They care if a rich person dies. My friend Luigi proved that.

In both of these cases though, I would have to consciously run a program/open a new file though, correct?

Yes.

While there could always be exceptions and unknown security flaws, it’s extremely unlikely that you’ll get any kind of virus/malware in Linux without consciously choosing to run a sketchy program. (As in, so unlikely that if it actually happens, tech journalists will want to be able to examine your PC and find out what happened. It would be a newsworthy event.)

Is running it through Bitdefender first good enough to ensure it’s safe?

It certainly would help, and you could then be pretty sure it’s safe. Nothing is ever entirely 100% safe, but it’s as close to safe as you can reasonably get.

(Skipping the Windows questions since that’s no longer my area of expertise.)

1a - Is there no file system that works perfectly on both Linux and Windows? I could technically dual-boot using two different drives, but what if I need to access/move files between two drives with different file systems? Which issues would I face if, say, one is NTFS and the other is ext4? I think all of my drives are currently in NTFS, would I have to reformat everything to safely access them from Linux without worrying about data/metadata loss?

NTFS works perfectly on both Linux and Windows.

In a typical dual boot system, you’d have Windows on an NTFS partition and Linux on an ext4 partition. Linux could see, open, and modify the Windows NTFS partition if you want, but Windows does not support ext4 and would not be able to see or open the Linux partition. (If you try, Windows will say ‘there was a problem with this device’ and offer to “fix” it for you. Don’t let Windows do that – it will wipe your Linux partition.)

If you really want Windows to be able to open and use your Linux partition, you could install Linux on an NTFS partition. That’s generally not recommended and not ideal, but it is possible. If you do that, then both Windows and Linux will be able to access and use each other’s partitions. However, running Linux on NTFS is non-standard and weird, which means you might possibly run into non-standard and weird bugs that will require nonstandard and weird help in order to fix.

There’s also another even crazier solution: it’s possible to install Linux and Windows on the same NTFS partition. This is more of a ‘Look at the crazy thing I did!’ stunt, though, and nobody would recommend that for daily use. I definitely wouldn’t recommend that for a beginner!

But, in general, it’s best to go with the default approach of having Windows on NTFS and Linux on ext4. Any data you want to share between the two can be saved on the Windows partition, or on a separate third NTFS partition/thumb drive/online storage. If you really need to move data from Windows to Linux while running Windows, your best bet is to install some cloud storage/sync application in both, so you can easily send things from one to the other over the internet. I would recommend Dropbox or Mega, both of which work very well on Linux with native Linux clients available.

1b - I read that to open an .exe on Linux I would have to do it through WINE, and that there’s a database to check compatibility of individual programs with it,

Yes: https://appdb.winehq.org/

But always take those ratings with a grain of salt. Getting Windows applications to run on Linux is often a tricky business, and what works in one person’s setup might not work in another person’s slightly different setup. The good news is that this has been a very active area of development lately and is improving quickly. And a shocking number of Windows programs already do work quite well. But being able to run a Windows application in Linux still isn’t a sure thing, and it may often require some tweaking and messing around with various settings to get something to work well.

but are the worst compatibility issues just “the program doesn’t open”, or can a compatibility issue result in data loss/corruption too?

Generally, yes, it’s quite safe to try. 90% of the time, if the program isn’t working through Wine, that will express itself as “I try to launch the program and nothing happens.” Another 10% will be “The program launches, but often crashes when I try to do xyz in it.”

It’s very unlikely that attempting to run Windows software through Wine will mess up anything else in your system or damage any of your data. (Though if you’re opening and working with data in a Windows program through wine and then the program suddenly crashes, the data that the program was working with could possibly get corrupted that way.)

Also, when running Windows software through Wine, you do have to be careful of malware. Generally, Linux is extremely resistant to malware, even in this case, but if the Windows program you’re trying to run includes malware, there is a chance that it could end up doing undesirable things to your Linux system, or at least that it could infect or mess up your Wine installation.

1c - I’m currently using Firefox on Windows, is it possible to copy all my settings and data (browsing history included) from the Windows version to the Linux one?

Very possible.

Easy way: In your current Windows system, make a Firefox account (if you don’t have one already), and enable online synchronization of everything that’s important to you. Wait for it to fully synchronize (this could take a while if you have a lot of data in it). Then boot into Linux and sign into your Firefox account in Linux. Everything you synchronized should automatically transfer to the new system. (And as an extra bonus, any new changes in Linux will also transfer back to Windows if you’re dual booting and go back to Windows.) This might not be the best approach if you’re paranoid about your privacy, though, since all your browser’s information will then be stored online, where it could potentially be hacked/leaked.

Hard way: It’s also possible to transfer the data over manually: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox-profiles – Doing it that way is likely to be much more involved and difficult, but you keep local control over all your data, so there’s no privacy risk.

1d - Other than specific .exe without WINE compatibility, are there any relatively common file types which can’t be opened with Linux that I should be aware of? (Mostly talking about picture/video/audio/text files, compressed archives or similar).

Generally, no. Way back in the day, maybe. But today, you’re not likely to run into any file compatibility issues at all.

Two things you might actually encounter, though:

• A file type that can only be opened in a specific Windows application, and that application isn’t available on Linux and doesn’t run well in Wine. This is generally quite rare, but if you’re working with some very specific and niche Windows software, it could be a problem you encounter.

