• Re: The PC Master Race Triumphs At Last!

    From candycanearter07@3:633/10 to All on Monday, March 23, 2026 19:00:03
    Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com> wrote at 21:57 this Friday (GMT):
    On Thu, 19 Mar 2026 13:04:12 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
    Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

    On Wed, 18 Mar 2026 19:10:33 -0500, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
    said this thing:



    In a related-to-gaming news (this is a gaming newsgroup, remember?
    That's why they call it comp.sys.ibm.pc.games ;-), Nvidia has stepped
    into it with their handling of the DLSS5 announcement.

    To say the release of the technology has not gone down well with
    gamers --or at least an extremely vocal minority-- is an
    understatement. So of course the CEO of nvidia --which has bet biggly
    on AI-- had to double-down in the most condescending way... and that's
    made things even worse.

    Honestly, I don't think it's all as bad as those gamers make it sound >>(although the memes are funny) but it does reflect the growing dislike
    of generative AI being forced into everything. And no customer base
    likes being told they are completely wrong. But I love watching CEOs
    shoot themselves in the foot. Totally justifying your classes' overly
    high salaries once again, Huang! You're just so good at reading the
    room!

    He'd have done better distancing the technology from generative AI...
    it might have gone down better with the customers. But nvidia is so
    focused on AI these days they can't imagine that people find it >>distasteful. I can imagine nvidia CEO Huang staring into the mirror
    and asking: "Is nvidia out of touch? No, no, it's the customers who
    are wrong."

    "You're holding it wrong." Steve Jobs.

    I think they sell RDFs in B-school now, but Steve pioneered the product.


    The entire AI boom feels like an endless parade of "holding it wrong" accusations after everyone pushes back and the actual numbers come in.
    --
    user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Spalls Hurgenson@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, March 24, 2026 12:04:54
    On Mon, 23 Mar 2026 19:00:03 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> said this thing:


    The entire AI boom feels like an endless parade of "holding it wrong" >accusations after everyone pushes back and the actual numbers come in.


    That seems a legitimate description.

    AI is neat. AI arguably has its uses. But the whole 'it's going to
    change the world for the better' thing is just awful. And the
    defenders of the tech have to go to extremes to defend the tech as its downsides become more obvious.




    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Spalls Hurgenson@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, April 01, 2026 12:01:47
    On Fri, 13 Mar 2026 19:09:55 -0500, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
    said this thing:


    Can anyone even afford a PC any more? I just checked on the 64 GB of RAM
    I bought for a little over $200 a year ago. It now costs over $850.

    We'll see what the PC gaming revenue reports look like after the AI bros
    get done wreaking havoc on the consumer markets. I suspect a strong dip
    in 3-5 years.

    AI can't fail fast enough, afaic.


    In related news, shares of various RAM manufacturing companies are
    starting to fall as it becomes more apparent that AI companies --for
    whatever reason-- won't be able to meet the expectations that they
    would buy all the RAM it was thought they would. OpenAI had an
    (apparently non-binding) contract to buy 40% of manufactured RAM, but
    it is now revealed that they won't manage that. We're starting to also
    slowly seeing a dip in RAM prices, a change from the constant rise
    over the past few months.*

    This may not be so much a sign of the death of AI as a reaction to
    news from Google about new memory optimizations for Large Language
    Model AIs that cut down memory use by up to 6 times. If this
    technology is all that is promised, it means current LLMs can run on
    less RAM, and all that investment buying up huge stocks of RAM chips
    has left AI companies with a surplus of the stuff.

    But only for the moment. Because if the past forty years have shown us anything, it's that you can NEVER have enough RAM, and that eventually (assuming the AI bubble hasn't popped in the mean time), those same
    corps will start gobbling up the RAM again.

    Still, I like to imagine the faces of RAM-Corp CEOs as their stock
    drops precipitously because they bet everything that the money from AI
    would be never-ending. I take what little joy from life that I can get
    these days ;-)





    ----
    * an article would be nice, wouldn't it? https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/memory/yes-some-ddr5-ram-prices-have-dropped-recently-but-i-wouldnt-pop-the-champagne-just-yet/




    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Justisaur@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, April 01, 2026 14:17:19
    On 4/1/2026 9:01 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Fri, 13 Mar 2026 19:09:55 -0500, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
    said this thing:


    Can anyone even afford a PC any more? I just checked on the 64 GB of RAM
    I bought for a little over $200 a year ago. It now costs over $850.

    We'll see what the PC gaming revenue reports look like after the AI bros
    get done wreaking havoc on the consumer markets. I suspect a strong dip
    in 3-5 years.

    AI can't fail fast enough, afaic.


