Around 2007 I had a Windows laptop die on me and drove me to device agnosticism. Maybe I learned the wrong lesson but now I keep my OS and data separate enough that a b0rked OS is an hour’s inconvenience instead of a day’s recovery.
Still, it’s pretty awesome that you can just shuck a drive into a totally new machine and only have to adjust network settings.
Computers are hard, can everyone go back to unobfuscated telephone calls and handwritten letters?
I know it is kinda frowned on but I like to use new directories at root to cut down on confusion as to where things are. Video storage for the NVR goes in /video, user data for Nextcloud goes in /data, etc. But I also keep everything in it’s own LXC so I don’t have one machine with 30 extra directories cluttering up the root.
I have given in to GNOME. Set dark mode, install the extension “Tactile” and never touch the setting again.
There was a Defcon talk a few years ago (oh god it was 8 years ago) where someone found a way mess with Chryslers because they were all on the Sprint wireless network. Things like lock out the physical controls on the radio then max out the volume, or turn it into a GPS tracker, or disable the brakes! The cars had some service listening on port 6667, there was no way to stop them from accepting malicious connections so Sprint just blocked all traffic on that port on their network at the request of Chrysler. The speaker mentioned they were sorry if you were unable to use IRC any more on Sprint wireless.
DEF CON 23 - Charlie Miller & Chris Valasek - Remote Exploitation of an Unaltered Passenger Vehicle
I trust my mobile device much less than my desktop.
I’m with you. Phones are toys, a PC with disk encryption and well chosen software it way more trustworthy.
“File Browser” or “Sharry” allow you to make public links to share files with others BUT you need to run them on a server that is accessible to both parties.
I’ve been using Linux as a desktop and server since 2015, before that I was Windows only from 1995. Regedit scares me.
Because most selfhosters are too lazy or inexperienced to break away from cloud services. Docker is great but it has also enables a “just run this docker” mentality that mirrors the Windows “just run this exe.”
edit: I think that the opportunity to learn how a project works, how to debug problems and how to integrate a project into their own setup is obscured.
I have an a7r that I use with Minolta lenses from the 70s and 80s. With such a short distance to the sensor you can get adapters for everything, old lenses, telescopes, microscopes, etc.
Whats wrong with apt?
Device agnosticism. Life is easier when it doesn’t take ONE laptop or phone failure to destroy all your data.
I use LXC for all the reasons most people use Docker, it’s easy to spin up a new service, there are no leftovers when I remove a service, and everything stays separate. What I really like about LXC though is that you can treat containers like VMs, you start it up, attach and install all your software as if it were a real machine. No extra tech to learn.
From https://wiki.debian.org/DontBreakDebian#Take_notes
Take notes.
It’s easy to forget the steps you took to do something on your computer, especially several months later when you’re trying to upgrade. Sometimes when you try several different ways of solving a problem, it’s easy to forget which method was successful the next day!
It’s a very good idea to take notes about the software you’ve installed and configuration changes you’ve made. When editing configuration files, it’s also a very good idea to include comments in the file explaining the reason for the changes and the date they were made.
This has saved me so much grief. If ever I mess up a system so badly that I want to re-install or when I want to set up a new machine, having a clear set of notes makes it a breeze.
Debian, I use one Gnome extension but could easily do without it. All the defaults are fine if you just want to sit down and browse, edit media, create documents or write code.
Debian. On servers, on laptops, on desktops, even on my high speed camera. It’s simple, it’s reliable, it doesn’t push updates that break my stuff.
I did this on my new laptop. feels_good_man.png
Easy mode: LMDE/Mint. They are all geared towards a good user experience and trying to keep you out of the terminal. I would recommend them to any new Linux user.
For a slightly more advanced experience, Debian with XFCE as the desktop. The installation is slightly less friendly and they expect you to be familiar with using the terminal and tinkering with the guts of your OS from time to time but you can have a ‘lighter’ installation with less background services. (I run Debian on all my machines so I have a bias towards Debian and LMDE).
You’re in the wrong sub. OP didn’t ask which Windows should I install.
Makes me wonder if there are any cyphers that are easy enough that human meat could implement it but hard enough that it would take some serious GPU time to crack?