Mine’s only 15 years. I need to keep working on it.

Larry Tesler, inventor of the cut, copy, and paste commands, dies at 74

I tried to use an LLM to write a script for me. It confidently told me I could split a string in OpenSCAD with the [1:] operator. It works in Python, but isn’t an OpenSCAD feature.

Fortunately, programming has a good way of letting you know when the LLM is completely wrong.

The worrying part is that the LLMs can sometimes produce code that runs, but has massive security issues that you don’t notice if you just run the code and don’t closely analyse it.

I don’t like the LED knowing my status.

All time favourite.

Depressing, but great vocals.

Definitely metal, absolute banger, debatably a song.

Anything by Starset.

I have a rock/crystal that protects from harmful energies and assists with sleep. I placed it directly in front of the status LED in my bedroom.

To say that Hitler wasn’t human is to pretend that no human could ever do the same, making way for another human to step up and do the same.

Accepting that Hitler was human means putting processes in place to prevent another human from doing the same.

It was the best option at the time, and I didn’t feel like setting up Windows more than once as I gradually added new software and removed other software.

That particular VM doesn’t get booted very often anymore.

If you’re renting a property, it is not unsellable. I’m sure someone will be happy to buy it for $1.

I use it in a VM because it’s better than Windows 10, some programs refuse to run on Linux, and I don’t need to provide the VM with an internet connection.

My actual server is an old laptop and it does not run Windows.

Even my friend who insists that Windows is superior still uses Linux for his gaming server because it’s easier to set up and manage.

Google removed their motto “don’t be evil”. I think that alone will answer your question.

If they get one angry message they’ll ignore it. If they get 10,000 angry messages they might start worrying about what the people who haven’t sent messages will do if they proceed.

Public outcry doesn’t always work, but it has worked enough times to try again. It takes minimal effort for a significant potential gain.

Something similar to the way files (and bank transaction records) are modified on a drive. A first message indicating that a specific transaction is starting, a second message with the transaction, and a third message indicating the transaction is complete.

If any message is not acknowledged, it can be resent (with an ID so it’s recognized as a duplicate), and if all else fails, flag a human.

The system doesn’t need to be 100% accurate, just good enough that only a few humans are needed to fix the problems.

The Byzantine Generals problem is only a problem if you need 100% certainty from both sides. If you’re willing to put up with 99.99% certainty, then network engineers have solved this problem many years ago.

If you have multiple banks, you can have multiple copies of the same database. If any one bank modifies their copy, it is obvious who modified it and what was changed. No blockchain needed.

I watched my father go through that. MND is horrible for the person and everyone around them.

I don’t care about gender. If you want to identify as a man or a woman, then you’re free to do that. If you want to identify as something else, that doesn’t bother me.

But if you want to take someone’s rights away because of who they are and not for what they’ve done, then I’m against your ideals.

If you call me a feminist for that, then I’ll happily accept that title too.

I thought Wayland was created by the X11 team as a replacement for X11, and support for both is just to make a smooth transition possible.

If you want to dip your feet in without making any permanent decisions, try using a virtual machine or a live USB.

The virtual machine is effectively no risk but slightly slower. The live USB gives you a more realistic experience (except for boot times) but it is possible to erase your data if you miss the several warning messages and press the “I know what I’m doing, proceed anyway” button.

If you feel like Linux could work but you’re not ready to fully commit, you can dualboot. I had both Windows and Linux for 2-3 years before I was comfortable enough to not boot Windows.

My personal preference is Linux Mint because it looks and feels very similar to Windows (I’m currently running LMDE). Any distro with KDE should also feel fairly familiar. Bazzite is more designed around gaming, but should still be adequate for most of your needs. It does have the reputation of being unbreakable.

I don’t have time for troubleshooting. I just want an OS that runs, does what I need it to do, and stays out of my way. For the last 3 years, Linux has done that for me where Windows wouldn’t.