    In related news, shares of various RAM manufacturing companies are
    starting to fall as it becomes more apparent that AI companies --for
    whatever reason-- won't be able to meet the expectations that they
    would buy all the RAM it was thought they would. OpenAI had an
    (apparently non-binding) contract to buy 40% of manufactured RAM, but
    it is now revealed that they won't manage that. We're starting to also
    slowly seeing a dip in RAM prices, a change from the constant rise
    over the past few months.*

    This may not be so much a sign of the death of AI as a reaction to
    news from Google about new memory optimizations for Large Language
    Model AIs that cut down memory use by up to 6 times. If this
    technology is all that is promised, it means current LLMs can run on
    less RAM, and all that investment buying up huge stocks of RAM chips
    has left AI companies with a surplus of the stuff.

    But only for the moment. Because if the past forty years have shown us anything, it's that you can NEVER have enough RAM, and that eventually (assuming the AI bubble hasn't popped in the mean time), those same
    corps will start gobbling up the RAM again.

    Still, I like to imagine the faces of RAM-Corp CEOs as their stock
    drops precipitously because they bet everything that the money from AI
    would be never-ending. I take what little joy from life that I can get
    these days ;-)


    Welcome news, but I just hope the ram manufacturers don't all go
    bankrupt from overextending and betting on AI causing another shortage.

    If there is a 'too big to fail' I'd rather see it thrown ram manufature
    than AI vaporware.



    --
    -Justisaur

    ?-?
    (\_/)\
    `-'\ `--.___,
    ?ª'\( ,_.-'
    \\
    ^'

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Spalls Hurgenson@3:633/10 to All on Friday, April 03, 2026 11:32:25
    On Wed, 1 Apr 2026 14:17:19 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
    said this thing:
    On 4/1/2026 9:01 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:


    Still, I like to imagine the faces of RAM-Corp CEOs as their stock
    drops precipitously because they bet everything that the money from AI
    would be never-ending. I take what little joy from life that I can get
    these days ;-)


    Welcome news, but I just hope the ram manufacturers don't all go
    bankrupt from overextending and betting on AI causing another shortage.
    If there is a 'too big to fail' I'd rather see it thrown ram manufature
    than AI vaporware.


    Amusingly, there is also a story of a RAM reseller who is now
    panicking because they bought up a huge stock of RAM chips in
    expectations that prices would keep going up, and is now dismayed that
    prices seem to be settling down.

    Read here: https://kotaku.com/memory-ram-ai-dram-prices-stock-drop-dip-panic-2000684261
    "Brothers, memory [prices] have taken a massive dive. We?re
    stuck with it, stuck with it. We?re doomed, we?re screwed.
    Is there still any chance for the price to go back up?"

    I've no idea if this story is true or not, but if it is, it calls for
    bringing out the tardigrade-sized violins in sympathy. Which is to
    say, they're not deserving of any sympathy at all. They saw the RAM
    prices skyrocketing and tried to make things worse by hoarding the
    stuff so they could get prices even higher, and now it's (at least
    temporarily) backfiring on them.

    Whether RAM prices will continue to fall is uncertain; I don't think
    it will. But I hope it lasts long enough to cost them their shirts.




    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Dimensional Traveler@3:633/10 to All on Friday, April 03, 2026 17:59:51
    On 4/3/2026 8:32 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

    Whether RAM prices will continue to fall is uncertain; I don't think
    it will. But I hope it lasts long enough to cost them their shirts.

    I dunno about this part. I suspect these are not people I want to see topless....

    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Spalls Hurgenson@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, April 04, 2026 11:07:08
    On Fri, 3 Apr 2026 17:59:51 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
    <dtravel@sonic.net> said this thing:

    On 4/3/2026 8:32 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

    Whether RAM prices will continue to fall is uncertain; I don't think
    it will. But I hope it lasts long enough to cost them their shirts.

    I dunno about this part. I suspect these are not people I want to see >topless....

    <chuckle>

    Meanwhile, AI takes another swipe at gaming.

    The RTS "Stormgate" is losing multiplayer capability because the
    server hosts it runs the online games on have been bought out by an AI company.* The publisher indicates the game will be patched to run in
    offline mode, but you won't be able to play it online anymore. The
    server provider, Hathora, has said it wants to instead use its
    computers for 'compute orchestration for AI inference at scale".

    I mean, developer Frost Giant Studios isn't entirely to blame, making
    the game so entirely reliant on third-party servers, and Hathora isn't
    doing anything illegal (the contract between the two companies is up
    for renewal, and Hathora chose to go in a different direction). But
    it's just another aspect of gaming getting fucked over by AI. I doubt
    this will be the last example of this we see either, as more hosts
    shift to more lucrative AI servicing.

