Trump’s Regime Change Playbook Is Back
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/37819498
[from Cuba In Context - weekly newsletter of the BellyOfTheBeast news/video collective]Donald Trump attempted to overthrow the governments of both Cuba and Venezuela during his first term. This time round, the goal remains the same, though some of the methods have changed.
Also in this week's newsletter:
* Presidents of Mexico and Colombia to snub Summit of the Americas
* Cuba "categorically rejects" involvement in Russia-Ukraine war
* Trump deports more Cubans to Eswatini
* High-profile Cuban dissident leaves Cuba for U.S.
Trump’s Regime Change Playbook Is Back
[from Cuba In Context - weekly newsletter of the BellyOfTheBeast news/video collective]Donald Trump attempted to overthrow the governments of both Cuba and Venezuela during his first term. This time round, the goal remains the same, though some of the methods have changed.
Also in this week's newsletter:
* Presidents of Mexico and Colombia to snub Summit of the Americas
* Cuba "categorically rejects" involvement in Russia-Ukraine war
* Trump deports more Cubans to Eswatini
* High-profile Cuban dissident leaves Cuba for U.S.
Trump’s Regime Change Playbook Is Back
[from Cuba In Context - weekly newsletter of the BellyOfTheBeast news/video collective]
Donald Trump attempted to overthrow the governments of both Cuba and Venezuela during his first term. This time round, the goal remains the same, though some of the methods have changed.
Also in this week's newsletter:
* Presidents of Mexico and Colombia to snub Summit of the Americas
* Cuba "categorically rejects" involvement in Russia-Ukraine war
* Trump deports more Cubans to Eswatini
* High-profile Cuban dissident leaves Cuba for U.S.
Well, USAmerican govt's propaganda(aimed to keep their people misdirected and supportive of invasions like that in Iraq) targets Stalin and other figures who had either looked at economic systems beyond capitalism or opposed USAmerican imperialism(directed by their ruling class), right?
Same for Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Fidel, Che and even Nelson Mandela.
time.com/5338569/nelson-mandel…
The USSR and Cuba had aided anti-apartheid struggles in Africa.
Video snippets of Mandela talking about it:
Also, not saying that all those people were perfect, but the reason for the hate does not seem to be the imperfections, but them opposing or being threats to the interests of the USAmerican ruling class.
- 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
Trump signs agreement on critical minerals with Australia
US President Donald Trump signed an agreement with visiting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to boost access to critical minerals and rare earths as the US looks to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains.
“We are discussing critical minerals and rare earths and we’re going to be signing an agreement that’s been negotiated over a period of four or five months,” Trump said at the White House on Monday as the two leaders met. “In about a year from now, we’ll have so much critical mineral and rare earths that you won’t know what to do with them.”
Albanese said the deal represented an $8.5 billion “pipeline that we have ready to go.” He hailed the agreement on minerals and rare earths as “taking it to the next level,” praising the economic and defense cooperation between the two countries.
Trump signs agreement on critical minerals with Australia
US President Donald Trump signed an agreement with visiting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to boost access to critical minerals and rare earths as the US looks to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains.
“We are discussing critical minerals and rare earths and we’re going to be signing an agreement that’s been negotiated over a period of four or five months,” Trump said at the White House on Monday as the two leaders met. “In about a year from now, we’ll have so much critical mineral and rare earths that you won’t know what to do with them.”
Albanese said the deal represented an $8.5 billion “pipeline that we have ready to go.” He hailed the agreement on minerals and rare earths as “taking it to the next level,” praising the economic and defense cooperation between the two countries.
Yemen's southern secessionists face backlash over talk of ties with Israel
Ali has supported southern secession for a decade. He long regarded the STC as the movement most capable of restoring South Yemen’s independence from the north, which has been under Houthi control since the civil war erupted in 2014.
However, remarks made last month by STC leader Aidarus al-Zoubaidi have sparked outrage among Yemenis across the political spectrum, both in the north and the south.
Zoubaidi said the creation of an independent southern state could pave the way for normalisation with Israel. "The STC was heading towards signing an alliance agreement with Israel before 7 October 2023," he added.
For years, calls for southern secession remained largely peaceful and limited in scope. But in 2016, the separatists’ military and political influence began to grow, bolstered by weapons and funding from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Today, the STC holds control over most of Yemen’s southern provinces.
Yemen's southern secessionists face backlash over talk of ties with Israel
For two years, Amer Ali, a resident of the southern Yemeni city of Aden, joined rallies opposing Israel’s devastating war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 68,000 people.MEE correspondent (Middle East Eye)
At least 135 mutilated bodies of Palestinians had been held at notorious Israeli jail, say Gaza officials
At least 135 mutilated bodies of Palestinians returned by Israel to Gaza had been held in a notorious detention centre already facing allegations of torture and unlawful deaths in custody, officials from Gaza’s health ministry have told the Guardian.
The director general of the health ministry, Dr Munir al-Bursh, and a spokesperson for Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, where the bodies are being examined, said a document found inside each body bag indicated the bodies all came from Sde Teiman, a military base in the Negev desert where, according to photos and testimonies published by the Guardian last year, Palestinian detainees were held in cages, blindfolded and handcuffed, shackled to hospital beds and forced to wear nappies.
“The document tags inside the body bags are written in Hebrew and clearly indicate that the remains were held at Sde Teiman,” Bursh said. “The tags also showed that DNA tests had been carried out on some of them there.”
At least 135 mutilated bodies of Palestinians had been held at notorious Israeli jail, say Gaza officials
Documents indicate they came from Sde Teiman, which already faces allegations of torture and unlawful deathsLorenzo Tondo (The Guardian)
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At least 135 mutilated bodies of Palestinians had been held at notorious Israeli jail, say Gaza officials
At least 135 mutilated bodies of Palestinians had been held at notorious Israeli jail, say Gaza officials
Documents indicate they came from Sde Teiman, which already faces allegations of torture and unlawful deathsLorenzo Tondo (The Guardian)
BentoPDF - The Privacy First PDF Toolkit
I thought this would be relevant to Linux, since the options available to us Linux users are either unmaintained, hard to use, require a subscription, an account, or to upload your content to a server.
BentoPDF is the opposite of all that.
I just hope they add a dumb-proof way to install it (PWA? Flatpak?) for easy access.
Russia/Trump demands continue to degrade to 'current frozen lines'.
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine-war-kremlin-putin-trump-10905942
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...yes voting for the lesser evil is not the best option it’s still better than just letting the evil evil win.
Who said that we should just let the evil win? I don't see that anywhere.
It's so weird to me how many people accept the binary that's been handed to them. As though the ones that hand you that choice would ever let one of the options be to your advantage.
