If it’s a project with a couple hundred thousands of downloads a week then no, i trust that it’s been looked at by more savvy people than myself. If it’s a niche project that barely anyone uses or comes from a source i consider to be less reputable then i will skim it
nope. the ISPs track torrent downloads is by leeching off of the popular public ones, and checking if any of the peers have IPs that belong to them. not by analyzing each customer’s traffic individually. downloading a video off youtube makes a simple HTTP download which wont trip any ISP alerts. especially since it’s a trusted domain like Youtube
Me: using safe browsing practices and only downloading from trusted sources My Mom: downloading every toolbar in existence My Mom: “You broke the computer!”
We have LG washing machine, fridge, and dishwasher. All of our original appliances crapped out within 2 years of each other, and were all around the same age and original to the house. LG was the least shitty, review-wise, in the price range with the features we wanted; they all of them came with WiFi modules. It appears modern appliances are now like cars - if you want certain features, you’re forced to also get features you don’t want. In any case, the marketting justification for each was: dishwasher: download additional washing modes, like rinse-hold. Alerts when the machine is done. Remote start. washing machine: alerts when the machine is done. Remote start. fridge: I don’t recall (it was the first to go) None of ours has been given access to the WiFi, so I just count it as a tax. We also replaced our garage doors recently; the contractor literally didn’t carry any opener models without WiFi. I had to source those myself. The most frustrating thing about all this wasn’t the WiFi, though; it was that the cost to repair each of them was 80% the cost of a new appliance, and most of that was parts. I’d do it again the same way. For comparison, the one appliance I’m trying to not replace is the oven, and we’ve had to have someone come out twice in as many years to fix it. In retrospect, it would have been cheaper to just replace that, too. I get furious just thinking about the waste. Sure, the new appliances are better - the dishwasher is far quieter, is larger inside, and has better drawer geometry, for instance. But we would have been happy in our ignorance if it would have been cost effective to fix rather than replace. None of the originals were LG, BTW. I don’t know how robust these will be. The old appliances lasted 20, but I’m not naive enough to think modern appliances will last that long. If I get anywhere near close to 10 years without a major repair, I’ll be thrilled.
Basically another shell scripting language. But unlike most other languages like Csh or Fish, it can compile back to Bash. At the moment I am bit conflicted, but the thing it can compile back to Bash is what is very interesting. I’ll keep an eye on this. But it makes the produced Bash code a bit less readable than a handwritten one, if that is the end goal. curl -s "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Ph0enixKM/AmberNative/master/setup/install.sh" | $(echo /bin/bash) I wish this nonsense of piping a shell script from the internet directly into Bash would stop. It’s a bad idea, because of security concerns. This install.sh script eval and will even run curl itself to download amber and install it from this url url="https://github.com/Ph0enixKM/${__0_name}/releases/download/${__2_tag}/amber_${os}_${arch}" … echo “Please make sure that root user can access /opt directory.”; And all of this while requiring root access. I am not a fan of this kind of distribution and installation. Why not provide a normal manual installation process and link to the projects releases page: https://github.com/Ph0enixKM/Amber/releases BTW its a Rust application. So one could build it with Cargo, for those who have it installed.
This affects me a lot day to day. I have a phone, but it runs postmarketOS, not iOS or Android. It really shows me the importance of open standards. I feel that every business should be required to support open standards for each of the services they offer. For me, buying train tickets used to be ok, but is getting harder now. Some train operators are really pushing you to use their app now, and getting rid of the option to download a PDF. It really frustrates me: it’s not like it costs them more to offer PDF download - if anything, it’s much cheaper to offer that functionality than to build and maintain an app for iOS and Android. Back when I had an Android phone, I used Monzo, and it was so easy to send money to friends, set up standing orders etc. I wish they offered a proper web interface. Now, I use Natwest’s online banking, and it’s a real pain - I use the card reader to authenticate, then the website logs me out seemingly every 2 mins of inactivity. Some features, like pre-notifying that you’ll be travelling abroad, are only available on the app. I only see this trend continuing. The concert tickets example in the article is insane to me. I can’t think of a use case that is better suited for PDFs, and that’s what we’ve been doing for the last 10+ years without any issues. It really is user hostile and excludes people on the edges of society who don’t fit, for whatever reason, with what the 80-90% do.
It’s true. I work in a computer shop and we see literally thousands and thousands of dollars lost from people clicking on ads that look like normal buttons (things like “Download”, “Next”, etc). And not just the elderly either. Everyone has a a combination of inputs to get scared and comply. Folks that are otherwise extremely competent and savvy can get scammed too. The best security you can have online is adblockers, only beaten by using trusted websites. Edit, fair points with sites being slimy these days. I meant using legitimate versions of websites rather than copy/fake websites designed to steal credentials.
