Follow Slashdot blog updates by subscribing to our blog RSS feed

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror

Comment Re:Sustainable of course (Score 1) 116

You mean, on top of the 6% that Linux already has? Or 23% if you count Android as Linux?

I would not count android as a linux distro (or GNU/Linux for the FeetFungusEaters). While android uses the linux kernel, the userland is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, and it can not run most applications one associates with a linux distro.

Android is moving in that direction, but is not there yet.

Comment Re:My mum's getting Zorin... (Score 1) 116

Yesterday, my non-techie mum asked me to install Linux on her PC. Apparently, one of her friends' husband had written a book about migrating from Windows to Linux, but she asked me first because she knew that I was using it.

I will need to get her a more user-friendly and Windows-like distro than the custom setup that I have been using myself.

Earlier today I had already selected Zorin for the first try. Let's see if she likes it. The runners up are Kubuntu and Mint.

If Zorin does not cut it (highly unlikely), go mint first, then Kubuntu.
Mint (just like Zorin) tries very hard to resemble Windows. Meanwhile, Kubuntu is just Ububtu with KDE. It will bear justa a passing resemblance to Windows. Nothing wrong with kubuntu, nor some ill will towards the project.

But if the goal is to be "windows-like" mint >> kubuntu.

Comment Re:Linux is cool now (Score 2) 116

However, Linux desktop UI have been going off the deep end for years. I recently loaded Gnome and it won't even let me have desktop icons. Deeply, disturbingly anti-user mindset.

This article is about ZorinOS.

ZorinOS tries very hard to mimic the UIs os OTHER OSs, including, but not limited to, Win7, Win10 and MacOS (you, the user. chooses which one it mimics).
Linux Mint also Mimics the UI of Windows.

So, Linux UI going to the deep end for years is not relevant (is offtopic) in this particular thread.

PS: By the way, ZorinOS offers paid support, which may be usefull for independent professionals for compliance/certification/legal/auditing/(cyber)insurance reasons...

Comment Re:McKinsey oversimplified 4 quadrant (Score 1) 94

So about a 50% chance we are screwed, eh.

Yes, and about 50% chance we are kwool. In reality, remember this is a typical oversimplifies McKinsey stuff. there are more scenarios, for instance.

AI Platoes and EVs platoes, so we keep the current status quo.

there are many more scenarios, dependeding of your vision of the world (shades of gray, colour), and the number of dimensions you can handle (2, 3, 3+time, four, n-dimension manifold).

It is the folks at McKinsey that are stuck to 4 quadrants.

Comment Wake me up when they make a machine with (Score 1) 45

JDEC/DELL CAMM2 or Micron/nVIDIA SOCAMM memory AND Industry standard (non-propiertary) PCIe Gen5 NVMe storage

Otherwise, my Intel Air and Intel Mini will be my last macs.

Touch is just a nice to have, but not really needed.

I don't even want ALL models being like that, just one or two (perhaps the pro models for real pros) will be more than enough.

Thanks in advance apple.

Comment Re: McKinsey clowns give results they were paid fo (Score 0) 94

Actually, the "bestets" arrangement is to use floating solar pannels and offshore wind turbines on the reservoir of a hydroelectric damm.

The hydro will provide the smoothing needed for renewables.

Failing that, the second best option is to colo the wind and solar with a combined cycle natural gas plant. After all, even if we stoped all gasoline and diesel burning, we still need oil for chemicals and plastic, and we still need helium for cool science stuff (like MRI) and both bring natural gas as a by-product.

Grid sized batteries are a crazy idea.

Comment McKinsey oversimplified 4 quadrant (Score 1) 94

AI is not a bubble but a success; Full EV transition success: WE ARE SCREWED! NOT ENOUGH ELECTRICITY! EVERYBODY PANIC!

AI is a bubble that bursts; Full EV transition fails:
WE ARE SCREWED! SURPLUS INFRA GALORE. ALL THAT CAPEX WILL GO INTO OUR BILLS!

AI Bubble busts; Full EV transitions successfull:
KWOOL; enough grid electricity for all at fair prices.

AI is a success; Full EV trabsition a failure:
KWOOL; enough grid electricity for all at fair prices.

Comment Re: Good in theory (Score 1) 68

Good in theory, and in practice

For people like me that take good care of chargers, i can use one of my multittude of previous ones.

For people who destroy their chargers like there is no tomorrow, they can buy a replacemment charger fit to their needs.

You want ultra-low-price becuase you keep forgeting them, or the electricity spikes in your area keep burning them. Check

Yoiu want ultra low price and use the price difference for a good portable surge suppresor. Check

Want a high quality charger that can handle two (or more) devices and jhas a mixture of A and C ports? Check

Want a longer cable? A shorter one? Black? Gray ? Braided? All check.

