CatZoomies

i'm reppin ex cedrin

In the spirit of my previous post about switching to Linux Mint, I decided I'd go ahead and re-purpose my old computer.

Introducing: Apple MintBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2012)

I think you nerds are gonna love it. I can actually do light gaming on this, too. Runs surprisingly fast, too!

Unlike modern day Apple, this MacBook was always fun to work on because you can easily swap parts without worrying about cloud activation locks, soldered RAM, glued batteries with self-destruct, etc. I dropped in a new aftermarket battery that took me five minutes to replace, upgraded the RAM, and slapped in a higher capacity SSD than what I originally bought this with back in the day.

My MintBook Pro runs fantastic, especially on Linux Mint 22.1 Xia with the new battery performance modes. Can't wait to use this more!

I tused to sit in a drawer as ewaste since the last possible compatible Mac OS version on this computer ran terrible and made my MacBook Pro unusable. Now that I upgraded to a MintBook Pro, the performance is incredible! Going to use this for when I need a computer away from my desk. Nice to have one for the couch that functions as an actual laptop!

Specs:

• MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)
• 13.3-in LED display at 1280x800 (LOL)
• Intel i5-3210M @ 2.5 GHz
• 8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz (we ballin' boys)
• 1 TB SSD Samsung 850 EVO I think
• CD/DVD burner (yass slay queen)
• Intel HD Graphics 4000 (i can play Stardew Valley with so many frames, biggest frames ever)
• This bad boy has the MagSafe power connector (my favorite back in the day) and firewire! Remember firewire?

Edit: Lemmy.world is having issues with uploading photos, so here's some links instead for two more pics:

• https://files.catbox.moe/lvrsz3.png
• https://files.catbox.moe/xjfea2.png

Source: https://pixelfed.social/i/web/post/789916747522322337

I accidentally cut my thumb with a peeler while preparing lunch. I cleaned my work area, cleaned the wound, and put a bandage on my thumb to stop the bleeding. It didn’t stick to my skin very well, so I used another bandage to secure the bandage. They are a value brand I got on sale a few years ago, so I’m grateful for my economical decisions.

The cut stings a bit, but I’ll be okay. It’s my non-dominant hand.

I don’t believe this will prevent me from other activities I have planned for this weekend.

I've been a Windows user all my life and had dabbled in the Apple ecosystem for a bit. With the upcoming end of support for Windows 10 in Oct 2025, I figured I'd put myself through a huge challenge of cutting over completely to LInux without a secondary backup drive with Win 10 on it. If I could survive the struggles for a few months, I'd be golden, and if I couldn't, then I could switch to Windows 10 LTSC and be good until 2029. The intention was to completely force myself in without a backup plan - the only way out would be to install a new Windows OS. I chose Linux Mint after careful consideration, especially considering that there's tons of resources and help with this distro, and it's a great onboarding ramp for Windows users. I need the familiarity since I'm in tech full time and just don't have the energy to hassle with my PC after a long stressful day at work.

I also used this as a good excuse to upgrade my PC a bit, too. 😀

After switching in mid December, I'm happy to report that I'm still alive after 30 days. My computer hasn't killed me. And I've been able to do work and game on my PC without too many hiccups. Marvel Rivals still crashes ever since the Season 1 update. Overwatch works perfect. My other games, on both Steam and GOG, work perfectly fine. But I haven't been able to test every game out there, but I know I can use Proton DB if needed.

I even edited this screenshot in GIMP after being forged in the fires of Macromedia Fireworks and Photoshop all my life! I even stripped exif data using command line tools! I even installed this cool neofetch thing that I always saw in people screenshots of their PC or whatever, every time I saw someone's Linux build with their thigh high socks and neofetch on the terminal!

But so far, switching to Linux Mint has been great! I'm excited to deep dive more!

Note:

• I backed up all my data from Windows into a USB drive. I'm slowly bringing all that stuff over to my Linux Mint computer and rebuilding my music, video, photos, etc. Lot of work, but it's so cool feeling so liberated!
• I may also want help from you Linux nerds from time to time. I'll make posts/memes begging for help when I get desperate. But so far, almost every issue I've had has been resolved via an internet search!
• I pray that I won't come crawling back to Windows. I don't expect that to happen with how great my experience has been thus far.