There’s so much beginner advice out there, and I’m hesitant to add yet one more beginner-based rant to the mix. But hopefully this content is useful to someone out there. Despite 6 months of daily effort, it is clear that my overall language journey has only begun. I’m comfortable to call myself around an A2 these days (“advanced beginner”), but its extremely clear how limited my German is. Nonetheless, I’m surprised at how “useful” A2 seems to be in browsing the internet and consuming German media. I can truly watch news reports in native German and get the gist of what is going on. I can watch comedians tell jokes, that I don’t fully understand but can feel the puns and rhyming schemes. I can enjoy music and understand the majority of pop-song chorus (at least, with a few minutes of study and maybe a 2nd or 3rd listen). Its not much, but its a solid foundation for continuing my language learning. How did I get here? My month-by-month breakdown is as follows: October 2025: I learn of a trade show in Germany scheduled in May that’s relevant to my professional career. This is my inspiration moment. I want to learn German so that I can comfortably visit Germany. But … am I even truly interested? I immediately download “Learn German in your Car”, and “test” myself. If I’m able to continue studying German for a full month, I’ll know for certain that I’m doing this seriously. In hindsight, the “Learn German in your Car” lessons weren’t very useful, but they proved that I had long term interest in this subject. It was quick and easy to try, and because of my daily drive to-and-from work, it wasn’t hard for me to stick with the schedule of daily practice. November 2025: I’ve researched extensively on the Internet different learning schemes. I begin Nicos Weg. I purchase grammar textbooks. I begin 20-cards/day on Anki. I realize that the A1 German deck on Ankiweb is full of mistakes and am forced to start over. I buy flashcards on Amazon.com. I try everything to learn German. December 2025: I start posting on Learning German Discord. My sentence structure sucks, I’m told to study the basics and review the beginner grammar. People don’t understand me at all in voice chat. In response… I read through all of my Basic German grammar book (Its only 200 pages and I skipped the exercises. I just wanted an overview). I’m over 500 words into Anki. Anki begins to feel oppressive, I drop down to 10 words/day. I purchase “Cafe in Berlin”, and read it through entirely. (A1/A2 graded reader). After completing it, I purchase “Short Stories in German” by Olly Richards. (A2/B1 graded reader) Despite my failures in speaking on Discord, its clear my reading skills are pushing into the A2 level. Its clear that my reading skills are pushing into A2, but how do I improve my speech?? January 2026: I enroll into a local private tutor program that’s close to work and home. I sign up for 10 weeks, 1.5 hours twice a week (30 hours scheduled, 40 total lessons each 45 minutes long). It turns out that I tested into A2.2 (!!!), despite my somewhat depressive first jump into the Learning German Discord, its clear I was making progress. However, I know that as a self-learner my study habits are full of holes. I instead choose to drop down to A2.1 instead and meet with my teacher. My speech is awful. Despite working hard on learning “German R” as self-learning, I’m messing up ei, ie, z, ö, d, sp, st, and many combinations of letters. My tutor says I should read every section of the work to him throughout the tutoring session. I’m unable to do any of the roleplay sections, despite dropping down a level. At this point, I post my 3-months of German through song topic (https://lemmy.world/post/41037513). I know I have a long way to go, but testing into A2.2 gives me a major confidence boost, I’m actually further along than I thought, even if I feel the need to drop down a level. I’m able to browse a large chunk of German-Wikipedia introduction paragraphs. February / March 2026: I trust the language course and my teacher, and mostly just do the assigned work / homework. I memorize 600+ new words from the class. I manually input these into my custom Anki deck for daily practice. We practice those words every class, I have homework involving listening exercises and speech practice. My speech improves, I’m slowly building up the ability to roleplay effectively. I end the course with an 85% on the final and a certificate for A2.1 (remember, I dropped down a level on purpose). I wouldn’t say it was “hard”, but its clear I learned a lot from the class. Anki continues to feel oppressive, I drop down to 80% FSRS retention. I start Pokemon. Somewhat a bad idea, its more like a B2 level read rather than A2. Still, I enjoy the exercise and look forward to returning to Pokemon later. Around this time, I’m noticing that its no longer necessary for me to listen to children songs. Regular German pop-songs (and even German rap) have the same level of understanding as the Kinderlieder. (Notice: I still don’t understand Kinderlieder or Pop songs in their entirety. I just notice they’re the “same difficulty” now). Seriously, some of those children-songs are very difficult, while the easiest of pop-songs use such common language that its surprisingly easy to pickup the main chorus (albeit I’m missing most of the verses). April 2026: With my class over, I return to self-study. Now with a solid foundation of pronunciation, and an idea of what it takes to learn vocabulary (in context, speaking in different circumstances, etc. etc.). Despite my speech improvements, my grammar became the weakpoint in the class. I can speak clearly, but with improper conjugation, using “das” far too often and am unable to use “ein” or other articles. I purchase “Grammatik aktiv”, and complete 1 lesson daily. I purchase additional A2 readers: “Carsten Tsara blickt nicht durch”, with printout + .mp3 file. I review my tutor material weekly in the car (~40 minutes of recordings covering my coursework), I still got it, I’m still able to listen and understand. I know I have so much self-study to do (more reading, more grammar exercises, more listening, and now I need to find a new source of speaking practice somewhere). But its a start. As a self-study student, my “knowledge” is eclectic. I’m able to understand B1 concepts like relative clauses, passive voice, da-words, wo-words and more. But this is because “Pokemon” forced me to study so much B1 level grammar to understand it. On the other hand, eclectic knowledge means that I’m missing basic A1 stuff like “eine” vs “keine”. Even after taking my A2.1 level course, I never got to practice that. Only after purchasing Grammatik aktiv and systematically reviewing all grammar from A1 through B1 am I realizing how much A1-level stuff I missed. Its the nature of learning. All these concepts are theoretically organized int courses… but that’s not how people learn. You’ll pick things up here and there. Your brain has a biorhythm, on “good days” you’ll learn material but on “bad days” all your efforts will be wasted. This always leads to holes even if you end up systematically tackling each subject.
Had to set up a new laptop for someone over the weekend and Jesus they just won’t stop begging you not to switch. Search for another browser in the URL/search bar, gigantic banner that pushes the actual search results off the page: “There’s no need to switch browsers, Edge is safe, fast, etc etc etc” Click the download button for Chrome’s installer, a pop-up notification shows up: “Edge is built on the same technology as Chrome, with the added trust and security of Microsoft” (fucking lol) Go to switch the default browser in settings, another pop-up shows up again explaining that Edge is the greatest thing since sliced bread, I have to click either “Try Edge (recommended)” or “switch anyway”. Then I spend 30 minutes navigating their maze of a settings app to change a bunch of ad preferences, etc. Then I spend another 30 minutes editing registry entries to disable Cortana, Bing search in the search bar, recommended apps. God damn I’m glad I switched to Linux.
so i never had the money or home space for a proper office or computer desk, so i’ve always had to run my PC on my HDTV’s/etc. because of this, I have never had proper dimming because HDTVs usually disable screen settings for PC connections (at least mine have). So i’ve always had to choose between bloated/ad-supported/paid apps and smaller clunky apps to achieve screen dimming. well i finally got sick of it and made my own. ProperDim is a lightweight program that lives in your system tray to manage your screens brightness. its standout features are: -custom minimum brightness -hotkeys -quick-set buttons & a quickdim slider in the system tray -scheduler for automation -modern/old school mixed style with an intuitive and minimal design this is the first program i ever made and to be honest i probably should have started with something more simple–but it’s finally finished and I am happy! GitHub info + download here: https://github.com/crustyoldhuman/ProperDim cheers
The court heard that Elbit had initially supplied the police with footage from nine cameras on a USB stick, however the footage was not playable on police computers so Grant was instructed to attend the site in person to recover it. When asked by Menon how she conducted this process, Grant said she was initially shown footage from nine cameras and then requested to see more. She said she viewed the footage from all 53 cameras on multiple monitors on a video wall in the Elbit Systems’ security control room. She said that she tried to download footage from all 53 cameras, but this proved to be impossible as it would take around 24 days. Grant said she subsequently chose to download footage from the initial nine, and then from a further three cameras she had identified as relevant. When questioned by prosecutor Deanna Heer KC, Grant said that in the 11 years she had served in her role she had “never come across a system as frustrating and as difficult to download”. Menon noted that Grant did not obtain footage from two cameras on the factory floor. When asked if she had asked anyone in the Elbit Systems control room to explain the absence of the footage from these cameras, she responded “no”. Menon suggested that Grant was perhaps never shown the footage from the two cameras.
