This is the part I don’t understand. Mobile data would work in your houses too, right?

Actually, first - ironically mobile coverage is terrible right at my new home since I moved. Great about 200 yards from home and most everywhere I go, but there’s a weird blind spot at my address specifically.

Second, Most mobile data plans are 30-80 Mbps†, most home WiFi plans are 300 Mbps-1Gbps†. WiFi isn’t just faster, it’s a lot faster. † your milage may vary, these are based on my experience

Finally, again this is another case of maybe I’m weird, but my friends and I are into retro gaming, and self-hosting and both of those have LAN-specific options that only work within the WiFi and home network.

Oh, so to clear up confusion - switching to Linux destroys the local storage of the GDID, and Linux has generally much better privacy (to the degree the OS is involved - browser privacy is a related subject). However, it doesn’t undo the past - if you previously signed in with your MS account on that system, Microsoft will have that record in perpetuity.

Best solution would be to wipe any system you acquire without ever signing in to Microsoft. While switching to Linux will not change any of the components serial numbers that Microsoft has, you will at least not be actively associating most of your web activity with your M$ account.

Tangent - if you’re gonna do shady stuff, use VMs or TailsOS.

I use WiFi at home and friends. I use cellular for work and travel (usually between home and friends). I’m glad you have a simple enough arrangement that it’s worthwhile to manage it by hand.

Further, in recent versions of Android, factory settings are set to automatically turn WiFi back on if turned off - plus there’s several methods to indirectly turn WiFi back on (https://thedroidguy.com/stop-android-turning-wifi-on-automatically-1261625). This is that dark patterns thing. Getting people to do what you want by being frictionless with your preferred options and ‘polite’ but obstinate about options you wish to steer people away from.

Cannot wait for the Motorola/GrapheneOS collab phones.

Please note: I didn’t say you had to connect to these networks. This happens as a background process unless you do a ritual to shut off location services and actively work to keep it off. Most people do not know/care to do this. And even if it’s off in settings, some apps have the permission to temporarily override this (and will ask you once to grant it such permission and then have that permission for the lifetime of the app). And regardless of which app overrides said setting, Google gets a copy of whatever the background scan finds (for all Android phones that have the Play store installed, which is most of them).

Yup!

Motherboard, CPU, GPU models and serial numbers. Ram size and speed. Those were used during Windows activation as old as windows 95. But likely yes, a full list of every component connected.

Your Android phone collects every WiFi network it has ever seen and sends it to Google, so we should assume Microsoft does the same (Android can locate you without GPS by using your neighbors’ WiFi signals as position identifiers, and can triangulate you to a few feet using the relative networks’ signal strengths)

That could not be further from my position. I’d prefer marijuana be largely decriminalized for personal use, not simply legalized. I’d prefer that we have universal healthcare and that Regan’s war on drugs be officially over with, with appropriate medical research be started for relevant substances and harm reduction policies enacted for public health.

@Mouselemming points out that as soon as the “fun” part is separated from the pain suppressant part, the latter will get insurance support and the former will be left on the cutting floor of history, due to market pressures.

@chonglibloodsport suggests we don’t let “the bosses” make this decision - as if it’s going to be a vote or something similar and not the wheels of capitalism doing it’s thing. People won’t get a choice about how bosses exert influence on this.

Nobody wants the bosses to be making these decisions, it ought to be in the hands of the people with guidance of medical professionals and the backing of science. But pretending like meddling isn’t exactly what corpos are gonna do is kinda naïve, in my opinion.

If you think there’s some other takeaway I’m missing, I’m open to contrasting opinions.

Pretty sure Valve thinks the same. They’d rather their ‘consoles’ establish a performance floor than a ceiling. They don’t want to make hardware - they don’t want to make an OS, it’s just what’s required to compete with Microsoft (who’s actively threatening them since they announced the Windows Store for Windows 8 and Xbox game pass at the time)

First time dealing with late stage capitalism?

Whom precisely do you think wants that decision in their bosses hands?

Price fixing is a form of collusion, and it’s a crime - even if the sellers can claim they didn’t all sit down in a room together.

Phoenix apartments had an inflated housing market that was caused by price fixing. The property management used software to set rental prices, and the terms of service required them to use the prices suggested. None of the managers individually spoke to each other, but the software algorithmically inflated rent based on what other properties could get away with charging.

https://www.azag.gov/press-release/arizona-attorney-general-announces-1-million-settlement-weidner-property-management

I happen to have seen that one before. It’s very layered … like an onion.

Yes! But I’m definitely an oddball. I also read the terms of serving refuse to use services that have terms I disagree with.

Imagine how scarring it would be to look in a “smart mirror” and have it automatically censor your own body.

This is of course, aside from the million reasons I don’t trust the government when they talk about “for the children” …

I wanted to get a Linux phone and a lapdock. Would give me one device that I could keep personal stuff on, but turn into a full workstation when needed. (But Linux phones are still very much a work in progress)

It’s a hybrid between a laptop and a USB hub. Takes the monitor and keyboard of a laptop and makes them connect by USB to usually a phone, but here the Steam Deck.

NIMBY in action (but far more palatable than usual)

I see your point and it pleases me. Let’s upvote it so it will be seen more by others like me.

But to post a controversial opinion - I believe the internet is a giant confirmation bias machine.

I disagree with your conclusion as it applies here - but I appreciate the argument. (And upvoted, as it adds to the discussion). I think between these two nations one is the underdog and more in touch with people and reality.

That said, Zelinsky is absolutely a charismatic political leader and it’s healthy to critically analyze anything you hear from such sources. In this case, the statement is definitely a bit bravado nicely coupled with reassurance to their people. I do also believe it tracks with what’s publicly available on the warfront. Nonetheless, the interpretation is clearly biased (to make their own side look good).

Thank you for your thoughts. I also see you’re getting downvoted by the echo chamber. I appreciate it, at least.

I prefer the term Computer Intelligence to Artificial Intelligence or Synthetic Intelligence. It grounds the term in the computational logic of a math rock, and allows the intelligence not be a ‘pass/fail’, but rather what scales to what’s been discovered.

It covers modern LLMs, but also includes classic fuzzy logic, probabilistic calculations, Bayesian networks, etc.

Really itching to try that golden goose recipe.