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which is currently the only other actual option in our political system
Premise: false
Isn't it weird how continuing to do the things that got us here, isn't fixing the problems that were created? I wonder why that could be. I guess we'll never know.
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I feel like we'd see a lot more progress if these types of comments were higher up in the chain, instead of buried at the end of a conversation. I see a lot of ridiculing people for not knowing this stuff, a la: xkcd.com/1053/
I understand it's the ignorant masses' responsibilities to educate themselves. But like, we could all stand to make it easier on one another instead of jumping down each other's throats all the time.
Also this isn't directed at you in particular, just in general. I just liked your response, and I wish more people would give answers like this.
The question then is, what is the lesser evil?
And regardless of the answer, why is the "lesser evil" doing maximum genocide?
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When the Democrats run a candidate who tries to act more hawkish on Iran than the GOP, gives a big speech about how we're not giving our over funded military enough and how she'll give us the "deadliest military in history," gives a speech on immigration where she literally says DO NOT COME , all while currently and presently doing all that they can to assist Israel conducting an actual fucking genocide...
... it should be really obvious that people like you don't even know that the fuck is going on. You're not even supporting a lesser evil, at this point it's just a fucking more polite evil. They'd still be ramping up deportations, you just wouldn't have Kamala posting dipshittery gloating about it on Twitter, AND FOLKS LIKE YOU WOULD BE AT BRUNCH NOT GIVING A FUCK
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Political philosophers in the year 300 BC:
"Hey, so electoralism is a rigged game, because only wealthy and prestigious families have enough money to finance the popularity contest to get themselves or their puppet candidates elected."
Marxists in the 1800s, with the rise of representative governments:
"Hey, this system is proving to be the safest shell for capitalist rule, because wealthy capitalists are able to stack every election to get their puppets elected, and people have the illusion that they live in democracies"
Goldfish-brained liberals in the 2020s:
"Electoralism is gonna work this time, we just didn't vote hard enough before!"
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I'd love to have a discussion about this. I am a socialist through and through. I believe that the system needs to be dismantled to achieve any meaningful change, and that no progress can realistically be made within the system.
I'd argue that there are 4 actions within the system. Vote red, vote blue, vote third party, and don't vote.
I'd argue that all 4 options will never lead to meaningful change. However, given this, every American who is eligible to vote is forced into playing the game, there is no way to abstain. Even not voting leads to a meaningful outcome within the system, and thus is still playing the game.
If no actions within the system can change things, I pose that the only way to disrupt this system is by dismantling it from the outside via revolution.
This however, cannot be done overnight, even if you are consistently acting on it. These types of things take a general sense of civil unrest to get kicked off. I believe that under capitalism, this unrest is inevitable, and once it hits a tipping point, the revolution will start. In the meantime, I feel we have two actions we can take.
First, we should be ushering in the revolution. Organize, make people aware of the alternative, disrupt the system in any means you reasonably can, try to get people to be sympathetic to the cause, etc. Don't slack on your responsibility to prepare and eventually initiate the revolution.
Second, since we have no choice but to play the game we've been dropped in to, you should vote for short term damage mitigation. If you are forced to take an action within the system, I feel people have a moral obligation to try to reduce the harm to others as much as possible. This involves making a vote, since not voting results in almost the same outcome as a vote for the candidate furthest away from the one you considered least harmful.
I have yet to see an argument that shows how not voting is going against or dismantling the system. However, considering so many people believe that not voting is the right choice, I'm really interested in hearing someone explain it to me, as there must be some reasoning behind it that I'm not seeing.
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I’d argue that there are 4 actions within the system. Vote red, vote blue, vote third party, and don’t vote. I’d argue that all 4 options will never lead to meaningful change.Second, since we have no choice but to play the game we’ve been dropped in to, you should vote for short term damage mitigation.
Let's draw the logical conclusion here.
Short term damage mitigation is the goal. There are three options that incur short term damage. Option 4, however, lets one continue working or resting, therefore incurring no damage at all.
As all 4 options don't lead to any meaningful change, option 4 is the best option.
how not voting is going against or dismantling the system.
Its refusing to play their rigged game, and spending your energies elsewhere.
Every single positive change from the US came not through voting or participation in the electoral process, but from force or the threat of force from below, usually in the form of mass protests, or enemies of the US empire defeating them militarily.
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Windows 10 died a few days ago, leaving users with three options: stick with the OS, upgrade to Windows 11, or switch to an entirely different platform like macOS or GNU/Linux. But months before Microsoft dropped support for the OS, Linux-focused companies were already campaigning to poach Microsoft customers and convert them into Linux users.
The Document Foundation, the folks behind LibreOffice, started its push as far back as June this year, criticizing Microsoft's decision to end support, which would render millions of perfectly functional PCs obsolete, and presented Linux as a cost-effective and secure alternative. We have also seen initiatives like The "End of 10" Campaign by KDE, making the case for Linux and providing guides and info on how to switch.
Of all the projects trying to poach Windows users, Zorin Group might be the most aggressive, launching its biggest OS upgrade, Zorin OS 18, on the very day Windows 10 died.
In a recent post on X, Zorin Group celebrated the launch of version 18, claiming that it hit 100,000 downloads in "a little over 2 days". The company called it its "biggest launch ever" and claimed that over 72% of those downloads came from Windows.
Zorin OS 18 just reached 100,000 downloads in a little over 2 days 🎉️Over 72% of these downloads came from Windows, reflecting our mission to provide a better alternative to the incumbent operating systems from Big Tech.
Thank you for making this our biggest launch ever! pic.twitter.com/6U4h3EQ3dq
— Zorin OS (@ZorinOS) October 16, 2025
So what's the big deal with Zorin OS 18? The new version comes with a redesigned desktop that feels a lot more modern. It uses a lighter color palette and a taskbar that has a floating, rounded style by default. The developers also introduced a much better window tiling system. If you drag a window to the top of the screen, a layout manager pops up, similar to Windows 11's Snap Layouts. The main difference here is that Zorin allows you to create your own custom tiling layouts.
As for Windows app compatibility, Zorin OS 18 now includes an updated version of WINE 10 for better support of Windows software. On top of that, there's also an expanded database that helps when it detects a Windows installer. The system checks the file and suggests the best way to run over 170 popular apps, whether that means installing a native Linux version, using the web-based alternative, or firing it up through WINE.
Windows 10 didn’t “die”
Microsoft isn’t offering support for it, but their help was barely useful to begin with.
There’s a few small hoops to jump through to enroll in the Extended Security Updates program, after which Windows 10 devices will continue to be functional and secure for at least another year.
Ultimately, I’m all for folks going out and dabbling in Linux. Unfortunately, most consumers are interpreting this situation as a requirement to rush out and buy a new Windows 11 PC and that’s bad.
