#Takeaway software

[prameethsd]

Dive into the Takeaway Ordering System | Shopurfood

In today’s digital age, upgrading your business operations is not just an option; it’s a necessity. For restaurants, especially those focusing on curbside and takeaway services, implementing a robust takeaway ordering system can be the game-changer you’ve been searching for.

Digital-Driven Ordering Experience

Embracing a digital-driven ordering experience is crucial for staying ahead in the competitive restaurant industry. With online ordering surpassing traditional phone orders and walk-ins, catering to customer preferences through digitization is imperative. By investing in a takeaway ordering system, you’re not just meeting customer expectations; you’re exceeding them.

Effortless Management

Managing a restaurant business can be overwhelming, but with our fast, intuitive, and convenient takeaway ordering system, you can streamline operations effortlessly. Stay ahead of the curve and become the epitome of tech-savviness in managing your food business efficiently.

Insightful Dashboard

Gain valuable insights into your business performance with our detailed dashboard. Analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) and access comprehensive reports tailored to your industry. With data-driven decision-making, you can optimize your strategies for maximum success.

Operational Efficiency

Seamless operations are the hallmark of successful takeaway businesses. With perishable goods at stake, ensuring operational efficiency is non-negotiable. Our takeaway ordering system empowers restaurant owners to fulfill curbside orders promptly, keeping customers satisfied and coming back for more.

Efficient Inventory Management

As your business expands, managing inventory becomes increasingly challenging. With our system, you can effortlessly categorize menu items, facilitating seamless inventory management. Organize stocks efficiently and ensure your customers always have access to their favorite dishes.

Seamless Integration

Integrate third-party platforms such as PayPal, Apple Pay, and Stripe seamlessly into your online ordering system. Providing multiple payment options enhances customer convenience and satisfaction, driving repeat business and boosting revenue.

Simplified Tracking

Track delivery executive locations in real-time, ensuring accurate and timely deliveries. Manage orders across multiple restaurants effortlessly, receiving instant notifications and providing customers with peace of mind as they track their orders every step of the way.

Effortless Payouts & Commissions

Take control of your payments and commissions across multiple franchises seamlessly. Our solution simplifies restaurant management, allowing you to focus on what matters most — providing exceptional service to your customers.

In Conclusion,

Implementing a takeaway ordering system is the easiest way to streamline your restaurant’s operations and enhance the customer experience. With all the necessary tools at your disposal, providing seamless food delivery has never been more achievable. Serve your customers well, and watch your business thrive in the digital era.

#takeaway ordering system #takeaway delivery system #takeaway delivery software #takeaway ordering #food delivery software #food delivery solution

[codunite]

Consumers are willing to pay extra for convenience, and if you simplify their lives, you can make money as a tech entrepreneur.

#food #delivery #foodie #foodporn #fooddeliveryservice #instafood #foodstagram #foodlover #takeaway #homedelivery #foodphotography #restaurant #lunch #stayhome #delicious #healthyfood #codunite #mlm #software

[thechekhov]

I'm gonna delete that reblog because I don't want to start any witch-hunt type activities, nor do I want to harass others online.

However, I'm not gonna lie - I am still of the belief that the artist in question is implementing AI images in their art, and IF they are, I think it would be better to be forthright about it.

I'd love to be wrong, but there are things that seem fishy to me.

To reply to realistic concerns from @crustaceousfaggot

I have also glanced through their blog and here is my takeaway:

I have no doubts that this individual DOES actually draw, but their style has evolved from mainly paintings of faces and portraits into machinery and landscapes in a very short amount of time.

I don't believe that this individual ONLY uses AI. It's possible they don't use text based AI software. My best guess is that they're popping an image into AI and asking it to complete/modify it.

There are images where it seems to me that the face or the hands of something has been painted over in a style that doesn't quite match the rest of the image.

Again - I don't personally care about how another artist gets their kicks but I want people to be honest about labeling it.

Even if it's augmented with actual art. People deserve to know, in general, if something is drawn or computer generated, just like they deserve to know if an image has been altered and photo-shopped!

And I'd love to be wrong, but there are way too many AI-tells in the art in general for me to not be suspicious.

#chekhov answers

[eightyonekilograms]

I went to the Apple Store yesterday to try the scripted demo of their VR headset. My overall impression is that it's the best possible execution of what might be a fundamentally flawed idea.

The passthrough video is pretty incredible. It's somewhat dimmer than reality, and the color accuracy is just OK, but it's more than good enough to feel like you're looking through clear displays at the real world. I'm told the passthrough on the Quest 3 is even better, but haven't tried that and can't comment. One thing is that there is a weird motion blur effect when you turn your head, I'm not sure if that's a display tech limitation or introduced deliberately by the software as a workaround for a different display tech limitation.

The resolution is 4K per eye, which, as mentioned, is more than enough for a powerful sense of presence in the real world. One of the nifty bits of the demo was when you turn the dial to tune out the world and suddenly you're sitting by a mountain lake, and the feeling of actually being there is overwhelming. The dystopian implications of needing a VR headset to sit at a mountain lake aside, it would be cool to have one just to have your office be anywhere you can imagine. Not $3500-before-tax cool, but cool.

Wow sports leagues are going to love this thing. I don't give a shit about sports and even I was thinking, "If the NBA put a stereoscopic camera courtside and sold you games for $50 a pop, I'd absolutely buy that"

But 4K per eye is not enough to do work, not even close. The experience of using normal computer-y applications on this was not unlike plugging your laptop in to a TV that's at the normal TV distance. You can do it, it works, but it's not anyone's preferred way of working. Text is amazingly legible, but only at sizes that are equivalent to having a single webpage take up your entire 4K monitor at normal monitor distance.

