Well, I got into them when I was younger. My school required a MacBook and when I started using one, I found it way cooler than my clunky Windows laptop. Part of that was probably the price, but it was also the OS. It was really smooth - and I freaking fell in love with the touchpad gestures. Then I got an iPhone, an iPad etc.

Overtime, I moved away from an Apple only ecosystem. Now I use Linux on an XPS. I also use a Galaxy Tab instead - iPad, while powerful, is really hampered by its OS. Galaxy Tab is far more powerful and capable of being an actual laptop replacement, at least for me.

But I still use an iPhone. I find it a lot easier to deal with than Android. I tried the latter in the past, btw. But I don’t need customization on my phone, unlike with my laptop or tablet. So, for my headphones, I got the AirPods. The connection between the iPhone and AirPods is really good.

Will my next phone be an iPhone. I dunno. There are some really interesting Android phones out there, and the platform seems more mature now with many companies offering a simple UI that doesn’t do too much - I still keep up with it all. I liked the OnePlus Fold that came out recently, for example.

I’ll admit, I’m not your average Apple user. I made a very deliberate choice to not be tied down to Apple. I’ve taken conscious actions to have different OSes and software on different devices and not be locked down by any one company. I use FOSS wherever I can, and moved away from all the default apps pushed by Apple, Samsung etc. long ago. It’s also why I won’t get a Galaxy phone - I already have the tablet. The only concession I allowed was the AirPods.

But I can tell you another example. Over the years, my father has needed new products. And every time I’ve gotten him Apple products. Now, he has an all Apple setup. MacBook, iPad, iPhone, AirPods. Why? Because I’ve seen him use Windows laptops and Android phones in the past. I know just how many problems he’s had with them - and how much I had to help him with them. Now that he has an all Apple set up, everything is dead simple for him. People underestimate this.

Hope this helps answer your questions.

Adrian Zenz, a German researcher at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, whose work on Xinjiang has been widely-cited by Western legislators, said it would be better to have “no legislation” than what the EU has proposed

Lol

Okay, holy shit, I just did a little googling on Wiz, the company Shultz funded. Three of its four founders were members of Unit 8200 the IDF unit “responsible for clandestine operation, collecting signal intelligence (SIGINT) and code decryption, counterintelligence, cyberwarfare, military intelligence, and surveillance” that is “the foremost technical intelligence agency in the world and stands on a par with the NSA.”

Like… come the fuck on.

So, on the one hand, websites like these are great for collecting and sharing information regarding which companies and people support Israel and how.

But, as BDS points out, the long lists of companies to boycott that go viral often end up having the opposite effect, by making people feel like there’s no point in boycotting any company at all.

If anyone begins to feel that way after looking at all these companies, then just remember to focus your effort on the list endorsed by BDS - not because the other companies are “okay”, but because that way we can collectively have the most impact.

Look into BDS. That’s the organization that organized boycotts of companies in a tactic similar to one employed against South Africa during Apartheid. I linked their page that lists the main companies they are targeting right now, along with the reasons why.

Both McDonalds and Starbucks are targets of “organic boycotts” i.e. companies that we, as consumers, decided to boycott of our own initiative - Starbucks sued its union (Starbucks Workers United) after it expressed solidarity with Palestine; McDonalds is even worse - it gave (still gives?) free meals to IDF soldiers and sued BDS after it criticized the company.

The effect of the boycotts are being felt by the two companies.

Hope this helps.

All my homies have stopped going to McDicks and Starbucks. And our life is just better for it, too.

Several users note that Hianime is only a typo away from Hanime, which is an adult-themed site focusing on Hentai content.

LMAO.

You raise very valid points. Those are absolutely concerns I might have too if I actually believed in a god - am I following all the rules, am I good enough to get the good ending etc etc. It’s good to not have illusions that a higher authority will take care of the problems of this world and actually work to fix it ourselves.

And in moments of hope, when things are improving, it seems we as humans are succeeding in that. But looking at the world now, those moments seem fewer and fewer. It gets harder to keep working on improving, or even thinking that we can improve.

