Read every single comment, all the way down to -1.

Nobody has addressed " What I'd really like to see more of are more non-technical contributors. I mean, yes, we can always benefit from more packagers and coders and engineers, but I think what we really need desperately are writers, designers, artists, videographers, communicators, organizers and planners. ".

Linux has a HUGE communication problem.

Linux not only has a huge communication problem, it steadfastly refuses to even entertain the possibility that communication is even something that requires any kind of serious and polished attention in the first place.

And it fails horribly, with the general populace, right there.

Linux fails to accept that there are "iron laws" of communication, and in so doing, breaks all of them, and in so doing, loses the general populace, who will never in their lives sit still for being talked to, will never sit still for being communicated with, be it linguistically, be it visually, or be it any other way, in the manner in which Linux everlastingly insists in attempting to communicate with them, and then goes off scratching its head, wondering why people "don't get it."

The problem is Linux, not the people.

And by "Linux" I mean the entire community of people who design, build, and implement it.

A minority of which, being so vanishingly small as to not even show up when you're actually looking for them, who actually can communicate, but who exist in numbers so small, and constitute a fraction of the total body of people who design, build, and implement, which is so small that it disappears altogether from sensible view.

An example of one of the “iron laws” of communication, for all the hard-heads out there who double down on their refusal to accept or accede to such things.

If they’re not laughing, then it’s not funny.

Period.

It does not matter if you think it’s funny. Keep it to yourself, if you think it’s funny. Fine and dandy. No worries, mate. But the instant you open your mouth and communicate it to someone else, it had better damn well cause them to laugh or it’s not funny.

Period.

And right here is where Linux fails so horribly as to cause people, normal people, members of the general populace, to cringe deeply, and recoil from Linux as if it was something with a disease that they fear catching if they stay too close to it for too long.

And don’t forget, hard-heads, that I’m not just talking about humor. I’m only using my example of The Iron Law of Humor in an effort to simplify things to the point where even hard-heads can figure it out.

The failures of Linux to communicate, the failures of Linux to engage successfully with the general populace, the failures of Linux to abide by The Iron Laws of Communication, are so vast in scope as to defy enumerating them all.

All the little in-groups in Linux have all their little in-group ways, and inside the group, it’s all so very wonderful, and everything is seen through rose-colored glasses.

But nobody ever seems to want to step outside and find out what the general populace might be thinking about it.

Which is unfortunate to an extreme, because the general populace is having none of it.

The general populace despises all the “cutsey” crap that Linux insists in wrapping itself up in, all of which is clearly (as seen by the general populace) the creation of lamers, social misfits, and tone-deaf idiots, from one end to the other, without exception.

Another example.

“GNU's Not Unix.”

GNU’s not funny, either.

And recursive acronyms constitute felony assault against any attempt to engage with, bond with, or even communicate with the general populace.

And the lameness of the logo that’s associated with GNU is enough to take your breath away. People. Think. It’s. Lame.

And it is.

And that’s only a single example.

It’s only a single egregious faux pas in attempting to communicate with the general populace, among too many to count.

And the penguin is lame, sitting there on it’s ass, feet stuck out in front of it in a posture no real penguin will ever be seen sitting in, with a blank look of deep stupidity on it’s face.

And you people have bonded with it.

You people have bonded with the very thing that causes everybody else in the world to view you with contempt.

To view you as lamers and losers.

And this is the first thing that people see when they’re introduced to Lunux.

And that fox-thing, or dog-thing, or whateverthehellitis-thing that’s plastered across a program that’s called “GIMP”? GIMP ???

No

We’re not even going to be talking about a thing which is that lame.

People hate that crap. They HATE it.

And Linux hates that it’s hated, right back, and right there, all communication with the general populace is ended, and all chance of integrating with the general populace is destroyed.

You like your little cutesy naming conventions.

You like your little cutesy visuals.

You like your incomprehensibly-opaque lingo with little in-group hooks and jokes buried inside of it.

You like all of it.

Ok.

Fine.

Whatever you want. It’s all good.

Just don’t be coming out here with it, attempting to shove it in our faces, expecting that we are going to be liking it too, because we don’t.

You wanna come out here and engage with us, then you’ll do it on our terms, or you won’t do it at all.

You’ll learn how to be engaging on our terms, or you won’t be engaging at all.

