I don’t want to top that. And I’m so sorry you had to go through that.

Every technology shift creates winners and losers.

There’s already documented harm from algorithms making callous biased decisions that ruin people’s lives - an example is automated insurance claim rejections.

We know that AI is going to bring algorithmic decisions into many new places where it can do harm. AI adoption is currently on track to get to those places well before the most important harm reduction solutions are mature.

We should take care that we do not gaslight people who will be harmed by this trend, by telling them they are better off.

I built an MSI file once.

I love asking,

“What sick fuck thought this was an acceptable solution?”

And a few moments later:

“Oh. It was me.”

Thanks for that mental image… Dancing Bear.

Amazon - the logistics company - is just a front end for (and leech on) various drop shippers, lately, anyway.

Amazon used to carry quality guarantees, and have meaningful reviews, but lately the wild West crapshoot of the rest of the web is just as good.

(And at least on the rest of the web I have some idea who I’m buying from, and can avoid them after a bad experience. On Amazon, it got to where there was no way I could tell.)

Controlling people’s media experience to push political propaganda that helps powerful people and harms individuals - that seems really shitty.

I can’t think of any app developer or political party who would do that.

(This is an attempt at surrealist humor.)

I’m sure they will grow out of it, by the time they turn 21

(This is intended as an amusing reference to DOGE’s habit of hiring surprisingly young professionals.)

Most KDE apps will run on Gnome and vice-versa, but they might not run particularly well under those conditions.

I used to run into issues with this all the time. Recently, I find, for poplar apps, there’s always a version built for my chosen desktop environment.

Of course, I’m not very picky, anymore: Libre-this, Open-that, Free-Whatever. I usually find the one that comes up in the app search is good enough for what I’m doing.

I feel like linux demands an understanding of the relationship between hardware and software more than windows does.

Yes, when we install Linux on something that didn’t ship with Linux installed.

But in an apples to apples scenario - pre-installed OS provided by the manufacturer, it’s Windows that comes with more bullshit.

And there are (finally!) plenty of options to buy a pre-installed Linux computer, today.

It’s a tiny fraction as many as pre-installed Windows or Mac, of course. But it’s still plenty. There’s a half dozen companies with solid reputations and hardware specialties, and I only need one.

I haven’t especially heard the Linux or Rust stereotype, but it’s fair enough for a funny joke.

Stallman is one of the world’s most prolific C developers, so that part of the joke may be just making fun of his (likely) reluctance to adopt Rust, which is often recommended to C programmers.

I would welcome a utility that makes it easy to find donate links for my software packages, based on my Apt, Flatpak, and F-Droid package lists.

I had not heard of Trinity Desktop. That does look like a much simpler path to beautiful Windows XP stylings.

Apparently, many people want to make Linux look like Windows 95?

I’m a developer, so my chances are pretty good. But I take your point.

Even if I weren’t, there’s enough software options out there that I don’t have to pick between paying for proprietary software and living with abandonware.

So I think the need for this security is exaggerated.

Of course. I used proprietary software for a long time. Having things I relied on get abandoned got old, but it worked.

I just expect more from most of my software, now.

I’m happy to pay for software, but I want more than just permission, I want long term security that my investment in the tool will last.

If IntelliJ would open source their oldest versions, I would make my boss buy me a copy of the newest version every year.

I’d say Linux is somewhere around early Windows XP when it comes to usability for a normal person.

I was confused until it struck me that maybe you don’t consider Windows XP the peak of operating system user interface design.

I’ll admit, Vista really messed with my perspective.

That’s why we got together and agreed on one version of Linux to recommend to new adopters.

Even technical folks aren’t huge fans of RTFM.

If I’m doing something incredibly interesting, and I’m asking for help, I should RTFM.

If I’m doing something routine, we can (and usually do, now), make it simple enough not to need a manual.

Oof. Sorry you had such a bad experience.

Pro tip for others: It takes time for volunteers to reverse engineer new proprietary laptop hardware.

If the laptop manufacturers aren’t advertising Linux support, it’s up to the community to play guess and check, to figure out what the proprietary drivers do.

You might get lucky and pick the same exact model as a passionate reverse engineer. Or you might not.

With old stuff, your odds are much better that someone has figured it out for you.

For new hardware, it’s still essential to pick a vendor that chooses to write and release Linux drivers.

This will get better when truly open hardware platforms gain popularity.