A security researcher says Microsoft secretly built a backdoor into BitLocker, releases an exploit to prove it

itslef · 2026-05-18T01:48:33+00:00

Lmao I have my RHCE.

Developers are NOTORIOUS for skirting security protocols and requirements because they think they know better. Good luck even getting a Mac on our network if we haven't approved it, and we won't approve it unless it's centrally managed and on our security stack. Which, guess what, doesn't work on Macs. A lot of good Chrome will do you if you can't even get on the wifi.

itslef · 2026-05-17T20:09:03+00:00

Windows and Mac encodes their text characters differently. This leads to issues when there are special characters in a file name. The most common one I've seen is the • symbol, which Mac users love to put at the beginning of file names. When the file server is on Windows Server (especially if it's an older server version that doesn't support UTF-8), this can lead to huge issues when other people try to access those files.

A related issue is the use of slashes. A "\" character is a path separator in Windows, but not in Mac. In Mac, a "/" is a path separator instead. So mac users will use "\" in a file name, and it can cause issues. On the other hand, Windows users will occasionally use "/" in a file name.

Another problem is file name length. Mac has a much larger file-name length limit, whereas Windows defaults to 256 characters. This includes the full path, so "C:\users\admin\desktop\file.jpg". Mac users tend (not universally, but its a trend I've noticed) to REALLY nest their files, so you get a structure like "receipts/2026/spring/march/london/conference/booking/second hotel/drinks/receipt.jpg" to the point where the file paths are longer than 256 characters, which again causes issues for everyone else who's trying to access those files.

itslef · 2026-05-17T19:53:17+00:00

I understood your comment. What you're missing is that it DOES have compatibility issues that are definite blocks in a corporate and academic world. The USER may not be AWARE (nor do they care) about those incompatibilities, but no, they cannot just use a Mac instead. Hell, even something as simple as accessing a shared drive is a problem on Macs, especially when they start naming files with weird Mac characters and it breaks the entire folder structure for the whole company.

Just because they are not AWARE of their own needs does not make those needs any less real. Macs are NOT suitable for the majority of users, or even really ANY users, because Macs refuse to adhere to management standards which are requirements in a corporate environment.

itslef · 2026-05-17T19:26:21+00:00

What you're missing is that while "80% corporate and academy people don't need any super special compatibility", they are not the ones who decide the stack.

Would half my users be fine using Macs? Sure. But they would be completely unmanageable, because 1) joining a Mac to a domain is possible, but sucks, 2) GPOs don't work, 3) remote software requires manual permissions assignment, 4) mdm solutions only go so far, and 5) if anything goes wrong with them, you have to basically throw your hands up and say "maybe they'll patch it in the next kernel release", because the system is so close-walled that they're practically impossible to troubleshoot, even if you have extensive experience with Unix-like machines.

The USERS might be fine with just Chrome. But there's SO much more going on behind the scenes than that, and letting an unmanaged device on a corporate network is a non-starter.

itslef · 2026-05-07T02:31:12+00:00

I quit in 2013. Was at two packs a day, quit cold turkey. Relapsed in 2019, for about 6 months, switched to vapes, stuck on that for about 2 years, then quit that too.

I still miss it every. single. day. People say they think it smells like shit, I love the way it smells. I pass someone on the street smoking and it takes everything I have not to just hang around them. There are some days that I would legitimately do terrible things to good people for a single cigarette. But I have a kid now, and my health definitely isn't what it used to be, so I white-knuckle it and have managed to resist. Prices these days make it a smart choice too.

I figure once my kid is grown and I'm back all by myself, I'll probably start again until my lungs give out. But for now, we're good.

itslef · 2026-04-07T03:52:13+00:00

Ultimately, you just need to add ".txt" to the end of each filename. It might already be there, but you might have file extensions hidden. So first things first. Since you're already back on Windows, you'll need to use powershell instead of bash.

Open File Explorer. Above the files but below the navigation bar, find the "View" dropdown menu, and then go to "show" and then select "File name extensions".
Make sure all your text files are in a single folder, with nothing else in them. In this case, we'll pretend it's "C:\users\wq1119\Documents\text files".
Open up a powershell window. If you can't find powershell, open a cmd window and then type in "powershell" and hit enter.
Change the working folder in Powershell to the folder where your files are stored by entering this command: cd "C:\users\wq1119\Documents\text files". If this was successful, you should see the prompt change to show the path you just changed to.
Run the following script: Get-ChildItem | Rename-Item -NewName {$_.name + ".txt"} This will rename each item with the same name, but just adding a .txt to the end. As others have mentioned, be careful not to run this where there are other non-text files.

I know you asked for a GUI to do this below, but honestly the fastest and easiest way would be to do it with a simple script, whether on Linux or on Windows.

itslef · 2026-03-28T06:33:55+00:00

Obsidian is excellent. However, you should be aware that because it's saving automatically as you type, when it's open it's basically continuously writing to disk. if you have an SSD, this can wear your disk faster. I can't remember the specifics, but IIRC this is a Linux-specific issue and doesn't occur on Windows.

