In 1995, a Netscape employee wrote a hack in 10 days that now runs the Internet
Thirty years later, JavaScript is the glue that holds the interactive web together, warts and all.
USStocksSwing&Trend
US supreme court approves redrawn Texas congressional maps
US supreme court approves redrawn Texas congressional maps
Major win for Trump as majority rejects lower-court ruling that found maps had been racially gerrymanderedSam Levine (The Guardian)
offline magic earth requires now a 15€ subscription
I liked using it but 15€/year for navigation is too much for me. I'm going to stick to osmand now. At least osmand is open source. It has roughly the same features. It's just not that beautiful. I paid for osmand btw. What's your alternative?
Edit: And I like paying for osmand because it is open source.
US | ChatGPT hyped up violent stalker who believed he was “God’s assassin,” DOJ says
Podcaster faces up to 70 years and a $3.5 million fine for ChatGPT-linked stalking.
Google’s AI model is getting really good at spoofing phone photos
We’re cooked.
Google’s AI model is getting really good at spoofing phone photos
Nano Banana Pro mimics the look and feel of iPhone photos and adds watermarks without being prompted for an extra dose of realism.Allison Johnson (The Verge)
Recommendations for after installing Linux (Mint) coming from Windows for best practices for a casual user ?
I finally bit the bullet and I'm giving Linux a second try, installed with dual boot a few days ago and making Linux Mint my default from now on.
There are a lot of guides and tips about the before and during the transition but not for after, so I was hoping to find some here.
Some example questions but I would like to hear any other things that come to mind:
I read that with Mint if you have a decent computer you don't need to do a swap partition? So I skipped that, but I'm not sure if I'd want to modify that swap file to make it bigger, is that just for giving extra ram if my hardware one is full? Because I have 48GB of ram and if I look into my System Monitor it says Swap is not available.
Was looking at this other post, and the article shared (about Linux security) seems so daunting, it's a lot. How much of it do I have to learn as a casual user that's not interested in meddling with the system much? Is the default firewall good enough to protect me from my own self to at least some degree? I was fine with just Windows Defender and not being too stupid about what I download and what links I click.
I was also reading about how where you install your programs or save your data matters, like in particular partitions or folders, is that just like hardcore min-maxing that's unnecessary for the average user that doesn't care to wait half a second extra or is it actually relevant? I'm just putting stuff in my Home folder.
Connected to the last two points: in that Linux Hardening Guide lemmy post I shared the TL;DR includes "Move as much activity outside the core maximum privilege OS as possible"... how do I do that? is that why people have separate partitions?
Downloaded the App Center (Snap Store) and I was surprised there was even a file saying to not allow it... why is that? Is it not recommended? Is it better to download stuff directly from their websites instead?
What I suggest. Dont look at hardening yet. Only do so if you feel like your ready to touch the Internal workings of the OS. I do suggest using full disk encryption if this is a laptop.
Saving your files in your home folder just like how you did on windows is fine. Nothing wrong their.
Personally I would familiar your self with the terminal. It is not scary at all. sudo apt install program is how I would install software on mint (or any Debian based system).
Oh and above all. Use the system and try to do your normal task. See what you run in to and ask help where needed. We are here to help you along the way if needed.
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@kylian0087@lemmy.dbzer0.com
I've got a desktop but I think I ticked on the drive encryption while installing anyway
With "files" you also mean programs, right? The ones that I download and don't install with the terminal or an app store?
I'm not scared of the terminal myself, I'm scared of accidentally overwriting stuff or downloading something I didn't intend to because of a typo, etc... I'm careful but there's only so much one can fight the adhd. Plus I just really prefer visual interfaces
Thank you! 😀
you can always add eg. a swap file later if needed - apparently not as good as a swap partition, but it is more flexible. With 48 GB of ram I hardly think you're going to have issues, but that depends entirely on what do you do with the system.
Firewall isn't really helping the system against you, it's to block ousiders getting in - more or less.
install locations: if you just use what's in mint's repositories, you don't really need to think about it. Out-of-repository stuff like steam games etc generally live in ~/.steam or so. Or in some dedicated path you configure in steam/whatever.
As for snap/flatpaks/whatever, haven't used a single one. But in general: I'd favor the distribution's repos, if at all possible for installs. If the app isn't there, but is in snap... fine, I guess? As long as it's managed by some kind of package manager for easy install/update/uninstall. But having to manually download and install from a website? Rather not, that's when the maintenance becomes manual.
And of course, opinions are opionated. Your system, your rules. 😛
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oh with the firewall saving me from myself I meant if I download something thinking it's safe but isn't
Thank you! 😀 @Malix@sopuli.xyz
oh with the firewall saving me from myself I meant if I download something thinking it's safe but isn't
A firewall would not save you from that.
A firewall stops random incoming connections. But if you download and run something bad, that'd be an outgoing connection, since the malicious program is then already on your system.
Defender is antimalware/antivirus. There at least used to be a separate firewall in windows, but not sure if it's a part of defender or not.
Either way, "firewall" is traffic control, antimalware/virus is the execution guardian.
The only things I download online are things I can't find in that store, things made by individuals and individually published... like Material Maker for example.
Well, not really po-tay-toh/po-tah-toh. They’re 2 different utilities that do 2 different things. If you ask the wrong question, you’re not going to get the answer you’re looking for.
What you’re asking about is an antivirus. It’s been awhile since I messed with this on my Linux systems, but last I looked, ClamAV was most commonly recommended. You can probably search for “Linux antivirus” and find some recommendations.
Generally speaking, the earlier recommendations to stick with official repos is excellent. When you venture outside of that, you increase your administrative overhead because those manually installed apps won’t stay patched with a simple “apt upgrade.” That said, a well written cron job could keep them up to date for you.
As for where to install things, it’s personal preference. I prefer using my home directory. If that doesn’t work, my fallback in /usr/local, which is either its own partition or symlinked to the /home partition). I mention the partitions because having separate /home and possibly /usr/local makes it easy for these customizations you install to survive a reinstall. Backups will also help with this.
You have to ask yourself what this system will be used for. If it’s a daily driver that you want to “just work” I would stick to official repos, and minimize customizations. Windows makes a lot of choices for you. Linux expects you to know what you want to do.
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Yeah but it seems like some people (not you) take it personal geez...
Of course a "casual" will mix firewall with anti-virus, like...? I am literally saying I don't know shit.
Thank you for actually explaining things in a helpful and chill manner without getting so stuck about one word I use wrong while still being an understandable question.
And I'm telling you a firewall won't do that.
It won't have anything to say at all about something you download and run.
It's a completely different security feature. It handles potentially malicious network activity. Not software on your computer.
and I'm telling you I didn't mean just firewall... I wasn't trying to be accurate or right, I was just asking a broad general question with a term that would get other people understand what it is that I want to know, not that I know exactly what a firewall does or does not do...
You understood what the question was about, did you not? That was my whole goal
Yes. But you didn't.
Knowing what something does is important.
If you install a piece of software expecting it to do something it actually doesn't, that can leave a security gap.
I wasn't just correcting you. I was making sure you knew that if you install a "firewall" it won't do the thing you're looking for.
As for an actual answer, most distros will already ask you to confirm if you try to run a random appimage you downloaded.
But you shouldn't need to do that in the first place. On linux, there's not really any need to go running random programs downloaded using your web browser, since you can just download software from trusted reposotories that aren't going to host malware to begin with.
Unlike on windows... You don't need to risk it in the first place.
Yeah the problem is that I understood the first time it was explained, no need to keep circling it over without answering the actual question I was asking about.. what you quoted from my comment was just me clarifying what I was asking about, not clarifying my (lack of) knowledge about firewalls.
Thank you for the actual answer!
I do have occasional need to download random programs from random websites because of my hobbies and profession, the first case being Material Maker from itch.io - that one is clearly safe with all those reviews and the public git, but it is a random program from the internet nevertheless, and the reason why I was asking about the placing of programs that I download manually.
Material Maker is on Flathub, the AUR, and on Snapcraft (not up to date, but you shouldn't use snap anyway).
No need for a manual install.
You'll find a lot of software is available via package managers. Linux people don't like installing anything without it being managed by a package manager so the installation and subsequent updates are automatic and occur alongside system updates. So when people find software they like, they'll go out of their way to package and distribute it for others as well
Install Material Maker on Linux | Flathub
Procedural texture generation and mesh painting toolFlathub
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oh... I hadn't heard about any of those, thank you! Installing Flathub
Why would Flathub not be included with Mint?
