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The Great Intermediary Panic

https://www.minid.net/2013/1/23/the-great-intermediary-panic
9•meerita•2d ago

Comments

cyanydeez•1h ago
this is the same logic about space exploration vs world exploration: ...history has shown exponetial-ish grow, so surely, there's always a "next step".

It's just not a rational position. The great intermediary may just stop. You just might be shut out. We could go from a million influencers (myspace) to a couple (facebook). You're not going to out compete the other 10 people vying for attention.

The point is: this is equivelent to just saying "shut up, grab the lube, and pretend you enjoy the technological revolution [rape]".

I know that'll anger people, but finding the right way in which society deals with technology is more than just "grab some new bootstraps" or it's your fault if you become a panic.

But aside from the social commentary, the logical commentary is: there isn't always going to be a space for your interests just because there's a long chain. The same way your mother can give birth to you and you can decide not to continue.

We don't have any evidence that we'll make it to mar and beyond for any reasonable approach.

hnmullany•48m ago
Flash didn't disappear when internet technologies got better. Flash disappeared because Apple refused to distribute it on iPhone - partly because Adobe couldn't effectively shrink it down to early generation iPhone technical capabilities - but partly because they didn't want a competitor to the iOS SDK.

Then Apple effectively vetoed - explicitly and through lack of investment) futher improvement in audiovisual web platform technologies (e.g. the custom shaders that Adobe wanted to make part of the nextgen filter spec) during the critical period where developers were making their platform choice for mobile.

Apple has been no friend to the further evolution of the web.

cryo32•9m ago
What about the bit where the majority of the browsers on the web are or were derived from WebKit, which was Apple originated?

Nobody really wanted Flash. It was expensive to develop for, had a bunch of security issues and was generally bloated.

HeavyStorm•2m ago
"Expensive to develop for" sounds very biased.

Beyond All Reason (Free Total Annihilation Inspired RTS)

https://www.beyondallreason.info
186•mosiuerbarso•3h ago•85 comments

Who Owns Your ATProto Identity? Hint: It's Probably Not You

https://kevinak.se/blog/who-actually-owns-your-atproto-identity-hint-its-probably-not-you
43•kevinak•1h ago•28 comments

The case against geometric algebra (2024)

https://alexkritchevsky.com/2024/02/28/geometric-algebra.html
86•Hbruz0•4h ago•60 comments

David Ahl's Basic Computer Games Ported to C

https://github.com/proteanthread/bcg
30•theanonymousone•3h ago•12 comments

Commodore Made a Digital Detox Phone That Isn't Dumb

https://www.wired.me/story/commodore-made-a-digital-detox-phone-that-isnt-dumb
15•Audiophilip•2d ago•7 comments

A 3D voxel game engine written in APL

https://github.com/namgyaaal/avoxelgame
100•sph•7h ago•8 comments

Google Hits 50% IPv6

https://blog.apnic.net/2026/04/28/google-hits-50-ipv6/
276•barqawiz•6h ago•273 comments

Loupe – A iOS app that raises awareness about what native apps can see

https://github.com/mysk-research/loupe
405•Cider9986•1d ago•164 comments

Running MicroVMs in Proxmox VE, the Easy Way

https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2026/06/18/1845
134•zdw•2d ago•14 comments

Two Qwen3 models on one DGX Spark: the residency math

https://www.devashish.me/p/two-qwen3-models-on-one-dgx-spark
25•devashish86•2d ago•17 comments

Renting a sewing machine from the library

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260618-the-weird-and-wonderful-libraries-of-finland
282•sohkamyung•16h ago•158 comments

Slow breathing modulates brain function and risk behavior

https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(26)00339-9
289•croes•16h ago•81 comments

Zigzag Decoding with AVX-512

https://zeux.io/2026/06/17/zigzag-decoding-avx512/
103•luu•3d ago•21 comments

Epoll vs. io_uring in Linux

https://sibexi.co/posts/epoll-vs-io_uring/
208•Sibexico•16h ago•51 comments

A tale of two path separators

https://alexwlchan.net/2021/slashes/
46•dbaupp•4d ago•15 comments

Developers don't understand CORS (2019)

https://fosterelli.co/developers-dont-understand-cors
271•toilet•13h ago•207 comments

Smashing the NIMBYs created modern capitalism

https://worksinprogress.co/issue/how-abolishing-the-stakeholder-state-caused-the-industrial-revol...
8•momentmaker•2h ago•1 comments

Windows UI evolution: Clicking an unassociated file

https://movq.de/blog/postings/2026-06-20/0/POSTING-en.html
97•jandeboevrie•8h ago•62 comments

Rare medieval bookmark exceeds expectations at auction

https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/76314
25•speckx•4d ago•8 comments

15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/17/business/lyme-disease-tick-test/
163•bookofjoe•3d ago•118 comments

SMPTE Makes Its Standards Freely Accessible

https://www.smpte.org/blog/smpte-makes-its-standards-freely-accessible-openingstandards-library-t...
276•zdw•22h ago•93 comments

Unauthorized alert sent to cell phones across Brazil

https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/20/americas/brazil-hackers-unauthorized-alert-latam
167•zdw•19h ago•122 comments

DOS Game "F-15 Strike Eagle II" reversing project needs DOS test pilots

https://neuviemeporte.github.io/f15-se2/2026/06/20/needyou.html
267•LowLevelMahn•1d ago•69 comments

Cosmodial Sky Atlas

https://frankforce.com/cosmodial-sky-atlas/
15•surprisetalk•4d ago•4 comments

UHF X11: X11 Built for VisionOS and Apple Vision Pro

https://www.lispm.net/apps/uhf-x11/
215•zdw•22h ago•49 comments

Proportional-Integral-Derivative Controllers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PID_controller
56•dhorthy•1d ago•29 comments

Guide to the TD4 4-bit DIY CPU

https://www.philipzucker.com/td4-4bit-cpu/
55•andrewstuart•2d ago•5 comments

Whole cross-sectional human ultrasound tomography

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-026-01660-4
95•lnyan•3d ago•19 comments

Alice is impatient

https://brooker.co.za/blog/2026/06/19/waiting.html
128•birdculture•18h ago•35 comments

Temporary Cloudflare accounts for AI agents

https://blog.cloudflare.com/temporary-accounts/
232•farhadhf•1d ago•131 comments