Dandelion Break I'm Mad As Hell...

[AgentPete]

So I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this any more. (*)

In yesterday’s Huddle, I screen-shared someone’s work we were discussing.

This is what came up at the top of my Word screen:



Now I have no use for Copilot. I don’t like it, don’t trust it, don’t want it on my machine. And I removed it (or thought I did…) a few weeks ago, and sternly ticked the “no Copilot” box on MS Office.

Didn’t matter. The latest security update, just applied, reinstalled the accursed thing again.

It could tell the document concerned was a story, and just like Elon Musk or whoever the latest tech-bro bully boy is, it arrogantly assumed I wanted it to “improve” the story.

Well, @%$£ you, Microsoft.

I was literally just one click away from sending someone else’s document up to Microsoft’s cloud.

There are not words to express how much I despise this sort of creepy surveillance marketing.

So I’m not going to take it any more.

This coming week, I’m moving to Linux (Ubuntu, to be precise).

I will still have to keep a Windows machine, but only for video (one of the programs we use for live video only works on Windows).

But everything else is going Linux. That’ll become my daily driver.

Will let you know how it goes.

***

(*) For you youngsters, this line comes from "Network", a terrific 1976 film that's eerily prophetic about, well, now.

 

[Sedayne]

So I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this any more. (*)



(*) For you youngsters, this line comes from "Network", a terrific 1976 film that's eerily prophetic about, well, now.

Sampled to full raging effect by the Chemical Brothers.

 

[Sedayne]

So I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this any more. (*)

In yesterday’s Huddle, I screen-shared someone’s work we were discussing.

This is what came up at the top of my Word screen:

View attachment 20106

Now I have no use for Copilot. I don’t like it, don’t trust it, don’t want it on my machine. And I removed it (or thought I did…) a few weeks ago, and sternly ticked the “no Copilot” box on MS Office.

Didn’t matter. The latest security update, just applied, reinstalled the accursed thing again.

It could tell the document concerned was a story, and just like Elon Musk or whoever the latest tech-bro bully boy is, it arrogantly assumed I wanted it to “improve” the story.

Well, @%$£ you, Microsoft.

I was literally just one click away from sending someone else’s document up to Microsoft’s cloud.

There are not words to express how much I despise this sort of creepy surveillance marketing.

So I’m not going to take it any more.

This coming week, I’m moving to Linux (Ubuntu, to be precise).

I will still have to keep a Windows machine, but only for video (one of the programs we use for live video only works on Windows).

But everything else is going Linux. That’ll become my daily driver.

Will let you know how it goes.

***

(*) For you youngsters, this line comes from "Network", a terrific 1976 film that's eerily prophetic about, well, now.

I've changed my subscription to Microsoft Classic, which should save me a few quid and exclude copilot, but it's still there until my sub renews, albeit switched off. It doesn't prompt me any more, but it sits greyed out at the top of the screen.
My attempts to edit the registry didn't work.
I've never ventured into the world of Linux. Maybe it's time.

 

[AgentPete]

I've changed my subscription to Microsoft Classic, which should save me a few quid and exclude copilot, but it's still there until my sub renews, albeit switched off.

Won't let me do that.
So this is the end, my fine friend. Ubuntu is a "safe" choice. It's a tad corporate, not as edgy as many distributions. Ubuntu Pro offers auto-security updates, free to personal users.

I've never ventured into the world of Linux. Maybe it's time.

I’m already quite familiar with Libre Office, which runs on Windows too – again, it’s free and open source. Feels a bit like MS Office of a few iterations ago, a nice clear interface, “just works”, let’s you get on with the job in hand.

I’m less familiar with Evolution, the Outlook replacement I’m plumping for, but will keep you posted on how it goes.

 

[Pamela Jo]

Please do. I just havent had the courage to do Linux. I have old Mac laptops that are no longer supported by apple so tho they work out no longer can receive email etc. Could Linux be used on those? I'm totally stupid on these things.

 

[AgentPete]

I don't know, PJ. I'm sure some people have done it, yes. But how easy it is, and what implications there may be, I can't say. Anyone else know?

 

[Jake E]

It's so bloody underhanded.
If I hadn't only recently bought a new computer, I'd be doing the same Pete. Invaision of privacy and all that.
I'm paranoid enough when I'm talking to my wife in earshot of my phone about getting a new bin for the kitchen then getting adverts for bins.

 

[Sedayne]

It's so bloody underhanded.
If I hadn't only recently bought a new computer, I'd be doing the same Pete. Invaision of privacy and all that.
I'm paranoid enough when I'm talking to my wife in earshot of my phone about getting a new bin for the kitchen then getting adverts for bins.

That's been happening to us too. Although it's my husband's phone, not mine that picks stuff up and advertises the same things to him. My privacy settings are more robust. He thinks I'm paranoid telling him to block any ad that comes in. It's small stuff, but it adds up to a whole sinister mess worse than Orwell imagined.

 

[Pamela Jo]

That's been happening to us too. Although it's my husband's phone, not mine that picks stuff up and advertises the same things to him. My privacy settings are more robust. He thinks I'm paranoid telling him to block any ad that comes in. It's small stuff, but it adds up to a whole sinister mess worse than Orwell imagined.

WTH that's a real thing? I only use my phone for phone calls and my social media is not in my real name. Never liked the idea of putting my real info out there. I do everything I can to feck up the algorithms on FB so I'm still on there but under my dogs name.

