My current environment - and one for many years, is just like you describe. No ads, instant launch (either from a launcher, or just type what I want and it pops up). No spyware, no account, no assistant. I even have a modern file manager that windows STILL hasn’t surpassed.

But I remember at the time when XP came out, Windows 2000 already was all those things, Beos was all those things, Macs were all those things.

Without the nasty (and limited) XP colors and theme, the 10 minute exploits, the huge waste of space in all the dialogs, and the beginning of the Pro vs Home licensing, where they started with the bullshit of home has: only 1 processor, no remote desktop, no 64 bit, they even removed windows backup!

You could exploit and gain admin in a Windows XP machine right to the end, it could not be locked down if a user sat at it. Which, I know, if you have access to the machine usually all bets are off, but for a multi user machine it was less than acceptable.

I find it weird that people look back fondly on XP. I remember at the time thinking it behaved like crap, had an interface that looked like shit, and was extremely easy to compromise.

I guess Rose colored glasses for some people…

Honestly I thought memes had kinda run their course, i didn’t know there were new ones even, lol.

Hey if it’s fun, that’s great. Kinda was looking for an idea for an app. This might be an interesting one. What features would make a great one?

People save memes? Today I learned…

Thank goodness. I hate most current UI.

It’s funny that one thing I really liked about it was the floating windows and toolbar. Then everyone complained and they brought it all together. But now people I work with using software that we pay nearly a million dollars to license are getting all excited becuase they introduced… floating windows.

Pyrosis did a great job answering a lot of your questions, I will focus again on why I cannot recommend plex:

Opt-In is not acceptable. You need to opt-out of: data sharing, data sharing with partners (unless you are in the UK or specific States), sharing playback data, stopping discovery together and activity feed, and turning off all of their live tv and streaming services.

Sharing streaming habits with others is not something that ever should have been opt-out. They keep pushing the line.

By the way, several of the “features” you mention are not included by default. Hardware decoding, downloads, DVR, etc.

I run both concurrently. I have a plex pass from way back when, maybe a decade or more.

What plex is now is not what it once was. Trying to socialize viewing habits, opting in by default to analysis, ads, reviews, and sharing that info has gone too far. Plex also works on these features such as discovery which benefits them, instead of open bugs.

That us why I can’t recommend it.

As for a feature comparison. Jellyfin is snappier, and faster. Plex is more detailed in their interface, and has better Metadata. Jellyfin sometimes doesn’t restart where I left off. Jellyfin is much, much better on mobile devices, but has less clients for tv’s. Jellyfin doesn’t rely on any server but my own, where plex wants to authenticate with thier own servers and ask for accounts (and money) to have full functionality. Jellyfin always downloads to a client. Plex…might. Plex has better handling of multiple streams in one file.

Because they are doing things in their best interest and not the end user.

As so many like to say here the enshitification is happening.

If you want to self host, plex isn’t it.

This is bizarre. My friends wouldn’t want random interruptions throughout the day and neither do I.

Follow? I don’t follow anyone, that seems so shallow …

Edit: but to be fair, we all like different things. Foss is about scratching you own itch, so if you feel you want an app like this (seems easy enough to do) you can always make it yourself.

This milestone was reached a long time ago. For some reason uncle bobs Facebook post has been just as reliable a media source as any other for a lot of people already.

Please:

My windows laptop does not want to conserve the battery, or use an 80% charge. It instead relies on a third party piece of software - typically the manufactures - that drags in all sorts of crap I do not want, with Eula’s I do not agree with. Linux doesnt do that, and properly preserves my battery. I don’t know whats wrong with your Mint install or laptop, but I have a laptop I put linux on 10 years ago, and it still works great and the battery is still within 95% of new, which frankly is amazing. Never had windows on it. And of course you can configure all of that with a GUI.

My other laptop had windows on it, and the intel driver would turn off features in my wifi card because I had not paid for that version. In linux it was a full feature wifi card.

My printer wont work with windows, even though it is supposed to be a windows printer. The drivers, which won’t install, even if they did will pull in a bunch of crap, and Eulas that I do not agree with. On my linux machine it just works. No drivers needed.

In Windows, it nearly bricked my Video card trying to update firmware from a driver update I did not ask for. Had to force a new driver, which in turn updated firmware. And once again, said driver adds a ton of crap and services and a Eula I do not want. On my Linux machine, it just works, AND does not require me to manage drivers at all. AMD.

I am not sure what you are trying to say about Excel, that is just a confusing sentence.

For me the world is the opposite. Linux is easy and just works. Windows is the pain in my ass and always does something annoying (exactly like this article is saying).

