I think they’re being disingenuous, because the government has been spying on all of us via end runs around the rules like “five eyes” for decades. If they want to go all CIA on you they just ask an ally to do it, then return the favor and spy on the people of other governments for them. All legal and above board, it’s just “intelligence sharing”.

And the NSA isn’t even barred from monitoring you in the fist place.

I think it’s somewhat naive to assume anything isn’t being spied on by the NSA. They don’t have a history of being picky.

There’s no perfect system. Patches are not perfect and can add security holes. The old code is imperfect too, and if you do not patch those holes will remain. One needs to weigh the risks against each other. It’s an optimization problem.

If and when security is a primary objective, limiting patches to what’s necessary is a good idea. Best of both worlds.

No means no, Microsoft.

I’m not sure where you live, but a person has to accept a contract here, not just have it pitched in their direction with the hope they even read it.

Most products you buy these days have software in them. Anything more complex than a toaster. And some toasters.

But they’re not magic, they’re contracts. Unless you show them to the other party and they agree they have no force. I never clicked “okay” on my bluetooth headset, my casio watch, or my Instant Pot.

If I can use the TV without agreeing, I’m not bound by the contract.

If we’re discussing what’s legal it’s 100% relevant. DMCA makes circumventing a digital lock a crime in the USA.

If we’re discussing what’s moral, then talk less. Nothing about the DMCA was moral.

What EULA?

“Stealing” from advertisers is a moral imperative.

What Federation is being Federal to you? If it’s the USA, overriding your property rights was the whole purpose of the DMCA.

Dead bodies are not people and don’t have rights. If there’s a harm done, it has to be to someone else. Like surviving relatives or something.

If you’re looking into that, it might be worth considering some of the Android portable like the AYN Thor.

While they are usually focused on console emulation, on the more powerful units you can run older windows titles on them via emulation as well as any native android stuff you feel like running. The battery life of anything ARM beats the hell out of anything x86. There are also form factors available worlds better than the Legion or Steamdeck if you actually want something you can carry around in a pocket.

The aforementioned AYN Thor is about the size and form factor of a 3DS and retails for $250 for the cheapest model. So if you’re looking for something to tide you over until you can get a full gaming PC/Gabecube/Steamdeck 2, it might be better “half measure” than a Legion or Steamdeck.

I think trying to make a dish that’s going to please more than 75% of the population is all fine and good, but I think as long as most people like it you’re fine.

Well, it’s nuanced for one thing.

The USA has a violence issue, and legal civilian gun ownership is at most an exacerbating factor. The current regulatory climate towards guns likely causes the most harm in accidents and suicides. But it certainly causes some harm.

Criminals are using illegally sourced guns already, so bans will have no effect there.

Firearms safety courses before you get a license and access to mental health services would be far more effective than yet another weapons ban and more politically palatable to the population. But that doesn’t make for a good wedge issue to rally the faithful behind.

Or an actual social safety net and a living wage, because violence is far more strongly correlated with poverty and income inequality.

Do you care that people are dead, or that guns were used to kill them? Is it okay to do mass murder by bomb or truck?

If you care about deaths, then you make a chart about deaths. If you care about guns, you make a chart about guns.

This is a chart about guns.

Do you really think that dismissively talking down to people telling them they’re delusional is the best way or even a way to win hearts and minds?

I think it’s lying to try to get people to do a good thing.

Deception destroys credibility.

And it makes fun of people who disagree with it.

It alienates, not converts.

Comics like this are just preaching to the choir, and only the ones so fervent they’re blinded by their own self righteousness. It’s so obviously cherry picked and slanted if you’ve looked into the issues at play. It shows no respect for the reader at all, and likely only hardens the opinions of those it disagrees with.

You can’t convince anyone of anything with this kind of trollish virtue signal. It only exists to get the author pats on the back from people in their own camp.

This kind of shitty rhetoric harms the cause. You can’t win hearts and minds with blatant disrespect.

It also has a 0% failure rate in live strikes on targets.

Legally, technically: no.

Philosophically, practically: if you believe it’s murder when you do it, you are a murderer mentally. You decided to kill a person, then followed through with it. And the first time is always the hardest.