Shouldn't this be a social program, subsidized by the government??

OpenSSH is the best known OpenBSD project, but they also makes pf (used in pfSense, OPNSense, etc.), OpenBGP, OpenNTPD, OpenSMTPD, OpenIKED, LibreSSL, etc.

Came for this comment.

I would flame the Windows install and just go with Linux. Win11 is better off in a closed-off VM anyway.

It's interesting that Slashdot posts this mention of Microsoft firing this small fraction of staff, but there was never coverage of Twitter firing more than 50% of its staff.

If manglement tried to put me or anyone on my team on a PIP, I would take the severance pay and find a new job. And probably give the idiots in charge the finger on the way out.

The motivation to mine and process rare earth materials has existed for many years. If it were just that easy, then China wouldn't have such a strategic dominance in this resource. For instance, most geologists think the minerals deal floated for Ukraine is ridiculous on multiple levels, but to distill it down, if those minerals were feasibly available to mine and process, private enterprise would have already set up shop there. In reality, Ukrainian rare earth mines are in abject disrepair and not even running and that is a reflection of the commercial viability of Ukrainian rare earth metals resources.

The capital investment required to launch a new lithium mining / processing operation is gargantuan. Nobody is going to take that step when China could sweep away its relevance by simply dropping this export ban.

advanced geothermal techniques could unlock 90 gigawatts of clean power in the U.S. alone, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

This statement was made just seconds before Elon Musk marched right up onto the stage, slapped the DOE across the face, and shouted, "You get 'clean energy' out of your mouth!" The problem was resolved with the Musk administration re-branding the agency "Department of Petroleum."

Why print in color? Get a black and white laser printer. Most economical cost per page printing there is. No problem with ink drying up in the print head if not used for a while, etc. If I need to print a photo, I upload it to Walgreens and they have it ready to pick up in 30 minutes at the cost of nickels per picture.

You write from an informed perspective on this topic (ST:NG), yet I think the godlike fault you cite is inaccurate in the context of Next Generation. The series OFTEN dealt with the problem of a comparatively advanced civilization encountering a primitive civilization. This was so much woven into the fabric of ST:NG they built the "Prime Directive" as a best practices for these scenarios. The introduction of the Borg illustrates the importance of the Prime Directive as it turns the table on the Federation being primitive and the Borg representing an advanced civilization with zero respect supporting the natural development of an alien culture and society.

While ST:NG is classic SF wrestling with frontier mythos, I think it's less "Wagon Train to the Stars" (that's Battlestar Galactica) and more Christopher Columbus to the Stars. The enterprise is an exploration ship, not a colonization vessel.

To do that, you'd need to insulate the AI in an information ecosystem that reinforces the conspiracy and shuns contradicting information.

Exactly. Musk has prioritized Twitter content in training GrokAI in order to perpetuate the misinformation flourishing on that platform.

I'm not here to internet-argue with you. I share your disdain for "in-your-face" product placements in movies. I'm with you.

Stepping back and evaluating the work of a director from all sides, I think almost all directors have sold out as artists in choosing a medium where they must pander to their audience to entice them to purchase tickets to see the work. The director is catering the artistic work to the supposed taste of the intended audience. When movies "flop" at the box office, frequently it's because the director executed their vision poorly, had a bad vision, or the producers forced a crappy vision through cells on their spreadsheets for what makes a successful film. Sometimes, though, a movie flops because the director abandoned consideration of the audience and pushed forward with the movie THEY wanted to make. Recent examples are Joker 2 and Megalopolis.

Regarding Apple, the company claims it does not pay for product placement in TV shows or movies. If a character is using a MacBook and the logo is visible, it's because the director wanted to associate the character with the brand for some reason other than financial. HP or DELL would have paid for the placement, so the director was leaving money on the table by choosing that Apple logo.

The referenced "no villains policy" is a preference by Apple, but there is no case history of enforcing it. Per this article:

In John Wick, the man who kills John's dog and steals his car is seen using an iPhone, and Josh Hartnett's serial killer character in Trap also appears to be using an Apple device. Some fans pointed out that an iPhone also appears in a villain's briefcase in Marvel's 2015 movie Ant-Man.