Do you have a link to that claim? The last time I saw a similar claim it said she said it on a radio program or something. So is there any documentation I can bookmark or is it just hearsay? Because while early ST (ToS, TNG especially) definitely had some vibes, I kind of been under the assumption lately that Roddenberry was an idealist who wasn’t any more communist than some turn of last century bourgeoisie who imagined mass communal projects and a peaceful futurist transition to a kind of very regimented social democracy.

1. Don’t sync anything to icloud you wouldn’t want the government being able to get it or generally want to keep private.
2. Go through privacy settings, especially location settings and check what you’re allowing including system services, adjust as you feel comfortable while still meeting your needs.
3. Pay attention to what apps you’re installing. Most profiling data is not sold by say Google directly off your phone but based off ad-networks incorporated in third party apps you install. The app store has a scorecard on all apps showing you how much if at all they profile and spy on you, make use of it, make wise choices, don’t install bad apps.
4. Install a privacy respecting adblocker to help limit tracking while using the web browser
5. Limit permissions for apps. If you must use an app that has location tracking consider only allowing it while you’re using the app, this may have implications for some extended functionality like updating while in the background or via Apple’s little info tiles.
6. Disable siri or limit it, turn off “hey siri” mode in settings.
7. Enable lock-down mode (this is an extreme step and will result in some loss of functionality, Apple details the implications themselves so take a look at their page on it before doing so)
8. Disable radios such as bluetooth and wifi while outside your house to prevent any possibility of their use in tracking you. You can actually make a “Shortcut” using app of the same name from Apple to automate this anytime you leave home and I believe there are existing ones you can find if you search around.

Apple phones are fairly private as long as you don’t use icloud for anything sensitive, apply common sense privacy settings, and pay attention to what apps you install and what permissions you give. Also don’t send them crash or debugging data as that can contain personal info potentially so uncheck that option.

Yeah if anyone is hoping for cheaper RAM from China flooding western markets. It may happen but it’s not happening this decade. Hope you’re ready to wait until 2030s because that’s how long it’s going to be short of the whole AI thing violently imploding.

There are various bluetooth remotes that can be paired with computers, as well as air mice with remote-like features. There are also IR receiver USB dongles you can buy which allow you to use an IR remote with them with some 3rd party software installation and configuring. (FLIRC for one makes one of those).

If most of your content is self-provided (through whatever means) then a mini-PC may offer a decent experience (subject to certain limitations even there compared to hosting on one PC and streaming to a dedicated streaming device of decent quality which together cost significantly more).

Most commercial streaming services due to DRM will not work with a min-PC, at least not above 720p resolution and only through a browser interface which is not the greatest to try and navigate with a remote control. So if a significant amount of content is watched via streaming services I could not recommend a mini-PC by itself as a solution.

IMO with the info you’ve given I say get a decent streaming box. Some you can replace the Android default launcher on to remove ads or otherwise root (though beware these methods have been patched more and more so someone saying they did so successfully in 2024 does not mean you’ll succeed with the 2025/26 model). There’s also options like Apple TV, not $60 (twice that) but it comes with no ads by default and is pretty overpowered with a smooth experience if you already have an iPhone (you can use the phone as a remote). If you don’t have an iPhone or other apple devices it’s a toss up, ATV 4K is still a very nice device but you might want to go with the Android side of things.

You have to give them your phone number to sign up.

That phone number is tied to a real person by government records. Sure if you’re in say Russia it makes it a lot harder for the FBI to identify you because Russian phone companies won’t necessarily respect a US legal request. But if you’re anywhere within the west (US, Canada, EU, Australia, NZ) they can ID you unless you go to the trouble of getting an anonymous phone number that works with the SMS verification services they use and maintaining that number for when they lock your account and demand to verify you again all while accessing it over a VPN. That plus no encryption by default makes it not very secure at all.

But fundamentally you could do the same thing securely with any service, you could do that with Facebook, with Twitter, and the list goes on if you can get good reliable anonymous phone numbers. Telegram isn’t special in that way.

@davel@lemmy.ml

I was willing to give this user I’m replying to a crumb of benefit of the doubt but given they’re using Nazi dog whistles and don’t seem repentant about spreading Nazi conspiracy theories after being made aware of it (see their reply to me and their other posts) and instead seem to double down. I think action may be warranted under global rule 1 given it’s unacceptable to be a Nazi or talking like one here.

