By now, you are probably a tiny bit tired reading about my unhappy experience with the Samsung A54, and another long-term report is most likely not going to make much difference. But, I bought the device and unless it really pisses me off, I intended to use it until it croaks, because I respect money and don't want to spend frivolously on gadgets. Every time I use my old, crummy devices some more and not buy new stuff because the tech overlords want me to, I get a sweet sense of satisfaction in me bones.

Last time, we covered quite a bit really, including the big One UI 8.5 update. You would think the three months since wouldn't yield much merriment, oh but they do. I encountered a whole merry bunch of curious stuff, stupid stuff, and then some. Let me regale you with another story of what modern consumerism means in the hands of an el grumpo dinosaurus tex. Commence we must.

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Every week, I go about my tech reading, and I discovering a fresh piece of news about some Windows 11 nonsense. A broken patch, a new photos app that no one asked for, some new addition or restriction that makes fun of paying customers. And every week, I look at my Macbook Pro, and it stays quiet. It does not prod, it does not ask, it does not suggest. Nor does it beg, cajole, try to trick me, or anything of that sort. It does what the operating system should do - stay out of the way.

Indeed, welcome to my third report of this machine! I've had it for some time now, and I'm pleased. Yes, it's expensive, yes Apple has its own methods and ideas, but no, you don't really have to play ball. By and large, you can tweak the system however you like, and you have a great deal of freedom to get things done. And quiet, lots and lots of quiet. Well, while the title of this article is sort of a giveaway, still, let me tell how I fared since my last report, and what has changed.

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Every few weeks, Mozilla releases a new version of Firefox. Every few weeks, I must content with subpar UI ergonomics, mostly because, for some silly reason, people in the tech world believe that pale gray text on gray background represents the pinnacle of human design. Case in point, Firefox 151, where I showed you the necessary CSS tricks to get the address bar to be white. Why so, you ask? Because I like my contrast, and I don't like the world to be one giant blob of depressing gray. Colors exist for a reason. The brutalist concrete fad needs to stop.

A few days ago, boom, another Firefox, this time 153 (and by now, 155). And once again, they changed the class and id declarations ever so slightly. Urlbar this, urlbar that, so annoying and inconsistent. Disheartening, and also a waste of time. If I want a normal look and feel, editing the defaults does not seem to be the right choice. Well, Firefox has supported theming since forever, allowing you to clad your browser in the colors you want and like. Technically, problem solved. Except, what if you don't want themes from random people, but rather, only something officially released by Mozilla? Follow me.

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A few weeks ago, I wanted to re-watch The Dictator, with Sacha Baron Cohen. Perhaps his best work. I loaded the movie on a streaming service, and I noticed its unusual duration. Only 1h 19min. Strange. I distinctly know that I have watched this piece in all its glorious length of 1h 39min. For some reason, someone seems to have decided to prune about 20 minutes of content from this film. Now, technically, it's 20% of a 100min run, which is a lot, but realistically, it's almost 100% of all the funny "controversial" scenes that make The Dictator what it is, for better or worse. The neutered version feels like a parody on some silly fool from a foreign country rather than a witty take on the modern world.

Then, I noticed a similar trend with lots of other comedies. A few seconds here, a few seconds there, the catalog on streaming services differs from hard-copy versions that I know. Small yet meaningful changes. To what end, one might wonder? Add to that the arbitrary decisions by media giants to discontinue parts of their digital catalogs at whim, decisions to restrict or even remove physical media, and you start wondering. I cannot attribute these phenomena to malice or any grand conspiracies, but my observation sure did reinforce my long-standing choice to buy paper books and DVDs as my now-and-future entertainment. Let's talk.

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For many years, OpenOffice was my go-to non-Microsoft office suite. I used it well, and extensively, and even wrote a whole bunch of articles on its use, including various different tools and spins and such. But then, LibreOffice happened, and OpenOffice sort of languished behind. Funnily, I was under the impression that the development had ceased. To my amazement, recently, I figured that this wasn't the case. While the pace ain't relativistic, there sure are up-to-date versions of the software available. So I thought, well, I must take it for a ride, no.

And so I downloaded the archive from the Apache Foundation servers, extracted the several dozen DEBs, and set about testing. After all, it would be quite interesting to see how OpenOffice has evolved, and examine its relevance in the FOSS community. In particular, I'm quite keen on the Microsoft file format support, so I can leave the proprietary ship forever behind. Let's commence then.