It is not particularly comfortable. Part of this might be that the store demo makes you use the "catcher's mitt" strap, which only goes around the back of your head and so gravity has to be countered only by the pressure of the thing against your face. Reviewers have said that if you use the other band that goes over your head the situation is better, but still.

A lot of early comments were making fun of Apple for having the battery be an external thing you put in your pocket and attach with a wire, but I think that's just fine: we all walk around with giant batteries in our pockets anyway, and anything you can do to have less weight on your head is a Good Thing. But then Apple took all those weight savings and spent them on making the stupid thing out of metal and glass instead of polycarbonate. It's nuts! It's like if you made a car that was 500kg lighter because you invented magical tech for keeping the engine somewhere else, and then went "great! with all the weight savings now we can build the body out of lead". Apple, you don't need to fear plastic. Plastic is good! Plastic built modern civilization.

You control it with a combination of eye tracking and pinch gestures. This is the main piece of evidence of my "best version of a bad idea" thesis: it works really, really well; so well that I can tell this is probably an evolutionary dead end. It's just fine— miraculous, even— for dragging windows around and doing the basic stuff the in-store demo has you do. It's amazing that you can more or less have your hands anywhere, including on your lap, and the recognition works perfectly (by contrast with the HoloLens I tried 5 or so years ago where the gesture recognition was total crap). But it's immediately obvious that you can never do serious manipulation of your computing environment with this.

The takeaway is that it's incredible for passive consumption of specifically-made media, assuming that ever exists at scale. But it will be a long time before we're gogged in like Hiro Protagonist to do our office jobs this way.

[x-other-souled-x]

No. Nope.

Using language that systems may also use in a medical setting to describe their expereinces and go through treatment is not appropriation. Full stop.

There is no culture being exploited, unless you want to argue that the medical-industrial complex is a closed culture somehow.

Which I have definitely seen posts saying something dangerously close to this, and I urge you to not base your entire sense of self on the guys making money off of you. Even if they're helping, there's intentional siphoning of money from poor patients.

Secondly, language is a tool used to communicate. Words exist as "bodies" to a concept, and sometimes this concept is interpreted a little differently from person to person. There are a lot of words that mean several different things depending on the context. The most important thing is the setting which they're used in. A good ammount of medical terms are also words that are used by laymen in other contexts, meaning something different.

A system is a group of interrelated parts working together as a whole.

An Operating System (OS) is a system of code and software that tells the hardware what to do in order to make your computer run. There's agricultural systems, government systems, the solar system itself. Are these things appropriating the medical-industrial complex by existing as parts that make one whole thing work?

And before anyone splits hairs about this, I am not equating human life to computers or the government. These are examples of things that are literally defined AS SYSTEMS. The main takeaway you should be having here is that system is a broad term with many many applications outside of the medical-industrial complex. That one institution does not own the word nor the concept of being multiple parts (headmates/alters/whatever) working together.

The concept still exists and system still is a word outside of a medical context.

In other words, people would have eventually came to the conclusion of calling themselves systems regardless of if it was used in a medical context or not. It's not hard to put 2 and 2 together, to see parallels in concepts and expereinces and decide those words work just fine. Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk.

This is a post online, made by a trauma-formed system. I'm not going to have the time and foresight to cover every little nuance, and I don't care to be pedantic and pick apart small case instances. At the end of the day, this does not actually matter to how I live my life, how I get therapy, how we as a system have to work together. Endos using terms that are also used in a medical setting (but also used outside of medical settings) is not harmful to me in any way. And quite frankly, I think anti-endo witchunting has done more damage to us as a system trying to figure out how to navigate life than any endo friendly post has. I'm not arguing semantics, I'm going to go live my life and go outside and do my job and pay my bills like everyone else.

All this discourse around stealing terms and what you can and can't call yourself is so seriously unimportant in the grand scheme of things. You all sound so comfy and privileged to be worried about something so trivial as a word or three that is used in multiple contexts accross human language.

#syscourse #<- once again tagging bc yall need to see this and read it and really get it into your heads #im tired of boring terminology “”debates“” #theres no debate language exists and people use it too bad so sad #theres more important things to talk about #LIKE THE EXPLOITATION OF THE VULNERABLE IN THE MEDICAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX MAYBE ?????

[isabelle51]

Atlassian US Financial Reporting Requirements: A Comprehensive Overview

Atlassian, a global software company that helps teams collaborate and build together, is now officially an American company. As a result, the company is subject to the financial reporting requirements of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Atlassian's financial reporting practices are critical to the company's operations and the interests of its stakeholders.

Atlassian's financial reporting overview includes revenue recognition policies, compliance and controls, and public disclosure practices. The company's revenue recognition policies are consistent with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and are designed to reflect the economic substance of the transactions. Atlassian's compliance and controls are designed to ensure that the company's financial statements are accurate, complete, and reliable. The company's public disclosure practices are designed to provide timely and accurate information to investors and the public.

Key Takeaways

Atlassian, a global software company, is now officially an American company and subject to the financial reporting requirements of the SEC.

Atlassian's financial reporting overview includes revenue recognition policies, compliance and controls, and public disclosure practices.

The company's financial reporting practices are critical to its operations and the interests of its stakeholders.

