knowledge. As you know, OpenAI is partners with Microsoft, so these are the scores for ChatGPT and Copilot. DeepSeek is the Chinese model that got released a week ago. The rest are open source models, which means everyone is free to use them as they please, including the average Tumblr user. You can run them from the servers of the companies that made them for a subscription, or you can download them to install locally on your own computer. However, the computer requirements so far are so high that only a few people currently have the machines at home required to run it.

Yes, this is why AI uses so much electricity. As with any technology, the early models are highly inefficient. Think how a Ford T needed a long chimney to get rid of a ton of black smoke, which was unused petrol. Over the next hundred years combustion engines have become much more efficient, but they still waste a lot of energy, which is why we need to move towards renewable electricity and sustainable battery technology. But that's a topic for another day.

As you can see from the scores, are around the same accuracy. These tests are in constant evolution as well: as soon as they start becoming obsolete, new ones are released to adjust for a more complicated benchmark. The new models are trained using different machine learning techniques, and in theory, the goal is to make them faster and more efficient so they can operate with less power, much like modern cars use way less energy and produce far less pollution than the Ford T.

However, computing power requirements kept scaling up, so you're either tied to the subscription or forced to pay for a latest gen PC, which is why NVIDIA, AMD, Intel and all the other chip companies were investing hard on much more powerful GPUs and NPUs. For now all we need to know about those is that they're expensive, use a lot of electricity, and are required to operate the bots at superhuman speed (literally, all those clickbait posts about how AI was secretly 150 Indian men in a trenchcoat were nonsense).

Because the chip companies have been working hard on making big, bulky, powerful chips with massive fans that are up to the task, their stock value was skyrocketing, and because of that, everyone started to use AI as a marketing trend. See, marketing people are not smart, and they don't understand computers. Furthermore, marketing people think you're stupid, and because of their biased frame of reference, they think you're two snores short of brain-dead. The entire point of their existence is to turn tall tales into capital. So they don't know or care about what AI is or what it's useful for. They just saw Number Go Up for the AI companies and decided "AI is a magic cow we can milk forever". Sometimes it's not even AI, they just use old software and rebrand it, much like convection ovens became air fryers.

Well, now we're up to date. So what did DepSeek release that did a 9/11 on NVIDIA stock prices and popped the AI bubble?

Oh, I would not want to be an OpenAI investor right now either. A token is basically one Unicode character (it's more complicated than that but you can google that on your own time). That cost means you could input the entire works of Stephen King for under a dollar. Yes, including electricity costs. DeepSeek has jumped from a Ford T to a Subaru in terms of pollution and water use.

The issue here is not only input cost, though; all that data needs to be available live, in the RAM; this is why you need powerful, expensive chips in order to-

Holy shit.

I'm not going to detail all the numbers but I'm going to focus on the chip required: an RTX 3090. This is a gaming GPU that came out as the top of the line, the stuff South Korean LoL players buy…

Or they did, in September 2020. We're currently two generations ahead, on the RTX 5090.

What this is telling all those people who just sold their high-end gaming rig to be able to afford a machine that can run the latest ChatGPT locally, is that the person who bought it from them can run something basically just as powerful on their old one.

Which means that all those GPUs and NPUs that are being made, and all those deals Microsoft signed to have control of the AI market, have just lost a lot of their pulling power.

Well, I mean, the ChatGPT subscription is 20 bucks a month, surely the Chinese are charging a fortune for-

Oh. So it's free for everyone and you can use it or modify it however you want, no subscription, no unpayable electric bill, no handing Microsoft all of your private data, you can just run it on a relatively inexpensive PC. You could probably even run it on a phone in a couple years.

Oh, if only China had massive phone manufacturers that have a foot in the market everywhere except the US because the president had a tantrum eight years ago.

So… yeah, China just destabilised the global economy with a torrent file.

[lackadaisycats]

Hey Tracy! Have you heard about the new Ai called Sora? Apparently it can now create 2D and 3D animations as well as hyper realistic videos. I’ve been getting into animation and trying to improve my art for years since I was 7, but now seeing that anyone can create animation/works in just a mare seconds by typing in a couple words, it’s such a huge slap in the face to people who actually put the time and effort into their works and it’s so discouraging! And it has me worried about what’s going to happen next for artists and many others, as-well. There’s already generated voices, generated works stolen from actual artists, generated music, and now this! It’s just so scary that it’s coming this far. 

Yeah, I've seen it. And yeah, it feels like the universe has taken on a 'fuck you in particular' attitude toward artists the past few years. A lot of damage has already been done, and there are plenty of reasons for concern, but bear in mind that we don't know how this will play out yet. Be astute, be justifiably angry, but don't let despair take over. --------

One would expect that the promo clips that have been dropping lately represent some of the best of the best-looking stuff they've been able to produce. And it's only good-looking on an extremely superficial level. It's still riddled with problems if you spend even a moment observing. And I rather suspect, prior to a whole lot of frustrated iteration, most prompts are still going to get you camera-sickness inducing, wibbly-wobbly nonsense with a side of body horror.

Will the tech ultimately get 'smarter' than that and address the array of typical AI giveaways? Maybe. Probably, even. Does that mean it'll be viable in quite the way it's being marketed, more or less as a human-replacer? Well…

A lot of this is hype, and hype is meant to drive up the perceived value of the tech. Executives will rush to be early adopters without a lot of due diligence or forethought because grabbing it first like a dazzled chimp and holding up like a prize ape-rock makes them look like bleeding-edge tech geniuses in their particular ecosystem. They do this because, in turn, that perceived value may make their company profile and valuations go up too, which makes shareholders short-term happy (the only kind of happy they know). The problem is how much actual functional value will it have? And how long does it last? Much of it is the same routine we were seeing with blockchain a few years ago: number go up. Number go up always! Unrealistic, unsustainable forever-growth must be guaranteed in this economic clime. If you can lay off all of your people and replace them with AI, number goes up big and never stops, right?

I have some doubts. ----------------------

The chips also haven't landed yet with regards to the legality of all of this. Will these adopters ultimately be able to copyright any of this output trained on datasets comprised of stolen work? Can computer-made art even be copyrighted at all? How much of a human touch will be required to make something copyright-able? I don't know yet. Neither do the hype team or the early adopters.

Does that mean the tech will be used but will have to be retrained on the adopter's proprietary data? Yeah, maybe. That'd be a somewhat better outcome, at least. It still means human artists make specific things for the machine to learn from. (Watch out for businesses that use 'ethical' as a buzzword to gloss over how many people they've let go from their jobs, though.)