Welcome to Inequality Watch React, where we don’t just talk about inequality, we go straight to the source. This week, we take you inside the National Press Club, where we spoke with Congressman Ro Khanna about the future of the Democratic Party, economic patriotism, and the growing divide between the powerful and everyone else. From why Democrats struggle to win, to the unanswered questions surrounding the Epstein files, to whether Silicon Valley is creating a new class of untouchable elites, we break it all down. Because this isn’t just about politics. It’s about power, and who it protects. And the big question: can we protect ourselves from its excess and its consequences? Independent journalists Taya Graham and Stephen Janis head down to Capitol Hill to ask these questions. And if you have a question you want us to ask, please leave it in the comments! Credits: Written by: Stephen Janis Produced by: Taya Graham, Stephen Janis Studio / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino Transcript The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible. Taya Graham: Hello, my name is Taya Graham and welcome to our Inequality Watch React, the show where we discuss not just how this country is ruled by billionaires, but how and why. Reporting that seeks to hold the American aristocracy accountable for the destructive effect unimaginable wealth has had on our politics and on our lives. Now, unlike other YouTubers, we go right to the source to report back to you on America’s historic wealth imbalance, namely our nation’s capital, Washington DC. That’s where my reporting partner and I, hello, Steven. Stephen Janis: Hey, how you doing, Taya? Taya Graham: We often find ourselves on the Capitol steps or roaming the halls of Congress, bearing witness and asking tough questions to the people directly responsible for the wealth centric world we live in. So Steven, before I jump into this, how has Capitol Hill been treating you lately? Do you have any beefs about the way the Hill operates? I’m Stephen Janis: Just having to roll finding Republicans in the wild and that’s what I’m trying to do because I really feel like Republicans have a lot of questions to answer, but I can’t find they’re not holding press conferences the way they did even a year and a half ago. So that’s my only beef right now, but we’ll fix that. Taya Graham: I know. I haven’t seen a single free range Republican in months. Stephen Janis: Yeah, it’s weird. But you can get them on Capitol steps, but they’re not holding press conferences where they usually hold press conferences. And that’s been a little frustrating. Taya Graham: And they haven’t been having any town halls for their constituents either. Stephen Janis: Not really. Taya Graham: So they’ve really been quite quiet. Stephen Janis: Yeah. Interesting. Taya Graham: Okay. So let’s get right into this so we can discuss our first video. Now, this is a topic that seems to resurface fairly often on Capitol Hill, and it did again at the National Press Club this week. And it’s basically, why do Democrats keep losing? Now, we know the zeitgeist is slowly turning in the Democrat’s favor. Recent polls show a preference for blue candidates across the board, but a key progressive candidate, Congressman Ro Khanna, has a message for his party. Basically, man up if you want to actually win in the future. Let’s take a listen to what he had to say. Let’s run clip one. Ro Khanna: So where do we go from here? We cannot go back to the days before Trump. That led to a Democratic Party that had an approval rating of 27%. How and why should we go back to a party or a politics that got us two terms of Donald Trump? We cannot simply resort to incrementalism or this fashionable nudges of a broken system. There was a paper written about, let’s just nudge things in the government. It was haralded as some great academic insight. The era of nudges and incrementalism are over. Taya Graham: So Steven, one of the reasons I wanted to lead with this clip is this analysis of the Democrats’ inability to win. Well, we’ve discussed this several times in both articles and a discussion we had almost a year ago. Actually, let’s run the next clip. It is pretty clear Stephen Janis: That they need someone to jump the line to run that the Democratic establishment does not want to run. Taya Graham: Yes. Stephen Janis: Someone with a vision that seems authentic and someone who’s willing to take risks. Taya Graham: Yes. Stephen Janis: You got to take risks. I mean, the risk averse nature of the Democratic Party has turned them into losers. Taya Graham: Yeah. But hopefully the Democrat strategists out there who are spending millions of dollars, maybe they’ll take some time to listen to independent journalists as well as listen to the public and let them know that they have an authenticity issue and they need to find a way to break the inertia. Okay, Steven, I think we called this out several months ago. So do you think Democrats are finally getting the message? Stephen Janis: I’m going to make one argument that you’re probably not going to agree with. And it’s going to seem a little limited, but actually I think it comes down to this. If Democrats run on healthcare and if they make healthcare the center of their campaign, then they’ve learned their lesson. And if they push for Medicare for All, and if they push for the ASA subsidies, and if they don’t back down on this topic and embrace it and run ads about it and talk about how Trump was like, “We can’t afford to give healthcare to the American public. We can only afford to spend money on a war.” If they do that, then I will say yes, they learn their lesson. Otherwise, no. Taya Graham: You know what? Th seems to me like you’re almost recommending a Mondami strategy that obviously had success in New York. Pick something straightforward, simple that actually addresses people’s needs and then stick to it. But honestly, what he did was bold. Even I’m not a New Yorker and I know the five points of his plan and it was a very bold one and it was controversial, but it still worked. But it seems like President Trump is always bold and Democrats are almost always critics or incrementalists, always just trying to nudge things forward with baby steps. And I think Rocano was trying to make the point that incremental steps can’t beat boldness. I mean, you pointed that out in your piece. You can’t continually defend incremental change against a man who is constantly throwing executive orders against the wall to see which one sticks. I mean, I think this idea really becomes relevant. We look at what’s happening with Trump. I mean, he’s saying literally publicly that the federal government can’t help out with childcare. While he explicitly mentioned at the same time, the US is spending an estimated $1 billion a day dropping bombs on a foreign country. I mean, how much of an opening do the Democrats need? And yet I don’t think they’re taking the win here. I mean, if any party can be handed a loaded gun and managed to shoot themselves in the foot with it, it’s the Democrats. Stephen Janis: Yeah. I mean, the thing is that bold ideas, big ideas are just easier to run on, easier to campaign on. They permeate. They get through sort of the digital noise that we ought to deal with. If you’re like, “Well, let’s just increase the ACA tax credits by 2% and we’ll make them applicable to people who have income over 150.” If you get into that in those weeds, it doesn’t work rhetorically. It doesn’t work politically. But if you have big ideas, you can break off a lot of things from it. Just like Mundanis, I’m going to open five