Thanks! I feel obliged to say I built my PC in 2023, but Linux still feels exciting to me. Trying to avoid becoming that annoying Linux guy who tells everyone to install it lol.

I came from macOS and found GNOME pretty accommodating. It’s more akin to macOS than to Windows, both looks and customisation-wise. I’m also a software engineer! :)

I’ve been using Linux and MacOS my entire life, with brief stints on windows when my job has required it. Every time I have to use Windows I’m gobsmacked at some of the design choices, bugs, lag, and anti-patterns.

You’re absolutely right that it’s mostly the same, you mostly use the same apps, you still use a mouse to interact with them, there’s still a file system, etc. But when the experience is mostly the same it just makes the parts where they differ so much more frustrating in my experience.

Unfortunately my experiences trying to use Windows as a daily driver have been much like yours with Linux, I find myself messing around with stupid bullshit in a never ending cascade of settings menus, each more janky than the last, just trying to do simple things. It’s unfortunate Windows has become so janky as I remember it working quite well back in the xp days.

All this is to say, I think at this point Linux is often as good as Windows (it does depend on the distro, tons of bad ones out there), but familiarity is king. I’ve spent decades using all three operating systems, and have mainlined Linux since 2023, so that’s just what I’m most familiar with now.

I’ve lost track of what we were originally talking about, but yeah. They’re all good enough just use whatever you’re comfortable with and don’t overthink it I guess 🤷

You’ve used modern Linux and modern Windows and think the experience is almost identical? That’s an uncommon opinion.

Nobody thinks you can’t do software engineering on windows. It’s just worse.

Chris is a pretty switched on and likeable guy. His take is absolutely right, but I think you also have to tackle the people buying multiple properties as investments. Property just can’t be the safest and most profitable investment in Australia. Negative gearing has to go first, but I wouldn’t mind seeing further steps after that to incentivise the property moguls to sell up (or at least slow their buying).

Yea you’re right. I read the article after commenting and realised my mistake lol. Some of the replies have been entertaining though.

Why are we saying Linux PCs AND steam deck? The steam deck is just a Linux PC. Unless custom work was done for it?

Yep that’s the explanation I’ve heard. Telcos shifting this mess onto the consumer is pretty obviously not ideal. They shouldn’t have gone ahead with the 3G shutoff knowing these issues existed.

They could have waited 4-5 years for the majority of Aussies upgrade to a new phone that supports Telstra’s VoLTE, implemented a fallback system on Telstra’s network for phones that don’t support it, etc.

But they didn’t.

Super poor form imo. If our government were serious about protecting Australians they would do something to punish these companies. But they won’t. And our slow slide towards America-style late-stage capitalism will continue.

This whole thing has been a mess. Thousands of Aussies had to buy new phones due to them using a phone allowlist instead of a blocklist (arguably they should have just let the phones stop working instead of blocking them outright). The allowlist they used was missing hundreds of 4G capable phones and was missing just about every overseas model of phone. I know 2 people whose phones were blocked for no reason.

Tourists coming to Australia are finding their phones blocked here, preventing them from using their phones in Australia.

000 calls are borked for thousands of Aussies as well.

We are one of the only countries in the world to turn off 3G. And we’re certainly the only one to fuck it up this badly. I’m convinced the big telcos only did this to drive phone sales (many of which will be bought/leased on exploitative plans), because god knows there’s no other compelling reason to shut 3G off.

What a joke.

Yes, I’m sure failing to defend democracy will result in it being eroded. Of course people can use this to their own personal advantage and claim democracy is at stake when it is not. Voters need to be well informed to discern whether those claims are legitimate, or not.

I don’t think anyone reads “X ban” as sending people to offshore “entertainment” facilities. Lol.

Democracy: good. Destroying democracy: bad. Still too specious for you?

VPNs exist. All blocking of websites is just a slight inconvenience at the end of the day.

Because we have to defend democracy or it will be eroded. We should not stand by idly as misinformation and corporate interests continue to cripple it. Just because people are voting against their best interests does not mean they are no longer their best interests.

History in the making. This is what open source is all about.

I assume they’re talking about tear gas used by police (Trump’s thugs) in protests.

Nah. Non-white people in the crowd are glad they’re one of the good ones 🙏🙏 (they don’t know Trump doesn’t care).