Category Archives: Computing

Theme issues

Widgets was unavailable in the “appearance.”

The website had accessibility or navigation problems in 2022. Sorry for the inconvenience. In 2023 I just changed the theme from “blank canvas” to “twenty sixteen” and that solved the problem.

I don’t like how they have preset content in themes as if it’s a complete website. Just ridiculous that I would have to delete all the theme-specific content.

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Reddit karma, upvotes and downvotes

The edit I put on the following post, I planned to write in a comment to one of the comments, but I changed my mind.

What I would have done differently in my replies to the comments of the following post:

In response to the comment saying “pretty good way of getting more downvotes,” I would have said “You’re right! I should have known better” instead of what I actually said.

Otherwise, to the comment that said “A downvote can’t be false,” I would also have said “You’re right!”

As for being nervous about checking the karma, it’s like “If into the profile you go, only pain will you find.” Like Yoda said in a scene from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Check it out (SPOILER alert!):

I used to care about karma. But I don’t care about people say. Check out the book in the following video:

You could also buy the movie at https://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Special-Andrea-Jobe/dp/B00008V5UT

Also, sometimes I think of the idea that only one who is willing to let go of karma completely can truly earn it. Sounds like a Buddhist, or Askari from the Lion Guard. Couldn’t find a video.

SPOILERS for “You are special” below

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!

!

That doesn’t mean that you will lose negative karma by not caring about it, but it also doesn’t mean you will lose positive karma by not caring about it.

Ridiculous subscription pop-ups

http://www.thediapason.com – “This content is reserved for paid subscribers. Please provide us with the information below to unlock this.” Why does the full content show then to be blocked by a pop-up?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk – “Save over 85% on a Digital Subscription and stay jolly well informed this festive season. Cancel anytime. Act now – offer ends 29 December 2021.” – why isn’t there an X button? Why isn’t there an option to “I’ll try later” or “no thanks, just continue to the ?

National Geographic – “Enter your email to continue,” “Science is more important than ever – stay informed,” “Yes! I would like to receive updates, special offers, and other information from National Geographic and The Walt Disney Family of Companies. By creating an account, I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy and California Privacy Notice.” why do I have to subscribe and receive updates in order to view content? There really should be an option to “I’ll try later” or an X button or “no thanks, just continue to the site.”

And don’t forget TechTarget.com. I need a corporate email address to view some of the content. For a reason I think DOES concern me, I can’t use a personal email address. Is it intended only for corporate users?

One more: The Atlantic, with the following: “We hope you’ve enjoyed your free articles.” “Already a subscriber? Try one month of unlimited digital access.Start your free trial today. Cancel anytime.”

Edit: One more – “The Economist with Get to the end of the story” “Subscribe today with 50% off your first 12 weeks.”

One more – Bloomberg. “Limited time only: Subscribe now with an exclusive introductory offer. Cancel anytime.”

All of the above show full content, then to either disappear or be blurred or be blocked by a pop-up. Why? In the former case, why isn’t it like independent.co.uk in which “I’ll try later”? In the latter case, why isn’t there an X button or “I’ll try later” or “No thanks, just continue to the site”? Don’t those sites know that people can CTRL-A and then CTRL-C the entire article and then paste it onto notepad or email? Why don’t they keep the reserved content down on the server and ONLY load it to the client when the client is subscribed? And why is some of the reserved content indexed by Google?

Promote against iTunes and Apple Music and for competitors

Promote cross-platform software that supports Linux and Windows 10 Mobile.
I promote against iTunes and Apple Music. Promote for Amazon Music, Groove Music, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, and others. Too bad Style JukeBox was discontinued. What for? I would like it to be recontinued (have development continued again/restored).
Unfortunately, you can’t use Google Play on Windows unless you use Chrome.
iTunes is not available for Linux. Apple Music not available for Windows Phone.
Apple doesn’t play nice on platforms other than its own MacOS, iOS, and TvOS.
GNU/Linux is a great OS, better than Windows and MacOS at many things.
The more popular Apple Music becomes, the fewer people move to Linux.
Apple Music doesn’t have a web player.
iTunes also uses M4P protection, which means you can’t easily transfer iTunes music to other media players and online music lockers. Get a premium subscription with iTunes Match, so you can convert M4P to the non-protected MP3 so you can transfer it. Don’t get iTunes in the first place!
Apple is trying to push and draw people to the Apple community.
Also promote Amarok, RhythmBox, Clementine, Banshee, and others. Too bad Banshee was discontinued, I hope it will be recontinued.
I also like music players that support formats other than MP3 and AAC. Formats that are not restricted.
There are other reasons to hate iTunes and Apple Music than those I mentioned. Say some in the comment.

Things I dislike about Linux

1. Has a strong copyleft license – GNU General Public License (GPL). So there can be no proprietary derivatives. Also, proprietary kernel modules cannot be linked to the Linux kernel.
2. C++ is forbidden in the Linux kernel. So kernel modules cannot be written in C++.
3. Monolithic kernel – not hybrid or microkernel. That means less reliability and security.

What could be better

1. Linux should be allowed to be linked to non-GPL kernel modules as long as they are GPL-compatible (including but not limited to MIT and three-clause BSD. Apache and CDDL?). I am not saying that proprietary kernel modules should be allowed to be linked. The copyleft should be softened or minimized (the only concern about softening the copyleft is that it might make loopholes).
2. Nothing really.
3. Nothing really.