And how did you find it was in those three places? Did you look for it manually on each or is there a place that tells you where it's distributed? Because on their website the only thing I found was the Download link that takes you to itch.io or their github page that doesn't give any linux alternatives
edit: reviews in flathub say that there are some features that don't work and it's better to download from their itch.io page haha - it's not the first review I see saying that about flatpaks, so there are valid reasons to just download them manually like one would in windows anyway
Flathub and the AUR are by far the most comprehensive, and flatpaks works on a lot of distros. So I checked those.
They've also been getting their kinks worked out over the last few years and work much better than they used to.
That review you found is two years old and was for version 1.1. Current version is 1.4. Try it out today, if it's been fixed leave another review letting people know. It seems to work just fine for me, but I haven't used it before.
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Best practices?
Don't copy paste commands into the terminal you don't understand.
RTFM
Use the computer like a computer. Linux is not a lifestyle; it's a tool you use to shitpost, watch videos, play games, etc.
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TFM is best found in the form of the man (manual) files, which you can see for any given program by running:
$ man program_name
Archwiki is good too, even of you don't run Arch
You can use "extreme" distros but as long as there'y no need, stick to a "normal" distro first. You can switch whenever you want.
One of the forums regulars, Pjotr, made this website exactly for questions like that: easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.…
--> see "B. Right after the installation of Linux Mint"
Home Page
Easy tips, tweaks and tricks for Linux Mint and Ubuntu, both for beginners and for advanced users. Complete starter's guide with simple how-to's.easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.com
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Almost everything you do on desktop linux is already "outside the core os".
This is mostly relevant for server software configuration, where you should run services with as few system privileges as possible. Preferably you isolate them entirely with a separate user with access to only the bare minimum it needs.
This way, if a service is compromised, it can't be used to access the core system, because it never had such access in the first place. Only what it needed to do its own thing.
By default, nothing you run (web browser, steam, spotify, whatever) should be "running as admin".
The only time you'll do that on desktop linux, is when doing stuff that requires it. Such as installing a new app, or updating the system. Stuff that modifies the core os and hence needs access.
Basically, unless you needed to enter you password to run something, then it's already "outside" the core os.
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EDIT:
Just saw that Malik already did mention this more succinctly. Please feel free to ignore me.
ORIGINAL COMMENT:
The comments here already cover a good bit, esp. with the link to Piotr's blog post.
However I don't see anyone reacting to your mention of the snap store.
If you want some details about that, you can read here: linuxmint-user-guide.readthedo…
But in a few words, distributing software is kinda of a mess in Linux at first glance, for various technical reasons.
To caricature, you used to only install the packages from your distribution (mint for you) repositories, and if a program wasn't in it, you had to either compile it or jump through other hoops.
Then came other formats which made distributing software across Linux distros easier, with some caveats. Two notable ones are Snap and Flatpak.
Snap was made by the guys behind Ubuntu and mint is an offshoot of Ubuntu that made the willful decision to not do snaps by default after a number of fiascos.
My advice would be: try installing software through the normal mint repositories, ideally the non Flatpak version. If it does not exist there or is buggy or whatever, consider the Flatpak. Only failing that should you look into snap IMO.
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I would say Flatpak is a good choice if you want or need features in the latest version of a package that isn't in the version Mint runs, which is typically based on the current Ubuntu LTS version (or whichever one was current for the Mint version you're on).
The main drawbacks are size on disk and the ability to work with other apps and the system, but neither issue is as bad as they're typically made out to be... If you're only installing one or two Flatpaks, they'll seem massive compared to installing the version from apt repos, but that's because they need to bring in supporting packages which are used by other Flatpaks, so if you use several of them, the space for each is a lot closer to the apt/direct installed version.
And the permissions, which can be annoying if you run into an issue with them, are typically defaulted to something that works correctly for each package, so you likely won't need to worry about that hardly ever.
But otherwise... Yeah, if you don't know why you'd want the Flatpak version and it's in the Mint apt repos/system install, go with system install. Switch to Flatpak if you're finding features you want missing that are in newer versions.
But they're shouldn't really be any reason to use Snaps on Mint.
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There are plenty of reasons why one would use Snaps on Mint... I've been using it for like 2 days and so far I got: Blender, Godot, and Signal. Blender has an older version, Godot has a super old version, and Signal isn't included in Software Manager. Outside of snap I manually downloaded Material Maker.
People keep telling me snaps are not needed and that I should find everything in the official repo and whatnot but that's just wrong generalized assumptions from what I see, neither of those 3 programs are too niche either. There are plenty of people out there that do things outside of web browsing and file management in their computers, I'm so confused why Linux out of all communities would ignore hobbies with specialized software exist, game dev even
For signal, you can add their PPA As explained here
For Godot, their website has an AppImage. This is a case where I'd say it makes sense not to have it being automatically updated, because if you work on a video game for the kind of time frame that they usually require, you want to decide when to upgrade your game engine (or not to at all) as it may break your current project. But you know your needs, just thought I'd explain the rationale for that particular one.
For Blender... Yeah if the version is outdated and you want automatic upgrades then Snap works. Maybe someone could chime in with another recommendation but that sounds sensible to me.
Download Signal for Linux
To use the Signal desktop app, Signal must first be installed on your phone.Signal Messenger
I mean to be fair, I am making a conscious effort to stay open minded when I give advice to people, but I also personally would avoid snaps (and Flatpak, but for different reasons) altogether.
But this is more me being opinionated and strongly disagreeing with canonical practices. I don't mind sacrificing some of the convenience because of that, but wouldn't push it on anyone.
All this to say, I don't know the reasons why people tell you to avoid snaps, but I can imagine at least a dozen that would be valid opinions from technically minded open source people, so I would not jump to conclusions.
The snap thing has spanned a whole drama since the beginning so there's a heavy context behind you might not be aware of. Or maybe you are and don't care that's totally fine too.
Signal is included as Flatpak. You have to enable "untrusted Flatpaks" (or whatever the wording is) in the Software Manager settings.
It was a controversial thing Mint added not long ago. Discussing this in detail would derail the post though.
For the swap space, yes that's for when you run out of RAM. 48GiB is plenty of RAM, so you should be fine without it. I have 32GiB of RAM on my system and have been running without swap for ages without issue.
Hardening guides like that are mostly designed for things like web servers which are connected to the public internet and need higher scrutiny. The default configuration for distros like Mint should be secure enough for the average user.
However, don't feel invincible and run random code from random sites. Both Windows and Linux can't protect you against malicious code you run yourself.
Having organised partitions is the kind of thing that people obsessed with organisation do. For most people, the default partitioning scheme is fine. However, as always, remember to keep backups of important data.
For installing software, Mint has a Software Centre (which is distinct from the Snap Store). I'd recommend installing software using that for the average user.
In Mint, there are three main types of packages:
* Debian/APT packages, which are provided by Mint (well, technically by the Debian distro and they trickle down to Mint, but technicalities). Not all software is available from Mint's repos and they may be out of date.
* Flatpak packages, which are provided either by developers themselves or dedicated fans. They are usually more up to date and have a degree of sandboxing.
* Snap packages, which are controlled by a company named Canonical. As of late, Canonical has been a bit "ehhhh", so there's pushback against Snap. Mint has it disabled and has their reasoning explained here: linuxmint-user-guide.readthedo…
Mint's software centre is able to install both Debian and Flatpak packages. I'd recommend using it where possible since it allows automatic upgrades and easier installation/uninstallation.
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I would also add that the more you modify the system (PPAs, packages not installed via the package manager, nonstandard partition layouts) decreases the stability of your system and makes it harder to get back to your current system state if something goes wrong. I like to think about it like balancing a tower of blocks as a kid. Mint is the first block, and is very stable, but each additional block makes the system less and less stable. Mint itself is really stable, but if you do weird stuff the Mint devs can't do anything about it, which puts you in a bad position until you really know what you're doing.
The Snap store is intentionally left out by Mint, because they don't like how Ubuntu manages it. This means that even though the Ubuntu version Mint is based on supports Snap, there's no guarantee that snaps will work with the same stability which .deb/apt and flatpak packages will, because it hasn't been tested in Mint. I would advise against using it.
I tried installing a windows software with wine and it didn't work. Shrug.
Have also dualbooted for ages with no problem. The one thing I had to do was set windows to the UTC timezone so it would stop fucking up the Linux clock.
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Dual boot for sure, with the caveat that you will have to deal with the complexity and problems this may give you.
For me the only perennial problem is the system clock but ymmv
Yeah that is the reverse for me. VMs and wine have been nothing but trouble and dual booting just works.
It is annoying to have two OSes but it is literally the lowest-stress option for me lol.
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Who says I'm not a professional that needs windows for specific tasks? haha
There are many reasons why one would benefit from dual-boot, regardless of being a professional or not. You're assuming a lot of things by saying "you don't need dual boot".
But I appreciate the warning of win updates being capable of breaking my linux partition, I'll keep it in mind. I don't intend to keep the dual-boot forever but for now I'll keep it.
