Usually I try to run Linux “on a potato” but if I wanted to “run a potato” as my OS I’d just install Windows.

I really should have waited for this release to use a random Debian code name as my user name.

Edit: May 4, 2013. Damn I’m fucking old.

Yeah. Probably the better approach. But I was just doing this for a friend that didn’t have a router with vlan. Was the approach in my brain. And once the MAC is blocked it’s idiot proof. No chance of someone plugging in Ethernet to the TV.

You can set it up on your local network without outside access given to your router.

This can be helpful to block devices like your “dumb TV” through the firewall. You can block them via their MAC address.

You can do this by allowing it to connect and looking at the list of network devices. You should see it’s Mac address there. Copy that for any device you don’t want connecting later (later meaning before you give your router outside access). You’ll create a blocklist in the firewall around those devices. This is helpful to prevent them from ever connecting, even if you forget and plug your TV Ethernet back in.

Get the macs before you factory reset and/or flash a clean openwrt image. If flash a fresh copy. No reason to have that doubt in your head on a used device.

DNS (adgaurd) is a good thing to have set. I’m not an expert on the best options, but forcing a specific DNS through the router is good to setup. Mine is called “DNS Director” I think but I’m using the Asus flavor of wrt which is a bit different.

It forces DNS for all devices on the network, devices can request a different DNS (like Google) even if you have adgaurd setup, this ensures this doesn’t happen. You have to lookup the equivalent for openwrt.

But, if you don’t want your ISP monitoring your network traffic destinations you’ll want to setup a VPN on the router and all devices will be routed through the VPN.

Noting that a VPN is essentially (from a privacy standpoint) just trading your ISP for a different provider that can log your network traffic. So, keep that in mind when choosing one. My rule of thumb, is that if the VPN is being advertised on YouTube channels as ad reads, don’t fucking touch it. Paying with crypto or anonymously is essentially pointless. The VPN knows your IP. If they are logging and not reliable they are going to know who you are if you’re using the VPN as a home solution. You are trading a definite evil in your ISP for another that is potentially better. A lot of people have a false sense of security with a VPN. So I just wanted to say this.

You’re gonna have to do your own work setting it up and learning the individual steps. But, this should at least be some vocabulary and basics to point you in the right direction.

I know everyone is trying to block their TVs and shit this week.

Also, get rid of Ring on your network or any robo vacuums or whatever. Those are security nightmares.

Sure. I’m not an expert and I’m only a single person. But I am smart enough to look and see what is working.

China is reaching renewable energy power surplus. Meaning their production of solar panels, windmills, nuclear power, etc is reaching a point at which it will exceed the power consumption of their entire country.

This is in “energy potential”. Meaning, it includes the production of renewable energy products, their energy production over their lifetime, and accounting for grown in demand over that time period. It’s a little bit different than saying that they are running on entirely renewable energy. They are not. They are unfortunately being forced to burn more coal right now due to the Iran war. A lot of their production of renewable energy is sold outside of China. I wanted to clarify though, since this is an important distinction.

The point being. China, has gone from a preindustrial peasant society post WW2, victims of a genocide, on the level of the Holocaust, from the Japanese fascist; to, now, being the first country in the world that is capable of replacing their entire energy production with renewable energy.

Whatever China is doing. We need to learn FROM THAT and quickly. We need to be mimicking their economic planning, at the very least, around the control of natural resources and energy production. Because there is no amount of cold war 2 propaganda that should overpower the threat of mass climate based genocide.

We don’t have to be “pro China”, we don’t have to “be exactly like China”. But we are currently pretending that there is not a major world power that IS planning for and capable of running a modern and cutting edge technological society that is capable of producing energy almost entirely without greenhouse gas production.

We don’t need to pretend there is some “future silicon valley tech” that will save us. There is literally already an example to follow.

If every country was producing renewable energy as China currently is, the world would have literally removed its dependence on fossil fuels.

In general, yes, the western world was under the false assumption that the leaders it had were, at the very least, aligned in the interest of self preservation. Many are still living with this false belief today.

