The Asurion article outlines how to manage various Apple "intelligence" features, which personalize and improve user experience but also collect data. It explains how to disable Siri suggestions, location tracking for specific apps or entirely, personalized ads, sharing analytics with Apple, and features like Significant Locations and personalized recommendations in apps like Music and TV. The article emphasizes that disabling these features may impact the functionality of certain apps and services, and offers steps for both iPhone and Mac devices.
The author recounts their experience creating a Mii of their cat on their Wii, a process complicated by the limited customization options. They struggle to capture their cat's unique features, ultimately settling on a close-enough approximation. Despite the imperfections, the digital feline brings them joy, serving as a constant, albeit pixelated, companion on their television screen. The experience highlights the simple pleasures found in creative expression, even within the constraints of a limited platform, and the affectionate bond between pet and owner reflected in the desire to recreate their likeness.
Hacker News users generally found the story of the author's cat, Mii, to be heartwarming and relatable. Several commenters shared their own experiences of deep bonds with their pets, echoing the author's sentiments about the unique comfort and companionship animals provide. Some appreciated the author's simple, honest writing style, while others focused on the bittersweet nature of pet ownership, acknowledging the inevitable grief that comes with losing a beloved animal. A few comments humorously related to the cat's name, connecting it to the Nintendo Wii, and some questioned the veracity of certain details, suggesting parts of the story felt embellished. Overall, the discussion was positive and empathetic, highlighting the shared experience of pet love and loss.
Google's TokenVerse introduces a novel approach to personalized image generation called multi-concept personalization. By modulating tokens within a diffusion model's latent space, users can inject multiple personalized concepts, like specific objects, styles, and even custom trained concepts, into generated images. This allows for fine-grained control over the generative process, enabling the creation of diverse and highly personalized visuals from text prompts. TokenVerse offers various personalization methods, including direct token manipulation and training personalized "DreamBooth" concepts, facilitating both explicit control and more nuanced stylistic influences. The approach boasts strong compositionality, allowing multiple personalized concepts to be seamlessly integrated into a single image.
HN users generally expressed skepticism about the practical applications of TokenVerse, Google's multi-concept personalization method for image editing. Several commenters questioned the real-world usefulness and pointed out the limited scope of demonstrated edits, suggesting the examples felt more like parlor tricks than a significant advancement. The computational cost and complexity of the technique were also raised as concerns, with some doubting its scalability or viability for consumer use. Others questioned the necessity of this approach compared to existing, simpler methods. There was some interest in the underlying technology and potential future applications, but overall the response was cautious and critical.
Summary of Comments ( 61 )
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42897041
HN commenters largely express skepticism and distrust of Apple's "intelligence" features, viewing them as data collection tools rather than genuinely helpful features. Several comments highlight the difficulty in truly disabling these features, pointing out that Apple often re-enables them with software updates or buries the relevant settings deep within menus. Some users suggest that these "intelligent" features primarily serve to train Apple's machine learning models, with little tangible benefit to the end user. A few comments discuss specific examples of unwanted behavior, like personalized ads appearing based on captured data. Overall, the sentiment is one of caution and a preference for maintaining privacy over utilizing these features.
The Hacker News post "How to turn off Apple Intelligence" (linking to an Asurion article about disabling personalized advertising and data collection features on Apple devices) generated a moderate number of comments, primarily focused on skepticism towards Asurion's motives and the effectiveness of the suggested "off" switches.
Several commenters questioned Asurion's interest in users disabling these features, suggesting it might be counterintuitive for a company dealing with device insurance and repairs. One prominent theory was that Asurion benefits from users leaving these features on, as the increased data collection could lead to more targeted advertising, potentially influencing users to upgrade their devices more frequently, thus generating more business for Asurion through insurance policies and repairs. This was not presented as a malicious intent, but rather a consequence of the advertising ecosystem.
There was also a significant amount of discussion regarding the efficacy of the toggles mentioned in the Asurion article. Some commenters argued that while these settings might offer a semblance of control, Apple likely still collects and utilizes user data in other ways, rendering these toggles less impactful than they appear. The consensus leaned towards the idea that these switches primarily control the personalization aspect of data usage, not the collection itself. A few users even expressed a sense of resignation, suggesting that comprehensive data collection is unavoidable in today's tech landscape, regardless of these individual settings.
Some commenters shared personal anecdotes of disabling similar features, reporting no noticeable change in the frequency or relevance of targeted advertising. This further fueled the skepticism around the true impact of these toggles.
Finally, a few comments branched off into related privacy concerns, such as location tracking and the overall data collection practices of large tech companies. However, these discussions remained relatively brief and tied back to the central theme of skepticism towards the effectiveness of Apple's privacy controls as presented by Asurion.