free grocery stores. It drove the right wing people crazy. But what it also did is it generated a lot of attention because people were debating ideas. It was bold, a city owned grocery store. But I think it did more than the policy itself was the fact that it made campaigning easier because the idea was bold and it created a lot of traction, a lot of discussion. And if the Democrats come and say, “This is just unacceptable.” We cannot have a country where people do not have healthcare. If they can be bold like that, it’ll generate discussion. And I’m sure you hear a lot of that like, “Well, we have to be kind of in the middle.” No, being in the middle and being incrementalist doesn’t get you attention and you won’t win. So unless Democrats are embracing healthcare all the way from top to bottom, they haven’t learned a thing. Taya Graham: It’s interesting you mentioned attention because I think the war has really been a great distraction. Don’t you think so? Stephen Janis: Yeah, the war has been a huge distraction from almost everything. And it makes it hard for Democrats to make that argument. But a leader will see an opportunity and say, “You know what? Trump is being engaged in this Strait of Hormez business, but we’re going to talk about what Americans really care about, which is being able to go to the doctor and pay for it. ” But I just don’t think there’s a leader with that kind of vision. I would call it a Mamdani kind of vision, being able to see the opportunity for changing the dialogue. And they have got to do that. And Chuck Schumer’s not going to do it. We saw him. Taya Graham: Well, yes, we did see him in person at that protest at the Federal Reserve, and I hate to say it, but his speech was not particularly inspiring to the crowd. But speaking of distractions, that’s going to lead us to our next video. And that’s because the just scant attention paid to the missing Epstein files came up when Rokhana was asked a question about the Epstein class. Now, it was a question about former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s refusal to appear before the House Oversight Committee, despite the fact that she’d been subpoenaed. Now, Bondi says she doesn’t have to appear anymore because she’s no longer the attorney general, but this led to Rokhana of accusing the Department of Justice of basically hiding evidence. Let’s take a listen. What don’t you know yet about the Epstein files? Ro Khanna: I don’t know a lot. I don’t know why the three million files that have been held have been so blacked out. Why the redactions took place in March where a lot of the names that were mentioned of people who were abusers, who raped young girls, why those are all blacked out and even members of Congress can’t see them. They claim, “Oh, this is to protect survivors.” But you don’t need to blank out three million pages of documents just to protect survivors’ names. That would be the first question. Why aren’t they releasing the actual documents where most of the people are named who raped and abused these girls? The second thing I don’t know is why she refused to meet with survivors. Why not meet with survivor’s lawyers? Just from protecting yourself. If I were attorney general, I would say, “Well, let me get the survivor’s groups in. Let’s have a process that the survivor’s lawyers agree to so that if there are any honest mistakes, we could have had the survivors buy-in and I wouldn’t get blamed.” But they refused to meet any of the survivors’ lawyers. They refused to sit down with the survivors. Why? Third, why are they not starting investigations in a criminal matter with people with serious allegations like Les Wexner, like Leon Black? I was asked recently about the very disturbing allegations against Congressman Swalwell, and how do I square that with the Epstein class? And I said, “There needs to be accountability, whether you’re a member of Congress or whether you raped or abused allegedly girls on Epstein’s Island.” But the Manhattan DA is within days opened up an investigation into Congressman Swalwell, and yet for years we don’t have a single investigation into Leon Black and into Les Wexner. Why? Why is there no investigation? How powerful are these people that you’ve not opened up a single investigation for prosecution of the people mentioned in the Epstein falls? Taya Graham: Now, Steven, we’ve both been going through the Epstein emails, and in fact, we’re going to have a large story coming out about what we’ve learned. But what’s the deal with Rokana? I mean, do you think his concerns here add up? Okay. Stephen Janis: I’m going to make a public announcement right now commenting on that. And I’m going to say something that is absolutely patently false and this question and this answer proves it. No one is above the law. That’s just utter BS in the United States of America. True. And the fact that that discussion happened at the National Press Club shows it. I’ve heard it so many times repeated ad nauseum and every day the Epstein continues without investigations, without accountability, with the poor victims coming to the Capitol Hill, just to be recognized who were not recognized. Without an interview with the attorney general, the idea that no one is above the law is absolutely false. And it speaks to the rampant inequality that we’re dealing with that people, there’s a different form of justice system for them and really what you would call like blanket immunity. We talked about on the police accountability report, blanket criminality. We’re a poor community. Everyone is suspect. Well, in the rich community, there is blanket immunity for the 1% and that’s what we’re talking about. No one is above law is absolutely untrue and this proves it. Taya Graham: Well said. And Congressman Rocano does make a point here. He does essentially illustrate that we have a two-tier justice system. And to me personally, as a woman who has covered this story extensively, I have interviewed survivors one-on-one. It’s the acknowledgement part that I have a really big problem with. I mean, the DOJ literally won’t even talk to these women. I mean, how is that even possible? How can that possibly be justified? It’s like you said, a blanket of immunity for the rich and powerful. And while the Trump administration is trying to send people to jail for throwing a sandwich while protesting, rich, powerful men who preyed on young women and children don’t even warrant a review by the DOJ. And I think this goes to the heart of inequality in this country. I’ve covered so many cases on the police accountability report. Like you said, of people driving to work or walking on a sidewalk or doing something completely innocent and they end up in the crosshairs of the police and their lives are upended. Meanwhile, the Epstein class seems untouchable, at least based on what has not happened at the DOJ. And the Epstein class leads to a question that I asked that was directed to Rokana. And namely, how could we prevent a new Epstein class from forming in the wake of the concentrated wealth and power that will be the result of this AI boom? So let’s listen to this answer. Let’s run the next clip. Taya Graham: Follow on AI question from Taya Graham of the Real News Network here in the audience. Do you support breaking up or regulating major tech firms to prevent AI from creating another Epstein class? Ro Khanna: Yes. I mean, we’re going to need to do more than that to prevent an Epstein class. We’re going to need to have attacks on billionaires, but absolutely we need to have AI regulation. I mean, I don’t even understand how this is a question. We have