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Last time I looked at the Zoho Office Suite was back in 2010. An eternity ago in computer terms. I liked the suite. It had lots of goodies, tons of programs, decent integration with browsers, and then some. But, even then, I cautioned people about being ready or willing to store their information in the cloud. For no obvious reason, I sort of forgot about this software, until quite recently.

Having tested Pages in macOS and the Murena Workspace suite (as part of my wider /e/OS testing), which comes with the cloud-based OnlyOffice components, I decided to expand my exploration. After all, not having to rely on Microsoft Office is a critical part of weaning oneself off Windows, which is something that I have done almost fully recently. To wit, my macOS story, and more frequent and in-depth use of Linux. But Windows and Office still lurk somewhere in the background. Well, Zoho seems like a nice new old candidate, especially since I have some experience with it, but then, 16 years is a long time, and lots could have changed since.

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Let's say you have an older smartphone that no longer receives any updates from its manufacturer. It may even be "stuck" on an older release of the operating system, for whatever reason. The device is several years old, and while it is receiving app updates through the relevant app store, you don't consider it useful enough for everyday business. You might want to replace it. Well, before you do that, hear me out.

Smartphones that you no longer wish to use for everyday browsing or whatnot can still be useful for several more years serving as an offline 2FA authentication tool, your own custom hardware token. This may sound a bit avantgarde, especially the offline adjective, but let's explore. I'm going to show you a somewhat clunky yet neat trick on how to accomplish this, and give elderly phones a fresh breath of practical life.

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Here's something you probably never considered doing. Or if you have, you were told, ah, don't bother. After all, old content is meant to be old, and if it looks blurry or pixelated, well, that's life. Or someone could say, grab an expensive machine and let AI fix it for you. Hm. How about a midway compromise? If you have some spare time and spare CPU cycles, you might want to try bringing some extra pixels to your crummy low-res videos. The tool of the trade? The wonderful ffmpeg, to which I've dedicated quite a few tutorials, both directly and indirectly, because pretty much anything media has ffmpeg somewhere under the hood.

I showed you some basic usage tips, and we also used the program to create HD GIFs for valuable meme sharing. Armed with this fine knowledge, we can now attempt the impossible. Figure out if there are reasonable methods by which old, low-res (or SD) videos can be prettified to HD quality without too much hassle or hard work. I'm going to show you how to do this with ffmpeg, in Linux. The usage applies regardless. Let us commence then.

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I think I've just discovered the most annoying Windows "feature" just yet. On a system, in the Event Log, out of the blue seemingly, I discovered 15 warning messages, all from RestartManager, with the Event ID 10010. The description read: Application 'C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe' (pid 14744) cannot be restarted - Application SID does not match Conductor SID.. (a double period symbol is part of that). What.

This looked quite weird. Why would Firefox suddenly experience this issue? I started digging. The Mozilla maintenance service was working as it should, there were no browser updates, and it was running correctly. Online, I found possible reasons for the issue, anything from "ignore" to "hardware problems". The whole vast Internet didn't have much to offer. So I went digging some more, and I think I have a nice story for you. Please follow me.

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All right, brace yourselves. If I ever want to use a smartphone that's neither Google's nor Apple's domain, then I can either remember the fun days with the Windows Phone, or try to see if one of the Android-like flavors does the job. At the moment, my choice seems to be the Fairphone, with /e/OS. I set up the device not that long ago, I tested version 4.0 not long thereafter, and now, I want to show you what happens when a person actually tries to use this operating system in earnest.

It all starts with a SIM card. So far, I used the device without one, which meant Wireless connectivity and such, but no proper "phone" usage, and thus, also, no registration of chat programs like Telegram or WhatsApp. Now, regardless of how you feel about these tools, they are an almost inevitable part of the online smartphone experience, and I bet all your non-techie relatives use one or the other. Sure, if one day the world becomes so odious that your only choices will be to constantly QR code and verify yourself to your overlords or try to use something else, then yes, we can talk about happy, Utopian alternatives. For now, let me show what happens when you attempt to use /e/OS in the so-called normie mode. To an extent. Begin, we shall.

