I would add MX Linux to this list. Its a Debian stable based distro featuring the XFCE desktop (just like Manjaro) but with additional tools to ease setting things up. Currently the no.1 choice in Distrowatch.

For a no frills productivity environment, where you need to prioritize stableness vs the bleeding edge, AND when you need to minimize support, MX Linux makes perfect sense. I especially use it when installing to others.

The Ubuntu derivatives tend to be slower (Ubuntu, Mint, Zorin, Elementary) they might look prettier but that needs more ram. In this "looking pretty" camp your list incredibly misses KDE (Plasma?), you should put KDE Neon in there which is like Kubuntu but with up to date KDE packages (its the distro KDE devs promote).

Windows 10 collects your data, it is one of the reasons of its existence (vs the older versions). Microsoft knows every single file name you have, they can also retrieve them (download) if they feel compelled to. I believe they also get the generated thumbnails, there is documentation on the bucket load of info Microsoft themselves collect from you on various sites online.

Linux is far safer by default than Windows ever will, its probably in their model anyway to be easy to break for various reasons (and their separate department development model leaves no choice). And that is before you start adding software, which will simply diversify the number of companies that get your private data.

Datamining is exactly what Microsoft wanted to get into with Windows 10, there is no coincidence Windows 10 increased that data collecting following the trend of similar Google products.

With Free and Open Source software like Linux you have the code and can audit it yourself, or pay others to do so. Are you scared of spying? Check the code, compile it yourself; invite others to do their independent reviews, report anything you find.

Your mentioning of Quebes seem to be ignoring the recent security flaws of speculative execution in most modern CPUs; virtualization is NOT a silver bullet. If you want a "safer" system then get something like the Pinebook pro or some architecture without these flaws.

In Windows installing from untrusted sources is "normal", people are used to find things in web pages, download and install, as opposed to using an official repository like most Linux distros have been doing for decades. You would need to break couple of decades culture of bad habits from windows users, such as running with administrator privileges. And even if they were disciplined to run as a limited user, they will happily execute dubious programs downloaded or brought in that can escalate with or without permission anyway. That's how the infamous Stuxnet invaded an air-gaped facility in Iran, the idiots were using Windows scada terminals and some bored operator probably wanted to play games or see pictures on his usb stick to pass the time...

Yes today Avast made the news, Avast is not the only one, most windows programs do this including windows itself. This is also true of closed source proprietary apps, you could attempt to sniff your network but many do this encrypted to "normal looking" sites.

Without the source code, you can never tell for sure your program or operating system isn't doing something behind your back. You simply can do nothing buy blindly trust in them, like you would trust your government will never ruin the fiat coin of your country.

It makes a GIGANTIC ton difference to use Linux vs Windows, even at default settings. I don't care if you replace Linux with similar FOSS OS such as Freebsd, or Windows with similarly closed proprietary software such as OSX. The same goes to all user programs. Do not excuse laziness over learning "something not Windows" by justifying yourself with "any 2$ chip can sniff you anyway so why bother"? If we bring here every possible single vector of attack, we would never end. The point is to reduce them, not increase them. You increase them many fold by telling people to not bother with Linux. Yes it matters, yes it makes a difference.

To anyone reading this still on Windows: Linux is free and open source, try it. Nobody is forcing you a subscription or referral program. There are thousands of distros you can try, test as many as you want until you find one that you like. Many can be tried without installing, you can even disconnect your hard drive if you are scared to accidentally lose your data, just let it boot from the usb stick or optical disc.

See for yourself, make the difference and tell others. Linux is to Windows what Bitcoin is to Ripple.

I think a jigsaw puzzle would do fine. Just make a single line of it, and notice how you cannot swap the correct pieces with wrong ones, as the line would fall apart and never connect again (chain is broken).

Also notice that to build a solid line you have to connect the correct piece one after the other, which is what a blockchain does.

The hosts file is intended to resolve domain names. For example you have a machine in your LAN called "petunia" at 192.168.1.2, you would do

192.168.1.2 petunia

So if you ping petunia your os knows this means 192.168.1.2 before asking a dns server.

Now here comes the important part hd49728: Do NOT, i repeat DO NOT put URLs in there!

You have to REMOVE the http and the / parts, like this:

http://privatemgrgg.pw/vcruntime140.dll -> privatemgrgg.pw

0.0.0.0 privatemgrgg.pw NOT 0.0.0.0 http://privatemgrgg.pw/vcruntime140.dll as you have been doing.

This is a file for manual domain name resolution, it is not a browser and it is not supposed to interpret neither URLs nor files or folders or files within (no /).