And if you want to learn how to be engaging, then the first thing you’ll do is to recognize the seriousness of it all, and stop giving a bunch of amateurs and lamers total control over it.

Hand that kind of work over to the kind of people who know the discipline, and who know how to implement it, in the exact same way you hand coding over to the kind of people who know the discipline and who know how to implement it.

No difference.

None at all.

The exterior surface of Linux, the part that the general populace sees, is the ugliest, and least-engaging, and most impossible to understand, part of the entire operation.

The part that people see FIRST.

WHY?

Why insist on a thing like that?

If you’re going to communicate well then communicate.

Nothing less will do.

Nothing less will ever stand a chance of working.

Obey the Iron Laws of Communication, or go back inside where you came from and quit bemoaning the fact that the rest of us out here are never going to be signing on for your whatever it is that you’re doing, because whatever it is, it’s very definitely not communication.

But I mean sure you could just start immediately telling somebody with a four-digit user number that starts with the digit 1 how this computer stuff works, instead of performing your own due diligence in advance, and maybe stop to take a look around, and then maybe figure out where you are, and who you're dealing with, and then start spouting FUD with a sarcastic tone of voice if that suits you.

https://blogs.sciencemag.org/p...

Ok, Boeing.

This is the answer.

My own implementation presumes Windows as the (very) weak link in the chain, and it's run as a VM inside of Linux. I've given up on ever trusting Microsoft again, in light of the recent, ongoing, and ever-doubling-down, privacy horrors, endless stream of newly-discovered exploitable vulnerabilities, and forced corporateware installations associated with Win 10. So ok. So no Win 10. I went the other way. Win 7 Starter Edition SP1, stripped down to the ground floor, no Windows Updates, no antivirus, no anything, just the bare OS, to run the proprietary software (if the software demands an x64 OS, well then, we'll move up the Win7 hierarchy one notch) that demands Windows, to run smoothly enough, hassle-free. This Win7 VM is considered to be laying on the floor with its legs spread, and it only runs the programs it must run, and nothing whatsoever else. No games. No VOIP. Certainly no web browsers. It's drawbacks are obvious, but with adult supervision, nothing that cannot be dealt with, and it's lightning fast in its stripped-down state.

If he wants a second Linux VM running alongside the Win7 VM inside the first one, well then, ok, so he shall have it. Whatever suits the situation most appropriately.

Toss in a TAILS USB stick with encrypted persistent storage for situations that seem a bit sketchy for the above "standard" setup, and we're good to go.

Again, your answer is the correct one.

> I can only presume local law enforcement is either very lax, is complacent ("hey it brings money into our local economy, that's good right?"), or is on the take..

"So, this is quite the operation you have here, isn't it?"

"Yes. Yes it is. Here, here's a little something for your wife. And your children. You are a good man and your family deserves to be well taken care of."

"Thank you. And by the way, you wouldn't be using your operation to be contacting any of the citizens of our fine country, would you?"

"No. Certainly not. Not at all."

"Very well then, carry on."

The scripting part is interesting in a curious way. To the extent that I must "barehand" everything, that is the extent to which I am forced to actually look at what's been done, what's been left, what's been destroyed, and as time goes on, I discover that this stuff changes in ways both obvious and subtle. So I guess it's like exercise. Who the fuck likes doing pushups? Nobody. But they're good for you, and if you want to stay healthy into your elder years, you'll do what's good for you.

So I hatchet away, and every single time it's a weency bit different, and I stay in shape that way.

I certainly do not recommend that as a method for everybody, or even anybody, but for me, yeah, it works out pretty good in the end.

I've always had multiple test boxes laying around, with multiple hard drives to swap back and forth, and tearing Windows up, just to see what would happen, has always been kind of fun.

That said, it's the goddamned telemetry and all the rest of it that really got me going, and just as soon as I installed my first copy of 10 a year ago, I was very interested in first discovering, and then attacking, and then checking to see if the patient was still breathing or not.

The miscellaneous stuff like the Taskbar, and Desktop Icons, and all of that end of it is stuff I've been doing for a long time, attempting to trim away the bullshit and get the machine more responsive. Windows 8 was my first foray into nuking tiles and forcing a "normal" look to things, but 10 is a whole different level of crap to deal with.

So part of the answer is yes, and part of the answer is no.