Given they were also banned from the CTH sub on hexbear for the same behavior I think it’s clear they’re beyond saving in their desire to spread Nazism.

It’s a neo-Nazi conspiracy theory. Give it no heed, they’ve been pushing it for decades. They misunderstand the complex power relationship between israel and the US and ascribe to powerful cabals that have operated for centuries and which have always been intertwined with Judaism when in fact Zionism really only captured Judaism in the past 50 years or so.

You should probably avoid using that. That derives from the larger phrase “oy vey the goyim know, shut it down!” which Nazis on channer boards will post as a meme, often accompanied by anti-semitic imagery.

You should also know ZOG is a Nazi dog whistle and theory and you should not be repeating it as it’s simply not true. Yes zionists wield influence over the US, no it isn’t a Jewish conspiracy it’s a capitalist-fascist conspiracy, the fascists in question being zionists. Who were put in power, given a colonial outpost to genocide and colonize by the victorious western capitalists after WW2. Now “israel” is a complicated vassal of the US in that it’s really an arm of appendage that has significant influence back on the US via blackmail networks (Epstein), lobbying (money), and a concerted joint campaign of elevating the Jewish suffering element of the Holocaust above other Nazi atrocities and flogging the pity and standing against hate concepts along with decades of slick propaganda as part of that to ideologically win people over. It also via its position at a key crossroads on earth as an unsinkable aircraft carrier and via its intelligence work that is shared with the US has incredible value so can afford to push the buttons of the US from time to time.

Is your liberalism no longer making sense? Lofty promises of justice for all, equality and all that turning out to be a big farce with those at the top openly doing the most horrendous crimes and just getting away with them in a way that leaves you seething and wondering ‘what about justice’?

Try old time original Marxism (fortified with Leninism for clarity and taste) today!

Turns out that stuff they were talking about a hundred years ago is still true today and the old brand promise still holds true!

Not ready to check out just yet? Still nervous about Marxism? That’s alright. As economic conditions worsen, your buying power lessens, and you’re given the shaft in the work-place and an empty wallet at the grocery and/or electronics store you can always remember this fine product and revisit when you’re ready!

When all other solutions have failed, when liberal and social democrat reform turns out to be a dud, remember there’s original strength Marxism (fortified with Leninism). We’ll be waiting for you.

Actually the shutdown bug was part of a security patch and I can confirm it affects Windows 10 machines with ESU.

There’s definitely something to be said for building up a tolerance to heat. I put peppers, especially ground hot peppers (various varieties) on a lot of my food. I’d say at least 5/7 dinners a week in an average week I try to find a way to work in some sort of spicy.

The point though isn’t just heat, it’s about flavor too in combination with the heat sensation. I’ve eaten and enjoyed buldak noodles but they are kind of mild to my tastes. I tend to make mine by adding oil and stir frying them longer at the end as well as adding additional ground hot peppers while preparing to increase the heat level to something fun for me. I’ve tried 2x and it’s fine but it has more heat than flavor, the other Samyang offer a better flavor and heat profile and I can doctor them up on my own. I do like the Samyang black sauce to add to protein like tofu before baking/frying it and it can produce an interesting flavor especially when used with a few other things like soy sauce and some spices.

So I think it’s just exposure and building tolerance. If you keep eating foods at that spiciness level you’ll get used to them. You may still experience a little sweat but it’ll be more tolerable and less intense as you acclimate.

Not directly. There are some hacky work-arounds that may or may not work:

https://redlib.catsarch.com/r/Stremio/comments/18s55cy/how_to_use_stremio_with_infuse_on_apple_tv/

The only way I know of that’s possible is to use web.stremio.com on your iPhone and copy the movie link and paste it to the Infuse app on your phone and then if you have iCloud Sync enabled in Infuse on your iPhone and Apple TV it will show the movie available to play with metadata and everything when you refresh the Infuse app on the Apple TV :)

https://redlib.catsarch.com/r/debridmediamanager/comments/12id1dj/streaming_movies_and_tv_shows_on_apple_tv_using/ This suggests adding it as a webdav source may work.