• Some files require proprietary, closed-source codecs to open and work with them. (Especially certain kinds of video files.) Most beginner-friendly Linux distros will come with those proprietary codecs already installed and you won’t have any issues opening those files. However, some Linux distros are very purist about it and will not include any closed-source code … so they don’t include the codecs to open those proprietary file formats. Even in that case, though, it’s usually pretty easy to manually install those codecs if you need them, and that will solve the problem … at the cost of your system no longer being purely open source. Some distros present this as an option during installation – if your distro’s installer asks you if you want to install proprietary packages/3rd party packages/closed source packages/etc … as a beginner, you should probably say yes.

1e - What can I mess up by testing an USB live version? Are there any things I should be careful about? I’ve heard “changes aren’t saved”, but that’s referring only to OS configuration, right?

Essentially nothing. When booting a live USB version for testing, it will not make any permanent changes to your system at all.

It’s possible to make permanent changes, but only if you do so on purpose. Most live USB versions will be able to see your NTFS partition, but they will see it in read-only mode and they won’t make any changes to it. You’d have to manually and deliberately re-mount the partition in read-write mode to be able to make any changes to it. Some live USB images also come with an ‘install’ option, often as a desktop icon. Don’t run that if you don’t want to make any changes to your system. (But even in that case, it will probably warn you that you’re about to make permanent changes and give you an option to cancel.)

And, going back to file systems, can I even access the data that’s on my NTFS drive from a live version or would I just be working with the stuff inside the USB?

Data that’s on your NTFS drive would typically be visible, but read-only, so you can’t change it.

Many USB live versions don’t (by default) include any writable storage. Any change you make will be undone and reverted every time you reboot it, and every boot takes you into the default version, exactly how it was the first time. Some live USB versions will give you an option to create writable storage either on your hard drive or on the USB itself, but that’s usually something you have to deliberately set up (because you want changes you make to stay after rebooting).

1f - I read often that “you can’t get viruses on Linux”, but that’s mostly because they’re not developed specifically for it, so you might “get” them but they won’t work, right?

Pretty much, yes. Though with the increasing popularity of Linux, that may begin to change.

But, also, Linux is at its core a more secure operating system with fewer weaknesses for a virus to exploit. But you definitely should still be careful what software you download and run. Get your Linux software from trusted sources, not from third party sources that may have edited the code.

If I dual boot, is there the chance that I get a malware while browsing with Linux and then it infects my pc when I boot Windows?

It’s possible, sure. But extremely unlikely.

The most likely way this could happen is if you download an infected file in Linux, then boot into Windows and open the infected file.

1g - Which Pc components should I pay attention to because they/their drivers might not work on Linux? Is there a site/tool that can check if my current hardware would have any issues?

You could spend hours researching, but the easiest way to find out would be to just boot a live USB version to test it.

Be the change you want to see in the world and go post some better content, then.

I’ve never understood the blind rage you and others have for this artist.

Eh, OP’s post seems more ‘mild annoyance’ than ‘blind rage’, but okay.

In the grand scheme of things, they don’t really care about piracy.

Yes, they could greatly reduce piracy by making their service affordable, available, and convenient … but they would lose more profits from doing that than they currently do from piracy. They know enshittifying their service will result in increased piracy … but they also know that it will result in extracting increased money from the people who do pay. And, overall, their profits are still higher despite the higher piracy levels.

(Heck, in some ways piracy has been shown to be overall beneficial. To some degree, it’s free advertising, helping media spread through word of mouth. And maybe while they missed out on a media sale or subscription, they still end up making money from that pirate with a merchandise sale or something.)

You know what? I eagerly await the rise of a new religion where ChatGPT is worshiped as a god.

(Who am I kidding? Most corporate execs are already praying at that altar.)

Microsoft devs aren’t allowed to use Microsoft Teams?

That’s what I’ve heard. Completely hearsay, though.

Who would join a microsoft-centric discord?

Microsoft devs, maybe? I hear they’re not allowed to use Teams to communicate at work, for unspecified reasons.

I’m not pulling it, I’m just licking it! Stop your nagging, I could use some help over here.

Gotta find out if it’s copyrighted, you know?

I’d say yes, but, you don’t have a right to appropriate someone else’s art as your own.

By all means, copy and distribute. Even modify and make derivatives. But no plagiarism, please. Don’t take something that someone else made and then claim to have made it yourself without giving them due credit.

That’s not really far off from what Slate themselves are offering.

One of the sound system options is literally just a bluetooth speaker box that you attach to the bottom of the dashboard.

The big thing is the (supposed) mid-$20k base price. Exact pricing hasn’t been announced yet (and seems likely to increase, what with tariffs and unpredictable AI-based electronic component shortages). But if they actually do manage to bring a small, practical electric truck to market for, say, $27,000 and they can actually produce them at scale so there isn’t a years-long waiting list to get one…

Well, that will be a big deal, I think.

And, yeah. Doesn’t seem like it will be spyware on wheels, since it doesn’t even come with an infotainment system. You’re meant to mount your own phone or tablet to the dash instead. Those, of course, have their own spyware issues. But you could always just not do that if you’re worried about your privacy – you’d have no nav and no music, but also no spyware. Or just use an old tablet that doesn’t have an internet connection or something.

There is no ethical consumption under capitalism.

If you want to drive a car at all, you’re going to end up supporting some huge corporation. And pretty much all huge corporations are at least somewhat friendly towards fascism.

(When an open source car project that anyone can build and make parts for gets off the ground, let me know. I’ll be the first in line. Until then…)

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DOWNLOAD FAILED. Retry?

Whatever gets them clicks.

Am I the only one who stores music just as discrete files, stored in my filesystem, in folders? Don’t need any app for that. Works great. 100% cross-system compatible, works on every operating system and every device.

From what I’ve heard, Amazon is a major investor, but not the majority owner.

I may not have heard the full story, though.

And they will be right to do so. The Dems are fully complicit in enabling this.