[-] JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml 25 points 6 months ago

I'm surprised that other people are surprised that for-profit companies constantly try to increase their profits; such companies only contribute to FOSS when that's more profitable than the alternative. The Linux kernel, AMDGPU, Steam, etc only exist because some part of the software/hardware stack is proprietary (which becomes a more attractive product as the FOSS portion of the stack improves).

I'm definitely not justifying the "rug-pulling", but people need to stop supporting projects with no potential for long-term profitability unless those projects can survive without any support from for-profit companies. Anything else is destined to fail.

[-] JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml 54 points 9 months ago

It's a nightmare to search for anything about GUID Partition Tables (GPT) now.

37

I need to transport multiple very large files over an unstable and untrusted network, and the file contents are outputted as a data stream. I wanted to use OpenSSL for streaming authenticated encryption, but they purposefully don't support that and are preachy about it.

Well, it turns out that XZ has checksumming built-in! It even has different algorithms (CRC32, CRC64, and SHA256). It's part of the same file, within/before the encryption, and automatically verified by the decompression tool. I'm already using XZ for compression before encryption, so this is just super convenient and useful. Also, it seems like XZ supports threaded decompression now, when it didn't before. Thanks XZ devs!

[-] JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml 48 points 1 year ago

In exchange, FF uses Google search by default. So they're also getting direct value from the deal.

[-] JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml 40 points 1 year ago

The real problem is the government not protecting consumers from such predatory business practices. It's almost certainly not legal, and if it is then it shouldn't be. After 3-4 companies are absolutely destroyed, companies will stop doing it.

[-] JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml 30 points 1 year ago

Ever since we found out that Grindr has been tracking their users' locations at all times and then selling that data to private companies, Grindr has been dead to me.

362

I'm not complaining, but I didn't realize how much work it was. It makes me really respect the people who do it on a regular basis.

For example:

  • You know how to use your software, but other people don't. So you need to write documentation.
  • You can just modify the source files, but it's impractical for everyone to do that. So you need to add a config file.
  • You can just drag the output files into place, but that's impractical for everyone to do. So you need to package it.
  • You trust yourself, but distro maintainers rightfully don't. So you need to package your source code and configure the package to compile it.
  • You will abide by your idea of how the software should be used, but other people might not. So you need to pick a license.

Sometimes I think there must be an easier way, but I can't think of any. I guess it probably gets easier with experience.

[-] JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml 32 points 1 year ago

I've thought WD was sleezy ever since they secretly switched from CMR drives to SMR drives, including in their NAS products (for which SMR drives are particularly unsuitable). So this doesn't surprise me at all.

People need to stop buying WD drives and buy Seagate instead. They had their own SMR scandal, but at least they never put them in their NAS drives.

[-] JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml 58 points 1 year ago

Reminds me of lolcode:

HAI 1.2
CAN HAS STDIO?
PLZ OPEN FILE "LOLCATS.TXT"?
    AWSUM THX
        VISIBLE FILE
    O NOES
        INVISIBLE "ERROR!"
KTHXBYE
[-] JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml 27 points 1 year ago

Akshually Linus Torvalds is a prophet, Richard Stallman is our lord

71

My main server is named Postulate (an idea that you assume for the sake of argument), my desktop is named Axiom (a proved postulate), and my backup server is named Corollary (an idea that follows from an axiom).

What are your computers named, and why?

[-] JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml 25 points 1 year ago

If you can really overwrite your operating system with your web browser, that sounds like a security nightmare.

[-] JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml 51 points 1 year ago

"Vending machines are more deadly than sharks".

While it's true that (at least for some years) more people are killed by vending machine accidents than shark attacks, your personal risk depends on what you do. If you're a vending machine factory worker who never goes into the ocean, you're far more likely to be killed by a vending machine than a shark. But if you live in a part of the world that doesn't have vending machines and you swim in the ocean every day, the reverse is true.

[-] JuxtaposedJaguar@lemmy.ml 51 points 1 year ago

I bet they said something like "we don't use most of that information, we just need access in case we add a new feature in the future that uses it". And then it'll come out that they've always been using it, and it's been associated with your identifying info. And then their server will be hacked (because the admin password was "meta123") and the all the info will leak. The modern internet sucks.

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JuxtaposedJaguar

joined 1 year ago