hzulla

hzulla , 4 months ago to random

Some things learned after handling a few #endof10 devices:

• Yes, today's computers have become so much faster. Those old machines I'm refurbishing are, in fact, damn slow.

• "Damn slow" is still fast enough to handle e-mail, use a browser for a typical news site or use productivity software such as LibreOffice.

• It's a crying shame that Microsoft is degrading so many fine devices to e-waste that can easily be used with Linux.

• "Damn slow" is way too slow for Youtube and online TV streaming. Who would've expected that ubiquitous online video and the lack of hardware support for modern codecs is actually what drives obsolescence?

• Linux Mint Debian Edition runs on pretty much anything that can do amd64 with minimal amounts of RAM and yet it's fast.

• Imho, LMDE6 isn't as welcoming to beginners as it could be. The default desktop theme looks very much like a Nerd toy and every new installation wants you to run a number of first-time-setup procedures that are puzzling and intimidating for someone who isn't into computing and just wants to use this machine.

• I really miss Ubuntu's oemsetup option for Debian and LMDE. I'd prefer not to setup a default user for the devices we give away and would want the recipients to setup things as they prefer on their own.

• When even LMDE is too slow, Chrome OS Flex is still fast enough on even lower-end devices. It's not FOSS, but for those who use Android on their phone, it's an easy way to rescue a donated laptop from the trash and put it to good use for a few more years.

ALT

hzulla , 4 months ago to random

Here's your regular reminder that the majority of "cyber attacks" aren't more sophisticated than simple vandalism and the disruption blamed on them was actually caused by the company not having hired proper IT staff to prepare backup and restore procedures. #airport

hzulla , 6 months ago to random German

Nach ein paar Tagen Radfahren im futuristischen Kopenhagen sagt das Kind: "Ich werde wohl ziemlich wütend über den Zustand von Berlin sein, wenn wir dann wieder zu Hause sind."

hzulla , 6 months ago to random German

Ihr alter Computer kann noch Gutes tun!

Bevor Sie Ihren alten Computer wegwerfen: Spenden Sie ihn doch uns!

Haben Sie sich gerade ein neues Gerät gekauft, weil das alte nicht mehr für Windows 11 geeignet ist?

Wir können alte Computer mit Linux wieder flott machen und Bedürftigen spenden, so dass sie an der modernen Gesellschaft teilhaben können.

Voraussetzung ist, dass das Gerät in einem sauberen und technisch gutem Zustand ist. Laptops bitte nur zusammen mit dem Netzteil abgeben, PCs bitte nur zusammen mit Tastatur, Maus und Stromkabel.

Bitte kontaktieren Sie uns vor Abgabe von Geräten und teilen Sie uns die technischen Eckdaten (Prozessor, RAM und Speicher) mit. Oder senden Sie uns ein Foto des Typenschilds.

https://willkommensladen.de

Kleinmachnow, Brandenburg
(zwischen Berlin und Potsdam)

#endof10

ALT

hzulla , 6 months ago to random

What's an efficient assembly line workflow to install Linux for non-techie users on #endof10 hardware?

Dear #endof10 Linux Install Fest veterans: Do you have a how-to? What is your best of practice workflow?

Our town's social donation club has expanded its services to the community with the recent influx of refugees. The "Willkommensladen" (Welcome Shop) collects donations and gives them to refugees and other people in need. This has become a serious logistics operation.

The club may soon receive a number of #endof10 computers that are out of Windows 10 support but good enough for a new life with Linux or Chrome OS Flex.

It's tedious to individually test the hardware, install Linux with the recipient's preferred language and an extended collection of pre-installed productivity software. I like Ubuntu's OEM setup, but prefer LMDE which doesn't have an OEM option.

Is there a way to Install Debian or LMDE so that the end user can choose the system language and keyboard setting on first login?

Are there tricks to speed things up for this?

What's the proper one-stop test software to identify common hardware defects?

