Agreed that Linux directory structure is kind of a mess. The extent to which it's a mess varies from distribution to distribution, though. For example, on Arch, /bin, /sbin, and /usr/sbin are all just symlinks to /usr/bin.
No. It's true. I have T-Mobile, and I cannot send .xyz links over SMS.
If you have T-Mobile, this is easy to verify: text yourself "abc.xyz" (or any other .xyz link) The message will show as sent but not received. If you text yourself any uncensored link, it will show as sent and received.
I have an original Kobo WiFi (no touch) and the internal storage is a microSD card. You can literally just take it apart, remove the SD and stick new programs on it, start an SSH server, etc.
I also have the non-WiFi version, and it has eMMC soldered on, so it's more of a pain. There's an exposed UART on the board though, so getting a shell is pretty easy there too.
Suppose there's a macOS exploit found that makes use of the unlocked bootloader. Are you certain Apple would actually patch it, and not just lock the bootloader? Sony famously did that to the PS3.
The McDonald's coffee case is often cited this way, but I think a spilled a coffee that causes third-degree burns and necessitates skin grafts is probably too hot.
In college we were required to typeset assignments in LaTeX for all the math classes past multivariable calculus. I started out with Overleaf, but switched to local compilation about a year in. It's much nicer to be able to write in my usual text editor and compile documents instantly. On Arch, all I had to do was install texlive-most. It includes every package I have ever needed to use. To compile a document, I just run 'pdflatex *.tex'. Sometimes bibtex too. If you're having trouble with setup and configuration, I recommend texlive.
> A much more interesting question is whether the space of binary streams is compact, but that is another story.
I don't know very much about topology, so I'm having some trouble understanding what his means. How are open sets defined in the space of binary streams? What would be the implications of this space being compact?
For HP this is not true. In college I rescued 2 HP EliteBooks from the e-waste bin and both had locked BIOSes. It was as simple as buying a cheap SPI programmer (I got a CH341A-based one) and dumping the BIOS chip, then unlocking the dump with a tool called HPUnlocker, and reflashing it.
Didn't even need to solder because the programmer came with a chip clip. These were EliteBook 840 G2s, but modern EliteBooks are still vulnerable to this.
But that same button used to be a permananent toggle, and now there is no way to restore the (better) old behavior. Another instance of Apple thinking they know better than their users.
It isn't always possible to build my own hardware, especially in the embedded world. I buy unlocked hardware now, but I learned that lesson the hard way from Verizon and Samsung.
What I think is total garbage is the fact that I have a drawer full of potentially useful computers (EDIT: by computers I mean mostly phones, routers, e-readers, etc) stuck running insecure OSes. Can you give me an argument for why installation should not be required? It seems pretty clear to me that if release of "the scripts used to control compilation and installation of the executable" is required by the GPLv2, then those scripts should have to be functional.
I'm surprised to see that installation is a requirement of the GPLv2. Does this mean that Android phones with bootloaders that can't be unlocked violate the GPL?
To be fair, that's Arch Linux ARM, which is technically a separate project. The pinephone arch linux arm repositories aren't even maintained by the official project.
That said, I've had no such issues running Arch on my pinephone.
I had this same problem. Was it an old Radeon card? I don't remember the model, but Microsoft's website said it was too old, so it only has basic support from Windows 10. That means black bars. Drove an ultrawide monitor in Linux just fine.
The exception to this is older hardware. My ATI Radeons are still useful as 1080p graphics adapters under Linux, but they are totally unsupported by Windows. My laser printer is in a similar situation.
It's certainly not perfect, but it's good. If Windows-specific stuff is what's keeping someone from Linux, I'd encourage them to at least see if it works in Wine.
I started with Manjaro, and I would definitely recommend it. I tried to switch to Linux a few times before I arrived at Manjaro, and it was the perfect introduction. It's based on Arch, so you get the most up-to-date packages, but it has a graphical installer and is beginner-friendly. If you can't find something in the default repositories, it's probably in the AUR (user-maintained repositories). Plus, it's just really fun to use.