I'm not all too familiar with mass grave, but it does seem like a similar loophole to the win11 updates without TPM 2.0, in that it works but ms doesn't want it to, so you may run into the issue of your system bricking or ms holding your data hostage. Also as far as I can decipher ltsc only fixes the security issue, as far as I am aware the one drive push is still there regardless of version.
All in all, I believe that there are workarounds, but if ms is so keen on making it this hard to stay on win 10 I would rather just take the adjustment period to a Linux distro.
"Zorin Group" never heard of that. Seems to be a shop that just wants to lift along with the Windows 10 discontinuation tbh.
And if their selling point is running windows apps then they have no chance. You can't get better at being windows than windows already is. You'll always be one step behind the real thing.
And really you don't need to, most linux apps are much better now that windows apps are more and more dumbed down. Look at the "new outlook" for example. It doesn't even do local storage anymore, you must import all your email into the microsoft cloud overlord.
I guess it is the year of the Linux desktop for at least some people.
I've used Linux desktop in various forms for just over two decades, this has to be the fourth time it felt like Linux was having its chance to seize marketshare. Each time it ends up not being the mass adoption that people hope for but it feels like the community grows each time so I think it is neat nonetheless.
Often, when it grows past that, it can become.. unsavory.
Exactly! Like the Internet, Linux is for anybody! . . .but not necessarily everybody.
I'm all for Linux adoption. However, seeing less tech-literate people feel as if they have to choose between an unsecured device and spending money they don't have on a new Windows 11 machine really makes me angry.
Most won't understand what no more security updates mean, and some overreact and get really worried.
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This.
For Years, you had the Option to use Linux. Since the release of the win 11 beta, Linux has not made any relevant big steps. The leopards have simply decided to eat your face this time.
A refugee would be someone losing their home in a bombing. A windows 10 turned Linux user is more like a Trump voter turned no kings protestor because he though sending the government emails will sure stop the anti trans laws.
And no, sOmE uSeRs hAvE tO uSe WinDoWs is not an argument. If everyone who was still on windows until now was reliant on it, why are they installing and switching to Linux? Every new Linux user is someone who was simply too ignorant to install it.
I mean I switched my work computer to Linux and risked being reprimanded/ losing my job because I'm never using windows ever again in any capacity.
I feel like that's a little bit closer to a refugee lol.
Luckily so far no one has seemed to notice or care.
I worked for almost 2 years at a company with my Linux PC, until one day I requested a laptop for travel and they were shocked that I didn't had one, I asked for one with Linux but was told that that's not possible, that they only had windows laptops. I thought, okays this is temporary, as soon as I'm back from traveling I'll return the laptop and things will be back to normal... when I came back and wanted to return the laptop they said that that was my work computer that I should use for everything, I was like, "you do realize our work runs on a Linux server, right?". But nope, I had to use the Windows laptop until I quit a few months later. I knew of at least a couple other devs who were running Linux, but didn't say anything because then they would be forced to switch too, but at my exit interview I remarked that forcing me to use Windows was part of the reason I had left.
I guess my point is maybe don't make a big fuss and don't try to convince HR people about it, they just don't understand.
I work in IT (security). The reason they are so adamant on Windows at least in our place, is because it offers so many opportunities to go BOFH and lock everything down so much so the user can hardly do their job 😀 No other OS offers that, even Mac.
They think they need this to be secure. I beg to differ but unfortunately Microsoft is constantly feeding them with 'best practices' and other BS.
For Years, you had the Option to use Linux. Since the release of the win 11 beta, Linux has not made any relevant big steps.
I would argue it doesn't need to. It's pretty perfect these days as it is, especially with KDE (and the great thing about it having so much control over how your computer works and feels, Windows can never offer that).
Thats what I mean, in the last few weeks/months, there was no big thing that win users needed to be able to switch.
Linux in a vacuum is a great OS, and what it cant do in the context of Windows is more a „Proprietary formats and software being Industry standard” problem than a Linux problem.
I'm not saying that everyone should just abandon the standards , but that if you need to have these standards, nothing is going to change in a production envoirment that magically makes Linux work for you (in home you can argue about VMs and proton, but that's not a valid tactic for companies), and you need to keep using windows.
And the other way around, if you don't need any of these standards, you don't have any reason to still use Windows, except that you don't want to change.
So we're bashing the people who installed Linux now if they used something else first? What, if they've ever used windows we should send them to the Gulag? Wtf is this take? Like hey you dumb fucking person who finally figured out how to get away from the corporate software you were taught to use in high school, you are FuCkInG iGnOrAnT for putting yourself in this position in the first place!!1!
Let's not talk about the multi billion dollar industry spent locking people into an ecosystem from day 1, because blaming high schoolers and teenagers for not switching to an OS best know for running web servers is an awesome use of our time.
Speaking from experience: no one thinks about operating systems as much as we do. We are not the norm. Most people don't want to use the computer to begin with, but conceded its faster than hand writing everything. The guy who paved my driveway will never install Arch, because he only uses the computer to get paid. My office's cleaner doesn't understand how computers can even be unsafe.
When I went to primary school we had windows computers. Same thing in high school. In uni, because I did comp sci, I used Linux and found it was better for me. 350 people went through first year with me. Most of them continued using Windows, although a good chunk used Mac too. Like 10 of us used Linux. It is easier not to switch and that's not going to change. So can we stop having a go at people for not having the same interests as us, because that's the only difference.
many people will go back, but of these, i’m sure many will also come back eventually
i’ve tried a bunch of distros in my last 2 years with windows. many didn’t satisfy my needs at the time, so i stayed on windows.
but now, it’s been over a year since I definitely switched to linux, and over 6 months since i nuked (accidentally, but shhh) my windows partition. and i don’t plan on going back anytime soon.
this was so surprising to me; my favorite game (tropico) didn't have blinking tiles/polygons on my linux rig than it did on windows.
it was super strange because i put linux on my old windows laptop and it also got the blinking; but the game got better when i bought a linux-only laptop with zero proprietary stuff on it (not even the bios). go figure.
Linux is a lot better than the last few times.
It might just be 'good enough' at this point.
I agree. This time, it's actually different. Big name streamers and YouTubers are showing their support. Not just people in the tech industry, but random channels like EmKay and PewDiePie.
Linux is better than ever. Steam is a breeze. Wine support has never been better.
Meanwhile, Windows has more nasty surprises, underhanded backstabs, and security nightmares than ever before.
And updates that break hardware.
