Sudden culture shock from a Norwegian:

Still open is the transition of heat and cars to electricity…

Almost all electricity used by Norwegian homes goes towards heating (including cooking and hot water), and charging cars. So counting heating separate from electricity suddenly makes the electric transition sound less impressive. (And the transition away from nuclear more baffling). It’s still impressive to see Germany really follow through on renewables though. 60% renewable electricity is still a lot

Is there a plan to transition away from burning fossil fuels for heating?

Zim really is amazing, its the perfect balance with its simple plain text files in folders data structure, but powerful search and back linking. And I love linking to other files on the local file system.

How do you do the LUKS volume upload to cloud? Is it for syncing between devices or just backup? Personally I use (self hosted) NextCloud to sync my Zim between devices.

The biggest problem with Discord is that its an information black hole. Its not properly searchable and not indexed by search engines.

Discord is fine for casual chat, but horrible when used for forum-type discussions and even worse when used for documentation.

You see the same problems being discussed and solved again and again, but you cant just “link” someone the solution like you could with a forum thread cause its spread out over 3-10 chat messages that are interleaved in-between other topics being discussed in the same room

Anything of long-term value for the project (forum-type discussions, documentation etc) should not recide in Discord

+2 for KDE Connect, the integration is amazing. I’ve used it on KDE and Gnome (gsconnect), all works very well

Like taiyang said, SteamOS is based on Arch which is super not newbie friendly, but the desktop modes “desktop environment” is KDE which available on pretty much any Linux distro, including beginner friendly ones like (K)Ubuntu and Fedora (although I’m not sure how beginner friendly Fedora is, regarding proprietary drivers and codecs)

Another good option on Windows is PDF XChange Editor, though I’m using an old version so I can’t vouch for how much or little enshitification has happened in newer versions

Depending on what you need, you might get away with any old small PC (like 1 litre office PCs or old thin clients), or an SBC like Raspberry Pi.

For Operating system, instead of Android, try LibreELEC, or any Linux distro starting straight in to Kodi could work, for Firefox in Kiosk mode opening your Jellyfin.

Bazzite is a version of Fedora initially started as a steamOS alternative for the steam deck. So if you install the Deck version of Bazzite it boots straight in to Steam Big Picture intended for the TV.

KDE Plasma also has a Plasma Big Screen version, but I’m not sure how ready that is yet, or if it’s easy to install.

I did this too :D I used to have 20 pairs of non-identical black socks, which made matching hard and it felt wrong to wear socks of slightly different type or size. Much easier now

I keep getting socks for Christmas though, which I never wear cause they’d mess up the simplicity

2nd for Kobo! It’s a good device, supports more standards, and doesn’t fund any of the Too Big Tech Giants

I see. It makes sense when you say it.

Yet I only encounter torx on low-medium torque stuff. Applicances, not cars.

What is the reason to use torx over Internal hex (Allen key)? Surely there must be a reason why it’s used

When growing up it used to be that (internal) hex was for high strength but needed exact tool size, and Phillips/flat blade for low strength application with the benefit of any approximately sized tool will work.

Seems to me torx is in this awkward in-between where it’s used for low-strength applications, but require exact tool size. Or it’s used interchangeably with hex, requiring two sets of tools available at the work site (not fun if the work site is 30 meters up some ladders)

+1 for SSH and FileZilla (or WinSCP)

Color temperature is actually quite OK with simple remotes. Like the IKEA remote control used left and right arrows to change between stark white, warm yellow and happy medium.

Problem is non-smart bulbs with smart wall-switch can’t change color temperature. Theoretically I suppose there could be a switch/bulb combo, where the switch is Zwave/ZigBee enabled, and somehow communicate with the bulb. But I don’t think anything like that exists. It’d probably be very expensive if it did

Cheaper? :O This is the super-deluxe splurge option compared to some cheap IKEA ZigBee bulbs

Got any recommendations? ZigBee, Zwave, or something else?

One nice thing about having the bulbs smart is changing the color temperature. Is there any way of doing that from the wall-switch? It’s kinda what’s been stopping me from upgrading from smart bulbs to smart switches

Didn’t the French try that after the revolution?

Application Z requires another 3GB because it needs Gnome runtime version X+1, not version X. Although I do believe Flatpak does some kind of reduplication so actual used space is somewhat less.

It’s also less of a problem if you flatpak all the apps vs having just a handful. The more apps the better chance they’re actually sharing runtimes.

Flatpak updates are handled very smoothly by KDE Discover, I always assumed Gnome Software did the same, so no additional package manager required.

Despite the few downsides Flatpak is still wonderful. As a Kubuntu user it’s nice to say Farewell random PPAs whenever there’s a need for an actual newish version of an application

Like others said it’s mostly just practice.

What helps is to align the (short) ends and hold them flat between your index finger and thumb. Use your free hand to get them in order. Once they’re in order, keep holding them still between your index finger and thumb using one hand, then use your free hand to slot on the connector

Edit: also bending them back and forth a bit will soften them up and reduce them curling in all sorts of directions. It also weakens them, so don’t overdo it (mostly only works for solid cable, the type meant for permanent installations like inside walls)

This is a very outdated take. With SteamPlay and Proton most games these days are literally just click Install click Play. The main exceptions are VR and certain competitive games with invasive AntiCheat where the devs has not enabled Linux support.

These days you should not need fiddle with Wine directly, Proton, Lutris etc should handle Wine for you

Like maxmal said, FreeCAD has an Architecture (and BIM) workbench, which is heavily developed by one of the main FreeCAD Devs. Try it out and see if it works for you

Calling the architecture workbench a plugin is technically correct, but a bit misleading, as all core features are technically plugins(workbenches). The Architecture workbench is a built-in default feature

So DIY home-assistant based cloud-relay is better than custom made purpose built cloud-relay by muliti billion dollar company? xD

Which is both hilarious and a testament to the power of Home-assistant and open source (and I suppose it says something about how much Hyundai cares about their app)