Atlassian's Financial Reporting Overview

Atlassian Corporation Plc is a global software company that specializes in developing tools that help teams collaborate, build, and create together. As a publicly traded company in the United States, Atlassian is required to comply with the financial reporting requirements set forth by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Regulatory Framework

The SEC is the primary regulatory body responsible for overseeing the financial reporting of publicly traded companies in the United States. The SEC requires companies to file periodic reports that disclose important information about their financial performance, operations, and management. These reports are made available to the public and are used by investors to make informed investment decisions.

Atlassian is required to comply with a number of SEC regulations, including Regulation S-K, which sets forth the requirements for the content and format of disclosure documents, and Regulation S-X, which sets forth the requirements for financial statements and other financial information.

Filing Requirements

Atlassian is required to file a number of reports with the SEC, including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K. These reports are filed electronically through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) system.

In addition to these periodic reports, Atlassian is also required to file certain other reports and forms with the SEC, including proxy statements, registration statements, and beneficial ownership reports.

Overall, Atlassian is committed to maintaining high standards of financial reporting and transparency in accordance with SEC regulations. By providing accurate and timely financial information to investors, Atlassian aims to build trust and confidence in its business and drive long-term value for its shareholders.

Revenue Recognition Policies

Atlassian follows the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) guidelines for revenue recognition. The company recognizes revenue when it is earned and realizable. Revenue is earned when the company has delivered the product or service to the customer, and the customer has accepted it. Revenue is realizable when the company has received payment or has a reasonable expectation of receiving payment.

Subscription Model

Atlassian offers a subscription-based model for its software products. Under this model, customers pay a fixed fee for access to the software for a specified period. Revenue from subscription fees is recognized ratably over the subscription period. Atlassian recognizes revenue from subscription fees when the subscription period begins, and the software is made available to the customer.

Licensing and Support

Atlassian also generates revenue through licensing and support services. Licensing revenue is recognized when the license is delivered to the customer and the customer has accepted it. Support revenue is recognized ratably over the support period. Atlassian recognizes revenue from licensing and support services when the product or service is delivered to the customer and the customer has accepted it.

In summary, Atlassian's revenue recognition policies adhere to the FASB and IASB guidelines. The company recognizes revenue when it is earned and realizable. Revenue from subscription fees is recognized ratably over the subscription period, and revenue from licensing and support services is recognized when the product or service is delivered to the customer and the customer has accepted it.

Compliance and Controls

Atlassian, as a public company, is subject to various financial reporting requirements in the United States. The company adheres to these requirements to ensure transparency and accuracy in its financial reporting.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

One of the most significant financial reporting requirements in the United States is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Atlassian is compliant with SOX regulations and has implemented internal controls to ensure compliance. These controls are designed to prevent financial fraud, ensure accurate financial reporting, and protect investors.

Internal Audits

Atlassian also conducts regular internal audits to ensure compliance with financial reporting requirements. These audits are performed by an independent team of auditors who evaluate the company's financial statements, internal controls, and compliance with financial reporting regulations. The results of these audits are reported to the company's Audit Committee, which oversees the company's financial reporting and compliance efforts.

Overall, Atlassian is committed to maintaining compliance with financial reporting requirements in the United States. The company's internal controls and regular audits help ensure accurate financial reporting and protect the interests of investors.

Public Disclosure Practices

Atlassian Corporation Plc is a public company that is required to comply with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations regarding public disclosure practices. The company is committed to maintaining transparency and providing timely and accurate information to its stakeholders. This section will discuss Atlassian's public disclosure practices, including earnings releases and investor communications.

Earnings Releases

Atlassian issues quarterly earnings releases to provide financial information to its shareholders and the public. These releases include consolidated statements of income, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. They also provide information on revenue, gross profit, net income, and earnings per share. Atlassian's earnings releases are available on the company's website and through various financial news services.

Investor Communications

Atlassian communicates with its investors through various channels, including its website, investor relations department, and quarterly earnings calls. The company's investor relations department provides information on the company's financial performance, corporate strategy, and other relevant information. Atlassian's quarterly earnings calls are webcast live and provide an opportunity for investors to ask questions about the company's financial results and operations.

In summary, Atlassian is committed to maintaining transparency and providing timely and accurate information to its stakeholders. The company's public disclosure practices include quarterly earnings releases and investor communications through various channels.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Atlassian disclose its financial performance to investors?

Atlassian is required to disclose its financial performance to investors in accordance with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. The company publishes its financial statements, including balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements, in its annual report. Additionally, Atlassian files quarterly reports with the SEC on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K as necessary.

What are the key highlights from Atlassian's most recent earnings report?

Atlassian's most recent earnings report was for the third quarter of fiscal year 2022. The report showed that the company's total revenue was $740.5 million, up 30% from the same quarter in the previous year. The report also showed that Atlassian's gross margin was approximately 82% on an IFRS basis and approximately 85% on a non-IFRS basis.

What sustainability practices are included in Atlassian's corporate reporting?

Atlassian is committed to sustainability and includes information about its sustainability practices in its corporate reporting. The company's most recent annual report includes a sustainability section, which outlines its sustainability goals and progress towards those goals. Atlassian also publishes an annual sustainability report, which provides more detailed information about the company's sustainability initiatives.

Where can I find the transcript for Atlassian's latest earnings call?

The transcript for Atlassian's latest earnings call can be found on the company's investor relations website. The website also provides access to recordings of past earnings calls.

What information is provided in Atlassian's proxy statement?