Yes, I find Linux terribly unusable on my laptop, way too many driver issues, hard to get into a secure state, and I miss apps like signal (no official build) mpc-hc (the replacements are all trash) and a functional version of thunderbird (lol at the tray icon third party implementation that just doesn't work). Etc, etc. I don't have a ton of unique needs but I do want theto work
^and this is of course with KDE, gnome is all that but with just a trash user interface. How many gestures do I need to use to make my computer treat me like an adult ffs.
It's still of course on my server (an old laptop which ironically can't be used as a laptop because at some point after some random update the login service broke and won't accept input from the keyboard lol) and other headless devices I don't have to actually use, thank god.
And you also need to trust your OS not taking screenshots of your apps or recording the text displayed onto your screen
There's plenty of links in this chain, there's a lot you need to be aware of if you're going to those lengths. Pick your battles
My os does not do that
I don't consider "wanting a secure app to be installed through first party means" to be particularly unusual. I know in Linux it's standard to just install random stuff from the internet with root. I've obviously done that myself, but for secure stuff I want first party. Making a flatpak wouldn't be hard (they probably just need to review someone else's work -- it's like an intern project)
So I went and looked it up, and signal-desktop is listed as a reproducible build, so theoretically you should be able to go and check that it conforms to the source
But this isn't anything I've looked into myself, so feel free to look into it
- Ads all over the place (and a start menu full of crapware)
- Telemetry you can't completely turn off anymore (the only thing I'd respect is a license check)
- Constantly putting edge back
- Forced MS account and removing ways to bypass it
- Cloud upsells
- Forced updates "do this within the next 2 days or else..."
- "Copilot copilot copilot"
-we heard you like search bars so we added a search bar next to the menu containing a search bar.
-open wide because here comes the unwanted update train.
-you want to do thing with file?
No, bad user. Play candycrush instead.
-that’s an impressive machine you have there. Would be too bad if someone were to slow it down with tons of bloat.
-Telemetry? At good ol MS? Never.
-oh but all the W10 menus you love are still there, it just takes a rainforest expedition to get there.
-Just buy a one drive subscription and walk away.
So, to really be sure i get it: adding two search bars is an underhanded backstab?
Now I see why I didn't get it, the definition being used is literally insane.
Please make sure all your drivers are up to date and your screen is set to the correct resolution because it seems to be that you’re missing the bigger picture.
“Underhanded backstab” being the correct expression or not aside=> W11 sucks ass imo, get mad if you want to. (Something tells me this isn’t about proper word choice for you though, but feel free to correct me on that if that is a thing you care about)
I mean your point may have been windows sucks ass but I'm aware of where I am and that's a completely uninteresting claim here. Why not rant about water being wet -- it's just as unique or interesting as your take on windows.
What I specifically asked about is underhanded backstabs, because that's a unique and interesting claim I haven't read 464335735 times before on lemmy.
Well, you’ll have to ask the person making that claim to begin with. I just added my take on the list of annoyances about W11.
I find your interest in the expression itself rather uninteresting. I do hope it goes without saying people say these things without meaning them literally.
All in all the step from W10 to W11 is such a letdown one might compare it to a backstab, underhanded or otherwise.
And with that I’m done defending an expression I didn’t use to begin with. Good day.
Well, you’ll have to ask the person making that claim to begin with.
That implies I want to argue with somebody who is sealioning.
I think a lot of people expect Linux to work like Windows, and that's why they go back to Windows, even if some stuff is easier on Linux.
Many of us probably remember times when we tried to download random applications through a web browser, because that's what Windows expects you to do. People will try that, and be confused, why stuff breaks or not work at all.
Desktops only frankly became remotely useable to normal people with recent revisions of things like kde...
Between that and software actually finally started becoming remotely reliable in like 2022-2023 for your avg windows user.
Comparing the past to now is not reliable fair.
More progress towards making things normal user friendly have happened in the last 3-5 years then the last 20.
I was one of those nomadic users, every year, since 1998 with Mandrake Linux.
I have always been in love with the idea of an open source OS, but if I couldn't game and work on it, it wasn't ready. Every year, until Valve made it easy to game on Linux.
I made the switch when Proton was released and never looked back.
My point is, every time users go back to Windows, they have their own personal reasons, but those will some day not be the truth anymore.
Gaming for me is the only thing I don't use Windows for. But for gaming I still do. Because I mainly game in VR and that's still so far behind on LInux 🙁
But I have 20 odd computers in the house so it's easy to have one with windows around (two in fact, another old one with Win 10 LTSC for programming some old radios).
I love KDE for all the options it gives 🫶 I don't like Gnome, Systemd and all the other redhat influences but they are easy to avoid these days.
Because I mainly game in VR and that's still so far behind on LInux 🙁
This is a major sticking point for me too. I've got a dusty Win10 partition I haven't booted in ages, and I was keeping it around mainly for VR, but then Microsoft had to go and just extinguish that too.
Monado is making impressive progress but it's a huge pain because they have to reverse engineer stuff with zero help from the manufacturers, instead of simply interfacing with the hardware.
I refuse to let Meta have any of my money though. I hope a good affordable VR kit comes out that isn't another hyper-proprietary blackbox.
I've been trying to switch to Linux for at least 5 years.
I wouldn't say it's any better now than it was then.
I desperately want to love Linux, but it fights me at every step of the way.
As a media pc...
I have had zero success using it as a media pc. My one requirement is an on screen keyboard, but it doesn't come with one, and all the offerings I've found are shit. They won't work in some windows, or at all.
As a laptop...
This has been the most successful. I've not had any real issues with Linux on various laptops, other than finding replacements for certain windows software, but that's not really a Linux problem.
As my main pc...
Gaming has been fine. Hdr has only really recently become a thing, and it seems fine.
However, I'm constantly coming across stupid things are ARE a Linux problem.
Downloading and installing software has too many methods. I understand downloading a file to install something. I understand downloading a script to install something. I even understand why you'd need to make that script executable before it'll work.
I don't understand what to do with a bunch of random files that claim to be an installer but don't seem to have an install script or a .deb package.
I don't understand why once I map/mount a network drive, it fucking disappears after a reboot and needs to have the mount process be automated at every reboot.
Linux is just hostile to users. And while it is, it'll never massively succeed.
LTSC is a much better option.
Same. I loathe Linux. I've been trying to use it since I was 19, periodically installing one distro or another, and I hate it. I absolutely hate it. I'm not saying it is bad or anything but I do not have the patience to fight with an OS over every tiny thing or having to look up a guide for every installation or having to double check what will work and won't because you're going to need a container.
Linux, I'm sure, is great but it's also one of the least user friendly operating systems out there, regardless of Distro. I keep trying to use Linux Mint and it keeps driving me up the fucking wall. Either Linux supports nothing without a battle or nothing supports Linux without a battle and I'm not remotely interested in fighting with my PC to do something simple. The second that that shit gets sorted is the second I'll be fine.
