I don’t like the idea of saying that a few nuclear plants exploding is better than burning coal, but you are correct.

The problem is very similar to the exploding cigarette problem. On average, a person will smoke 625,000 cigarettes before it kills them*. If cigarettes were completely harmless except for 1 out of every 625,000 that exploded violently and killed the user, it would most likely be banned for being unsafe.

Coal power plants kill many people every year and cause significant physical and mental health problems to many more, but because it’s all indirect and gradual, no-one stops them**.

If coal plants were required to capture and safely store 100% of the C02 and other harmful emissions they produce, the would likely be far more expensive than nuclear plants.

*This also counts cigarettes smoked by people who died from unrelated causes. The number is for demonstration purposes only and is not intended to be particularly accurate.

**Many people have protested and are trying to stop coal plants. Please keep trying. I’m complaining mostly about corrupt politicians, not citizen inaction.

In Australia the anti-nuclear argument actually does make sense. Not because nuclear is dangerous, but because it’s expensive.

Australia has so much open land for solar and wind power, and an enormous coastline of offshore wind. It’s already cheaper to build new solar power and battery storage than to continue running a newly built coal plant.

Nuclear makes sense in space-restricted areas like Japan, and can be used to replace fossil fuels anywhere, but the focus should be on the cheapest solution (renewables) where possible.

It was the best option at the time, and I didn’t feel like setting up Windows more than once as I gradually added new software and removed other software.

That particular VM doesn’t get booted very often anymore.

I use it in a VM because it’s better than Windows 10, some programs refuse to run on Linux, and I don’t need to provide the VM with an internet connection.

My actual server is an old laptop and it does not run Windows.

Even my friend who insists that Windows is superior still uses Linux for his gaming server because it’s easier to set up and manage.

I guess this is the last kick I needed to buy a new phone and move away from Google permanently.

Clippy never sold your data or demanded a subscription fee for something you already bought. Clippy just tried to help.

The clippy movement is not about clippy as a program, but as an idea that companies need to be held accountable, and that we will hold them accountable.
If a company tries to make a feature a paid subscription after you paid for the product, or releases and update that removes your privacy, we will be watching and we will hold them accountable.

Companies can lie to one person or hide changes from a few people, but they can’t handle all of us. Samsung has already reversed their added subscription fee for a smart TV as a result of community action.

If you still want (or need) to use Windows, I’ve found Ninite to be a great time saver.

I really need to try Ventoy. I’ve had 3 people recommend it to me so far.

I don’t care about gender. If you want to identify as a man or a woman, then you’re free to do that. If you want to identify as something else, that doesn’t bother me.

But if you want to take someone’s rights away because of who they are and not for what they’ve done, then I’m against your ideals.

If you call me a feminist for that, then I’ll happily accept that title too.

If you want to dip your feet in without making any permanent decisions, try using a virtual machine or a live USB.

The virtual machine is effectively no risk but slightly slower. The live USB gives you a more realistic experience (except for boot times) but it is possible to erase your data if you miss the several warning messages and press the “I know what I’m doing, proceed anyway” button.

If you feel like Linux could work but you’re not ready to fully commit, you can dualboot. I had both Windows and Linux for 2-3 years before I was comfortable enough to not boot Windows.

My personal preference is Linux Mint because it looks and feels very similar to Windows (I’m currently running LMDE). Any distro with KDE should also feel fairly familiar. Bazzite is more designed around gaming, but should still be adequate for most of your needs. It does have the reputation of being unbreakable.

I don’t have time for troubleshooting. I just want an OS that runs, does what I need it to do, and stays out of my way. For the last 3 years, Linux has done that for me where Windows wouldn’t.

I should use this AI to make helpful comments for my code.

//Add 1 to i
i = i + 1;

//Check if a number is even
bool isEven(int num)

Promising a reward for making the deadline then deciding to move the release date is like promising a reward for anyone who can finish a race in under 10 minutes, then just deciding not to look at the stopwatch for 15 minutes even though people have already finished.

The devs have earned the reward you promised. You’re just refusing to look at the stopwatch so you can pretend they didn’t.

The might be a little too much personally identifying information if I mention them. I don’t want to risk it.

I spent 1 hour of unpaid work experience for a telephone provider. I found out on the day that I would be handing out pamphlets in a supermarket.

The person who was supposed to be helping and/or supervising just gave me the pamphlets and walked off to chat with his girlfriend. The only time he intervened was to tell me off for answering a potential customer’s question. I knew the answer, but I was supposed to defer to him (not that he told me beforehand) so that he could sugar coat (read - lie about) the answer.

I never went back, and tell all my friends to avoid that company. I’ve since discovered that they also do many illegal things to get more money from their customers, but will suddenly comply if you know your rights so that they never get caught.

Do you think you could teach Linux to your grandmother?

My 50+ yo mother uses Linux Mint daily with fewer problems that when she used Windows. Her crowning achievement in IT is learning how to use email.

I helped my 93 yo friend switch from Windows 10 to Linux 2 years ago. He called me 3 times in the first 2 weeks to ask how to do something, but hasn’t had a single problem since that’s related to the OS.

Linux Mint, Bazzite, Fedora, and several other Linux distros are already easier to use than Windows. The only thing holding most people back is fear of change.

There are some people who have specific setups in Windows or a large number of “Windows only” apps, but these people are in the minority. The average person can’t even tell you which operating system they’re currently using, and wouldn’t notice the difference if you swapped the OS but kept the same web browser.

git-fire

“git-fire is a Git plugin that helps in the event of an emergency by switching to the repository’s root directory, adding all current files, committing, and pushing commits and all stashes to a new branch (to prevent merge conflicts).”

Just remember to turn steam play on for all titles in Steam -> Settings -> Compatibility.

As others have said, Mint is a great starting option. It looks familiar when coming from Windows, and almost everything works without having to touch a terminal.

AAA games with anti-cheat may not work, but just about everything else will. Check Proton DB for each game’s compatibility.
You can add non-Steam games to Steam to take advantage of Proton. Lutris can also work for some Windows games.

If you want to try Linux distributions to see what they’re like before committing, VirtualBox or other virtual machine programs can give you a risk-free preview.

Another option is a live preview. Install Linux Mint on a USB using Rufus or a similar program, then boot your computer from the USB. So long as you don’t access your computer’s hard drive (under devices on the left of the file manager) or run the installer, no changes should be made from your computer. You can simply reboot and remove the USB to go back to your usual OS.

If you are going to dual-boot, install Windows first. Windows has a habit of overriding or deleting Linux if it’s installed second. If you just want to shrink your Windows partition to allow room for Linux, shrink it from Windows. Linux can move “unmovable” Windows files resulting in Windows not booting.

Always have a backup of everything you are not prepared to lose before you play with installing operating systems (and make sure it’s disconnected from that computer). Data loss from software issues is rare, but mistakes are difficult (sometimes impossible) to reverse, particularly as a beginner.

It took me 3 years from when I first started dual booting to when I launched Windows for the last time.

Take your time, move as slowly as you want, and always leave a way back. Eventually you might notice that you’re feeling more comfortable with Linux than Windows, and if you’re lucky, you might not even notice when you’ve stopped using Windows.

Peace of mind (knowing that your partner is ok) can significantly reduce stress and increase quality of life.

Even if the device can’t give an alert soon enough to do anything, just looking and seeing that they are ok this morning can bring a sense of peace, and that’s worth something.