You have 3 options:

1. Android TV/Google: bad for privacy, some devices can be customized for slightly more with tweaks, ADB, etc

2. Apple TV: pretty private compared to Google, no ads out of the box on Home Screen, nice hardware that lasts awhile.

3. Wilderness of roll your own on a mini-PC, raspberry pi, etc: no ads, private. But pain in the ass, no 4k, no full HD (720p max), no HDR, no atmos sound because not locked down with DRM for streaming services so not approved. Choose this only if most of your content is self provided Blu-ray’s or yo ho type stuff and/or YouTube. Otherwise miserable experience.

As far as 1) goes there are some better options like Dune-HD (make sure to get a Netflix certified model so you get 4k support from streaming services), and some customization via changing launchers and such for more privacy.

However only options 2 and 3 are really more private IMO and “fixes” for Android TV devices mostly are in the form of blocking ads and allowing side loading of say a custom version of YouTube with ad blocking so don’t and can’t address the under the hood spying Google is more aggressive about.

As to getting away from American. Good luck, both major platforms are American companies. Only other option is Chinese fork of Android and it’s no good for western streaming or use outside China. Otherwise roll your own but also provide your own content and that gets you away from them. A mini-pc is great for that with an air mouse but it’s not the same finely polished experience though can be decent with a little work.

False slander (ironic considering what we’re discussing).

Only slurs are auto removed including a very common one against women pertaining as well to female dogs. You can say fuck, shit, asshole, etc.

Your options if you wish to stick with Windows:

• Windows 10 LTSC (massgrave activators and has a guide for getting an ISO for it) which means a reinstallation (best option with Windows, least enshittification, still keep security updates but have to back up your stuff and reinstall everything) though this may not be a long-term plan if you play video games as I expect many places may drop Windows 10 support by 2028-29 end of ESU rather than 2032 end of LTSC support.

• Windows 11 but change to LTSC (massgrave can do this)

• Windows 11 but change to Enterprise license (massgrave can do this) and use Windows Group Policy settings to set target for updates to the current OS build version number which will delay feature updates for I believe up to 6-12 months but allow you immediate security updates. Bad news is you still get the new “features” but good news is they’re delayed significantly and maybe by the time you have to “upgrade” Microsoft has tweaked them to be moderately less bad and much less buggy.

Star Trek.

Everything after Voyager gets axed completely. 100% retconned. Doesn’t exist. You can’t even joke about happenings in it in any new works.

Voyager and DS9 themselves get trimmed down. DS9 loses 75% of its episodes, Dominion war erased, mundane space station stuff instead, no religious weirdness validated. Voyager gets better ending but retains most of its episodes.

ToS gets turned into legendary chronicles rather than full canon with the more absurd less science bits cut out or reduced to the fantasies of the chronicler. Main stories and characters retained with >=80% of it surviving. Movies from both ToS and TNG era retain full canon status.

It is established that alternative dimensions are extremely limited in number, you cannot do Marvel universe #69 stuff with it, the main one is the nega-universe with evil everything and a few other isolated pocket universes that are short-lived and unstable (often as a result of warp core implosion weirdness and such).

All existing writers and producers currently associated or associated since the end of the Voyager era are summarily fired with prejudice. New ones are hired and quizzed by me to ensure at least the main producers are communists like Roddenberry and do not want to turn my hopeful FALGSC property into grim-dark in space IP number 3. Prominent transgender characters are MANDATORY in the new series and other steps will be taken to drive every last reactionary out of what’s left of the fan-base.

It becomes studio policy to viciously copyright strike anyone uploading video of retconned parts of the IP to any platform as well as to bully journalist insiders with access into adopting the new line by excluding anyone who disagrees with it from access or favor.

MKVToolNix.

An excellent tool for working with video files as long as you’re okay with your files being in MKV containers (you should be they’re superior to mp4). From within it you can add and remove tracks such as audio and subtitle, change flags (flag subs as forced, default, etc), rename tracks for clarity, adjust track timing with positive and negative delays to fix sync issues. You can do batch scripting against it to iterate through whole folders of video files. For anyone who has a home media server it’s a must. For anyone who works with videos regularly it’s at least useful.

You can I believe sign up with a wechat account as well. So you’d create that first, then use it to sign-in.

A Chinese social media app. A ton of US tiktokers fled to it when it seemed a ban was imminent.