Big Blu Gnu

@Big_Blue_Gnu
11 Followers
9 Following
217 Posts
"Big Blue Gnu" is my pseudonym. In real life, I am a student majoring in software engineering and minoring in art, as well as a pianist who has taken up music theory. Outside of that, I am a free software advocate who contributes edits to Wikipedia and items to the Internet Archive, preserves web pages and files, and occasionally posts reviews on IMDb. This is the place where I regularly blog about my activities, as well as whatever concerns me.
Steamhttps://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198054913415/
GOGhttps://www.gog.com/u/Big_Blue_Gnu
YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbJyWouEXMMoctfFVUAUr1A
IMDbhttps://www.imdb.com/user/ur87792635/
@wagesj45 Coming from the late 1990s (thus a Zoomer), I am qualified to say I am old enough to remember what Windows XP looked like: simple, but elegant. I also barely recall—unironically—Windows Mistake Edition, but hey, at least my kiddy self could play games on it, so there's that. I might have also seen Windows Vista/7 computers before 2010. Anyway, the point is that old Microsoft was better than new Microsoft. Even the Windows 9x Start menu makes more sense than Windows 11's in retrospect.

#Linux lets me do 95% of what I want on a computer, and I'm happy with that. #Windows lets me do everything, except make it better, so I prefer Linux. Unfortunately, it is that 5% that forces me to keep Windows on one of my computer's drives.

I had to log into Windows just so that I could use #Logitech G Hub to change my mouse's settings, thus ending my two-month streak. Wine just isn't fully there yet. Don't worry, I'm still sticking to #Fedora.

#FOSS #freeSoftware #proprietary #WineHQ

I don't know how bad #antisemitism is at #Harvard University or whether that Ivy League university is in violation of the Civil Rights Act, nor am I certain that the Department of Justice's lawsuit against it is pure in intent or just more #jawboning. One thing's for certain, though: Harvard University can easily afford to do away with funding from government, and it would not feel the pressure to kowtow to it.

https://reason.com/2026/03/20/doj-files-civil-rights-lawsuit-against-harvard-citing-campus-antisemitism/

#campusFreeSpeech #CivilRightsAct #TrumpAdministration

DOJ files civil rights lawsuit against Harvard, citing campus antisemitism

The Trump administration wants its federal funding back from Harvard, alleging the Ivy League university did "nothing" about campus antisemitism.

Reason.com

Yet more evidence that America's unreasonable regulations are a national security threat. This unduly red tape does nothing to serve the national interest ... or the common good.

https://reason.com/2026/03/21/chinas-rare-earth-dominance-was-made-in-america/

#bureaucracy #China #freeTrade #geopolitics #governmentFailure #nationalInterest #nationalSecurity #overregulation #permits #rareEarth #UnitedStates

U.S. regulations helped make China the top rare-earth producer

America once dominated the rare-earth market, but permitting requirements are holding the industry back.

Reason.com

This evening, I put out an essay on Wikipedia about spotting misinformation. It is marked as being in development, but it was created to help teach editors how to detect misinformation when they see it. It is preferable to have everyone decide reliability on their own over most turning to the consensus of the few who take part in WP:RSN. This will hopefully lead to higher-quality edits.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Big_Blue_Gnu/sandbox/Spotting_misinformation

#Wikipedia #essay #misinformation

User:Big Blue Gnu/sandbox/Spotting misinformation - Wikipedia

@walterolson.bsky.social No one has ever reported General Washington or Abraham Lincoln gloating about fallen British or Confederate soldiers, AFAIK. Fast-forward to today, and it is disturbing to see how our political culture is panning out. A culture of death, that is.
When we're as surrounded by streaming platforms as we are now, it's easy to forget that the DRM-free life still exists. Even now, there are dozens of record labels, publishers, and online retailers that refuse to abuse their customers. Learn about them in the Guide: https://u.fsf.org/1lr #EndDRM #DRM
Guide to DRM-Free Living: Audio | Defective by Design

At a restaurant, I order food, and I get to do what I want with it. Condiments, maybe. Anyway, I own the thing. Meanwhile, I purchase the hardware, apps, games, etc., and I should be owning them by now. With #DRM, it feels as if the companies are digitally managing restrictions on what I have in my own home, straight out of their headquarters. At least with food that I bring back, I can enjoy it without the cooks breathing down my neck.

#copyright #dataPrivacy #DMCA #freeSoftware

Brickbat: An officer in Bridgeport, #Connecticut, involved in a foot chase last year that ended in a fatal shooting has been placed on administrative leave in light of—but unrelated to—reports that she took an ambulance intended for the dying person. Erin Perrotta was escorted away after suffering a "mild anxiety attack", leaving the bloodied Dyshan Best to wait another 14 minutes before he could be treated at a hospital, where he died from his wounds.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/bridgeport-dyshan-best-lawsuit-fatal-shooting-22075352.php

#policeAbuse

Not to wish ill upon anyone, but I can't wait for our gerontocracy to die. Seriously, vote every one of these anti-Section 230 representatives out and fill their seats with a bunch of thirty- or forty- somethings who favor the protections. At least Trump critic-turned-sycophant Ted Cruz recognizes the dangers of repealing the Internet's First Amendment enough to oppose it.

https://reason.com/2026/03/20/section-230s-legal-protections-for-internet-speech-face-new-challenge/

#FirstAmendment #freeSpeech #gerontocracy #Section230 #socialMedia #TedCruz #USSenate

Section 230's legal protections for internet speech face new challenge

Senators heard arguments from both those who favor maintaining the free environment for online speech and those who want to roll it back.

Reason.com