Ah, yes, the same cautionary notice they have to put on psychics, palm readers and tarot readers in my country.

Because even the government realise that they're just talking bollocks.

You are pretty close. I honestly can't even remember why, it was so many years ago. I only remember hating the messaging app and hating what Google offered and heard about Textra. Tried it, and it solved all my problems. I paid a few dollars to support it. And over the years, it just kept getting better.

Since I have no interest in social media or other DM, all I need/use is SMS. It is possible there are better options now, but I have no motivation or need to explore anything else yet.

>"Why would you want SMS app with "ads and in app purchases" when so many fully featured ad free with no in app purchases SMS apps exist?"

I have been using it for many years. Long before there were any good other options. There might be better options now, I don't know. I have been happy with Textra, though. Updated regularly, lots of features, and reliable.

>"Everyone has their own message app, and outside US, almost no one uses it for anything other than SMS. For everything else, it's Whatsapp, Telegram, WeChat, Signal, etc."

I have never used Samsung's, although it is on my phone. Or any other manufacturer's (LG, Moto, etc). But I also don't use Google Messages. I use Textra with every phone, regardless of brand. But I also don't use any other messaging except SMS. I just want something that works and does what I want.

https://textra.me/
https://play.google.com/store/...

> It's a part of their forced app suite preinstalled on their phone that you can never fully switch off.

I've had good results with Universal Android Debloater so far. It's a bit extreme but... again, results.

=Smidge=

> They assume that AI is some kind of sentient technology with personal and unpredictable goals that are inevitably in opposition to humanity's goals.

It isn't, of course. But when humans manipulate it, blindly trust or obey it, and absolve themselves of responsibility for the outcomes because "the AI did it" ... then for all intent and purpose, it may as well be.

"Its" goals are unpredictable because it's functionally random. They are in direct opposition to humanity's goals because it is the tool of a small class of the wealthy and powerful and the goals of that class are in direct opposition to humanity's goals.
=Smidge=

>"How exactly would they serve us the ads?"

With text and static images.

>"For example, a website operator could make each page load blank other than a notice to the effect "Tap or click to view 'Title of Article' on Name of Site."

Yeah, I have seen some of that already. Some web developers are just plain evil.

Only if someone bothers to read the article *and* understand it *and* care enough to call out the publication.

A lot of predicates there.

If by simple, you mean simplistic, then yeah. What you're forgetting is that every time a bomb kills someone's mother, father, brother, sister, wife, son, or daughter, another America hater is born. So there's likely to be an endless supply of irrational leaders, so long as they are put into power by someone bombing the previous leader along with random military targets.

The only regime changes that are ever really positive long-term are regime changes led by the people of a country against their leaders. All other regime changes are statistically more likely to make things worse than better.

>"It can buffer without playing."

True. Anything is better than autoplaying. Although I would prefer delaying buffering as well. I don't care that it might take 2 seconds longer to start a video, later.

No video (or animated image) should ever load/autoplay unless the user interacts with that element, indicating he/she wants to play it. Same with audio.

That is how I have Firefox set up. I can't imagine why anyone would want something different, unless the user wants to whitelist the site (like I do with my video cameras, since I do want those to play automatically).

I have lots of older machines with 4GB of RAM running the latest Linux Mint and perform just fine with Cinnamon + Firefox + LibreOffice for casual use and browsing (as long as it is an SSD). The majority of RAM is eaten by whatever web browser you are using and by how much. That is what will usually dictate your RAM requirements under Linux far more than the OS (unless you are gaming or doing something major like video editing).

4GB is a bit lean, and has been, so I do agree 6GB is more realistic. But running MS-Windows 11 with 4GB? Good luck with that!

But you've got to do both. Doubting oneself is "critical thinking". Doubting other sources of authority is "independent thinking".

The thing is, nobody has enough expertise to be an independent thinker in every area. So you essentially MUST delegate your ideas in some areas (variable between people) to external authorities. At which point what you "believe" depends on which authorities you choose.

A related question is "how firm is that belief?". This also tends to vary wildly with little apparent (to me) reason behind it. This is one feature that *can* be related to IQ, but isn't always.

>"I've never bought into poster's security through obscurity claims. There are plenty enough Linux machiners out there, [...]"

Multiple things can be true at once. I do think Linux is inherently more secure AND that being more obscure provides additional protection in some ways.

>"As for the update process, here is a reason Windows forces their updates, and Linux and MacOS allow you to install them at your leisure. People don't avoid Linux and MacOS updates because the computer works afterwards."

My experience with decades of Linux updates over hundreds machines across various hardware and distros:

1) Linux updates come/arrive faster.
2) Linux updates install much faster.
3) Linux updates do not break anything.
4) Linux updates rarely change the look or feel of the OS or desktop.
5) Linux updates do not bloat up the system with unnecessary crap or things I never wanted.
6) Linux updates allow me to choose when to install.
7) Linux updates never need a reboot to install or the system is in some limp mode.
8) Linux updates rarely need a reboot to activate.
9) Linux updates never force a reboot to occur.
10) Linux updates do not disturb a running system.
11) Linux updates don't change my system settings to favor some company's agenda.
12) Linux updates (or upgrades) never require registration, permission, cost, or licensing (on open platforms).
13) Linux updates (on open platforms) are not being tracked or monitored by some entity somewhere.
14) Linux updates failing to install/finish is extraordinarily rare.