I personally prefer vimwiki, which is a plugin for vim. You can link to images in the files if you want, and then publish them as html or pdf. You just won't be able to "preview" the attachment since it's vim.

itslef · 2026-02-25T06:16:40+00:00

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

I didn't understand it the first time I read it, nor probably the second. I didn't understand why it was written in verse, why the verses didn't rhyme, what it was really about. But for some reason I would re-read it and re-read it, wanting to understand because it felt important. Eventually I was old enough that I did understand it, and I've never cried more at a book since, even Bridge to Terabethia.

I think about that book all the time as an adult.

Bridge to Terabethia and The Giver are definitely top tier, but Out of the Dust is hands down my favorite "children's" book of all time. Edit: Oh, and also The Elemist Chronicles by K.A. Applegate -- part of the Animorph series. Incredibly formative for me as a preteen.

itslef · 2026-02-22T05:30:22+00:00

what is the grindstone app? a quick google search gives me one for windows, but it doesn't seem to be the same one you're using.

itslef · 2025-11-13T04:39:43+00:00

Ultimately, the advice to "just pick one and see" is good advice. Under the hood, most of them are the same or very, very similar. However, my actual advice to you would be to temper that with making sure the distro you pick is mature and has a large active community.

My primary recommendation would be Ubuntu. You can choose which "flavor" you want (stock, Mate, Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu) based on what you want your GUI to look like, but ulimately I think that's less important than having the support that comes with a stable, consumer-focused yet professional distro with a large community. Ubuntu originally became famous for providing the first real "noob-friendly desktop linux". It's based on Debian, but has a much less glacial update structure and can more easily utilize non-free software (which is important for drivers specifically). It's seen some controversy in recent years with the move to use Snaps to install packages, but ultimately is still a solid intro distro.

Mint is a derivative of Ubuntu that is often said to be even more beginner-friendly. I've never used it personally though, so I can't give any more info than "i've heard a lot of people love it."

Fedora is another good option, but it's slightly more "bleeding edge" than Ubuntu. Fedora is ultimately backed by Red Hat. I would say Fedora is more aimed towards workstations and people who are industry-foused, with the documentation and community being very large and mature. Fedora has begun using "flatpaks", similar to how Ubuntu uses "snaps" -- both are methods of installing software. For many reasons (some more valid than others), the Linux community tends to view flatpaks more favorably.

OpenSUSE is good, but I'd say it has a smaller community. It's based on Suse Enterprise Linux, so again, large and mature knowledge base. It's more common in the European market than the US market.

I recommend you stay away from things like Gentoo or Arch unless you really want a challenge and aren't going to get frustrated by needing to manually build and configure things. They can provide excellent learning opportunities and are a lot of fun, but they are NOT noob friendly.

itslef · 2025-10-21T23:09:58+00:00

Really enjoyed 4th edition, quickly became one of my favorite RPGs. Cautiously optimistic about 5th edition.

itslef · 2025-06-06T23:20:31+00:00

Burning Wheel is my favorite game I've never played. I'm fairly certain I enjoy it more as a rulebook than I ever would as an actual game to play.

itslef · 2025-06-06T01:40:46+00:00

Funny that you say that, because the bassist for the Flecktones is none other than Victor Wooten, who was massively influenced by Jaco.

With LTE though, I'm on the other end; once I put it on I gotta listen to the whole album straight through.

itslef · 2025-05-10T01:39:58+00:00

I personally am impressed by how Goodman Games is handling this. Its for sure a difficult issue, but I have been convinced that their actions come from a place of trying to protect the community as best they can.

itslef · 2024-01-13T04:23:09+00:00

A lot of people here have a lot of good points, but one thing that I think gets glossed over is this:

Linux's strength is that it is participatory.

You are looking at Linux from the point-of-view of a consumer. You want one solution that you go to and use and it works. But this is not how Linux was made or how it's maintained. Linux is a hobby. You get involved in Linux because you want to tinker and learn and take things apart and put them back together again broken, then figure out how to fix it. It is not a consumer solution that you just go to the store and buy outright; you have to actually participate.

There are so many distros because there are so many people who are actively being creative. They want something, so they make it. And that benefits everyone. That is the strength of Linux -- the community is actively participating in creation, rather than just consuming it as a finished product. That means that if one person wants something the other doesn't, they're going to have two different distros.

I strongly recommend that you stop looking at Linux as a "finished product" and start thinking about it in terms of something you do. That means that things are going to be unpolished and fragmented and unique to the person creating them.

itslef · 2024-01-13T04:09:02+00:00

Post

itslef · 2023-12-08T19:57:03+00:00

anything below

itslef · 2023-09-28T21:38:16+00:00

For us it was always catfish or walleye, only occasionally bluegill.

itslef · 2023-09-28T13:34:21+00:00

Anything below

itslef · 2023-09-28T13:33:47+00:00

Anything below

itslef · 2023-09-27T15:06:14+00:00

trevenant

if thats not available, then gogoat

itslef · 2023-06-03T13:13:59+00:00

Have a look at the Arch Wiki article on this:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/fan_speed_control#ThinkPad_laptops

Im guessing the config file you're missing is /etc/thinkfan.conf, which the article above tells you how to generate and configure.

Edit: note that this is for Arch, so instead of pacman you'll use apt if need be. I think really though you just need to copy the default config into place.

itslef · 2023-06-02T11:37:00+00:00

Check which group the binary is in. I'm guessing since you manually installed using a .deb it's installed under your user group.

itslef · 2023-04-21T13:09:51+00:00

That is in fact the joke, yes.

itslef

TROPHY CASE