I daily drive Linux. Have for years. I choose to only remote into widows, and that is only if someone will pay me to do it. I have an MSDN and all MS software available to me, and even when it is free to me, I would rather not use it.

We mock crypto because anyone who has it wants to hoard it as an “investment”. Nobody wants to use it as a currency.

I tried for years, buying and selling goods with crypto. I never purchased any crypto, I just earned it. I tried to talk others into the same. You need to spend to have value… they just laugh and day hold your bags tight with diamond hands.

Yeah, it’s never going to work.

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I have a roku, and I gotta ask… what ads? I think they run one on the side at the menu screen but I never even notice it. Because the only time i am on that screen is to get to a channelm

Then when something isn’t playing it just goes to the aquarium screen saver.

What are you doing that had so many ads?

If you want to talk about how chatty the damn things are with their servers, yes that is an issue.

Did I say that? I said windows has caused me more issues lately. I was replying that Linux desktop is fine. It works. Has worked for a very long time.

But since you brought it up… No. I do not think Windows is an easier desktop to use. Depends on familiarity and what you want to do with it. They can’t get single click right. They can’t get multiple desktops right. They certainly do not have activities. If you are using a Gnome workflow, windows seems almost insane in comparison. Don’t get me started on the ads and what this whole discussion started about with Edge trying to push itself into your way. And how about that registry system? So intuitive and useful right?

I have tried to switch my daily driver to linux for more than 15 years now, Linux desktop just isn’t ready.

Something isn’t adding up here. I switched to mostly Linux around 2003. By 2005 it was all Linux unless I got paid for it. My wife has been only Linux since then and she doesn’t really know how to use a computer and doesn’t want to. Linux just works for her.

I do all my work from a Linux desktop and two Linux laptops. Well and a Steamdeck I use as a desktop when traveling. I remote into windows machines when I am using windows for jobs. Sometimes desktops, sometimes Azure virtual desktops, but my local client is always Linux.

I have an MSDN, I admin Azure instances, SQL servers, Windows Servers, and work on Windows desktops. Over the last two to three years it has been the windows machines that are the most annoying and troublesome. Linux is just easy and just works.

The Linux desktop is ready. Has been ready. Something is going on with your situation. Could be breaking old habits, could be hardware. I don’t know. But saying Linux is to blame here is ridiculous.

Uh, my server is an x86, is fanless and the cpu idles at 9 and maxes at 12. Is much faster then my pi and has quicksync.

I run plex, jellyfin, smb shares, mealie, tailscale and rerouting, notes, and books.

I like my pi but performance per watt isn’t as drastic with x86 if you build for it. Did I mention it’s also fanless? Passive heating that just works on the cpu.

why is iMessage on Android such a big deal?

Being able to use rich chat features.

Like what? I know there is a difference in how group chats are handled, but thats a compatibility issue, not a rich chat feature. The only thing I can think of is Apples stupid push for more emojis and even worse Memojis. Otherwise, pics, gifs, emojis work between Apple and Android. Seems like its the green v blue and group chat edits that are the differences.

But maybe I dont know.

Me too. Like this.

I have some questions about the royalties and the collective bargaining:

1. Are the payments from streaming in addition to payment for being a songwriter via ASCAP or whatever royalty facilitator is used?
2. If you have not signed to a label, or had a previous contract, is there anything stopping that person from collective bargaining? It seems to me if there is no contract, then they are not a supplier unless they want to be.

I don’t use Spotify or any paid service, they rarely have the music I listen to anyway. I do give donations to SOMA FM for groove salad, but I imagine they too are paying the bare minimum - a radio type royalty. But I also tend to buy physical music from the musicians I like and I do go out to see performances. By the way, although I don’t know Galaxie 500, I do recognize the Ornette Coleman reference; I do listen to Ornette live music from time to time.

There are a lot of issues here. I think you should have the right to own the company (streaming service) if you could be allowed to collectively get musicians to create a co-op or something like that. On the other hand I find it confusing when compared to my own work, where the company owns the code I write. I do not get paid every time it runs for the rest of my life, so why should you? But I get that the music industry corporations are ruthless, exploitive and chew up talent and spit them out, and are using the streaming services for their own benefit.

Some people might say what are you complaining about? You have a platform that is freely advertising your music, it is up to you to convert that to money. Other people might say that without your music, there would not be a platform. So once again, it seems the only way out is to have your own musician ran platform. So I support that, thanks for the shout out to the issues you face in collective bargaining, and the current legislation in the US.