• 2 Posts
  • 121 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
Cake day: July 3rd, 2023














  • Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

    Depends on the game. In general no, unless it has kernel anticheat, which Linux will not allow because that’s a glaring security risk.

    Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

    Yes.

    If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

    Most Windows software can be run on Linux using Wine. But there are advantages to using Linux-specific alternatives - they are often lighter and faster.

    How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

    Yes, each distribution has its own update tool. They also install and update software (like in Android, where Google Play installs and updates all apps and not just the OS). No need to download exe files from random websites.

    How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

    Linux is generally much more secure than Windows, because it is open-source. Most internet servers and supercomputers use Linux partly because of its security.

    Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

    Nvidia is notoriously bad but getting better. AMD is good.

    Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

    No.

    And also, what distro might be best for me?

    Linux Mint. It is stable, reasonably up to date and does not make confusing changes every update. It also tends to work on most systems.



  • But plz do tell me an example of a “dual faith” that can exist without violating one belief from the other.

    Two very common ones are Confucianism + Taoism + Mahayana Buddhism (optional) in China and Shinto + Mahayana Buddhism + Christianity (optional) in Japan. The first is rather entertaining, because Confucianism and Taoism often have opposite teachings (falling respectively on the ‘ascend to technocrat’ and ‘retvrn to monke’ ends of the political compass meme). And yet, for the majority of Chinese history, most people - or at least most people who left behind written records - were both Confucian and Taoist.

    There are also various blends of religions in South Asia, including Sufism, Sikhism (both Islam + Hinduism), various schools of Hinduism + Buddhism, and Navayana Buddhism (Buddhism + Marxism). Mentioning these to fundamentalists of any of the pure religions is not recommended.


  • Their laptops were running Windows / Linux, and this article is saying that while they initially planned to shift to HarmonyOS Next, they are now likely to stay with Linux.

    Also, while HarmonyOS Next is proprietary, the kernel (Hongmeng, a microkernel optimised for arm64 and with a Linux compatibility layer) and large parts of the underlying code (OpenHarmony) are open-source. Sort of like Android and AOSP. The ‘optimised for arm64’ thing might be why they are sticking with Linux - the laptops mostly use Intel x86 chips.


  • i’m convinced that this is one of the bellweathers for ww3

    Counterpoint: advanced chips aren’t as important geopolitically as people think.

    1. Older chips are more than enough for missiles and drones, so there’s no military advantage.

    2. There is an industrial advantage in things like datacentres and big data analysis, but older chips can do these things if you put enough of them together and give them enough electricity.

    Bleeding edge chips shine in consumer electronics, but WW3 isn’t going to start over whether Huawei Mate 69 Pro or Samsung S42+ is superior.


  • It really depends on who your friend is, and who they are trying to defenf against.

    If the US ( or Russian / Chinese) government really wants to access an internet-connected device, they can do it; what app you are using doesn’t even matter. For example, most people use the default Google keyboard, which could be compromised.

    If the concern is about local goons / employers / coworkers, then both Telegram and Signal are more than enough to stop them prying.

    As for whether to use Signal or Telegram, Signal has end to end encryption enabled by default, while in Telegram you have to switch it on for each chat. On the other hand, Telegram has the best UI among messaging apps hands down.