Will it become industry standard practice to do things this way? Maybe. Will it still require an artist's sensbilities and oversignt to plan and curate and fix the results so that it doesn't come across like pure AI trash? Yeah, I think that's pretty likely.

If it becomes standard practice, will it become samey, and self-referential and ultimately an emblem of doing things the cookie-cutter way instead of enlisting real, human artists? Quite possibly.

If it becomes standard industry practice, will there still be an audience or a demand or a desire for art made by human artists? Yes, almost certainly. With every leap of technology, that has remained the case. ------------------ TL;DR Version:

I'm not saying with any certainty that this AI blitz is a passing fad. I think we're likely to experience a torrential amount of generative art, video, voice, music, programming, and text in the coming years, in fact, and it will probably irrevocably change the layout of the career terrain. But I wouldn't be surprised if it was being overhyped as a business strategy right now. And I don't think the immensity of its volume will ever overcome its inherent emptiness.

What I am certain of is that it will not eliminate the innate human impulse to create. Nor the desire to experience art made by a fellow soul. Keep doing your thing, Anon. It's precious. It's authentic. It will be all the more special because it will have come from you, a human.

[itsnevercasual]

I Wanna Be Yours

pairing: boss!ceo!harry styles x reader

request: Omg, can I request a boss!harry fic where he’s mean to everyone except from her??

summary: harry is the notoriously mean owner of pleasing, and he might have a slight soft spot for the new girl in the marketing department.

warnings: cursing, not edited

--

you were extremely new to pleasing, a very famous brand known for their nail polishes and perfumes. ever since you started (about three months ago), you’d hear literal horror stories about the founder and ceo.

rachel, the girl who trained you, told you that he was just plain rude. it was safe to say you feared the day he came in. thankfully, he wasn’t around much. not at your location, anyway. you were at the los angeles location, but he preferred to stay at the new york one.

tuesday morning, you got ready like every day. put on your usual outfit (a skirt, white button-up, a blazer, and heels), along with some black fleece-lined tights and a headband to push your hair back. it was getting cold out, and you couldn’t get away with just a skirt much longer.

with your iced coffee in one hand, your macbook and a few files you’d taken home in the other, you walked quickly into the building.

“good morning, miss townes,” the concierge greeted you.

“morning, nancy!” you greeted back as you ran to the elevator and pressed the button.

“late?” nancy asked.

“almost! this stupid elevator—“ said elevator dinged, and you let out a sigh of relief. “speak of the devil. see you, nance!”

—

by the time you made it up to the marketing floor (the twentieth floor out of fifty), you were exactly on time.

you moved as quickly as your heels would allow, dropping your car keys, computer, and files onto the desk.

“right on time, y/n,” rachel teased as you sat down. the two of you had cubicles right next to each other.

“long line at the coffee shop.”

“lucky you weren’t any later,” she commented as you sat down and took a generous sip of the iced coffee that had almost made you late, “mr. styles is said to be coming in today.”

you nearly choked on your drink.

“you finished those edits, right?”

“.. uh.. yeah. yeah, finished them last night,” you lied with a nod.

“y/n! he’s ruthless— he will literally fire you! that’s the new launch, and it’s overdue!”

“i know! i know, but i’ve been so busy, and fucking josh keeps making me do his shit—“

“oh shit, shut up. he’s here.”

“what?” you squeaked, quickly cleaning up your desk and opening the new launch photos on both the desktop and your personal computer.

out of the corner of your eye, you watched as what had to be mr. styles strolled through with an assistant who was talking about what you assumed was his schedule.

“you’ll have a meeting with the investors at three, and we have some papers to sign—“

you tuned her out as you tried to speed up the editing— brightening colors and adjusting the text so it fit better.

and suddenly, the footsteps of mr. styles and his assistant stopped. directly in front of your desk.

“you,” a voice spoke, and oh my god, he was british, “i don’t know you. who are you?”

your eyes snapped up to meet his, “oh. uh.. i’m y/n.. y/n townes. i’m.. um.. i’m new.”

he mouthed your name as if thinking it over.

“you’re the one doing the edits for the new launch?” he asked.

“yes, sir.”

he nodded before continuing his stroll. because, of fucking course, his office had to be on the marketing floor.

you let out a breath, sinking into your chair. rachel grabbed your arm with a comforting smile, “it’s okay, babes. he could’ve been rude.”

“he’s gonna see i’m not done and fire me!”

“it’s fine, just don’t think about it.”

—

right as you were about to head out on a quick lunch break, mr. styles’ assistant popped up at your desk.

“ms. townes, mr. styles requested your presence in his office. you, as well, ms. evans,” she said, glancing at you and rachel.

“uh— me? for.. for what?” you questioned.

“you’ll find out. i have to find a.. josh richardson. go on.”

you and rachel shared uneasy looks as the two of you stood and made your way to mr. styles’ office.

“if i get fired, i’m jumping out of a window,” you muttered as rachel pulled the door open.

“ah, ms. evans. ms. townes…. where is mr. richardson?” mr. styles spoke.

“your assistant went to grab him,” rachel answered. “what are we needed for?”

“you’ll see… ah, mr. richardson. so kind of you to join us.”

even you could tell he did not mean that.

“what is this?” josh asked, looking to you and rachel.

“you three were all put in charge of the new launch. correct?”

you all chorused variations of yes.

“and yet… nothing is done. why is that?”

you glanced to your shoes. you knew rachel was done. the whole project was all three of you were to make 300 campaigns and promo photos for the new nail polish launch. you'd devided it to be 100 each, and you all picked however many billboard designs, posters, social media posts, and so-ons that you'd do for the project. however, josh had slowly but surely pushed all of his work onto you.. until you had to do 200, and you only had around 130 done.

“i expect an answer.”

“i.. i finished all my photos and campaigns,” rachel finally said.

“i'm nearly done with.. my things. i was just helping josh before i--“

“so.. what i’m hearing so far, and correct me if i’m wrong, is that mr. richardson hasn’t been doing his job?”

josh cleared his throat, and you could feel the daggers he was glaring at you burning into your skull, “yes, mr. styles.”

mr. styles nodded, and you understood the horror stories now. he wasn’t even trying and he was terrifying. “do you like your job, mr. richardson?”

“yes, mr—“

“so why aren’t you doing it?”

“i— i’ve been.. busy.”

“busy.. right. well, i’ll make you less busy. you’re fired. get out.”