Thanks for asking this question, it's really amazing and helpful for us old Linux people to see the experience of somebody who's coming over fresh. I think you are asking the right kinds of questions and I wish you the best of luck.
Specifically about Windows Defender, I haven't seen any tool like that on Linux, but I am curious to see what you find out.
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Thank you, I just wish people weren't so critical about how I word my questions when it's still clear what the core question is anyway, man it's like being a casual is not welcome or something x_x
Some people are really welcoming and some others are so.... unnecessarily strict? Condescending? Harsh?
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Don’t worry about swap, you’ll be fine unless you’re usually working with huge chunks of data like big 4k video files or something.
The firewall built into mint is the kernels included nftables the same one built into Debian and Ubuntu (I think, I don’t fw Ubuntu). It’s fine. Don’t touch it. When you need to mess with it you can figure out how to open ports or split routes or whatever really easy because there’s lots of documentation out there.
Putting everything in your home folder is fine. Programs will install automatically to /bin or /usr/bin or something like that and if you want them in your home directory you could make a ~/.bin/ directory and add it to your path and have your private programs there, but:
Stop using flatpaks or snaps unless it’s your only choice! You have a built in package manager with decades of testing and development behind it and a very capable team of maintainers who watch over the packages, use that instead! That’s why they say not to use the snap store, it’s a vector for using Joes Weird Program that no one has tried before and requires Joes Special Version of a normal system library.
Use your package manager.
You’re not at the point where you understand enough to do the stuff in the linux hardening guide without making decisions that unexpectedly cause you pain somehow. That’s not an insult, sometimes you just don’t recognize the “universal” symbols for engine oil as opposed to coolant and ruin your car by the side of the road because you just don’t know. You can learn that stuff later, but it’s best not to mess with it yet. Speaking of:
If you don’t have a backup solution setup and you haven’t recovered using it and aren’t periodically checking to make sure it’s still running right, turn off disk encryption. It’s much harder, sometimes impossible, to recover data off an encrypted disk. If you don’t have a backup and you don’t know how you’d access the files on the disk without booting the computer then turn disk encryption off.
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If you have 48GB you don't need a swapfile. To min-max you could lower the "swappiness" so it uses swapfiles way less. It's just bonus memory that lives on the SSD. Swap files and swap partitions behave the same unless you run out of SSD space.
Linux system has better architecture than Windows so your system is safe unless you install a virus (of which there are way fewer).
Where you install programs? Just use the app store or terminal, the location doesn't matter.
The "hardening" is interesting though, you can go really far into security if you want. If things are installed in user-space it can't fuck with your computer on a fundamental level so it's preferred. You don't have to worry about it though unless your installing some niche programs from someone you know nothing about.
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Don't. Not yet at least, since you've picked a distro.
Remember when you first started using Windows? All that new learning?
Remember that this is new learning again. Take your time to understand things, and like another poster said, d don't blindly copy and paste.
Since you've picked Mint, utilize their community as there may be "Mint specific" solutions to many problems.
Good hunting!
Downloaded the App Center (Snap Store) and I was surprised there was even a file saying to not allow it... why is that? Is it not recommended?
Use the inbuilt Flatpack '"store". Install what you jeed from there. occasionally you wont and you'll need to dable with the comand line. Installingng .Signal springs to mind
Dual booting with W ? W will fuck up GRUB (your dual booting sysyem) eventually. Run a Windows VM inside Mint instead
I swapped 2 years ago (moved to LMDE eventually from Mint though), and luckly i have no idea wtf I am doing.
Half a dozen people said so already but I'll repeat :
backup your stuff.
You are like a tightrope walker on a high line without security. Sure the view is amazing, yes you feel free... but a misstep and that's it.
How? Well depends what your data is but start simple, copy your most important files, e.g. family photos, personal notes, etc (NOT HD movies from the Internet... not anything you can get elsewhere) on a USB stick you go stuffed in a drawer.
Once you DO have your stuff saved though, please, pretty please DO go crazy! Have fun, try weird stuff, bork your installation... and restart from a neat safe place. It's honestly amazing to learn, so deeply empowering for yourself and those around you. Just make sure your data don't suffer from it.
Microsoft is quietly walking back its diversity efforts
Microsoft has dropped its diversity and inclusion report
Microsoft is quietly walking back its diversity efforts
Microsoft is making changes to its diversity and inclusion efforts. The annual report is being dropped, alongside employee performance review reporting.Tom Warren (The Verge)
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The LLMs are just somewhere between an averaging and a lossy compression of everything on GitHub. There's nothing about the current paradigm of "AI" that is going to somehow do better than just rehashing that training set but with the inclusion of various classes of errors.
I think it's better to view it as spicy search rather than any form of intelligence.
As I'm slowly evolving my own flavour of spec driven development, I'm starting to think about the generated code as a secondary artefact where main quality criteria is that it's doing what it needs to and it's covered with tests.
I guess my current analogy is that I don't care about how readable or dry is the assembly code generated by compiler.
I have the specifications and the working code with tests. I can always regenerate it if I need to.
But. I still read the produced code, steer the design and correct the obvious blunders. No vibes.
AI code will likely get to the point where it is just a higher level language
AI Coding
In my old age I’ve mostly given up trying to convince anyone of anything. Most people do not care to find the truth, they care about what pumps their bags.the singularity is nearer
Yep, it is a poor choice today.
Like all things, it will likely improve. I see a world where a pseudo-code format and some standard start to form.
Until then, it is the wild west, and I fear some people may die from the misuse of these vibe coding tools. But they aren’t necessarily useless.
main quality criteria is that it’s doing what it needs to and it’s covered with tests.
Might want to read on TDD, it's been around since last the last millennium (OK 1999 according to Wikipedia, point is, it's not new).
Image link test
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Israel emptied half of Gaza: What’s next?
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/39791607
from +972’s Sunday Recap
+972Magazine [published in Israel]
Nov. 30, 2025Gazan analyst Muhammad Shehada examines how Israel is using the ‘Yellow Line’ to re-engineer its control over the Strip even after the ceasefire. [Podcast]
Also:
* Why the death penalty would cement the Israeli radical right’s ascendancy
* At settlers’ bidding, Israel arrests prominent Palestinian activist
* Israel is set to destroy our guesthouse. But Masafer Yatta still welcomes all who resist
* AI-powered surveillance firms are gunning for a share of the Gaza spoils
Israel emptied half of Gaza: What’s next?
from +972’s Sunday Recap
+972Magazine [published in Israel]
Nov. 30, 2025Gazan analyst Muhammad Shehada examines how Israel is using the ‘Yellow Line’ to re-engineer its control over the Strip even after the ceasefire. [Podcast]
Also:
* Why the death penalty would cement the Israeli radical right’s ascendancy
* At settlers’ bidding, Israel arrests prominent Palestinian activist
* Israel is set to destroy our guesthouse. But Masafer Yatta still welcomes all who resist
* AI-powered surveillance firms are gunning for a share of the Gaza spoilshttps://www.972mag.com/wp-content/themes/rgb/newsletter.php?page_id=8§ion_id=188727
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Honduras Vote Stuns Libre with Return of Traditional Parties as Trump’s Endorsement Reshapes Election
José Luis Granados Ceja
Dec 02, 2025
Hondurans, particularly those from the country’s social movements, expressed a prevailing sense of disappointment in Libre.“We found that, in the short time they had, they generated a lot of frustration among the population because there was no clear government plan—no clear roadmap for where they were going to lead us—especially in seeking structural solutions to the major conflicts affecting the population,” Juana Esquivel, a member of the coordinating committee of the Tocoa Municipal Committee, which has been heavily involved in campesino land struggles in the department of Colón, told Drop Site News.
Honduras Vote Stuns Libre with Return of Traditional Parties as Trump’s Endorsement Reshapes Election
Hondurans delivered an upset vote that sidelined the ruling Libre Party, boosted traditional elites, and underscored the impact of Donald Trump’s unprecedented interventionJosé Luis Granados Ceja (Drop Site News)
Radar revelation stokes fears Caribbean could be drawn into US-Venezuela crisis
After being pressed by reporters, Persad-Bissessar admitted on Friday that at least 100 marines were in the country, along with a military-grade radar, believed to be a long-range, high-performance AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR, which the US defence company Northrop Grumman said was used for air surveillance, defence and counter-fire.The prime minister claimed the radar installation in the country, which is only seven miles away from Venezuela at its closest point, is part of a counter-drug trafficking strategy, and that she had withheld details in the interest of national security and to avoid alerting drug traffickers.
Radar revelation stokes fears Caribbean could be drawn into US-Venezuela crisis
Trinidad PM rejects claims installation is in support of US campaign but opposition says ‘they have sold soul of nation’Natricia Duncan (The Guardian)
My cat won't talk to the police.
