• ‘Techno-Feudalism’

    Such a view might sound logically correct, addressing why the next stage involves all that discussion about free software. Recently, I wrote about the concepts of free code in contrast to the market. I perceive the situation of techno-feudalism as a dead-end, disproportionately influenced by initial setup of digital world. However, I think it will eventually balance itself out with protests against markets that lack freedom. I have already distanced myself from anything related to big tech, preferring the quality and flexibility of free software and hardware. It has perspective. It’s evident that the overgrown nature of big tech can only lead to imbalance and suffering. A better balanced, open, decentralized approach is needed.

    https://news.slashdot.org/story/23/11/12/2336255/is-capitalism-dead-yanis-varoufakis-argues-capitalists-are-now-vassals-to-techno-feudalists

    Greek economist/politician Yanis Varoufakis “was briefly Greek finance minister in 2015,” remembers the Conversation. Now his new book asks the question, “What killed capitalism,” with the title’s first word providing an answer.

    “Techno-feudalism.”
    Varoufakis argues that we no longer live in a capitalist society… “Today, capitalist relations remain intact, but techno-feudalist relations have begun to overtake them,” writes Varoufakis. Traditional capitalists, he proposes, have become “vassal capitalists”. They are subordinate and dependent on a new breed of “lords” — the Big Tech companies — who generate enormous wealth via new digital platforms. A new form of algorithmic capital has evolved — what Varoufakis calls “cloud capital” — and it has displaced “capitalism’s two pillars: markets and profits”.

    Markets have been “replaced by digital trading platforms which look like, but are not, markets”. The moment you enter amazon.com “you exit capitalism” and enter something that resembles a “feudal fief”: a digital world belonging to one man and his algorithm, which determines what products you will see and what products you won’t see. If you are a seller, the platform will determine how you can sell and which customers you can approach. The terms in which you interact, share information and trade are dictated by an “algo” that “works for [Jeff Bezos’] bottom line”…

    Access to the “digital fief” comes at the cost of exorbitant rents. Varoufakis notes that many third-party developers on the Apple store, for example, pay 30% “on all their revenues”, while Amazon charges its sellers “35% of revenues”. This, he argues, is like a medieval feudal lord sending round the sheriff to collect a large chunk of his serfs’ produce because he owns the estate and everything within it.

    There is “no disinterested invisible hand of the market” here. The Big Tech platforms are exempted from free-market competition.

    And in the meantime, users are unknowingly training their algorithms for them — so “In this interaction, we are all high-tech ‘cloud serfs’… [T]he ‘cloud capital’ we are generating for them all the time increases their capacity to generate yet more wealth, and thus increases their power — something we have only begun to realise.”

    Approximately 80% of the income of traditional capitalist conglomerates go to salaries and wages, according to Varoufakis, while Big Tech’s workers, in contrast, collect “less than 1% of their firms’ revenues”… For Varoufakis, we are not just living through a tech revolution, but a tech-driven economic revolution. He challenges us to come to terms with just what has happened to our economies — and our societies — in the era of Big Tech and Big Finance.

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  • Balance of elements, outer space

    I regret that I did not do proper audio mixing on some of my albums around the 2017-2019 era. Despite having good Yamaha monitors back then, I often lacked the knowledge and practice needed to carefully ensure that all elements in a track sounded balanced on speakers first, especially around the bass drum, middle rim, bass, hats. And the fact that all tracks in an album must have the same volume, like you’re listening and meet no very high or quiet tracks; all must be the same. Balance of volume must be prepared not only between elements of tracks but also between all tracks in an album.

    I started checking mixing and mastering details very carefully on both speakers and headphones around the start of 2020. Despite all those not well-balanced albums always sounding good in headphones, I would advise everyone to check on monitor speakers first.

    What sounds good in speakers sounds good in headphones, but what sounds good in headphones might sound bad in speakers. When mixing, start with speakers.

