I know, just today on my lemmy home page was a w10 user who had their desktop background image changed and the stupid search bar added to their task bar again after an update. This is why I don’t allow my machine to update. It’s rediculous!

Linux will be so much better, but it will require some effort and time, and probably some help. I will have to get there, and once I do I know it will be a relief to have an OS that only does what I tell it to!

Thank you for the kind wishes stranger. I wish you health and happiness as well. I am sure you will see me again after I have made the leap, with some silly question or another. :)

I am the user above, and the writing is on the wall - I am aware that I will need to switch to Linux when I can no longer make w10 work for me, or when it is no longer supported by the games and programs I use.

The reasons why I don’t switch now are more complicated. I use a Lenovo Legion Slim 5 as my daily driver, as I was in an accident and can no longer sit at my desk with the pc I built. This laptop is on a rolling desk over my bed.

Anyway, while some Lenovo laptops support Linux, this one does not, and my reading tells me that I may have difficulty with certain things. I may have trouble with drivers for the graphics card, I may have trouble with adjusting the monitor brightness or the second monitor, I may have trouble with sound. or even the keyboard.

There are github pages devoted to helping with utilities to fix many of these problems, but they definitely require troubleshooting, thinking, and planning.

I have also had a friend who recently switched to Linux, who tried to stream a game for me. Before he switched his streams were flawless, this time we spent a while figuring out how to get his game audio, then the stream quality was abysmal, freezing, and in the wrong resolution, so he played while I googled solutions he could try on the fly.

Streaming games through discord on Linux is apparently a whole thing. That more than anything keeps me on win10, because I cannot play most of the games I used to play, they require too much movement, so my husband or friends will stream for me.

I am hoping things become easier as more users join Linux before me.

This is all a long winded explanation that I am sure you didn’t ask for, but I just wanted to let you know that sometimes even people with a somewhat good grasp of tech have reasons keeping them from switching.

Payphones across Australia are free for domestic calls, and also transmit free wifi. :)

https://www.telstra.com.au/consumer-advice/payphones

No fucking thank you, I have long since completely neutered my pc’s ability to update. I updated enough to install drivers and get it stable, and that’s it. I don’t trust windows.

Clickbait article with images from 10 years ago, scanners now show generic body shaped images with the area to search highlighted.

Hey there, I’m not sure since my laptop only has usb c free, but one of the reviewers on Amazon said that it works fine over usb a.

I work as a disability support worker, I have clients in wheelchairs and traveled the world with them doing sport. I am fully aware of what cutting edge tech can do to better lives, and I am even more aware of what the effects of not having access are.

That said, your argument is nonsense. These companies have more money than they know what to do with, and the trials of these products in humans are intentionally small. They have an obligation to do no harm, and that includes supporting their patients til the end of life.

If that requires slower trials, or special insurance the company pays to cover these things, or careful standardization so the torch can be passed on should the company go under, so be it.

The people who got the ocular implants are going blind again one by one because the company that gave them vision went under. They cannot get support or parts.

Can you imagine having your sight and therefore independence again, only to have the cold fear every night that you’ll wake up and your implant won’t be working?

https://spectrum.ieee.org/bionic-eye-obsolete

Ah! I saw this in a medical journal last night! Was a case included in the paper I was reading about increased IOL after ICL implant. They didn’t show how they fixed it, but you could see that the iris was wrecked. Very cool stuff!

That’s the first thing I said when this was first posted, all those people who had the implants that enabled sight are left with no parts and no support since the company went under.

There should be laws in place stating these companies will provide support and parts for the entire life of the users. Anything less is criminal.

I won’t claim to be an audiophile by any means, but it sounds ok to me!

This is the one I have:

https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Compact-Under-Monitor-Soundbar-Bluetooth/dp/B0CHF8YMNX

Its nice, does usb or bluetooth.

My husband has 4E feet, and finding safety boots that actually have a larger toe cap was impossible. A few years back this company started up here and they are great!

https://www.wideloadworkboots.com.au/

Edit to say: I just checked and they definitely come in 6E width!

Edit again to reply to OP’s deleted comment: The website lists their products, you will need to find a distributor to purchase them. :)

I hope they serve you well!

The key chain magnet rated for 60 lbs was $54.95 AUD and the larger one rated for 165 lbs was $119.95 AUD.

The Australia tax is real, I imagine that little key chain is like $20 in the States.

I was talking to my husband who has been traveling for work to an industrial site, and he sent me a picture that included a “permanent magnetic lifter”.

They look like this: https://www.magnet-sdm.com/wp-content/uploads/Permanent-magnetic-lifter.jpg

I had never heard of these and wondered how they worked - how is it possible to “turn off” a magnet without electricity??

I found a video where someone explains how this is possible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMma3OJUHhs

I got one of the smallest of these as a gift for my husband. This tiny thing is strong enough to lift 68kg. It’s strong enough to lift me!

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/b4/01/24/b401240f2c83f2ba6d95b91f50432a40.jpg

I still don’t understand how these are allowed. One is not allowed to let a Tesla drive without being 100% in control and ready to take the wheel at all times, but these cars are allowed to drive around autonomously?

If I am driving my car, and I hit a pedestrian, they have legal recourse against me. What happens when it was an AI or a company or a car?

It did learn to use shortcuts to skip parts of the maze, and had to be told not to. Super interesting!

Beautifully written, and very sad.

Have you tried imagus, hoverzoom or thumbnail zoom? It has changed the way I internet. Hover your mouse over almost any image, video, or gif and it automatically opens and shows the full size. I have been using imagus on firefox for ages and quite like it. It doesn’t work with some websites or apps, and probably wouldn’t work with an installed app, but should work for one of the rss web apps?

Please disregard if this is a silly suggestion, I have always been curious about rss feeds, but have never actually used one.

Seriously, this is a wonderful thing to do. Teeth are so important and so fragile. I can imagine a lot of soldiers have damaged teeth, or have dental issues from not being able to properly keep up with hygiene in the field. What a wonderful person.

Not too bright?

If you lost your vision, would you not consider a bionic eye if it could restore your sight? Your independence?

Have you ever seen that video of the blind child struggling to learn how to step down a curb into the road? How tense it was watching this adorable little kid struggle to navigate something that we take entirely for granted? Now imagine doing that for everything.

https://youtu.be/BsXa-mAKDVs

Learn to cook some basic meals for yourself, burn your finger every time you make a cup of coffee or tea because you put a finger in the lip to feel when it’s full. (Or use the little alarm you hang over your cup that makes a terrible squeal when water hits it.)

Remember to pin socks together when you take them off so you don’t lose the match in the wash and need to ask someone to help you match them.

Mark the settings on every appliance from your washer to your microwave because they all use seamless buttons and dials. Mix up your shampoo and conditioner every time you forget to put them in the same place.

Hire someone to do the most basic tasks for you because you cannot see to properly scrub surfaces or sweep and mop, you can be methodical and keep things mostly ok, but to find the bits that need a scrub?

Have to take public transport and navigate the endless construction and idiots who leave scooters and cars parked on the sidewalk.

https://www.tiktok.com/@jemmabrown8/video/7159318917033282821

A blind person is not “dull” because they took a chance to have their sight restored, rather, we are not too bright for failing to regulate these new technologies to protect those people who depend on them.

Every safety rule and regulation is written in blood. Those at the forefront of these new technologies will not regulate themselves, it is up to us to keep them in check.