It’s very worth the try.

I worked with seriously hardware constricted machines for years and users on a learning curve.

KDE did not make my fancy when I tried it, when first moving from Windows, 20 years ago. Not then, not now. I know it has evolved a great deal but I can’t justify commiting so much hardware resources for the DE alone. And the obcession with the K’s are a bit of a pet peeve. I’m aware I’m getting some packages from it now and then and I have to eventually try it again but tomorrow is not the eve of such day.

I used Gnome until Gnome ceased to be Gnome and reinvented itself under that smartphone aspect. Mate forked and maintained that simple approachable look and feel.

XFCE is good but I missed the dual panel on the file explorer and eventually moved from it. It also tended to force me to mannually configure sound settings, keyboard hotkeys and other small things that otherwise were readily available.

I spent some time with Bunsen Labs installed on a machine and I enjoyed the look and feel. Conky was the jewel for me. But I had other users on that machine that didn’t adapt.

A short stint on Enlightenment. Not my cup of tea. Deepin was a disappointment. And I couldn’t motivate myself to manually configure a tile manager. I want a computer, not another hobby.

I used LXQT for some time but I felt it lacking. Very light and very fast but… Cinnamon is a nope for me, personally, but I have set it up for others and people enjoyed it, even more when coming from Windows.

But isn’t this the beauty of Linux? There is an option for everyone. Like you very well put it: you do you.

Doesn’t Mint just configures Cinnamon as default DE and leaves the rest alone, working from the stable branch? That’s my understanding.

I also run Debian. One desktop and three laptops. I run Mate, normally. The best compromise between useability and DE resource use. But I’ve used XFCE and LXDE.

Of course it is cruel and stupid. An isolated event would be bad enough but the US government seems to be on a streak to inflict easily avoidable distress and suffering to the population. It’s calous behaviour. Anywhere else, people would be housted and prosecuted for gross negligence and incompetence.

My understanding is that Mint focus development of LMDE around Cinnamon but the other DEs are there nonetheless, untouched, like Debian releases it.

Really?

I always vote for boredom, which means I vote for Debian. It’s a well rounded, reliable and solid OS. It can be a bit dated on some packages but it rewards with very low maintenance. It works. It does what it is supposed to do, which is allowing us to run and use our computer as we see fit.

You want something a bit more up to date? Move to Mint. If Debian still appeals to you, move to LMDE.

This is a cruel thing to say but from an outside perspective, seems like the US government is forcing a diet on the population. Brutal but efficient to address that overweight problem.

Edit: for real? Isn’t the /s obvious?

They’re making their bed, they better lie in it when it’s time. Even if it’s on fire. And full of rusty nails.

Are we taking numbers on the AI craze bust already? I say in the next six months, to a year.

I can agree with the assessement on how the company is aiming to bleed dry the market and is aiming to take over the business market. But honest question: what are we to understand by premium?

But even the business market is fickle. The company I work at had a scare recently with a serious security breaching. Nothing was admitted but I suspect the vector of attack was the informal Whatsapp network used to run day to day communications and it’s AI. The installed Microsoft security solutions were as efficient as a collander. I can’t imagine what was leaked. That costs money.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, would you be so kind and repeat after me: abandonware and indie games are the future!

“The problem men see with lesbians, is that they do not want to have sex them. But gay men do.”

This phrase is from a book of the early 2000’s, about language, jargon and, in one chapter, prejudice and specifically prejudice on sexuality.

It’s the most destilled explanation I ever found.

I sincerely don’t care about what others want for their life, as long as they are happy and not hurting anyone.

I have a phone in my house that is bordering on ten years, I believe. Still useable.

I have another that is reaching six years old.

The one I’m personally using currently is reaching three and will replace one of those I previously mentioned.

I intend to get a de-googled phone soon and expect that to last at least eight years.

If you can, look for used Lenovo Thinkpads. Those machines are extremely compatible with Linux, out of the box, have good hardware profiles and, if used, can be sources really cheap and are very easily repairable.

I have two Thinkpads running Debian and the machines are brilliant.

No and I don’t think I’ve writen nothing that hinted in that sense.

What I tried to convey is that a good part of what is holding back women to achieve equality are other women and that is unreasonable to me.

I don’t know.

My concern was always about showing respect to others, regardless of gender. I want for others what I want for myself.

I grew up surrounded by womens and, as a kid, I heard horrible stories about men behaviour but also heard countless dismissals from women to women about those same male behaviours.

As a teen, I became so concerned of my existence as a man, I went so deep into neutral and non threatning territory I had girls telling me I was being flirted with because otherwise I wouldn’t notice nor correspond. I was quick to point out bad attitude/behaviour from guys towards girls as well, which did not make me popular with my peers.

As an adult, I started working under the supervision of women. No concern, no friction. I did became extremely aware how women would easily create and maintain terrible and damaging relations between them, for futile reasons. Even today, where I work at, where the majority of responsability roles are women, the way even polite conversations are held are laced with tension.

I reached a point where I act in accordance to my conciousness. I loathe disrespect, I get revolted by hearing anyone talk less of others. And I am learning to call others on their words and actions, regardless of gender.

I do recognize a lot of violence, of all kinds, is still enacted upon women because they are women, solely, but I am also aware a good deal is still dismissed and even abided by other women.

The paradox has a lot to it and is mostly misunderstood.

I know of a case where an assault victim got a special device that relayed the proximity of their atacker starting from 3000 meters.

It was paired with the ankle bracelet and it only beeped proximity. No location. If a certain range was breeched, it would relay instantly to authorities, which are mandated to call the bracelet carrier imediatly. No answer/range reduction, immediate victim call/visit/collection.

I’d go for the best dog there is, the Azores Cattle Dog.

Well rounded for guard work, defense, herding and hunting, both on sight and track by scent. Loyal to the death and relentless fighters when push comes to shove. Love the outdoors but will gladly take a comfy spot inside.

I’d also work on taming birds. Corvids, if available, but any song bird is a good investment. Song birds going silent is a good warning sign something is wrong nearby.

If boars are available, having them patrol around my perimeter would be a plus. The animals are fiercely territorial and will attack if cornered or feeling threatened.

How do you know? Honestly, how can you claim a given author will relay to a meat grinder the effort of compilling a work they will sign and be responsible for?

One added curiosity from me: at what point has the colective surrender of independent thought and action been signed and by whom?

And a final question but feel free to skip this: do you rely completely on LLMs to complete your daily life tasks or are you still able of doing things by yourself?