Each person knows what it feels more comfortable with.
Linux is not inherently hostile, it just has a very different way of doing things that what you're accustomed, so you perceive it as hostile. It is sometimes easier for someone who never touched a computer to learn Linux that someone who grew with Windows to unlearn the habits.
There's nothing wrong with feeling comfortable in Windows, it's the system you grew up with and know how to work with and maintain.
Windows, starting with 8, is inherently hostile to its users in ways that are very difficult or impossible to mitigate. It's a black box of complicated machinery, a lot of which is trying to spy on you, steal your data, show you ads, upsell you on their stupid cloud services so that they can steal more of your data, etc. At this point, disabling all of this is really difficult and unreliable.
Linux on the other hand is like a box of spare parts that you can build whatever you want from. You really do need to read the manual, or else whatever you build will look and work like shit. However, if you do build something good, it's yours now in a way that a proprietary OS never will be.
Thanks for the opinion Bill.
For anyone wondering, linux offers over a dozen virtual keyboards and btw they aren't called on screen keyboards. All of them work great. And lots of distros come with one included.
You are the exact personification of why Linux won't catch on, and Linux users are seen as mlady neckbeards.
On screen keyboard is a descriptive term. You're nitpicking to sound superior.
I have tried a number of on screen keyboards and can assure you, that on my system, they do not work.
Go fuck yourself.
I understand downloading a file to install something.
That's a terrible start.
Software installation sources by priority:
1. Package Manager
2. Flatpak
(Graphical utilities like Discover unite these two)
3. AppImages downloaded from the browser
4. Rpm/Deb packages downloaded from the browser, but really should be avoided
5. ONLY IF YOU REALLY KNOW YOUR SHIT YOU CAN RUN SCRIPTS TO INSTALL STUFF
You can add other stuff like toolbox after n.2 once you've got more experience.
Your reply seems to insinuate that all the software I could ever need will be included in the package manager. That's just stupid.
I agree with your order of preference, but when I start having to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find what I need, it becomes hostile.
Your reply seems to insinuate that all the software I could ever need will be included in the package manager.
Why would I make it a list if that was true? It would be just "1. Package Manager"
That's just stupid.
If you smell shit everywhere you go....
If it's on the distros, don't fret it too much. They all do everything, it's just an initial configuration.
I have been recommending Mint specifically, as it targets the average user with a 'it just works' mentality.
Home - Linux Mint
Linux Mint is an elegant, easy to use, up to date and comfortable desktop operating system.www.linuxmint.com
Third'd
Mint or any other ubuntu-derivative distro is 10000% the move. I've been running ubuntu as my os for a while now, and I've spent nearly the last decade on linux (makes me feel old saying that lol).
The other distros have a lot of strength, but at the end of the day i want to spend my time messing with things i want to mess with. I don't want random weird issues that I have to constantly debug, and everyone can agree that stability is debian's (and therefore ubuntu's) undisputed strength
If you are new I suggest bazzite, and get lutris to install windows apps outside of steam. It takes care of most of the stuff and to install software, on bazzite you use "sudo rpm-ostree install " and then reboot because bazzite uses an ostree system, or just get it in a flatpak if available. Between bazzite and knowing how to install packages outside of the flatpak repository, that should cover most of your bases for a few years and you can learn other stuff when you have the inclination. ChatGPT is really knowledgeable about Linux since it's open source. It's often much faster than digging through forums just be specific when you speak to it.
Also if you get your setup in a decent shape, you can shrink the partition and image it with dd with a single command, and then compress it to have a full system backup, which is basically your own image. Then you just write it back with a program like etcher later if you screw up your system and then just reexpand the partition to the full drive. If you get bazzite though you won't have much need to use the terminal or install anything outside flathub which will keep you from breaking the system. Also update the system occasionally, to get security fixes once a week or two is probably fine if you don't have open ports to run a server and aren't running random software.
Is this satire?
Seriously, if I was new to Linux, coming from Windows, asking for a cheat sheet or Linux for dummies manual, everything you wrote would sound like absolute gibberish to me.
If this was someone's response to me when asking for advice I'd immediately reinstall windows where at least (from the perspective of a typical end user) they speak words that make sense.
It's the easiest way to get into Linux if you need good GPU support and I assume most people play video games. Bazzite is what finally got me into Linux because it mostly just worked out of the box which is something most Linux distros I tried before that never did. I would always end up breaking them in a day or two trying to get the GPU driver installed or something. Bazzite is really good for beginning users. Not the greatest for mid tier when you are trying to gain a deeper understanding because it replies heavily on containers and file system overlays.
Also you have to remember that for people who aren't ultra Linux nerds. It's an incredible amount of work to get Linux to work. It's often days of painful configuration and research per machine. This, and a lack of gaming support is the main reason I think most people avoid Linux, which is why I suggest bazzite, as the shit just works distro.
You shouldn't ever use rpm-ostree to install stuff with, as it can cause issues with future system updates.
First port of call should be flatpaks in the bazaar.
Second, look for flatpaks or appimages online.
Third, use distrobox to install something via a different distro and export it as a shortcut to bazzite. I use arch in a distrobox, btw.
I dont think it matters really for installing little programs. You probably shouldn't change your kernel or something. When you update the system it's just using rpm-ostree and doing a standard update through the repos, then it updates flatpaks. On the steamdeck since it's arch it will break pretty easily if you update the wrong thing, but bazzite is built in fedora.
The rpm-ostree systems is also good for anything that breaks because it's basically a snapshot system. Everytime you install something or update it creates a snapshot of your old working install which you can easily roll back to if anything breaks. You could use containers for stuff but that's not really necessary. It does probably make the system more stable in ways but then you have to deal with the headaches of using containers and having everything isolated from each other. For web services though containers are worth it as it greatly increases the security of the system.
Just ask people here, people just love anyone who switches over to Linux and want to learn about it. Because we actually love this operating system. Its so good.
When my kid started using Linux, once he knew how to start programs and install things, we went through where the files are on the file system and how to get there in a terminal. I think thats a good starting point so you understand the foundation of the system.
And then go though a basic Linux command line tutorial to learn about the common tools for listing files, filtering results, renaming and deleting files etc.
You can do that stuff in a graphical file manager too but you dont really get that understanding of how things work until you do it in the command line.
Depends on what you feel lost about, if it is the basics in general then I would suggest you start of and read about the basics here labex.io/linuxjourney they write about the very basics in a very simple way. I think they did a good job, they start of with what Linux is, what distros are to commands from the most basics as how to navigate in the terminal to more advanced combinations. They also have vms where you can try out the commands if you haven't switched yet.