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A friend of mine sent me a link to a 9gag meme. The link had a preview thumbnail. I have my WhatsApp client set not to show previews, and yet I could see it. Hm. Now, the thumbnail had the word SENSITIVE written over it. I've never seen this before. And so my friend and I started a debugging session, to figure out whence this nonsense comes. Very soon, we realized, with a solid 95% certainty, that this was WhatsApp imposing its California-flavored morality onto us, two dinosaur Europeans old enough to start a geriatric clinic. Yes, WhatsApp seems to be analyzing and labeling stuff based on some outdated 19th century morality shit compass. We weren't quite sure, but the limited data and testing pointed thus.

Morality wise, this ain't nothing new. After all, the whole world is galloping toward digital control crap, to "protect" our feeble minds from dangerous content. Soon, everywhere, we might need to "show our papers" like obedient monkeys every once in a while, to be allowed to use the Internet. Or something along those lines, just to keep the peasants humble. The data fetishist worldwide will have fresh troves and troves of identity information to play with. What I experienced the other day seems like a precursor. Let's rant.

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I come to you with a weird little problem, one that I thought should have been resolved many many years ago, but apparently, no. As it happens, I have some old DVDs, and I wanted to back up their contents before the discs fade beyond repair. All right, so you need some program that can do this. As always, I start with VLC, my favorite go-to software for all things media, alongside ffmpeg, that is. I've used VLC for many wondrous things, including a subset of what we will discuss today. Indeed, I wanted to back up a video that has multiple audio and subtitle tracks available.

As I outlined in my VLC & subtitles tutorial, you can do this quite easily. But then, I noticed that there was quite a bit of discrepancy between conversion, stream, and the method by which you select the necessary audio and subtitle tracks. Namely, when using the conversion option, VLC ignored the GUI-selected tracks and chose randomly. The streaming option worked fine, but not on the command line. The exact same settings that worked well in the GUI did not when I invoked the program in the terminal window. Thus, I would like to give you what I hope will be a rather precise and definitive guide on how to handle this "problem", script your data conversions, and avoid any errors. Let's begin.

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All right, it's time for me to express myself, once more. This time, I shall revisit a topic, for the fourteenth time so far. That's right, I'm continuing my long-term usage, testing and reporting of the Slimbook Executive machine, a sweet piece of hardware riddled with some annoying bugs here and there. Which bugs, you ask. Well, I invite you to read the last report, and work your way back, or go into my Linux section and read chronologically.

Any which way you choose, you will discover that my Executive experience has been inconsistent. It started majestically, but then a firmware update ruined the fun for me, with intermittent suspend & wake problems, mid-work, that is. Various kernel patches helped exacerbate or alleviate the issue some, but it's never quite disappeared. The upgrade from Kubuntu 22.04 to 24.04 was patchy, too. Overall, I enjoy the system, but I never quite manage to get a good, long, quiet period, sans any trouble. Let's see what happened this time.

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I have never been a fan of cloud office suites. Sure, they have their uses for collaboration and such. But the whole concept of your browser is your work desk, nah. That said, I'm not opposed to cloud apps, and I've used some, here and there, as warranted. I tried them all really, and I find them all more or less equally missing in speed, convenience and ergonomics. Without fail, the local office suite is a superior solution, hands down.

But, being the eternal optimist that I am, I like to keep exploring and testing. Now that I have /e/OS installed on the Fairphone, and now that I'm using this de-Googled Android, I decided to give Murena Workspace a try. Since Murena is the parent company behind /e/OS, and since they collaborate nicely with Fairphone, it makes sense to try their cloud setup. After all, it's free! I mean, the basic tier with 1GB storage is there for anyone willing to sign up. Let us commence.

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In the big and vast smartphone world, practically, you only have two operating system choices. Android and iOS. Well, three. Android, iOS ... and everything else bunched as one tiny niche. This is not unlike the desktop world, dominated by Windows and macOS, with Linux and friends at a distant third place. Sure, you can use the alternatives, but you need to be prepared for all sorts of problems, from availability to compatibility. Therefore, if one wants to attempt something similar in the mobile space, what sort of success should they expect?

My recent endeavors on the Fairphone + Android and the Pixel added to my general distrust and aversion toward the smartphone stuff. So much in fact, that I decided to give the tiny niche its chance. The options are many. GrapheneOS, LineageOS, /e/OS, and then some. Most of these require manual effort by the end user, and often, you need a very specific device. If you don't have one, it's a rather tailored purchase, for results with an unknown happiness factor. But I did find a rather nice candidate. Fairphone. It ships with /e/OS as a factory option, and I already happen to have a Fairphone. Lo and behold! I already did this test, what! I immersed myself into the avantgarde world of mobile software. The results were, well, let's say curious. Now, we must continue this adventure. After me!

