I don’t have much to say other than I once worked with someone in this exact situation. She was 30 but looked like she’s still in highschool. It’s surreal.

What you do with it is up to you! Like most things, it’s a blessing and a curse. Try to look on the bright side. As I’m sure you’ve been told hundreds of times, when you’re way older you’re going to reap a lot of benefits of looking young.

If it were me (for reference, I’m 31 male) I’d probably just keep giving straight answers and make the best of whatever reactions I get. Obviously in different contexts you’d prefer different reactions but in any case you get what you get.

Please tell me most people, when they eventually believe you, say you look freaking amazing!

When I was about 25 I started adding10 years to my age when people asked, just to see the reaction.

I love it. This is the way.

Yup. When it’s required in order to access something then it’s no longer a donation, it’s a fee.

I wasn’t aware of that instance and I can’t really advise. To me that’s a bit of a red flag (specifically the fact that it wasn’t mentioned upfront) but not necessarily a reason to count them out if you really think they stand out.

too late at that point :)

Only heard about him for the first time recently, in the context of the Stop Killing Games initiative. He spoke in support of it (which is a good thing, yay), and is apparently involved in some way in the drama that gave SKG the boost it needed.

Trying to figure out who the hell he is and how he ties into it, I watched one of his videos on YouTube (reacting to someone else’s video about SKG). Instantly got the impression that he’s an asshole… But at least he’s on the right side when it comes to SKG.

I guess each country might have its own laws about this. Many countries have agreements (I forgot the term for this) where they would send each other’s wanted criminals back so they can be tried where they committed the crime.

Just yesterday I joined a Discord server and one of the rules is:

II. There Will Be No Tolerance For Intolerance

SKG enforces a zero-tolerance policy towards hate speech or discriminatory behavior based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other protected characteristic. Any use of slurs or language intended to demean or dehumanize an individual or group is prohibited. Violation of this rule may result in immediate removal from the server.

I thought “no tolerance for intolerance” is kinda funny, especially when phrased that way, but obviously I think the policy is good. Just an amusing little oxymoron.

Sorry for going 100% off topic but since it came up, please everyone in the European Union go and sign the Stop Killing Games initiative: https://www.stopkillinggames.com/ the deadline is coming up and the goal is to reach at least 1,500,000 signatures! It’s looking like it’s doable, every signature counts!

That’s true for a lot of people, but I truly believe a very significant number of people are being exposed to Linux this way and will stick with it long-term. It will be a while until we see that reflected in the desktop and laptop statistics.

I haven’t used SteamOS (or even seen many videos of it), but from what I’ve heard it’s not shy about being a desktop operating system. Even the Steam Deck, which is marketed as a console like you said, lets you use it in desktop mode and run any Linux software without having to jump through any hoops. This isn’t like Android which is technically Linux deep under the hood but effectively completely detached from the Linux ecosystem. SteamOS is part of the Linux desktop ecosystem, and it’s proud of it.

To add to what others have said, I think Steam OS is making huge waves and that’s a really strong force.

Linux Mint is exactly as easy to use as Windows, if not easier. In Windows you also needed to google every day basic functions, but I guess for you personally that was so long ago that you don’t remember. On Windows you also need to use the terminal for some things, like removing some of their bloatware (xbox bullshit, for example).

There are some specific points I kind of agree with you about, but I don’t agree with your general sentiment. Linux is easier to use than ever.

You’re right (and upvoted accordingly), but if said evil company is as much of a clusterfuck as OP said, I wouldn’t bet on them having competent security measures in place.

You know, that’s a great question that I don’t have a good answer to. I don’t have enough experience with laptops so take this with a bucketful of salt, but I think:

Framework looks amazing, but perhaps a bit niche: https://frame.work/ (next time I’m in the market for a laptop, I think this is what I’ll get)

MSI is alright I think? So is Dell, maybe?

In my head HP has an absolutely dreadful reputation, but that’s just because of printers. A friend of mine is pleased with her HP laptop.

Lenovo, I’m not sure. They’ve had an inexcusable security blunder in the past which made me write them off ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-enHfpHMBo4 ) but maybe they’ve turned things around, I really don’t know.

The laptop market is in a really poor state, other than macbooks (which aren’t really relevant for this discussion for obvious reasons) it’s a race to the bottom and everyone’s making compromises that I really don’t want to see.

I’m not sure. My Asus laptop is about 5-7 years old (just woke up and can’t quite do the math…). They’ve also really been screwing up on the security front: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC8qfXxAhAw

It’s an Asus Zenbook btw if you’re wondering.

Of fucking course it’s an asus. There’s your problem right there. They don’t know what the hell they’re doing, and no one should ever buy anything this company makes.

Source: I have also been burned by them, and only afterwards did I hear a lot of other people’s horror stories. It’s a shit company.

Regarding “No Stupid Questions”, I submit for your consideration the following: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyiNW33MpAo

Pretty much lol, well put!

From my understanding, Iran doesn’t have nuclear weapons yet. What they destroyed is essentially a factory that creates one of the key ingredients required for making nuclear weapons. It’s not a weapon yet, and it’s not explosive yet. Iran’s still a ways away from making that.

I super highly recommend William Spaniel on YouTube. He hasn’t covered this bombing yet (I’m sure he will within a few hours tomorrow), but a few days ago he did briefly go over the process of making nuclear bombs, you should check it out: https://youtu.be/XA1CQp_oJ90?t=480

Either way it’s an amazing channel for understanding world affairs, I really can’t recommend it enough. Go watch any of his recent videos, they’re short and well worth it.

Neither. Internal politics in Israel threatened to break up the government, and starting a war with Iran was the easiest way to stop that. Can’t break up the government now, we’re in a state of emergency!

Bibi would sooner burn down all of Israel than step down from power.

I just recently looked into Secure Boot and from my understanding it’s not a Microsoft lock-in. Many Linux distributions are signed with keys that are loaded by default, and advanced users can even add custom signatures to their computer so Secure Boot would accept them. The original fear around Secure Boot was legitimate, but by now we know the worst outcome of it didn’t come to pass.

That said, I did disable it on my new PC because I think the chance of it causing issues is greater than the chance it will actually protect me from bootloader malware, and I’m willing to accept that risk and responsibility.

Sure, it would have, but I was following the time-honored tradition of reading only the title and the Lemmy comments without clicking through to the full article. If that comment hadn’t been there, it is possible that my intrigue and confusion would have been sufficient to make me betray my legacy and bring shame to my family by actually reading the linked article. Disaster avoided!