Not-official wannabe Mac clone

Windows and Mac are the operating systems of the cisgender. You bear with their ads, spyware, closed systems--systematically telling you this is the way things are, this is the way it's always been... but deep down you know life can be better than this! You don't have to be trapped in a binary.

Linux then--is the spectrum! So many flavors of how to Linux! Mint, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch, Zorrin, More, all valid and all customizable! If one OS doesn't fit, try another one! Experiment or even mod it yourself.

here's how they work!

first of all, most of your internet traffic is already encrypted via TLS (Transport Layer Security). Things that aren't encrypted are usually videogames or less important applications.

a VPN encrypts traffic between your computer and the VPN server you're using.

your Internet Service Provider (ISP) sits in the middle of that transaction.

cue the MS paint diagram

Without a VPN:

With a VPN:

the traffic between your VPN server and the rest of the internet is not encrypted any further.

things that VPNs are good for:

bypassing geo-blocking

bypassing website blocks set up by your ISP

obscuring network traffic from your ISP

things that VPNs are not good for:

browsing the internet without having your activity logged. every company that gives internet service logs the activity, it's half of how they make sure they're not being hacked.

hiding information from the government. VPN providers WILL bend to subpoenas, they WILL turn over logs of your network activity.

cybersecurity. VPNs can't save you once the traffic is between them and the final destination. they don't analyze your traffic to detect and stop hackers, they don't add any encryption where it matters.

VPNs are not a shortcut to security. you cannot pay 15 dollars a month to forgo all responsibility for your own digital privacy. do your research, use a password manager, stay safe.

my friends i hope you find this information useful. you have been sold a lie. remember to show extreme skepticism to youtube sponsorships and journalism websites which sing their praises.

it is VERY hard/nigh impossible to be legitimately anonymous online. encrypted dns endpoints add a layer of obscurity, but then become another point of failure.

iirc riseup VPN is pretty much the only VPN that we "know" don't really have access to logs of traffic, but being a free service relying on donations through crypto, it can be slow as dick. mullvad is aight but it's still the same shit.

If you don't want to be tracked by advertisers use a range of different shit:

- smth like librewolf

- disabled javascript

- don't log in to fucking anything

- don't reuse email addresses

- don't use anything that isn't a 1080p monitor full screened on windows with the default settings on the browser

- don't go on the internet

- use some sort of line-of-sight bridge to steal the free wifi from the mcdonald's down the road

the internet fucking sucks. everyone kinda sucks. tor is mid and you rely on exit nodes being trustworthy and that your route isn't mostly threat actor nodes. i2p is pointless for clearnet browsing basically.

Tux

Friendshaped

Has the calming aura of a Bodhisattva.

Calming smile tells you everything is going to be okay.

Xenia

Came third in the Mascot competition in the 90s, was rediscovered in the 2020s by cathodegaytube and they TRANSED HER GENDER.

Hacker trans foxgirl represents a good chunk of the Linux Community.

Coolest mascot.

Konqi (KDE)

Adorable!

Has many friends!

Yay!

Xue (XFCE)

Existentially terrified!

Why are you running? Who's chasing you? Are you trying to power the computer from your wheel?

Needs a blanket nest, a weed gummy and their comfort show.

Wilbur (GIMP)

Happy to see you!

Wants to help!

Please ignore the fact the program's name is "Gimp".

Kiki (Krita)

Delightful!

Excellent demonstration of Krita's capabilities!

Hatsune Miku vibes!

Freedo (Linux-libre)

Just a little guy!

Likes to be clean, doesn't like proprietary software.

Scubadubdub.

Geeko (OpenSUSE)

No thoughts

Head empty

Only cmatrix inside that head

Gnu (GNU)

Untrustworthy

His smile concerns me

Why is he smiling, what does he know?

Beastie (BSD)

Somehow more trustworthy than GNU.

Oddly cute.

Hail Beastie!

Puffy (OpenBSD)

Reminds me of that fish meme

The one that went

"Don't pee on the floor, use the commodore!"

Blinky (FreeDOS)

Less thoughts than geeko

Head emptier than geeko

Nothing but a blank terminal screen.

Larry (Gentoo Linux)

Worst drawn cow.

Gentoo users have lots of time on their hands while their stuff is compiling.

They could use that compiling time to learn how to draw!

Sudo Sandwich (Sudo)

OH GOD

I understand the XKCD reference...

for the love of god go to your steam settings -> game recording and disable h.265 encoding

for some reason h265 doesnt use hardware encoding, so it is pinning your shit HARD encoding your gameplay in the background; my cpu use dropped from 60-80% on all physical cores to like 30%

this is also a problem on windows but im only telling this to the linuxmaxxers because i dont want to provide service to the high cortisol low aura microslop populus

here is a link to a gist talking about it in relation to the browser source in OBS. seems like people aren't entirely sure what this issue is in general, but it's not specific to steam.