I think it’s less about societal self discipline though; and more about the incompatibility of the societal hierarchy with working to solve the problem of climate change. The contradictions between the ruling and working class are in conflict when it comes to the priority of climate change. Climate change is an opportunity for further wealth concentration for the ruling class of our society; and that same ruling class has “drank their own Koolaid” in the idea of American and Western exceptionalism.

Capitalism is incapable of addressing the problems of climate change. It’s like trying to put out a fire and bringing a bulldozer instead of a firetruck.

Climate change. We all thought we were gonna have to cut back on consumption, use less fossil fuels, and change our infrastructure entirely to renewable energy.

Thankfully it’s not a problem anymore at all. Our wise leaders just decided to stop talking about it and instead just decided we’d speed the process up, burn fossil fuels for glorified chat bots while draining our fresh water resources.

Thankfully it’s not a problem anymore. Because a problem would imply it’s something that has a solution. We’re far past that point. We’re essentially watching this generation of our oligarchs committing a mass global genocide of the upcoming generations.

Problem solved.

If only the English language had a symbol for separating words when listing them we wouldn’t have this problem!

My wife texted me to get dogfood bananas and milk at the store. I can’t find these damn dogfood bananas!

I’m not for “tribalism” if it’s related to a specific piece of software vs. another. But I definitely am on the side of open source vs. a garbage subscription based model of closed source software.

Aw. Thanks. I honestly think there is tons of potential for Linux nerds to understand the problems with capitalist modes of production because of their direct exposure to its massive contradictions.

I mean, when I worked for Cisco and they sold the exact same hardware as an “upgrade” to older hardware I saw this first hand.

We literally had sections in the code that would check the EEPROM for a flag to enable the upgrade through software. Literally the same hardware with a single bit in the EEPROM being swapped from a 1 to a 0. So we could sell the same hardware twice.

If that doesn’t make you realize something is fundamentally wrong with how software is used under capitalist modes of production. Well, nothing will.

People have ALWAYS wanted to make better tools. Did we need to improve our arrowheads and spears every generation? No, we could have kept the same designs as long as they got the job done.

But humans are pretty unique. We will spend significantly more time testing and improving our tools for only a minor improvement. Because we are not doing it for only ourselves. We are doing it for the knowledge of future generations.

Closed source software and profit driven economic models go AGAINST human nature. It is human to plant trees for which you will never live to enjoy the shade of.

There is no major company that allows tools to be written that fill this human connection in building something solely for the purpose of building a good tool to make our lives easier and better.

And now I have a picture of a sweaty “I use Arch” user yelling this at a fire about to consume them.

It’s also the total failure of a punch line in the second frame. Just so robotic sounding.

Is there specific war propaganda this is mirroring? Propaganda isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s very helpful in revolutionary resistance movements. Is this mirroring something specific or are you just talking about the aesthetics of it?

Black and Red. Gonna have to say I’ll be with the Debian boys during the revolution.

Sure. But Window’s itself already has Kernel level access. So, I feel like if you’re running Windows the issue of some gaming company having kernel level access is much less concerning to me than a genocide supporting software weapons manufacturer.

Like, I’m against the gaming companies having kernel access. But if you’re running Windows in 2025 you’re already sharing all of your data with one of the most malicious companies that exists. Microsoft is currently on the level of the many American companies that worked with the Nazis. I guess my point is that Riot having access to my keystrokes is the least of my concerns if I’m on Windows.

Edit: Speaking as a former Microsoft employee.

noazureforapartheid.com

Fuck. I’m gonna one day figure out where those reports go to and realize I’ve gotta lock down my system from myself.

Clearly in $HOME/Downloads/ and forget that you left it there. Then use app(3).AppImage the next time when you redownload it. Keeps you running the most up to date version. It’s flawless.

I rarely encounter them. But they usually work when I do. But, ugh, they’re just kinda gross. Like, is this a .exe? No thank you. Don’t give me windows trauma.

I’ve had the opposite experience with flatpaks that I have with snaps. I don’t really use them much. But when I see that as an option I use it and it just works. Definitely a fan as a USER of them. I’m sure people have their complaints as users and developers. But I definitely have to say it’s been positive so far. Which is a rare consistency in the life of installing packages.