“wh— what? you can’t fire me!”

“i believe i can. and i just did. so get. out.”

“i have worked at this company for eight years! i make one mistake, and—“

“i will not ask you again!” mr. styles shouted, standing up from his chair. you flinched. “because i am not asking you, i am telling you. you are fired, and you will leave this building. and don’t even think about puttin’ this place on your resume, i won’t say a single good word about your ass.”

josh scoffed and stormed out of the room, you and rachel followed.

you turned the corner, yelping when someone grabbed your wrist and yanked it.

“what the hell, y/n? you said you’d do my—“

“i didn’t say that. you just assumed i would. i am not just apart of the valentines launch, josh, and i have fifty other things to do, and i can’t drop that just because you’re lazy.”

“you better watch what you say to me—“

a voice spoke from behind. mr. styles’ assisant, “uh.. miss townes? mr. styles requests he speak with you.. privately.”

you yanked your arm back, rubbing your wrist, “yes. of— of course. sorry.”

you walked back towards his office with your head down, glancing up at him once you entered the room.

you were surprised to see a... calm look on his face.

"miss townes, correct?" he asked.

"ye-.. uh.. yes, sir."

he smiled, which was very odd from what you'd seen of him so far, "you can relax, darling. you aren't in trouble. have a seat."

you hesitantly wandered towards the chair on the other side of his desk.

"what did you mean by.. helping mr. richardson with his work?"

"oh, well... he just.. he kept saying he was busy and asking if i could do.. certain parts of his work. and i--.. well, sometimes i'm a bit of a pushover, so i said yes."

"i see... and how much of his work, in total, did he push onto you?"

"uhm... all of it, mr. styles."

his eyes widened, "all of it? and you didn't tell a supervisor he wasn't planning on doing any of his work?"

"i.. i felt bad," you shrugged, looking down at your hands.

"yes. well... mrs. maruska, can you please bring mr. richardson back in here for a moment, please?"

you jumped when his assistant spoke behind you, not realizing she was even in the room.

"yes, mr. styles."

it was silent for a minute after the door shut, maybe two minutes, until the door re-opened and two pairs of footsteps entered.

"mr. richardson, before you leave, you are going to do something for me," mr. styles spoke. "you are going to apologize to y/n--"

you nearly choke on your own spit at his use of your first name.

"for making her do all of your work. and.. you will also apologize for whatever the hell that was i heard outside. that is no way to speak to any colleague."

josh scoffed, "i'm not apologiz--"

"i'm not asking."

mr. styles gaze switched to you as josh begrudgingly sighed, "i'm sorry, y/n."

"it's okay," you murmured, glancing at him.

"no, it isn't," mr. styles quickly interjected, keeping his eyes on you. you much preferred them on you than on josh. they were a lot kinder when they focused on you. softer. "but.. if ms. townes says it is alright... you may leave now."

you aren't quite sure what happens afterwards, because you keep your gaze away from mr. styles, because you're afraid he'll notice how nervous he makes you.

"how many did you have left?" mr. styles asked quietly. softly.

"i have 130 done. so.. seventy left. but i-- i can get them done soon, i promise. i can just stay late, or.. or--"

"no. none of that. you'll submit the ones you have.. and we'll figure out something for the rest."

"really? i mean.. are you sure?"

"i wouldn't have offered if i wasn't. you can go, now."

"thank you, mr. styles," you mumbled, standing and walking to the door.

right as you grabbed the handle, he called out.

"oh, and y/n?"

you turned around with a furrow in your brows.

"let me know if you have any other problems."

you can't even help the foolish smile on your lips as you nod and leave the room.

--

a/n: part 1!! i really love this request

[srbachchan]

DAY 6274

Jalsa, Mumbai Aopr 20, 2025 Sun 11:17 pm

🪔 ,

April 21 .. birthday greetings and happiness to Ef Mousumi Biswas .. and Ef Arijit Bhattacharya from Kolkata .. 🙏🏽❤️🚩.. the wishes from the Ef family continue with warmth .. and love 🌺

The AI debate became the topic of discussion on the dining table ad there were many potent points raised - bith positive and a little indifferent ..

The young acknowledged it with reason and able argument .. some of the mid elders disagreed mildly .. and the end was kind of neutral ..

Blessed be they of the next GEN .. their minds are sorted out well in advance .. and why not .. we shall not be around till time in advance , but they and their progeny shall .. as has been the norm through generations ...

The IPL is now the greatest attraction throughout the day .. particularly on the Sunday, for the two on the day .. and there is never a debate on that ..

🤣

.. and I am most appreciative to read the comments from the Ef on the topic of the day - AI .. appreciative because some of the reactions and texts are valid and interesting to know .. the aspect expressed in all has a legitimate argument and that is most healthy ..

I am happy that we could all react to the Blog contents in the manner they have done .. my gratitude .. such a joy to get different views , valid and meaningful ..

And it is not the end of the day or the debate .. some impressions of the Gen X and some from the just passed Gen .. and some that were never ever the Gen are interesting as well :

The Printing Press (15th Century)

Fear: Scribes, monks, and elites thought it would destroy the value of knowledge, lead to mass misinformation, and eliminate jobs. Reality: It democratized knowledge, spurred the Renaissance and Reformation, and created entirely new industries—publishing, journalism, and education.

⸻

Industrial Revolution (18th–19th Century)

Fear: Machines would replace all human labor. The Luddites famously destroyed machinery in protest. Reality: Some manual labor jobs were displaced, but the economy exploded with new roles in manufacturing, logistics, engineering, and management. Overall employment and productivity soared.

⸻

Automobiles (Early 20th Century)

Fear: People feared job losses for carriage makers, stable hands, and horseshoe smiths. Cities worried about traffic, accidents, and social decay. Reality: The car industry became one of the largest employers in the world. It reshaped economies, enabled suburbia, and created new sectors like travel, road infrastructure, and auto repair.

⸻

Personal Computers (1980s)

Fear: Office workers would be replaced by machines; people worried about becoming obsolete. Reality: Computers made work faster and created entire industries: IT, software development, cybersecurity, and tech support. It transformed how we live and work.

⸻

The Internet (1990s)

Fear: It would destroy jobs in retail, publishing, and communication. Some thought it would unravel social order. Reality: E-commerce, digital marketing, remote work, and the creator economy now thrive. It connected the world and opened new opportunities.