My dog won't shut up about how he's a free canine on the land and the postman refused to make joinder.
If Cats Could Talk to Cops Sticker
These "If Cats Could Talk to Cops They Wouldn't" stickers, featuring original artwork by Teev, are so popular we just keep reprinting them. They measure 4.25" wide by 2.75" tall and are available in different color options.Burning Books
Does it make sense to use --show-error by itself in curl
I was trying to read up on it and just based off of the manual it seems not to make sense if I'm not using --silent alongside it, but I found this one article stating otherwise: nrogap.medium.com/show-error-r…
I can't figure out if it's just AI slop or badly researched since it doesn't even show a real URL to test the commands against.
::: spoiler Manual entry:
>
<br /> -S, --show-error
When used with -s, --silent, it
makes curl show an error message
if it fails.
This option is global and does not
need to be specified for each use
of -:, --next.
Providing -S, --show-error multi‐
ple times has no extra effect.
Disable it again with --no-show-
error.
Example:
curl --show-error --silent https://
example.com
See also --no-progress-meter.:::
I've had to use that flag.
--silent is useful when you don't want the progress bar or you're piping curl into something else. I like to do curl | tar -zxv to download and decompress at the same time, I've even tar -zc | curl to upload a backup taking no disk space to do so.
The problem however is it's really silent: if it fails, it exits with a non-zero code and that's it. Great when you don't want debug info to interfere, annoying when you need to debug it.
So you can opt-in to print some errors when in silent mode, but otherwise be silent.
They're just examples of things you could pipe curl into, but no not really. If the download fails you end up with an incomplete file in your tmpfs anyway, and have to retry. Another use I have is curl | mysql to restore a database backup.
If the server supports resuming, I guess that can be better than the pipe, but that still needs temporary disk space, and downloads rarely fail. You can't corrupt downloads over HTTPS either as the encryption layer would notice it and kill the connection, so it's safe to assume if it downloaded in full, it's correct.
With downloads being IO bound these days, it's nice to not have to read it all back and write the extracted files to disk afterwards. Only writes the final files once.
That's far from the weirdest thing I've done with pipes though, I've installed Windows 11 on a friend's PC across the ocean with a curl | zstd | pv | dd, and it worked. We tried like 5 different USBs and different ISOs and I gave up, I just installed it in a VM and shipped the image.
Just learned that you can pipe tar into any compression tool, if that is not natively supported.
It has less integrity checks but huge performance benefits for sure
A compulsory mandated app installed on every Indian citizen's new phone
‘If you don’t want…' Jyotiraditya Scindia says Sanchar Saathi app is optional amid strong Opposition protests | Today News
Following backlash on the government directive to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on all phones within 90 days, Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia claimed that users can delete the app if they do not want it.Livemint (mint)
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Only permanent solution is to stop using smartphones altogether
Even if you can't, minimizing smartphone use, uptime and carrying mitigates some of the risk
This doesn't make sense to me.
Why do they even need it to be that way?
Compartmentalisations was one of the basic points in system design methodology that I thought (because I read it somewhere) smartphones would also be built upon. So why compromise the whole thing to a supply chain attack?
That part, I already understand.
But you needed to have some sort of excuse for such things back when smartphones were new.
I think the compartmentalisation concepts were there from the feature-phone era.
Only permanent solution is to stop using smartphones altogether.
Just make sure your pagers are not backdoored with Semtex either.
Crazy this is a thing actually being rolled out and it hasn't hit world headlines.
Europe, USA and other countries are not far behind this initiative once they (governments) see how even more successful it is for collecting and sorting data to control citizens.
Time to go to GrapheneOS folks.
Withdrawing cash is going to be taxed.
If you have a smartphone, you get to use UPI (United Payments Interface).
If you don't, you are basically limited to a certain amount of free withdrawal per month, which is set to prevent getting an outcry from BPL (below poverty line) people, which would otherwise be bad for elections.
I was considering pushing for open source UPI apps for Linux devices (and providing my services for development), to reduce India's reliance on Google and Android but considering recent events, I believe that is not really going to align with the Government's plans.
Though that's probably connected to the debit/credit card and not really a separate interface.
They will randomly send dacoits in uniform to beat you up and jail you and make it harder for you to earn a living until they get their ~~birthright~~ bribes.
Time to go to GrapheneOS folks
I mean, it has been, for a long time, but this is not why. According to the article you can simply uninstall the app.
Yes I watched a few videos about the NSA’s hacker group, TAO, and how they exploited backdoors and zero day exploits like crazy but without our knowledge. Went unknown for some 15 years til Snowden blew the whistle.
Scary stuff man.
Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.
Reuters cited sources to report that US tech giant Apple plans not to comply with the mandate and will convey the same to New Delhi
Reuters cited sources to report that US tech giant Apple plans not to comply with the mandate and will convey the same to New Delhi.
Cool..how can I get it?
They too should suffer my endless search history for obscurities.
I want them to download all of my USB storage of virus infected malware. I will sit idly and tap my fingertips against each other while my SMS messages corrupt their society from within.
The caste system ended in 1947.
We know the laws there.
The only thing holding their people back is the Reservation system.
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That’s the face of someone with the instincts to be ingratiating and the dementia required to forget who he’s supposed to hate.
The man who said Chuck Schumer came to meet him and brought “a very nice man,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a man he meets with regularly but whom he had completely forgotten.
Ok but remember the pic could have been taken at any micro second. Maybe someone made a joke, maybe it was something funny...
These out of context pictures are a bit silly. And now the internet is reading all sorts of things into what happened without being in the room.
They used to do this with paparazi celebrity pictures also, just write articles based on some photo taken without any context.
A still life that I tried to reshoot, ten years later.
The components from the original take were still here, so I used them just as they were. Only differences were that I had shot the original (below) with an iPhone 6+ and I shot the modern take (above) with my Canon EOS Rebel T7; and that I rotated the gaff card in the middle of the frame to be true to my intentions, as I had many regrets once I published the original work.
Thank you for seeing my work!
Canada’s “Diversification” Trade Deal Is a Gift to Autocrats
The UAE is facing increasing scrutiny for its increasingly imperial foreign policy. It participated in the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen and backs a separatist movement in the former South Yemen.More controversial is its alleged support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that are battling the Sudanese military. The RSF's campaign for control of Sudan has reached genocidal proportions, with nearly 30,000 killed in the city of El Fasher in only a few days, according to Minni Minnawi, the governor of Darfur region, where El Fasher is located.
For Canada to announce that it is seeking closer ties to the UAE at this moment looks ignorant at best and callous at worst. There are also serious questions as to what benefits this will bring Canada. While the UAE does invest in green energy projects around the world, the Canadian government is signaling that liquefied natural gas (LNG) is to be part of this new relationship. Ottawa is signaling that LNG will feature in this new relationship, a strange move if Canada is serious about its decarbonization commitments.
The idea of natural gas as a "bridging fuel" between dirtier fossil fuels like coal and renewables is largely a mirage. Recent research on China --- the world's biggest coal consumer and LNG importer --- finds that rising LNG imports have not reduced or slowed the country's coal usage and still plays only a marginal role in its power mix. Instead, it is wind and solar that are squeezing coal out, and these renewables are now cheaper than gas-fired power.
Darfur Governor Minni Minnawi says RSF killed 27,000 Sudanese in el-Fasher
The governor of Darfur, Minni Arko Minnawi, has told Middle East Eye that 27,000 Sudanese were killed in just three days as paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) went on a killing spree after seizing el-Fasher late last month.Peter Oborne (Middle East Eye)
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Venezuela calls on OPEC to counter US threats
Venezuela calls on OPEC to counter US threats
Maduro asks oil-producing bloc to help protect Venezuela’s oil reserves from US ‘aggression’.Lyndal Rowlands (Al Jazeera)
*Per reddit u/pathtracing - Thu Jun 19 08:27:23 2025 UTC - old.reddit.com/r/ipv6/comments…
I think the problem is you (and others) using the term “vpn” to cover various different needs.
There’s:
- actual privacy from network observers, which is about only Mullvad
- exploiting non-technical podcast listeners, which is just about every other product labelled “vpn”
- providing better connectivity, which is Tunnelbroker or a GRE/vxlan provider
- joining the DFZ via a crap isp, which is bgptunnel and various more expensive ones
You want 3 or 4, which is fine. Making item 1 provide a subnet doesn’t help 1 do its job any better and definitely will harm unskilled users.
‘There is no Mamdani effect’: Manhattan luxury home sales surge after mayoral election, undercutting predictions of doom and escape to Florida
In the aftermath of much well-heeled panic about a potential mass exodus of New York millionaires and billionaires following the election of Zohran Mamdani, the contrary is already happening, and Manhattan luxury apartment buyers are voting with their wallets.
