Yeah linking to a Wikipedia article.But throwing in random AI art is frustrating. This picture is not on the Wikipedia page.

Looks like it was an Amazon AWS outage. Just geos to how how vulnerable the Internet is as it becomes ever more concentrated into the hands of the tech giants.

I think they were just pointing out that this is the problem with subscription services. You own nothing and you’re screwed when the service goes down.

It really doesn’t take “ludicrous amounts of time and money” to build a private library. It’s interesting how the subscription giants have managed to change people’s perceptions - when you buy content to keep, you keep some of the value, but when you subscribe you’re just getting a time pass to use someone else’s library and won’t see that money again.

They sold the proposition on convenience when everything was in one place, but now it’s all fragmented it’s a waste of money.

And of course plenty of people are building media libraries for free by sailing the seas.

I have played with Arch in a VM - I learnt a lot about how Linux works setting it up. But the tutorials and guides are good, and you end up with a lean system with just what you want in it, and pretty much all configured directly by you.

I can see why Arch is a popular distro and base for other distros (like Manjero and currently rapidly growing CachyOS).

But I’m not at the point I’d want to main it. My issue is the concern that because everything is set up by me, it’s a much more unique system so if something breaks it could be a whole myriad of my own choices that are the cause. I’m nervous about having to problem solve things when they break and solutions not working because of how my particular system is configured. It’s probably a bit irrational but I do quite like being on an distro that lots of other people have the exact same configuration as me, so when things break there is lots of generic help out there.

That said I would consider arch based distros like Manjaro or CachyOS as they are in that vain of mostly standardised distro.

Nah, this road was inevitable for the US - liberal apathy is a nonsense; it suggests US voters had a choice or a say - they don’t and never have. The two parties overlap in their beliefs - there has never been true choice. There was the veneer of democracy, but the system has been rigged for decades if not a century or more. There are 2 parties who have dominated in every state and at every level, and play voters off against each other. Anyone interested in politics has no choice but to join the red team or the blue team - if they don’t they’ll never achieve anything. The 2 parties have pushed beyond first-past-the-post to extremes with gerrymandering to ensure no 3rd party will ever get a look in. The Democrats and Republicans have written all the rules to suite themselves, and it’s ended up that the extreme end of one party can dominate the lot and do what it wants.

1/3 of voters vote Democrat, 1/3 Republican and 1/3 don’t vote because why bother. The US President has immense power, and their primary checks and balances are entirely partisan and always have been. The Supreme Court has always been partisan with Democrat and Republican political appointees, and Congress is by it’s nature partisan and divided in 2 between the 2 parties due to the entire system. The players of the game have set all the rules.

If you want to see what comes next, look at Russia. It never had a strong system post communism, and Yeltsin was drunk and out of touch with reality towards the end of his tenure. Putin was his advisor and managed to manipulate Yeltsin and make himself his heir apparent. Putin has then gone on to dismantle even the semblance of democracy they had, becoming a dictator and now an aggressor invading country after country. And unlike Hitler, his opponents in the west are divided.

Trump is a disaster, but what we should all be really worried about is what comes next. Trump is the USA’s Yeltsin; it’s the US Putin who comes next we should all be terrified of.

I honestly don’t see any way back from the abyss in the USA. Anyone who wants to stop Trump of course has to vote Democrat because that’s the system. But whose to say the US Putin won’t be a Democrat? Red team or Blue team - it doesn’t matter; neither believe in democracy they just believe in the game.

Lots of elements to this.

On the one hand a safe well paid job is very valuable to a lot of people. Even if it’s dull, job security is a huge thing and not to be taken lightly.

Having said that, if there is no progression then it may end up being a trap and not worth it. You say its well.paid but is it well paid overall - as in keep going until retirement in decades, or is it well.paid compared to other jobs at your current level of career?

If its just well paid for your level then it might make sense to take a pay cut to get into something new, interesting and with better progression and opportunities long term. If it’s well paid overall then you need to be thinking not just about now, but about how you’d feel in 10 or 20 years.

Going out into the field might be attractive now, but would it be attractive in 20 years? Have you got a job you might not value fully yet but may come to value as you get older?

