Skip Navigation

InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)U

utopiah

@ utopiah @lemmy.ml

Posts
4
Comments
1500
Joined
4 yr. ago

  • [solved] Does Linux have an equivalent to "Compress contents to save disk space" from Windows? I don't need it to save space, just please read the full post before commenting.

    Jump

  • running games on old storage devices that hold less than 32 GB and have terrible read and write speeds.

    I'm confused. How about copying that to newer storage devices?

    Also typically game assets are VERY well compressed so I would suggest doing a comparison with/without compression before a full on migration. Compression tools help but aren't magical. If your assets are e.g. .jpg or .mp4 or .mp3 or a combination of that (as typically game assets are, including 3D models with their textures) then you can test yourself to .zip them (or bzip2 or whatever you prefer) and you will seem some gains but they'll be nearly negligible, e.g. < 10% reduction.

  • Would it be possible to dumb down a linux phone?

    Jump

  • How can I avoid proprietary software on school & company computers?

    Jump

  • Yes, they do. Most users, even young kids, are freaking out when you tell them anybody at Facebook (or Microsoft, or Google, or whatever, or whomever they delegate access to, can be school superintendent, boss, sysadmin, etc) can access their data. They either don't know about it, or knew about it once but decided it wasn't "right" enough to keep in mind and ignored it since.

    Most users DO care and are concerned but they are so convinced there are no possible alternatives they convinced themselves no matter how terrible it is, there is just nothing they can do about it.

    Please ask around, take a random person, close or not, stranger or not, technical or not, and ask them (explain if you most) if they do have such concerns. I bet they do. If they don't I'll apologize for my naivety.

  • How can I avoid proprietary software on school & company computers?

    Jump

  • A lot of already great advice here, often clarifying that a computer that is not yours... is not yours.

    What I would still add though is that you are NOT, and I'm very confident in saying this, the only one there, in your very school, to ask that question. In fact I would argue MOST users have the exact same concerns but they might even be aware that alternatives exist.

    So... do not push back, or even just avoid, all this alone. Find others who have similar problems and solve them together.

    There might be a Linux User Group already, join them. If there isn't one, consider making it. It might just be you for few weeks, even month, but at least you will dedicate time and space to improve YOUR situation. Chances are though that others, even if only curious at first, might check what you are up to, if they can replicate that, etc.

    Don't feel isolate, move the needle for yourself first, in your corner, but be welcoming to others who are eager to contribute.

    It's a challenge, but it's a fun challenge while trying to tackle it with others.

  • Would it be possible to dumb down a linux phone?

    Jump

  • It's a pragmatic compromise. The assumption is that Google is not literally evil, solely a very large advertisement company which subsidize very cool hardware in order to sell more ads. It's the same principle as using a rooted Meta Quest when one doesn't even have a Facebook or WhatsApp account.

    I imagine than everybody who is into that situation will move to Motorola or Valve Frame when those will become available. Until then the bet is that the hardware does not have hardware backdoors because so far nobody disclosed any.

    If you really are into trusting hardware I recommend checking https://precursor.dev/ and similar initiatives.

    I did mention Linux phones too but again that's not for everyone.

    IMHO it's much better to use a GrapheneOS deGoogle Android device today, knowing the limitation, than using a Googled Android device today, Pixel or not, and complaining about all the limitations about it while waiting for a theoretical better solution that is simply not yet available.

  • Would it be possible to dumb down a linux phone?

    Jump

  • Right, you actually can't AFAIK but you can disable it.

    It's indeed not the point. GrapheneOS focus is on security. If you want to have complete control you'd better go with a Linux proper phone but AFAICT, unless you are fine with ~4hrs battery and/or can spend 1000€ on a device that very people have, it's not for most.

  • Would it be possible to dumb down a linux phone?

    Jump

  • Yes, I have a PinePhone and PinePhone Pro both with PostMarketOS so doing this is as easy as few sudo apk add packagename or sudo apk del firefox.

    Now... if you want a daily driver then as few others hinted at, it's much harder. I would instead, if deGoogle Android is an acceptable compromise for you, get a 2nd hand Pixel 8 or above, install GrapheneOS on it, remove the browser and that's pretty much it already since it doesn't come with an app store or equivalent. Well, there's the GrapheneOS equivalent but there are ~10 apps on it at most last time I checked.

  • What's the proper way to install every-day CLI tools on immutable distributions like Fedora Bluefin?

    Jump

  • I don't think it actually is. It's only like that the very first time when you haven't you this specific distribution itself. Once you know how the few extra step and understand the core principle, it's trivial.

    PS: I did tinker with NixOS, SteamOS and ROCKNIX.

  • What's the proper way to install every-day CLI tools on immutable distributions like Fedora Bluefin?

    Jump

  • I'm not sure.

    I'm a professional tinkerer and I run Debian stable. OK ok it's not an immutable distro but my point is that I do tinker, just NOT with my main OS.