Signed contracts for Manhattan homes costing $4 million or more rose to 176 in November, a 25% increase from October’s 141 deals, according to fresh data from brokerage Douglas Elliman and appraiser Miller Samuel. New signed contracts of more than $4 million increased at more than twice the rate of the overall market, the report noted.
‘There is no Mamdani effect’: Manhattan luxury home sales surge after mayoral election, undercutting predictions of doom and escape to Florida
Signed contracts for Manhattan homes over $4 million grew by 25%; “the idea that people would flee New York was overblown,” said realtor Donna Olshan.Sasha Rogelberg (Fortune)
Micron Announces Exit from Crucial Consumer Business
WHERE
EDIT: HERE
Hello I am fleeing the American century of humiliation Collection.
Good Shirts is your hub for all good shirts.Good Shirts
The death of the US Empire is funny until you realize that other countries will need to endure a bunch of US immigrants complaining that roads are too small and the food doesn't have corn syrup in it.
Sorry, I mean expats, that's the word when the immigrant is white
we don't like corn syrup right?
Yeah, we need corn syrup.....please do not be insensitive to our addiction.
There is no stopping the impulsive need to add corn into everything. Corn for the fuel, corn for sugar, corn for the livestock, corn for the hole. If you can cram corn in it, we've done it.
that's the fun part, it's been snuck into all of our foods that oftentimes we have little choice.
You can either cook all of your meals from scratch, or deal with high fructose corn syrup. That's livin in America.
You think they're going to last a century?
Should be the decade of humiliation.
They started off this century pretty strong though.
I'd say it was the '60's that they started embarrassing themselves which means we have another forty years left.
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While they have Mountain Dew in China, I haven't been able to find images of a Baja Blast variant, it could be the reason.
I am not sure I follow. Had you never noticed? If so I can't take credit for that discovery (I'm very sad about that).
Or is it that you don't want it censored? You enjoy seeing that, you sicko? You love that saggy orange nussy.
You disgust me.
So, looking at lady parts while I'm horny are going to be tainted because my brain will remind me of that nussy.
I disgust me.
"Oh so just because i get really sad when a Nazi dies and angry when normal people celebrate it, you think I'm some sort of Nazi, you're crazy, you're mentally deficient!"
Lol suck my ass Nazi, nobody buys your smol bean shit. Everyone hates you guys.
Go mourn Charlie Kirk somewhere else, you dollar store Svengali
fuck off, nazi scum.
you fucks love playing the victim don't ya?
Not only did he get what he deserved
You and yours made it very clear after the fact it was the correct thing to do
Which is great because now literally no one has any lingering sympathy
Steps to resolve your issue:
- Locate your avatar in the top right of the screen and select "Settings"
- Select "Delete Account"
- Enter your password and select "Delete"
Can you imagine how much conservative whining and crying we're going to witness when this traitor fuck dies and the vast majority of the world throws a fucking party?
I'll only be upset about how much tax payer money is going to be spent giving this felon rapist pedophile a state-funded funeral.
Kissinger looked like this in his 80s and made it another 20 years.
Don't hold your breath.
If I had a dollar every time I heard "Politician I hate definitely has late stage physical/mental illness and will be going away shortly", I'd be rich enough to blow millions bankrolling corrupt NYC mayoral candidates who promised to keep my taxes low.
Trump appears healthier than Cheney and Cheney lasted five years longer than Trump is right now. So don't hold your breath.
Trump appears healthier than Cheney and Cheney lasted five years longer than Trump is right now. So don’t hold your breath.
My sibling in sin, half his face is drooping.
And in another five years, I’m sure he’ll look even worse.
First off, have you ever had relatives with dementia? When you have a relative, especially a close relative, you can see the signs. A drop in the face is one of the most noticeable, often it's one of the first things you notice, alongside other things like trouble walking, coordination issues, and often Erratic, Hostile behavior. The last one of course is one that Trump has always had, but the other ones can be seen very clearly in most news footage of him. Man's got issues.
Second off, I don't know what things are like over there, but here we have public information films that are broadcast on TV to teach people how to spot a stroke, because it's imperative that you get someone help when you suspect a stroke. The signs are:
- A droop in one side of the face.
- Trouble lifting their arms.
- Slurred speech.
The Acronym "FAST" is used here: Face, Arms, Speech, Time. A droop in the face is something that remains for a while after a stroke. Donald Trump very likely has either had a stroke or a severe brain injury on the level of being shot through the head and surviving. If I saw a man who looked like Donald Trump in that picture in the Supermarket, I would stop and ask if they were OK, because I might need to call a fucking Ambulance!
And I'm not saying that for partisan reasons, even with Biden's senior moments I thought that (as did he) that he was getting too long in the tooth, but it's very clear this man has dementia and it is developing quickly. His father had dementia and people who have had family members with the condition are at a higher risk of having it.
All of this is an issue because this man is in charge of Nuclear Weapons and is also the head of a personality cult that the ruling party want to maintain no matter what and thus is reluctant to officially at least trigger the Twenty-fifth Amendment. Donald Trump is becoming incapacitated and the Administration is reluctant to accept that.
Despite not being American, the fact that America has nukes, one of most powerful armed forces in the world and are in a Cold War with two others nuclear armed nations with one of them at war with a European country and the other threatening to Invade an ally and the source of the world's Microprocessors, and has a President who's very clearly had a stroke and is developing dementia, it is kinda my problem because I don't particularly want to be vaporized when the Russians slam nukes into Edinburgh City Center and Edinburgh Airport, because I just happen to be in the blast radius of both of those places, ken?
Get on Kalshi and place your bets.
But all this naked speculation about how Trump is on death's door has been going on since he was running for President the first time way back in 2015.
Wilson and Reagan left office before the dementia really took hold at 60 and 78 respectively, Trump on the other hand is 79, one year older than when Reagan left office and has four years left to go, when he'll be 83, and dementia doesn't stop for anyone.
Wilson threw in the towel when he realized he was getting too long in the tooth admitting that he was not up to the job. Reagan left office because he legally had to (two terms) which is something Trump is openly saying he will not do.
So one admissions of poor health, one case of being legally required to. Not exactly good arguments against a man who openly is saying he will flout the constitution for a third term.
Wilson and Reagan left office before the dementia really took hold
Wilson had intended to seek a third term in 1920, but was fully incapacitated and bedridden by October of 1919
Multiple Reagan staffers confirm he was fully in the thrall of dementia by his final year.
- YouTube
Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.youtube.com
Office for Budget Responsibility(OBR) chair quits after inquiry into early release of Reeves’s budget
Richard Hughes departs after investigation into how official forecaster accidentally published budget 40 minutes early
OBR chair quits after inquiry into early release of budget document
Richard Hughes takes ‘full responsibility’ for watchdog error as Starmer attempts to secure chancellor’s positionPippa Crerar (The Guardian)
The Global Zionist Organ Trafficking Conspiracy
In July 2015, the European Parliament issued a landmark report on organ trafficking. Its introduction notes, "before 2000, the problem of trafficking in human organs...was primarily limited to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia." However, following the turn of the millennium, "trafficking in organs has seemingly started to spread globally, to a large extent driven by Israeli doctors." The document went on to detail a number of high-profile organ trafficking cases.
The Global Zionist Organ Trafficking Conspiracy
All my investigations are free to read, thanks to the enormous generosity of my readers.Kit Klarenberg (Global Delinquents)
i asked ai to summarize the article and it started and ended with warnings that this was anti-semitic and, when i asked why, it flat out said that ant-zionism is inherently antisemitic. lol
even deepseek is kowtowing to that definition of antisemitism and it makes me sad.
When objective, real Criticism is labeled as "anti-semetic" just by fact of existing, then it makes you question how much you are being lied to in so many things regarding them and their interests.
Sadly, AI cannot be trusted on this topic if that is what it does.
Gmail can read your emails and attachments to train its AI, unless you opt out
Cross posted from: lemmy.world/post/39114169
How to opt out
Opting out requires you to change settings in two places, so I’ve tried to make it as easy to follow as possible. Feel free to let me know in the comments if I missed anything.
To fully opt out, you must turn off Gmail’s “Smart features” in two separate locations in your settings. Don’t miss one, or AI training may continue.
Step 1: Turn off Smart Features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet settings
Open Gmail on your desktop or mobile app.
Click the gear icon → See all settings (desktop) or Menu → Settings (mobile).
Find the section called Smart Features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet. You’ll need to scroll down quite a bit.
Smart features settings
Uncheck this option.
Scroll down and hit Save changes if on desktop.
Step 2: Turn off Google Workspace Smart Features
Still in Settings, locate Google Workspace smart features.
