I just started using this one today: https://docs.searxng.org/ and it did a great job for what i needed. I never heard of it before, but found the link on an old Lemmy post.
I don’t know how it would work for other people with other needs, but i needed to find graphic designers to help me with a project. DuckDuckGo kept giving me hundreds of results from a handful of big companies, but i wanted small companies and individuals. Found exactly what i needed on the first search using this engine.
I agree with this post. Move on and build your life your way.
I’d like to add, in case it’s helpful, from my own experience the thinking about it never ends. My dad passed 40 years ago and i still have the same thoughts, feelings, arguments even (a little more one-sided now that he’s gone, though). I mean the dynamic might last forever, but you can separate that emotional internal dynamic from how you live your life. And there’s a kind of “this stops here” effect, because your own children will never have to deal with all that stuff, because you dealt with it and moved on. That’s something to be proud of.
Just by coincidence i’m watching a gameranx video about the 10 worst AAA games, and Falcon says the same thing about games as a service (subscriptions, micro-transactions, etc.): “it seems like they’re playing a game of chicken with the consumer to see what they can get away with”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8jDgkikylY
(start at 19:45)
Me too. This video helped a lot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Df5_cojAs
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I got them on Firefox with Ublock Origin but only with my VPN on US or Canadian servers. Then a few days later, even on those servers they disappeared. Haven’t seen one since those first few.
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Good point. Sleepwalking into authoritarianism doesn’t seem difficult these days.
True. I once considered subscribing, some years ago, but customer reviews of OST convinced me not to. Looks like i made the right decision.
These “super-app” fantasies always ignore the fact that WeChat is ubiquitous in China because the Chinese government practically requires everyone to have it. How exactly is that supposed to be replicated in a non-authoritarian society?
Any of thousands of people can say this but i don’t see it in the comments below so: I’ve been using a Linux Mint / Windows dual boot system for over 10 years and love it. I think a lot of people see Linux as highly technical, but versions like Mint and Ubuntu are more carefree than Windows nowadays.
Wow, Silverlock exists and is active. I feel … protected. Seriously. I’ve only been modding for about six months and silverlock has seemed like some ancient cabal of wizards that disappeared years ago, when Fallout 4 was new. But here they are, on the job. Very cool.
Is it about helping out workers any more? Or is about companies - often big, profitable companies - not paying their employees a livable wage and pressuring customers to come to the rescue? At the very least, the situation is so confusing now that it’s impossible to tell whether a tip is a legitimate thing to do, or whether it’s giving in to corporate greed and cynicism.
Just to clarify, I worked in food service as a tipped employee from age 15 into my late 20s. I totally get it, and I always tip waiters, taxi drivers, and other traditionally-tipped employees. But I don’t know what to do when everybody expects a tip. And when corporate money-lords add their voices to pressure me, it just sounds too cynical.
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Are used book stores an option? Libraries are great, but most of my discoveries of new authors and genres has been by hanging out for hours in an old second-hand book store, preferably the kind with a cluttered shelves, narrow aisles, and a cat or two sleeping here and there. I hope you can experience that kind of book-exploration.