When you type the url in the browser, the browser will ask your os what IP address number that domain name has, the browser does NOT ask what http://privatemgrgg.pw/vcruntime140.dll is, it asks for privatemgrgg.pw but you defined http://privatemgrgg.pw/vcruntime140.dll in the hosts file which won't match what the browser (or program) is asking and it won't get "blocked" (resolved to oblivion).


Note that this "blocking trick" may no longer work with newer browsers since they have started to resolve dns using third parties like google's or cloudflare (so called "secure") dns resolvers bypassing the OS entirely by default (YMMV).


Yes there is a way to have your OS do secure dns resolving while NOT handling your dns history to the usual suspects, install dnscrypt-proxy and configure it accordingly. Remember to set your browser to not use their own "secure built-in" resolution as well...


PS: Just because its Linux doesn't mean it comes with nano. You should have used the exact same wording as the other OSes: "open the hosts file with a text editor".

Too bad you didn't made this a poll. Anyway if i have to choose, I vote for Ronaldo.

Are you going to leave the 3ND even if the pool recovers its former 100+ PH/s hashrate?

And this is exactly what is going to happen to Bitcoin. Litecoin just did it faster, because faster blocks etc. Most of the coins have already been produced, 18M/21M. What is left is only going to take longer even more as time passes. Bitcoin production is definitely not going to affect prices to the point mining remains profitable, and besides bitcoin production was pre-defined since the beginning, no matter how many miners are out there or if its profitable to mine or not.

Indeed miners cannot suddenly change production at least not too long, as every two weeks it self adjusts. Normally changes in global hashrate are smooth enough that the time it takes to self adjust doesn't make things too different while it does so. With physical things such as oil, the producers can in fact arbitrarily change production to affect prices, as Opec has done for decades. But oil gets consumed when used, bitcoin simply changes hands, its normally NOT consumed, a bit like gold...

If you paid attention you would have noticed this has been going on after each halving already. It appeared to slowdown somewhat by bitcoin market price increase and improved efficiency of asics, but even with that its not enough to keep it profitable overtime; it is an uphill mountain where the grade only keeps increasing every 4 years until almost no one can keep climbing anymore.

As expected, mining has gradually been less and less profitable and this start removing the older inefficient ones first, those with expensive electricity, until the most efficient asics in the cheapest country (here) is no longer profitable. Those that made money mining would be wise to have diversified their investment in different avenues by now, do not expect to continue the game much longer, especially the bigger ones running near the borderline of profitability.

While you are at it can you add the price of each? It would make for a nice comparison. Features would be nice too... Or is there a table somewhere with this info already done and updated?

Yes, indeed. The real number is the number of satoshis, which approaches 21 million x 100 million. Once you start thinking in satoshis you can see there are plenty of them to do anything. Not sure about the LN further subdivision.

Realistically bitcoins are way too expensive for anything but expensive things, like property, cars, etc. But as someone said, the bitcoin itself is just a cosmetic unit of measure shown in wallets, just like the mBTC, the real one being the satoshi.

Somewhere it was defined 100 million satoshis make a bitcoin, but because this is not in code, we could redefine this without touching anything beyond the cosmetic units displayed. Everyone would just want to agree and that is that.

They could say: "starting tomorrow, the bitcoin is no longer 100 million, but 1 million satoshis." Then those owning 1 bitcoin yesterday tomorrow can say they have 100 bitcoin under the new denomination (1 million satoshis). Obviously if the bitcoin is 10000 USD then it would cost to 100 USD to remain the same, since its the number of satoshis what actually matters.

I wonder if people would get really confused by this? They do that often with fiat that go hyperinflation, not that it means anything beyond "human convenience" for expressing price of things etc. While governments can do that to fiat by decree, i wonder how would the community react to such?

I personally don't mind, but "larger supply" (as in more satoshis) is absolutely not needed.

They don't get it unless you tell them what the average wage is. I will tell you the avg wage in mine, so you can jump of joy of the richness you are living in: 5 USD a month. Only a decade ago, i used to earn 250 USD a month. Same job, in the same company, is paying right now about 5 USD. I had to quit when it was around 10 USD, was paying more in public transport.

I found that committing myself to an internet job was the only choice, and here i am. We are survivors, except the select Elite close to the guys in power.

In 2010 i didn't think i would ever suffer such poverty, i should have committed all my savings from that job into bitcoin. Too late... If we had seasons, most of us would die in winter. I have an acquaintance with the theory that is the very reason poverty reigns in the tropics, we are just too lazy. When your country goes down the poverty drain, all the others close the doors. Americans and Europeans don't understand this, they just can't imagine how people are forced to ask for a visa and pay a fortune for the permission to visit a country a week or two. And how do you meet people that might employ you overseas when you are not even allowed to enter in the first place? and how are you going to ever afford the ticket when you are also forbidden to work the time you stay there?

