• 0 Posts
  • 32 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
cake
Cake day: June 19th, 2023

help-circle


  • My first time trying to get my mother to switch from Windows to a Linux based OS wasn’t successful because there was too much friction and inconvenience for her, and she wasn’t willing to even entertain the idea of Linux for years after that. My second attempt was successful because Linux is much more user friendly than it used to be 13 years ago, and I changed my approach to make it as frictionless as possible.

    Firefox just set to block 3rd party cookies + some basic extensions like adblocking and some easy privacy stuff is a good way to go about it, because it’s better than what she used previously and it doesn’t become inconvenient to her. She doesn’t know what an operating system is, or what cookies are… She just uses the computer to browse the web, emails, and light office work. She even says she prefers the current setup (though that’s because her old computer was chugging with Windows and runs smoothly now with a less bloated OS)

    No need for noscript, deleting cookies, fingerprinting, or user agent stuff… Only introduce these to them if they express interest in privacy and are interested in learning more. If you try to thrust it upon them too suddenly they will just think “Linux isn’t a good user experience and is only good for tech enthusiasts and programmers”.



  • The smartphone market has matured, so there is less of a difference between each generation. Earlier on there was a massive difference in performance:

    The OG Galaxy S had 512MB of RAM, 8GB storage, and a single Arm A8 core at 1GHz, and the SII had 1GB of RAM, 16GB/32GB storage, and a dual core A9 at 1.2GHz. This is a single generation with double the RAM and more than double CPU power, and nearly 6x the GPU power (theoretically), and 2-4 times the storage.

    Then the SIII came out with a quad core SoC 1.4GHz, a much larger screen with higher resolution (jumping from 480p to 720p), significantly bigger battery, and up to 64GB of storage.

    The S4 doubled the RAM to 2GB, faster storage, significantly faster and more efficient SoC, a larger, 1080p display paired with a much more powerful GPU, and a significantly larger battery as well.

    Back then, if you had the money, there was a considerable difference between each generation and there was a reason to upgrade, many not every year, but if you could afford it, upgrading every other year made sense.

    After that, changes were much more calm. Sure, some phone makers made exciting and innovative stuff, but the hardware didn’t have a massive difference from one generation to another, and also prices were rising.

    Nowadays, phones are far less exciting, but flagship phones are ludicrously expensive, and yet they sell incredibly well. While phones are being improved from one generation to the next, they feel like small steps rather than a giant leap. Our demand for power hasn’t gone up quite as fast as our phones themselves. People will keep buying phones less frequently, just like we do for laptops.





  • I understand that, but from my personal experience, this is not more stable because companies like these will fire a chunk of their workforce without batting an eye for the slightest shift in the market, whereas a self-employed person will just see a slight decline in demand. Also, the difference in income more than makes up for the perceived stability. Sure it isn’t for everyone, but as a consumer, I’d rather most of the money I pay won’t go to corporate executive’s multi-million dollar salary, but to the people actually providing the service.






  • As much as I want more people to use Linux and divorce from Microsoft, I don’t want to be someone’s tech support guy, I’ve done it as a teen and as a young adult; I never want to do it again. When my parents have trouble with their computer, they don’t call me, especially since I live in a different timezone and it gets inconvenient… they take it to a technician to get it sorted. If they take a Linux computer to a technician, they will likely just install windows on it and call it a day.


  • I’ve never used the numpad when I did have a full sized keyboard, and I want a smaller keyboard because the distance from the mouse and the WASD is smaller, which is more comfortable for me when gaming, but also when switching between typing and navigating with the mouse, the shorter distance is more pleasant.

    I use a 75% keyboard because I don’t want a numpad, but I do want the arrow keys and F row without needing a function layer for them.