⸻

ATMs (1970s–80s)

Fear: Bank tellers would lose their jobs en masse. Reality: ATMs handled routine tasks, but banks actually hired more tellers for customer service roles as they opened more branches thanks to reduced transaction costs.

⸻

Robotics & Automation (Factory work, 20th century–today)

Fear: Mass unemployment in factories. Reality: While some jobs shifted or ended, others evolved—robot maintenance, programming, design. Productivity gains created new jobs elsewhere.

The fear is not for losing jobs. It is the compromise of intellectual property and use without compensation. This case is slightly different.

I think AI will only make humans smarter. If we use it to our advantage.

That’s been happening for the last 10 years anyway

Not something new

You can’t control that in this day and age

YouTube & User-Generated Content (mid-2000s onward)

Initial Fear: When YouTube exploded, many in the entertainment industry panicked. The fear was that copyrighted material—music, TV clips, movies—would be shared freely without compensation. Creators and rights holders worried their content would be pirated, devalued, and that they’d lose control over distribution.

What Actually Happened: YouTube evolved to protect IP and monetize it through systems like Content ID, which allows rights holders to:

Automatically detect when their content is used

Choose to block, track, or monetize that usage

Earn revenue from ads run on videos using their IP (even when others post it)

Instead of wiping out creators or studios, it became a massive revenue stream—especially for musicians, media companies, and creators. Entire business models emerged around fair use, remixes, and reactions—with compensation built in.

Key Shift: The system went from “piracy risk” to “profit partner,” by embracing tech that recognized and enforced IP rights at scale.

This lead to higher profits and more money for owners and content btw

You just have to restructure the compensation laws and rewrite contracts

It’s only going to benefit artists in the long run ‎

Yes

They can IP it

That is the hope

It’s the spread of your content and material without you putting a penny towards it

Cannot blindly sign off everything in contracts anymore. Has to be a lot more specific.

Yes that’s for sure

“Automation hasn’t erased jobs—it’s changed where human effort goes.”

Another good one is “hard work beats talent when talent stops working hard”

Which has absolutely nothing to with AI right now but 🤣

These ladies and Gentlemen of the Ef jury are various conversational opinions on AI .. I am merely pasting them for a view and an opinion ..

And among all the brouhaha about AI .. we simply forgot the Sunday well wishers .. and so ..

my love and the length be of immense .. pardon

Amitabh Bachchan

[alwayslurkinginthebackground]

Old Man - A Raindro Drabble

Pairing: Javier Peña x f!reader Rating: E (I love this man). Unprotected p in v, fingering, the usual. Also brief subtle mentions of infertility. They fuck at a party, y'all. Word Count: 1845 a/n: I don't think y'all understand how much I love Javier Peña. Like...I love him. Anyway, he's obviously the right choice for PINK day of Raindro!

His dad is often quick to call him old. It's just a joke, one that Chucho takes the opportunity to make whenever possible, much to Javi's dismay, but you can't help but laugh, especially when he'll climb into bed next to you with complaints of an aching back.

The ladies at the farmer's market aren't much better, teasing your husband as he peruses the brightly colored flowers. They interrogate him incessantly about when the next generation of Peña children will appear on the ranch, completely oblivious to the fact that it's not something in the cards for the two of you. It's something you've come to accept, but it's all you can do to bury your face in the blooms in an attempt to hide the flush in your cheeks when they suggest that he's not getting any younger and that perhaps he should try harder.

You make fun of him too, every once and a while when he makes a bad joke or struggles to use the new computer you'd purchased for your home office, situations that soon evolve into a horizontal demonstration of just how wrong you are. But today, as you sit at your niece's third birthday party, you can't help but see it. The stiffness to his shoulders after one of your brother's kids finally hops off his back, the extra creases in the corner of his eye when he smiles before kissing you, and the huff he lets out when he collapses in the chair at your side.

"Tired?" you ask, immediately standing so you can move to sit on his thigh, something that has him groaning slightly and adjusting his knee to better accommodate you. You simply laugh, wrapping your arms around his neck as you lean in to kiss his cheek.

"Exhausted," Javi willingly admits, his own hands settling on your waist as the two of you watch the chaos erupting in front of you. "I'm so glad that we're not the ones who have to put these monsters to bed every night."

You smile before resting your head against his, "they sure make a person feel old, don't they?"

He hums, "we're not old, Cariño."

"Come on, Jav, you can admit it. We're getting old."

He tightens his grip around you, "we're not. I'm perfectly capable of keeping up with them and so are you."

You raise your eyebrows as you pull back to glance down at him, "is that so? Is that why the last time we watched them you were passed out on the couch by 9PM?"

"Hey now, I was up with them at 4 in the morning if I remember correctly," he frowns, fingers tapping against your hip. "And we took them to the zoo that day."

Laughter bubbles in your chest, "I know, I know. But also," you lean in to whisper against his ear, "it's not necessarily a bad thing that we're getting old."

"Not old," he returns instantly once more, "but what do you mean?"

"It means that no one is gonna miss us if we disappear for a few minutes."

Javier sucks in a breath and you're on your feet a moment later, one of his hands steady against the small of your back as he leads you toward the house. You're giggling the whole way, straight through the door and past the kitchen that's thankfully devoid of people. In fact, the entire house is rather quiet thanks to the festivities out in the backyard, and it's with incredible speed that he has you holed up in the guest bathroom, door locked behind you both.

You're working at the belt of your jeans before he can even turn back toward you, but he doesn't let you get far, a squeal leaving your lips as he expertly lifts you onto the counter. He fuses his lips to yours and settles between your spread legs, making you feel like you're a couple of teenagers sneaking away to make out. Only, with age, you've learned that what's about to happen in this bathroom will go a lot further than first base.

He takes his time though, working you up slowly until you're a whimpering mess in his arms. Your legs are crossed around behind him, holding his body against yours as his hands explore the expanse of your back. "Javi, come on," you plead and you reach for his own belt as you try to speed along the process.

"Uh uh," he shakes his head, slowly trailing down your jaw and to your shoulder, where his teeth nip at the soft skin he finds there. "We're gonna take it nice and slow today. Don't wanna wear ourselves out, us being old and all."

It's a low blow, but it makes you laugh, your forehead falling against his shoulder as he continues to mark you, well aware that you won't be able to hide the evidence of your rendezvous when you go back outside.

Still, you try to urge him along, your palm finding the bulge in his too-tight jeans. "You never liked going slowly when you were younger," you tease, and for just a moment he pauses, pulling back to look at you with renewed energy.