The good news

1. Not as strong copyleft as GNU Affero General Publuc License (AGPL). Even AGPL is not as strong copyleft as Sybase Open Watcom Public License. Kernel modules can be dual-licensed GPL with any compatible license. I think the copyleft of Linux has an exception for binary firmware blobs. I think proprietary software can be bundled on top of GNU/Linux as long as the underlying system is open source. I think proprietary kernel modules can be linked for personal use.
2. Nothing really.
3. Linux is becoming less monolithic and more like a microkernel. Linux is getting the modular capability. So it’s no longer purely monolithic, but a modular monolithic.

Move from Windows to Linux

Get the society to do so.

Linux and UNIX will make the world a better place!

Linux is better than Windows because it’s more scalable, more flexible, more customizable, more stable, and more secure. Other advantages too. There are many things it can do that Windows can’t.
Linux is free and open source, while Windows and MacOS are proprietary commercial.
Microsoft is the biggest software company, and it shouldn’t be. Oracle should be the biggest software company. So don’t waste your money to Microsoft if you don’t want Microsoft to have fortune.
Microsoft doesn’t want you to use Google. It doesn’t want you to use Firefox and Chrome.
if you get Linux, get Ubuntu, Linux Mint, MEPIS, SUSE Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS, Fedora, MageiaOracle Linux Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel, or Linux distributions like those. Don’t get Debian, Gentoo, or Arch.
Maybe use GhostBSD or TrueOS on a tower desktop, whether vertical full tower or horizontal small form factor desktop. Maybe use Solaris/illumos (like OpenIndiana).
X11(X Window System) is standard, not Windows. Mac, Linux, and Solaris use X Window System, while Windows does not. Google is standard, not Bing. Firefox and Chrome are standard, not Internet Explorer or Edge.
Don’t get iTunes. Get an alternative that’s available for Linux. Maybe get Google Play. Or maybe get Clementine. There are other alternatives like I think Amarok. Any alternatives with a BSD or MIT license?
Don’t get Microsoft Office. Get LibreOffice or Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
Don’t use iCloud or OneDrive. Use something else like Google Drive or Dropbox. Anything else?
If only Microsoft would merge UNIX into Windows as Apple merged UNIX into MacOS. Maybe getting UNIX and Linux in the desktop would encourage Microsoft to do so.
You could dual boot Linux on a Windows laptop or desktop. Or you could use a virtual machine, for which I’d recommend VMware Workstation Player running Ubuntu on a laptop and Hyper-V running Oracle Linux UEK on an all-in-one or tower desktop. Or you could just get a Linux laptop or desktop.
The Pixelbooks is coming up with Fuchsia OS.
Apple is the biggest IT company, but it shouldn’t be. I think IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell should be bigger.
Sorry if I offended you with Don’t buy Windows again!. I reposted it here in a less offensive way.
This post may be subject to edits.
What do you think? Anything I missed? Any issues? Say so in the comment.

Edit note

I struck through some of the above because of second thoughts. I’m also thinking of reposting this on https://itrecommendationsandideas.wordpress.com/ also with updates.

Ideal free and open source license

Minimized GPL copyleft. Combine permissions of GPLv3 and permissions of LGPLv2.1.

Linking: with restrictions
Modification: copylefted
Distribution: copylefted
Patent grant: yes
Private use: yes
Sublicensing: yes
TM grant: manually

Copyleft:
Allow some rights to be reserved but not all. Maybe allow remix and commercial use to be reserved but not allow sharing to be reserved.
Allow software to be mixed/shared source but not,pure closed source.
Maybe more requirements for statically loaded modules and more lenient rules for dynamically loaded modules… Based on the way of LGPL.
Freedom 0 allows use, freedom 1 allows studying the source (and modifying it for personal use), freedom 2 allows sharing and redistribution of verbatim copies, and freedom 3 allows redistribution of modified copies. Maybe require freedoms 1 and 2 along with freedom 0 for binary(file or library), and require freedom 1 along with freedom 0 for the executable program.

What do you think?

Let’s get Microsoft to do things better.

Let’s push Microsoft to open-source software. Let’s push Microsoft to do things the POSIX way. Let’s push Microsoft away from anti-competitive practices. Let’s push Microsoft to give Windows the good qualities of UNIX(whether System V or BSD) and Linux.
But how? Maybe get a Linux laptop or desktop (and use another Unix(-like) operating system as a virtual machine) instead of Windows. Government uses antitrust accusations. Other companies sue Microsoft. Damage Microsoft’s reputation. Any other ways to push Microsoft to the things I said in the first paragraph? Say so in the comment.
If Microsoft would make Windows more like UNIX and Linux, so that Windows would have the good qualities of Linux and UNIX, businesses would get Windows more in the server.
I think Windows Server should be half-UNIX, like 50-75% functional UNIX, of which 1/6 to 1/4genetic UNIX for an overall 25% genetic UNIX. 75+25 divided by two equals 50. 50+16.666… divided by two equals 33.333… (See the three dots after three numbers? That means it goes the same three numbers infinitely). Maybe Microsoft should make Windows mixed open/closed shared source. Microsoft should make a feature limited free and/or open-source version of Windows and a more powerful proprietary commercial version. Any free and open source version should have a weak or partial (per library or per file) copyleft, either a minimized GPL or Microsoft’s own license, that allows some rights to be reserved but not all. But enough about an ideal license. That will be in a separate post.