Yeah, I even tried rolling my own downstream distro based on Bazzite by trying to install it at build time (when they do most of their system changes), but I kept running into trouble either with extracting the files or moving the files where they needed to go.

I mean, it has enabled every goober and bad actor with an opinion to essentially have a megaphone and build platforms and movements. I’d argue that’s a net negative. Even the Fediverse isn’t immune to propaganda and conspiracy theories.

I think putting a warning on the tin is appropriate, especially for platforms run by billionaires whose explicit goal is to get people hooked and keep them feeding the machine by any means necessary.

It’s true that the bulk of the issue arises from the people in charge of the platforms, but nobody currently in power is going to do anything about the billionaire problem. This is at least a vague gesture acknowledging that a problem exists. Also, it’s just a sign. When have warning signs stopped people from doing things that are unhealthy?

Oh, Private Internet Access. The way it installs itself is wonky on immutable systems (i.e. it was written for mutable systems in an odd way). I remember seeing someone say on the PIA GitHub that there’s a workaround, but I haven’t given that a go, and my own experience trying in the past still led to problems, even if you got the client and daemon working.

You can utilize the OpenVPN configs just fine, but you lose out on some nice features in the client, like WireGuard and some other QoL things.

I love them, too. Ironically, I’m not currently running one, but that’s more because I need a VPN client that I haven’t been able to get working on immutable distros, but I’d use one if I that was solved

I’m not familiar with this library or this dev, so I can’t say if this is intended or not. There’s plenty of bad actors out there who would love to get their hands on existing projects with a base of trust, which they can weaponize for their nefarious means.

I think everyone here has offered good advice, so I have nothing to add in that regard, but for the record, I fucked up a Debian bookworm install by doing a basic apt update && apt upgrade. The only “weird” software it had was Remmina, so I could remote into work; nothing particularly wild.

I recognize that Debian is supposed to be bulletproof, but I can offer commiseration that it can be just as fallible as any other base distro.

Batman: Return of Joker is also an amazing feat of NES technomancy. Not a supremely great game, mind you, but what they were able to achieve graphically on the NES rivals some SNES games.

Especially with big AAA companies, I think devs have gotten lazy with their optimization passes, because bigger cards means they can just continue cramming more into a game without bothering to budget for optimization.

Wait, they are? I thought I was going crazy and missed a big shift in the latter’s project goals! Thanks for pointing that out

It’s probably still a good option if you don’t have a VPN, though.

…or they should just move to Linux, kill two birds and all that.

I like the idea of Portmaster, but it didn’t work with dynamically assigned VPN IPs when I used it a couple years ago. It’s also not easy to temporarily switch off; iirc, I had to uninstall everything to get my VPN to work again.

Unless they’ve figured out how to fix that issue, it’s a caveat anyone with a VPN should know about.

I’ve done this with an old Pixel (partly to wipe the phone, and partly as a hope that if it’s refurbished/resold, the new owner will have Graphene). If you can read and follow a recipe, it’s virtually stupid-proof. I don’t remember having to know anything for which the directions didn’t specify or offer explicit directions.

I run both CachyOS and Bazzite. They have graphical stuff for the initial load screens, but I’ve seen their text-based loading screens from time to time for troubleshooting purposes, and I don’t recall seeing Tux either.

I’m curious who sees Tux when they boot up.

I appreciate your cynicism, but I’m not personally inclined towards it. I think what it will ultimately boil down to, which you alluded to, is how the law is enforced. If they get fined as a first measure but then get taken to court for a second failure by California’s attorney general and get subsequently bankrupted, it might stand as an example to others.

Or maybe they’ll still say the potential risk is still worth it. I dunno. We’ll just have to see how this goes, but it’s still better than the current options, which are:

• Trying to navigate deleting your own data, staying on top of it, and hoping they’re actually deleting things.
• Paying a private company to do it and hope they’re not just pocketing your money.
• Doing nothing and getting butt-fucked by surveillance capitalism.

None of those are great, so I’m hopeful this is the start of something better.

Am I wrong for wanting to seek some electoral power to at least have a leader in my country that’s NOT a raging transphobe, or neo Nazi?

Nope, but it might not mean you’re an anarchist. I stress the word “might.”

Anarchy is a philosophy, not a destination, as you kind of alluded to. I plan to vote in the coming elections and continue to participate in electoral politics, because I recognize that this system will not be replaced simply by non-participation. There are not yet enough anarchists to just overturn what has been the norm for a long time.

That does not mean, however, that I will be satisfied with this system. It’s going to continue to take years of effort to wrest power from the hands of the undeserving. I may never see the kind of governance I think will work at scale, but if I can be part of making that become people’s reality someday, then I will have done my part.

It sounds like you’re coming around to communalism, which is the kind of anarchy I like. It’s also the most viable path, imo, to see anarchy become a reality, because helping each other at a small scale was always the point for me.

Big governments don’t work—even when they’re good—because they are unable to effectively respond to the immediate needs of a growing and changing populace. They can catch many disabled people in a broad net, for example, and provide help, but the minute somebody doesn’t fit the mould, they fall through the cracks or get left behind entirely. A community, though? They know you, what you need, and they are already there with you to help.

I think it’s good that you’re asking questions. Keep it up! Don’t be satisfied with “good enough.”

Exactly. It would have been better for them to put their money towards not generating CO2 in the first place. Batteries are nothing special, and they’re signing off on this project so they can appear green, because it uses CO2.

That’s a good point. You’d have to know your intended user. Somebody who only uses flatpak probably doesn’t need to worry about anything, but if they want to start layering, they’d run into problems on a major version change.

I find that unlikely when considering the current trajectory of AI.

Honestly, if someone wants the ease of Windows but isn’t tech savvy enough to figure out “typical” Linux, I’d just point them to Aurora. Fedora atomic, easy system upgrades, easy rollbacks, nearly no downtime due to backup images.

Android integration sounds interesting though.

It’s probably just Waydroid, but rebranded.

Unless…?