 

[Pamela Jo]

So the only real way to go Linux is to get a new computer? It is compatible with apple Macs? Thinking of getting a Mac mini...

 

[Sedayne]

WTH that's a real thing? I only use my phone for phone calls and my social media is not in my real name. Never liked the idea of putting my real info out there. I do everything I can to feck up the algorithms on FB so I'm still on there.

I wonder if it's actually a FB thing. I don't do any social media at all. (My sociability on Litopia is quite out of character and has come as a total surprise to me!). Husband does a lot of facebooking, and I think this is where he gets all this targeting advertising. But some of it seems to come from actual conversations we have had. If we talk about going on holiday, he gets travel agent ads, if we talk about a day out in Liverpool, he gets the Beatles. He's been complaining of backache and has had pain relief and physio ads. None of it seems anything more significant than nuisance. I think most people just live with this shit nowadays. But if they can do this for little things, I don't like what it means for anything more important.

 

[AgentPete]

So the only real way to go Linux is to get a new computer? It is compatible with apple Macs? Thinking of getting a Mac mini...

No, you can definitely install Linux on older machines, in fact Linux will make them run faster than something like Windows 11.
There are even varieties of Linux made to run on really old machines, 32 bit etc.
What I don't know about is installing Linux on Macs. It ought to be possible. I've just never done it.

 

[Pamela Jo]

I might experiment. And I have my youngest son's first computer. THat goes back to 2010. He ran from his father's Mac obsession. I kind of wish I'd done so when my brain was young enough to change.

 

[Ed Simnett]

short answer to the mac question: yes. Installing Linux on an older laptop - Apple Community

 

[AgentPete]

I might experiment. And I have my youngest son's first computer. THat goes back to 2010. He ran from his father's Mac obsession. I kind of wish I'd done so when my brain was young enough to change.

OK, that document is very interesting, but… it’s not actually installing Ubuntu direct on the hardware. (Which makes me wonder whether it’s even possible…)

What it’s doing is creating a virtual computer inside of the mac – and then installing Ubuntu on that.

I wouldn’t recommend this method for daily driver use

But @Ed Simnett seems to have found a way...

 

[Pamela Jo]

That is why I dont think most windows on Mac's work. It's almost like they dont want them too. But thank yu Ed Simnett that look sinteresting.

 

[BrianY]

Pamela Jo, the act of getting a windows virtual machine to run on a Mac is much more difficult than you might think. Wiping a Mac clean and installing a Linux distro is no party, but doable. Easiest, but still quite a task, is installing a distro on a Windows machine. Rarely mentioned and always a pain is finding out which USB ports are bootable and which aren't and which keys you need to press to get to the BIOS menu. No matter what, these little computers are quite the pieces of technology.

 

[James Charles]

Ha! We were watching a murder mystery and a character on the show said, "Hey Google, how do you dispose of a body?" Our Google on the counter behind us answered the question. Now it's in our search history. When will the knock on the door come? "Police! Open up."

 

[Pamela Jo]

It certainly will make police work easier in the future. Another unintended consequence of humans not bothering to think for themselves.

 

[Aethalope]

Scrivener seems good for writing without AI influence.

As a reddit user put it, "The Scrivner Team's development pace makes me suspect it's users will be 'protected' from AI integration until well after the singularity."

 

[izi 出久]

Short answer: yes, you can install Linux on MacBook machines. No, you don’t need a new computer. Yes, you do need the Linux disc image. Most flavors are free and available for download online. Slap that baby on a USB, plug in and boot / install from the drive. I’m skipping some steps here, but it’s not too difficult. Just make sure to back up everything important beforehand.

 

[BrianY]

Izi, in my experience, the toughest part is finding out which USB ports are bootable. Creating the disc image is far easier, getting a Mac or Windows computer to recognize and read it is a bit more difficult.

 

[izi 出久]

That is true. You’ll want to research your machine. For Mac, architecture won’t change the ability, but it can increase difficulty. And important to note is the standard Mac keyboards / mice may not work with Linux. Again, this is specific to versions, but you may need to use USB keyboard and mouse with a Linux OS

 

[AgentPete]

The hardest part by far for most Windows-to-Linux converts is initially wrangling Secure Boot and also making sure they can boot from a USB port for installation.

Very, very unfortunately, this comes right at the start of the process. It’s really daunting for many / most people, certainly enough to put them off. And if something goes wrong, e.g. boot order doesn’t get set back to internal drive, then they can end up with a computer that appears to have been trashed

For this reason alone, it may be a good idea for most people to buy one of the ready-made machines with a Linux distro pre-installed. Or to ask any teenager to help, or course

I’ve got a little GeekOM on order now that I’m lining up to replace my Windows daily driver machine. The thing comes with Windows 11 installed, and I’m thinking of making a how-to video showing how to do both of these things (fyi, Secure Boot doesn’t always need to be disabled, but it may do).

 

[Pamela Jo]

You know that could be a lttle home business for a repair geek. Taking old mac's-pre macbook and reordering them to be useful for something since they are no longer supported. The Q isnt really whether Linux can run on a newer Mac, it's whether it can be tested on something with hardware that works but whose software is no longer supported. And the next Q is whether it can be trusted with your irreplaceable manuscripts and photos in order to avoid cloud storage.

 

[izi 出久]

Ah interesting @Pamela Jo yes, there is much less risk in this case because the machine becomes unusable when Apple decides it to be unusable otherwise. But to transform that machine into a Linux box should still be possible.