Posts by JohnFen

Re: Might be?

Point well taken!

"That said, I don't believe the poster you are replying to was being entirely serious."

That would explain why his comment doesn't actually address the point I was making. :)

Re: Nor a good solution

Not to take away from your point (which is valid, although an edge case), but...

if the payee is willing to cooperate (and payees always have to cooperate for any payment method, anonymous or not) then there are several mostly anonymous options including the use of prepaid debit cards, using masked virtual credit cards, or even using PayPal, if you're careful (there are a few considerations to take into account to do this, but the most important are to make a PayPal account that is only used for this, access it only through a VPN that hides your real IP, and to link your account to a prepaid debit card so that it is not associated with a bank account that can be traced to you.)

Re: Nor a good solution

"It can't be robbed from you: Without the encryption code for the device, the robber has only gotten your phone/computer."

It only solves the problem if you restrict the problem space to burglary. It doesn't solve the problem of getting mugged. The mugger would just do what muggers do with ATM cards: force you to do the transaction yourself.

Re: Might be?

"that's a huge boost to fact checking."

How so?

I don't understand how knowing the full provenance of a given story helps with fact-checking. Whether you know path the story has traveled or not, the fact-checking process is exactly the same: you read the story, and every time it asserts a fact, you check to see if that fact can be substantiated.

Re: Nor a good solution

I'm not a criminal, but I absolutely want an anonymous way of paying for things, if only to evade more spying.

That said, I already have such a way: paying with cash. Receipts give me an anonymous audit trail.

Re: Nor a good solution

"You can't send cash remotely other than by courier or mail service."

Sure you can. I've done it. There are several methods available, but prepaid debit cards are the easiest (you can load the card from anywhere, without having to physically possess the card).

That's not entirely anonymous, as the card company knows when and where you withdraw the money, but you can, at least, load the card anonymously.

Re: Nor a good solution

I don't think that blockchain is actually a good solution for that.

Re: @Politicians: Blockchain = public audit trail

But that isn't some sort of differentiator that explains what problem blockchain solves in this space. Public audit trails have been possible and used from long before computers existed, after all. How, taking into account all of the benefits and drawbacks of each, is using blockchain better than the existing methods?

Re: Who are we kidded by?

"I've already decided that I'm losing too much functionality with Quantum"

Yes, me too, and it doesn't look like the missing functionality will ever be replaced. That's why I've switched to Waterfox.

Re: So, basically, no change there

Indeed. Personally, blocking scripts is much more important. I don't block ads specifically, but I absolutely block scripts.

Re: So, basically, no change there

The problem with VPN-based filtering is that you can't use those apps and a VPN at the same time. If you don't use a VPN normally, then this doesn't matter.

Re: So, basically, no change there

If I can't root it, I won't buy it. I even returned a phone because I couldn't root it (and told them why I was returning it).

Re: Popularity an important point?

"it is that this is both a symptom and a cause of Linux's problems"

What problems are you talking about, though?

"Because Linux is not popular, common mainstream name brand apps don't get ported / developed for it. "

I don't see that as a problem. You do, and that's fair, but not everyone agrees with you.

"stop trying to push it towards that desktop usage in order to only see it fail due to its under-addressed desktop deficiencies."

This is where I get confused -- Linux is perfectly fine for the desktop right now, for a huge number of people. I don't see any serious deficiency there at all.

"Do or Do Not, there is no Try."

And it already does, quite successfully.

Perhaps what you're talking about is trying to make Linux the most popular desktop OS? Personally, I'm not on board with that, because the way to do that is to make it a clone of what most people already know well: Windows. And if we're going there, then we may as well just use Windows.

Linux already has (and has had for years) what it needs in order to be a successful and useful desktop OS -- enough users to make serious development worthwhile. It doesn't need the majority of computer users.

Re: NO

"I'm sick of getting downvotes from Linux fans who can't admit an UNDENIABLE truth"

I haven't downvoted you, but could it be you're not getting downvotes because people can't admit that Linux isn't the most popular desktop OS (that's not exactly a controversial assertion, after all), but because that's not an important point?

Re: Who the hell uses Linux

"For desktops and laptops use Windows unless you're a Mac fan"

Why in the world would I want to use operating systems that spy on me, get in my way, and/or make me mad? I'd rather use one that just works right.

Re: Am I Sam Beckett?

"Name and shame one site that still needs it"

I don't know that commenter's situation, but you seem to be assuming that he needs it for web browsing. There are lots of reasons why you might need it that aren't related to the web at all.

Re: This talk, on youtube, is worth a watch.

My objection to SystemD is neither the quality of its implementation, nor that Poettering is an ass -- both of those are just aggravating factors. My objection is the fundamental design concept of the thing.It inherently destroys much of what makes Unix great, and brings in much of what makes Windows not great.

Even worse, it doesn't even bring much in terms of benefits unless you are a distro manufacturer or are deploying in container form.

So, for literally every use case I have, SystemD is a net negative.

Re: Oh, great

In my neighborhood, there are literally no other choices (outside of satellite, cellphone, and dialup, which don't count). No DSL, no WiFi, no nothing.

Indeed, if existing copyright law weren't so oppressive (particularly around the issue of the length of copyright), this wouldn't be such a problematic thing.

Re: Odd

I don't know the details of the law, but even the explainer that Sajjad Karim gave in this article certainly makes it sound like this is highly likely to suppress legitimate speech and data sharing. On the surface, this sounds like a terrible idea to me.

But I don't live there and this isn't likely to affect me, so my opinion doesn't actually mean anything.

Re: @Yes Me Let's not beat around the bush

It's not ironic, really -- that's just how naked capitalism is. Remember "capitalism" is a different notion than the "free market". The end goal of all hardcore capitalists is monopoly, with them as the monopolists.

Re: Neither, please

I'm not saying that ARM-based laptops are worthless or anything, just that they aren't of interest to me, personally. I can understand how they would be interesting to others.

Re: Help desk

I know that's the perception, but I think it's wrong. Support is both a profit center (increasing the likelihood of future purchases by the customer) and a loss-prevention center.

Re: I've been on the receiving end of this

This. I have to admit that I've fired more than one customer in my day. In my own businesses, not as an employee in someone else's.