This consternation is definitely common. It’s hard to apply skills to something with no long term impact of benefit. I’ve improved my skills by finding stuff I can help on in the communities I participate in.

It’s natural to be overwhelmed, so deciding on a project does scope what you can learn, but a hard part is architecting the foundation of that project.

Introducing new features to an existing project is a great way to get your feet wet - it has multiple benefits, for one of you do take a position as a developer in the future, you likely won’t be architecting anything initially, primarily improving on existing projects. So participating in OSS projects is a similar mechanism to that - you have to learn their codebase to a degree, you have to learn their style and requirements, etc.

Even if you don’t ultimately contribute, it’s still a learning experience.

That’s what I thought at first, but the person who wrote the article is named Simon, and based on the context given in the article I’m assuming that was a test unit he had on his desk, but the planned implementation is in bathrooms.

Considering it only detects if someone in the bathroom is vaping and not who, disciplinary action just isn’t really possible with your typical school restroom.

Yup. Toyota Yaris '15 stock. Lowest trim they offer.

My car is a 2015 and didn’t come with a cruise control lol :(.

To be fair, I can drive at and maintain a consistent speed without it, though I didn’t have to often thanks to stop and go traffic 🎉.

Programming and self hosting the results when I was ~14 is what led me to a tech background. No university, but I’ve been working professionally in both IT and software for over a decade and self hosting even longer.

The article that user links is referring to GrapheneOS (and other OSS software) as not being “free software” - and they (GNU) delves into it more here.

Basically, GNU is saying software shouldn’t claim to be free and open source if they contain non free binaries / other non-free blobs.

The nuances between FOSS and OSS can be confusing. GrapheneOS is not claiming to be FOSS.

I mean, that’s how it should be. Just like getting drivers license requires you to demonstrate you can drive safely, so should a firearms license.

I’ve been told they’re a projection put in the sky by God to test our faith lol.

Or just skip it entirely, I use the Consent-O-Matic extension which has a surprising amount of features.

The post is describing the scripts to disable telemetry, OneDrive, ads, etc.

When I was young, around 10, I was bored. We had one shitty desktop and no internet 99% of the time (we had dial up but only 1 landline, and my mom used the phone alot). We were also homeschooled, and the software teaching us was on that computer. I found the software documentation which was in HTML, and used that to make my own “website”.

Even before then though I had a draw to tinkering with computers. After a bit I convinced my mom to get me intro to C++ by Bjarne Stroustrup, and messed with that for a good year or so. Then we upgraded to DSL when I was around 13 and I got into Roblox and learned Lua, then other languages.

I really like the way my current company handles things. Aside from annual raises that take effect July 1st (currently waiting for approval, but if that happens after July 1st the raises are retroactive to the first), we have open bars (free drinks) every other month, company wide lunch events a few times a month, other general events (had a Juneteenth and Pride event this month). Oh, and all these events are paid time (you still have to hit your KPIs though).

A fairly well stocked kitchen (you could make your own lunch if you wanted to), coffee and espresso machines, sparkling water / flavored water one as well, snacks, the whole deal. Yes it’s not perfect but I’ve been happy so far.

I’ve also had no negative experience with VPNs and Discord. This being said, I see two potential factors.

Accessing an account from a different IP and then changing the email on that account from that different IP can look like the account got hacked.

And the specific VPN being used could play a role (I’m not asking you to reveal that) - if the VPN is being used by bad actors, their IP ranges might be flagged as well.

Considering the problem with stolen accounts being used to send spam to their friends and the servers they’re in, I can see why there would be automated logic to rate limit actions. The only real issue I see here is the appeal / support process just not being there, going by your other message about a lack of success appealing.

I’ve only had to contact them for trust and safety reports and they’ve been pretty responsive, despite usually not telling you the outcome (the outcome is pretty easy to find out anyway). I’m glad I haven’t had to contact them for other stuff though, since I’ve heard it’s a nightmare.

I’ve had to carrier unlock two devices from T-Mobile. You’ve already returned it, but if anyone else faces a similar situation: for whatever godforsaken reason, DMing them on Twitter is the way that has always worked for me. There is back and forth, but usually they set you right.

I recall this and the allegations / issues with the vendors they reviewed as being my “final straw” to stop viewing their content. This itself had a prominent place in my memory, but I don’t recall much about the other scandal / issues at the time. Anyone recall that stuff and if they were similarly addressed? All I remember was I stopped caring after that pitiful we’re sorry video from the new CEO.

I’ve been using fastfetch for a long while.

Just download it from a third party and compare the checksum with the official information. Granted, the official checksums on their website are behind a few steps, but you already tried on public Wi-Fi - once you generate the link a “Verify your Download” section should appear.

You’re a victim of identity theft. You should start here: https://www.usa.gov/identity-theft