If it is a cheat sheet as in commands then i would say it is better to make your own of the commands you care about but you can start of by using other ppls list like this one geeksforgeeks.org/linux-unix/l… but it can be overwhelming for you so use the linuxjouney first. Also it is very important to learn how to look up how to use the arguments in the terminal with man or -h to make it faster and less painful to use.
If you are lost about programs then there are a lot of good GitHub pages that links to useful programs and cli tools, you just need to search for awesome Linux list
Examples:
github.com/luong-komorebi/Awes…
You can use their web pages version too luong-komorebi.github.io/Aweso…
githublists.com/lists/awesome-…
Here is one for distros
github.com/kolioaris/awesome-l…
Here is an example for customizing github.com/fosslife/awesome-ri…
When looking for programs is it very important that you know what distro you are on, what desktop environment (like kde, gnome, xfce) and what window composition you use (usually Wayland or x11, x11 is older and is more compatible).
So in short start of at labex.io/linuxjourney
Then look up distros here
github.com/kolioaris/awesome-l…
For new ppl do I think Ubuntu based is best because almost everything has a Ubuntu version, when you feel ready can you test out other distros. I haven't tried bazzite, I started of many years ago on debian (a few random ones like arch and mint) and then pop os for many years and now cachyos, I liked my journey but that doesn't mean it is correct for others.
I would suggest to have all of your data you care about on a separate disk or have automatic backup of it so you can break your os without care. And if you start customizing would I suggest setting up a GitHub repo and commit your changes everytime you like what you see so it is easy to go back if you regret something.
I hoped this helped on your journey, I didn't want to overwhelm you so I hope I kept it simple enough 😁
Linux Commands Cheat Sheet
Linux, often associated with being a complex operating system primarily used by developers, may not necessarily fit that description entirely.GeeksforGeeks
If it is a cheat sheet as in commands
With most modern distros, I would say that most typical users shouldn't have to go to the command line any more than they had to in windows (which is to say very seldom).
Yet there is that lingering reputation that you have to be some sort of command line guru to even think about using Linux- and that simply isn't true. Hasn't been true for decades.
This is true, but I think it is good to know the basics because sometimes is it easier just like it can be easier in Mac and windows.
I think it is good to know about the tools you have so you can do the best decisions for your use case.
But like you said the terminal is not a must (for most) so if you feel uncomfortable about it then the terminal is not a reason to not switch to Linux.
For all their faults, LLMs are pretty damn good at basic trouble shooting of Linux. Ideally prepare context for them with installation details. Use CLI client, recommend opencode CLI, plan agent is good to inspect the commands it will plan to run and let's you inspect and think through what it is doing. Can also ask for clarifications along the way.
It's not perfect but very good.
Good luck. I jumped ship 10 years ago, you get used to it to the point Windows starts feeling weird.
Don't hesistate to reach out when you're stuck
I miss Windows 95.
That ui was so damn clean. There was basically zero bloat and everything had a place.
A computer was a tool and only did what you wanted it to. Nothing more, nothing less.
I miss Windows 95.That ui was so damn clean. There was basically zero bloat and everything had a place
You might be interested in serenity.
I remember someone on Discord server I used to be on kept telling people to "use Linux" which back then, I thought it was some scary OS for people who's tech savvy and wrote him off to be annoying. It was few years when I have my own laptop as early birthday present that I find Windows 10 annoying and remembered Linux exist so I run up a virtual machine and watch so many videos on YouTube about it. Then, I made USB-Boot and installed Linux Mint.
Far from perfect but I feel so much more comfortable using Linux over Windows, feels so much more smoother
back then, I thought it was some scary OS for people who's tech savvy
That "too hard, too scary" reputation is a big part of what has held back linux adoption.
But when people actually give it a try, most realize that reputation isn't really true.
As a Linux Noob, Linux was lot easier than I expect it to be. Think it was me having the "This isn't Windows so I might as well as research about anything Linux related" mindset which it paid off for me. It got to point where Windows is now my secondary OS (Mainly to use it to use Tomb Editor to make custom Tomb Raider levels which is annoying to get it running with Wine which I don't know how to troubleshoot at all.)
It's ironic how it's now my main OS and if you told me several years ago that I would be mostly using Linux, I would think you're talking total nonsense.
Home - Tomb Engine 1.9
Welcome to our home! The official website for TombEngine: A new, open-source game engine for building adventures for Lara Croft.TombEngine
I think installing Linux exposes you to higher severity issues, like "now it won't boot". Once you get over that initial setup, it's not much different than windows or apple.
If more computers came with it pre installed, it would be even easier for folks.
I think about half the time I've installed Linux it was fine. The other half were problems with esoteric solutions.
Still glad I made the switch.
I'm using it on my laptop as a teacher. My gaming PC with steam is linux. I see improvements in performance every half year.
Had a student want to use it. I told him he needs to dual boot. Keep his options open. Then time will tell whether he will make the great leap.
Being simple to use out of the box is NOT a bad thing on its own. We are simply used to seeing the proprietary profit-driven version, which is the path to enshittification. When something works great out of the box but you still own your machine and have access to any damn thing you want that's hidden from view by default, that is just a good product.
I've been an engineer in electronics and software for over 20 years. I have a masters in software engineering. I currently work on C and C++ code every day for embedded systems, including one that's embedded linux. The terminal is my comfort zone. Screens full of super-legible monospaced text please my eyes.
I run Linux Mint Cinnamon (btw) on every computer of mine, even my work machine, and I don't care who knows it!
I recommend it to anybody of any skill level who will listen.
It doesn't have to. KDE is a great example here. Out of the box, it's extremely simple to use, as well as familiar in look and feel to Windows. But if you want to - it gives you a lot of customization options. So it doesn't seem to lose out on anything due to being simplified by default.
And frankly, a lot of Unix software could use a similar approach. I know it's not that simple, but it helps the users greatly - particularly new ones, but experienced ones too. Perhaps this wave of Windows refugees will in some way lead to progress in this area.
That's the beauty of Linux- there are so many distros to choose from.
Something for everyone.
And if enough people don't like the existing options, you are always free to fork what exists and make something that fits your needs better.
Linux doesn't really have the profit motives that lead to enshittification.
I guess a bigger entity could try to start charging for... something... Support, maybe, but that seems unlikely to take off.
My biggest concern is the whole "removing powerful features = user friendliness!" mentality that these big tech companies have been pushing for years.
Why make users smarter when you can make software worse and charge more for it?
The dummies don't get the bigger picture, they just see "nobody needs powerful features that make things too confusing for me!" My hope is that they don't flood Linux with this drivel - profit margin or not, it's a toxic cultre that has already been created in commercial software.
Song Lyrics... Does any app (preferably FOSS) actually work on Android?