Ultimately only you can decide what is more important to you about work. It’s natural to worry about doing something irreversible and regretting it. But it’s also important not to let fear get in the way of career progress. Sometimes you do need to move jobs to keep motivated or pursue better opportunities or even just because a well paid may just not be interesting enough or tolerable.

People talk a lot about work life balance now, which is great. But it’s not just about hours and working from home. It’s also about having a job you like and adds to your life, rather than one you hate or is drudgery. We spend about 1/3 of the week at work and it impacts everything else about our lives - money but also happiness and mental well being. So while it maybe a €300 pay cut, it may be worth it if you really enjoy it and it makes your work life better.

I have an AMD mini PC in my living room and it has changed how I game. I got it because my Deck was nice but I found I plugged it into my TV most of the time and wanted better quality graphics that would look better on my 4k screen. I now love to sit in front of the TV with a controller and play my games, mostly directly off the device.

Many people have similar experiences with devices like the Switch - if you have a couch and a big screen TV then it makes sense to dock it, and many choose to.

So I think the “steam machines” of old do have potential now. The idea 10 years ago was good but the software and the hardware wasn’t there. Now it is, and steam doesn’t have to even do much to build the things - they’re out in the wild already. They can offer something more powerful than the deck without necessarily cannabilising the market the decks have - it’s expanding to a new user group who are less interested in mobile gaming and more interested in using their big screen TV to pc game.

Plus as a console the game library is massive compared to a PlayStation or Xbox or Switch, and with an OS that allows users to do so much more with their device.

Plus what Steam offers is something Windows can’t offer on handheld and doesn’t offer on a living room TV - a great interface. Steams gamescope and big picture mode are great on a mini PC.

So I think a steam “console” is not unrealistic. They can leverage what they already have with the Steam OS and steam deck with a standard branded hardware model of mini PC from existing OEMs, and allow others to use the OS for their own machines. I suspect if they make steamOS freely available people will also be doing this themselves with their own devices.

As a place for Valve to expand into, it’s reasonably low hanging fruit and relatively low risk as they’re not having to focus on the hardware and they already have the software working.

What a bizarre take. The EU council is backing down - they do want chat control but each time they propose it they meet resistance and back down. Then they come back again and try again.

To suggest the public reaction is overblown and media manipulation is bizarre. This is the 3rd or 4th time the EU has attempted to get this through. Just because they chickened out of a vote doesn’t mean the politicians don’t want this.

In a democracy votes happen. In the EU they keep resurrecting this terrible idea hoping to get it through but then backing away if they don’t think they can win. They know if there was an actual vote it likely would put an end to his.

Also the EU council is the antithesis of a democracy. It is not directly elected - instead it’s a club of the heads of states of all the countries in the EU. It just represents who happens to be in charge of each country, and gives equal weights to all those countries regardless of their population size. The EU has a Parliament but it’s a fig leaf of democracy as so much power is held in bodies like the Council and the Commission (which is 1 post per state and horse traded not elected).

So please don’t make this out as a sign that EU democracy works. If EI democracy was working properly they would have listened the first time, and they’d have moved to a directly elected system for the executive Council and commission years ago.

The EU gets too much of a free pass for “not being America” but it’s got huge problems that need fixing to make it an actual democracy.

This may or may not be the right role for you but should it not be that does not mean going back to your old job is the right way out. You got this role quickly on searching - it sounds like you do not know your own value and worth?

You wanted growth and change, but that is always anxiety inducing and will make you question your choice and decision. You will learn how your new role works and you will develop new skills to make it work. I’d stick it through for a good period and see how you feel.

But if it ends up being thay you really don’t like this job, it doesn’t then mean going back is or was the right decision. Nothing from your old job will be fixed or improved and you will feel the same again in a year. It feels like the safe option because it is familiar but rhwy didn’t value you enough to give you a salary your deserve. Your old manager obviously values you enough to want you back but mot enough to tell you that for your career to progress you do need to move forward.

You should look to move forward - if this new job isn’t a good fit in 6 months, work out what you really do want and look again. Don’t run back to familiar - you left for a reason but just becuase you haven’t found what you wanted yet downs mean give up.