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I go about life with a firm belief that modern software is mostly crap. This makes the joy of discovering un-crap programs that much greater. Sure, being an eternal pessimist means all your surprises ought to be good - or that you lack in negative imagination - but the thing is, I'm an optimist, believe it or not. Hence, me getting surprised and disappointed so often, despite having enough experience to know otherwise. Because I strive for quality and efficiency.

Upscayl is a rare example of software-well-done from the past decade or so. I discovered the program when I wanted to fix some old images. What I liked straight away is the numerous installation formats and options, even for Linux. I grabbed the snap, set it up on an old laptop with hybrid graphics, and looked no further. The tool did what it promised and then some, with excellent Nvidia support even on elderly hardware, plus neat, smooth cooperation with the PRIME setup, and solid results to boot. Now, let's have another look at this gem, shall we.

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Here's a somewhat sad philosophical question: how long does it take for Ubuntu-based LTS to truly become LTS stable? Apparently, the answer is about two years. So far, if you've followed my diatribes on Linux, Kubuntu 24.04 has not been the most exemplary of LTS editions. Even my fourth attempt showed all sorts of issues and problems and snags, making me feel rather hesitant to upgrade yet more systems. Wait, it was my fifth attempt, yeah. So there.

But then, Kubuntu 26.04 got released. I actually liked it quite some. In fact, I liked it so much that I've decided to upgrade the system on my ancient 12-year-old Lenovo Y50-70, a really curious beast of a machine. That laptop still has respectable specs by today's standards, including an i7 processor, hybrid Nvidia graphics, 4K display, and recently, I swapped the original mechanical disk for an SSD, which brought about an excellent breath of fresh, minty air. Before I do this upgrade, I want to "explore" Kubuntu 24.04 one last time. Let's see what happens.

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You must have heard. Google is rolling out a new framework of security to the smartphone world, and it's called Android Developer Verification (ADV). The new process will supposedly and hopefully make Android safer, more secure, and give the confused, terrified normies a higher chance of success against scams and similar nonsense in the dreadful online jungle. While the idea sounds good, alas, like many a tech idea, especially those championed by big companies, it's not really going to be that beneficial to the end user.

What's this about? Well, Google is going to make it somewhat harder for just about anyone to register their software with the Play Store, and, at the same time, it's going to make it much harder to sideload apps onto Android. In other words, if you thought you can do whatever you like with your "open" Android phone, think again. And this where the tech world exploded in anger, and there's so much noise. I would like to add my share into the pandemonium of justified indignation. Follow me.

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For me, the last couple of months in the open-source software world have been rather wild. Well, I guess, for everyone, too. Don't hate me for saying this, but have you seen the Netflix show Stranger Things? Linux seems to be the underside reality, because quite often, when I seek hope and joy, I find despondence instead. Why, you ask, I would assert such an asinine and defeatist claim? Nothing like a good rant to justify myself, then.

In this article, I would like to bring up a few things, which I've mostly picked up from various articles here and there recently, as I shall soon elaborate. The usual and not-so-usual comings and goings in the Linux desktop space, with lots of missed opportunities. Having invested two decades plus in this domain, I cannot just sit idly and watch wonderful technology get woefully wasted on fads, hype and total misunderstanding of usability. Let me then share, and you feel free to send me angry emails. Or ignore me. The usual deal.

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Do you remember the old days of phones? You would "set up" your device and be on your way. No cloud accounts, no thousand toggles, no excessive profiling. Simple life. Is this possible in 2026? Maybe. Unlikely, but there's a potential candidate. Android with minimal Google-ness, called /e/OS. Sounds cool. But hey, installing firmware on smartphones is a complicated procedure. Huh, you're in luck. Fairphone ships with this alternative option, no need for any tinkering. Great! I've already tested the phone a while back. A solid, mid-range phone that offers a bit more soul than the mainstream choices. Sure, there's an emotional element, but then, don't you feel all loved and pampered by the big tech every time you pick up your phone? Just recently, I also wrote about my ongoing endeavors with the Fairphone 6 in the first long-term report. Therefore, it makes sense to expand my experimentation.

What I would like to do today is show you what Android feels like - without being too Android. You've seen my take on this matter many times before. Every single time, it was the classic setup, with a Google account and many hours of tweaking spent trying to make each and every device slightly less stupid and annoying. If only there was a way to skip that ... Perhaps there is. Let me show you how I fared with /e/OS. The name seems funny, but don't let that stop you. After me.