Specs:

• Linux Mint 22
• Ryzen 7 9800x3d
• Thermalright Phantom Spirit
• MSI X670e Carbon WiFi
• Sapphire Nitro+ RX7900 XTX
• Corsair Vegeance 64 GB DDR5-7200
• Gen 5 Crucial T700 (?) M.2 x 2
• Corsair 5000d
• Noctua case fans (Lian Li too problematic on Linux based on all the research I did in advance)
• Seasonic Focus Gold 1000W

Old Specs Everything the same as above apart from:

• Windows 10 Pro
• Intel i7-12700k
• Noctua NH-U12A
• MSI Pro Z690-A
• MSI RTX 3080 Gaming Z Trio
• Samsung Gen 3/4 M.2
• Corsair Vengeance Pro 32 GB DDR4-3600
• Lian Li AL120 case fans

Meme:

Taylor Swift meme. The top-half of the meme is a screenshot of Taylor Swift's music video "ME!", where Taylor is being lifted above a crowd while she sings. The caption reads "2019 Taylor: 'Hey, kids! Spelling is fun!' " The bottom-half of the meme is official art of Taylor featured in her 2024 album "THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY". Taylor Swift faces away from the camera and appears somber and sad. The text imposed on the bottom-half of the image reads "2024 Taylor: 'D-Y-I-N-G.'". This is a lyric from her song "How Did it End?"

Meme Context (for those that don't know much about Taylor at all and can only name one song - "Shake it Off")

The 2019 picture is from her album "Lover", where she feels she's in a great relationship and made several smash hit songs such as "Lover" and "ME!", a song famously embracing and celebrating inclusivitiy and the LGBTQ+ community. If you or someone you knew was married in 2019/2020, chances are you heard Lover played during the celebrations.

The 2024 picture is from her album "THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT" from 2024. The text is her singing a lyric where she spells the word "Dying", from her honest and poetic song "How Did It End?" In this song, she reflects on her relationship that did not work out, and sings that while she doesn't fully understand why the relationship ended (as she's conducting the post-mortem), everyone is only concerned about gossiping and trying to figure out how it ended.

"Say it once again with feeling
How the death rattle breathing
Silenced as the soul was leaving
The deflation of our dreaming
Leaving me bereft and reeling
My beloved ghost and me
Sitting in a tree
D-Y-I-N-G"

Taylor Swift: "How Did It End?" (Official Lyric Video) - https://youtu.be/O3wlMR0y4a4

Duration: 4:02

I've been relistening to THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY and think it's one of the most honest, self-reflecting, and transparent albums I've ever listened to. Thought I'd make a meme because I just heard this song again and came up with this joke (that probably someone else already beat me to the punch, but here we are).

I'm replaying Arkham Asylum for the first time since close to when it first came out! It's old for sure but it doesn't take long to get used to it again.

However, I'm reminded of 2013 when young me saw a TV commercial for "Batman: Arkham Origins".

If you're a Batman fan and never saw this trailer before, I promise you that this is the epitome Batman video that captures the pain, resolve, and essence of Batman entirely within 53 seconds. This is a must-watch.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/InUj9BT8KCc

I purchased November 2024 Humble Bundle's "The Dark Pictures & Little Nightmares Horror Collection".

Turns out I already own "Little Nightmares".

This is game key activates on Steam and is up for grabs, first come first served.

Here is part of the code.

The rest of the code is a reply in the comments below.

First Part of code: DCH5G-XHXCD-

How to activate a product on Steam: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/2A12-9D79-C3D7-F870

I'm quite angry at this. I've used Mullvad VPN without any obtrusive ads, with a clean interface that worked very well.

I stumbled upon a new Proton plan and decided I'd pay and sign up to give it a go to meet my growing needs. After turning on my computer, I'm greeted with a massive pop up advertisement that takes up ~30% of my screen. While scanning settings, I do not see an easy way to disable these promotional ads.

I feel like I've gone back in time and am using Norton software that I got with my HP Pavilion Windows XP pc.