I used to use Homeplug to get network from my router front downstairs of the house to the my office upstairs and back. It’s a small house, and I thought the homeplug was ok - I was getting about 150-200mbps of my 900mbps; not great but I thought it was a good as I could get. The electrics are about 10 years old but I could see there was a lot of noise and error correction when I looked at the software that came with the plugs. Simple direct wifi connection was atrocious as the walls are largely solid brick.

Then a couple of years later I read about how good they Mesh systems could be so I decided to try a cheap one. I was skeptical as wifi hadn’t worked for me. I got a Google Wifi system (not a fan of google but it was a cheap system compared to other mesh networks); it has no backhaul connection, just 3 wifi points (one in front room, one in hallway and one in office), and my speed jumped to 500mbps and low latency. I also hadn’t realised how bad the latency had been on my homeplug set up - it was night and day.

I have since upgraded to an ASUS XT8 system; 2 units only and I now get close to 800mbps on a good day, and 600-700mbps floor. My PC in my office is where I work (which involves high data transfers) and also game and chill, it’s been a huge boon.

So yeah, Homeplug does the job but it’s not great in my experience. It was cheap compared to a mesh network, but you get what you pay for. You can get some of the cheaper and older mesh systems 2nd hand on ebay - but unfortunately a good system is pricey. In my experience it was totally worth it.

I’ve not seen Euphoria, but drugs, drinking and sex plus underage clubbing were all things that happened at my schools between 15-18.

A drama like Euphoria is of course going to be way over the top regardless of setting.

I do agree casting 25year olds (zendaya is 29 years old) feels bizarre but that is what American TV has always done. Presumably it’s to do with experience given these are expensive shows that need to work to strict production schedules given how expensive these shows are. Its understandable they’d want a cast who have been proven to be reliable and experienced, and also are not restricted in the hours they can work. Also age consistency matrers - once you have one 25 year old cast member all of them need to be the same age or it looks disturbing with a mixed age cast set in a high school.

I suppose profile may matter too - Zendaya was already famous; the pool.of famous 18 year old actors is smaller than the pool of 25 year old actors. Certainly regardless of fame the pool of 18 year old actors with a big CV is going to be small. It’s risky to cast an unproven 17 year old but less risky to cast a 25 year old who has done plays, and maybe TV or movies, or completed acting training.

I agree they could just not set it in a high school but then the specific dynamics and stories they want to tell would not be available. High school is a strange time - in the US but also globally - where people are on the cusp of adulthood (16 in many places, 18 in the US), yet totally restricted by the law, family and school. It’s a perfect setting for conflict, which makes drama, and it is universally relatable as almost everyone went to school.

Meanwhile if you set something 19-25, it is no longer universal. About 50-60% of people in rich countries go to university / college. And those institutions massively vary from community colleagues, poorer universities, up to elite places. Meanwhile 40-50% do other things.

So yeah, I get that it feels bizarre that shows set in high schools are all 25 year old actors but I think it makes sense why, and setting things in high schools make sense too. These shows obviously make money and have a wide audience, even if it’s not really my personal taste.

Ok so important advice: regardless of Win/Linux, back up your data! Hard drive failures happen, and it can happen randomly at any time. So if you have important documents or any data you want to keep, back it up onto another drive, and ideally a second back up off site. And then get in the habit of refreshing those backups regularly,

I have had multiple hard drives failures over the years and learnt the hard way that you need multiple backups.

This is also important as a 5 year old gaming PC means 5 year old hard drives, and shit really does happen.

EDIT: And if you really have 0 time, get a second drive the same size as your hard drive and clone it. It’s better than nothing and can be set up in minutes. It’s not efficient as you will clone data you don’t need but at least you’ll be safe as soon as it’s done.

They said “from what I know” which implies uncertainty, while the response made clear, no it doesn’t work.

If you want to try Pop OS, go ahead. The most important thing is back up data you want to keep - it’s not a bad idea to have a dedicated partition for your home folder and another for the OS to help with fixing problems or moving to another distro, but backups off your laptop are critically important. Then if you don’t like a particular distro, or you fuck up, you can install another and restore your data from backup.

Personally I use OpenSuSE Tumbleweed, I’ve tried quite a few distros and I think generally for gaming they’re much the same. OpenSuSE has a good user interface in YaST for tweaking and keeping the system how I want it. I like being on a distro with a big install base and linked into an enterprise distro as there is an incentive to test rigorously and also fix things when they break. But Tumbleweed is a rolling release so there will still occasionally be problems.

