On 12/30/24 6:22 PM, Andrzej Matuch wrote:
> > [chrisv butthurt snipped]
>
> What I like about both GIMP and Krita is that I can install them with
> one command and have full access to their features the moment they are
> installed.

Sure.

> With Photoshop, I imagine that I have to create an account,
> put in my credit card information, download the software, enter my
> account information to finally be able to use it.
>
> With that said, I ask this question: is anyone else fed up of creating
> accounts to download software?

But aren't such measures simply being commensurate to their business
model of having a product that's being sold, instead of FOSS?

For example, I can recall there being software anti-piracy efforts done
way, way back in the 1970s Apple ][ era. Early protection stuff often
involved hidden files on the floppy install disk.

Later stuff included things like how in Warcraft I, you'd be prompted to
enter a word from a certain page / paragraph in the owner's manual, etc.

Bottom line to all of it was that the software developer wasn't giving
away their works for free, so they were trying to limit illegal copies.

> Is anyone else fed up of navigating to
> specific sites to download those programs and carefully check that
> they're not downloading a malware-infested version of the program?

And this 'carefully check' was because the website wasn't the OEM's?
Kind of sounds like an admission of visits to Pirate's Bay... <g>

> I'm sure that GIMP and Krita lack a few features, but you can use them
> anonymously all the while not being charged a cent to use either. You
> can also acquire them within seconds, depending on the speed of your
> Internet connection.

Yet an internet connection and ability to use credit are merely modern
updates ... it used to be a credit card (or cash) transacted in a
physical visit to the local brick & mortar computer store. Technology
marches ever onward.

-hh

On 12/31/24 7:02 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 31/12/2024 11:54, chrisv wrote:
>> Charlie Gibbs wrote:
>>
>>> I'm not disputing whether BMWs are better vehicles, whether to drive
>>> or for some other reason.  What I do notice is that many people who
>>> drive BMWs feel that the car confers some sort of superior class on
>>> the driver, and they feel it is the God-given duty for us plebes who
>>> drive lesser cars to get out of their way - to the point of making
>>> exasperated hand gestures at those of us who don't.
>>
>> Again, I've never noticed any such thing.
>
> Many drivers are not given to noticing anything around them.

Its also challenging to see the transgressions from inside the BMW. /s

-hh

On 31/12/2024 12:04, chrisv wrote:
> The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>
>> HP EliteDesk 800 G2 SFF Quad Core i5-6500 is what it says it is
>
> Ha! I recently bought two of these for work. Only $150 each with 16G
> RAM and an SSD and legal Win10 Pro. Really a steal, if you don't need
> the Win11 HW requirements.

I've seen em as low as £75.

It really is more than good enough for my needs

I think they were sold in millions in 2015 -2016 and are all now 'fully
depreciated' and being sold as scrap, minus the HDDs which get crushed.

Totally recommended to anyone as a cheap reliable vanilla Linux desktop.
They just work.

--
"I guess a rattlesnake ain't risponsible fer bein' a rattlesnake, but ah
puts mah heel on um jess the same if'n I catches him around mah chillun".

On 31/12/2024 14:00, chrisv wrote:
> The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>
>> On 31/12/2024 11:54, chrisv wrote:
>>> Charlie Gibbs wrote:
>>>
>>>> I'm not disputing whether BMWs are better vehicles, whether to drive
>>>> or for some other reason. What I do notice is that many people who
>>>> drive BMWs feel that the car confers some sort of superior class on
>>>> the driver, and they feel it is the God-given duty for us plebes who
>>>> drive lesser cars to get out of their way - to the point of making
>>>> exasperated hand gestures at those of us who don't.
>>>
>>> Again, I've never noticed any such thing.
>>>
>> Many drivers are not given to noticing anything around them.
>
> I'm not one of them.
>
I rather think you are.

--
There’s a mighty big difference between good, sound reasons and reasons
that sound good.

Burton Hillis (William Vaughn, American columnist)

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 10:54:07 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> I too had to increase from 8GB mostly because massive loads of shit
> written in python are memory gobblers.

Could be worse. Could have been Java.

On 2024-12-31 12:01, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 31/12/2024 02:04, Carlos E.R. wrote:
>>>
>>> I imagine that you never closed those programs. Do they have known
>>> memory leaks?
>>
>> No, but they don't seem to have a proper memory cleaning strategy.
>> Probably fragmentation.
>>
> Firefox itself doesn't have memory leaks, but its perfectly possible to
> write crap javaScript that does.

