dlarge6510

GNU Parallel can also run jobs across the network on other machines as well as the local CPUs

I just use Window Maker. It got an update recently. Notifications work out of the box, Firefox and Chrome have never created multiple icons, not seen that.

It is not a Wayland compositor which is fine as I only use X11 and probably won't use Wayland for many more years till it's mature enough. I went back to Window Maker several years ago and it's working just fine. With wmsystemtray I have a system tray so things like NetworkMakager and hplip and blue-z all can latch on and display their icons, I don't need a desktop environment now!

YMMV regarding the HIDPI thing, I have never had a monitor with such a narrow pixel pitch to need anything like that.

Like you I never latched onto tiling wm's. I did think they were fun to play with but unless they use Emacs keybindings I don't think my brain will like learning a whole set of new ones.

I love virtual desktops however. Used them from the start!

I haven't tried Gnome since they trashed the UI ;) and I wasn't ever much of a KDE fan so the only desktop I have ever used since the demise of Gnome 2 is XFCE.

However I've switched back to Window Maker (a window manager) on my main PC and on my VM's and I may do so on my laptops too. I don't really need a desktop so to speak, I just use wmsystray to add a system tray and things like NetworkManager, bluez etc all end up there giving me what I actually do use of a desktop.

For example, I think copyright and patent laws should die.

Stallman doesn't want anything like that. The GPL for example wouldn't work without copyright.

What Stallman wants is software patents do be illegal (you can patent your new garden hose as much as you like) and copyright should be returned to what it was, a much shorter term. It's supposed to give a time limited monopoly on a work in order to make sure the author is encouraged to create new works frequently. Instead it has become a gravy train for life plus a huge number of years after the authors death.

It should return to 5 or 10 years.

The man is my life lol.

I discovered GNU/Linux in school in the 90's, then as I got better access to the internet at home and Linux magazines I learned everything about RMS and GNU and the FSF.

I latched on to it all. Apart from retro systems with their various proprietary operating systems I have no time for any proprietary software if I can help it.

The Retro systems get a pass because I'm interested in old computers.

Many like myself don't like the old idea of downloading stuff that "just runs". It's too much going back to the old ways with windows where you randomly just downloaded a binary off a website and ran it.

Basically it's the equivalent of sideloading apps on mobile devices. I won't do that either unless it is required.

Now I do have one such app, in appimage which is my preference anyway. KDEnlive, which I run as an appimage Vs the Debian package only because I'm on Debian 10 on my main machine and have yet to pencil in the upgrade time.

Now, GNU Guix is interesting. Cryptographically secure and verified compilation (or pre-compilation) of source code straight from GitHub etc. Now, that will be more like it!

I have in 10 years of being on Signal never managed to get a single person to be upgraded from SMS to a proper Signal contact.

Plenty of WhatsApp contacts.

I was using Signal to replace the default SMS app on my phone specifically because it was Free Software and I trusted it more as the SMS app. It had nothing to do with privacy, you don't get that on SMS, but to do with trusting the code.

Alas I'm now using the built in app and have uninstalled Signal.