If you want stability and no headaches then I’d go for a decent point release distro with a big install base overall. I’d suggest OpenSuSE Leap or Fedora KDE over smaller niche/community distros. Go for Gnome equivalents if that’s your thing. I have gone off Mint in recent months as I think too much support out on the Web is out of date and provides bad solutions to problems (such as adding random ubuntu repos to install software). Mint itself.Is a decent distro.

I’d avoid Ubuntu due to Snap, I’d avoid Debian due to its slow upgrade cycle (very stable distro but may not be the best for high end gaming and tweaking), and I’d avoid Arch due to the complexity of set up (unless you want your system exactly right and are prepared to problem solve your way to what you want; it can be a very powerful and efficient set up of you’re willing to out he work in). I’d also personally avoid atomic distros as it can be a headache to tweak and run custom software although there are ways if you enjoy leaning new things.

Trying to rewrite history huh - they suspended the show because Kimmel criticised Trump, and the FCC threatened ABC/DIsney. Never forget.

Agree although surprisingly the About section is a little vague on some of what OP wanted.

OP, it’s an SVG editor so should be perfect for real world projects you allude to. You can set the canvas size and change the default units with relative ease; Pixels, points, millimetres and inches but also Parsecs if you want to go wild, and as it’s SVG it’ll scale as needed without issue. https://logosbynick.com/change-the-canvas-size-in-inkscape/

There are also measurement tools too and areas can be calculated (but objects do need to be converted to paths to measure areas).

Everything else is covered in the about.

A quick google search shows that many people have issues with the Intel Integrated Graphics on this particular PC (including on Windows) and this seems to be the solution: https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=17021&title=solution-for-intel-graphics-freezing-system

The main solution is Windows based but someone does offer a Linux route to the same solution, although a linked file that sounds like setting it up may be easier is missing. Essentially it looks like the chipset needs tweaking to throttle the GPU slightly to prevent the flaw triggering.

I dunno, it’s good it wasn’t in the headline? It’d have been clickbait - the article makes it clear this is suspected suicide but that the police / FBI are keeping open minds because of the obvious connotations.

Suicide by hanging is unfortunately a common method taken by young men. The lack of any other signs makes foul play unlikely - without going into too much detail, unless he was drugged there would be signs of a struggle or injuries related to being restrained if it had been foul play. It sounds like there weren’t obvious signs of either and the toxicology results are awaited.

Great to see another person moving to Linux and OpenSuSE. My only caution if this is your first time with Linux is that a point release like OpenSuSE Leap is probably a better place to start than Tumbleweed. I’m on Tumbleweed and it’s generally good but I have had a few things break over the last couple of years, often fixed at next update in fairness but it is frustrating even as an experienced user. I have also had to reinstall Tumbleweed on one occasion; it wasn’t a big deal as I’d set up a separate Home and System partition. Tumbleweed is great but it is a rolling release and even though it’s a well tested one rolling releases are always riskier in terms of things breaking.

Agree, a USB stick live install is a good way to test - users should just bear in mind it is slower than a real install as USB drives are not as fast as internal hard drives. Once the OS is loaded fully it will feel reasonably snappy but still every piece of software you launch will take longer to load than a real install, and the bigger the software the longer it will take to load.

I also tended to recommend Linux Mint for beginners although I think I’m moving more towards recommending OpenSuSE Leap. The reason being it ships with KDE which is a slick interface with a Windows like set up by default (although very customisable - users can create MacOS or Gnome like interfaces with relative ease if they prefer) and gives a better idea of what modern Linux is capable of than Cinnamon in my opinion. Also KDE’s Discover app makes it easy to install software, comparable to Mint’s software store. Mint still has many more guides online but they’re often around terminal use and APT based solutions, and I’m beginning to think that is actually a bad thing. Most stuff for mainstream users can be done via the GUI, and KDE offer’s a great GUI. Plus Flatpak is a far better way of installing custom software than the APT recommendations I still see widely shared, so I think it’s actually better to move people away from Mint. Personally I think OpenSuSE Leap is the better option (and possible Fedora KDE Plasma edition although I am less familiar with it).