You are right.

>
> I periodically close my windows and start again.

I noticed a big improvement when I placed swap on an SSD.

I noticed that the hard disk was working hard, guessing that the memory
chunks were fragmented. A lot of head movement. I guessed that an SSD
would improve things, and yea, it did, a lot.

Of course, the rest of the system is on SSD as well.

>
>>>
>>>> The other reason is that Nvidia had stopped supporting my card, and
>>>> nouveau was not up to the task. I changed to AMD video.
>>>>
>>>> The older machine I used for a time for guests. Works fine, its
>>>> power is fine, and is over 10 year old.
>>>
>>> As far as I know, Nouveau has full support for NVIDIA GPUs into the
>>> 8xx range. Anything after that doesn't get full support because the
>>> firmware is closed. What was the card you were using?
>>
>> MSI N9500GT-MS1G-OC, says the cardbox.
>>
> There is a December 2024 release of drivers for this card.
>
> https://www.nvidia.com/en-in/drivers/details/237926/
>
> Driver Version:     550.142
> Release Date:     Tue Dec 17, 2024
> Operating System:     Linux 64-bit
> Language:     English (India)
> File Size:     307.3 MB

Well, too late for this machine. It is now in storage. I used it for
guests I had, using nouveau, and then it is simply stored.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 07:13:36 -0500, Chris Ahlstrom wrote:

> I had a Yaris (the original bottle-nosed one), 5-speed manual, two-door,
> no power windows. It could zip around an off-ramp!

I've had 3, a 2007, 2011, and the current 2018 which was the end of the
line. Even that year the sedan version was a rebranded Mazda 2.

When I got stopped the cop came up on the passenger side. When I reached
across to wind the window down he said "I didn't know they made cars with
manual windows anymore."

The best one was the 2007 with the manual. I played games with a Mini
Cooper on Route 1 down through Big Sur. Miraculously there was no traffic
to impeded us. A couple of tourists might have jumped off the scenic
overlook when the two Matchbox toys screamed by.

The 4 speed AT gets the job done but I really prefer a manual. I bought
the 2011 when Japan was having a little nuclear problem so I took what I
could get. The 2018 was a leftover in 2020 so again I took what was there.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:58:25 -0600, chrisv wrote:

> rbowman wrote:
>
>> chrisv wrote:
>>
>>> It's nothing to do with wanting to "own the road". It is probably not
>>> "just for status". Many just want a better vehicle to drive. BMW's
>>> are, generally, better vehicles to drive.
>>
>>Better how?
>
> Better handling, or betterride/handling compromise, or better
> acceleration and braking. Nicer interior.
>
> I'm not saying they always succeed, but these are the ideas. There's a
> reason why they cost more. It's not just "spend more money and you get
> this badge".

Better home entertainment system. That seems to be what the reviewers are
interested in these days.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 08:34:18 -0500, Andrzej Matuch wrote:

> On 2024-12-30 21:09, rbowman wrote:
>> On Mon, 30 Dec 2024 16:26:02 -0600, chrisv wrote:
>>
>>> It's nothing to do with wanting to "own the road". It is probably not
>>> "just for status". Many just want a better vehicle to drive. BMW's
>>> are, generally, better vehicles to drive.
>>
>> Better how? I'm not hating on BMWs in particular but 'better' is a
>> nebulous concept as far as I'm concerned. Maybe it's cynicism from the
>> days when Cadillacs were better than Buicks that were better than
>> Oldsmobiles that were better than Pontiacs that were better than
>> Chevrolets even thought it was the same damn platform. Of course if
>> your Buick only had three faux portholes the neighbors knew you were
>> either cheap or living above your means.
>
> Each one of those American cars was better than the other but they were
> all shit.

Again, what is better? The president of a company I worked for bought a
Cadillac Cimarron when they tried to build a European style luxury sedan.
It was a piece of crap. The final straw was when his secretary bought a
Pontiac. He parked next to it and realized it was the same car.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 08:06:54 -0600, chrisv wrote:

> The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>
>>> Hmm... While I concede that some BMW car owners buy them for "the
>>> wrong reasons" (i.e. prestige), I think that bike riders are more
>>> practical and grounded.
>>
>>Depends on the milieu - plenty of menopausal men cranking up their
>>beemer bikes to try and impress someone.
>
> Funny, I've not noticed that.
>
> Harleys, on the other hand...

