Ben Schroeder

Ben Schroeder

@benschroeder.com

Software Engineer. Hobbyist game collector, finance geek, and tech enthusiast. San Diego is home. ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ Avatar by @tania.dev!

324 followers69 following103 posts

Ben Schroeder reposted

while you port and emulate games, I ported Jira to my PSP

Tech people of Bluesky, I'm trying to work through some ~feelings~ and I could use insight. Someone posted an entirely Claude-generated native Android port of an N64 game (decompiled) on a subreddit I frequent. Naturally, I have a fine-tuned visceral repulsion to this.

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But... the output is also a functional game that users report works pretty well. So am I actually wrong to be so deeply opposed to it? Why am I so indignant that this kind of stuff needs to go away forever?

Is it just because I care about the art of programming and cultivating skills? Is it because I think projects like this make coding spaces feel bleaker? Those both sounds like *me* problems. Maybe the opinions of Professional Code Touchers just aren't relevant for something like this.

Tech people of Bluesky, I'm trying to work through some ~feelings~ and I could use insight. Someone posted an entirely Claude-generated native Android port of an N64 game (decompiled) on a subreddit I frequent. Naturally, I have a fine-tuned visceral repulsion to this.

The project is certainly zero-effort machine output. The project "maintainer" is likely trying to get internet clout for something that involved no grit or knowledge. One imagines the code to be bloated, over-engineered, inelegant, and impossible for a human to maintain.

Ben Schroeder reposted

Heartbreaking. And a wake-up call. It is no longer about being difficult to find a way to sustain yourself through your work online. It is no longer sustainable to keep a website up now. Axel has done so much for the web and all of us. Buy one of his books if you can. We've learned so much from him.

1/ Iโ€™m still processing whatโ€™s going on in tech at the moment. I used to feel at home in that world. It used to feel incredibly creative and positive. Now itโ€™s increasingly full of bugs, dark addicting patterns and AI slop. 2ality.com

Iโ€™ve been an MBP/iPhone/Apple Watch user for ages, but moving my primary e-mail from Gmail to iCloud makes me feel like Iโ€™m now in a committed relationship with ๐ŸŽ.

There are few things more deeply insulting than someone communicating with you through obviously AI-generated prose. If you have so little self-respect that you want to outsource your thinking to the hallucinatory slop machine, that's your prerogative, but don't drag me into the gutter with you.

By the way, if you're anxious about AI taking your job, maybe don't jump on every opportunity to provide others evidence you're completely replaceable.

@antialiasis.dragonflycave.com I've been on a Gen 3 kick and am using your FR/LG walkthrough (as I imagine many will with the upcoming re-release)! Just want to say it's still helpful & totally charming, especially as it becomes clear towards the end that you were not thrilled about writing it. ๐Ÿ˜‚

Just finished Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Too soon to say it's my favorite game ever? Probably. But it sticks the landing so well and I'm going to be thinking about it for a long time.

If anyone in my network knows of a business (or is an independent artist/creator/etc.) who would be willing to donate to a cool LGBTQ orgโ€™s auction, please let me know! Doesnโ€™t matter how big or small! (Iโ€™m on the Board for this org and soliciting donations this year has been brutal.) ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆโœŒ๏ธ

Ben Schroeder reposted

Got a Steam Deck and confused about which of your games work on it? Wonder what those little icons mean? Here's a handy official guide to help you start with PC gaming on the go!

All of those excuses for why it's absolutely vital to keep your Facebook account are just that โ€” excuses. I try not to police other's consumption habits, but this is a pretty firm line in the sand for anyone who claims to support those of us in the LGBTQ community.

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Ben Schroeder reposted

hardly the first to observe this but conspiracy theories don't have an undismissable CTA overlay

Tatum Hunter@tatumhunter.bsky.social

NEW: The type of conspiracy-thinking that used to brew in small corners of the internet is now a second language for all of us. Hereโ€™s what drone panic says about this moment โ€” when paranoia jumps across political lines and online bubbles. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

I am deeply uncomfortable with so many people online glorifying a murderer. Vigilantism doesn't lead anywhere good. In fact, it almost always leads to indiscriminate witch hunts.

Want to do something with my website at benschroeder.com, but what is even the purpose of a personal website in 2024? I post random thoughts in places like this. I don't think I could make long-form content consistently. No side projects since work takes up most of my #webdev capacity these days.