data1701d (He/Him)

I feel like what they did with Jerri Ryan was worse. At least for Deanna, it was in character.

Seven was a well-written character, but the wardrobe choices still infuriated me. That is probably one thing PIC got right.

I almost had a panic attack until I realized this was for UBlock Origin Lite rather than the normal, manifest v2 version. Still mad at Mozilla,though.

The filter preview feature seems really nice!

Honestly, Inkscape is at the very least almost as good as Illustrator - call me deluded but I find more intuitive in many cases.

Now if only GIMP could actually have some money pumped into it and a sane UI… 😒

Also, the use of AI-generated images on their website.

I don’t know. You should make sure it doesn’t have a Realtek Wi-Fi card. Otherwise, it looks fine. I found the Linux Hardware report for it here: https://linux-hardware.org/?probe=7144bb41

I think the price to performance doesn’t look the best, though. Maybe go for a Thinkpad instead?

Admittedly, that irks me slightly just because of the shared name with the devices folder in root, but do what works for you.

For one, AI datasets often break copyright law, frequently appropriating from artists. Executives are also trying to use it to eliminate the jobs of artists, and I feel it’s wrong to try and obsolete something people love doing.

In addition, they take a lot of power, not helping in the way of the needed changes to follow climate goals.

Clarification: Copyright laws can be annoying, and I don’t always agree with them. However, it also protects smaller artists. I think there are many cases where piracy is totally fine, though, like if a company vaults an animated streaming show and gets rid of all other ways to watch it.

I totally agree with you on the Linux side. However, I first got into Linux by using it in Virtualbox on Windows. In the Windows world, as far as I know, it’s the easiest-to-use free-as-in-beer¹ hypervisor, so long as UEFI support has improved since I last used it.

1: I say this because of the non-libre extension pack.

Meanwhile on the USS Voyager:

Tuvok and Chakatoy encounter each other in the hallway near Holodeck 1.

Tuvok: Commander, I am concerned about the Captain’s continuous holodeck usage. She has not exited the room for the past three hours, and I believe it may be inhibiting the effective operation of the ship.

Chakatoy: It’s been a rough week. I’m sure she’s just blowing off some steam.

Suddenly, they heard muffled noises through the holodeck door.

Tuvix: I have a right to live!

(Excessive machine gun noises)

Chakotay taps his combadge.

Chakotay: Doctor, can you come to holodeck 1? I think something’s wrong with the captain.

(No offense to Janeway. Just a fun caricature.)

I feel like that’s the Trek films in a nutshell - from a critic’s standpoint, they’re not necessarily all great, but they almost feel like long Star Trek episodes that you enjoy anyway.

Here’s my thoughts on each film:

• Generations: Honestly, I think pretty good with a solid overall plot. I loved Data’s arc - I feel like they did a great job not taking the comic relief too far. The fight scene was delightfully campy, and the “Time is a predator” stuff is so memorable to me.
• First Contact: I think it was a fun film. It’s almost the Wrath of Khan of the TNG films - a lot more action, with some Trek - which is probably why it’s considered the best. Personally, I prefer Generations, but this is still a good watch.
• Insurrection: There were a lot of fun moments, but the overall plot wasn’t that great - Picard’s new love interest that we never hear about again, the weird theme about “being in the moment” that I feel didn’t integrate into the plot all that well, etc.
• Nemesis: I think Nemesis had a lot of great things that didn’t quite land at the end. I think Shinzon did a great acting job, but could have been written better. They made him more irrational than I think he should have been, and the whole plot with “blowing up the earth” and “conquering the galaxy” felt way out of line for someone who is the product of and survived imperialism. As for B4, I feel they didn’t address the ethical concerns of throwing Data’s mind in him. At the end, blowing up Data didn’t help, but if the rest of the movie had been written better, I might have been fine with this choice, Chances are, whether through B4 or a Search for Spock-esque plot, we would have gotten another film where we got Data back.