electricity and electricity is regulated. We have nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is regulated. We fly on planes. Great thing. And I’m glad there’s an FAA. Has anyone ever been on a plane when they’re like, “Wow, there are too many regulations.” Oh, you’re like, “Thank you. They’re seat belts. Thank you that you have all the … They say the same thing over and over again every time you board.” So AI, which by the founder’s own belief is a technology with that kind of power. Why wouldn’t you want safety regulations on it? Why wouldn’t you want to make sure there was certification and appropriate checks? And we should have that done in a federal regulatory AI agency. And we shouldn’t have a race to the bottom with China. We should say America will provide the safest, most excellent AI where you know that the AI isn’t going to take your data, where you know that the AI isn’t going to do crazy things. And if China wants to have a race to the bottom, let’s see who the Europeans and Asians and Africans want to buy the AI from. We should say we will have the highest level. And then I think we also need open source so that you don’t concentrate all the power in these companies. Taya Graham: Okay. Steven, what’s your take? Is Silicon Valley basically creating a new Epstein class? Stephen Janis: I love the metaphor that you use in your question because you are actually tiogram just so we know. Epstein class. What does an Epstein class connote? Well, it says that they’re all in kind of classical. They’re learning. They’re watching and learning. Look, the non-tech billionaires who got caught up in, like Leon Black got caught up in this scandal of Epstein are not being prosecuted. What are we going to learn from that? They’re not being investigated. That’s really interesting. Their names are being redacted while victims are being exposed. What are they learning? The Epstein class is getting smarter and they’re saying, “Well, you know what? I mean, maybe we’re not going to be pedophiles, but we can sure break the law and abuse our power because look what happened to these guys. Absolutely nothing.” So the Epstein class is really kind of, to me, it’s not funny, but it’s kind of ironic because it’s like we’re all going to learn together from the past scandals that when we have these AI companies and this massive amount of concentrated power, we certainly don’t have to follow law because they didn’t have to. And we’re actually more Taya Graham: Powerful.What concerns me is that this level of power and therefore this level of immunity will be godlike. I mean, if AI ends up rewiring the economy and throwing millions of Americans out of work, the power will continue to accrue to these people with capital. And that balance is already fraught in this country with, as we mentioned, historic wealth inequality, but it will only increase if AI evolves as predicted. For example, how will our justice system be able to corral an executive or major stakeholder in a technology that could literally replace humanity? Exactly. I mean, their absolute power will dwarf what was afforded to the owners of the social media platforms. I mean, a democracy cannot accommodate gods, and that’s what we will be trying to do. Okay, let me settle down. Stephen Janis: Yeah, but you make a good point. I mean, it really is getting close to godlike power. I mean, these people are actually espousing and saying, “We’re going to kill two million, four million, five million jobs.” They’re saying this without missing a beat. They’re not like, “We have to account for humanity and somehow help people. ” They’re like, “Yeah, it’s just a fact of life. We’re going to do this. ” And in the process, we’re going to become unfathomably rich. Let’s remember AI, OpenAI was started as a nonprofit and look what happened to Taya Graham: That. Compact change. Stephen Janis: These people are feeling it and I think they’re looking at the M.S. Glasses saying, “Yeah, well boy, they got away with this. ” Just imagine what we can get. We have no obligation. I mean, Rokana said in a press conference, we covered them that the second gilded age, which we’re currently in is worse than the first, and that the people at the top are doing less in terms of social largest than they did in the past. There’s no Carnegie Library. There’s no Sam Altman libraries right now. So imagine the power they’re going to have and the past statement I made about no one is above the law. They’re not even going to think of the law. It’s not even going to matter. They’re going to probably be making laws about us. Oh, Taya Graham: Absolutely. Stephen Janis: Identifying us and putting us in jail. Taya Graham: Absolutely. Especially with Citizens United, the amount of political power they’re going to be able to accrue is just going to be nearly impossible for the rest of us to be able to overcome. And then when you keep in mind the fact that none of them have proposed any sort of worker transition programs for people who lose their jobs to AI or any sort of fund for people who lose their jobs AI.com. Yeah, exactly. Nothing like that. Exactly. No. As well as their people who are fighting town by town to just protect their fresh water because the AI data centers are just stealing it from underneath them. I mean, if there is no regulation, I truly fear for the fate of our country. Stephen Janis: Well, you talked about the Epstein class and now we have the AI class Taya Graham: And Stephen Janis: We’ll see what the AI class does because I think they’re going to be quite difficult to deal with. Taya Graham: I think you’re absolutely right. Okay. So now let’s get to our segment called, I told you so, or better yet, our accountability moment that highlights when politicians equivocate and we catch them. Okay. So let me set the scene. Last year when we wandered into a press conference on Doge, now remember back then, the Department of Government Efficiency was led by Elon Musk and he led a group of tech bros that tried to dismantle the federal government basically like three weeks. Well, that didn’t actually work out too well. And Elon was briskly escorted off the premises and the Dosh swag was stuffed into a trash bag left in the former West Wing just prior to its demolition. Also, I did not receive my $5,000 DOS check. Let me know if you did. But the reason this is I told you so is a question that we asked Republicans touting DOJ last year. Okay, let’s see how they answer it. Let’s watch. Stephen Janis: Congressman, a third of the digital service resigned over concerns about access to sensitive information. What guarantees can you give to the American people that their sensitive information won’t be accessed by someone who’s not elected or otherwise appointed or otherwise? Ro Khanna: Let me say this, the IRS failed that test and has failed it for many, many, many years. We need to make sure that we give the tools and the correct tools in technology. And I talked to government technologists just two days ago within the Zoom call where we talked about their needs to make sure that they are brought in and that technology that is efficient and that works properly is a part of the future. Taya Graham: Now, Stephen, just recently there was a development specifically related to your question, which turned out to be so prescient as a whistleblower reported to an Inspector General that a former Doze software engineer told colleagues he had two thumb drives of highly sensitive social security information for over 500 million people, both living in debt. Steven, what on earth is going on here? Stephen Janis: Well, first thing