Atlassian's proxy statement provides information about the company's annual meeting of shareholders, including information about the proposals to be voted on and the nominees for election to the board of directors. The proxy statement also includes information about executive compensation and other matters related to corporate governance.

How can shareholders access Atlassian's annual financial statements?

Shareholders can access Atlassian's annual financial statements on the company's investor relations website. The website includes links to the most recent annual report, as well as archived annual reports from previous years.

#Atlassian us benefit #Youtube #Atlassian us benefit Atlassian us careers #Atlassian us careers #Atlassian Financial

[reactionimagesdaily]

(re: reblog tags on the nimona post) so. i went back and found the boy. the lad. my editing white whale. the trajectory went like this: friends and i had been talking in a groupchat about idris elba being cast as knuckles circa 2021 and the subsequent quick resurgence of people outright admitting they’d sick nasty bang a fictional echidna if they could, so i made this edit in response to that line of conversation:

admittedly. this was my first mistake. i then expanded on it (second mistake) by editing knuckles into a pre-existing animal crossing meme (it had been a callback to a previous conversation in the chat)

(i think i acc submitted the compressed version to this blog once ive put it below for continuity reasons but cannae remember for sure ANYWAY)

so then a friend in this chat says ‘eurgh hate how this looks like that one rayman 3 advert’ and i go ‘…bwah?’ find the ad, laugh my ass off, rush to my editing software and produce THIS monstrosity in a blackout fugue state. it’s the most unsustainable edit ive ever made so glad for it to see the light of day even once more as it likely never will again. i gave him the froggy footstool bc he was too manlet to reach the urinal comfortably and i thought it was better than making him huge or stretched out so! w/o further ado i present: ✨knuckles_pissing_shortly.jpeg✨

sorry.

I'll be honest my takeaway from all this is that you're too funny for this website and also that you should probably become an author

#jokes aside this one has kinda been languishing in my inbox for a while because I hadn't a clue what to do with it #but you know what #public release #what's the worst that could happen #not a pic #someone asked me a thing! #OH ALSO I'm pretty sure I already knew this about you but [points sagely] that's the neurodivergent anectodal ramble I know it when I see i #[spider-man voice] You're like me...

[anchaal]

Is Business Analytics Hard

Here’s the breakdown:

The Basics Aren’t Scary: Business analytics uses tools you might already be familiar with, like Excel and data visualization software. Plus, the core concepts involve analyzing data to answer business questions — something we do intuitively in everyday life.

The Challenge Lies in the Details: As you delve deeper, you’ll encounter statistics, programming languages like SQL or Python, and data wrangling (cleaning and organizing messy data). These skills require dedication, but there are plenty of beginner-friendly resources and courses available.

Experience is Your Best Teacher: The real challenge lies in applying your knowledge to solve real-world business problems. Understanding your specific industry and translating data insights into actionable solutions is where the magic happens.

So, is Business Analytics Hard?

Not inherently. It requires a blend of skills: some technical know-how, analytical thinking, and a good dose of business acumen. But with the right resources and a willingness to learn, anyone can develop these skills.

Here are some tips to make your business analytics journey smoother:

Start with the fundamentals: Learn basic data analysis techniques, get comfortable with data visualization tools, and brush up on your Excel skills.

Embrace online learning: There are countless online courses, tutorials, and even boot camps dedicated to teaching business analytics.

Find a mentor. Connect with experienced business analysts who can guide you and answer your questions.

Practice makes perfect: Look for opportunities to apply your learnings to real-world data sets, even if it’s a personal project.

The Takeaway:

Business analytics is a rewarding field with excellent career prospects. Don’t be intimidated by the initial learning curve. With dedication and a passion for data, you can unlock the power of business analytics and make a real impact in today’s data-driven world.

#data analysis #datascience #artificial intelligence #crm software #webdevelopment

[dreamdolldeveloper]

dreamdoll watchlist ★

key takeaways:

python is a good beginning coding language to start with

start with: variables, datatypes, loops, functions, if statements, oop

if you covered the basics, it would and should take you approx. 2 weeks.

first project: do something interesting/useful. start small.

simple games or a food recommendation system with specific ingredients

panda dataframe

use API = application programming interface = different pieces of software interacting with each other. grabbing data from another source

after your first project, learn about data structures and algorithms. how API works. learn how to read documentation.

dictionary

linkedlists

queues

heaps

trees

graphs

learn about more things and how to implement them into projects.

correct mindset:

implementation and application > theory and concepts knowing ≠ being able to do it

stay curious.

explore things outside of what is prescribed in a resource. that's how you learn about different concepts and how you deeply understand the concepts that you already know.

the best programmers they've met are the tinkers. these are the people who play around with their code and try a bunch of different things.

getting stuck:

it all comes down to problem solving. be comfortable with not knowing things and staying calm while trying to figure out the problems

how to learn even faster:

find a community where you work on projects together. you will learn so many things from other experiences programmers just by interacting with them. and accountability because you just can't give up

learning is never ending. you will always be learning something new.

#dreamdoll watchlist ★ #watchlist: tech #Youtube

[yaldabaothadeez]

I finally watched the clown show which so many people around here lately seemed to be mildly obsessed with.

My first major takeaway was that it's one 25ish-minute episode (that, to be clear, I enjoyed), so it's hard to draw any particular conclusions about the show, or to say what's going to be typical of the setting or characters, and what was peculiar to that one situation. Not that this has stopped any of you.