Below, the contents of my own personal procedure manual for dealing with a new Win10 machine, with a very strong emphasis on disrupting/removing the spying apparatus. A lot of stuff gets removed. This has been done on numerous machines and so far no failures, no lockups, no blue screens. Some machines are slightly different, some will not have every listed item, some may have a few "extras." The machines seem to run noticeably faster following the hatchetings, and all of them, to date, remain tack sharp, rock solid, and quite nimble. No warranty is provided, express or implied.


Stardock Start10

Revo existing AV program

Reset folder view options including "date created"

Install Unlocker & TakeOwnership

Taskbar properties

Classic Personalize

Screensaver & power settings

Defender to do not send

Desktop icons include & view small icons

Computer, properties, advanced settings, best performance (Leave drop shadows, smooth screen fonts, view thumbnails)

systeminfo verify 10586 or higher.

Windows Update, if not.

ToggleTweaker.bat 12 to kill Cortana (says it kills Edge [ver3.3], but it does not).

IF CORTANA NOT DEAD C:\Windows\SystemApps\Cortana\SearchUI.exe kill with TakeOwnership and/or Unlocker (assume both, or as-required, if only one or none mentioned from here on)

Manual Directory Pass Destroy C:\Windows\SystemApps\ TakeOwnership\Unlocker killkillkill one at a time, starting with Cortana, which takes the longest LEAVE SHELLEXPERIENCEHOST INTACT

Manual Directory Pass Destroy C:\Users\MainUser\AppData\Local\MicrosoftEdge; C:\Users\MainUser\AppData\Local\Packages\ for special destructive attention to apps BUT LEAVE WINDOWS.IMMERSIVECONTROLPANEL & SHELLEXPERIENCEHOST ALONE! or Windows Update might not work; C:\Users\MainUser\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\PRICache

Manual Directory Pass Destroy Unlocker C:\Users\All Users\Package Cache; C:\Users\All Users\Microsoft OneDrive

Manual Directory Pass Destroy TakeOwnership C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\AppRepository\ (LEAVE IMMERSIVECONTROLPANEL, SHELLEXPERIENCEHOST, RUNTIMES, STATEREPOSITORY ALONE!)

Manual Directory Pass Destroy TakeOwnership C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\AppRepository\PACKAGES be careful, watch out, dead "Settings" & "Notifications" (LEAVE IMMERSIVECONTROLPANEL & SHELLEXPERIENCEHOST ALONE!)

Manual Directory Pass Destroy C:\Program Files(x86)\Windows Mail

Manual Directory Pass Destroy C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\GROOVEEX.DLL; OCHelper.dll; ONBttnIE.dll; ONBttnIELinkedNotes.dll

Manual Directory Pass Destroy C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\GROOVEEX.DLL; OCHelper.dll; ONBttnIE.dll; ONBttnIELinkedNotes.dll

Manual Directory Pass Destroy C:\Program Files\Windows Mail; C:\Program Files\WindowsApps (leave VC & .Net runtimes, there IS NO IMMERSIVECONTROLPANEL OR SHELLEXPERIENCEHOST)

Manual Directory Pass Destroy C:\Windows\MiracastView\

DWS_Lite as administrator, enable professional mode - delete one drive - delete all metro apps - smash everything except defender (mind the checkbox)

Reboot

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy (via cmd as administrator)

w10privacy.exe (via cmd as administrator)(be patient, it'll come)

Reboot

OOShutUpWindows10 as administrator

Verify Defender still alive, if not:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Defender - DWORD (32bit) DisableAntiSpyware needs to be set with a Value of 0 - DWORD (32bit) DisableAntiVirus needs to be set with a Value of 0 -

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender
DWORD (32bit) DisableAntiSpyware needs to be set with a Value of 0

Reboot

win10-unfuck-master data-harvesting-services-removal.bat - gpedit.msc-screenshots (NOTE TO SLASHDOT USERS: no screenshots in this post)

Reboot

Settings, throw all switches to privacy settings and check to see which Apps may have survived while you're doing it

Services disabled: Auto Time Zone Client License Service (disrupts Store, where can I turn this off?) Connected User Experiences and Telemetry Data Collection Publishing Service (disrupts cloud) Delivery Optimization dmwappushservice Downloaded Maps Manager Geolocation Service Microsoft (R) Diagnostics Hub Program Compatibility Assistant Service Remote Desktop Services Remote Registry Retail Demo Secondary Logon Superfetch (if svchost is hogging memory and check shows this as the culprit) Themes Windows Biometric Service Windows Error Reporting Windows License Manager Service (disrupts Store, where can I turn this off?) Windows Media Player Network Sharing Windows Store Service (WSService, where can I turn this off?)