    Although maybe this will be a good thing? If game developers can't get
    cheap online hosting for multiplayer, maybe they'll give the tools
    back to the players? Give me my silver lining, dammit!!!!






    * read here https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/starcrafty-strategy-game-stormgate-is-about-to-lose-its-multiplayer-modes-due-to-an-ai-company-buying-up-frost-giants-server-provider



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Dimensional Traveler@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, April 04, 2026 09:19:13
    On 4/4/2026 8:07 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Fri, 3 Apr 2026 17:59:51 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
    <dtravel@sonic.net> said this thing:

    On 4/3/2026 8:32 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

    Whether RAM prices will continue to fall is uncertain; I don't think
    it will. But I hope it lasts long enough to cost them their shirts.

    I dunno about this part. I suspect these are not people I want to see
    topless....

    <chuckle>

    Meanwhile, AI takes another swipe at gaming.

    The RTS "Stormgate" is losing multiplayer capability because the
    server hosts it runs the online games on have been bought out by an AI company.* The publisher indicates the game will be patched to run in
    offline mode, but you won't be able to play it online anymore. The
    server provider, Hathora, has said it wants to instead use its
    computers for 'compute orchestration for AI inference at scale".

    And can "compute orchestration for AI inference at scale" even BE
    translated into something comprehensible in English? The best I can do
    it "computer music for lots of AI guessing".

    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From phoenix@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, April 04, 2026 10:50:05
    Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Fri, 3 Apr 2026 17:59:51 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
    <dtravel@sonic.net> said this thing:

    On 4/3/2026 8:32 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

    Whether RAM prices will continue to fall is uncertain; I don't think
    it will. But I hope it lasts long enough to cost them their shirts.

    I dunno about this part. I suspect these are not people I want to see
    topless....

    <chuckle>

    Meanwhile, AI takes another swipe at gaming.

    The RTS "Stormgate" is losing multiplayer capability because the
    server hosts it runs the online games on have been bought out by an AI company.* The publisher indicates the game will be patched to run in
    offline mode, but you won't be able to play it online anymore. The
    server provider, Hathora, has said it wants to instead use its
    computers for 'compute orchestration for AI inference at scale".

    I mean, developer Frost Giant Studios isn't entirely to blame, making
    the game so entirely reliant on third-party servers, and Hathora isn't
    doing anything illegal (the contract between the two companies is up
    for renewal, and Hathora chose to go in a different direction). But
    it's just another aspect of gaming getting fucked over by AI. I doubt
    this will be the last example of this we see either, as more hosts
    shift to more lucrative AI servicing.

    Although maybe this will be a good thing? If game developers can't get
    cheap online hosting for multiplayer, maybe they'll give the tools
    back to the players? Give me my silver lining, dammit!!!!

    Not to mention, Fortnite is failing. It was a classic multiplayer
    experience, but now that interest is waning, I guess due to the
    corrosive nature of time, they are laying off 1,000 workers. That's so
    many for just one game!

    --
    Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a
    sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage.
    The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath,
    whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There
    Genubath lived with Pharaoh?s own children.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Spalls Hurgenson@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, April 05, 2026 13:49:01
    On Sat, 4 Apr 2026 09:19:13 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
    <dtravel@sonic.net> said this thing:

    On 4/4/2026 8:07 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Fri, 3 Apr 2026 17:59:51 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
    <dtravel@sonic.net> said this thing:

    On 4/3/2026 8:32 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

    Whether RAM prices will continue to fall is uncertain; I don't think
    it will. But I hope it lasts long enough to cost them their shirts.

    I dunno about this part. I suspect these are not people I want to see
    topless....

    <chuckle>

    Meanwhile, AI takes another swipe at gaming.

    The RTS "Stormgate" is losing multiplayer capability because the
    server hosts it runs the online games on have been bought out by an AI
    company.* The publisher indicates the game will be patched to run in
    offline mode, but you won't be able to play it online anymore. The
    server provider, Hathora, has said it wants to instead use its
    computers for 'compute orchestration for AI inference at scale".

    And can "compute orchestration for AI inference at scale" even BE
    translated into something comprehensible in English? The best I can do
    it "computer music for lots of AI guessing".


    My translation is "how do we best optimize all our servers to maximize performance of I/O and CPU throughput everytime the AI gets a
    request". But it's difficult because in IT there are (at least) two
    meanings to inference; the first having to do with servers and the
    second, newer meaning having to with AI guessing. Although, based on
    how current AI models actually work, isn't that too disassociated with
    the first.

    So my guess is that Hathora is saying, "hey, we want to take all these
    servers we have and --rather than selling them piece-meal to various
    clients-- instead use them all in tandem to power an AI model".

    But yeah, it's mostly business and IT jargon slapped together to
    attract venture capitalist cash.









    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)