The other is that I'm amazed this has gotten so much traction. It's parodying such a precise era of shitty edutainment software that I would have expected only a very narrow demographic to get what it's going for. But perhaps that demographic is "us".

I saw a few comparisons to ENA, which were perhaps inevitable, but not especially apt. ENA lives in The Computer, or perhaps The Internet, as conceptualized by early 90s marketing agencies and their graphic design; Pomni and co are trapped in the late 90s hellscape of The Kind Of Game You'd Find On A School Computer, that promises to be a portal to an incredible digital reality, and then is like three screens with five games, one of which is about times tables. Also ENA is just a normal girl, running normal errands in the perfectly usual world in which she exists; the cast of Digital Circus (believe themselves to be*) real-world humans trapped in some kind of VR thing.

*they're uploads, or under-trained AIs or something, right? Maybe amalgamations of partial uploads, like in that Greg Egan story with the sideways gravity. Pomni can't remember her real name.

#the amazing digital circus

[pridepages]

eARC Review: Napkins and Other Distractions

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

AMAZON SYNOPSIS:  On paper, they’re a disaster. In the sheets, they’re a perfect match.

Kent Lester is proud of the joyful, thriving learning community he’s created as principal of Lear Elementary School. But seven years after his divorce, he’s ready to focus on his personal life and spread his bisexual wings. Things get off to a rocky start when Kent’s first date is an uptight control freak — although that doesn’t stop them tangling some sheets.

Vincent Manda never seems able to move past the friend zone, and besides, he’s not sure anyone can handle his OCD. But that night with the bearded, older Kent revealed a side of Vincent he’d never experienced before. And he’s equal parts scared of and desperate for a repeat.

When Lear’s test scores take a nosedive, Kent finds himself under the microscope. Forced to implement new software to monitor and collect school data, he’s horrified to discover that Vincent is working on the project. With his last install ending less than ideally, Vincent’s job depends on this one succeeding — and butting heads with the principal won’t help.

Vincent and Kent need to view each other in a new light, but that could change their futures forever.

RELEASE DATE: June 4, 2024

See my full review under the cut!

The lead couple of Napkins and Other Distractions are unlikely romance heroes. They're both solidly middle-aged, separated by a fifteen-year age gap. One is divorced. One is perpetually single, isolated by the severe OCD that most people cannot understand.

But Kent and Vincent are about to discover that sometimes even the 'well-seasoned' could use a little spice!

Wardell is frank about his open-door sex scenes. He wants to be known as a 'spicy' writer, and with each new book he turns up the heat.

These guys are kinky! Even if that's not your personal taste...

...you have to love how open they are to self-discovery.

It's so easy to become set in your ways. As you pass those early, tumultuous years and start to settle into adulthood, you start to think that you've discovered everything there is to learn about yourself. But that sort of thinking sets boundaries--it keeps your world small. Being alive should be about experiencing everything you can: trying new things, meeting new people, and embracing change. Living is all about learning.

Learning how to love is the education in this book. Unlike the other books, the secondary storyline about what's happening in the school is...uncompelling. Part of the problem is that there's no heart in a storyline about data-gathering. There's an attempt to get us to care by injecting the stakes of Kent's job being at risk, but... My prevailing feeling was that this story didn't need to be set in a school the way Teacher of the Year and Mistletoe and Mishigas needed to be to serve their narratives. the more thoughtful lessons aren't set in any classroom--they're in the interactions between Kent and Vincent as they learn how to fit into each other's world.

I really appreciated how much nuance went into each of their arcs. The takeaway wasn't "Vincent needs to get better" or "Kent needs to change." Both of them had to learn how to make space for each other and how to fit together. Kent learns how to make Vincent's world feel safer in little ways like remembering his preference for even numbers and in big ways like sitting together through episodes of intense compulsion. In turn, Vincent learns how to ride out the chaos that comes with loving a messy, klutzy man. Watching them figure out how to communicate, adapt, and do the work of loving--the work that makes you feel more instead of less--is the lesson.

Napkins and Other Distractions is a chili pepper dipped in a sugar glaze--the kind of sexy book that feels accessible to real people not because it's tame, but because it invites the reader to see themselves in it. It's the kind of book that makes you feel good because you leave it believing that you too may contain multitudes. You too may still have adventures ahead.

You too may have a person.

Even if it takes you another decade or two to find them.

#mlm #gay #bisexual #teachers in love #napkins and other distractions #ma wardell #earc review #romance #spicy books #lgbtqia #lgbt reads #queer lit

[graphicdesignmaker]

Unveiling the Artistry: Exploring the Intricate World of Graphic Designing

Begin with an engaging introduction that captures the essence of graphic designing as a blend of creativity, technology, and visual communication. Highlight the importance of graphic design in today's digital age and its impact on various industries.

Body:

Evolution of Graphic Design: From Print to Digital

Discuss the historical evolution of graphic design, starting from print media to the digital era. Highlight key milestones, movements, and influential designers that shaped the field. The Power of Visual Storytelling

Explore how graphic design enables powerful storytelling through visuals, typography, and color schemes. Showcase examples of impactful visual storytelling in branding, advertising, and digital media. Trends Shaping the Future of Graphic Design

Analyze current trends in graphic design, such as minimalist design, bold typography, and immersive multimedia experiences. Discuss how emerging technologies like AR/VR are influencing graphic design practices. Mastering the Tools of the Trade

Provide insights into essential tools and software used in graphic design, such as Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, and Sketch. Include tips and tutorials for beginners to enhance their design skills. Ethics and Responsibility in Graphic Design

Delve into the ethical considerations of graphic design, such as copyright issues, cultural sensitivity, and environmental impact. Discuss the role of designers in creating inclusive and ethical designs. Case Studies: Inspiring Design Projects

Showcase real-world examples of successful graphic design projects across different industries. Highlight the creative process, challenges faced, and the impact of these designs on their target audience. Conclusion: Summarize the key takeaways from the blog, emphasizing the creativity, innovation, and storytelling aspects that define graphic designing. Encourage readers to explore further and stay updated with the ever-evolving world of graphic design.

