I would cancel and tell the restaurant why.

Businesses need to know why they lose customers, because if enough of them report the same reason, they might do something about it.

Another person discovers that big tech has taken control of our computers without asking permission.

Well, your computers. I run Linux. It only does what I tell it to, not the other way round.

You know what would be ironic? If you were a bot OP. I mean, how can we tell? 🙂

Google Authenticator is actually one implementation of RFC 6238. That’s a problem for Google because:

1. They don’t control it: RFC 6238 is an open standard
2. RFC 6238 works offline, meaning Google can’t use it to track you and increase the surveillance on you

Google has been trying to kill off the Google Authenticator for years. Or rather, let’s say, gently push users away from it using dark patterns and promoting more convenient solutions.

Which is why everybody should use it as much as possible, because anything Google doesn’t want is bound to be better for the user. I mean I know TOTP is far from perfect and not super-secure if you’re a high-value target, but it’s good enough for most people and it keeps Google in the dark.

I wasn’t aware that Google uses the Youtube app as 2FA, but of course it makes total sense to them: it’s online and it’s one more surveillance point on your record whenever you use it. Then again, if you use Gmail and Youtube, there’s a good chance staying clear of the Google surveillance isn’t a priority for you, so it’s okay for you I guess.

I hate Google as much as the next guy - well, probably a lot more than the next guy actually - but here I’m siding with them for a change.

They require payment for a feature (your phone number: it is monetizable private data to them and that’s your payment) and you tried to get the feature without paying. And you failed.

The story here is that AI is frighteningly accurate when detecting embedded screenshots, not that Google is “vicious”: they’re not vicious in this case, they’re simply scary successful at detecting your attempts to game their system. Probably because everybody and their dog tries the same trick all the time, I would assume.

Generally speaking, I agree with your assessment of Big Data and Google. But not in this particular instance.

Don’t worry: American ultra-capitalists are actively taking care of the problem

deleted by creator

Maybe the restaurant is infested with investment bankers for whom life is indeed to short. Maybe the sign is a secret handshake to tell other investors they’re welcome in this joint.

It’s not just soda bottles here, it’s milk bottles, cream, fruit concentrates… Anything in any kind of plastic container with a screw-on cap.

Actually the soda bottles are the least egregious examples. The milk bottles are terrible: you’re 100% guaranteed to spill milk if you don’t detach the cap.

Thanks!

With a scalpel and a bone saw - at least that’s what the surgeon said - and because sometimes people are born with issues that need fixing later in life.

Plus, they very likely can’t sell electrical equipment that has had its cord chopped up and repaired

I did it proper. You couldn’t tell the cord had been replaced. For the rest, yeah I know what you mean. That doesn’t mean it’s not crazy that the Red Cross should refuse free shit. My Dad lived through the war and the food restrictions, and let me tell you, he would have been outraged.

Next time, find a friend with small feet who would like to take it off your hands.

The funny thing is, I’m a clear foot taller than my wife, but my own feet have been shortened surgically a few years ago and are now shorter than hers, and I fit inside the machine just fine. But I didn’t want the machine because I hate foot massages 🙂

The only problem with that theory is, they didn’t even open my box. I know that because the box still had the tape I closed it shut with. So they couldn’t know I had replaced the cord.

Besides, it wasn’t a shitty splice: I actually opened it and replaced the whole cord. You could never tell it wasn’t the original thing.

The less Google can figure out who you are accurately, the longer the ReCAPTCHAs get. For instance, if you run Librewolf with Resist FingerPrinting, you’re going to eat a metric shit-ton of buses, stairs, bicycles and fire hydrants.

Captchas are maddening, they’re forced labor and there’s a special place in hell for whoever invented them, deploy then and maintain them. However, you should take comfort in the fact that if you have a really hard time getting past a particularly stubborn ReCAPTCHA, it means Google has a harder time tracking you.

Oh the humanity!

How is this infuriating?

You haven’t been taken for a fool. You haven’t been taken by surprise. Thule isn’t an unavoidable monopoly you have to give money to.

If you feel it’s overpriced, you can, ya know… not buy Thule.

I tried to take them off a few times until I realized it was on purpose and not a manufacturing defect.

The problem isn’t the force it takes to rip it off: that’s easy enough to do. The problem is that the now-free cap has sharp edges that really hurt, and the plastic bottle now has an annoying dangling plastic tail.

the devs are happy to see people using their app disabled or not

The devs are, but Spez might not be, and the devs - and the blind people who use the app - are held at gunpoint by Spez. All it takes is for that idiot to think he’s being taken for a fool and the app his dead as a dead dodo.

All I’m saying is, if enough people post on Lemmy or elsewhere “Install this software! It’s exempt from paying to access the Reddit API so it still works!”, at some point Reddit will take notice, throw a fit and shut it down. And the losers will be blind people.

Whether you reckon this application should be accessible to everybody or not, and who you think qualifies as disabled is totally irrelevant. What’s important here is, Reddit, in its very limited wisdom, has “generously” allowed a good app to exist for free because it allows the blind to access their site. Don’t make them think it’s being abused by people who aren’t blind, is all.

Don’t abuse software that’s useful for the disabled: if enough non-disabled users use the software to bypass Reddit’s idiotic rules, they may just decide to kill it, and the losers will be the disabled community.

Do NOT install Redreader unless you need it!