OpenStars

I mean... in fairness, it wasn't going to last.

So since their war-virginity was about to be stolen from them anyway, he made sure to get in there first, for his own benefit:-).

That Apple blocks you from running every program you put onto it until/unless it can be properly certified, and that "Big Sur can bypass any firewall restrictions the end-user attempts to create"? It's true that it's not nearly as bad as it may sound at first, and they even released a statement that:

We do not use data from these checks to learn what individual users are launching or running on their devices.

Notarization checks if the app contains known malware using an encrypted connection that is resilient to server failures.

These security checks have never included the user’s Apple ID or the identity of their device. To further protect privacy, we have stopped logging IP addresses associated with Developer ID certificate checks, and we will ensure that any collected IP addresses are removed from logs.

Though I also understand that if someone wants the ultimate in privacy, it's difficult to trust such a corporate promise, especially one like Apple known to hide or lie about such things. (Edit: also... "developer ID certificate checks", so if you don't register with Apple as a known developer then...?)

I still use Mac OSX myself, but if someone wants to avoid that and use Linux for this reason, I'm not going to argue with them - whereas I would push back a little bit if a friend were to tell me they planned to put Windows (as the primary OS) onto a machine.

I forgot about the latter, thanks for the reminder:-).

Um... are you joking?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States

Also, even in just your link alone, 300,000, in units of thousands, is still 300,000,000, hence 300 million. They should have used a better unit there imho... knowing that it would lead to exactly this misunderstanding.

Always distrust everything that you read - you are right about that!:-)

Especially if you ram that not-door long, hard, deep, and strong enough, really get up in there and penetrate that wall. If you run out of steam you could even switch to an electric appliance, but in that case be gentle (though not too gentle...).

Um.... I'm not sure where this is going, and at this point I'm afraid to continue? 😔

Other than all that, yeah:-)

Still not comparable to Windows though, imho.

Its sins are just of a different sort - e.g. you don't need to repair or upgrade those machines so often, bc they work so well for so long as it is, plus other than for gaming, who even upgrades machines these days to begin with?

For non-gaming, Macs are great machines. So too are Linux. While Windows sux ass no matter what. Thus that's the dividing line, imho.

Wonderful! I upvoted that one too, for visibility!:-)

I had to look it up (e.g. https://www.extremetech.com/internet/317371-evaluating-apples-data-collection-in-macos-big-sur) and damn, I didn't know that they collected and sent THAT detailed of info!? (and perhaps they didn't, until Big Sur)

Even so, as the other reply mentioned, it's still leagues away from Windows at this point. But yeah, fair then that both Windows and Mac OSX are doing it, while Linux is not.

Still, if you had to pick a machine for your grandma to use, or like either Windows or Mac at work (but not Linux, though lets say that there is a terminal SSH option to Linux available from either), I would pick Mac OSX. It's fine if others would pick Linux for the former, but I don't think Mac OSX is a bad choice there.

While Windows... urg, is basically synonymous with being a cuss word nowadays. Witch: "a pox be upon thee - nay, moresooth, may you be cursed to only use Windows for the rest of your days!" (Onlookers: "gasp! what could anyone have done to be cursed with that bad of a punishment!? I would not wish that upon even my worst enemy!?") hehe:-P

Ah, for gaming, yes Macs are not fantastic gaming machines that's for sure.

Then again, Linux has long been known to have issues with gaming as well, especially with an Nvidia card...

Unless you use Steam, and then both work, kinda?

Still it seems like it's Linux and Mac OSX on one side, and Microsoft left behind thousands of years in the past, except maybe for gaming where literally an old Windows running on a VM may run the widest selection of games?

But I still don't see the logic of grouping Macs together with Windows, even for gaming.

For VMs, I expected more someone to bring up the switch to the M1 chipset, a huge setback for VMs definitely even if temporary, though I'm old enough to remember that Linux and Macs both running Intel were often easier to get things running on than Linux on Intel vs. Linux on AMD. But things definitely change over time, as to what is easiest at any given moment.

Microsoft sucks tho - now THAT'S universal. Can't we all just get together, united in our hate for it?! (/s, or, well, actually... not!)

Edit: hey, anyone want to start like an anti-Windows or I-fucking-hate-fucking-Windows community? I'll join it today if you do!? :-)

I never realized that the USA was in the top 3. Wow, what a rapid drop-off then, from roughly a billion or so people to a mere ~0.3. India and China truly stand apart, towering above so many others combined.

Since that is the case, it might be neat to show the EU then, if that helps close the gap to make them more comparable? But maybe that would be too improper a comparison.

I think it's odd to see how China does not include Hong Kong or Taiwan. Like... of course it doesn't!? I kinda get why someone wants to be precise to say that, but also it feels like giving in to a grumpy toddler child who claims that the whole world belongs to them - just bc they say it, doesn't make it true!? Maybe there's some other way to convey it that avoids that stigma, like "China refers only to the Mainland areas" or some such.

Or even more generally, "imperial powers like UK and China do not include their territories or projections" (whatever that last word should be). Similarly, does "USA" include things like Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, etc.? Maybe the population numbers don't statistically matter for those situations, but then do they matter for China? It's odd to see China uniquely called out then, like someone going out of their way to not anger Pooh-bear, when there may not even be a need to say anything about it at all?

Humiliation and cruelty aren't by-products, they are the point, for those who can't enjoy lunch unless the other guy gets none.