I've been a participant here for what 30 years now? Lately very little participation, but I do regularly read these posts. I have also been in the computing industry for the past 40+ years. I've used Linux for the past 20 or so, and I own and operate a computer repair shop. I have for the past 20 years.

I started using Ai when it came out believing that it could help resolve tech issues. Technology changes virtually every day, and with every release, which seems to be ever so frequent. It is hard for sole individual to get up to speed and to stay up with technology (Linux, Mac, Windows).

My opinion is that Ai is only good for ideas. It is unqualified to actually suss out the cause of an issue and give precise responses, that is without the user knowing so much about the issue up front as to make the use of Ai pointless for that endeavor. It is good for ideas and to gain some clarity on how to proceed.

Some new users to Linux fail to understand that Linux is free, as in beer, and it is up to them to try; to give it their best go. The expectations that I have seen over the years from new users, as Linux has gained popularity, is that Linux is "Windows" in this regard; that the software community owes them the answer. Ai is just good enough that it can give them some clues about how to approach a problem that they have never experienced before. Clearly that's a benefit. Ai is not a replacement for new users to put in the work up front, nor is it tech support.

The actual application refuses to discuss specific topics even for research and test purposes . This is wrong. The actual engine should not be programmed to limit speech. It classifies preprogrammed topics. If it doesn't like it it will refuse to participate. This is not an LLM issue. You can change LLMs and it will respond in the same way. The government should not be using it.

How much has it shrunk? 5 billion units remaining? 5% of that is large. If just US users then considerably less.

What you might not understand is that most people that have linux have many computers running linux and hence most aren't counted. Most households have more than one Windows machine too. Those can be tracked tho independent of website visits.

Didn't the post intro state which entity tracked it? Switching back and forth to browser the web doesn't cut it first me. I use mine pretty much just as an on the go gaming device.

Redhat has been profitable for years. Their success is what prompted the large purchase price by IBM. This is not even in question.

IBM likely told Redhat execs that they needed to increase profitability -- without laying out a plan. Redhat likely decided to go after the low hanging fruit by cutting off anyone that was costing them the sale of a support contract, such as Oracle. The smaller entities of Rocky and Alma are simpky collateral damage.

Redhat had been disingenuous with their response when they say IBM is not behind the move. IBM likely set down the edict. Redhat decided the course.

Redhat's remarks about adding value is a blatant lie, IMHO. We know this because Linux isn't the distro itself. A distro is the compilation of pieces making up the whole. These pieces are taken and used and distributed by Redhat while adding almost no value to those individual pieces. This is exactly the claim Redhat makes against Alma and Ricky. Redhat takes individual programs and adds them to their distro without adding any additional value to them, nor even to the overall purpose and use of them. Adding them to the Redhat distro is not adding additional value in and of itself. What Redhat is doing is nothing more than what Rocky and Alma (and Oracle) are doing.

I would propose that the idea of adding a 3rd party provider helps the spread and acceptance of open source, even if IBM's profit advancement is restrained. In the long run IBM will benefit far more than they would with the short term profit increases.

IMHO, this makes their arguments disingenuous and specious.

Misinformation is just inaccurate and/or mistaken presented with no intent to harm.

Disinformation and misinformation are not synonymous.

Every person every day all day spreads misinformation because our source of information is often inaccurate or comes with mistaken premises.

To equate misinformation with disinformation is a false equivalency. To intentionally equate them is to intentionally mislead.

You wouldn't need to Photoshop someone's tweet. Just make your own from scratch and impersonate them.

Just take a pic with your cell phone camera.

It depends on which program you use or if the program allows you to change the hotkey.

Do that and recover your privacy.

All speech is hated by someone. All speech is misinformed. There is no precision in speech capable of qualifying as precise enough to be 100%. We all get our information from inferior sources. Every take on information is viewed differently for every person. Pictures and videos are great examples. No two people can interpret a video and/or picture the same.

Disinformation is where someone knows that they are lying in an effort to manipulate and harm others. Not just manipulate but also harm.

The WaPo is way off base and they are spinning this in a way that disinforms. This hurts others. People that will deem this law as good whom are damaged by the WaPo words, as their manipulation may cause others to loose their ability to speak freely, just because others don't like what they say. We aren't talking about minor conflicts here rather major ones that can damage the future peace of others. Speech that people hate is why we have a first amendment. The first amendment allows people to speak their mind without fear of reprocussions from the government and its agents.

Vic 20

I can't say they are worse. If anything, it is the same reliability. But recoverability is significantly better on hard drives. When SSDs die they are harder to recover.

His uid is low.

I've been here around that long and my uid is in line with his. I'd have an even lower uid had I not posted for years as anonymous.

Because you got in extra early doesn't give you the right to mock others.

CNN and even Kamala Harris came to mind when they encouraged the summer 2020 race riots on TV.

Free speech is codified in our constitution because it is an immutable right. People that abuse it to damage others are disgusting.