Maning customers recycle or buy the right charger separately is better than giving them a one size fits all that may nit be a good fit for them and may be superfluous to boot

Comment Re:Rufus (Score 5, Informative) 68

For those of you who want to upgrade to Windows 11, but have a machine that doesn't officially support it, there's Rufus. https://rufus.ie/en/

It uses a legitimate Windows 11 ISO, which you download yourself from Microsoft's website using the Media Creation Tool. Once you have that, Rufus will use it to make a bootable USB stick that installs Windows, bypassing the TPM and other requirements.

I like RUFUS and the bypases. Problems with running Win11 on unsupported hardware are:

* If you install Win11 on non-compliant hardware, yearly upgrades (say from Win11 24h2 to Win11 25h2) are a pain in the ass. And not automatic. So, you have to deal with a yearly paion in the ass, or be as insecure as on unsupported Win10*.
* If your non-compliant's machine (i/d)GPU lacks WDDM2.0 drivers, your display will be slow as hell and look like ass
* If your non-compliant machine has hardware that lacks Windows Desktop Universal Drivers, said hardware will not work (or work like crap with generic drivers), as Win11 does not support the older Windows Universal Drivers.
* If your non-compliant Win10 machine lacks the bibs abd bobs needed for HVCI (3rd gen or older intel), your machine may fail in the future.
* If your machine has the HVCI Stuff, but lacks the MBEC stuff (4th to 6th gen intel), you will have performance degradations (depending on workload).
* If you game on a non compliant Win11 machine, and you do not have TPM2.0 or SecureBoot for reasons, many a game (doubly so those that use anti-cheetos) will refuse to load.

Stay on Win10 + ESU for this year, and re-evaluate on july next year. At least, if in 2026 you decide on rufus, you'll save yourself the 25h2 to 26h2 pain in the ass, as you will go straight to 26h2.

* My brother is doing exactly that stupidity with the 7 desktops of his SMB. Last year I found the machines running 23h2, and I can bet pennies to dimes that they are still like that.

Comment Re:What's the big deal? (Score 1) 68

4 years is a lot of time to hold on to an ancient PC (most likely you have a 10+ year old computer if it doesn't meet windows 11 spec.) Ok, let's say you can't upgrade because you fell on hard times-- it happens to everyone .. then switch to Linux for fuck's sake. I don't see why Microsoft has to keep supporting 4 year old shit especially if it still works. I wouldn't hook it up a Windows 10 PC internet though that's irresponsible/negligent like walking into a public place without a COVID mask.

Agree 107%. Also, the ESU is open to normies like us for the first time ever. Take advantage of that! One more years of support for free-ish is a great deal.

Hooking your cellphone to a Google or icloud account is way worse than hooking your desktop to an MS (or iCloud) account, and I guess the people whailing and ripping their vests and throwing ash on themselves over microsoft requiring an account for the ESU hook their phones to google or apple without batting an eye, or any second tought.

Comment Re:The beginning of a new era (Score 2) 68

For the first time ever, there is now exactly ONE supported version of Windows Desktop (excluding the various feature updates, and also excluding the Enterprise LTSC versions because, let's face it, nobody's legitimately running those at home).[...] I'm sure Microsoft is thrilled that they don't have to worry about supporting old desktops anymore (aside from the people paying for up to 3 years of extended support).

You are forgeting Win NT 3.1 itself. From the introduction of Win NT 31. until the introduction of NT 3.51, there was only one vcersion of WinNT in active support.

Jokes aside, we are getting close to Win12 Plan. accordingly.

Jokes aside (this time for realsies), Win12 will only come when the minimum hardware changes so much that a clean branding break is mandatory. It behooves microsoft if all versions of Windows are called the same, even if, internally they differ a lot. You are seeing this now witn win11.

Win11 plain vanilla and Win11 + Copilot are very different beasts, and yet, they are still both called Win11

Once something changes bigly (like NVMe being mandatory, WDDM 2.4 being mandatory and/or an NPU being mandatory, and/or a cull of processors older than 11th gen), Win12 will appear.

Comment Congrats! y'all are free of security patches (Score 1, Troll) 68

Your prize will be a full screen notification saying: pay 50,000,000 satochis or else...

Better register on the Free-ish ESU and tolerate 12 more months of patch Tuesdays and updates... Those security updates that re-start your machine and may break things are better than the alternatives.

And yes, I know that your digital hygiene is top notch,

and also that you do not need condoms because your pull out strategy is flawless and the rubbing for an extended period will not derive in AIDS, gonorrea or siphilis...

I am not your mom, y'all do you.

Comment Combining different GNSS systems is also an option (Score 4, Insightful) 45

Chances are that, when the GPS satellite is bouncing in the urban canyon, the Galileo one is in the zenit. And if you live in many countries where geopolitics are an aftertought, you can use GPS, Galileo, Glonass, and beidu, all at the same time. what's not to like?

Polish scientists have been doing this since 2018, probably there are even older efforts:

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292...

You combine that with cell tower location data, which is cheap, and Robert's your uncle.

Slashdot Top Deals

This is clearly another case of too many mad scientists, and not enough hunchbacks.

Working...