By incorporating these elements, your blog can offer a comprehensive and engaging exploration of graphic designing, appealing to both aspiring designers and enthusiasts of visual communication.

#GraphicDesign #DesignInspiration #CreativeDesign #DigitalArt #Typography #Illustration #LogoDesign #BrandIdentity #UXDesign #VisualCommunication #ArtisticExpression #DesignTrends #ColorPalette #VectorArt #LayoutDesign #art

[wenzhedong]

Abandoning an Established Brand is Hard

Key Takeaways

One of my key takeaways from the first 2 classes is that it is incredibly difficult for companies to abandon an established brand, even when the brand may no longer align with the company's strategic direction. Brands like Heineken and Black & Decker had become deeply ingrained in the minds of consumers, making it risky and costly to completely abandon them. But sometimes companies have to make this tough decisions. While it is really difficult to do what Black & Decker did, there might be alternative options.

Potential Measures for Abandoning Established Brands

Brand Repositioning

Companies can also consider repositioning the established brand to align with the new strategic direction, rather than completely abandoning it. This may involve modifying the brand's messaging, product offerings, or target audience.

Example: BlackBerry, once known for its iconic smartphones, faced declining market share as the smartphone industry evolved. The company decided to reposition its brand, focusing on enterprise-level security and software solutions rather than consumer-focused hardware.

Dual-Branding Strategy

In some cases, companies may choose to maintain both the established brand and the new brand, allowing them to cater to different customer segments or product lines.

Example: When Procter & Gamble acquired the Gillette brand, it maintained the Gillette brand alongside its existing personal care brands, such as Old Spice and Secret, allowing each brand to serve its specific target market.

Conclusion

Abandoning an established brand is a complex and challenging decision, but it may be necessary for companies to align their branding with their strategic objectives. By considering gradual transitions, brand repositioning, or dual-branding strategies, companies can navigate this process more effectively and minimize the risks associated with abandoning a well-known brand.

#mitsloanbranding2024b

[secretgamergirl]

When I said the “AI” projects grifters are pushing were search engines, THIS WAS NOT THE INTENDED TAKEAWAY.

I wrote a blog post a bit ago trying to explain what the things people are presently trying to call “AI” really are, and how the whole thing is a big ol’ grift you shouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole... and I don’t think anyone actually really read that, but since I’ve written it, there sure has been a sharp uptick in stories about people you’d really hope would know better treating them like Ask Jeeves and expecting to get accurate answers to random questions. So... let me try this again.

So first let’s just cover how a search engine actually works. Or at least a simplified version of my personal understanding which is probably a bit out of date so you know, grain of salt.

While we’re used to accessing the internet through handy little URLs like, say, https://www.tumblr.com, those are just sort of handy aliases managed by this whole database setup (domain name servers) which browsers are set up to check if there’s text in there, basically, and what those match them to is numerical addresses. It’s a bit like every website has a phone number. Just as an example, open another tab and just type in oh... 74.114.154.18 and watch it bring you somewhere. They expand things a bit now and then, but basically, much like when a video game has a safe with a 3 digit combination and you don’t feel like solving a puzzle, you can totally just sit there, punch in every possible number, and doing so you’ll eventually see every website there is. It’s only what like 1,000,000,000,000 possible combinations? People who are actually serious about running a search engine will just set up a script that does that, throwing some real processing power at it, locally save every thing that comes up, and also search all those files for every file they point at, links, images, databases, whatever, and save those locally to. A whole lot of computing and a whole lot of storage later, and you literally have a local mirror of the entire internet saved to a huge pile of hard drives. Really this is such a costly endeavor it’s honestly just a handful of people who really do it and everyone else just... quietly passes your searches on to them like some kinda middleman.

Anyway, once you have your local copy of the entire internet, and entirely too much processing power to hit it with, you can do things like... look at every individual page on the entire internet and count how many times every given word appears on them, and if you’re feeling real bold, phrases, getting nice little running tallies to jam into your huge database. Then when a request comes in to give you a web page about seagull poop, you just figure well, there’s this one page that says “seagull” 49 times, “poop” 37 times, and specifically says “seagull poop” 35 times. That seems pretty on-point so you search that up as result number one.

You’ll notice there’s no thinking anywhere in here, just saving files, counting words in them, and doing some data processing on those counts. There IS a bit more to everything of course, like giving extra relevance points if something is in a title or header tag, or how somewhere along the line we all agreed to add these meta tags where people can just say outright what sort of information is on a page on the honor system (extra relevance points if people actually click links too), and someone just deciding wikipedia articles are always good so if there’s a wikipedia article, that gets a ton of bonus relevance points. Having the search string in the URL of the site of course also helps, and somewhere along the line things got gummed up with people abusing the hell out meta tags and also just giving major search engines money in exchange for bonus relevance points. Then much more recently you’ve got software engineers and suckers trying and utterly failing to “improve” results by doing dumb things, like Street Fighter 6 is out, and there’s lots of people looking for info on that, so if someone types like, “Street Fighter 3rd Strike Remy move list” into a query, well, part of that string says “Street Fighter” so let’s give all the results people searching for just that are enjoying lately, and forget the other terms.