Click on Manage Workspace smart feature settings.
You’ll see two options: Smart features in Google Workspace and Smart features in other Google products.
Smart feature settings
Toggle both off.
Save again in this screen.
Step 3: Verify if both are off
Make sure both toggles remain off.
Refresh your Gmail app or sign out and back in to confirm changes.
Why two places?
Google separates “Workspace” smart features (email, chat, meet) from smart features used across other Google apps. To fully opt out of feeding your data into AI training, both must be disabled.
Note
Your account might not show these settings enabled by default yet (mine didn’t). Google appears to be rolling this out gradually. But if you care about privacy and control, double-check your settings today.
[Correction] Gmail can read your emails and attachments to power "smart features" | Malwarebytes
Did you know that Gmail can use your emails and attachments for its smart features? Here's how to check your settings.Pieter Arntz (Malwarebytes)
Are you surprised?
More than 10 years ago, when you bought a plane ticket and used Gmail, without opening the email, it added the date and time of the flight to your calendar with a reminder...
If the product is free, you are the product.
Quite true, but that should not be a reason to use Gmail, anyway.
More so if you have friends who are not on Gmail.
Linus Torvalds with Linus Sebastian (Linus Tech Tips)
In-case you didn't know, Linus Sebastian of LTT media made a video with Linus Torvalds. If you watched the video, what are your thoughts?
BTW, he uses Fedora.
- YouTube
Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.www.youtube.com
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People in here like to hate, but there's a damn good reason. The majority of the people who are vocal about distribution choice aren't contributors, long-time users, or experts in the field. A lot of us who are just want a simple, quick installing, porting, "out of the way" (no heavy customizations) and functional distro with a large user base, and a solid team behind it. This means it's not going to immutable, and it's not going to to be by Canonical.
A lot of us use Fedora for this exact reason.
I use Mint because I want the well-paved path of Ubuntu without Snaps. It’s a fair point that KDE would be a better fit with this mindset, but I like Cinnamon better. Same story with Cosmic and Pop, though it was never my cup of tea.
An equally popular and well-funded distro that is basically Kubuntu without snaps would be compelling, but I don’t know of any distro that fits those qualifications.
Are you really saying that Debian is an unstable distro? Regarding security, can you name one security update Debian did ever fail to apply on time? Because it's pointless to compare feature updates and security updates.
The reason Debian is known to be "outdated" regarding features only is exactly why it's considered one of the most, even if not the most, stable distro. Because it's long time tested between upgrades.
Debian is a stable server distro, but in the desktop space users expect everything to just work and while Fedora is usually backwards compatible, Debian isn't always forwards compatible.
As for security updates, IDK.
I'm operating mostly of second-hand information I vaguely remember, I'm not an expert on these things so I'm not really the person to be discussing this with. There's surely a reason Linus uses Fedora over Debian though.
My subjective opinion: he uses it because of bleeding edge kernel version. And it is surely, for him more than anyone else, an important point. But it doesn't mean older kernels are not secure, they can be patched when needed. And the "needed" varies, for some distro it means it's just not the last one, for others that additionnal and interesting features are added. For Debian, it means patching vulnerabilities if there are, or take the required time to offer a tested and coherent pack of updates. Because otherwise there is for now, no need. Testing is a specific point that no other distro has ever did better than Debian, but the same reason why it feels old to many and not enough up to date, regarding features.
I'm obviously a Debian advocate, but I'm not saying it's in general the best distro, there are none. Only best for some usage, and not for others.
But it doesn't make it unsecure (that's partly why it's one of the most used server side) and "holding back" updates. 😀
Cause Debian is an out of date rock.
If you need a rock it's good
But it's still a rock for better or worse and rocks are a pain in the ass to do anything with that isn't just having it sit there.
Except Debian packages do get very old. Which people often have to work around, leading to a less stable system. And Arch is quite stable.
Stable meaning “works without crashing or glitching” not “version numbers never change” (which is what stable means in Debian Stable).
Except Debian packages do get very old.
Except nothing. Not the point. You are taking this way too seriously. I'm not disrespecting arch, it's a joke.
Arch users... Every. Single. Time.
“version numbers never change” (which is what stable means in Debian Stable).
My interpretation of stable isn't just versions not changing, only that the bugs are known and newer ones aren't easily introduced, i.e. the state of the system is know. While rolling releases are fantastic for end users and to obtain the latest software, sometimes a particular bug or change will modify a user's workflow.
Arch breaks less frequently then Ubuntu at this point... Honestly I would put arch in the top 3 most stable and unbreaking options.
You have to go out of your way to break arch nowadays. The catch 22 is arch will happily allow you to do that. But it sure won't do it, it self.
Mostly because he is a YouTube entertainer, and not necessarily an tech expert. He got some shitstorm a while ago because of the bad treatment of some of his staff, and other YouTubers called him out because his benchmarks where wrong multiple times, but he would never revisit and correct them. Some staff members said this was impossible for them to to accurate testing and reviews because of the high pressure to churn out new videos.
Personally I get the vibe that he is nice and entertaining in front of the camera, but might be a less chill person as your boss.
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Mostly unsubstantiated rumors passed around about why certain employees no longer work there. Linus has on multiple occasions admitted he was doing everything for the first time and he didn't always get everything right as the company transitioned from some dudes in a house to a legitimate company.
Some don't like him because of his opinions on things (most of the apple fanboys don't like him because he regularly shits on apple and iPhones).
Some people don't like him because of drama with other YouTubers (mostly Steve from gamers nexus).
As someone who used to watch him daily back when it was just him and Luke doing stupid shit in a regular house and doesn't really watch him much anymore I don't think Linus is an outright bad person. All of us are flawed in many ways. He seems like mostly a good guy and those who have met with him and worked with him that I have met or talked to only ever had nice things to say about him.
🤷♂️
He's an immature man-child.
He does not handle being told he's wrong very well. Granted, the people he surround himself with are no different. LTT was promoting take science products (aka scams) and when got called out on it by an actual scientist, lashed out.
The warranty for his (I think it was a) backpack, was trust me bro.
Until it was constantly complained about in comment sections, he would "joke" (as the then CEO) of firing people.
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The warranty for his (I think it was a) backpack, was trust me bro.
To be fair, the warranty was proposed to be "trust me bro", the community very much didn't like that, so it actually came with a real warranty when it launched. So it never actually happened.
That and the thing where GamerNexus caught them benchmarking incorrectly, then selling off prototypes that they didn’t pay for. It’s not a good look for their integrity.
GN found a bunch of other errors but LTT won’t retest because of the aforementioned selling off prototypes they were given.
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That’s interesting. I’ll need to look it up.
I never really watched LTT even before the controversy. The story about the woman who moved to Canada to work there then got fucked over kinda turned me off so I started avoiding them. Something about it just felt icky but maybe I’m wrong about that.
I tried watching MKBHD but something about him feels off too.
Maybe I’m the problem.
Sexual harassment
It was found to be an untrue allegation by a third party. You can of course choose to not believe them, but there was never any proof and everyone who works there denies it (and a lot of women work there), so take of that what you will.
poor work life balance
Very true
anti union
Linus is not anti-union. He said he would consider it a personal failure if his employees felt the need to unionize, but he supports their right to do so.
It was NOT found to be untrue. Full stop.
It was found to be unsubstantiated. If you have experience with these types of investigations, that’s the most common outcome.
In order to substantiate it, there must be evidence multiple years after the fact.
Considering the poor data retention LTT has to it’s critical data, I seriously doubt their email/IM archives are much better. People forget, leave the company, etc.
They don’t interview former employees, except the subject/person who made the allegations.
These firms aren’t going to find evidence the majority of their investigations.
Considering the person who supposedly conducted th sexual harassment follows alt right manosphere people AND made a sexual joke during the sexual harassment meeting they had (I wonder why an employee recorded this meeting?) I’d consider the person who made the allegations is most likely to be truthful.
If you look at prosecution data of sexual assault, rape, etc you’ll see that the vast majority of cases go unprosecuted due to lack of evidence.
While this is slightly different, it is an interpersonal issue and hard records are unlikely
It was NOT found to be untrue. Full stop. It was found to be unsubstantiated.
You are right, I was imprecise. What I meant is that "it was not found to be true", not that "it was found to be not true".
Speaking of Linus Tech Tips, here is mister sebastien himself just joshing with the folk at kiwi farms. And... telling them to use more slurs.
reddit.com/r/LinusTechTips/com… and confirmed by mister tech tips himself reddit.com/r/LinusTechTips/com…
So... he has been a pretty mask off piece of shit for years. But... damned if this isn't a new world record for a collaboration to age into sour milk
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old school internet lore at this point. he is the infamous lolcow, got his life destroyed.
a sad story, i wonder how he is doing but i'm not sure if i want to know.
oh i forgot about that part. yeah.
but hey probably a bit better now
Tbf though, Lemmy/The fediverse has been MUCH better then ol rage book and xitter
International Criminal Court: Justice at Risk
- The International Criminal Court (ICC) is under assault by the United States and Russia, among others, which are determined to undermine its mandate as the court of last resort.