I want to say is it’s been a year and a half since I asked that question like, “Can you guarantee the safety of your data?” And I still really don’t understand Pete’s session’s answer. That’s Congressman Pete’s sessions and he started talking something about the IRS and Taya Graham: How Stephen Janis: They failed or the treasury department. And I still don’t understand what he was saying, but it shows that he couldn’t answer the question because he knew something was afoot. And what was afoot was that these Doge Bros were like downloading social security data, which is the most sensitive data that we have. It includes our social security numbers, address, date of birth, just a way to open up a phantom credit card on everyone in the United States of America. So this also shows, I think, makes a very important point that the policy, like the way you implement and execute policies in the Trump administration is totally freaking off the rails. I mean, they have kids with thumb drives going around in the social security office downloading data. Think about that. Think about all the horrible things that could happen, but also think about the difference between the conceptualization of Doj and the implementation of Doge. Yes. The conceptualization is we’re all going to go in there and kind of literally, like you said, dismantle the government and save $2 trillion. Taya Graham: Yes. Stephen Janis: And what was the execution? Well, almost no money was saved of any material amount. True. Taya Graham: And Stephen Janis: Yet we keep having these repercussions like we all saw the famous TikTok videos of the Doge staffers talking about how they dismantled grants for people, I think from the National Endowment of the Arts on really using AI without even thinking about Taya Graham: It. Stephen Janis: So the point is that this is a perfect example, but it’s also showing how the Republicans are not doing their job in holding the Trump administration accountable. Taya Graham: Steven, I remember thinking when you asked the Congressman that his answer just didn’t make any sense. And now we’ve got a kid walking around with social security data, which of course is about a sensitive and potentially harmful information as it gets. Now, it’s worth noting this press conference happened on what’s known as the House Triangle. It’s a space adjacent to the House Chambers where members can hold press conferences. But oddly enough, or maybe even intentionally, that was the last time we saw a Republican holding court in that spot. Now, Steven, you’ve managed to corral a random Republican on the Capitol steps after the House convenes, but they’ve pretty much been absent from the triangle, at least for us. I mean, why do you think that is? Stephen Janis: Yeah. Well, I think after they passed a big, beautiful bill, they didn’t want to talk to the press In some of the unscripted ways. I mean, I monitor the electronic bulletimore, which tells you every day who’s going to be there. And I rarely … It’s not like I have not seen one, but I rarely see one. And I think after the big, beautiful bill, they just kind of vanish. I mean, they really just cut and run. I haven’t seen them, and I think they just don’t really want to have to answer questions about the particulars of that bill, especially when people are panicking over healthcare costs, the ACA credits, the Obamacare subsidies, which they let lapse. They just don’t want to answer questions about these very important issues. And now that gas is over $4 a gallon, I think they want to be also discreetly out of the spotlight. So that’s why, and it’s pretty frustrating because I really have a lot of questions I want to ask them, but I’m going to keep pushing. Taya Graham: Well, I’m going to keep pushing with you. Oh, good. Okay? Well, that basically wraps up our inequality Watch React Show. We appreciate you watching. And of course, if you have any ideas about how to hold the ultra rich accountable, we’d love to hear them. Just drop them down in the comments below. My name is Taya Graham, along with my reporting partner, Stephen Janis, and we are your inequality watchdogs reporting for you. From The Real News Network via This RSS Feed.
Commission President von der Leyen announces a ready solution for age verification that will enable anonymous surfing and hold platforms accountable. The era of non-binding appeals to large tech corporations seems to be over in Brussels. In a joint statement on Wednesday, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) and Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, responsible for tech sovereignty, gave the green light for a new era of digital youth protection. The core of the offensive is a Europe-wide app for age verification, already tested by several countries, which, according to von der Leyen, is now technically ready and will be available to citizens shortly. The Commission is thus reacting to concerns about risks such as online bullying, addiction factors due to algorithmic design, and cyber-grooming, which involves approaching children and adolescents online. The Commission President’s diagnosis is grim: one in six children is bullied online. Furthermore, social media promotes addiction through endless scrolling, which can impair brain development. Since platforms have so far been unable to provide effective mechanisms to protect minors from harmful content, the EU is taking matters into its own hands. The new app is intended to enable users to prove their age to online services without revealing their entire digital identity. Data Protection to the Highest Standard Technically, the project is based on the digital Covid certificate. As with the pandemic companion, the Commission relies on a model that works on smartphones, tablets, and computers. After downloading, the app is set up once with an identification document. Special attention is paid to privacy. Von der Leyen emphasized: The application meets “the world’s highest data protection standards.” Age is verified without revealing further personal information. The app is “completely anonymous – users cannot be traced.” The application is based on Zero-Knowledge Proof. This cryptographic principle makes it possible to prove the correctness of information – in this case, reaching a certain age – without revealing the underlying data itself. This is intended to preserve informational self-determination. Platforms only receive confirmation of being “old enough” without having to scan the ID. Austria’s age control already relies on this procedure. Enforcement of the DSA and EU Shoulder-to-Shoulder The initiative is closely linked to the enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA). Virkkunen made it clear that the Commission is already taking action against companies like TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram for addictive designs. Measures have also been initiated against pornographic platforms, as they often do not use functional age controls. The new application now removes the excuse for corporations that there is no simple technical solution. Countries like France, Italy, and Ireland are considered pioneers and plan to integrate the app into their national digital wallets. To avoid patchwork, Virkkunen intends to establish an EU-wide coordination mechanism for the accreditation of national solutions this month. The source code of the app is openly accessible as part of the EUDI digital citizen identity to build trust and facilitate integration into company solutions, for example. In Germany, an expert panel will initially develop recommendations for child safety online.