    Same can be said about any other form acting whether art or form design.

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  • Emotional Thinking

    Why do people support charismatic but misguided leaders today? Why is there a rise in populism in politics? The post-modern era has led most people to think and choose based on emotions, not rationality, similar to advertising techniques that focus on stimulation rather than conscious thought. This leads to various problems.

    Emotional thinking isn’t inherently wrong. Sometimes, it’s necessary, especially in personal situations where we need to drive a movement, with a framework of rational thought around it. However, for broader societal matters, rational, critical, and slow thinking is essential.

    We should never blindly trust the words of politicians or celebrities. Always ask questions, check facts, and remember that their statements might be primarily motivated by profit. But ultimately, we must seek the truth, because, in the long run, truth is the only genuine profit.

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  • Xiph Icecast Directory

    http://dir.xiph.org – “a directory of internet radio stations and other live streams using the Icecast Streaming Server”

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  • Open source and proprietary software: when is each appropriate and a little about the excess of money

    On one hand, open source is always better; you know what the program is doing and can improve it… But on the other hand, developers need to earn a living. Indeed, it’s ridiculous to work for free, as one can easily die of hunger, and motivation… Programming can bring pleasure in itself, but it’s certainly not as fan as music or sport.
    I see the situation this way. Logically, the very first question arises, the first claim against proprietary code, “better knowing what the program does,” but this mainly concerns privacy.
    If there’s absolutely no internet access, a completely offline box for strictly practical purposes, like audio or video creation, databases, local systems… it can be proprietary because it doesn’t matter what’s inside the fridge or synthesizer as long as it doesn’t connect to the internet or camera, personal data, or spy.
    But if there are components that directly or indirectly involve personal data, areas that can be abused, with direct access to a user’s personal life or the internet in general, access to microphones or cameras… these things must be open, documented, with open source, etc… How developers can make money from such – there are options… additional features, selling hardware, extended support, merchandise, and subscriptions. Think of more. I’m bad at marketing, alas.
    If you just make code, for example for yourself or out of interest, that’s also great and noble. Overall, chasing excessive profit is vulgar. Why do you need so much money, for luxury, for nonsense? An excess of funds is not exactly a good thing; it’s clearly imbalanced, though here one could argue. In general, excess spoils average people. A rare intelligent and self-controlled person – most likely, will do charity, but the average person, more likely than not, will become worse.
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  • New album by swhq

    I made new album, all tracks were made in October 2023. It’s a collection of dance electronic tracks, piano house grooves, strange electronic experiments, classic swhq style.

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  • Thoughts on Justice, Luck, the Meaning of Life, and System Efficiency

    Fact: The primary and irreducible source of mutations, including both cancerous and genius ones, is the natural process of cellular division. Genetic mutations involve randomness by their very nature. Therefore, by the way, among other things, one cannot judge people by their origin… a genetic mutation makes everyone different. No matter what family or homeland a person has – he is a unique individual.

    In other words, the world isn’t divided into justice and injustice; this binary perspective is primitive. It’s more about luck and misfortune.

    Some get lucky, some don’t – that’s life. Why worry then? Take what life gives you. Of course, do honestly what you can, do good. You influence about 50 percent, sometimes even more. Always strive for the best quality, but not of consumption, rather of creation and freedom. But no more than that. Don’t overexert yourself. And there’s no need for fairy tales about justice.

    There’s no justice in the world, there’s the efficiency of competing systems. Create justice yourself – step up to fight against the unjust.

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  • Neural Knots

    Psychological dead ends such as addictions or narcissism/resentment and the like can arise when a person’s neurons literally clump and knot together, hindering the flow of essence, resulting in an imbalance including biochemistry. The solution is quite straightforward: one needs to deliberate deeply, requiring a calm environment to thoughtfully confront the truth without fear… and to solidify the conceived ideas. Then the neurons connections can straighten out, and one can continue living. The brain is flexible; it can be worked with, remembering that any habit or program, including thought patterns, can be changed, but it requires time and a comfortable environment, will (understanding) of the good quality life.

