For personal use? To automate tasks you do or solve a problem you have?

I thought it was not recommended to run on bare metal? There are some other obscure OSes that can run fine on bare metal (although Serenity is not really obscure in the foss space, only in the mainstream)

Mine used to be the same but the last OS reinstall I reset everything, moved my files onto an external drive, and only copied them over on a needs basis. I’d been keeping the same home dir since I was like 4 or however old I was when I started using a computer. So needless to say there was a lot there that made me cringe to see every time I tried to navigate my files.

~/{nextcloud,git,pictures/screenshots,music,docs,videos}

In terms of what I manually create. Dot directories normally get automatically created but I guess I’d create a ~/.config if it didn’t get created.

That’s a really interesting suggestion. I’ve not used either. I had the impression that those languages are kinda esoteric, but maybe I’ll have a look.

If you limit yourself to not using WSL, sure. WSL 2 runs an actual Linux kernel with the same Linux executables you would find on any other distro.

I mean yeah but I don’t want to sit through instructing people how to set up WSL. I’ve only done it once years ago so maybe it’s simpler now—I don’t remember it being hard for me but for the average person I can imagine them getting confused at some point.

That might be a good idea actually. I think Java’s a good balance of demonstrating a variety of programming concepts (I think Python obscures too much that would be good to learn about for a beginner), and telling them to install IntelliJ should be straightforward enough without needing to babysit too much the install/setup process.

Tbh I think one of the main difficulties of Rust is that it works in ways that are quite unusual if you’re used to other programming languages. So maybe that particular difficulty is eliminated for people who’ve never programmed before, but yeah, I imagine it probably is still not an ideal first language.

The problem with Scratch is that you don’t learn very much about computers with it. When I expressed I wanted to learn programming as a kid, I was directed to Scratch, and the whole time I was like “ok this is fun and cool, but when do I get to the real programming. I want to make an ‘actual program’.” You’d learn about how programming works on a very high level but you don’t learn much about how things work “under the hood” which imo is the fun thing about learning to program.

The best way I can articulate my goal is like how it feels to watch an edutainment video (think VSauce/Veritasium/Numberphile/etc)—you get a peek at some topic you didn’t know about before and feel you understand how the world works a bit better. It’s not the same thing as training someone up to be an expert, i.e. I’m not trying to turn these people into programmers (though if they’re interested enough they can of course go away and pursue that in their own time).

What’s your target audience ? An what’s the goal ?

Good questions. The goal is not to make new programmers but mostly to satisfy curiosity and help people learn about how the world works, specifically how computers work, and to feel more confident around tech. It’s for a non-technical crowd. Mostly just to give them a taster/peek “under the hood”.

It sounds like a hardware issue that may not be captured by a software screenshot.

I mean someone pointing out a vulnerability in a piece of software should be a falsifiable claim, e.g. “they store their passwords in plaintext”—if it’s foss then just look at the source. You don’t need to read the entire source because you have been given a specific part of the code to look at. You need to only look at the process between the software receiving a password and its query to the database.

And if it’s not foss I don’t use it, and the claim may be unfalsifiable for an outsider who isn’t bothered to try reverse engineering.

For organisations, I think name changes should be minimised. They normally are because of some kind of schism or power struggle, and even if that’s not the case, that’s what people will assume. It’s damaging reputationally and also bad for SEO.

For people, change your name as much as you like idc. Every day or every hour if you like. As long as you make it clear what your current name is. If you’re changing it every hour maybe wear a name badge.

Happened to me once when I was 14. I ordered a hotdog and thought I heard my name (this place did orders by customer name) and picked it up. It was a hotdog but I didn’t remember ordering the particular toppings. I also ordered a vegan hotdog specifically. As I was eating it I gradually became more and more sure this wasn’t my order—I didn’t remember ordering these toppings and I thought this seemed like a pork hotdog. But then I felt too awkward to go back to the counter after having eaten half of it already. Sorry to whoever’s hotdog I ate.

Can you do more testing with other applications trying to write to /home? Are you sure it’s not a Thunderbird bug/misconfiguration?

If it happens for other programs trying to write to /home then I’m stumped ngl. I assume you have checked for hidden files.

I’m in a similar boat. I use old computers for spare parts and hobby projects (e.g. I did Linux From Scratch on an old second-hand Thinkpad I picked up on a whim). I think cheap second hand computers are great for tinkerers e.g. you can flash custom firmware without worrying about bricking the mobo.

You could also use them as servers if you have any services you want to host.

Also if you truly have no use for them, fix them up, install something like Linux Mint on them, and give them away.

Folders don’t get “full”—partitions do. Do you perhaps have a limit imposed inside Thunderbird’s settings on how much disk space it can use up? Do you get any errors about disk usage outside of Thunderbird?

Nice, I’m good to goon then.

And if you’re not a man?

I don’t have any answer to the “hardest addiction” thing but OP, I don’t think watching a lot of porn is inherently a problem. Sometimes people just masturbate because they’re bored, in which case you should try to get some hobbies you find more fulfilling. But if you’re masturbating because you’re horny, why not, it does no harm.