Fire engulfs the Kimberly-Clark distribution center in Ontario, California Subscribe now A 29-year-old California man has been arrested for allegedly causing $500 million in damage when he set fire to a Kimberly-Clark warehouse to protest the cost of living and the Iran War. “All you had to do was pay us enough to live,” the Justice Department’s indictment alleges he said in video posted to Instagram. “[T]hey had it coming … fucking eight hours, six days … stuck paying rent on a bullshit ass apartment that I can’t afford to fucking live … pedophiles out here fucking children, profiting off … fucking wars.” In a press conference, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli went out of his way to stress that the defendant had “compared himself to Luigi Mangione” in a comment to a witness. No one was injured in the early morning fire, but Justice wants to make a point: Chamel Abdulkarim’s target was the system of capitalism itself. Arson, and admittedly a serious case (if the government is correct); and politically motivated, given the remarks Abdulkarim made. But Mangione? The FBI and the national security machine is going to jump on this, affirming for them that a “copycat” terrorist points to a bigger trend lurking in society. That fact is at the very center of NSPM-7 — national security presidential memorandum 7 — signed by President Trump last September, that identifies “anti-capitalism” as a so-called indicator of domestic terrorism. The directive opens with a section that mentions “the 2024 assassination of a senior healthcare executive” — i.e. Luigi Mangione — as indicative of a growing threat. Take a look at what the federal indictment focuses on, alleging Abdulkarim said: “[S]hould have paid us enough to fucking live.” “1% is a fucking joke.” “If you’re not going to pay us enough to fucking live or afford to live, at least pay us enough not to do this shit.” “Billionaires profiting off of war …” [Y]ou know, we may not get paid enough to fucking live, but these removed dirt cheap” “All you had to do was pay us enough to live. Pay us more of the value WE bring. Not corporate. Didn’t see the share holders picking up a shift.” “[T]hey had it coming … fucking eight hours, six days, [unintelligible] stuck paying rent on a bullshit ass apartment that I can’t afford to fucking live … pedophiles out here fucking children, profiting off [unintelligible] fucking wars.” Federal indictment 898KB ∙ PDF file Download Download US Attorney Essayli goes on to cast the arson attack as a sign of anti-capitalist sentiment, promising to “aggressively” pursue anyone who attacks capitalism — or “our way of life,” as he put it: “Look, America is founded on free enterprise and capitalism. Anyone who attacks our values, our way of life, our system, which provides the best goods and services to the most people, we’re gonna come after aggressively.” Get used to stuff like this. As I reported in January, a leaked draft copy of the Department of Homeland Security’s upcoming annual Homeland Threat Assessment introduced a new “extremism” threat category: “class-based or economic grievances.” Screenshot of leaked Homeland Threat Assessment By contrast, state authorities did not portray the crime as some sort of threat to capitalism. In fact, San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson seemed to not understand it at all. “Arson, to me, is a real head scratcher; I do not understand that somebody who is suspected of arson does something where they get no value out of it,” Anderson said at the press conference. They still don’t get it. While reporting on this, when I tried to figure out what exactly the suspect’s job entailed while working for Kimberly-Clark — the company whose 1.2 million square foot facility he allegedly set on fire — I realized that he didn’t actually work for them, but for a third-party contractor, something called “NFI Industries.” The dreary name reminds me of reporting on Amazon warehouses and hearing one worker after another bitterly refer to its much-hyped $15 minimum wage as not applying to them because they worked for similar subcontractors. This two-step is also how Amazon can claim it’s not them but rather the contractors responsible for the infamous practice of workers having to pee in bottles to meet their punishing quotas. NFI has been accused of similar practices and was sued in 2015 by New Jersey port and warehouse truckers who said the company systematically misclassified them as “independent contractors” while exercising full employer‑style control. In 2022, a federal judge ruled in the driver’s favor, ordering NFI to pay them over $5 million in a class action settlement. The obscene price of gasoline as a result of the Iran war (part of our hallowed “way of life,” which allows oil companies to price gouge even in emergencies) has once again thrust the cost of living into the spotlight. Millions of Americans resonate with Mangione and Abdulkarim. Isn’t anyone in power curious why that is? As a friend told me today when I brought up the Kimberly-Clark fire: Who that’s worked a shitty job hasn’t fantasized about burning it all down? (This is literally the plot of the cult classic movie Office Space!) Democrats and Republican politicians alike mouth “affordability” but do nothing. Civil government is also starved, bled of resources by our national security colossus that devises more and more ways to spy on anyone opposed, or drowns out their voices by flooding the media with security-speak. There are basically two ways the government can respond to things like the Kimberly-Clark fire: (1) treat them as national security threats to be monitored and preempted forever; or (2) address the underlying grievances causing them. Sounds like a real “head-scratcher.” Subscribe if you would’ve left Milton’s stapler alone Leave a comment Share — Edited by William M. Arkin From Ken Klippenstein via This RSS Feed.
AI is a topic for quite some while now. Mostly in the form of chat bots or coding assistants. But there’s also AI for photorealistic image generation. Emphasis on “realistic”. History Sure, we’ve had digital people for years, e.g. YouTuber Ami Yamato, or virtual singer Hatsune Miku. But these were based on motion capture and/or pre-programmed movements/positions. And they look rather… artificial. Car commercials use computer-generated images for a while now. But they can make use of a whole CGI department. Around 2022, the first consumer-grade (and consumer-convincing) AI toolchains emerged. It started with “simple” face swaps and quickly grew into complete scene generation. Back then, you had to “train” the AI yourself – by giving it various example photos of the things you’d like it to memorise, and later (re-)generate. Huge collections of such photos became available for download. And, of course, several online services sprung up trying to sell you access to pre-trained models and features around photo manipulation. Mid-2023, Aitana Lopez popped up on Instagram. An AI-generated character combining various traits that are deemed “attractive” by most people. Back then, they didn’t flaunt about being an AI character. Just a normal girl. And nobody noticed. Well, people DID notice her – but more because she apparently won the gene-lottery and was happy to show it off. She gained followers on Instagram and this brought her advertising deals. Figures vary but at the end of 2023, media reported that account earning something between 4000€ and $16500 (AU?) per month(!). Year 2026 Now in 2026, creating completely artificial but very convincing people directly on your computer at home and completely for free has been simplified to only a few clicks and a good prompt. I’ve recently stumbled upon this video which gives a quick tutorial about how to use ComfyUI, ⚡️-image, and Qwen3-4B to generate photos. I’ve tried it on my 2020 M1 MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM. I left everything at the default settings, just reduced the output size to 512×512 and used a more low-VRAM-friendly GGUF model as explained in the video above. The default prompt reads: “Latina female with thick wavy hair, harbor boats and pastel houses behind. Breezy seaside light, warm tones, cinematic close-up.” After clicking the “Run” button, it took less than 5 minutes and then returned this picture: If someone with that profile picture would send you a friend request on a social media website – would you suspect this to be some guy performing a romance scam? And this picture is unique – so it won’t even show up on any reverse image search or on these “don’t fall for this scammer” webpages. Also, I can generate another picture in only 5 minutes on my 6 year old laptop. “Her” walking her dog, driving a car, going shopping. The limit is only my imagination (and what the image generation model is capable of). But you could easily create a completely fake but very convincing profile of a person that doesn’t exist.