    I'll tinker in containers, in VMs, in my ~/bin etc but NOT in what hosts all that.

    So I would argue that what's important for tinkerers is to establish clear boundaries on what they want to tinker on and what they do NOT want to tinker on, what can change vs what should never.

  • Should cash stay alive to enable "private" transactions?

    Jump

  • The zero-days are numbered | The Mozilla Blog - Firefox 150 includes fixes for 271 vulnerabilities identified during this initial evaluation [of Mythos Preview]

    Jump

  • I'm aware (unfortunately) of the marketing claims and even if they might be true, as you say it is "for now". So if it's only temporary for that arm race, especially if held by a company who leaked its own code just days ago, then I have a hard time understanding why 'zero-days are numbered' because this title claims the dynamic itself is gone. That's now my understanding, especially if other models are just marginally (which is hard to prove with models, finding proper metrics) worst than it.

    See comment that shared https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/21/unauthorized-group-has-gained-access-to-anthropics-exclusive-cyber-tool-mythos-report-claims just few hours ago, and that's not even sophisticated.

    Anthropic and OpenAI have multiple times used this arm race rhetoric before and it worked. Their models are supposedly "too dangerous" to be released thus consequently they have to control access.

    It might be true but so far what we have witnessed is that roughly equivalent models get released by others merely weeks or maybe months after, sometimes open, but the "moat" never lasted long so I'm questioning why it would be different this time.

  • The zero-days are numbered | The Mozilla Blog - Firefox 150 includes fixes for 271 vulnerabilities identified during this initial evaluation [of Mythos Preview]

    Jump

  • That doesn't make sense. Don't the attackers have the same tools?

  • Signal in 2026?

    Jump

  • IMHO the question depends on :

    • who you are (boring, rando, political dissident, journalist, etc)
    • who you talk to (family, friends, work, etc)
    • what alternatives actually exist

    So... sure Signal is not perfect but if you can't convince your family members to move to DeltaChat it sure beats using WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.

  • Should I go for GrapheneOS, e/os or LIneageOS on a new phone? (see description)

    Jump

  • I'll simplify for the downvotes : "a De-Googled OS [...] cannot compromise [...] Google Maps"

  • Should I go for GrapheneOS, e/os or LIneageOS on a new phone? (see description)

    Jump

  • "considering setting up a De-Googled OS as well, but there are a few things that I cannot compromise on:

    • Google Maps"

    Sorry but ... is this a joke?

  • Gen Z Sabotaging AI at Work So It Won't Take Their Job

    Jump

  • No sabotage required. It's typically poor tool with no strategy behind the so called deployment. AI snake oil salesmen claimed that AI could boost productivity AND be a scapegoat to cull the workforce, shareholders demand both, managers obliged, now the shit show is everywhere with no gains in sight.

  • Thoughts on /e/OS vs Android on Fairphone?

    Jump

  • Murena who maintained /e/OS sells FairPhones with /e/OS pre-installed so I imagine support for it is good.

    I only used /e/OS on a CMF Phone 1 for about a year and liked it. I only moved to Graphene OS as a way to get a small cheaper 2nd hand phone. In my experience it's a good OS and I had no headaches with /e/OS.

  • If you could have your email provider based in any country, which one would you choose? Which one do you think has the best privacy protections?

    Jump

  • OK. I'll just claim French privacy law is better than GDPR then. If you ask I'll just point you to French law. If you tell me that doesn't help I'll call you a troll.

    I mean honestly if that's how you interact with people I'd rather just block you, I don't need more noise in my life. Take care.

  • Claude: papers please?

    Jump

  • IMHO LLM usage isn't coherent with independence. That being said I wrote quite a bit on self-hosting LLMs. There are quite a few tools available, like ollama itself relying on llama.cpp that can both work locally and provide an API compatible replacement to cloud services. As you suggested though typically at home one doesn't have the hardware, GPUs with 100+GB of VRAM, to run the state of the art. There is a middle ground though between full cloud, API key, closed source vs open source at home on low-end hardware : running STOA open models on cloud. It can be done on any cloud but it's much easier to start with dedicated hardware and tooling, for that HuggingFace is great but there are multiples.

    TL;DR: closed cloud -> models on clouds -> self-hosted provide a better path to independence, including training.

  • Technology @lemmy.world
    utopiah @lemmy.ml

    ‘They’ve pickled each others’ brains’

    sf.gazetteer.co /theyve-pickled-each-others-brains
  • Privacy @lemmy.ml
    utopiah @lemmy.ml

    39C3: Power Cycles - media.ccc.de

    media.ccc.de /c/39c3
  • Privacy @lemmy.ml
    utopiah @lemmy.ml

    I made 3D printable cryptography bracelets, cipher/decipher on the go!

  • Technology @lemmy.ml
    utopiah @lemmy.ml

    How China has ‘throttled’ its private sector

    www.ft.com /content/1e9e7544-974c-4662-a901-d30c4ab56eb7