When the BMW owners group came to town on their tour they were a bigger
PITA than when the Angels came here on vacation. Lawyers and doctors on
bikes bring their attitudes with them.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 11:05:15 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> Audis are designed to go round corners blisteringly fast, but their
> drivers are not...

The Audi was the first FWD car I owned and I almost killed myself figuring
out how to drive it. No fault of the car but the national 55 mph speed
limit was imposed and the car wasn't geared to do 55 except as a brief
interval on its way to a cruising speed.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:53:34 -0600, chrisv wrote:

> The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>
>>BMWs are, like Jaguars, designed to be fast and go round corners as
>>well.
>>Mercedes are fast, but don't go round corners. Which is why they do well
>>in the USA. There are no real corners.
>>
>>Audis are designed to go round corners blisteringly fast, but their
>>drivers are not...
>
> All utter nonsense.

Yeah, I'd like to introduced the Olde Philosopher to corners. The section
lines don't always line up nicely here so there are some 90 degree turns
along with the normal curves when you're working your way around a
mountain.

I'm sort of cruel and have had 35 years of practice navigating a couple of
curves so I'll lure in tailgaters.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 03:33:25 -0500, 186282@ud0s4.net wrote:

> A Corolla is probably BEST car to own these days. Reliable, not TOO
> big, not TOO complicated. Turn the key and GO.

It's got too many doors. I'm not a Uber driver.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:27:04 +0100, D wrote:

> Have you tried one of these?

https://morgan-motor.com/models/past-models/3-wheeler/

If you really want to stand out.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 11:01:27 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> Firefox itself doesn't have memory leaks, but its perfectly possible to
> write crap javaScript that does.

17.3 147:19.74 Privileged Cont

I think that may be associated with Firefox. It is the largest user of
memory by far. Next in the list is 3.7% Isolated Web Co.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:11:09 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:

> I'm not disputing whether BMWs are better vehicles, whether to drive or
> for some other reason. What I do notice is that many people who drive
> BMWs feel that the car confers some sort of superior class on the
> driver, and they feel it is the God-given duty for us plebes who drive
> lesser cars to get out of their way - to the point of making exasperated
> hand gestures at those of us who don't.

When I was trucking I was amused by BMW drivers who tried to play chicken
with a 65' long 18 wheeled vehicle outweighing them by about 75,000
pounds.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 12:49:50 +0100, D wrote:

> I think in northern europe and in the north east, BMW is still the king
> of asshole cars. I had a BMW when young. I do not know what other
> thought of my driving, but I've never been a car person and I do not
> enjoy driving. My wife drives me most of the time. This is luxury! =D

I think the title here belongs to crew cab (Dodge) Rams.

rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
>On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:11:09 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
>
>> I'm not disputing whether BMWs are better vehicles, whether to drive or
>> for some other reason. What I do notice is that many people who drive
>> BMWs feel that the car confers some sort of superior class on the
>> driver, and they feel it is the God-given duty for us plebes who drive
>> lesser cars to get out of their way - to the point of making exasperated
>> hand gestures at those of us who don't.
>
>When I was trucking I was amused by BMW drivers who tried to play chicken
>with a 65' long 18 wheeled vehicle outweighing them by about 75,000
>pounds.

That's the thing, chrisv suggested that it's just a better car to
drive, but that is only true if you abuse the road, public highways
are a place to be methodical, it's not NASCAR, *WHY* the hell does
anyone need a BMW? It *has* to be either showing off their wealth, or
trying to abuse the privilege of driving.

--
Joel W. Crump

Amendment XIV
Section 1.

[...] No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.

Dobbs rewrites this, it is invalid precedent. States are
liable for denying needed abortions, e.g. TX.

On 2024-12-31, Andrzej Matuch <andrzej@matu.ch> wrote:

> I wouldn't dual-boot if my dad insisted on Linux. There would be no
> reason to hold onto Windows since he doesn't play games and doesn't use
> any application exclusive to Windows.

And since Steam runs on Linux, there are even some good games.