"You're gonna regret saying that," he warns, but you only smile. There's always been a hint of challenge with your husband, and you've never backed down before, so you're not about to now, especially not when he's already tugging at the waistband of your jeans. He urges you just far enough off the counter to tug them down your legs, panties following suit as he drops down before you.

"And you're gonna hurt your knees like..."

The remaining words are lost on your lips when his tongue traces through your folds. There's no edge to the counter to grip, so you settle for his curls. They're longer now than when you first met him, speckled with grey, and he moans slightly when you tug against the strands to help guide his motion.

Not that it makes much of a difference.

Javier knows you perhaps better than you know yourself, which means that he knows exactly how to play you. It's slow and sensual, the way he carefully adds a finger to the mix, dipping into your core at an agonizing pace. The second isn't far behind, curling inside of you as he latches onto your clit and urging you toward your first orgasm.

Only, just as you're about to crest over the top, he pulls back. You're about to yell at him when you remember where you are, the faint sound of someone in the kitchen downstairs preventing the curses from falling from your mouth. Javi, however, is smirking, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand as he stands, knees cracking in the process.

"I told you. Slowly."

Your eyes drift down to watch him unzip his jeans, tugging them down just far enough for his cock to spring free. He strokes himself with the hand he'd had inside you just moments earlier, smearing the precum already leaking from his tip along the shaft as you struggle to tear your eyes away.

Another loud bang downstairs causes you to flinch, Javi looking toward the door and then back at you, both of you laughing a moment later as he stands between your thighs once more. "I think you're gonna have to keep quiet, Cariño," he whispers against your lips, still smiling when he kisses you soundly.

When he pulls back it's to guide his length through your folds, gathering the evidence of your arousal before tapping the tip against your clit. You inhale, one hand already holding tight to his bicep as he lines himself up, the press of hic cock into your heat causing you to whine. He maintains his pace, even as you scoot closer to the edge of the counter, taking him deeper with each shift.

"Easy, baby," he soothes when he's seated fully, holding himself there even though you know it's killing him just as much as it's killing you. He moves soon after, setting a slow pace as he rocks into you.

You pull him into another kiss, eager for any kind of connection. His lips part, tongue matching yours in a battle until you've somehow encouraged him to go faster. With his hands settled at the small of your back, he brings you closer to the edge of the vanity so you're barely teetering on the edge. In turn, you wrap yourself around him, tucking your face into the crook of his neck as he pounds into you.

He changes the angle one last time, hitting something devastating, and it's only a matter of seconds before you're biting into the flesh of his neck instead of screaming his name for the entire party to hear. Javier slows again, careful to keep himself seated inside while you ride through your release. "There's my girl," he whispers in your ear, hand running up and down your back as your body shudders in his grasp.

You kiss the mark you've left softly when you're ready for him to move again, and he does. Your release makes his movement easier, his cock sliding easily between your folds as he begins to chase after his own pleasure. You urge him on with soft whispers in his ear, more than content to simply feel the way he's losing control, all thoughts of going slowly long lost in his mind.

He comes with a groan that you swallow, your lips on his when his pace stutters. He spills into you with one final push, and you hold him tight against your body until he stills completely. Neither of you make an effort to move, both of you too sated to care.

But then you're laughing, giggling against him as a barely coherent thought pops into your brain.

Javi pulls back, gazing down at you softly, "what's so funny?"

"You know what never gets old?" you ask.

"What?" he returns, wrapping his arms around you with a smile already on his face.

You turn to kiss his jaw, matching your gaze with his as you respond. "This."

He's laughing then, too, both of you losing your breath for an entirely different reason. It's only when the sound of footsteps on the stairs echo through the room that you both stop. Javi's arms tighten around you as you both freeze. A soft knock sounds a moment later.

"I hope you two are almost finished in there," you sister-in-law whispers, "because the kids are asking where you are and I can only distract them for so long."

Her footsteps descend the stairs a moment later, and you let your forehead fall to rest against his shoulder again.

"I guess you were wrong," he says softly, pressing a kiss to the side of your head as he gently pulls back, already moving to clean you up, "turns out they will miss us if we disappear."

You smile. "Only because you took more than a few minutes, old man."

[wonderhecko]

on tool purchases:

you might be surprised to hear this but around a series of consumer purchases there are 'factions', 'heated discourse' and 'conspicuous consumption'.

i recognize most people reading this are more computer touchers than tool touchers so for the most part, you are going to be well served by most budget sets. does it really matter if that plastic level would shatter from one drop off a 10' ladder if it's never seeing those heights? nah. just pick up a a decent set and if/when you find yourself wanting/needing a specific tool in higher quality, you can get something at the next price point and probably be fine. if you want "the best" individual tool, you'll have to sift through affiliate links, people insecure about their purchase, the haters, and completely unqualified reviews to try to determine which of the 5 similar offerings is optimal.

hand tools and power tools are the major divisions imo. milwaukee has an incredible power tool offering, with top competitors in many categories and few real stinkers not ever worth paying Red Tax. however, their electrical hand tools are really lacking. some are priced equivalent to klein tools but will never ever compare, some are priced lower than the kleins but you'd go through 5 of them compared to the one lifetime of the klein tool (which is lifetime warrantied btw!). all this to say, getting to know a brand's particular strengths and weaknesses is crucial to getting the most out of purchase decisions, should that be the route you're pursuing. it's still just Buying Products so, if you do it "suboptimal", whatever. just trusting in the moment you need a screwdriver that milwaukee will make a decent one for under 12 bucks is fine. no one dies.

i have worked with people who have brand loyalty and usually express this by slamming whatever color of tools you show up with and want you to pat their backs for picking the right color or flex that they got the 1000 dollar set. these people are insufferable and will die alone, assuredly. i have worked with people who brought the most bizarre temu-tier, walmart ass tools. some were just too broke and didnt care (respect) and some genuinely didnt have any clue that their shitty tools were making their lives harder. to them i offer a slight ribbing and a short list of mainstays.

tl;dr the tool market is in such a state that the mid-tiers available at box stores are generally comparable for home use, some annoying research may be required to make the best purchase for professional use and tool snobs will never reach enlightenment

[alpaca-clouds]

The 1990s and the Monsters

Back when Digimon game to the west, everyone was very quick to decide that it was a rip-off of Pokémon. Every Digimon fan obviously knows that this is not true, given how close the origin of the franchises lay too each other in Japan. The first Pokémon game released in Japan in October 1996, the Digital Monster Tamagotchi release in Japan in June 1997, not even a full year later. In fact, we do know how Digimon started: By Bandai trying (and somewhat failing) to market Tamagotchi to boys. (Digimon was still a lot more popular with girls. lol Turns out girls love monsters, too.)

