A farewell to Windows

 So, to gloss over the increasingly shit state of the world... Ukraine's in ever-more-dire straits due to Russia's invasion (and Republican obstructionism here in the US isn't helping), Israel's not done with Gaza yet... and decided that attacking an Iranian embassy in another country would be a good move while they're already distracted, which Iran (reasonably) took issue with, and decided to respond with drone attacks on Israel last night.  Looks like things are heating up over there, here's hoping we all live through any further escalations.

While that's all going on, I (as usual) am focused closer to home.  In particular, Windows 10 is going away next year, and Windows 11 is a product I don't want in my day-to-day life (outside of work, of course, can't escape it there just yet).  Looking over all the software I use routinely, the only thing that Windows really brings to the table is the ability to use all of my Steam library - you know, that pile of games I've acquired over the years where I've tried things out briefly, then promptly set them aside to come back to some other day, which never comes.  Even cutting that down in half, I've got more games in there than I'm likely to ever come back to, and, courtesy of Steam's Steam Deck efforts, more and more of them can be played in Linux without major issue.  With that in mind, I've assembled a new "daily driver" for home that's just getting a Linux install - if I ever have a burning need for Windows, I can buy it then.

Mind you, that's a lovely idea in abstract, but how well that turns out depends greatly on the state of the Linux ecosystem these days.  With that in mind, I decided to go with Ubuntu... but I've also got some rather new hardware involved (AMD 8700G APU, woohoo!), so I thought going with the recently-released Ubuntu 24.04 Beta would be a good idea.  Long story short, no - this is a "true beta", not a marketing exercise, and it only took a couple of reinstalls for me to decide to move on.

Well, if the bleeding edge is out, then stability is the name of the game... so, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS it is.  The end result is... better, but nowhere near consumer-grade.  Just to call out the issues I've run into so far:  I had to install a terminal-based program to get my audio working properly (I've got a 5.1 sound system that I've used for decades); AMD's graphics hardware drivers involve installing a package using Ubuntu's built in tools... followed by a script in a terminal; Ubuntu's Steam package reacts badly to maximizing its window on the desktop (as in, nothing displays outside of the menu bar, even if you revert screen size); and my personal favorite, their preferred update method resides in their "store" app, which, when I try to update it, won't update because it's in use, and there's no method there to schedule updates for, say, the next restart cycle or anything like that.  All in all, it's easy to miss the (relative) polish the Windows experience provides these days... but it's not enough to make me switch back to Windows just yet.

It's the start of a new Linux adventure here.  Much as I like to keep things simple, especially when it comes to computer gear and the like, I have to admit to being a little excited to see how things go.

Mixed bag: terrible reality, too-good fantasy

 Over two months since I last posted?  That's a bit too long - things tend to back up and fester over those sorts of time frames - so, let's get cleared out a bit, hey?

First, yes, Israel/Hamas is still going on, and still causing untold horrors among the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip.  Since both sides are basically full "we can't let the other side exist any longer", I don't expect to see that change any time soon, no matter what pressure anybody else brings to bear.

Then, there's Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  It's been two years since that mess started, and it's going much like I feared back when it started.  Hell, we're still finding new "sanctions" to apply against Russia two years on, which means what should have been a sharp rebuke has instead been a measured display of disapproval, which isn't going to dissuade anybody who's already initiated a war on their own.  Worse still, not having any "skin in the game" for this war means that it's more politically palatable for our own fifth-columnist party, the Republicans, to try and obstruct what little aid we would otherwise be giving.  And for anybody that disputes that characterization of Republicans, let me remind you that it's a bit over 3 years since they tried to overthrow the government, since when they have done exactly nothing to clean out their ranks, instead obstructing even basic functioning of the government in the House of Representatives... at this stage, anybody running for (re)election under the Republican banner is part of the problem, not the solution (unless you think the solution is overthrowing the government, of course).

Well, with all that off my chest, time for a bit of tonal whiplash.  I've played a bit more Baldur's Gate 3 (for those of you "in the know", I've made it across the lake in the Underdark), and I can safely say that, from all that I've seen so far, it's a good game.  A very good game.  Honestly, too good of a game.

What do I mean by that?  This is from the point of view of an older adult, so your mileage may vary, but this is the first game I've played in a long time that holds my attention strongly enough that I can't reliably stop a play session at a scheduled time - yes, basically every time I've played, I stayed up way past my bedtime.  So, being a "responsible" adult, that means that I can only really play BG3 on the weekend... and Friday nights are pretty well spoken for, so that really means Saturday night only.  But, life's never simple like that, so anything that disrupts that schedule (like, say, a return bout of COVID) means I have even less time to play.  In and of itself, a nuisance, but not like there's much to be done about it.

However, it gets worse.  As good as BG3 is, it impacts my ability to play even remotely similar games.  For example, I've still got Wildermyth listed in my "Games that have my attention" section, and it's true, I really do want to play more of that game... but, it's a party-based fantasy tactical combat game at its core, so all I would get out of it right now is a constant reminder that I'd rather be playing BG3.  It's not a total wash, since I can still play some more "sufficiently different" games like Starfield and Slipways to round out my gaming time, but it's a large footprint of my games that I'm basically locked out of until I either finish or grow less enamored of BG3.

So, that's where I'm seeing things now: real problems nationally and globally, while I deal with the very definition of "first world problems" in my play time locally.  Well, better days will come, I'm sure... but of course, I'd rather have those better days right now, thanks.