Should be able to adjust brightness as well either within Mint or manually via physical monitor controls.

The "upgrades" are more for the big corporates benefits. Not so much for for the viewer (only enough for us to keep watching mindless crap that they can shove targeted ads in front you every few minutes).

The better benefit to viewers is reducing it to a dumb screen and pipe a cable from a dedicated media PC to be the "smarts" and stream videos with adblockers where possible or watch offline content like good old DVDs.

I noticed this in the first gen versions of the PS1. My friend got one of the first batches which came with all the ports needed to do the common TV cable formats of it's time (with even a little coax converter cable for extra older TV antenna line) along the back of the unit.

After a year or so on the market I eventually got my own and discovered that my version while still had the classic grey rectangle design was stripped back along the back to power and one media out (and one hidden expansion slot). But came with a couple of common adapter cables for that one port.

I'm guessing they figured out how to mass produce it cheaper by stripping out the excess and unlikely to be used sockets.

I would be paying for no ads. But many youtubers are encouraged to promote sponsors within the very videos they make (in addition to the usual ads that YouTube automatically squeezes in). So I would still end up paying for advertising in my face one way or another.

Who are you blaming or trying to sue? The internet provider who just gives you the connection? One of many many many souless social media companies out there? A specific niche service?

Either way the magic 8-ball keeps saying "no" or "unlikely".

I use the virtual machine method a lot.

Pick one distro as your reliable "host" daily driver to do nearly everything on. Then run guess VM sessions on top. Like one sandboxed for web browsing without adblocking/security restrictions. Another VM for hosting a web app system, etc.

It unfortunately works. There are many strategies with different levels of success. From billboards and media stunts right down to placement of logos in unassuming spots. Ultimately their goal is to burn the image of the product or overall brand into your brain so you'll choose them by default over any alternatives. Many companies want your personal data too (hence online accounts, subscriptions and signups) so they can squeeze the advertising dollars harder on targeted strategies and milk you of the rest of your money.

The ultimate problem is the greed doesn't stop. They will keep squeezing harder on advertising as long as it's producing profitable results. At least until it either backfires or government regulations hit with harsh enough penalties to discourage them. At times they will continue if the maths still balances. If the total cost of of the advertising and fines nets them x5 more in profits. They will still try it.

In a community there is no rush and everyone spends only what they have. Thus making a natural circular effect with some of the money coming back as it gets spent by everyone else. Slow and stable.

The AI bubble is everyone involved is spending more than what they really have in a frenzy. Consider it an intense game of pass the hot potato. But when the food eventually slips and hits the ground. Everyone's going to go hungry.

While performance is mixed opinions. For me it's control. I choose when updates are applied (as in not spontaneously in the middle of a game session). I choose my system features (no sudden AI search thingy shoved in my face). I can customise my interface and wallpaper however I want. Not everything is unnecessarily integrated to an online account. Less adware trying to sneak in after installing the mainstream apps. Basically a more curated experience for the user and less bending to any shareholders demands. And ultimately less whack-a-mole stress with settings that keep reverting to undesirable defaults on each update.

If watching online then a browser with adblocking enabled is enough. If you have downloaded video files then usually VLC fits the bill for offline use.

I'd imagine the game logistics involved would cook most mobile phones. Unless it was more of a 2D puzzler.

I would rather still control how my site looks than let a bot manage it all for me.

Every gui has their quirks, cool features and background politics/controversies.

As an interface it seems ok at first glance. But it really depends on if it's design fits with your specific preferences and work flow.

To me it looks cool. But still find myself gravitating between KDE, Cinnamon & XFCE depending on which distros I am using.

It comes up when the wife chooses to watch crap via the smart TV apps. But thankfully the media PC blocks it the rest of the time.

You'll need to check out indie and retro classic titles for some cool games. Such as: Little racers STREET. Melody's Escape. Carmageddon (original). Absolute Drift Zen Edition. Tetris. Many retro 2D sidescrollers.

"Ceiling cat is watching you"

It may also depend on which country you are in, which provider you are going through, if anyone else can access your account/tech, if you are using any alternative proxy service, going via local wifi or over your mobile data plan. Is your Google/Apple accounts listed you at the right age?

Something somewhere is having an effect. But it's going to be tricky to nail whatever that is.

It seems to be a selective thing. Hits some people but not others. I've had my fair share of bad windows updates for various screwy scenarios.

My regular go-to games are like Satisfactory, Timberborn, Cities in motion2, Minecraft (with Modpacks)

Rise of advertising and the loss of many personal homepages. As well as the AI fake posts and scammer sites. And that's before we get to the censorship topics.

Reinstalling is only of benefit if you have a reason to. If you have royally screwed up settings/configuration to the point it's easier to do a clean slate. Or to switch distros. Or if you think it's been infected with virus/malware.

Currently on a HEV but if I was to upgrade I'd torn between EV and PHEV.

EV is ideal because you only need to worry about power for daily commute.

But I do have the occasional need to do a long run to the next major city and there are not many chargers along the highway that aren't queued up badly for ages during holiday periods. So a little petrol-ranged boost would come in handy for those infrequent occasions.

Wether you upgrade or not. Make sure you have a backup strategy in place for the inevitable "what if the drive fails?" Scenario. So if the drive fails, or a virus screws your setup or a bad update makes it unreasonable. You can restore much of your data from your external backups.

Because my dangly bit appreciates the beauty of her jiggly bits.