But here is the thing: Monster taming was a popular genre in Japanese media for decades at the time - and something about the second half of the 1990s made several companies go: "You know what we need right now? A monster training franchise!"

While Pokémon is by far the most famous of the franchises, and Digimon probably follows in second place -internationally - those two were by far not the only ones. As someone who grew up at the time, had access to the internet, and was very liberal in regards to downloading anime... Oh boy, there was a lot of monster stuff happening at the time.

Some of it was great. Most of it never came to the west. A lot of it never got a second, let alone a third season. And oh boy, I want to talk about it. Which is why I will do this during the next couple weeks, because... You know what? You deserve to know about all those monster shows that came out between like 1995 and 2005. It sure was a lot. And you might find something in there that you are going to absolutely adore.

And mind you, while YGO never was intended to fall into this, it ended up falling into it too. But YGO you all probably know, given that it is fairly popular in the west. Monster Rancher also came out in the west - though somehow barely anyone seems to remember it existing. I am not quite sure why.

But generally speaking, this particular time had a ton of stuff that was based around the idea of "kid teams up with (somewhat) sentient non-human creature(s) to do stuff". This stuff could be anything. Saving the world, fighting in some sort of tournament, or - quite often - hacking stuff. It was after all the millennium and computers were the new hot shit. The internet was finally starting to be more widely used ans such.

I think next to this, the Japanese idea of living "things" (an even more literal ghost in the machine) and also a variety of traditions - such as Onmyouji - were playing a role into why this particular idea was becoming so popular in Japan. Though I guess no one can doubt that some part of it also was that Pokémon came out in 1996, became popular, and everyone was trying to jump onto the bandwagon. While I will still maintain that this was not thetruth for all of it (Digimon and Monster Farm released as games too close to Pokémon to be inspired by it and as I noted: YGO was inspired by MTG, not Pokémon).

Still, as someone who grew up on those shows, I am fascinated by them - and especially by those that got forgotten by the wider audiences.

And yeah, I think the others never came out over here. So, yeah.

Over the next weeks I am going to talk about them.

[arkhammaid]

— ˚₊‧⁺˖ THE LIGHTNING ON TRACK | THE STRATEGY CALL

fandom. formula one & mcu

about. in which the stark racing f1 team talks about the 2025 strategy and beyond

content warnings. written in 3rd person

word count. 1.4k words

notes. with this chapter i wanted to involve a bit of politics and 'realistically' explain why stark racing won't immediately win a wdc (because with the whole set up, it would be possible). f1 are politics and no matter how many drivers say cash is king, connections have sometimes more worth

"welcome, everyone. thank you for tuning in", greets tony with a big smile on his face, spreading his arms as if going in for a hug.

"as you can see, i'm not currently with any departement, i'm doing the finishing touches in my own lab back in new york... since i don't want to drag anyone here to the US for meetings, we will proceed like this until january next year."

"now, i know it will be annoying with dragging your equipement with you and it's also unsafe, since you know... data secrets bla bla- so, in the next few days, each stark racing employee will receive the so called 'tactical intelligence glasses', which you can see me wearing. it's voice activated and can only be used by the one who sets it up, which will be you!" while speaking, tony fiddles with a pencil in his hand and starts walking around in his lab, showcasting it to every viewer.

"to cut things short, you'll receive a tutorial on how to use these glasses and set them up once you receive them. if you ever lose them, don't worry, we can track them. destroying them is pretty hard, but please don't try to make it a challange... our plan is to use them not only during meetings but also during the race, to keep our data from the cameras. with netflix, paparazzi and other cameras from the news, it's easy to steal data that shouldn't be accessible."

"alright then", he ends his ramblings with a clap, "we're going over the interesting part now. let's talk strategy..."

y/n let's her father's voice wash over her, her own glasses perched on her nose and feeding her constant information. in front of her are two holograms, projected by the hologram table in the meeting room she's currently in. the standing figure of her father and the presentation he's currently rattling off, all of it in a glowing blue.

next to her sits kevin, her future teammate, exhausted from the long 24 season but still paying attention. the rest of the room is filled with their team, the race engineers and trainers- each of them having their own glasses on.

to outsiders it looks like they're clowns, but it's a common sight in stark industries. decades ahead of the general public, stark stands for the future. of course they're trying to push it to the outer world, selling hologrammic equipement to both the industry but also private customers, but it's a slow progress.

the marketing team of SI hopes with their public use of the glasses and other devices they'll attract more customers, leaving the age of apple and samsung behind and instead welcoming the age of holograms. powered by starkanium, the production of phones, tablets, computers- anything really, is much cheaper and enviroment friendly than what's currently dominating the market.

shaking her head, y/n focuses on the presentation again. of course she knows it by heart already, she helped writing it, brooding over the strategy with the team ever since the team got announced.

"... the plan is to finish between 5th-3rd on the construction championship. not higher, not lower. we don't want to place higher, because this is our testing season. we will be practically sandbagging from the beginning, not revealing our true power for 2026."

yes... the construction championship. it will bring in money, not that they would need it, but it will justify the expenses they're going to make during the season to prepare for their second one. y/n is under no illusion, if they want, they could go all out and snag at least p2, if not p1. maybe she would even get her world championship- only then for everyone to say she won because she's driving a stark machine and not because of her own skill.

it sounds arrogant, she knows. but y/n believes, no, she doesn't only believe, she knows, she is one of the best in the whole world. if she can go against her father in an iron man suit, who can be only piloted by less than ten people in the world... winning in an f1 car is nothing.

but they've already made enemies for not waiting until 2026 like audi, 'enemies', who have much more pull within the motorsport world than them, simply because they're already established. christian horner is one, followed by toto wolff, the iconic red racing team not far behind.

with they're entry, they didn't make friends on the paddock, so for their first season... they can't be too good. or else their future seasons will be ruined.

it's stupid, to think like this, to think so far ahead, to think of others, in a sport where winning is everything. but it's not. cash and connections influence everything you do, how far you succeed. they have plenty of money, but are practically poor in connections. heck, even haas is better established than them.

they won't be, not after they're done after their first season. they will show the world, what stark racing is truly made of. and y/n will prove, that a woman can win.

