To your first point - manufacturers have been disabling features all the time (which are advertised as standard) due to "chip shortages" and have not turned them back on. GM cars were shipping without butt warmers (heated seats) for a time but all their literature said they had them.

As for your second point. Yes - manufacturers could open up and say what they are collecting (they don't want to as many people would freak), and expose how bad their security it (again more people would freak). It is totally best to live in the security through obscurity mindset. /s

While one of the benefits of VPN is traffic encryption, it is also about some other things. Geolocation is a thing. If you are doing anything legally questionable, or even legal but intentional (like penetration testing a client), VPNs still make sense as it basically makes your traffic look like it is coming from some place else. It is annoying as fuck to me that I browse to a site, even with noscript and 4 other privacy add-ons, the site knows where I live based on my IP, and makes assumptions of the closest stores, and inventory when I browse for information. This is not helpful to me most of the time and if I actually want to buy something, I will sign in and you can get that info then. Even telling the browser to block all requests for access to location, doesn't stop sites from doing that.

I have a VM setup for all my "alternate" browsing that is where my VPN is installed. I do all my p2p, all my other things in that VM. I don't care as much if the home depot knows I am in my city and browsing storm doors. There are some things that I want to keep private however and those things I use that VM and VPN.

I live in Washington and recently bought a house in 2021. I put in my purchase agreement that I was able to get 25 Mbps Internet, as I WFH. I almost got fucked as the previous person used Hughes Net. I live in a city of 70k people, and in a fully built out neighborhood, with all ISPs saying 99.9% built out in the city. They delivered DSL to houses, but this house didn't get it and the previous owner used satellite. However the DSL could not guarantee the 25 Mbps, and only would sell 1.5 Mbps, which is absolutely unacceptable for Zoom/Teams calls. I tried 9 ISPs whom all said they "deliver to my address" and none would guarantee me 25 Mbps. It was stressful as hell calling every one of these ISPs only to have them say "Yeah our website says we provide there, but we don't actually provide there." I almost pulled the deal based on not getting and ISP.

Every house in the neighborhood (this house was built in 2001, 450 houses in the neighborhood) had Comcast (Xfinity) except mine. I had to sign a 2 year agreement to Xfinity to get them to bury the cable to my house. While that works, it so pisses me off as the previous owner knew there was issues with ISP and said he could get what he needed via Hughes Net, only when pushed about canceling the deal. I stated a minimum speed and that was basically laughed at by the previous owner because they didn't use Internet as much as I do.

Oh well all's well that ends well. I just wish they would be required to say you can get this service, and meet minimum speeds (like broadband by FCC meeting 25 Mbps). I might not have been able to gotten this house (which I would have regretted) but I would have regretted more if I could not work.

It has to do with government regulations and government stipend/tax cuts, etc. The US government has not provided the same benefits to hydrogen. This is why electric has taken off.

As long as the UI is configurable. I cannot stand UI that changes locations based on number of icons/programs running. As long as the start can go to the left corner (like always), and not on the side of the screen (like GNOME) .. Can uninstall useless apps, live tiles, etc. I will be happy.

Yep .. It was early and coffee hadn't kicked in yet. Which ever the amendment for not self testifying (incrimination) and unreasonable search and seizure (4th).

It might be more secure from Hackers trying to get access to your information, but not from legal or law enforcement. I will never use fingerprint or face ID tech as the US Supreme court says they can unlock your devices without your consent as those are not private forms. They cannot compel you to give your password (Second Amendment) but they can compel you to put your fingerprint on the reader or put the phone in front of your face.

Look I get it all, you just have to look at your risk vectors.

I have the same problem. There is literally 1 person in the USA, in fact the world (as it is a Swiss name, I have checked their DBs), with my exact legal name. However, my first name is not all that common as a legal name, but a common shortening of a longer legal name (think legal name = Jonathon, shortened name = Jon - but I am not giving the actual one). Even for me, I get confused with people who have different legal names in terms of credit reporting, a DUI, and even a prison sentence.

A former boss of mine, couldn't fly, because at the time, the No-Fly-List was only first name and last name. No birth date, etc. His name was Michael Johnson. There are only 10,000 Michael Johnson's in the USA. None of them could fly until the list added birth dates a few years after the list was created.

Or Hawaii. I was so pissed when Indiana switched to joining DST a little over a decade ago. It was so nice not having to mess with clocks, but having to remember how the other states are next to you. I missed a wedding of a friend because of it as it was a Sunday wedding, and that weekend was time change. I had my 4 hour commute from Indy to St. Louis and thought I was going to lose an hour, so figured 3 "hours" for my 4 hour trip. Nope .. they were now same time as us (spring forward). Oppss.

I don't know if that was directed toward me, but I said once vaccinated. I am way down on the list of people who can get vaccinated so it will be a while.

Unfortunately it is a state mandate where I live. Stores don't get to decide.

They are kicking people out where I live. It is a state mandate to wear masks. Some places have guards at the doors forbidding people to enter without a mask. This is not a store policy, but a state mandate.

This is interesting and thanks for sharing. I was not aware that you could be contagious without being fully infected (after vaccination). I knew you could be contagious prior to showing symptoms, but didn't think that would be the case if you were never going to be infected.

True, but once vaccinated, you cannot spread, and you cannot get (from my understanding). So yes there are Yahoos who will not be trustworthy, but you will not be responsible for spreading nor receiving.

Hopefully people can go in public without masks and not be stopped by local ordinance. Once vaccinated - you can go to the grocery store and not get kicked out without a mask.