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Hullo, hullo. It is time for Mr. Grumpy boomer fingers to write another smartphone report. Long story short for those not in the mood to read the previous eleven reports plus the original review, I have a Samsung A54 mid-range device, and I use it, daily, much to my chagrin. I mean, it's got excellent hardware, two physical SIM slots, superb display and excellent audio. Everything you want from a phone, right. Then, there's "modern" Android on top of it, and it makes everything meh. Samsung adds its own flavor of nonsense into the mix.

Well, I want to persevere. I respect money, which is why I didn't blowtorch this phone early on. Also, buying anything else simply means more pain of a different kind. It's not like I'm going to grab some other Android and go: oh golly, what a pleasant experience! Hint, I will allude to this later on in the article, but for now, no spoilers. Anyway, it's been a while since I last ranted, there's been some big news and changes on the A54, lots of updates, lots of visual polish. Let's commence to discuss these, with high spirits and optimism in our hearts.

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Here's a nice way to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Dedoimedo. I'm doing it the Hobbit way, I give away presents, so to speak. Throughout the entire month of July, for 31 days, you can buy my entire Smashwords catalog at half the price. All of these books are DRM-free, and one of the titles is available at no cost. What a fantastic treat, eh. Also, let's call it a Winter Sale for those on the wrong side of the planet.

I try not to be too sentimental when it comes to running my site. But in general, if you want to support the good ole Web of actual human writing so the Internet doesn't become just a soulless puddle of machine-generated content and ads, you should try to help your favorite bloggers and nerds as much as you can. This is a great way for you to show your love or at least grudging appreciation for my twenty years of online grumpiness and detailed tech reviews. So there. Anyway, 50% off, no restrictive formats, July 1-31, have fun.

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This week marks the twentieth anniversary of Dedoimedo, a place to learn a lot about a lot. What a journey. When I created my site back in 2006, I didn't quite know how it will go, and whether it would become what it has become. But I had hunger for knowledge, Web and Linux in particular, and I decided to join the crowd of hopeful nerds, riding the waves of the growing global phenomenon called the Internet.

Looking back, it was a fantastic decision. As we embark on the next two decades of grumpiness, technological education and sharp humor, I would like to take you down the good ole memory lane, and share my thoughts and impressions of what has happened since. I mean, you've all been there, but a fresh perspective won't hurt. Or to be more precise, a not-so-fresh perspective. Let us reminisce. Or something.

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Ever since I purchased myself a Macbook Pro, a big stone has lifted off me chest. While I already did have significant usability with Linux, until that point, I still carried a little bit of doubt in me heart. The reasons were varied, from consistency to quality to backward compatibility to availability of "official" software that sometimes intrudes into a person's life. I couldn't truly have these guarantees with Linux. But with this new machine, I was able to cover the gap left by my choice to stop using Windows for anything meaningful or serious.

Don't get me wrong, I still have a couple of Windows 10 systems. But they are properly isolated, and used either for silly stuff, like gaming, or they live in their own virtual machine, for if and when I might need that one piece of software that has no macOS or Linux equivalent. However, the heavy emotional burden of using the modern Windows is gone. Yes! Now, I also happen to have a test box with Windows 11. Whenever my need for masochism hits hard, I power it on, boot into this pointless operating system, and run my checks. Behold, this is the latest report of that exercise. Follow me.

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Recently, I've had a rather unusual streak of decent luck with Linux. My Kubuntu machines are behaving nicely, and my latest review of the 26.04 LTS showed some good results. Optimism, what. Yes. Buoyed by this unexpected bag of fortune, I decided to do some more distro testing. Sure, over the last few years, I've significantly minimized my involvement in this space, but now and then, the mood strikes.

Today, I'd like to take a look at Fedora 44, Gnome edition. There's the whole only-Wayland thing, which is a terrible thing for the Linux desktop long term, but never mind that for the moment. Perchance Fedora does offer nice, redeeming features. Perhaps I may not be so averse to the Gnome desktop and its anti-ergonomic stance. Perhaps. Overall, I found the current minus two version to be okayish, so maybe, maybe there's hope. Let us commence gingerly forward.

