I’m definitely not an expert, but yeah that’s kinda the case.

Basically Mint will update core packages and security updates and such, but when Canonical gets another “bright idea” for Ubuntu like opt-out telemetry, or amazon results in search, or proprietary packaging formats (Snaps)…

…Mint will basically just leave that stuff out, and it never reaches the users.

Maybe a comparison could be like one of those “Debloated Windows” OSs with Classic Shell that actually works and isn’t super hacky. :D

the democrats have ignored their voters like this and sided with the republicans.

“ReAcHiNg AcRoSs ThE AiSLe”

Oh definitely! If there’s one thing I’m done with, it’s people calling on speakerphone while their phone is like, seemingly, in their gym bag in the trunk LOL.

Like bro, you’re not Jack Bauer and I’m not your handler, it can wait until you’re done going 75 on the freeway.

Maybe my work’s phone network service is just awful, even landline to landline, but yeah, for how much faster data connections have gotten, I feel like I got clearer voice quality on my cordless Vtech in 2004 LOL.

Maybe it’s me and I should get my hearing checked. 😅

HOW WAS I THINKING THIS EXACT SAME THING.

The standardized NATO phonetic alphabet

…for when you need to read alpha numeric codes or clarify spellings.

Especially with, how, inexplicably, phone connections seem to have gotten more garbly in recent years.

This code was invented to be reasonably understood as much as possible in less-than-ideal communication conditions.

As time goes on, civilian life is full of situations where you’ll need to read off serial numbers, codes, or even spelling your own name, to somebody seemingly connected to you from a million miles away via coconuts and twine.

So, learn it, and you never need to go “M as in…uh…‘Mancy’?” ever again! Your IT department might thank you.

…and let’s be honest, it sounds kinda cool. :)

parents should be put in charge of their own kids,

So convenient that governments and their corporate masters take such a keen interest in watching our kids, after making all their parents spend most of their lives at miserable jobs.

On your feet, comrade. This is no place to die.

Ah I see what you’re saying.

Thanks for taking the time for the clarification! I’m sure this would clear it up for some other folks as well.

I also know they’re a fraction of the size of those giants who can probably field staff specifically for FOSS contribution, but that’s still a bit disheartening. I hope things improve.

Every time they’ve seemed like a good option I find myself balking at the price though lol.

I don’t blame you. I’m even tempted to get a Quest-something unit secondhand or something, if only because I’m pretty sure they’ve cracked it a bit better on the Linux side.

They’re making some progress on WMR’s controllers right now but they’re the most troublesome. Hand tracking works now! But a lot of games expect button input.

Seriously, we just need a good code leak or something so that hobbyist VR peripherals become more commonplace. Right now everything is focused on establishing lock-in to walled gardens instead of interoperability.

VR hardware should be just like getting a monitor / keyboard / mouse / flight stick / whatever, but they want to make it closer to a smart TV / phone so they can push you to throw it out and buy a new one every 6 months.

BigSkreen

Often, when it grows past that, it can become… unsavory.

Exactly! Like the Internet, Linux is for anybody! . . .but not necessarily everybody.

Because I mainly game in VR and that’s still so far behind on LInux :(

This is a major sticking point for me too. I’ve got a dusty Win10 partition I haven’t booted in ages, and I was keeping it around mainly for VR, but then Microsoft had to go and just extinguish that too.

Monado is making impressive progress but it’s a huge pain because they have to reverse engineer stuff with zero help from the manufacturers, instead of simply interfacing with the hardware.

I refuse to let Meta have any of my money though. I hope a good affordable VR kit comes out that isn’t another hyper-proprietary blackbox.

They just expected us to know how to use them.

And they still do. The “kids these days and their compyooturs” fallacy. Irks me to my core.

I was fortunate to have a middle school typing and graphic design class, and in highschool I learned hardware troubleshooting and stuff (A+ equivalent IT work)…but that “career path” of flipping computers that people downloaded the wrong screensaver on kinda died out.

Still learned a lot though! If the I.T field was still hanging out with buddies in some dungeon nobody visited, I might be in that field today lol.

Maybe I just don’t know where to look or what.

I always hear these stories but companies in my city tend to donate old machines to charities (cool if it works that way) or trade them in to their vendor or something.

I’m actually kinda afraid with all the tarrifs and crap that we’re gonna see secondhand hardware turn into speculative inflated eBay fodder because average folks can’t afford new anymore.

Still looking for this supposed mountain of <TPM 2.0 machines that are supposed to surface for next to nothing any minute now. 😅

Alongside that, this ““backdoor”” (diagnostic/troubleshooting tool) requires physical access

Can’t have an “evil maid” if I do my own cleaning around here.

😏 <br> 👉 👉

the likes of system76 have already made their allegiances clear.

Aw crap. What did they do? :(

Been somewhat out of the loop lately.

Localization. It’s not as easy as simply translating from one language to another!

Done right, you get something of foreign origin that feels like it was done in your backyard.

Done…less than stellar, you get “All your base are belong to us, someone set us up the bomb.”

Pic related

It’s calm rational takes like this that help me remain an artist and strive to be a creative despite these tumultuous times. Thanks for the hope boost. ❤️

Really sad about the Pinephone, because you know what Pine did SO WELL? The PineTime. That device is still incredible and has lasted me a long time.

It shows time, and it shows messages, even a decent heartrate monitor! Built like a tank, too. I wish more of their products could be this awesome.