I did a quick Internet search and see there's a Reddit post from a year ago where a user complained about the same thing, but no solution was provided. If I find anything I'll update this post. But right now I'm quite angry, and I'm venting because this is my first reaction to seeing this crap. I'm paying for a service and the last thing I want to see are pop up ads.

I'm going to have a serious think about whether or not I should cancel my subscription and instead just keep my Mullvad.

EDIT:

I finished checking Proton VPN's settings and there is no option to disable promotional ads. I'll contact Proton support and see what they advise. Will revert after I hear back from them and complete the Support interaction.

EDIT 2: I posted a reflective comment below, but I figure I'll update this post. I first made this post shortly after I woke up, and my reaction was anger. Now that it's been some time and I have had breakfast, my coffee, and been at work for a while, I realise I shouldn't have reacted that way. I'm more disappointed than angry. I get it if Proton wants to have a pop up that appears once around the Black Friday sales day, which is fine. But at least Steam lets me disable pop up promotions. Why can't Proton? If they won't add a toggle to disable those, then fine I get it - but I only want to appear once. Or at least embed a banner in the Proton app, or just have an "Offers" button. I pay for a service, I don't want pop ups as I personally feel they're hostile to the User experience. Why should that feature exist when Mullvad's UI is seamless, intuitive, and has no pop up ads? Anyway, I'm an adult and I reacted like I'm still a kid. Need to learn from this type of thing and be a better person - sorry, I'm having a reflective introspective moment here that no one should care about except me ha ha.

EDIT 3: Another user recommended I submit a feature request to improve Proton, which I have done so.

Here is where I posted and voted on my idea request:

"Add Settings toggle to disable pop up promotional ads from Proton (e.g., Black Friday promo)" - https://protonmail.uservoice.com/forums/932836-proton-vpn/suggestions/48959543-pop-up-notifications-in-the-proton-vpn-application#comments

And here is another idea request I found from someone else who posted something similar a few weeks ago on oct 14th, although their request is to just disable pop up ads entirely:

"Pop-up notifications in the Proton VPN application, specifically those promoting Proton Duo" - https://protonmail.uservoice.com/forums/932836-proton-vpn/suggestions/48959543-pop-up-notifications-in-the-proton-vpn-application#comments

I think the suggestion here is that if you're a Proton user and if this bothers you, it might be worth commenting and voting on my idea request to help with visibility to the Proton dev team.

I'll post a final update once I complete my support interaction with proton support.

FINAL EDIT:

I included a screenshot with all identifiable information redacted for both Proton and myself. I guess two Zendesk support tickets were created for this issue. While you can review the full details in the responses, the summary from Proton is simply as follows:

• We have the ability to opt out of promotional communications over email by logging into your Proton online account.
• Disabling promotional pop ups in Proton VPN (and perhaps other Proton apps - I only have VPN) is not a feature in the application
• You can submit and vote on feature requests in the UserVoice platform they setup.

Ultimately, the only way we can request this change is by voting for it on the UserVoice platform. If this issue is important to you, scroll up and click on those Uservoice.com links I provided and vote on those features. Also helps to add a comment on that page as well.

As for me, I think me feeling like my reaction to cancel is brash (as I previously shared my feelings to this issue in an earlier update yesterday. I'll certainly keep my subscription simply because I've only had it for a small time frame and I have not fully tried out the service. Unless Proton VPN blows me away with features that I can't get in any other VPN, I don't believe I'll renew. I will most likely let my subscription expire and then go back to Mullvad since they give a fantastic VPN app with things that are not hostile to the user experience. If Proton commits to adding the feature I'm looking for, I may consider renewing or possibly exploring their other services.

Thanks for everyone chiming in with their thoughts. Hope you learned something today (???)! And I'll leave you with one final thing - remember to be kind to each other. Sure I reacted over this issue with anger, but I was kind to the support people at Proton because it's certainly not their fault. And most importantly, I had a chance to reflect and realise my anger at the situation was immature and I hope that I tucked this away and learned from it. Remember to forgive yourself like I did. The world needs more kindness - be the change you want to see in the world. Alright, enough of this positivity crap. This is just a post about a VPN service, not a feel good moment. :)

Corn starch is good for keeping down the urges. Science says so. Recommend.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21065720