
Cool Links Vol. 1: July, 2024
3 min read
Links to the best stuff I've read or watched during the month of July, 2024
A chronological view of *everything* I've posted here, since the beginning of time (or the blog's inception, whichever comes first).

Cool Links Vol. 1: July, 2024
3 min read
Links to the best stuff I've read or watched during the month of July, 2024
AI Companies Need to Be Regulated - An Open Letter to the U.S. Congress and European Parliament
The MacStories team was able to put into words what a lot of people (including me) are feeling. AI companies that scrape content on the web (ignoring its licenses) pose a big threat to websites that need the pageviews to keep the lights on. Right now, that is all done under the claim that they’re using the data to train their models and not reproducing the content directly, which would fit into “fair use”. But there are good arguments that it’s not true.
AI models collapse when trained on recursively generated data
This study shows that, predictably, generative AIs or LLMs tend to decline in quality as they start feeding on content that was generated by other LLMs instead of humans.
Considering much of the web is now getting polluted by this LLM-generated slop and the web is a big source of data for their training, it seems that future models will likely regress in quality. Doesn’t seem like a very sustainable model, does it?
This article talks about how users are growing increasingly indifferent to elements that “pop” on websites and apps. Because “if a pop-up or any element of a user interface for that matter looks too different from the rest of the design, people will often perceive it as something that doesn’t belong (like an ad) and dismiss it.”.
Instead, making the important elements feel like the core flow tends to yield better results.
How small UI delighters have a huge impact on UX
Another case study; this one shows how apps that are great ideas can become a disappointment when they don’t know how to display those good ideas correctly. And how good (and fun) design can make all the difference on getting users on board.
Why users are ignoring your features
This case study (in the form of a slide presentation) has amazing insight into how having too many features can backfire. It goes through many design concepts and practical examples onto how you can make users take notice and actually use the features you work so hard to build.
MaXXXine
Reviewed on Jul 19, 2024
The conclusion to the trilogy that started with ‘X’, this one now takes place in the 80s and has a lot of the tropes of the movies of that era.
The ambiance, references and (again) Mia Goth’s acting really bring you into the movie. It’s a shame the climax is unable to match the same level of quality, leading to a quite confusing ending.
Pearl
Reviewed on Jul 18, 2024
Amazing movie from start to finish. Pearl is an incredible character and even though you already have an idea of what’s going to happen (because this is a prequel to ‘X’), the way the story is told just keeps your eyes glued to the screen.
Mia Goth’s acting is nothing short of amazing, too. It might actually be the best part of the movie!
X
Reviewed on Jul 17, 2024
I think this movie might be much more enjoyable for people who love cinema history, based on the amount of references in it and how much it goes for the 1970s slasher horror movie vibes.
For me, it was entertaining enough to keep me watching, but nothing really memorable.
Bacurau
Reviewed on Jul 06, 2024
It took me way too long to watch this movie, but I’m so glad I was finally able to watch it.
Absolutely incredible, raw, weird and full of symbolisms that will keep me thinking about the movie for days. Another masterpiece in Brazilian cinema. Have you watched Bacurau?
Inside Out 2
Reviewed on Jul 01, 2024
You can feel all sorts of emotions on this one (hah!), but the main one is joy. Amazing movie, funny, relatable, touches on very important topics with good humor and a lot of sensibility.
Props to the Brazilian dubbing and localization which was amazing and probably made the movie even better than it originally was! 😉

CSS “Quantity Queries” are a thing now
4 min read
With the :has selector available everywhere now, there's a neat way of styling elements depending on how many elements are inside them.