Michael Bernstein

Engineering and Technology Executive. Tweets are my own.

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@kdrag0n What SDR interface are you using?

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@doctorow Since you aren't coming down to Austin, is there anywhere I can purchase a signed copy of ENSHITTIFICATION?

[Elad Gil @eladgil]

Anyone have a list of companies that are planning, or have made the move, from Delaware to either Texas or Nevada?

Right now I have:
-Texas: Tesla, SpaceX, ...
-Nevada: Dropbox, Neuralink, TripAdvisor, Pershing Square, TradeDesk, ...

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@joelgrus Have you tried PopOS? I generally prefer Ubuntu, but PopOS (ubuntu based) has worked a lot better out of the box driver wise (specifically nvidia/cuda, but wifi/etc work well).

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@YETICoolers Hi - I have two of the large coffee tumblers in white where the paint is chipping off with regular usage. Is that normal? I have a teal one that hasn't had that issue and the 20oz tumblers (we have like 8) don't seem to have the same issue.

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@robert_zubrin UPenn is private iirc, with Penn St being the public flagship.

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@shanselman @__picaro8 Maybe she swipes down and uses search each time. I do that for a lot of apps similarly to how I use Alfred, spotlight, etc as a launcher. I still organize my home screen but I use the search to launch a ton of apps.

[Mark Nelson @energybants]

Word is out: Microsoft is plunging ahead on nuclear energy.

They want a fleet of reactors powering new data centers. And now they're hiring people from the traditional nuclear industry to get it done.

Why?

Lack of stable long-term power, whether clean or dirty, is constraining Microsoft's growth. They need to build big data centers that consume electricity all the time and the old assumption that somebody else's reliable plants will always be around to firm up your wind and solar is falling apart.

It certainly helps that founder Bill Gates was one of the earliest big business converts to nuclear energy, investing his own money to develop new reactors.

But Microsoft, like many companies, was held back by what we might consider "Enron-ism" infecting its energy thinking: renewable energy credits plus markets plus cute little lies to the public about how electricity works. Greenwashed fossil/hydro/nuclear with the ESG stamp of approval.

The problem? Eventually you run out of other people's cheap firm power.

So Microsoft has recently become a leader in openly asserting that nuclear energy counts as clean energy, as opposed to the ongoing cowardice we see from the other big tech companies who lie to the public about being "100% renewable powered."

Sure, the lawyers said it was okay to lie, but the lie doesn't give you a permanent supply of cheap reliable energy. That comes from nuclear.

A world is coming where only the tech companies willing to become nuclear power developers may get to keep expanding their cloud businesses, and only countries open to new reactors get to host this expansion.

A world where tech companies with 50% margins become the only survival hope for traditional industrial concerns with 5% margins who need someone else to bootstrap a proper electricity supply.

Where diesel backup generators are replaced with microreactors reliable enough to be trusted to keep a cluster of facilities secure in the case of public grid failure.

The race is on.

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@yudapearl Speaking of books - I was curious how I would go about acquiring a signed one of yours (if possible - if not, I understand).

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@merket Any recommendations on portable units? Thinking about getting one just in case one of my a/c unit dies...Separately, I have a 24kwh generator and am thinking of getting solar due to power issues. Oh, and a cistern for rainwater collection so when water I have a backup #texas

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@nope_its_lily Okay, I'll give it a shot then! So much to love - pasta and chickpeas. Could only be improved if it was hummus pasta.

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@nope_its_lily It doesn't just fall apart like most other dry pasta alternatives I've tried?

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@ylecun @elonmusk It's refreshing to see another company that has crafted an audacious long term strategy they believe in and aren't afraid to pursue it in the face of detractors. Tired of short-termism.

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@Tailscale Great update - I like how easy it is to choose an exit node (and turn it on and off).

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@benedictevans Slack is still way, way better than teams for text (Microsoft should just copy their interface) - but I've been using teams for ~2.5 years for work calls and it's been rock solid (on MacOS, but works on any browser now).

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@DanielleFong That ladder...

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@joelgrus I have to kill Chrome on my MacOS laptop, and Windows/Linux desktops regularly if I leave single page apps open. Leaks memory like a sieve everywhere.

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@bdainton Would love one

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@film_girl As someone who just got back from Disney World and was completely saddened by the direction they've gone with lightning lanes (instead of fast passes) and how much less enjoyable it has been, I welcome the news. Hopefully they can save Disney+ as well.

[Michael Bernstein @mnbernstein]

@savagejen I've been sick with an awful cold since the start of the week. I have a runny nose so I assumed it's not covid - but the cough is destroying me.