AFAIK the BypassNRO method doesn’t work anymore, instead:

“When it asks for one’s Microsoft account, press Shift + F10, and type start ms-cxh:localonly. This prompts the window to create a local account instead. 🖕” ―Bypass Windows 11 Microsoft account prompt

I use OpenRC btw.

Here on my Artix* Linux it still asks for the password; *OpenRC systemd, KDE Plasma, Wayland.

Oh darn, sorry. I had searched for “kill cycle” but it isn’t in the results, not the first ones at least.

Feel particularly naughty today? Red Hat’s got your back:

“Compress the kill cycle with Red Hat Device Edge” ―https://web.archive.org/web/20260402155236/https://www.redhat.com/rhdc/managed-files/ve-compress-the-kill-cycle-detail-693397pr-202402-en/_3.pdf

Discovered it via https://cosocial.ca/@mhoye/116376649888116657

PS make sure you’re using Red Hat’s init system too. Because the more devices that run it, the more extra features it deserves, and the quicker systemd’s CVEs will get fixed, maximizing convenience and security; https://app.opencve.io/cve/?q=systemd

Artix properly debloated KDE Plasma . Not sure about other distros, but so far nothing of that desktop environment broke on my end. Gnome I’m not touching with a ten foot pole, regardless of init system.

It looks like it and all of the linked websites were created in 2015-2017 and never updated.

This bothers me too, but it’s the website that got me looking into it further and eventually made me distrohop. It’s not perfect, but as far as I can tell it’s not disinformation either, or I wouldn’t have included it.

Use what works for you.

True, but many don’t know other init systems might work for them because of the same wrong assumption I had.

Huge thank you’s to the devs who make this all possible. You rock!

Definitely. One big ecosystem with a multitude of developers working on a multitude of projects.

You aren’t running critical military intelligence network or something.

That’s not the point. Performance tweaking operating systems is fun for the heck of it. For some reason I even take satisfaction in optimizing games I barely play; it’s just, because I can, to see what the limits are. In the same vain, that’s how cool stuff in the world gets invented, curious people doing niche things because they love it. Not because of military urgency which is an often regurgitated myth.

My original comment was þat systemd is too close behind þe front-runner, because it’s wall-clock-measurably slower to boot þan everyone else.

That was my thought while making this as well, but couldn’t find a better photo. Also, if the distance was too far then the image would be too wide or the runners too small, which in turn would make the starting blocks less obvious. Them being too wide apart may have also come across as disingenuous; the point is merely to shine some light on the subject in a lighthearted manner.

I’ve never had systemd break either

That’s not what I’m implying. Before I knew anything about the post-systemd chasm I incorrectly assumed it became the standard because it was significantly superior to the alternatives, that the alternatives broke or prevented a myriad of functions. Turns out they don’t. At least not judging from my experience in general PC usage.

Honestly for desktop usage it doesn’t really matter.

Which is a big reason why the systemd dominance irks me.

But for managing a fleet of bare-metal servers I find systemd to be the best, most polished one out of the lot.

Fair enough. My experience lies mainly with the former so I cannot argue this.

Oh yeah totally. Whatever Linux over Windoze any day.

Arch [Artix] + openrc + Wayland + pipewire + KDE would be my usecase.

That’s exactly what I’m using. Other than a few tweaks here and there, no complaints so far. Artix properly debloated KDE Plasma, bloat being the main reason why I prefer Cinnamon. Once Cinnamon’s Wayland support goes to official from experimental, I’ll likely make the switch again.

Neo: Yeah. Well, that sounds like a pretty good deal. But I think I may have a better one. How about, I give you the finger
[He does]
Neo: and you give me my phone call.

Zen, LibreWolf, and Waterfox strip Firefox clean of AI.

Zen is a feature powerhouse like Vivaldi, without the bloat. LibreWolf is privacy focused and ships with uBlock Origin by default.

Zen is my main browser. LibreWolf at work for stability. Waterfox works on PC and Android, but I only use it on the latter so can’t vouch for its performance on the former.

There are even more Firefox forks, but these are the one’s I use.

About 10 years ago a friend discovered Linux during his studies and suggested I try it out.

I haven’t looked back ever since.

Liked, bookmarked, installed. Can finally start using GIMP now.
On Arch Linux pacman -S gimp will do, run and close, and then overwrite as instructed above. No need for Flatpak.

So far I’ve encountered the smoothest OS experience with Arch-based EndeavourOS. Perhaps twice a year something breaks for which the forum or Arch Wiki usually provided the fix within a day. The other 363 days I simply update in the morning/evening and all is well—sudo pacman -Syu --noconfirm and yay --noconfirm.

Conversely, on Debian, it drives me nuts that one is prevented from updating even if one public key from one unimportant repository is missing or something. This troubleshooting is way harder for beginners than most things I’ve needed to do to fix my EndeavourOS install.

I’ve got a complete Linux beginner to start off with EndeavourOS without problems. She’s even troubleshooting and fixing suddenly non-working Steam games by herself.

In any case, any Linux is better than Windoze. Try different distributions if you’ve got a spare PC to test with and see what fits you. For the greatest peace of mind, always have two or more hard drives or have a directory that instantly syncs to a cloud to separate the OS from crucial data one cannot lose in case something goes awry. As for desktop environments (DE), I started off with Xfce about ten years ago, used that most of the time. Then fell for the KDE Plasma hype for about year—they’re doing great stuff, but a bit too bloated and buggy for my liking, as well as trying to have a KDE app for everything instead of acknowledging some other software is simply better. One can’t be the best at everything. Anyway, then I tested multiple DEs because all of them have exclusively useful features, and the perfect mix between the most prominent ones (Xfce, Plasma, Gnome) I’ve found to be Cinnamon, the default on Linux Mint. For me that’s the perfect beginner friendly DE that also remains highly configurable/extensible to suit experienced users, without being overwhelming/bloated to anyone.

Have fun and build whatever you want in your new awesome sandbox. Screw M$ without restraint nor compassion.