"-bought data packs from previous seasons, dating back a whole decade, from mercedes and aston martin. cost a pretty penny, but data is everything. not to mention, after the big leak that happend in the middle of the season, we managed to grab enough data on all teams to calculate 3523 outcomes to this season. points, standings, anything." kevin wheezes at the number, which is followed by several data sheets. he gapes at the calculations, which predict another world championship for max 2064 times. all from the data they managed to collect.

"insane, right?", y/n whispers to kevin, who turns his head to her. his wide eyes make her snicker.

"welcome to stark racing, mate. just you wait until JARVIS and FRIDAY start feeding in new numbers and information." a muttered 'holy shit' is the only answer she gets and y/n has to snicker again. toto wolff once said something about formula one being war planning... well, he should know that stark industries and it's most brilliant minds know everything about war. be it on the market, by income or an actual alien invasion.

"we want to achieve at least one win, be it in a proper race or sprint, three podiums per driver and at least two fastest laps. and it will be possible", her father continues, pointing at a hologram of their car. it spins lazily in a circle, showing off it's aeorodynamic curves.

"this car is faster than the rb19, goes on par with the rb20. we don't know the upgrades from red bull, but another year and we can pretty much predict their stats for 2026. newey is predictable, all his upgrades point towards the perfection of the car, he focuses on what to make better and not invent something completely new. and if he does, he takes ages to prove it's better than what they had before. newey is brilliant, but he's no stark." there it is again, the facts of their rivals, taken apart and put back together to summerize their data in a few simple words.

"so, our motto for this season is testing, collecting data and improving for the next season. we're sandbagging, we're restricting ourselves. so if we ever do bad... we all know we could do much better. the engineering team will send first comparisons between the SR-1 and SR-2 out next week, y/n has already tested both cars in the sim, so we will have some data to read off."

"so, with that, we're pretty much done. thank you everyone for listening, i know for some it's very early right now, so if you have to read over the spark notes- JARVIS has put a summary of the most important information together, you'll receive the mail right after this converence. thank you again and welcome to stark racing, everyone!" claps fill the room and y/n takes off her glasses. it's exhausting to play mindgames like this, to calculate the desired outcome, but it will all come together.

hopefully, with her as a world champion, with the bold stark name on her back.

taglist. @lilypadlover , @adorablezhui , @peqch-pie , @keyz-writes , @obsidianjewel , @aimixx , @themercyverse , @lem-hhn , @akiraquote , @kiiyoooo , @nichmeddar , @nothingfuninthislife , @minkyungseokie , @fionaschicken , @lyrasconstellation , @spideybv28 , @keii134 , @starssfall , @tpwkstiles, @fangirl-dot-com , @nichmeddar , @lady-laura-speaks , @nikfigueiredo , @hinamesgigantica , @brakingboundaries , @almostjollypizza , @yoremins , @raizelchrysanderoctavius , @celesteblack08 , @watermelon-sugars-things , @lighttsoutlewis , @radiantdanvers , @vellicora, @sterredem , @hiireadstuff , @jolixtreesunn , @mypage-myfandoms , @nelly187 @greeneyesandsunshine , @fulla02 , @welovediaaxx , @whyamireadingthis , @67-angelofthelordme-67 , @blueberry64857959 , @winchesterwife27 , @six-call , @skywalker1dream , @mellowarcadefun , @cherry-piee , @peterholland04 , @motorsportloverf1 , @renarots , @msbyjackal , @woozarts , @leclucklerc , @yl90

crossed off tags mean i can't tag you!

DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE SERIES TAGLIST? please leave a comment on this post or send a non anonymous ask!

ARKHAM MAID 2024

[mostlysignssomeportents]

AI is a WMD

I'm in TARTU, ESTONIA! AI, copyright and creative workers' labor rights (TOMORROW, May 10, 8AM: Science Fiction Research Association talk, Institute of Foreign Languages and Cultures building, Lossi 3, lobby). A talk for hackers on seizing the means of computation (TOMORROW, May 10, 3PM, University of Tartu Delta Centre, Narva 18, room 1037).

Fun fact: "The Tragedy Of the Commons" is a hoax created by the white nationalist Garrett Hardin to justify stealing land from colonized people and moving it from collective ownership, "rescuing" it from the inevitable tragedy by putting it in the hands of a private owner, who will care for it properly, thanks to "rational self-interest":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/04/analytical-democratic-theory/#epistocratic-delusions

Get that? If control over a key resource is diffused among the people who rely on it, then (Garrett claims) those people will all behave like selfish assholes, overusing and undermaintaining the commons. It's only when we let someone own that commons and charge rent for its use that (Hardin says) we will get sound management.

By that logic, Google should be the internet's most competent and reliable manager. After all, the company used its access to the capital markets to buy control over the internet, spending billions every year to make sure that you never try a search-engine other than its own, thus guaranteeing it a 90% market share:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#not-up-to-the-task

Google seems to think it's got the problem of deciding what we see on the internet licked. Otherwise, why would the company flush $80b down the toilet with a giant stock-buyback, and then do multiple waves of mass layoffs, from last year's 12,000 person bloodbath to this year's deep cuts to the company's "core teams"?

https://qz.com/google-is-laying-off-hundreds-as-it-moves-core-jobs-abr-1851449528

And yet, Google is overrun with scams and spam, which find their way to the very top of the first page of its search results:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/24/passive-income/#swiss-cheese-security

The entire internet is shaped by Google's decisions about what shows up on that first page of listings. When Google decided to prioritize shopping site results over informative discussions and other possible matches, the entire internet shifted its focus to producing affiliate-link-strewn "reviews" that would show up on Google's front door:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/24/naming-names/#prabhakar-raghavan

This was catnip to the kind of sociopath who a) owns a hedge-fund and b) hates journalists for being pain-in-the-ass, stick-in-the-mud sticklers for "truth" and "facts" and other impediments to the care and maintenance of a functional reality-distortion field. These dickheads started buying up beloved news sites and converting them to spam-farms, filled with garbage "reviews" and other Google-pleasing, affiliate-fee-generating nonsense.