Anyway, that’s your standard search engine. People with these sorts of “AI” projects do not, in fact, generally have a local copy of the entire internet saved. Some would like to, but you need a LOT of storage, and also there’s quite a lot of laws and security measures specifically to prevent people from doing that, and even preventing the people we as a society generally agree should be mirroring the whole internet have to leave certain parts out. Now partly they get around that by just completely ignoring that those laws exist and banking on nobody actually enforcing them in any meaningful way. Largely though they want to either avoid blatantly breaking those laws/circumventing security, so they buy “training data” from whoever’s willing to sell it, and also taking measures to obfuscate that it’s all stolen.

Anyway, you know about Markov chains? The basic idea is you have a large body of text you’ve done some statistical analysis on like we have when we archive the whole internet or what chunks we can get our hands on, and we break down the percentages of how likely every word is to come after a given word we’re looking at. Doesn’t have to be words either, you can do it with whatever. But the basic idea is, let’s say your data set is a bunch of tedious nerd posts from the year Portal came out. Now if I start off giving you the word “The” there’s all sorts of things that could come next. “The end” “the next” “the only” or maybe “the cake.” This is totally how that predicted next word thing on your phone works by the way. Anyway to really do this properly you like map out the entire web of phrases you can end up with, but for now let’s just look at that pretty popular combo of “the cake” and keep looking that way, and huh, people sure do follow “cake” with “is” these days, and especially “the cake,” I can look this up in my database easy. So you just keep hitting that next suggested word on your phone, we’re probably getting “The cake is a lie!” out of it. Someone I know loves doing stupid little things with these if you want an example.

This is totally how these “AI” things do the natural speech things, plus maybe some hard rules like “when the prompt is a single word pre-prep the chain by putting “[whatever term] is” into a standard search engine routine and just wholesale life the first sentence you can find that starts with that at the top of a block of text, then Markov chain from there.”

And we want to obscure that we’re doing this so let’s also have a rule like “OK you can go with the best match for the best work so many times in a row, but after that you have to mix it up by taking the second best word. So again, still at the height of Portal fever, we start off seeing this common word sequence, but OK let’s switch it up after “the cake is” and not go with “a” what else do we have? Well, there’s no “the” at the start, but “cake is so delicious and moist” is also real common. That’s another long string of direct quotes though, so again, let’s flag it after so many top matches and use a slightly less common one. And you end up spitting out like, “The cake is so delicious and nutritious.” Hey, that sounds like natural language, AND it’s variations on commonly said things, so it’ll probably read as legit. We’re done here, ship it.

Of course cake ISN’T nutritious, it’s like, pure sugar and gluten. But we don’t have any capacity to think or understand we’re just stringing words together based on how commonly they follow each other. Because again, there is no actual intelligence, creativity, or understanding in here, just data sets and strict procedures on how to pop words from them.

One amusing thing about this is that basically by design, it’s practically guaranteed that this is going to spit out any block of text you can imagine at you, except for the ones that are completely true and coherent. It’s intentionally avoiding ever doing that because you’d spot the plagiarizing immediately.

Oh and the whole “AI generated art” scene is doing this exact same thing. Only difference is there’s an extra step where after they download literally every image ever posted on DeviantArt, they have sweatshops full of people where for like one shiny penny a day, destitiute people pour over things, hacking them up with lasso tools and painstakingly adding meta tags for every possible thing you could for every single image they have, so the program can pull up a bunch of images that all have all the search text and then go like “OK start with this as a base, this has the 20x10 pixel blue right eye tag, does anything else in the batch have that exame tag? Cool, let’s select one of those and paste it over this eye, now, how are we on 30x40 slightly reddish upturned nose tags?” etc. etc. etc. More impressive parlor trick to pull off, but it’s still prettty plainly theft.

Anyway, this is all a thing, as I think I said, because all the people left holding the bag when everyone realized crypto/NFTs/the metaverse/etc. was a gigantic pyramid scheme have absurd amounts of processing power in big warehouses and it’s all going faulty and looking bad from being under too much heat and running too long so it’s hard to sell on eBay, so, what other scam can we do with it? Aha, fake AI.

And all the people who continue to fall for that hook line and sinker should not have the jobs they do because that level of being a gigantic mark proves them unfit to do really anything that involves any sort of decision making, do what you can to have them removed.

Also maybe give me money? I’m at risk of death otherwise.

#ai #chatgpt #stable diffusion #scam #con #search engine #Markov chain #grift

[boburnhamhistorian]

Hi, everyone!

BIG news on the YouTube front—Welcome to the Internet just hit 99 MILLION views today! 🥳

In other news, I was reading about the Ennui Engine, and this author must have seen Inside or just agrees with Bo about the IV drip of mediocre content that is slowly ruining our lives.

We scroll through Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Reddit, vaguely hoping to find something with which to amuse or inform ourselves before getting up in the morning or going to bed at night. We favor videos that either are very short or don’t require dedicated focus, confident in the knowledge that we can move on to something else whenever we want to. We ignore thoughtfully composed “walls of text,” but we electronically applaud memetic image macros and single-sentence references that aren’t inherently entertaining or insightful (yet are somehow still poorly written). When we amplify these things – using our likes, upvotes, retweets, and shares – we encourage the creation of more low-effort content, and in so doing, we send the message that higher-quality offerings are unwelcome and unwanted.