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Today, I would like to talk to you about a computer game that's more than 30 years old. A lovely flight simulator, from the truly golden era of gaming. A game that was huge for its time, with some six floppy disks needed for the installation. Wonderful. Anyway, 1942: PAW lets you strap yourself into the cockpit of several fighter planes, dive bombers or torpedo bombers, should you fancy a challenge, and recreate the terrifying glory of the Pacific war theater, flying either as an American or an Imperial Japanese aviator in WW2.

If this topic sounds familiar, it is because I've already reviewed this game in 2007. But then, a burst of nostalgia hit me recently, and I decided to try my luck yet again. Long story short, I'm writing this review some nine completed tours of duty later, three each as the Army fighter pilot for both sides, two as the Zero pilot for the IJN, and one more for the US Navy. The time hasn't eroded the fun. If you care about these sentimental kind of reviews, join me for a quick article.

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Why on earth would you be reviewing a smartphone that is by now two years old, you be asking? And why not, I be answering. Having friends is a good thing. Having friends who want to buy themselves new hardware and are willing to loan you their old stuff so you can test it and write articles about is even better. This is why we're here, to see what gives. After all, Google's Pixel is probably as Android as you can get. Or is it?

Today, I will try to show you my take on a high-end smartphone. True, I will be looking at older hardware, but Google intends to support this phone for a long time. Seven major upgrades, at least, which means we're looking at five more years of a fully relevant, fully up-to-date experience. Furthermore, the Pro model comes with fancy cameras, so you might like that angle, too. Lastly, you've already seen me cope with the latest Samsung and Fairphone devices. This will be a fresh third dimension to my Android tribulations. Commence.

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The "modern" Web is one giant pile of crap. If you disagree, you should probably close this article now, as pretty much anything I write here won't really matter. If you believe social media, vertical videos and apps are cool and amazing, have at it. On the other hand, if you still practice sensible computing, use your desktop as a good, trusty tool, find little joy in smartphones, and you feel concerned about the direction the Internet is going in, then you may want to stick around for some good old-fashioned security tips from a dinosaur.

In this guide, I want to talk about what you can do to make your online experience slightly less sufferable. I can't promise any great satisfaction, but I can perhaps lessen your pain. Furthermore, with "AI" blurring the lines between lightweight crap and heavyweight crap that passes off as the Web today, you really need to exercise extra caution, if you want your Internet to be quiet and pristine. Let's commence.

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Imagine the following scenario: Every day, you wake up, and you want to go online. You are asked to scan a QR code. Then, another. And another. As part of your Internet habits, every now and then, this or that site, this or that service challenges you, requesting identification and verification and whatnot. Like an obedient monkey, you whip out your approved latest-generation expensive smartphone running latest approved software, and you scan the QR code, time and time again. Then, you are allowed to continue. You proved your human worth to the machine.

This may sound like a far-fetched tinfoil story concocted by dinosaur conspiracists on some disgruntled forum or some such. But it may actually become the Internet reality in a few years, considering how things are going recently. As "AI" bots flood the Web with their spamminess, ordinary humans will get drowned in the dross, unless they play ball and submit to proving their humanity to the system. This may happen because idiots cannot stop scanning QR codes left and right.

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Are you being treated fairly? Ha ha. Well, if you're a smarthpone user, the answer is probably most definitely not. The smartphone is designed for on-the-go convenience, and as the favorite entertainment toy for the masses. Hence, if you're ever so slightly less simian, you will feel indignant by the state of current affairs, and seek refuge in something that promises more fun, less pain. Fairphone is one such formula. An Android-based device, with repairability and longevity as its main selling points, plus a rather clean Android experience.

My review of Fairphone 6 shows that this is a capable and interesting mid-range device. But the operating system is the weakest link. Thus, it ain't enough doing just one quick test. We need the long-term results. With about 8-9 months of lightweight usage under me proverbial belt, I'd like to share my latest findings on this phone. Some upgrades, lots of new and fresh annoyances, general usability, and all that. Let's begin.

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Most modern software interfaces are bad. They are designed to look cool, not to be ergonomic or functional. Indeed, they lack contrast, color, they are not intuitive, and they are not fun. Firefox, my favorite dear tragic browser, is a good example of this issue. Mozilla has introduced lots of changes for the sake of it over the years, usually with degraded levels of usability and efficiency. I have written extremely detailed tutorials on how to undo most of these changes, including Proton guides one and two and three, UI customization guide, and even how to edit the address bar (URL bar) color in Firefox 143. This last article worked splendidly until the recent version 151 update. That one broke my customization, and the URL bar is now gray. Again.