All these photos have been created using very basic prompts based on the example one. If you want to do it properly, you’ll want to spend a big portion of the prompt describing the looks of the person so “he” or “she” looks identical in all the generated images. Also, you will want to tweak the parameters to make the skin a bit more imperfect and less washed out. This will take longer to process, but the results will be far more convincing. Just Breezes And it doesn’t stop there. The Z-image model is also capable of generating far more explicit pictures. Makes you wonder how many accounts on that windy website are run by some dude trying to rake in a bit of money. And I’ve just seen an ad for an AI girlfriend that started with “Most women have limits. I’m an AI girl. I don’t.” Welcome to the new online era where you can’t be sure that anything is real anymore. And especially: Trust no one! (And don’t give money to strangers!)Google has removed popular psychological horror game Doki Doki Literature Club! from the Play Store. According to Dan Salvato, who led its development team, and publisher Serenity Forge, Google told them the visual novel was removed because it violated its Terms of Service in its depiction of sensitive themes. The game is “widely celebrated for portraying mental health in a way that meaningfully connects deeply with players around the world,” they said in their announcement. Its free version, which came out first, has been downloaded at least 30 million times, while the paid “Plus” version has had at least one million downloads. The visual novel has repeatedly made Engadget’s lists of favorite games over the years. **alternative download link you can download it from https://com-serenityforge-dokidokiliteratureclub.en.uptodown.com/android/download Don’t know if it is trustworthy though. You play download the PC version officially from steam, only android was removed: https://store.steampowered.com/app/698780/Doki_Doki_Literature_Club/ **
oogle has removed popular psychological horror game Doki Doki Literature Club! from the Play Store. According to Dan Salvato, who led its development team, and publisher Serenity Forge, Google told them the visual novel was removed because it violated its Terms of Service in its depiction of sensitive themes. The game is “widely celebrated for portraying mental health in a way that meaningfully connects deeply with players around the world,” they said in their announcement. Its free version, which came out first, has been downloaded at least 30 million times, while the paid “Plus” version has had at least one million downloads. The visual novel has repeatedly made Engadget’s lists of favorite games over the years. **alternative download link you can download it from https://com-serenityforge-dokidokiliteratureclub.en.uptodown.com/android/download Don’t know if it is trustworthy though. You play download the PC version officially from steam, only android was removed: https://store.steampowered.com/app/698780/Doki_Doki_Literature_Club/ **
Google has removed popular psychological horror game Doki Doki Literature Club! from the Play Store. According to Dan Salvato, who led its development team, and publisher Serenity Forge, Google told them the visual novel was removed because it violated its Terms of Service in its depiction of sensitive themes. The game is “widely celebrated for portraying mental health in a way that meaningfully connects deeply with players around the world,” they said in their announcement. Its free version, which came out first, has been downloaded at least 30 million times, while the paid “Plus” version has had at least one million downloads. The visual novel has repeatedly made Engadget’s lists of favorite games over the years. **alternative download link you can download it from https://com-serenityforge-dokidokiliteratureclub.en.uptodown.com/android/download Don’t know if it is trustworthy though. You play download the PC version officially from steam, only android was removed: https://store.steampowered.com/app/698780/Doki_Doki_Literature_Club/ **
This is the risk of “trusted computing” architectures. Who is governing the “trusted” part of that. These cryptographic signatures are not as much of a death knell for Android as some would have you believe. The trick is to get a common code signing cert into your device, that is then used to sign any third party APK you want to run. You can avoid the Google tax this way. I assume that’s how most sideloading sites and apps are going to handle this. The question is, how do you add that certificate? Is it easy and straight forward (with plenty of scary warnings), as a user? Or is it going to be a developer options deal? Or will I need root to add the cert? I’m not sure what that answer is right now. I just want to finish this post with a few words about trusted computing models. Plainly: Apple has been doing this for years … That’s why you download basically everything from an app store with Apple. Whether on your Mac OS device, your iPhone, iPad or whatever iDevice… Whether the devs need to sign it, or the app gets signed when it lands on the store, there’s a signature to ensure that the app hasn’t been tampered with and that Apple has given the app it’s security blessings, that it is safe to run. Microsoft and Google have both been climbing towards the same forever. Apple embedded their root of trust in their own proprietary TPM which has been included with every Mac, and iDevice for a long ass time. Google also has a TPM, the Titan security module, I believe that was introduced around pixel 3? Or 4?.. Microsoft made huge waves requiring it for Windows 11, and we all know what that discussion looks like. Apple requires a TPM (which they supply, so nobody noticed), Google has been adding a TPM and TPM functionality to their phones for years, and now Windows is the same. None of this is a bad thing. Trusted computing can eliminate much of the need for antivirus software, among other things. I digress. We’ve been going this way for a long time. Google is just more or less, doing what Apple has already done, and what Microsoft will very likely do very soon, making it a requirement. Battlefield 6 I think, was one of the first to require trusted computing on Windows and it will, for damned sure, not be the last that does. The only real hurdle here is managing what is trusted. So far, each vendor has kept the keys to their own kingdoms, but this is contrary to computing concepts. Like the Internet, it should be able to be done without needing trust from a specific provider. That’s how SSL works, that’s how the Internet works, that’s how trusted computing should work. The only thing that should be secret is the private signing keys. What Google, Apple, and Microsoft should be doing, is issuing intermediary keys that can sign code signing certs. So trusted institutions that create apps, like… Idk, valve as an example, can create a signature key for steam and sign Steam with it, so the trust goes from MS root to intermediary key for valve, to steam code signing key, and suddenly you have an app that’s trusted. Valve can then use their key to sign software on their store that may not have a coffee signing key of it’s own. This is just one example based on Windows. And above all of this, the user should be able to import a trusted code signing cert, or an intermediary cert signing cert, to their service as trusted. Anyways, thanks for coming to my Ted talk.
As much as i hate my own answer, when using a computer for work or school you should adapt to using the operating system and sofware supported by that school. The last thing you want is to, in middle of class get instructed to download and use x, and then have to go into a rabbithole of trying to be compliant, missing the class. I would not trust a vm for cad software because i don’t know how heavy the stuff is that you would be doing. You might need that dedicated gpu. dualboot is probably a better option. Another interesting idea, based on the fact that Linux can read and use from windows disks is to make it windows and school appropriate with 2 partitions, then install your preferred linux on a fast bootable usb. This way you can take and run your linux wherever you want, and when you plug it in the laptop you just access the partition from the windows disk to put heavy programs and files. I am doing sm similar on desktop where my old windows drive is still there and functional but is also used as game install drive from linux.