Yep - this. I absolutely abhor "smart" TVs for just this reason.
But, even lack of internet sometimes isn't enough. I recently, and inadvertently, left the wireless adapter on my TV enabled, after having to temporarily join it to my wireless for a firmware update (digital TV tuning needed updating for my region). After I was done, I cleared the wireless config, but I didn't think to go into the other menu where you can entirely disable the wireless adapter.
Little did I realise that meant the TV started broadcasting its own SSID, for friggin' Apple Airplay or some other shit. I found this out when my 9yo daughter was suddenly exposed to some adult content for about 10 seconds. Best guess is a nearby neighbour mistook my TV for theirs.
I've obviously disabled the wireless adapter again, but this has been a terribly difficult lesson I've had to learn.
For anyone concerned, my daughter is OK. My wife had a good chat with her about it. She had considerably more talking down to do with me - I was ready to start knocking on doors, to have my own chat.
The government should provide a website to compare all of the passport providers
Especially this bit. Like, somehow, a comparison website is meant to make all the difference for shitty government decisions to sell off public services & utilities in the first place.
My views on things often differ from those in my social circle. I am often bombarded with article links and videos from people with no words of their own attached.
I have no term for these people (nothing nice, at least) but the term for your social circle might be "echo chamber", and it seems to be theirs.
Two minute noodles (ramen) and a cup of frozen veggies. Boil in water for 5 mins.
While that's boiling, fry an egg separately - I like to season with a little salt and pepper while the egg is frying.
Once noodles/veg are done, drain then add the noodle seasoning, a little butter and half a cup of shredded parmesan. Stir through until butter & cheese has melted and everything's well combined.
I have my own domain that uses a specific 2-letter ccTLD - it's a short domain variation of my surname (think "goo.gl" for Google). I've been using it for years, for my email.
Over those years, I have discovered an astonishing number of fuckheaded organisations whose systems insist I should have an email address with a "traditional" TLD at the end.
You've said you're intending to throw these laptops away, so physical destruction is quickest and simplest.
But, if you're intending to sell or give these away for someone else to use, zeroing each sector is probably 'good enough' for your purpose (as someone else has always said).
If you really want to make it harder, you can use something like the Boot and Nuke bootable Linux disk for the job, as it also has the option of multiple passes, using zeroing and/or binary random shit for each sector. Just grab the free for personal use version.
Their terms of service doesn’t specially state anything about having multiple accounts.
I'd be surprised if it didn't at least state something to the effect of "Offer is only available once per customer" or similar. That's their loophole to tell you to GGF, if and when they notice you taking advantage.
Yeah, I do enjoy jumping into my wife's Mazda every now and then, for just this reason. Touch screens requires too much attention be diverted away from the critical task of driving, as people need to look at the screen for the purpose of aiming a finger at a control on it.
The steering wheel controls for my Ford's Sync are good for volume, music back/forward, and phone calls, but that's it. It's the reason I still need to use a voice assistant while driving. I really hate using the touch screen except at the start or end of journey.
Dan Murphy's have also had cardboard 6 packs available for a long time, to let you do the same. One of my favourite things is to browse the craft beers and pick half a dozen I haven't tried before.
Similar story to yours. I was a HP-UX and BSD admin, at some point in the 00s, I stopped self-hosting. Felt too much like the work I was paid to do in the office.
But then I decided to give it a go in the mid-10s, mainly because I was uneasy about my dependence on cloud services.
The biggest advantage of Docker for me is the easy spin-up/tear-down capability. I can rapidly prototype new services without worrying about all the cruft left behind by badly written software packages on the host machine.
For me it’s holding a VHS in the store and looking at the cover.
Yeah - that's a good one. Our local store had a Friday night deal: 5 weekly rentals for 10 bucks, or something. We'd go order fish and chips, then go argue over which 5 movies to rent, while our dinner was cooking.
Although I shouldn't, I miss my shitty old Datsun sometimes. Easy to diagnose problems, simple to get into and fix, with minimal tools required. No tech - just mechanical and electrical.
Nostalgia's a funny thing. Lots of things I get wistful for, but they've been replaced by (arguably) more convenient things:
Having to call your mate's house at a specific time, because you know he has footy training and won't be home to answer before that time
Waiting until specific times of night to watch your favourite TV shows or listen to your favourite radio DJs
The massive zip-up carry case for all my cassette tapes, to play in the car
6-way link-up Daytona arcade racing
Loading my computer games from multiple floppy discs (X-Tree Gold macros for the win!)
Then there's things that I miss, because now I have to adult:
Sleeping in on weekends
Work I don't have to take home with me
Being able to stay out stupidly late on Friday and Saturday nights
Getting absolutely shitfaced on those nights, without worrying about the hangover
Eating a bag of chips and calling it dinner, because there's no one else you need to feed
Now, don't take this the wrong way, but this totally feels like a leading question, looking to pick an argument.
Not saying that's what it is, but you haven't given any reasoning, context or data to suggest why you think the situation should be any different. Over what time period were you expecting things to change? Why were you expecting things to be different by now?
Yep - this. I absolutely abhor "smart" TVs for just this reason.
But, even lack of internet sometimes isn't enough. I recently, and inadvertently, left the wireless adapter on my TV enabled, after having to temporarily join it to my wireless for a firmware update (digital TV tuning needed updating for my region). After I was done, I cleared the wireless config, but I didn't think to go into the other menu where you can entirely disable the wireless adapter.
Little did I realise that meant the TV started broadcasting its own SSID, for friggin' Apple Airplay or some other shit. I found this out when my 9yo daughter was suddenly exposed to some adult content for about 10 seconds. Best guess is a nearby neighbour mistook my TV for theirs.
I've obviously disabled the wireless adapter again, but this has been a terribly difficult lesson I've had to learn.
For anyone concerned, my daughter is OK. My wife had a good chat with her about it. She had considerably more talking down to do with me - I was ready to start knocking on doors, to have my own chat.