Even when “difficult” pieces of content do get seen, they still share the stage with everything else, marking them as being no better than equal to things that require minimal care and effort to create and consume.

Therein lies the real problem, however: We don’t enjoy the low-effort content… at least not as much as we’ve tricked ourselves into thinking that we do.

Really thought-provoking and well-written article, and it makes me rethink my entire relationship with the Internet—what exactly DO I get out of scrolling for hours on end? Sigh

All we can do is view everything online critically and with a grain of salt. As the author optimistically concludes, we CAN make things better:

The Ennui Engine keeps roaring, and we’re left with tiny, stale pellets that we tell ourselves are satisfying. Beneath the lie, though, we only feel depressed, disconnected, and frustrated.

There is a solution to all of this; a way that we can reclaim our lives, help both people and online entertainment improve, and escape the endless churn of the Ennui Engine. It doesn’t begin with turning to legislators or forum-administrators, though, and it doesn’t involve a retreat from the Web, but it does require that we stop encouraging the ritual. As unpleasant as it may be to admit, we are each individually to blame for this slump-inducing cycle’s persistence, and we are each responsible for halting it.

Whenever we feel ourselves getting listless, we should step away, then challenge ourselves to find (or create) something new, original, and requiring of a bit more effort than we might initially want to expend. We need to remember that five minutes invested in reading an article – even a mediocre one – will almost always offer a better payout of emotional energy than five minutes of gambling on a slot machine with only one reel.

The Internet was created with the intention of connecting exceptional people and sharing noteworthy content, and it can still fulfill that purpose today. As such, the takeaway here is not that we should distance ourselves from social media, turn off our screens, or reject the trappings of the modern era. Instead, we should remain self-aware and discerning as we traverse the Web, encouraging, applauding, and insisting on effort and earnestness from anyone who intends to contribute (no matter how small or substantial their contributions might be). The Ennui Engine will continue running, of course, but we can each make the personal choice to keep from sacrificing ourselves to it… and we can warn others against getting ground up in its gears.

I was also reading about how Google offered its suite of software for free—including YouTube videos as educational resources—to schools, planning on getting young children addicted to the algorithm (only benefitting the bug-eyed salamanders, indeed).

I just try to keep my kids informed and discerning about what content they are consuming (no easy task, but I think I made a breakthrough when my 11yo daughter got my point about how no massively popular Roblox YTers exist who are female AND American without an insane, ultra-feminine schtick...why is that?)

Hope you all are doing well, and I have lots more SUBSTANTIAL posts coming up (more interviews, analysis of Bill Bailey and Bo, plus my own curated IV drip of artwork for February...I did the mindless scrolling so you don't have to! Haha) ✌🏼

#bo burnham #bo burnham inside #welcome to the internet #mindless scrolling #ennui engine #bo hates twitter #skinner box #critical thinking

[a1291762]

On Friday I wrote 2 lines of code.

I'm a developer with decades of experience. I have at times produced gigantic quantities of code but not on Friday.

Sometimes the thing that makes us as developers good is not the ability to write things. Rather it is our ability to understand things.

I was looking at a critical issue that stopped manufacturing. So, about as serious as issues get for us. But while the symptom was easy to describe, determining the cause was not as obvious. It started with a failed upgrade banner. Seen by customers when they turned their new devices on. The banner itself is new, only in the most recent software. But it means that the device was turned on and then failed to boot and then turned on again.

Luckily, I've been working at this company for a few years so 2 things popped into my mind. First, it's actually kinda trivial to trigger this problem because our OS uses boot slots and marks the current slot as good at the end of booting, but it enables logins before that. So if you are quick, you can login to a just-upgraded device and reboot it, triggering the failed upgrade logic (boot back to the other slot, show the banner).

Second, we had a similar stop ship about a year ago. That is its own complex story but the takeaway is that I knew manufacturing booted new devices once after the initial flash, waiting for the login prompt to know the system was up and they could cut power.

With those 2 facts, the cause seems obvious right? Manufacturing was using the new software but their power cut was coming before the boot had completed. But that made me wonder how the previous fix worked. Last time it was corruption. Boot up a new device and it either boot loops or comes up with partially-initialised config. Due to a general panic around "what happens if the power goes out" the fix ended up being that the config partition is mounted without write caching. Tests were done to "prove" that this resulted in a lack of corrupt config due to power cuts at various times.

But if cutting the power now boots the other slot, why didn't that happen before? The config partition also has slots, so it seems to me booting the other slot should not have had any filesystem issues. Alas, I was not able to answer this question yet but I think it's important to find out why.

Because this was a stop ship event, the most important thing was to identify a workaround and let manufacturing know. I did timings on various SKUs and determined that waiting for 90 seconds after the login prompt was enough to avoid the problem. Waiting was the only viable workaround because our device only outputs the login prompt and nothing else, so there's no "signal" to wait for.

So far I'd spent time reading, understanding and timing. Now it was time to make a fix. Because of the reading, I'd noticed a comment about delaying the login prompt back when we switched to systemd. 2 lines in a .service file to make sure that service ran before any gettys (which are what print the login prompt). Our "mark the slot as good" happened to be a service, so I added those same lines to it. Boom! Login prompt now appears later. Timings confirmed it. I didn't attempt to break it by cutting power yet but I've got the gear and scripts to do that from the last issue.

#developer #stuff that happens at work