But I don’t want to just say injustice is natural and bad things will always happen and cannot be stopped. Individually, yeah - there will always be people who do things that are not good. But on a societal scale? A better world is possible. In this aspect, having a belief in a higher authority, one you believe will be “good” and “just” can help centre you and give you hope. I guess, spiritual rather than actually religious. But I can’t even believe in that.

When I was younger, I became a “rational” and “atheist” type - I have to thank my parents for that. They were the scientific but spiritual type and allowed me to come to my own conclusions, rather than forcing religion down my throat. I’m glad, too. Because when I met religious people later on, I was able to look at the absurdity of it all and brush it off.

But now I’m older, and I sometimes wish this weren’t the case. I truly wish I could believe in a soul or a heaven/hell or reincarnation or any other form of higher being than us. I get it. I get why people do. The world is ruled by evil people who do terrible, evil things and this belief in a higher authority where they will one day be judged, and all the innocents who suffer will finally have peace… it’s the only way to cope with it.

I don’t believe in a soul, but I wish I did.

Ministers from across the globe are convening for a World Trade Organization meeting in Abu Dhabi early next week to try to discuss several trade-related issues, including extending a moratorium in place since 1998 on applying duties on electronic transmissions.

Developing nations like India, South Africa and Indonesia are set to oppose efforts by U.S. and Europe to extend the moratorium.

WSC comprises of chip industry associations in regions like the U.S. and China, which represent chip stalwarts such as Qualcomm, Intel, AMD and Nvidia.

New Delhi has said that physical goods like books and videos, once governed by traditional tariff rules, were now available as digital services and should be subject to duties. Developing nations are facing massive loss in potential revenue with such imports from developed countries on the rise, India maintains.

WSC in its letter also urged India to work toward a WTO agreement to permanently prohibit countries from subjecting cross-border data and digital tools to customs duties and procedures.

I go by two principles:

1. If the US/West supports it, then it’s probably a bad thing.

2. Is American/Western companies support it, then it’s probably a bad thing.

Modi and his BJP are Hindutva fascists - but maybe they’re right on this issue. Who knows. All I know is that if the West is supporting something, then it probably stands to reason that it’s bad.

Not everything. Not on all issues. But generally.

100-hour battery life in full Smart Mode

Hoo boy that’s a big battery.

Jesus this is brutal.

Every accusation is a confession.

Yeah, thankfully.

In a memo sent to employees Mozilla says it wants to bring “trustworthy AI into Firefox”. To help it do this sooner it’s merging its Pocket, content, and AI/Ml teams.

Eww.

I’ll need to switch browsers soon. I do not want AI crap.

Edit - There is also the reduction in their privacy services (VPN, Relay etc.). This could be the start of a trend in that direction too. Only time will tell.

death toll has risen to at least 10,022 Palestinians, including 4,104 children, with many victims still trapped beneath the rubble and an Israeli siege drying up access to vital goods like fuel, food and electricity.

“The number [death toll] is expected to go up as at least 2,000 people remain under the rubble. The problem is, with lack of heavy equipment and machinery, the rescue teams on the ground are unable to remove and pull out these bodies from under the rubble,”

The number of those wounded since the October 7 start of the bombardment has risen to 25,408… a result of Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment of civilian homes, hospitals, refugee camps, and schools, said Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), a United Kingdom-based organisation

Running low on fuel supplies, 16 of Gaza’s 35 hospitals have been forced to suspend operations as the number of people wounded increases and the United Nations said that more than 1.5 million people, which is more than half of Gaza’s population, have been displaced.

Huh. I…don’t know if this is a good abbreviation. FF makes the most sense? Fx seems weird, I’ll be honest. I’ll try though.

For the email, you can use an email alias service like Addy or SimpleLogin. They’re both open-source and offer free tiers. I never give out my real email to anyone now except actual contacts.

After that, I think a VPN would probably still work to disguise what you’re doing from Walmart, but I’m not a 100% certain on that so I won’t link any.

But yeah, definitely use email alias wherever you can.

I’m vegan, but when push comes to shove, I can make a temporary exception for rich folk.

I use the firefox web browser app because I refuse to download more apps. I have the ones I have. I’m not getting more.