It’s not stupidity. It’s desperation.

It’s very much an easy/west split in Germany, and the fact is the east is still feeling the effects of soviet control. What works for the richer west is not working in the same way in the east because the problems are different.

When you’re hurting, more of the same isn’t a rational option.

Lurking account on a different instance.

Flywheels can give the same momentum.

Whilst we’re still fighting those that caused Brexit I think we need to be careful of introducing instability with “in again / out again” policy swings. I think we’re best aiming at something which removes barriers but doesn’t stir up the anti EU sentiment that still exists.

Alignment, deals, treaties, but not membership.

Fucking politicians. All the same ain’t they.

Edit: …is what they are thinking.

1375…

We can work with metals, so we can probably make boilers.

I invent steam power 400 years early.

1 in 10: Not sure

2 in 10: Average 3 in 10: Great

If you all could just try to not take the rest of the planet with you, that’ll be great.

…most kids…

Most kids? ⁠(⁠⊙⁠_⁠⊙⁠)

No, we say “FUCK! It’s cold”.

I knew as I wrote it that somebody would come along and say “Wine/Proton is not an emulator” but I didn’t want to get into the detail.

Will my ability to play games be significantly affected compared to Windows?

A lot of stuff runs with windows emulation as if it’s native. It’s the same method the steam deck uses and so Valve actively do work to keep it working. The main problem is games with heavy anti-cheat.

Can I mod games as freely and as easily as I do on Windows?

Generally, yes. I think so.

If a program has no Linux version, is it unusable, or are there workarounds?

See above.

Can Linux run programs that rely on frameworks like .NET or other Windows-specific libraries?

There’s .NET libraries for Linux, but things have to be recompiled to use them.

How do OS updates work in Linux? Is there a “Linux Update” program like what Windows has?

The distribution maintainer will issue updates on a regular basis. Update procedure is different for different distros, but all have a push-button update scheme. It’s pretty solid these days.

How does digital security work on Linux? Is it more vulnerable due to being open source? Is there integrated antivirus software, or will I have to source that myself?

Keep your system up to date with security updates, and you’ll tend to be fine. Smaller user base tends to mean that there’s far less malware. Antivirus isn’t necessary.

Obviously phishing scams don’t care what OS you’re on, so mind what you click.

Are GPU drivers reliable on Linux?

AMD ones are very solid.

Nvidia ones can be a pain from what I hear, but I don’t buy green.

Can Linux (in the case of a misconfiguration or serious failure) potentially damage hardware?

No.

That said… You can always wipe a disk when you install an OS.

And also, what distro might be best for me?

Download a few Live-USB images and try them out. You don’t need to install them to get a desktop and a browser up. You can see if there’s any compatibility issues with your hardware.

Whichever works for you, go with it.

Errr no. The two largest populations on the planet are in direct competition.

For a peacekeeping force to be sent, there has to be peace.

…but what are we actually trying to measure here? The miles travelled, or the wear and tear that’s caused by the wheels spinning?

Do they exist anymore?

Interesting that it’s just a cost of doing business in China as well.

Obviously. How much?

I was more meaning “on what scale?”. I assume he wasn’t a few hundred short.

He was fined €240M? What had he done?