Notices by Beardy Star Stuff (dennyhenke@social.coop)

On using an OS that respects users

After spending time last week reading through the Free Software Foundation website I decided to try out Trisquel, one of their recommended libre GNU/Linux distributions. I’m perfectly happy with Mint but the idealist in me wanted to at least try the ideal, fully free distro. When I made the decision to leave Apple for GNU/Linux I had not yet begun to consider the finer details of the ethics...

#GNU #Libre #Linux #Trisquel #Apple

https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2025-06-20.html

Writing a blog post this morning about switching to the fully free GNU/Linux distribution by #Trisquel and reading about the process they use to make it. Given how much of my lifetime is spent computing I've realized how important it is to fully take responsibility which means understanding and appreciating the process. And along with that the time, energy and commitment of those that make it happen. THANK YOU for doing the work.

#GNU #Linux #Libre
https://trisquel.info/en/wiki/how-trisquel-made

Tired of being used by Microsoft, Google and Apple? Refuse to be their tool.

I should have joined @fsf years ago, but better late than never.

"Dystopian worlds don't just pop into existence: they are built by the choices of those with substantial power, taking freedom from others. Free software has unlimited power for making our world actually better for people (not Big Tech), but we need to join together and ensure that free freedom can thrive."

#GNU #FSF #FOSS
https://www.fsf.org/appeal/2025-spring/free-software-can-defy-dystopia

My first dive into GNU/Linux was with Mint in February 2025 which I installed on an old 2012 Mac Mini. It was a great first experience but I wanted to try an "entirely free" distribution. One of the recommendations is #trisquel and I gave that a go with the KDE desktop. Installed yesterday, loving it so far. No wifi as the card driver/firmware is nonfree, often an issue with "free" distros. I use ethernet so not a problem in my use case.

#GNU #Linux #FSF

https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html

I've been spending some time learning more about the history and foundation of GNU/Linux and FOSS, listening to this talk by Richard Stallman this quote popped out: "Society teaches us to be very attached to convenience and people attached to convenience are easily herded."
49:20 in video.

#FOSS #GNU #Linux

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o4zMXXnthAc

@khurtwilliams Yeah, as I've listened to him I get that he is defending a line which I get. It's so, so easy to just go along, a slippery slope which dilutes and ultimately compromises. He refuses to compromise.

The downside, of course, is that ethical constraints remove choices. I'm using Linux Mint which was easier and approachable for me to install. But it contains proprietary content.

I'm approaching it as a gradient/process with a starting point and an ideal to strive for.

With Apple’s WWDC25 announcements comes news that most pre-2020 Macs are ineligible for macOS 26... Obviously, given my recent turn to GNU/Linux I’m going to take this as an opportunity to encourage Mac users to add GNU/Linux to their line-up. Take it as an opportunity to learn. Productive and fun computing does not require macOS. My 2012 Mac is running the latest version of Linux Mint without breaking a sweat and gets all the latest security...

#Linux #Apple #macos26

https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2025-06-10.html

While two man-babies in the US throw their tantrums and transfix the profit driven drama machines of the US corporate media, a group of courageous and compassionate human rights activists are confronting Israel head on in an attempt to bring aid and draw attention to the ongoing genocide.

Our attention should be focused on Gaza, not the drama of the two US man-babies (apologies to babies everywhere).

#Gaza #GretaThunberg #HumanRights
#Israel #Genocide

"We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. But so did the divine right of kings." - Ursula K. Le Guin

Excellent post by Ploum: "Small low-tech manifesto"

My initial take-away: Even as a somewhat "advanced" user, my relationship to my computing technology precarious. He writes:

"Thanks to the complexity, constant change and the imposition of a strict “intellectual property” regime, users have been transformed into consumers. "

#Computing #FOSS #Apple #Linux #LowTech

https://ploum.net/2025-05-16-manifeste-lowtech.html

I love everything about this.

"Post Apocalyptic Computing

In a world increasingly dominated by planned obsolescence and disposable technology, the idea of a general-purpose computing machine designed to last a century feels both radical and necessary. Drawing inspiration from Sci-Fi, retro computing, and a deep frustration with modern constraints, we can imagine a machine that prioritizes repairability, self-containment, and the ability to modify and replicate itself."

https://thomashunter.name/posts/2025-03-23-post-apocalyptic-computing

Are Apple Enthusiasts Miserable?

It's been on my mind to write about Apple enthusiast user culture for the past couple weeks and this morning the title of the current Rebound podcast got my attention: General Misery About Life and Technology. I write this post as a former Apple enthusiast, a 30+ year user of Apple computers and devices. When I bought my first Mac in 1992 I just needed a computer to write my masters thesis. It was just...

#Apple #Linux #OpenSource #FOSS

https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2025-05-04.html

@WarnerCrocker @NatashaMH @mathewi @Daojoan The person in the photos is reading the paper upside down. Sorry, I had to say it once I noticed it.

Apple to Linux Journal - Two months, enjoying the journey!

It's been over two months since my first install of Linux Mint on my old 2012 Mac Mini, now dubbed LinuxMini. I've got quite a few posts covering various apps and aspects of the migration but thought I'd write up a two month status report.
My initial plan was for Linux to be an experiment and eventual migration while my initial main goal was just to begin the process of migrating away...

#Apple #Linux #FOSS

https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2025-05-01.html

@WarnerCrocker Glad to hear that Apple's obedience to fascism is paying off for them. And glad that I've rid myself of my dependence on iCloud. I'll never purchase Apple hardware again nor will I invest another penny in their App or media ecosystem.

For all their lofty statements about ideals, at the end of the day, of course it's profit they serve. All else is marketing.

#Apple #Linux

@WarnerCrocker As a US citizen I'm boycotting, to the extent that is possible, US companies, especially big tech, that are going along with fascism. I'd like to get out of all of their services completely in the next year. Hoping that all of this brings about an entirely new, more balanced global order, with the US and corporations based here, deeply demoted.

Apple, big tech, lock-in and the corporate colonization of life experience

"Over the past few weeks, months really, as I've been considering the state of the world and the US (as many have) I've found myself increasingly of the mind that it was time, probably past time, to more specifically redefine my use of computing technology. I've written about the most recent kick in the ass that finally got me moving and that was Apple's ..."

#Apple #Enshittification #Computing

https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2025-02-26.html

Worth a watch given the current moment in the US.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5EDKRGkgLsI

"The larger solutions to our common woes, if they ever arrive, will be something new. Something we haven’t tried yet. I feel very confident they won’t take the form of another march or involve everyone finally agreeing to be the same kind of communist/anarchist/whatever. Shawn Fain, chief of the United Auto Workers Union, has called for a General Strike in 2028, and that so far is the only clear plan I’ve heard anyone make that feels like it has a ghost of a chance."

https://shatterzone.substack.com/p/we-failed-to-stop-the-rise-of-fascism

Liberals in the US rightly criticize MAGA folk as being delusional in regards to the truth of Trump. But when I see those same liberals praising Biden while ignoring his ongoing support of genocide in Gaza I feel the deepest disgust. History will remember Biden for his role in genocide.

"Respect the process".

Uh huh.

#Gaza #Genocide #WarCrimes #Israel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y_QQW0igcs