Thanks!

hzulla , 7 months ago to random

Oh ffs, guess I'm done with Spotify.

While on the family plan subscription and with no prior interest seeding, #Spotify is currently recommending a German-language far-right white nationalist podcast to my kid, who just came to me to complain about it.

So seriously, what's a good, non-enshittified alternative to Spotify these days? Recommendations needed, what do you use instead of Spotify and why?

(Thanks for retoots.)

hzulla , 9 months ago to random

Listen, capitalism, what I really want right now is a reliable product label telling me that there's no generative AI content in a product.

You can already sell me stuff by loudly telling buyers with a label that it's without gluten, micro plastics or palm oil.

Go ahead, I beg you, label things that are free of AI pollution.

hzulla , 10 months ago to random

It's World #Autism Awareness day, so I'm asking you to share some facts:

• Autism isn't rare, it's pretty normal. It's estimated that >1% of the population is affected. You probably know at least one autistic person. (Hi there!)

• Autism isn't more common now than in the past, we just have better diagnostic criteria today. (Your eccentric uncle may have never been diagnosed with it, but maybe he wasn't just eccentric. And that's okay.)

• A society that's more inclusive to the neurodivergent also causes less suffering for the neurotypicals. So be kind to your neighbours, whatever their plight may be, it will make a better world for all of us.

• The popculture trope that autistic people have zero empathy is just wrong. We're bad at interpersonal stuff, yes. But please read up on the "double empathy problem", it's a thing.

• Empathy is not a weakness. Elon Musk is just self-diagnosed. While he checks many of the boxes and may plausibly be on the spectrum, he's abusing the label of autism as a shield against criticism for being an asshole. Surprisingly, being autistic doesn't necessarily make you an asshole.

• RFK jr. and Andrew Wakefield are grifters who got kids killed and are willing to see more killed over their conspiracy theories about vaccines. Fuck them for all eternity.

• If you need a good present for a kid who just got diagnosed with autism or for their relatives to explain what's going on, get the graphic novel "Schattenspringer" or its English translation "The world beyond my shadow" by @Fuchskind - she's an autistic comic artist based in Berlin and her autobiography explains things really well. (Buy books by actual artists!)

Be kind to yourself and those around you. Thanks.

hzulla , 10 months ago to random German

Während hierzulande auf LinkedIn die deutschen Hustlegrind-Bros weiterhin täglich von Musk schwärmen und nach einem DOGE für die Bundesrepublik rufen, merkt die Wirtschaft in den USA gerade, dass die Regierung das Land an die Wand fährt.

ALT

hzulla , 10 months ago to random German

Generative KI versaut mir das @ct_Magazin

Seit einiger Zeit findet man in c't weniger Nerd-Illustrationen und auch seltener die traditionell albern gestellten Aufmacherfotos mit Redakteuren statt Fotomodels.

Stattdessen heißt es nun "Bild: KI, Collage c't". Die KI-Bilder sind... okay. Hinnehmbar. Gut genug. Meh. Aber mehr auch nicht.

Da abonniert man seit Jahrzehnten ein Magazin, weil es Inhalte und Haltung über bloßes Füllmaterial stellt und dabei seine Autoren bekanntermaßen vernünftig behandelt. Und nun signalisiert der Verlag dem Leser, dass Gebrauchs-Illustration und -Fotografie für die Redaktion kein Geld mehr wert sind, denn die generative KI macht es ja preiswerter. Somit weiß ich: Für die Redaktion sind Aufmacherbilder nur Füllmaterial, wo es sich nicht lohnt, jemand für sein (foto)grafisches Handwerk zu beauftragen.

Wenn Inhalte also nur Füllmaterial sind, muss ich nun das gleiche langfristig für Texte in der c't erwarten. Denn parallel "experimentiert" man schon mit KI-generierten Texten in der Rubrik "Techstage", sorry, "bestenlisten" im Heise Newsticker.

ALT