I’d also settle for releasing 3D models of out-of-production parts so they can be 3D-printed by enthusiasts.

Story time: in my second-gen Mazda Miata, I closed the centre console lid on a piece of cardstock by accident and it snapped the plastic piece that latches the lid shut. The part previously sold for ~$10 but they stopped producing it as a standalone part at some point and the only way to acquire it was to buy the $100 centre console lid assembly.

Work PC and personal PC on the same desk, with a KVM switch to seamlessly switch between them.

All keyboard layouts can be customized in software but some keyboard hardware like QMK can be programmed in hardware, which makes it especially convenient for switching computers.

NASA invented a space ship powered by a rotary engine? Noice, at least until the apex seals give out, but they should be good for 80k at least.

Very true, although in my experience you’re more likely to encounter someone putting on their blinker mid-turn as someone properly signaling a roundabout exit…

Exactly. I’ll fuck Steamboat Willie in my Rule 34 art if I want, just as God intended.

I love my flip phone. I’d love a phone with a hardware keyboard even more, but at least a folding flip phone is interesting in a sea of rectangles.

I finally caved and decided to log in to the MuseScore app and it’s awful: confusing login process, and pop ups to prompt you to subscribe to Pro before even using the app to view a single song, with no obvious way of closing the pop up (no skip button or X button).

Trash. I will never subscribe out of principle.

I was watching Yellowstone on Prime back in 2021, before they moved it to a premium tier, and the audio was always out of sync when using Prime Video, so I had to adjust the audio sync latency, and remember to switch it back when watching other content. This was on an Nvidia Shield Pro, too, so not some scrappy TV vendor’s implementation of the app on some underpowered SoC.

After a while, I gave up and just watched it on my Plex server instead. I could also use the Watch Together feature to watch it synchronously with friends, a feature not supported by Prime Video.

In my case, the piracy (if you call it that, when I was at the time a Prime member) was absolutely a UX issue, not a price issue.

Drink verification can, peasant.

Nah, I’ll just switch to Jellyfin.

Also don’t underestimate all of the background services that the IT department loads: email certificate managers, VPN client, DLP client, backup client, endpoint protection, etc.

Or you can change the highlighter to black and use that instead.

If you distribute that PDF, users will be able to search, highlight, and copy “highlighted” text, no problem.

This seems most plausible. OP, if you have a multimeter you could try to trace which TRS terminal has continuity with the damaged wire (if it’s exposed) and see which signal it’s supposed to carry.

Ever heard of anti-trust?

Sincere question: do you use a unique, secure password on your Spotify account, and are you sure that it’s never been compromised? Your story sounds very similar to a case where a Spotify account was being used by someone else.

Reply All episode about it: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/j4he7lv

I think I understand how I ended up believing you were pirating even though you weren’t: @zaphod makes it seem like you’re doing something remotely unethical when you not only use a legitimate subscription service but also support the artists through other ways! I’m not sure what more an artist could ask from a patron such as yourself.

By your definition of harm, no artist creating non-material goods (books, movies, music, etc) could ever experience harm due to any one individual’s actions. “I was never going to pay, so taking it without paying is a victim less crime,” etc, etc.

False. I acknowledge that there could be harm if a consumer would otherwise be able to afford to pay for all of the music they listen to. The distinction here is that if a consumer is already spending as much as they can truly afford then artists aren’t going to get any more money out of this consumer, regardless of whether or not they pay for it.

In other words: if you pirate because you must = no harm; if you pirate because you can = some harm.

That’s an interesting thought experiment about the cheating spouse, though. Thank you for the interesting perspective! This makes me want to re-visit my philosophy notes.

For the record, I pay for Spotify and also support artists through Bandcamp, merch, vinyl, and live concerts. I also pirate music which isn’t otherwise available through Spotify and/or Bandcamp (e.g. The Grey Album by Danger Mouse, and up until recently The Flamingo Trigger by Foxy Shazam) and don’t feel guilty about those instances.

My mistake! I lost the thread when typing my response. Don’t worry, I’ll call the RIAA today and cancel the snitch report I made ;)

My argument isn’t simply utilitarian either. It would be utilitarian to say, “It’s moral to pirate music as long as your enjoyment exceeds the harm caused to the artist.” But I’m saying that there is no harm caused by OP pirating in this situation. Don’t most moral arguments involve some kind of measure of harm? (Honest and sincere question)

It’s been a while since I studied philosophy, but for my own knowledge, do you know if there is some distinction between this sort of argument (e.g. “no victim = no crime”) and plain old utilitarianism?

In other words, what ethical theory is your moral argument based on?