When 9a-5p 5-6 days a week job nets you 5 USD a month, how exactly do you think someone can afford things like cars or such?

And i think i'm better than the average, at least i inherited a place to live (parents still living there too). Internet stopped working 2 years ago, i still miss the days when i could leisure watch youtube videos, i'm forced to use a capped mobile that cannot be expanded, people are forced to use 600mb a month and then pay A LOT more per byte. But to me no internet = no food (literally).

In this distorted economy where competition is rare and State power overreaching, the few that import goods charge at least twice of what you would pay in your rich countries. So not only do we earn a misery, to buy your products we would need to pay 2 or 3 times more. Oh you people don't really know how a gov can ruin a country, no no no, in your lifetimes you never will, probably.

"Because of politics i wish to leave a 3rd world country" Or actually i wish the politicians would leave the country.

Incidentally you could live here A MONTH with 10 USD, hey that's TWICE the average wage... I think Filipinos should send us aid, you guys are so rich

We DO have something else in common: we also used to be a Spanish colony. Maybe that left something bad in our culture, since the former British colonies next door seem to be faring MUCH better... Or the Westminster system is truly superior to our "President" is the absolute ruler nonsense. Who knows?

No changes since 2017 it seems.

Regulation of Cryptocurrency: Japan

Of course there is also the KYC like rules for the operation of exchanges, etc. Funny how Mt.Gox got immortalized in the library of congress...

So you don't believe a collective can ever make any good decisions, only a great leader or selected elite could?

"Strong" leadership might seem to work when you do have this great leader. Unfortunately people die (or go crazy, whatever), and more often than not you end with idiots that will promptly lead you into ruin. And since you already gave him/her all the power, there is nothing else you can do. Very often they use this power to entrench themselves and their successors.

The "great leader" does not suffer the necessities of the people. It lives in the palace, with all the amenities he could possibly need. Inevitably they live in the fantasy that everything is great and anyone saying otherwise is an enemy. The people live in the darkest hour, just like my country right now: no way out.

You should not worry about inequality, worry about poverty (lack of wealth) instead. You can have a very unequal society where no one misses a meal, and a place where everyone is equally living in misery.

Usually there is always an elite ruling over the impoverished masses, and that elite has everything while the masses have nothing. They change the names, the colors, but the end result is the same thing, an almighty State that squashes individual freedoms. What different makes a president that can never be voted out than a Monarch? Its all a facade.

But there are systems that won't even let you out, you are condemned to poverty by being born there, and this is something people can't choose: where they are born. Sometimes people can choose where to live, but the State is always preventing you, some for you to leave, and some for you to come. Some people attack immigrants, but ignore the root cause of it.

Do you make the system, or the system makes you?

Hmm this is not a bad idea, but i would do it slightly different. Rather than moving miners around (that is not trivial, lots of effort doing that) Use a netbook, (or the smallest portable thing you can find with a lan port), and simply connect direct to each miner. That netbook can be running Linux with he nic manually configured and a dhcp server assigning IPs in the same segment you intend. Ie: 192.168.1.200.

That way you can walk in and connect directly to each one to set its manual IP without moving them at all. With manual IPs you don't have to worry about a dhcp server going nuts, especially when there is a power outage.

Also the "poweroff" idea is good, but it needs physical intervention later

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Which is which? i also have 39, 47 and 51 in my miner here.

The problem with "blogs" apart from being misused from its original purpose, is that as communication platform is way too vertical. I have to "go to your blog" to read you, rather than go to a place where we could share a common subject (such as this forum or the reddit like sites).

I mean, you expect me to "follow" gazillion random blogs out there? Not gonna happen. This model cannot scale up. This is also the fundamental reason some "social media" is also wrongly designed. Only "super stars" might get enough attention to get followers, but there cannot be a million super stars. And if you start following everyone, you will read none.

As a informational service (not like internet cares) blog meant: Bio Log. It was supposed to be your diary experience written in a site.

Honestly, i rather people stopped making "blogs". It is incredibly hard to make YOU make ME read your blog. In practice i'll just ignore them, like most of social media. If per chance you write something really interesting, then perhaps by search engine magic, i might come to your site for that specific thing once. And you will be very lucky. Many blogs are even cheating others, doing the equivalent of a retweet.

So in principle i don't visit blogs. I'm more topic/subject focused, not people focused. And who are you to want me to focus in you anyway? Sorry, my time is not infinite, blogs (and most social media) are. Its like Facebook, keep scrolling down, you will die of old age before the thing ends (or maybe the company closes first).