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apt.izzysoft.de/packages/com.d…
„OuterTune“ – IzzyOnDroid F-Droid Repository
Material 3 Music Player with local file & YouTube Music supportIzzyOnDroid Repo Browser
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oh yeah this is a fantastic language learning tool
(although it can bring up problems with tonal languages like Vietnamese, Thai, Mandarin, Cantonese, etc where the lyrics often abandon the words' inherent tones and follow the song melody instead. )
I saw this post yesterday, but haven't checked it out:
piefed.social/c/opensource@lem…
I have lrcget run on my library to grab missing lyrics each night and use Symfonium for listening and displaying the lyrics. If I need to, I go out to Genius.
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GitHub - OuterTune/OuterTune: A Material 3 Music Player for Android with local file & YouTube Music support. Forked from InnerTune
A Material 3 Music Player for Android with local file & YouTube Music support. Forked from InnerTune - OuterTune/OuterTuneGitHub
GitHub - Lambada10/SongSync: Android app to download lyrics for songs in your music library.
Android app to download lyrics for songs in your music library. - Lambada10/SongSyncGitHub
Servo 0.0.1 Release
Servo 0.0.1 Release - Servo aims to empower developers with a lightweight, high-performance alternative for embedding web technologies in applications.
A brief update on the goals and plans behind the new Servo releases on GitHub.Servo
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Chinese firm thanks ‘sales consultant’ Trump as tariff threat spurs orders
Chinese robotics firm thanks ‘sales consultant’ Trump as tariff threat spurs orders
Source at small robotics exporter says 100 per cent tariff warning has led to surge in purchases: ‘taken the pressure off’ annual sales target.Luna Sun (South China Morning Post)
Israeli security minister pushes to resume Gaza war
Israeli security minister pushes to resume Gaza war
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for the resumption of the Gaza offensive despite a US-brokered truceRT
Hamas acting in good faith – senior US negotiator
Hamas acting in good faith – senior US negotiator
Hamas has been acting in good faith and seeking to fulfill its obligations under the US-brokered Gaza deal, Jared Kushner believesRT
Two charged in assassination plot against RT chief – Investigative Committee
Two charged in assassination plot against RT chief – Investigative Committee
Neo-Nazi thugs were offered $50,000 to attempt to kill Margarita Simonyan, the agency has saidRT
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Why does a Local AI Voice Agent Running on a Super-Cheap Soc Matter?
Why does a Local AI Voice Agent Running on a Super-Cheap Soc Matter?
Most recent news about AI seems to involve staggering amounts of money. OpenAI and Nvidia sign a $100b data center contract. Meta offers researchers $100m salaries. VCs invested almost $200b in AI …Pete Warden's blog
Ethiopia in Talks With China to Convert Dollar Loans Into Yuan
Ethiopia in Talks With China to Convert Dollar Loans Into Yuan
Ethiopia started talks with China to convert at least part of the $5.38 billion it owes Beijing into yuan-denominated loans, following an example set by Kenya that bolsters China’s efforts to internationalize its currency.Matthew Hill (Bloomberg)
Funny federated comment:
And so Peter Navarro (remember him?) got hold of the monkey’s paw, and he said, “I wish we didn’t have a trade deficit with China,” and then the finger curled over.
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The Crushing Cost of U.S. Sanctions on Cuba
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/37811665
[from Cuba In Context - weekly newsletter of the BellyOfTheBeast news/video collective]Cuba has released its annual report on the impact of U.S. sanctions on the island's economy. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the damages amount to $7.5 billion, the single biggest loss in a year since Cuba began issuing these reports.
Also:
* Farm near Havana pioneers #agroecology
* Cuba wins gold at the Tokyo Athletics World Championships
* Almost 1,000 same-sex marriages in Cuba last year
* Cuban reggaeton artist returns home after emigrating to #US
* Cuba extends tax exemptions on medicine and food imports
* Millions of Cubans struggle to get water
The Crushing Cost of U.S. Sanctions on Cuba
[from Cuba In Context - weekly newsletter of the BellyOfTheBeast news/video collective]Cuba has released its annual report on the impact of U.S. sanctions on the island's economy. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the damages amount to $7.5 billion, the single biggest loss in a year since Cuba began issuing these reports.
Also:
* Farm near Havana pioneers #agroecology
* Cuba wins gold at the Tokyo Athletics World Championships
* Almost 1,000 same-sex marriages in Cuba last year
* Cuban reggaeton artist returns home after emigrating to #US
* Cuba extends tax exemptions on medicine and food imports
* Millions of Cubans struggle to get water
The Crushing Cost of U.S. Sanctions on Cuba
cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/37811665
[from Cuba In Context - weekly newsletter of the BellyOfTheBeast news/video collective]Cuba has released its annual report on the impact of U.S. sanctions on the island's economy. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the damages amount to $7.5 billion, the single biggest loss in a year since Cuba began issuing these reports.
Also:
* Farm near Havana pioneers #agroecology
* Cuba wins gold at the Tokyo Athletics World Championships
* Almost 1,000 same-sex marriages in Cuba last year
* Cuban reggaeton artist returns home after emigrating to #US
* Cuba extends tax exemptions on medicine and food imports
* Millions of Cubans struggle to get water
The Crushing Cost of U.S. Sanctions on Cuba
[from Cuba In Context - weekly newsletter of the BellyOfTheBeast news/video collective]Cuba has released its annual report on the impact of U.S. sanctions on the island's economy. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the damages amount to $7.5 billion, the single biggest loss in a year since Cuba began issuing these reports.
Also:
* Farm near Havana pioneers #agroecology
* Cuba wins gold at the Tokyo Athletics World Championships
* Almost 1,000 same-sex marriages in Cuba last year
* Cuban reggaeton artist returns home after emigrating to #US
* Cuba extends tax exemptions on medicine and food imports
* Millions of Cubans struggle to get water
The Crushing Cost of U.S. Sanctions on Cuba
[from Cuba In Context - weekly newsletter of the BellyOfTheBeast news/video collective]
Cuba has released its annual report on the impact of U.S. sanctions on the island's economy. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the damages amount to $7.5 billion, the single biggest loss in a year since Cuba began issuing these reports.
Also:
* Farm near Havana pioneers #agroecology
* Cuba wins gold at the Tokyo Athletics World Championships
* Almost 1,000 same-sex marriages in Cuba last year
* Cuban reggaeton artist returns home after emigrating to #US
* Cuba extends tax exemptions on medicine and food imports
* Millions of Cubans struggle to get water
ELI5: Is browsing on 4g/5g networks less secure than on your own wifi?
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About the same.
Mobile networks have their own security problems that wifi doesn't, but wifi has security problems that mobile networks don't.