Initiate Ninite Chrome, Firefox, 7zip, TeamViewer, CDburnerXP, VLC, All Runtimes, Irfan, qBittorrent, Google Earth

Revo full decrappification - TaskManager killings if machine sluggish

Manual Directory Pass Destroy crud

Finish/adjust/trim TT&V all ninite installations

Clean Start Menu

Sysinternals autoruns.exe killkillkill right-click, go to image, unlocker, destroy

Reboot

File associations TT&V full WhiteDoom (NOTE TO SLASHDOT USERS: You do not possess The White Thumbdrive Of Doom) pass for tweaks & trim

Java Suppress Sponsor Offers if required

Network/Printers

Printers/Peripherals

...was there ever any doubt?

Below, my own text file of procedures which I use to denature both upgraded and new installations of Win10 on the machines I deal with. It's pretty drastic, but it's been working well, and the miserable goddamned Apps seem to not come back, or at least not all at once, which allows me to periodically check on: C:\Windows\SystemApps\, C:\Users\MainUser\AppData\Local\Packages, C:\Program Files\WindowsApps, C:\Users\All Users\Package Cache for any .cabs or whatever that may have insinuated itself back into the system and kill them in their sleep, too.

What follows is my own deal, and I'm not hear to discuss the minutia of what program I should use Ninite for or any of the rest of that OCD bullshit. Use whatever the hell you want to. You're an adult. I am too. Go away and leave me alone with that kind of crap, ok?

What follows is also a bit short-hand-y and since this is Slashdot, I presume you can figure it out, and I'm not here to hold you by the hand, either. See above re: You're an adult.

Ok, on with the show.

Well, maybe not. Slashdot tells me I have too few characters per line. Lovely. Just fucking lovely. Ok I shall reformat. Any groups of multiple dashes can be presumed to be double line breaks, ok?

Stardock Start10 ---------- Revo existing AV program ----------Reset folder view options including "date created" ---------- Taskbar properties ---------- Classic Personalize ---------- Screensaver & power settings ---------- Copy Win10 folder to desktop ---------- Defender to do not send ---------- Desktop icons include & view small icons ----------Computer, properties, advanced settings, best performance (Leave drop shadows, smooth screen fonts, view thumbnails ---------- systeminfo verify 10586 ---------- Windows Update ---------- DWS_Lite as administrator, enable professional mode - delete one drive - delete all metro apps - smash everything except defender (mind the checkbox)

Reboot

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy (via superCMD)

psexec w10privacy.exe (via superCMD inside Win10 directory)(be patient, it'll come)

Reboot

ToggleTweaker.bat

Reboot

Install Unlocker

C:\Windows\SystemApps\Cortana\SearchUI.exe kill with Unlocker

Reboot

OOShutUpWindows10 as administrator

Verify Defender still alive, if not:
\\\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Defender
DWORD (32bit) DisableAntiSpyware needs to be set with a Value of 0
DWORD (32bit) DisableAntiVirus needs to be set with a Value of 0
\\\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender
DWORD (32bit) DisableAntiSpyware needs to be set with a Value of 0

C:\Windows\SystemApps\ Unlocker killkillkill one at a time, starting with Cortana, which takes the longest

Reboot

Settings, throw all switches to privacy settings and check to see which Apps may have survived while you're doing it

Initiate Ninite Chrome, Firefox, 7zip, TeamViewer, CDburnerXP, VLC, All Runtimes, Irfan, qBittorrent, Google Earth

Revo full decrappification - TaskManager killings if machine sluggish

Manual Directory Pass for shitty programs leftovers search and destroy: Unlocker C:\Users\MainUser\AppData\Local\Packages for special destructive attention to apps, Unlocker C:\Program Files\WindowsApps (sometimes takes forever), Unlocker C:\Users\All Users\Package Cache

Finish/adjust/trim TT&V all ninite installations

Clean Start Menu

Sysinternals autoruns.exe killkillkill right-click, go to image, Unlocker, destroy: C:\Program Files (x86 & x64)\Microsoft Office\Office15\GROOVEEX.DLL all WinMail shit

Reboot

File associations TT&V full WhiteDoom pass for tweaks & trim

Java Suppress Sponsor Offers

Network/Printers

Printers/Peripherals

Go surfing to try to wash all the slime off of you.