(These news-sites were vulnerable to acquisition in large part thanks to Google, whose dominance of ad-tech lets it cream 51 cents off every ad dollar and whose mobile OS monopoly lets it steal 30 cents off every in-app subscriber dollar):

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/saving-news-big-tech

Now, the spam on these sites didn't write itself. Much to the chagrin of the tech/finance bros who bought up Sports Illustrated and other venerable news sites, they still needed to pay actual human writers to produce plausible word-salads. This was a waste of money that could be better spent on reverse-engineering Google's ranking algorithm and getting pride-of-place on search results pages:

https://housefresh.com/david-vs-digital-goliaths/

That's where AI comes in. Spicy autocomplete absolutely can't replace journalists. The planet-destroying, next-word-guessing programs from Openai and its competitors are incorrigible liars that require so much "supervision" that they cost more than they save in a newsroom:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/29/what-part-of-no/#dont-you-understand

But while a chatbot can't produce truthful and informative articles, it can produce bullshit – at unimaginable scale. Chatbots are the workers that hedge-fund wreckers dream of: tireless, uncomplaining, compliant and obedient producers of nonsense on demand.

That's why the capital class is so insatiably horny for chatbots. Chatbots aren't going to write Hollywood movies, but studio bosses hyperventilated at the prospect of a "writer" that would accept your brilliant idea and diligently turned it into a movie. You prompt an LLM in exactly the same way a studio exec gives writers notes. The difference is that the LLM won't roll its eyes and make sarcastic remarks about your brainwaves like "ET, but starring a dog, with a love plot in the second act and a big car-chase at the end":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/01/how-the-writers-guild-sunk-ais-ship/

Similarly, chatbots are a dream come true for a hedge fundie who ends up running a beloved news site, only to have to fight with their own writers to get the profitable nonsense produced at a scale and velocity that will guarantee a high Google ranking and millions in "passive income" from affiliate links.

One of the premier profitable nonsense companies is Advon, which helped usher in an era in which sites from Forbes to Money to USA Today create semi-secret "review" sites that are stuffed full of badly researched top-ten lists for products from air purifiers to cat beds:

https://housefresh.com/how-google-decimated-housefresh/

Advon swears that it only uses living humans to produce nonsense, and not AI. This isn't just wildly implausible, it's also belied by easily uncovered evidence, like its own employees' Linkedin profiles, which boast of using AI to create "content":

https://housefresh.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Advon-AI-LinkedIn.jpg

It's not true. Advon uses AI to produce its nonsense, at scale. In an excellent, deeply reported piece for Futurism, Maggie Harrison Dupré brings proof that Advon replaced its miserable human nonsense-writers with tireless chatbots:

https://futurism.com/advon-ai-content

Dupré describes how Advon's ability to create botshit at scale contributed to the enshittification of clients from Yoga Journal to the LA Times, "Us Weekly" to the Miami Herald.

All of this is very timely, because this is the week that Google finally bestirred itself to commence downranking publishers who engage in "site reputation abuse" – creating these SEO-stuffed fake reviews with the help of third parties like Advon:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/03/keyword-swarming/#site-reputation-abuse

(Google's policy only forbids site reputation abuse with the help of third parties; if these publishers take their nonsense production in-house, Google may allow them to continue to dominate its search listings):

https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2024/03/core-update-spam-policies#site-reputation

There's a reason so many people believed Hardin's racist "Tragedy of the Commons" hoax. We have an intuitive understanding that commons are fragile. All it takes is one monster to start shitting in the well where the rest of us get our drinking water and we're all poisoned.

The financial markets love these monsters. Mark Zuckerberg's key insight was that he could make billions by assembling vast dossiers of compromising, sensitive personal information on half the world's population without their consent, but only if he kept his costs down by failing to safeguard that data and the systems for exploiting it. He's like a guy who figures out that if he accumulates enough oily rags, he can extract so much low-grade oil from them that he can grow rich, but only if he doesn't waste money on fire-suppression:

https://locusmag.com/2018/07/cory-doctorow-zucks-empire-of-oily-rags/

Now Zuckerberg and the wealthy, powerful monsters who seized control over our commons are getting a comeuppance. The weak countermeasures they created to maintain the minimum levels of quality to keep their platforms as viable, going concerns are being overwhelmed by AI. This was a totally foreseeable outcome: the history of the internet is a story of bad actors who upended the assumptions built into our security systems by automating their attacks, transforming an assault that wouldn't be economically viable into a global, high-speed crime wave:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/24/automation-is-magic/

But it is possible for a community to maintain a commons. This is something Hardin could have discovered by studying actual commons, instead of inventing imaginary histories in which commons turned tragic. As it happens, someone else did exactly that: Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom:

https://www.onthecommons.org/magazine/elinor-ostroms-8-principles-managing-commmons/

Ostrom described how commons can be wisely managed, over very long timescales, by communities that self-governed. Part of her work concerns how users of a commons must have the ability to exclude bad actors from their shared resources.

When that breaks down, commons can fail – because there's always someone who thinks it's fine to shit in the well rather than walk 100 yards to the outhouse.

Enshittification is the process by which control over the internet moved from self-governance by members of the commons to acts of wanton destruction committed by despicable, greedy assholes who shit in the well over and over again.

It's not just the spammers who take advantage of Google's lazy incompetence, either. Take "copyleft trolls," who post images using outdated Creative Commons licenses that allow them to terminate the CC license if a user makes minor errors in attributing the images they use:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/24/a-bug-in-early-creative-commons-licenses-has-enabled-a-new-breed-of-superpredator/

The first copyleft trolls were individuals, but these days, the racket is dominated by a company called Pixsy, which pretends to be a "rights protection" agency that helps photographers track down copyright infringers. In reality, the company is committed to helping copyleft trolls entrap innocent Creative Commons users into paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars to use images that are licensed for free use. Just as Advon upends the economics of spam and deception through automation, Pixsy has figured out how to send legal threats at scale, robolawyering demand letters that aren't signed by lawyers; the company refuses to say whether any lawyer ever reviews these threats:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/13/an-open-letter-to-pixsy-ceo-kain-jones-who-keeps-sending-me-legal-threats/

This is shitting in the well, at scale. It's an online WMD, designed to wipe out the commons. Creative Commons has allowed millions of creators to produce a commons with billions of works in it, and Pixsy exploits a minor error in the early versions of CC licenses to indiscriminately manufacture legal land-mines, wantonly blowing off innocent commons-users' legs and laughing all the way to the bank:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/02/commafuckers-versus-the-commons/

We can have an online commons, but only if it's run by and for its users. Google has shown us that any "benevolent dictator" who amasses power in the name of defending the open internet will eventually grow too big to care, and will allow our commons to be demolished by well-shitters:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/04/teach-me-how-to-shruggie/#kagi

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/09/shitting-in-the-well/#advon

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

--

Catherine Poh Huay Tan (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/68166820@N08/49729911222/

Laia Balagueró (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/lbalaguero/6551235503/

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/