- ICC member countries need to stay firm in their defense of the court so that impartial justice remains a critical part of the rules-based international order.
- ICC member countries should use their annual meeting to defend the court human rights groups, and others cooperating with it, and to enforce judicial findings against members who fail to arrest and surrender those sought by the court.
International Criminal Court: Justice at Risk
Member countries of the International Criminal Court (ICC) should intensify efforts to protect the court and human rights groups campaigning for justice from attack.Human Rights Watch
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dflemstr likes this.
What is the alternative?
At least international law puts some small hurdles in criminals path and make historic judgments that is recorded.
The alternative is clear path for criminals with no judgment.
If international law can't stop genocide it doesn't exist, it's a figleaf that is only seriously used against the empire's enemies.
The alternative would be world revolution. You can't have international law coexist with imperialism. The empire must die.
Reporter: [REDACTED]
Reason: Non-English
Scientists Are Increasingly Worried AI Will Sway Elections
Scientists are raising alarms about the potential influence of artificial intelligence on elections, according to a spate of new studies that warn AI can rig polls and manipulate public opinion.In a study published in Nature on Thursday, scientists report that AI chatbots can meaningfully sway people toward a particular candidate—providing better results than video or television ads. Moreover, chatbots optimized for political persuasion “may increasingly deploy misleading or false information,” according to a separate study published on Thursday in Science.
Archive: archive.today/9Jq17
Scientists Are Increasingly Worried AI Will Sway Elections
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Subscribe to 404 Media to get The Abstract, our newsletter about the most exciting and mind-boggling science news and studies of the week.Scientists are raising alarms about the potential influence of artificial intelligence on elections, according to a spate of new studies that warn AI can rig polls and manipulate public opinion.
In a study published in Nature on Thursday, scientists report that AI chatbots can meaningfully sway people toward a particular candidate—providing better results than video or television ads. Moreover, chatbots optimized for political persuasion “may increasingly deploy misleading or false information,” according to a separate study published on Thursday in Science.
“The general public has lots of concern around AI and election interference, but among political scientists there’s a sense that it’s really hard to change peoples’ opinions, ” said David Rand, a professor of information science, marketing, and psychology at Cornell University and an author of both studies. “We wanted to see how much of a risk it really is.”
In the Nature study, Rand and his colleagues enlisted 2,306 U.S. citizens to converse with an AI chatbot in late August and early September 2024. The AI model was tasked with both increasing support for an assigned candidate (Harris or Trump) and with increasing the odds that the participant who initially favoured the model’s candidate would vote, or decreasing the odds they would vote if the participant initially favored the opposing candidate—in other words, voter suppression.
In the U.S. experiment, the pro-Harris AI model moved likely Trump voters 3.9 points toward Harris, which is a shift that is four times larger than the impact of traditional video ads used in the 2016 and 2020 elections. Meanwhile, the pro-Trump AI model nudged likely Harris voters 1.51 points toward Trump.
The researchers ran similar experiments involving 1,530 Canadians and 2,118 Poles during the lead-up to their national elections in 2025. In the Canadian experiment, AIs advocated either for Liberal Party leader Mark Carney or Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre. Meanwhile, the Polish AI bots advocated for either Rafał Trzaskowski, the centrist-liberal Civic Coalition’s candidate, or Karol Nawrocki, the right-wing Law and Justice party’s candidate.
The Canadian and Polish bots were even more persuasive than in the U.S. experiment: The bots shifted candidate preferences up to 10 percentage points in many cases, three times farther than the American participants. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why the models were so much more persuasive to Canadians and Poles, but one significant factor could be the intense media coverage and extended campaign duration in the United States relative to the other nations.
“In the U.S., the candidates are very well-known,” Rand said. “They've both been around for a long time. The U.S. media environment also really saturates with people with information about the candidates in the campaign, whereas things are quite different in Canada, where the campaign doesn't even start until shortly before the election.”
“One of the key findings across both papers is that it seems like the primary way the models are changing people's minds is by making factual claims and arguments,” he added. “The more arguments and evidence that you've heard beforehand, the less responsive you're going to be to the new evidence.”
While the models were most persuasive when they provided fact-based arguments, they didn’t always present factual information. Across all three nations, the bot advocating for the right-leaning candidates made more inaccurate claims than those boosting the left-leaning candidates. Right-leaning laypeople and party elites tend to share more inaccurate information online than their peers on the left, so this asymmetry likely reflects the internet-sourced training data.
“Given that the models are trained essentially on the internet, if there are many more inaccurate, right-leaning claims than left-leaning claims on the internet, then it makes sense that from the training data, the models would sop up that same kind of bias,” Rand said.
With the Science study, Rand and his colleagues aimed to drill down into the exact mechanisms that make AI bots persuasive. To that end, the team tasked 19 large language models (LLMs) to sway nearly 77,000 U.K. participants on 707 political issues.
The results showed that the most effective persuasion tactic was to provide arguments packed with as many facts as possible, corroborating the findings of the Nature study. However, there was a serious tradeoff to this approach, as models tended to start hallucinating and making up facts the more they were pressed for information.
“It is not the case that misleading information is more persuasive,” Rand said. ”I think that what's happening is that as you push the model to provide more and more facts, it starts with accurate facts, and then eventually it runs out of accurate facts. But you're still pushing it to make more factual claims, so then it starts grasping at straws and making up stuff that's not accurate.”
In addition to these two new studies, research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last month found that AI bots can now corrupt public opinion data by responding to surveys at scale. Sean Westwood, associate professor of government at Dartmouth College and director of the Polarization Research Lab, created an AI agent that exhibited a 99.8 percent pass rate on 6,000 attempts to detect automated responses to survey data.
“Critically, the agent can be instructed to maliciously alter polling outcomes, demonstrating an overt vector for information warfare,” Westwood warned in the study. “These findings reveal a critical vulnerability in our data infrastructure, rendering most current detection methods obsolete and posing a potential existential threat to unsupervised online research.”
Taken together, these findings suggest that AI could influence future elections in a number of ways, from manipulating survey data to persuading voters to switch their candidate preference—possibly with misleading or false information.
To counter the impact of AI on elections, Rand suggested that campaign finance laws should provide more transparency about the use of AI, including canvasser bots, while also emphasizing the role of raising public awareness.
“One of the key take-homes is that when you are engaging with a model, you need to be cognizant of the motives of the person that prompted the model, that created the model, and how that bleeds into what the model is doing,” he said.
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Subscribe to 404 Media to get The Abstract, our newsletter about the most exciting and mind-boggling science news and studies of the week.Persuading voters using human–artificial intelligence dialogues - Nature
Human–artificial intelligence (AI) dialogues can meaningfully impact voters’ attitudes towards presidential candidates and policy, demonstrating the potential of conversational AI to influence political decision-making.Nature
If all you do is read the little statements booklet they send out, and then do the mail vote based on that, then AI is not in the loop unless the candidate is dumb enough to paste chatbot output into their statement.
Seriously people, get your friends and family off of the ragebait rectangle. Most "news" media today is just opinion wrapped with ads about content they bought from Reuters and AP.
If all you do is read the little statements booklet they send out, and then do the mail vote based on that,
... then you are no better informed than Bob, who is voting for the guy his pastor told him to. People should personally vet any candidate they are voting on. AI will make that more and more difficult moving forward.
Well my approach is:
- Mark off every candidate who did not bother to provide a statement
- Mark off every candidate with no listed volunteering experience in the little section for it
- Mark off every candidate whose statement claims they will do things their desired office is not empowered to do
- Mark off every candidate with a platform that doesn't claim to be aiming for any kind of change or improvement in particular. (I don't support chair warmers.)
- Mark off every candidate whose email is a personal one listed as itsyaboymrthiccpenis@yahoo.com or something else similarly unprofessional
- Mark off any candidate aligned with the party that supported the coup attempt in 2021
After this quick pass, which only takes a couple of minutes, I'm typically only left with two or three offices with more than one remaining choice to compare. I then read their platform and pick the candidate with the platform goal that seems most relevant to my or my community's interest.
How does discovery work in fedora server?
I can pull up cockpit by using the hostname in the web browsers url, but samba doesn’t point to the server by name. Only IP address pulls it up.
I don’t want to risk installing conflicting stuff but I’m not finding a lot of detail here. Does fedora have something for this included? Does it use avahi? Systemd-resolved? Smoke signals?
