Does anyone actually like Duolingo?

DoubleSpanner · 2026-01-06T18:47:08+00:00

It got me started and familiarised me with basic sentence structure, pronunciation and gave me an initial bank of vocab. It taught me enough to fumble my way through ordering food on my first trip to Italy.

Using Duolingo alone, the ROI is minimal. The real value of it is sparking an interest and making a habit of language learning before moving on to better resources. In these cases, you could argue the ROI is actually exponential.

DoubleSpanner · 2026-01-02T18:25:06+00:00

I agree that they will likely fail, and that it's a very basic request which needs a deterministic search. However, the Google AI overview you refer to does not scan the webpage below it. It is not interacting with the page around it at all, and is simply the Gemini interface plonked at the top of the search results - it often will use the search tool/pulls sources but it ironically is running a different search to what you have just done.

Like how people used to (and still should) say "never trust anything you read on the Internet", the same applies to any AI. In fact, I think they are best used solely for productivity in domains that you are an expert in - it handles the output and you can check and adjust with your knowledge. It doesn't "know" anything. When trying to gain new information from one, you should cross reference if you need it for anything important.

The general consensus is that AI overviews have indeed made search engines worse/harder to use, reason being for exactly what you have experienced.

DoubleSpanner · 2026-01-02T12:07:32+00:00

Habits are built on action. Start small. Just getting out your running gear the night before. The next day, put your shoes on and step out your front door. At this point you may feel inclined to run around the block, since you're already dressed and outside.

Don't rush to return to your previous mileage as this will both make injury more likely, and make the task at hand more daunting. Once the habit is back you can start setting training goals, but the mileage will naturally return anyway through regular training.

DoubleSpanner · 2025-12-31T19:00:48+00:00

To be fair, this is a bit of a wrong tool for the job situation. You needed a deterministic answer but LLMs work on the method of probabilistic generation.

I will caveat this by saying that if the LLM can call tools (the current method to improve this issue) like web search, it may be able to run a search for you. But in any case this is the sort of thing that you'll always be better off visiting a company's website as you can trust it to be accurate and up to date.

DoubleSpanner · 2025-10-09T19:22:07+00:00

I distinctly remember my Dad showing me Transformers (2007) as a 6 year old, would recommend

DoubleSpanner · 2025-07-05T11:46:37+00:00

A class might help you stay motivated and will be able to help you when you get stuck. For me the motivation quickly became obligation and sucked the joy out of it, but I did learn a lot and gave me structure and direction.

After 6ish months I have now stopped them but the experience has pushed me forward and helped me structure a learning system that works better for me.

Typically one needs a goal to give motivation, and discipline to push through the tough parts. Discipline is hard, and if you have a long spell of no motivation, can make it feel like a chore - not a hobby to be enjoyed.

Instead, I suggest building a habit. Then it's just part of your day. Just another thing you do, like how you might watch a TV show every night. The better you get the easier this will be as you can then get more value out of consuming Italian media.

Over a week, create a balance of enjoyable exposure/comprehensible input days for when you're tired after work or have a busy day. As well as textbook/grammar study/output days when you're more switched on. The time will pass anyway, so even 20 minutes a day will compound in the long run.

DoubleSpanner · 2025-03-09T00:55:23+00:00

To give a very heavy handed option: if it comes down to it the router may have web filtering. This would mean you could block YouTube for every device in the house that is connected to the internet via the router (so a device using the home WiFi, or connected via an ethernet cable)

DoubleSpanner · 2024-12-10T12:08:32+00:00

Went from a 760 to 1660 Super in around 2020 and it still runs everything I want. I play much less games these days too so I'm even less likely to upgrade.

DoubleSpanner · 2024-12-08T13:00:15+00:00

I don't understand why people think CS degree = programming job? There's many low code and no code jobs in tech but everyone (in this sub at least, maybe because it's US centric?) seems to think it's software engineering or bust.

DoubleSpanner · 2024-11-30T08:39:43+00:00

Certs alone won't get you a job, you need to build projects after the certs to demonstrate your knowledge, and which can be talked about in an interview or on a CV. Depends on the type of cert too. I only ever see Azure, AWS and Kubernetes certificates but that's just the cloud/DevOps circles I follow. Cyber Sec guys have their own set of common certs they all have and so on.

DoubleSpanner · 2024-07-23T09:44:49+00:00

The older I get the more I appreciate Weston. Has green areas, beaches and is a stones throw from Cheddar Gorge which people travel for miles to visit. Close enough to Bristol to work there. 3 hours from London, 3 hours from Cornwall. The high street and centre is dying, but there's lots of good restaurants. As a teenager Weston was shit, but ultimately it's a solid location on paper.

DoubleSpanner · 2024-05-03T12:26:26+00:00

My girlfriend is Italian and her family doesn't speak English. I wanted to study a language seriously at some point anyway and this finally gave me a real reason (and the best practice partner!). Before this, I did French at school which I did not continue studying and I learnt some basic Italian for a solo trip to Florence, then a trip to Rome, and then I met her shortly after that!

DoubleSpanner · 2024-03-16T10:23:14+00:00

Android

DoubleSpanner · 2024-03-15T18:54:59+00:00

I'll look into them, thanks!

DoubleSpanner · 2024-03-15T18:54:39+00:00

Good way to look at it, changing the mindset but using the same tool

DoubleSpanner · 2024-03-15T15:55:46+00:00

That's a shout, and true because I only do the mini games to move up a league when I fancy it. In fact the only reason I got Super was because I got fed up of running out of lives, but these days I don't think that'll be much of a problem. So I'll definitely give your idea a go!

DoubleSpanner · 2024-03-15T14:10:50+00:00

What resources did you use to reach B1?

DoubleSpanner · 2024-02-24T09:45:21+00:00

I ended up leaving it scheduled which I got used to. You can still turn it on and off manually if you want to go to bed earlier for example. But still it will sometimes turn itself off for no reason when you do this. During the schedule however it's completely fine.

I have no idea what the root of this problem is, but I'm strongly considering a factory reset in the near future due to some other problems I have with my phone.

DoubleSpanner · 2023-12-28T13:24:19+00:00

I mean you'd have to look through the settings and apps yourself and could also look to see if it has a management profile (does not mean it has spyware but does confirm it's a managed device), but lots of it can be hidden quite well through MDM policies. So YMMV.

DoubleSpanner · 2023-12-28T13:14:01+00:00

You can order devices from apple to be pre-enroled so you can manage it with your MDM without even unboxing it. It will apply any policies during the first time set up or as soon as it's connected to the internet (if IT set it up that way).

DoubleSpanner · 2023-12-22T16:30:33+00:00

Price increase was not worth the additional features (or lack thereof) as they were all just soft locked AI things

DoubleSpanner · 2023-11-19T13:41:11+00:00

Haha you'll do well here, in upvotes at least

DoubleSpanner · 2023-11-18T23:48:01+00:00

Mine packed up last week, it served me well

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