--
/~\ Charlie Gibbs | Growth for the sake of
\ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | growth is the ideology
X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | of the cancer cell.
/ \ if you read it the right way. | -- Edward Abbey

On 2024-12-31, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> On 30/12/2024 23:18, Andrzej Matuch wrote:
>
>> As far as I know, Nouveau has full support for NVIDIA GPUs into the 8xx
>> range. Anything after that doesn't get full support because the firmware
>> is closed. What was the card you were using?
>
> Ive never had a problem getting correct Nvidia drivers for the gfx cards.

I recently had to get a newer video card because the newer Nvidia driver
didn't support the old one, and Debian Bookworm doesn't support the older
Nvidia drivers that supported the card. Ah well, I was replacing the
motherboard anyway...

I've never had much luck with nouveau - too many lockups.

--
/~\ Charlie Gibbs | Growth for the sake of
\ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | growth is the ideology
X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | of the cancer cell.
/ \ if you read it the right way. | -- Edward Abbey

On 2024-12-31, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> On 30/12/2024 20:49, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
>
>> I try to spread the rumour that before you are allowed to purchase
>> a BMW, you must sign a letter of undertaking in which you promise
>> to drive like an asshole at any opportunity.
>
> It is in fact worse than that...
>
> http://vps.templar.co.uk/Cartoons%20and%20Politics/bmw-drive-like-an-asshole-congratulations-on-your-purchase-now-you-have-to-watch-our-mandatory-instructional-video.jpg

Thanks. I knew that cartoon existed, but I couldn't find it.

--
/~\ Charlie Gibbs | Growth for the sake of
\ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | growth is the ideology
X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | of the cancer cell.
/ \ if you read it the right way. | -- Edward Abbey

On 2024-12-31, Andrzej Matuch <andrzej@matu.ch> wrote:

> I would bet that it is AbiWord that is the issue, not any kind of bug
> with ODT. If AbiWord couldn't handle DOCX though, I would blame the
> format since it is closed despite its name.

The original .doc format was closed too. You could get a look at
the specs, but you had to sign a non-disclosure agreement first.
I once heard from someone who signed the NDA and looked at the
specs. He said you really didn't want to know what was in there.
It was a real dog's breakfast - but I suppose the people who
revese-engineered it knew that already.

--
/~\ Charlie Gibbs | Growth for the sake of
\ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | growth is the ideology
X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | of the cancer cell.
/ \ if you read it the right way. | -- Edward Abbey

On 2024-12-31, chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> Charlie Gibbs wrote:
>
>>I'm not disputing whether BMWs are better vehicles, whether to drive
>>or for some other reason. What I do notice is that many people who
>>drive BMWs feel that the car confers some sort of superior class on
>>the driver, and they feel it is the God-given duty for us plebes who
>>drive lesser cars to get out of their way - to the point of making
>>exasperated hand gestures at those of us who don't.
>
> Again, I've never noticed any such thing.
>
Biggest assholes where I live are Tesla owners, Dodge Hemi and Mustang owners.
It used to be Land/Range Rover people but things have changed.

--
pothead

"Give a man a fish and you turn him into a Democrat for life"
"Teach a man to fish and he might become a self-sufficient conservative Republican"
"Don't underestimate Joe's ability to fuck things up,"
--- Barack H. Obama

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 20:40:05 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:

> The original .doc format was closed too. You could get a look at the
> specs, but you had to sign a non-disclosure agreement first. I once
> heard from someone who signed the NDA and looked at the specs. He said
> you really didn't want to know what was in there.
> It was a real dog's breakfast - but I suppose the people who
> revese-engineered it knew that already.

You just to look at what was public in the ISO 29500 so-called spec to see
that it was an accumulation of many years of dogs’ breakfasts, piled one
on top of the other.

On 2024-12-31 15:40, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
> On 2024-12-31, Andrzej Matuch <andrzej@matu.ch> wrote:
>
>> I wouldn't dual-boot if my dad insisted on Linux. There would be no
>> reason to hold onto Windows since he doesn't play games and doesn't use
>> any application exclusive to Windows.
>
> And since Steam runs on Linux, there are even some good games.

There are quite a few games that run natively on Linux. In fact, even
though Red Dead Redemption 2 is not a native game, Steam treats it like
one considering how perfectly it runs under the free operating system.
I'm sure I'll encounter a few errors trying to run some games Steam
doesn't immediately consider compatible, but that's fine.

--
Andrzej (Andre) Matuch
Telegram: @AndrzejMatuch
Zephyrus G14 GA401QM on Fedora 41
KDE supporting member