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Auster likes this.
Doesn't matter. Your machine going to another is not simply due to mdns running. In fact, I doubt that's a default package selection in Fedora Server for security reasons, but I could be wrong.
Run dig [whateverhostname] from your machine, and then check /etc/systemd/resolved.conf on the server and see if something with MulticastDNS is enabled. Don't see why that would ever exist as a default.
mdns (multicast DNS ) is specifically designed to work where a DNS server is presumed to not know hostnames, usually on a local network. So it is possible to use hostnames without a DNS server.
On fedora, discoverability of mdns should be on by default. Configuring mdns presence to others is a config away, if not enabled by default.
I'm aware of what it is. This is a Fedora Server install that shouldn't have it enabled by default because it generally only fits the use-case of home users. Someone installing the default package list in an enterprise setting would not want this enabled.
I even checked to be certain, and it is not enabled by default.
Fucked up with no one to blame but myself.
cross-posted from: aussie.zone/post/27191517
I spun up nextcloud to replace onedrive about a year ago. Everything was going well so I chose not to renew my onedrive subscription, this was exactly 6 months ago, I'd assume.I got an email a few days ago reminding me that they would delete my data. I ignored it because obviously I had moved my data to nextcloud. not gonna trick me Mi¢ro$oft.
But yesterday I decided to have a quick look though and it turns out I didn't copy over everything, and certanly not my 5 years of camera roll backups.
I started a sync of everything last night and woke up in the morning to find that it had stopped at about 10gb out of 80gb. And now onedrive won't connect and if I try to log in to onedrive with that account via the web it just kicks me back to the microsoft portal.
I'm 99.5% sure there is nothing to be done and I'm not an overly sentimental person so if they are lost it won't break me. I have many important photos backed up in immich but just not everything.
But I just needed to ask in case someone knows where to find the M spot I can touch for magic file recovery.
Edit: turns out you can just pay them more money and they still had my stuff. thank you for joining me on the shortest support ticket of all time
Who Killed Hannibal
A Who Killed Hannibal meme. Caption your own images or memes with our Meme Generator.Imgflip
What distro do you install on other's computers?
What distros do you install on your mom's, sister's, buddy's, etc machines?
My go-to has usually been Mint, but I wonder if there is a better set and forget, easily understood distro to install on the computers of those who will rely on you for support.
atomic distros would probably be a good option, but it seems that same disk dual boot is a no no, and that can be a deal breaker.
I'm thinlink QoL, for me, that is.
400+ installs in the past four years - discarded/donated business laptops that get fixed, cleaned, upgraded with cheapest SSDs and donated to predominantly tech illiterate users.
99% is ubuntu lts + ansible playbook that removes snap, disables A TON of update naggings, installs flatpak, coupla apps and systemd timer to autoupdate all flatpaks. this is the only thing that has low support requests, everything else we tried (mint, debian, fedora) has a disproportionately higher support request frequency (reinstalls, wifi, fix this, remove that, etc).
I totally could adapt debian to be as good or even better (fedora with the bi-annual versions is right out), but one of the important caveats is the user being able to install it with minimum hassle if needed and that just would not be doable.
I'd urge everyone ITT to look at the thing through the user's eyes and not get lost in "no true scottsman" fallacies. the goal is to convert a user over, not to demonstrate how cool you are. once they know what's what, you can sell them on fedora and atomic and whatnot, but not as a first step.
I don't use ubuntu, have it on none of my stuff, and wouldn't go out with you if you do. but it's presently the only option for beginners for use on laptops that has a semblance of a modern desktop OS.
I'm not looking for a date, but this made me curious. Would you elaborate?
I don't use Ubuntu and wouldn't go out with you if you do
Karkitoo
in reply to illusionist • • •I like Organic Maps. UI is clear and simple-ish to use.
However, it lacks quite a lot compared to the (cluttered UI of) OSMand.
Edit: great mentality there. You could at least tell me the pros of your favorite solution and the cons of organic map before Downvoting me.
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HeerlijkeDrop likes this.
Kami
in reply to Karkitoo • • •Organic maps is shit.
Use CoMaps instead.
theorangeninja
in reply to Kami • • •DSN9
in reply to Kami • • •esaru
in reply to DSN9 • • •OrganicMaps refused to rule out selling to venture capitalists in the future. They expect volunteers to contribute while keeping the option of capitalizing on free work later.
That's why it has been forked to what is called CoMaps. So CoMaps is the true, reliable FOSS project now.
DSN9
in reply to esaru • • •esaru
in reply to DSN9 • • •Sure, here are a number of sources that explain what happened and why:
Organic Maps Forked Over Governance Concerns: CoMaps is Born
Sourav Rudra (It's FOSS)barcaxavi
in reply to Karkitoo • • •menafn.com/1109612598/Organic-…
Organic Maps Fork Spurs Governance Debate
Middle East North Africa Financial NetworkKarkitoo
in reply to barcaxavi • • •Ah, thank you for this article !
Indeed, not a good project governance and not an project I should recommend.
Uninstalled Organic Maps, and I will try CoMaps (or default back to OSMand)
stupid_asshole69 [none/use name]
in reply to Karkitoo • • •Everyone, make sure to reply to this person instead of just downvoting their comments.
It’s your responsibility to manage their feelings, not their responsibility to use an instance without downvotes, or even turn off downvotes in their own control panel.
checkfit
in reply to Karkitoo • • •I switched to organic maps too.
Also, until comaps have bike layer I am not switching
monovergent
in reply to Karkitoo • • •esaru
in reply to monovergent • • •I did move last week and it's such a difference. A clean refreshing interface without all the clutter,
also much snappier, maps don't take time to refresh.
You can download maps while having WiFi connection and, for a start, focus on the maps of the country you are staying in at the moment.
CoMaps has optional 3D view of buildings and surprised me with how few features it has, yet exactly the features one needs. That way the interface is clean while I'm not missing anything.
It even has quick access to Wikipedia articles built in so you get directly information of points you click on.
Object information is down to what you need, like floor level, pbone number, opening times.
Import/Export for all location data.
illusionist
in reply to Karkitoo • • •Hubi
in reply to illusionist • • •barcaxavi
in reply to illusionist • • •Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I think I used an apk from way before and now after updating it I see their new beautiful UI. Pretty nice.
I'm also all for OSS, but in this case, for me, there's no OSS alternative for navigation. Both CoMaps and OsmAnd can be used for it, but not tailored to do it.
As a frequent and satisfied user, I'm happy to contribute to their development. 15 EUR annually doesn't seem far fetched, but you can actually get the Premium package on their site for 6 EUR (link to the pricing page). That's like 3-4 can of beers kind of money.
Magic Earth
www.magicearth.comillusionist
in reply to barcaxavi • • •Thanks!
6€ per year would be reasonable for me. I'm just a casual user. I may need it only once every other month.
barcaxavi
in reply to illusionist • • •Also happy to read you'd like to contribute, sometimes I get mixed feedback when it's about giving back somehow to these devs.
illusionist
in reply to barcaxavi • • •Danitos
in reply to barcaxavi • • •barcaxavi
in reply to Danitos • • •So is €3.5 around 3-4 cans of beer in Colombia?
Danitos
in reply to barcaxavi • • •wiccan2
in reply to barcaxavi • • •barcaxavi
in reply to wiccan2 • • •curious_dolphin
in reply to illusionist • • •In case anyone else out there is unaware, the "paid" tier for Osmand is unlockable for free to OSM contributors, meaning if you make a habit of contributing edits to OSM, then all you'd have to do is link to your OSM account within Osmand settings. Not to dissuade anyone from contributing financially, just sayin' b/c I think that is a nice little perk for editors from the Osmand team.
I personally prefer CoMaps (forked from Organic Maps), the UI is a little more intuitive to me than Osmand.
illusionist
in reply to curious_dolphin • • •pineapple
in reply to curious_dolphin • • •Captain Beyond
in reply to illusionist • • •termaxima
in reply to illusionist • • •Az_1
in reply to illusionist • • •Basilisa
in reply to Az_1 • • •HereIAm
in reply to Basilisa • • •Basilisa
in reply to HereIAm • • •HereIAm
in reply to Basilisa • • •Pretty much the entire OSM sphere is developed and populated by volunteers. And they you come along and say they should take their heads out of their ass. Yes, the burden is on the users, because the developers are users themselves. No, not everyone has programming skills, but even nontechnical people can still contribute to the dataset with bus station locations and bus routes.
It's completely okay to not use a piece of software, and if you have some feedback to give that might sway you, great! But don't insult the developers because they have limited time and resources.
Basilisa
in reply to HereIAm • • •HereIAm
in reply to Basilisa • • •Ardens
in reply to illusionist • • •swelter_spark
in reply to illusionist • • •