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  • Consciousness: Diversity, Quality, Pleasure

    What might the following words signify, or more precisely, what do they represent in our consciousness: diversity, quality, pleasure? These three terms denote characteristics of flow, emerging from the fundamental toolkit of the mind – that is, our conceptual foundation, similar to concepts like number or word.

    We derive these concepts from experience (flow), followed by conceptual distribution, sorting, and checking for correspondence. All three are foundational, indisputable: diversity as the basis of experience (a monotonous experience, at the very least devoid of a history of diversity, would be impossible—imagine a person entirely devoid of senses, spending their life staring at a blank wall), the flow of identical potential is potent for existence but discrete. The notion of quality also stands at the intersection of flow and perception, forming a point of interaction between the external and internal. Pleasure is a characteristic of the flow.

    In exploring these concepts, we delve into the nature of our reality and perception. Diversity not only enriches our experiences but also challenges us to find patterns and meaning. Quality, an elusive yet essential aspect, demands a keen perception to discern the inherent value in our experiences. Pleasure, often sought and deeply cherished, emerges as a natural response to the flow of experiences that resonate with our innermost desires and values.

    Thus, in our pursuit of understanding and making sense of our world, these concepts – diversity, quality, and pleasure – serve as guiding lights, shaping our experiences and our responses to the ever-flowing stream of life.

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  • End

    ‘How can this be? Universal harmony, life, the wonders of music? Still everything to die?..’

    So what? In the end, you will die, and so will the universe.

    ‘But… is there any salvation?..’

    Yes, there is. It lies in exploring the world, for instance, understanding dark energy; doing meaningful deeds, creating values that inspire, doing best quality stuff.

    To build a portal to another dimension, or to start a new universe. There are possibilities.

    Regarding your life, yes, you’ll die, but that doesn’t make life meaningless. In fact, recognizing the inevitability of the end gives life meaning and empowers us to live truthfully.

    The key is to have correct motives, reasoning, and morals, to not end up in a dead-end situation.

    Generally speaking, it’s simple – aim not for profit but for the quality, global quality that genuinely benefits everyone, and do so honestly, not deceitfully.

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  • My Tools

    For making music, I use Korg Triton workstation, Sennheiser HD-280 headphones, Samson monitors, and Pioneer CT-F650 deck – for audio cassettes/Lo-Fi… It’s quite a basic setup, to be honest. I also have “Roedy Black’s” posters near my place – help a lot, by the way!

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  • mjttnetworkmusic200 – S.A.M by Iksnx

    By the way, I’ve made a new album. Pure Iksnx beats, minimal downtempo Lo-Fi grooves. I’ve decided to postpone the anniversary ‘best hits’ compilation for a bit, but I’m still planning to release it soon.

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  • Positive Mindset

    In life… I try not to stuff my head with things like ‘must’, ‘absolutely, obliged, do it’… such things don’t work well. It’s better to think ‘this is interesting’, ‘this could be nice’, ‘anyway, I’ll have to do something during my day; after all, infinite pleasure can be a disaster”

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  • Thoughts on quality

    Quality… it necessarily comes with experience, because without good experience behind there is no good quality in front. Good quality is something that has been learned and touched many times, and it’s also always honest – honest here means quality for quality’s sake.

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  • The Mirage of Variety

    There exists something known as the mirage of variety, where a person strives to obtain everything – tasting all the dishes, pursuing all romantic interests, visiting all countries, listening to every track, acquiring all the movies, and so on. To begin with, for real – it becomes boring quickly, one can’t experience everything, it’s same the same after all, resulting in a waste of time. Instead, focus on the essence. A human being is not a machine for experiencing tastes. A variety of experiences is important, but even more crucial is critical thinking about what’s happening, the path you’re on, and your ultimate destination. The human mind and time are both limited.

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