30 years using Linux - most of that time as a Linux sysadmin. and this is unfortunately true. I got on the Apple ecosystem 20 years ago because I wanted to removed the sysadmin work from my non-work time and it does that quite well. I find most commercial technology to be a faustian bargain with my free time vs. my ethics.

I will block any and every ad I possibly can using all technology available to me. Does that break someone's business model? Too bad. Do I care if all this glorious ad-sponsored content goes away forever because of the actions of me and others like me? Not even a little bit. In fact, I will welcome the day that ad blocking gains enough momentum that it causes businesses to go under or restructure their entire operational model. If ads are the only way something can exist, then it deserves to die.

In case it wasn't clear enough: I don't care.

I've been working in the IT/Internet industry for over 30 years, in one form or another. I understand how things work and I probably have a better perspective than most on how dysfunctional we have become.

I wish Mozilla would just strip all the extraneous junk from Firefox aside from what is truly necessary for web browsing. No crypto, no Pocket, no chatbot integration, nothing AI related, etc. Any and all additional features should be implemented via optional plugins. They could rename the project something like Phoenix or Firebird or something like that.

org-mode is awesome for many reasons, but the similarities/overlap with markdown are an incidental benefit. I wouldn't learn org-mode for that reason, however there are many other good ones that make it worthwhile. I've been using it for years for my own project management, tasks tracking, notes and many other things - it's one of those rare tools that can do many things incredibly well.

So intuitive!

As an American, I wanted to read this but I got distracted and then bored because it's just text.

I don't know about your TV but that cat rules!!!

Who pays first? The user, the content creator, or the content host?

I couldn't care less. If my adblocker is that final straw that caused a company to go out of business, brings on the collapse of the internet as a whole, and ultimately the breakdown of western civilization, then all of it deserves to die. With that knowledge, I'd still update by block lists and donate to adblocking projects.

Slackware: Start by planting your own coffee plants...

It also fails from the arts and sociology perspectives.

how can illegal immigrants send money home but regular workers live paycheck to paycheck?

They live six to a room.

...and the rest of their family spends those dollars on a 3rd world cost of living.

The frustrating thing is that there's no clear way to know exactly how much you're exposing yourself with this. Even the article (and related links) don't spell it out adequately (IMO).

For example, I just purchased a new(ish) 2022 Nissan. I don't have the Nissan app on my phone and I don't subscribe to any of their connectivity services. Is my data staying in the car or is it finding some conduit back to Nissan? Is connecting my phone to the console for music and maps opening me up to Nissan's data collection? Is using bluetooth for music and hand-free calls exposing my data? Is there any way to know the specific avenues for data collection that present a risk and how can they be mitigated?