I'm not interested in reading offsite articles, if its not written right here, i just won't read it. If you are bothered to put a link to it, you could have also copy pasted it, or at least write a summary of it.

It is true that Dogecoin is the meme coin. Dogecoin is simply Litecoin (before segwit) modified for infinite production, it is absolutely unprofitable to mine, and yet it lives (somehow). As a running experiment its quite interesting. Of course it loses value like fiat. I guess what little merge mining its getting from others keeps it alive, well that and the reminder of miners that do it for fun and don't care about profits.

Since its just Litecoin you could say its quite close to bitcoin. Of course it uses the scrypt algo just like Litecoin does.
Too bad Dogecoin's happy face was tainted by the dark scamming scandal of a certain individual that took money from investors for an alleged ATM business that never was. Of course that's not the coin's fault.

No it doesn't "requires it". People mine because its profitable for them. In this lies the solution, it won't always be profitable, as time passes it is less so. So all you have to do is wait and the market solves the issue by itself.

Electricity is not free, especially the non-renewable ones. The renewable ones have install costs but at least don't need fuel periodically added to it, just some maintenance depending on type.

PoW is working fine the way it is and the mining is ending as it has performed its duty already. Most bitcoins have already been made, the reminder are a progressively less and less to the point of absolute crawl in the year 2140. You already know 18m bitcoins were made, what is left to mine are the ever diminishing leftovers that won't justify investment in large facilities anymore.

The time for Bitcoin mining is coming to an end, and then you won't be able to accuse it anymore. And there was no need to do anything, it was done since the beginning in the design.

Exchanges are already doing this kind of filtering. There are way too many altcoins that simply just die and they don't want nothing with them. Others simply get delisted when their volume plummets. Did you see the number of coins listed in coingecko? Now enter the most popular exchanges and see how many they trade.

Everyone can make their own coin, doesn't mean it will be successful or accepted by the market. And yes, there are also the scammers.

Most altcoins are simply just ignored by default to begin with. They have to fight hard to get recognition, prove what makes them worth over the competition. They all say they are, but the market (aka. the people with their voting wallets) think otherwise.

Nope, governments can exist without messing with the money. But of course they are forced to be more transparent, as they cannot cover their overbudgetting and corruption with printing money anymore.

This is not unlike a country that is using another country's money. Ie. Ecuador can do nothing to the USD, they are slave to whatever the American politicians do to it (including its destruction).

There is no need for any system. the money is the money and that's none of the business of the State, just like religion got separate from it earlier in history, now its the money.

Banks can still exist sure, and financing, but they are simply much less important, and pretty much optional. So there will be less of them.

No control is precisely what this is. The State can keep fighting crime, just not by manipulating the money or freezing it. Money will flow around the way people owning it want to, and that's the end of it.

Back when Satoshi still talked, one of the first media scandals was the fact that after the US Gov ordered VISA/MC to block donations to Wikileaks, people kept doing it with Bitcoin. Oh the outrage, even Satoshi came to say they have nothing to do with them. Still, nobody, not even Satoshi had a say on the flow of this money, which i'm sure kept flowing there, maybe even today.

This is the beauty of Bitcoin, and one reason its so valuable, vs. other forms of money that can be intercepted, and frozen on the whim of a few.

Oh really? Nobody notices if a repo gets a malware? They are not cryptographically signed and automatically checked at install? Obviously your world of "go hunt software at random dubious web pages" rather than a simple apt install program from a CURATED official repository is so much better. And its not like there are distros like Arch with tons of packages or the more recent distroless ways to distribute binaries...

To begin with, how can a virus even enter a Linux system? The user has to bring it it and execute it. In windows, all you need is visit the wrong page, and sometimes just plugging the computer to internet is enough. Permissions in windows are a bad joke, and most programs are intended to use with administrator privileges. And even if that's not available (something the vast majority of users skip, they all run as admin) its not terribly difficult for malware to escalate privileges by exploiting even more bugs.

Vectors for malware infection in windows are vast and wide, while in Linux its very hard to get them in. Then, if a Linux user foolishly executes a malware, it finds itself trapped to whatever the user has permission to, which very often involves not having writing permission to system files unlike windows. So the poor malware is trapped, and if that user logs out and another logs in, the malware remains inactive.

The reason Linux antivirus exist, is not to clean Linux, is to stop them from spreading into the windows computers. A common use in a company is to have a Linux computer intercept all mail and purge the never ending flood of malware in attached emails. That's one reason something like ClamAV exists in the first place. Linux malware is rare because it can't spread much, and the system is properly designed in the first place.