Ex-technologist, now an artist. My art: http://www.eugenialoli.com I’m also on PixelFed: https://mastodon.social/@EugeniaLoli@pixelfed.social

  • 0 Posts
  • 53 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
cake
Cake day: July 10th, 2023

help-circle
  • Greek, English, and I understand a bit of French, since my husband is French. I lived for 9 months in Germany too, and I could understand a bit of that too, but that was 30 years ago and I’ve forgotten most of it.

    Truth is, I don’t really like verbal communication, in any language. I have trouble finding words (including my native one), it’s as if my brain is not optimized for language. It gets worse when I’m sick (I have multiple autoimmune issues), it’s as if language becomes a barrier. My husband becomes aggravated when I can’t find the right words to communicate. I wish we had telepathy, communicating with feelings.




  • I’m a woman, and have talked to him via email 2-3 times in the last 20 years. While I’ve met Torvalds, Jobs, and others in the industry when I was living in the Bay Area and working as a tech journalist, I never got to meet RMS – only via email. I think he has social issues, maybe he’s on the autistic side or something similar. I don’t think he understands clearly some of the things he’s saying when it comes to social stuff. He doesn’t get a pass, but at the same time, he’s a bit different as an individual, so that needs to be taken into account. When it comes to software, his heart is in the right place, and in fact, if it was me, I’d be even more strict (or more “Free” – depends how you see it), with GPL.




  • Sorry, as a Greek-American (currently in Greece), I disagree with most of the people here. When you’re part of a new country, you need to be able to do your business with the authorities in the official language. For that, some level of understanding the native language is required. In fact, to get any passport from any country, you need to have a B1-level understanding of that country’s language. So yes, being in a country, you need to know the basics. And if you don’t, then make sure you learn the basics within 6 months, in order to be able to live there without issues. I don’t see that as xenophobia, I see it as common sense.

    I moved to Greece from the US this year with my French husband. He doesn’t speak Greek. I can tell you, it has been a nightmare for him doing paperwork, and I need to go with him EVERYWHERE in any government office in order to get setup. It wasn’t pretty in the first few months, he was full of anxiety and he wouldn’t leave the house without me.

    Also, I worked in Germany in my youth, for a few months. I couldn’t understand most of what was said (although I could pick up a few words, but certainly couldn’t speak back). It was a nightmare. There were no free programs back then to learn the language, and so I went there without any preparation. Today, I wouldn’t have done it that way. I would first learn the language in some basic form (today there are apps to do that), and then move there.


  • Look, I’m a Linux user, and I prefer to use Free apps. However, the truth must be told: Firefox is not as optimized as Chrome. On older devices, Chrome is twice as fast in youtube playback, and it uses way less RAM overall. Chrome is the better browser in terms of architecture, at least for older PCs (and I have a whole bunch of them). On my main PC, running Debian-Testing, which is a newer PC, I do use Firefox, because it can handle stuff ok with enough CPU power. But for all my older PCs (anywhere from 5 to 15 years old), I have to use Chrome.

    Now, if you find me a de-googled, Free, WELL-MAINTANED Chromium browser, I rather use that than Chrome. No, Brave, etc don’t cut it. I want a community-driven, well maintained Chromium browser. Currently, all de-googled versions are not well maintained, or not available as native packages on Debian.

    EDIT: So, downvoted, huh? By fellow open source users who don’t want to hear the truth?


  • Depends what you mean by “nice”. Nice as in “genuinely good” person, or nice as a “nice behavior towards others”? There’s a difference, because in the latter one, it can involve not being honest, just so you can appear “nice”. So I’m not “nicely socially behaving” most of the time, I’m instead hammering with facts (without being aggressive). My underlying reason for being like that is because: 1. I’m not diplomatic at all, I wasn’t born with that gene it seems, 2. I don’t believe I help the situation if I just be nice for the sake of being nice. I feel more useful when I’m straight up, clear as water, without being combative or aggressive. If that makes me not nice because I’m not sugarcoating with socially expected bullshit, then I’m not nice. If that makes me nice because I try to help and my intent is pure, then sure, I’m nice.