Some of the directories marked for destruction look pretty scary, but so far, the only thing that happens when this crap is removed is that the machine runs faster.

I've learned a surprising amount of useful stuff, sifting through the rubbish on Slashdot over the years, and the above constitutes yet another attempt to give a little something back, now and again, when time and circumstance permit.

Caveat Leecher.

Actually, having a crystal clear picture of what the Great Swarm is doing provides an exquisitely crisp background against which one can pick out very fine details indeed when it comes to excursions from that background.

It's the excursions that they're looking for and keeping a close eye upon.

As the detail of the background becomes sharper and sharper, so too does detail of the excursions.

...I find myself dealing with land lines a lot.

Furthermore, trying to set people up with Google Voice, and the dedicated phone number that goes with that, can be exceedingly pesty when attempting to verify your legitimacy using a cell phone. For some reason or other, Google doesn't like a surprising fraction of cell-phone numbers, and refuses to verify with them, but it's never failed yet with a good old fashioned land line. Does anybody know why this is?

I beg to differ.

I've been doing home computer repair for the general public for literal decades. I used to do it as a side job or for charity, but it's been my sole income for many years now. Bottom line: I've got a fair amount of experience working with equipment that's on the failing end of its life cycle, all of which has been entrusted to the tender mercies of your typical non-savvy user.

And I'm a pattern recognizer, too.

And nowadays the pattern is one of complete random events, for all classes of home computers.

I've got people with ten year old eMachines running XP who's hardware continues to run without the slightest issue, and I've got people with brand-new three-thousand dollar specialty machines who can't catch a break, with bad motherboards, PSU's dying and taking other components out with them when they go, hard drive failures of every stripe and color, and on and on and on.

I've decided that there's really no sensible difference in equipment anymore, so far as reliability goes.

It all comes out of the same factory in China somewhere, and none of us really know what the hell is going on over on that end of the production cycle.

It has become a crapshoot, plain and simple.

Used to be, more expensive, "quality" computers could be expected to last longer, but no more.

They're all using the same components from the same vendors, and if that's not enough, the batch-to-batch variabilities and imponderables are now completely impossible to keep effective or meaningful track of anymore.

And what once was a clear pattern of "quality" goods giving a nice return on investment, has now become random noise.

Nowadays any of it can fail for any reason at any time. May as well get the cheap stuff and try to cut your losses up front.

> I wasn't aware surfers were such violent degenerates,
> in addition to being the airheads they're traditionally portrayed as.

It's worse than you imagine, by far.

Surfers are dangerous thugs, and they will issue beatdowns at the slightest provocation, or even no provocation at all.

They roam in packs, speak in a near-incomprehensible dialect, and evade all duties to god, country, family, and work in a crazed hedonistic pursuit of some delusional "perfect wave."

The most cursory of examinations of surfing culture as exposed by media fact-finders will inform you that surfing damages its practitioners in some way that reduces their mental capacities to that of a troglodyte.

If you govern, you should always view surfers as an especially insidious fifth column. If you employ, never ever hire a surfer, as they are inveterate shirkers. If you're thinking of entering into a relationship with a surfer, do not, because they are completely unreliable and cannot be counted on to adhere to even the most basic of familial obligations. If you see them in the water, do not approach them, but instead calmly leave the area prior to notifying the authorities.

Despite its malevolent foundation, surfing culture has infected the minds of young people around the world, and seems to still be spreading.

To combat this pernicious infection, it is recommended that you boycott all things associated with surfing and surfers.

Do not buy surfing-related apparel. Do not watch videos of tanned bodies in the peak of youthful health flying as if on magic carpets though crystal blue dreamscapes of water. Do not fall prey to the seductions of charismatic groups of surfers, living lives that you can neither imagine nor approve of, as you perform your tasks as a good conscientious member of society.

Stamp out this virulent infection now, before it is too late!