ThePowerOfGeek

It can be a factor for some. Personally, I think I’m happier now overall than I was a couple of decades ago. Not to say I don’t get cranky and irritable sometimes, because that definitely happens. Maybe moreso now. But I think that’s because I just don’t have the tolerance for nonsense.

But I’m fairly content with life. And my attitude towards people who have different lifestyle to me had mellowed out, because life’s too short. I think that has helped with my overall happiness quite a lot.

I’d be even happier if the wider world wasn’t going to shit. But eh, it is what it is.

I’ve been down this path. Getting people to switch was a mixed bag. Some did and have stuck around using it. But others either refused (“another messaging app?!”) or wanted to but ran into problems using Signal.

I’ve also run into problems connecting with people on Signal. They just aren’t findable, even with their privacy settings relaxed and with me trying several formats of their number. After troubleshooting and having other people try, it seems random and makes no sense.

So the three biggest downsides of Signal are: a) users having to juggle yet another messaging app (because their friends/family are scattered across several and they find this overwhelming already); b) Signal looking a bit ‘ugly’ of not as useable to some people; c) people getting frustrated at not being able to connect with friends who are already on there.

The biggest upsides to Signal are a) it’s not Meta or some other corporation trying to profit from exploring its users; b) it’s a clean and simple UX (IMO) that doesn’t try to do too much extra; c) the organization behind it takes security very seriously.

Great point!

They got monetized by corporations, just like so many other specialized information sources.

Like you, I remember earlier days on the web where you could find all sorts of stuff for free, if you knew how to search. That included reverse phone number searches, finding people online, etc. Now it’s all trapped behind paywalls. I get that maintaining it costs money. But it’s still a bit disheartening. I guess the silver lining is that it makes it a bit harder for people’s sensitive information to be accessible to everyone (unless they pay for it, of course).

Another information category that’s gone down this route is genealogy information. Most of the good stuff there’s is being held hostage by ancestry.com and similar sites. And most online newspapers now hide their articles behind paywalls of one kind or another (there are ways around them usually, but it’s still a hassle).

Only if it’s a T-shirt with a design on it. Depending on how the design is applied, washing T-shirts inside out can significantly extend the lifespan of them.

Is it The Jerk?

I stopped at Duolingo because I got tired of them screwing about with and undoing user progress, gamifying things even more than before, and increasingly pushing for money/subscriptions.

Haven’t found a good alternative yet. But Duolingo was driving me crazy.

You post mostly interesting content. Keep it coming.

It was a feature specifically requested by Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski for their government airplane sexy times. And the developer forgot to remove it.

Bought a Bluetti one last year for emergencies. And recently used it to power my laptop during a scheduled power outage. It worked well. Got me through the day, and that’s all I needed.

Like someone else here recommended, make sure you get a solar panel to go with it.

Which browser are you using?

Hegseth is gonna be even more angry than born normal when he can’t drive from point a to point b because of this.

Local food bank, local SPCA chapter, Habitat for Humanity, and sometimes to Public Radio. But I should donate more often.

See if you can find a used Brother laser printer. The older Brother printers are fantastic. I thought I heard somewhere Brother had started to enshitify their newer products (last coulple of years). But I might be wrong there.

Troll Hunter

Pandorum

Yes, at least that’s been my experience.

What are some good alternatives to Protonmail? I’m talking companies that don’t exploit their users and also that don’t support unsavory politicians. I’ve been looking for one (I was not impressed with that post from the Proton CEO either). Thanks.

One problem with Signal is that it can be difficult to connect with someone who is on there.

I’ve run into this a couple of times myself. And I’ve had friends run into it too. We know for a fact someone is using Signal, but you can’t find them in the search, even though you have them in your contacts with the correctly formatted number.

Personally, this issue has become a stumbling block for getting people I know to use it more.

For me? Nothing.

Problem is my kids share my computer, and Linux doesn’t easily support some of the stuff they like playing. And I don’t want to have to spend a bunch of time finagling to get that software running via Wine or whatever.

Nothing beats el fantasma teleprónter caliente!