I am surprised that this post received so many genuine answers.

Context?

I used to watch Derek Taylor’s videos when I started using Emacs, and it has been a while since I checked his channel.

I have gone through the links, and I still cannot find the answer to my question on what makes UPI “absolutely horrible when it comes to privacy” when compared to the other options in your original comment.

I still maintain that all practical means of digital transactions are inherently poor for privacy, regardless of the channel/medium. One is not less private than the other.

Of course, mediums like cryptocurrency exists which “promise” privacy while transacting. But they are not practical in India, and also do not operate at the scale of the options we are discussing about.

Also, I really appreciate responding back with links, but a line directly answering my question would have saved some time, especially since the links you shared are irrelevant to our discussion. None of the links actually do a comparison of the options or even state that one is outright better than the other. If anything, some of the comments in the linked forum posts only echo what I am saying about the lack of privacy across all digital transactions.

Can you expand on why UPI is horrible when it comes to privacy when compared to the other options you have mentioned?

I would not be doing any sort of digital transactions if I am worried about privacy as I don’t think one is better than the other in this matter. It would be naive to think so otherwise.

I have experienced this myself.

My main machine at home - a M2 Pro MacBook with 32GB RAM - effortlessly runs whatever I throw at it. It completes heavy tasks in reasonable time such as Xcode builds and running local LLMs.

Work issued machine - an Intel MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM - struggles with Firefox and Slack. However, development takes place on a remote server via terminal, so I do not notice anything beyond the input latency.

A secondary machine at home - an HP 15 laptop from 2013 with an A8 APU and 8GB RAM (4GB OOTB) - feels sluggish at times with Linux Mint, but suffices for the occasional task of checking emails and web browsing by family.

A journaling and writing machine - a ThinkPad T43 from 2005 maxed out with 2GB RAM and Pentium M - runs Emacs snappily on FreeBSD.

There are a few older machines with acceptable usability that don’t get taken out much, except for the infrequent bout of vintage gaming

He uses a version of Emacs called MicroEmacs.

I recall seeing his MicroEmacs configuration a while back when I was exploring options to start using Emacs.

I am surprised that 0 A.D. is not mentioned.

Although initially unplayable, the game was fun in the mid-to-late 2000s.

I haven’t checked it out in a while, but it holds high nostalgic value for me.

Pardon me if I sounded dismissive. 1Blocker is good, and so is AdGuard.

I remember those being one of the first ones to do the job well, back when Apple launched content blockers. Wipr came much later, and I only recently switched to it (around late 2022).

• Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP, 7 spanning a decade and a half.
• Ubuntu 10.04 going up to the release where Unity became the default DE (11.04, I think). Came back to 10.04, as it was an LTS release.
• Linux Mint Maya because of Cinnamon, and it was terrible.
• Fedora 16 to 25 or 26.
• Linux Mint 19

Been with Linux Mint ever since. It just works. LM19 was also around the time when I stepped into Apple’s walled garden with iOS and macOS.

On Safari for iOS and macOS, I prefer Wipr instead of 1Blocker.

It’s lighter, easier to use, cheaper, scores more on d3ward’s ad-block test (but that may fluctuate).

E: added specific browser.

some governments […] have been trying linux as a way to cut expenses

I have been hearing such news for close to two decades but not without news where many such organisations switch back to using proprietary software due to a mixture of reasons ranging from usability to politics.

Though I agree with your overall point, I can’t see why rounded corners (or the lack of it) might be a noticeable issue.