Another aspect is the social graph. It’s targeted for normies to easily switch to.

Very few people want to install a communication app, open the compose screen for the first time, and be met by an empty list of who they can communicate with.

https://signal.org/blog/private-contact-discovery/

By using phone numbers, you can message your friends without needing to have them all register usernames and tell them to you. It also means Signal doesn’t need to keep a copy of your contact list on their servers, everyone has their local contact list.

This means private messages for loads of people, their goal.

Hey, we know this account sent this message and you have to give us everything you have about this account

It’s a bit backwards, since your account is your phone number, the agency would be asking “give us everything you have from this number”. They’ve already IDed you at that point.

They should bring back the original https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPYbzfwIJRA

KVMs usually jump from 2 inputs to 4. Ones that do 4 inputs and 4 monitors exist but you’re entering “enquire for price” territory.

Why do you need so many laptops/screens?

To me I’d consider Linux not standardized since anything outside the kernel can be swapped out. Want a GUI? There are competing standards, X vs Wayland, with multiple implementations with different feature sets. Want audio? There’s ALSA or OSS, then on top of those there is pulse audio, or jack, or pipewire. Multiple desktop environments, which don’t just change the look and feel but also how apps need to be written. Heck there are even multiple C/POSIX libraries that can be used.

It certainly can be a strength for flexibility, and distros attempt to create a stable and reliable setup of one set of systems.

I once had a coworker that used a mini PC instead of a laptop for work. Being lighter, and more powerful worked well for him.

My understanding is that each brand will contract out the design and manufacturing, with potentially totally different factories and people involved. So the same brand will have models that are built totally differently, in terms of quality and ethics. This happens from the cheapest no name products to big western brands. Make sure to check reviews for the specific model, and not blanket trust one brand to be ‘good’. Notebook check and robtech on youtube do mini PC reviews.

I feel you on the ethics side, and unfortunately it’s pretty difficult to ever avoid. You can try buying second hand, at least save something from landfill and get a bargain.

ZFS doesn’t have fsck because it already does the equivalent during import, reads and scrubs. Since it’s CoW and transaction based, it can rollback to a good state after power loss. So not only does it automatically check and fix things, it’s less likely to have a problem from power loss in the first place. I’ve used it on a home NAS for 10 years, survived many power outages without a UPS. Of course things can go terribly wrong and you end up with an unrecoverable dataset, and a UPS isn’t a bad idea for any computer if you want reliability.

Totally agree about mainline kernel inclusion, just makes everything easier and ZFS will always be a weird add-on in Linux.

My partner worked for a local council. They reset your password every 90 days which prevented you from logging in via the VPN remotely. To fix it you’d call IT and they’ll demand you tell them your current password and new password so they can change it themselves on your behalf.

Even worse, requesting a work iphone meant filling out an IT support ticket. So that IT could set up your phone for you, the ticket demanded your work domain username and password, along with your personal apple account username and password.

Thank god we have crypto bros like Sigma G and Sina_21st to get the inside scoop on the Chinese rural bank loan crisis.

I’ve been using my Sennheiser HD 598 s for over 10 years. I’d recommend anything the same shape/size: being large over ears means it doesn’t touch or squeeze your ears at all. Being open backed and velvet padded stop my ears getting hot and sweaty. Being wired saves weight, prevents lag/quality concerns and isn’t too big a deal in a stationary gaming situation.

I do need to use an external mic for chatting, which is not ideal if you’re gonna be always in voice chats when gaming. Dedicated gaming headsets tend to not sound as good for the same price, but can’t deny the convenience.

Here is a recent rundown of recommendations by audiophile youtubers for gaming headphones might be worth watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIwgVzSiZ68

I’ve dabbled in a couple recently, xTTS v2 in Coqui sounds pretty good and is pretty quick. Especially if you use one of the built in voices. Has a weird “only for non commercial use” licence if that bothers you.

Telcos are acting like switching off 3G is no big deal, since LTE has been around since 2012, get with the times! VoLTE has only been around since 2016, and even then, was limited to approved models. And only worked if you bought the phone directly from the telco. And only if you had postpaid plan. And only if your account had a “VoLTE enable” flag set by calling them.

To this day, when it doesn’t work phone makers and telcos will point the finger at each other, leaving customers with no clue who to chase for a solution. All parties still act like VoLTE is a nice to have and not a requirement. I really believe the rush to deploy 5G was to have the pretence to shut off 3G and force customers to buy new phones.

I had to root my phone, then use diagnostic serial access to the Qualcomm modem and Russian software to make VoLTE work on my 5G 2020 phone. I fear BYO mobile plans are dead now, buying direct from telcos is the only way they’ll help you be able to make calls on your phone.

Main thing is the lug width. You could get a few straps on the smaller side and they’ll fit inside bigger lugs, just not look ideal.

Something that can be worth buying in person, even a mall key/watch repair stall would have a variety of types and sizes on hand and can find you something suitable on the spot.