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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 12th, 2023

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  • I once had a brand new disc (from a multi disk movie box) which has never been played. When I inserted the disc into a laptop disk drive (those where you have to press the disk onto the holder in the center) the disk completely shattered. It turned out that the material of the disk has aged to a point where it became brittle, despite of never been exposed to UV light or anything else. It probably could have been stored at wrong ambient temperatures in the warehouse. The said disc and the movie box was made in 2004.


  • We are approaching the time where the lifespan of CDs (DVDs, BlueRay etc.) from the late 90s and early 2000s reach their limit.

    In general, factory-pressed CDs and DVDs are expected to last many years if you store them under ideal conditions, but the exact lifespan can vary. Some studies have suggested that factory-pressed CDs and DVDs may last for up to 20 years or more under ideal conditions, while others have found that they may begin to degrade after just a few years.


  • Despite not answering your question correctly, I have something where Windows is superior to macOS:

    When you start a Windows program and want the program window to fill your screen completely, you just have to drag the window towards the upper edge of the screen and the window fills the whole size of the screen.

    On macOS there is not such an option. You have to drag the program window manually to the full size of the screen. Although there is a full-screen mode (green button in the upper left of the window), when activated, the window is in full screen, but the menu bar at the top of the screen is hidden. However, at least macOS remembers the last size of the program window, so you don’t have to drag it to full screen size again.






  • Things I do what give me a percieved sense of privacy/ security:

    • use Firefox with Add-ons (Ublock origin, Idontcareaboutcookies, Istilldontcareaobutcookies, Consent Blocker)
    • browser set up to block third party cookies and to delete any cookies after closing
    • not allowing to store any credentials in the browser
    • using different passwords for different services (not one password for all)
    • using Two-Factor-Authentification on services which are connected with banking account
    • not using freemail providers for email
    • using a temporary email where possible if registration is required
    • encrypted hard drive and encrypted backups
    • do not use cloud storage (I rely on old school portable hard drives and thumb drives)
    • using an additional firewall to stop certain not-quite-legally-obtained programs from phoning home (these programs can’t be replaced through FOSS at the moment, or are too ridiculously overpriced to buy them right now)
    • restrict/ forbid operating system to collect anonymous data and to phone home (as if that helps…)
    • don’t do online banking with an android 8 device

    The password storage thing sometimes seems to be a hassle. I have stored my passwords in a physical moleskin, written with a pen, like an old person would do. When I have that book not availiable (when travellling), I have to guess my credentials.

    At work I have the browser stored all the credentials. It’s so much faster and easier. But since it’s at my job I don’t have to worry about my own private stuff.



  • Years ago, Opera has been my main browser and I really liked it. Back then, it was the only browser (to my knowledge) that had tabs. It was a novelty back then. Over the time they added more features, like the conversion tool. Then they added more features I didn’t need or want, like the side bar, and it quickly became bloated. I switched to firefox, which offered a greater variety of add-ons. I still use firefox as my main browser. The only thing I miss is the conversion tool. There is nothing comparable like the one Opera has built in. I later learned that the original developers sold it to a chinese consortium. In hindsight, that explains the constant changes to the worse, which pushed me to another browser.





  • what are yall doing with your time?

    We use our time more efficiently. Since you can stream everything from the internet, you don’t need to work your schedule according to the time, a show on TV starts. You don’t need to be at home at 7 because a new episode ist airing. With streaming you can decide on when you want to watch something.

    Another benefit of not having (classic) TV is, that you barely see any commercials or ads (given you use an adblocker). When I have the chance to watch TV (when staying in hotels or visiting friends wo have TV) I’m astonished how many ads (even in the TV menu) and commercials get thrown down our throats. It’s like a stream of ads interrupted with shows.