Using a VPN does help secure your "last mile" connection but then you need to trust the VPN provider.
I would argue is less secure because there's more potential for signals to be intercepted, and you are only in control of a portion of the network (the other half being in control of your service provider)
When you're on you're own Wi-Fi you're usually much closer to your access point and in your home where you control the network (which has less range) and the space around it.
Either way the difference is minimal as both can be intercepted and attacked
Decrypting the 4g/5g network will require a key from the telecommunications company. I argue it's insignificantly less secure because a malicious actor can intercept it and decrypt it if they manage to steal the key from the company.
Practically, only your government would be able to get a copy of the key. But they'd also be able to watch your actual cable internet as well. And when your government gets interested in you then you fucked all the way up.
That depends where your VPN is.
Say you access a VPN located over seas from your phone while on mobile data. Then your traffic is encrypted and your mobile data provider (for your phone) should only see traffic to one IP address.
Say you access the same VPN while at home connect to wifi or Ethernet on a PC (or on your phone), then your ISP should only see traffic to the one IP address (that's located over seas).
Now let's say your are tech savvy enough to run a Wireguard setup and or Tailscale setup at home and make your own VPN. Then you access that from work or from overseas with a mobile phone or laptop. All your traffic should now show as connecting to your homes IP address directly, but keep in mind your home ISP provider then sees you connecting to sites like Google, Facebook, or Lemmy.
It's going to depend on what types of data you are looking to protect, how you have your wifi configured, what type of sites you are accessing and whom you are willing to trust.
To start with, if you are accessing unencypted websites (HTTP) at least part of the communications will be in the clear and open to inspection. You can mitigate this somewhat with a VPN. However, this means that you need to implicitly trust the VPN provider with a lot of data. Your communications to the VPN provider would be encrypted, though anyone observing your connection (e.g. your ISP) would be able to see that you are communicating with that VPN provider. And any communications from the VPN provider to/from the unencrypted website would also be in the clear and could be read by someone sniffing the VPN exit node's traffic (e.g. the ISP used by the VPN exit node) Lastly, the VPN provider would have a very clear view of the traffic and be able to associate it with you.
For encrypted websites (HTTPS), the data portion of the communications will usually be well encrypted and safe from spying (more on this in a sec). However, it may be possible for someone (e.g. your ISP) to snoop on what domains you are visiting. There are two common ways to do this. The first is via DNS requests. Any time you visit a website, your browser will need to translate the domain name to an IP address. This is what DNS does and it is not encrypted by default. Also, unless you have taken steps to avoid it, it likely your ISP is providing DNS for you. This means that they can just log all your requests, giving them a good view of the domains you are visiting. You can use something like DNS Over Https (DOH), which does encrypt DNS requests and goes to specific servers; but, this usually requires extra setup and will work regardless of using your local WiFi or a 5g/4g network. The second way to track HTTPS connections is via a process called Server Name Identification (SNI). In short, when you first connect to a web server your browser needs to tell that server which domain it wants to connect to, so that the server can send back the correct TLS certificate. This is all unencrypted and anyone inbetween (e.g. your ISP) can simply read that SNI request to know what domains you are connecting to. There are mitigations for this, specifically Encrypted Server Name Identification (ESNI), but that requires the web server to implement it, and it's not widely used. This is also where a VPN can be useful, as the SNI request is encrypted between your system and the VPN exit node. Though again, it puts a lot of trust in the VPN provider and the VPN provider's ISP could still see the SNI request as it leaves the VPN network. Though, associating it with you specifically might be hard.
As for the encrypted data of an HTTPS connection, it is generally safe. So, someone might know you are visiting lemmy.ml
, but they wouldn't be able to see what communities you are reading or what you are posting. That is, unless either your device or the server are compromised. This is why mobile device malware is a common attack vector for the State level threat actors. If they have malware on your device, then all the encryption in the world ain't helping you. There are also some attacks around forcing your browser to use weaker encryption or even the attacker compromising the server's certificate. Though these are likely in the realm of targeted attacks and unlikely to be used on a mass scale.
So ya, not exactly an ELI5 answer, as there isn't a simple answer. To try and simplify, if you are visiting encrypted websites (HTTPS) and you don't mind your mobile carrier knowing what domains you are visiting, and your device isn't compromised, then mobile data is fine. If you would prefer your home ISP being the one tracking you, then use your home wifi. If you don't like either of them tracking you, then you'll need to pick a VPN provider you feel comfortable with knowing what sites you are visiting and use their software on your device. And if your device is compromised, well you're fucked anyway and it doesn't matter what network you are using.
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Secure against whom?
If it's from a random thief, both are about equality secure, they rely on proven cryptographic methods.
If it's from somebody powerful enough to make an ISP bend the knee, then they are equally insecure because those cryptographic methods assume you trust the underlying infrastructure. If you do not though, then yes using a VPN will help as you are adding your own level of encryption on top.
Windows privacy: AtlasOS vs Amelabs Privacy+?
- AtlasOS: atlasos.net/
- Amelabs Privacy+: docs.amelabs.net/privacy/_plus…
I use a Windows VM for apps not available on Linux and just want to cut out all the telemetry possible.
AtlasOS is installed as a Ameliorated Playbook and makes a ton of opinionated changes that aren’t privacy or necessarily performance related. Disabling the Windows 11 right click menus in favor of the legacy one, disabling window shadows, changing the wallpaper, etc. Privacy+ looks appealing, I wanna know if anyone has tried both and can tell me differences, like if one or the other improves privacy more.
Privacy+ Playbook
Completely transform your computer in minutes. Simply download a verified Playbook, or use your own, and run it in AME Wizard.Ameliorated Documentation
Oh sorry, I had heard that was fixed awhile ago but apparently not.
What I don't like about lemmy crossposts is having the whole post text inside block quotes, and sometimes isn't formatted properly. I think that and showing a link to the original post is bad design, like why would it matter if a post is a crosspost or not?
President Xi Jinping's remarks on the formulation of 15th Five-Year Plan
President Xi Jinping's remarks on the formulation of 15th Five-Year Plan
President Xi Jinping has made instructions on the formulation of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) on different occasions.CGTN
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How China fostered growth, innovation amid global uncertainties in the past five years
Explainer: How China fostered growth, innovation amid global uncertainties in the past five years
With the fourth plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee scheduled on Monday to review proposals for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), it is an opportune moment to reflect on how the country has navigated its developm…CGTN
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La tecnologia nel solarpunk è fatta dalle decisioni di una comunità che codifica i suoi strumenti.
Technology as crystallized community
"Ice Crystals" photo CC-BY spurekar For a few years now, I've been analyzing how technology is represented in fiction and popular culture.alxd - solarpunk hacker
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