I went online to see if anyone has already resolved this, and to my astonishment, there was not a single article offering up-to-date information. I fired up a debugging session, and started tinkering with every conceivable URL-related identifier and class, and through the process of slow, grueling elimination, added and removed those to my userChrome.css file. Eventually, I succeeded, and on top of that, I think my result is prettier than the default. So let me show you. After me.

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This is going to be a short article. A short happy article. Back in 2015, I purchased one G50 machine, a mid-level laptop, intended purely for (Linux) distro testing purposes. Since, I've used in extensively, with probably at least 100 distros tried. At one point, I even had an eight-boot setup configured on the system. Jolly jolly times. All these adventures are meticulously detailed in my Linux section, so feel free to roam and explore at your leisure.

At some point, the inevitable software bloat made the boot times excessively slow. Three minutes and counting. But then, I decided to remove the crusty and rather snail-paced HDD that came with the box and slot in its place a speedy SSD, and ever since, the laptop has kept going on, most loyally. In this article, I want to briefly cover the last couple of years, the fun and games one can have with old hardware, plus a cautious message for the future. Let's.

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Let's say you're a Linux or a macOS user. Let's say you have a need for Windows programs, still, for whatever reason. Your choices are to either run a full Windows virtual machine or try a compatibility layer tool like WINE or CrossOver. If you've read Dedoimedo over the years, then you've studied dozens of articles on these topics, on how to accomplish your cross-platform software goals. But I never talked about related security that much.

Technically, the risks from running Windows software on Linux or macOS are lesser than if you do that natively, but there could be some, after all. As a general rule, you shouldn't run anything you don't trust, regardless of the platform. However, if you must, there are still some nice ways to somewhat restrict the Windows software, so your underlying host is less exposed. Following on my recent CrossOver review, I'd like to focus on this program, and the functionality it offers for some rudimentary security. After me.

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What's life on the Patrician side of the fence, you ask? Well, let me tell you. Late last year, I unpeasanted myself. I bought a Macbook Pro, which entitles me to bragging rights and being addressed as m'lord in public. On the hardware and software side of things, I've been using this new machine for a while now, and I want to share my findings. In much the same manner as my long-term reports with the Titan and the Executive, two Linux-only Slimbook systems, I want to tell you about my Mac experience. The good and the bad, mind, because I'm no fanboy, nor do I wish to become one.

You've already gotten a taste of this would-be neutrality in my first report. It is time for a sequel. Today, we will talk about yet more fun (or lack thereof) with Liquid Glass, some dot release updates and fixes, some odd behavior here and there, some actual problems, believe it or not, overall satisfaction, and all that. Let us commence to begin then. After me.

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Welcome. Today, I'd like to talk today about a familiar topic. Yes, back in 2018, I've already covered this subject. If you want to set absolute size and position for specific application windows, you can do that quite easily in the majestic and superlative Plasma desktop. That guide stands and you can still use it for your various needs, especially if there are programs that refuse to spawn or restore correctly in your desktop session.

Now, I want to enhance the article with some extra tips and tricks. As it happens, the Plasma desktop has gained further functionality and flexibility since, and there are additional, powerful tools at your disposal, should you wish to govern your application windows manually. Follow me then, for a brand new old tutorial.

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It has been a while since I last did a proper distro review. But the occasion warrants it. Canonical has released its latest LTS. What makes the April 2026 edition that much more meaningful or important is that, for the first time ever, Ubuntu no longer uses nor can it use the X11 desktop, due to its Gnome 50 dependency. You have to use Wayland. But the same limitation does not extend to the community flavors, even though Kubuntu also decided to default to the "new" and less capable "successor". But the X11 desktop is in the repos.

Well, as a heavy Kubuntu user, I couldn't just ignore this release. After all, I have a mix of 22.04 and 24.04 systems, physical and virtual, including my Slimbook Titan used for gaming, and the Executive, used for casual everyday stuff. With the pro patching enabled, these two ought to be good for quite a while longer, but I want to be ready for the future. Y'know, X11, Wayland, Nvidia, gaming, all the critical stuff. Thus, this new LTS represents a pivotal point. It's going to be the last X11-capable Kubuntu LTS, and so I want to see what gives. Besides, I also want to see whether this LTS is good in its own right, Wayland notwithstanding, considering that 24.04 was quite disappointing. Anyway. Let us commence.

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