Notice how the states you’d be trying to leave or drive through as fast as possible are all grouped at one end of the scale?

I’m not saying this is the only reason. But it can still be a reason.

ah, so now instead of China spying on TikTok users, it will be Russia spying on TikTok users.

a paywall I am sure will be exactly as effective as google’s attempts at ad-blocking on YouTube, for exactly the same reason: a dedicated group of pissed off nerds who spend their time getting around it as a service to everyone. Bypass Paywalls Clean is already a thing.

you must’ve not seen Mint in a long time if you think it looks like Windows 95, I’m using it right now and it looks much nicer.

Further, that’s really not the cutting dig you think it is. Windows 95, for all its boxy, gray 90s aesthetic, was a very clean UI with minimal bullshit. If you like ricing your desktop/want it to look fancy, great, I’m happy for you. Most normal users, on the other hand, really don’t care how their OS looks as long as they can find what they need to. For normal users, the OS should be an invisible plinth that other programs you actually give a fuck about sit on top of. Mint stays the fuck out of my way to that end impeccably well.

Mint is (subjectively, for 90% of people), because something a lot of Linux nerds seem to forget is that the average computer user does not even want to think about their operating system. 90%+ of people who use a computer want it to turn on and just work for the things they want to do, and for like, 99% of the time, Mint has been just that for me for a solid year and a half. I adore it for that reason, and wish more Windows users would just try switching to it. I understand the apprehension not to, having tried other distros over the years (and having fought with Bazzite on my steam deck on multiple occasions), but it really does “just work”.

like I get it, some like to fiddle-fuck with their OS, and that’s cool, but that does not appeal to the majority of people and pretending it should is asinine. Some of us want to view and use our computer as an appliance/a means to an end, not a project in and of itself. When I used Windows and had issues, you know how much fun I had digging around in Event Viewer, or Group Policy Editor, or Regedit, or Control Panel? Zero. Zero fun was had. Same amount of fun I have dicking around with Linux. I want my computer to turn on, do what I tell it to, nothing I don’t (this is the sticking point that got me to leave Windows), and god damnit if it breaks it’d better be as easy as googling an error message (which, Mint also has enough reach/widespread use that it usually is). Anyone who disagrees, I applaud your patience, but that is simply not the way I and most other people operate.

And salty Linux ricer downvotes get me moist, so bring it on, dweebs.

more than that, all the other PC handhelds that’ve come out so far just sort of… miss the mark, in some way. Either hamstrung by windows, or being too big and heavy, or having terrible battery life by comparison, or because of the lack of touchpads. Whatever your personal gripe with the other offerings, the Deck stuck the landing and mastered the balancing act of “powerful enough, with a long enough runtime, but not too big or heavy”. It not only created a new market segment, but it is the standard for that segment that every competitor must be measured against, and so far all of them have one or two missteps.

I’ve always liked guns (some of the mechanics at play in some are fascinating, the wackier ones are like a rube goldberg machine inside), never wanted one in the house because of depression. now, it’s looking like eating a 12 gauge sandwich is, in fact, probably going to be the better way out, eventually. I’m trying to put it off as long as possible until my choices are “get a gun now or you won’t be able to later, at all”.

yeah I’m gay and am on the autism spectrum, between that and being a leftist “parasite” (food stamp recipient), I’ve largely resigned myself to my fate as well. But I’m not going to fucking El Salvador or any other memory hole he shoves people into. I’d rather die on my front lawn.

I guarantee you that would not work, because I went through cyber schooling as a kid long before covid was a thing and they tried the same with me when I procrastinated and played games instead of doing my work. They locked it down progressively more and I kept breaking out until finally, they gave me a computer so locked down you couldn’t open task manager, command prompt, safe mode had a password…

I was back to full access in <3 days. At the age of like 12. And apparently, the school’s IT department basically said “we can’t lock it down any more or else he wouldn’t be able to do work on it, either”. And then they gave up.

In short, that will not stop a crafty enough, stubborn enough kid. Guaranteed.

I swear, the best way to experience Helldivers 2’s community is to just be decent in games with randoms, maybe watch CommissarKai’s videos (do not go into the comments section) for tips on teamplay, and absolutely positively do not venture into the steam forums, the discord, or any other big discussion forum centered around the game because it w i l l be a cesspit, unfortunately. The Steam forums have the usual toxic trolls, but the Discord (and other hubs) is usually having furious arguments over buffs, nerfs, what is meta, what isn’t, what should be done what shouldn’t be and so on. For a silly little PvE co-op power fantasy game.

I’m not sure if Deep Rock Galactic has this problem, I’ve played it and it all seemed pretty positive but I never got into the game as much as I did HD2.

WE’RE RICH

In-game everyone is usually wonderful.

The official discord server, on the other hand… no. Just no.

destroy your device by… having to reboot it. the horror! The pain! The financial loss of downtime!

Dunno, but I know an awful lot of skateboarding games that are perfectly fun without being online 100% of the time. Same goes for racing games. Making them singleplayer, and fun, when you’ve already got the entire multiplayer aspect set up, isn’t hard.

yeah hard pass, I used to play The Crew.

that is

ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTANG

first of all you’re not shittymorph, and second of all, I believe we prefer meta shitposts about beans around these parts

ooh, I get what Windows Recall is for now!

in a not-so-distant future:

[Clippy rolls up smug as fuck] Windows Automated Trust & Safety has detected you may be attempting to [research certain delicate historical topics|plan a protest|subvert the will of the Party/ruling class]. Please wait patiently where you are, the proper authorities have been notified.

The idea nobody ever thought was a good idea that they went ahead and did anyways? Yeah, makes a lot more sense now! Cram an AI in your PC, give it full access to all the things you do on it through a series of screenshots, and be sure the system prompt includes “phone home if they act a little… Luigi-ish”.

I was gonna say, 4x the amount of RAM I have, made me feel inadequate. like, “am I really that poor now? is my 2080 now considered potato gaming?”

it’s simply been so long since I’ve gone “ok I need to upgrade” that I’m starting to get suspicious

if you say so, whatever makes you happy.