kodi and its derivatives are not something you should be using. it’s shit software on so many levels and we should burn it in the deepest volcanos we got.

try one of these:

1. run lineageOS TV (konstakang images) on it and install regular ATV apps for the services mentioned. so, like googletv except there’s no spying and ads and shit.

2. create a normal linux box that has a DLNA sink e.g. using macast. there’s no remote control, you use your android/iOS device to send it stuff, like movie from Jellyfin or a youtube video, and it plays it back and allows some control (pause, play, rew/ff, etc)

3. dedicated Jellyfin box; same as 2) but boots right into jellyfin client. it can be run in TV mode where it reacts to only up/down/left/right/enter/back, via gamepad or remote controller. if yours isn’t recognised, you can emulate it with InputRemapper.

not familiar with how twitch does stuff.

you also have the option of installing a normal raspi distro and then using a wireless keyboard and mouse/touchpad to run it, but I am of the opinion that once the device gets placed by the TV, it loses all keyboard and mouse privileges and should only be operated via the TV’s remote.

eons ago I heard and internalised an awesome phrase: “don’t analyze the problem - solve it”.

in that vein, install it yourself and ship the laptop to him. don’t matter what it cost, it’s not like it’s gonna bankrupt you and it’s not like you’re gonna do this multiple times per year.

you’re 100% in control of everything and that’s the next best thing to being there and doing it for yourself. you’re gonna figure out how to remotely do half of the things you mention across CGNATs and whatnot? I am sure you got better things to do; I know dad has.

try the archive https://web.archive.org/web/20250613134705/https://thelibre.news/actually-what-is-a-freedesktop-portal/

whoever configured thelibre web server should be replaced, at the very least. loads as if it’s on the dark side of the moon.

edit: cool article though

it’s not “forever”. it’s however long they don’t have any ideas to the contrary.

why it was implemented - so that executive #279 can show executive #114 that number go up. look how our engagement is rising! look at all them people downloading our app! when I took over from exec #317, number was this big, lookie now!

same way google made their search worse, so you have to search multiple times, thus upping the engagment, page views, etc. and then exec X goes to exec Y and say “look there’s a huge rise in searches where my bonus at!”

you must’ve me confused with someone who does shit on your behest, go find out yourself.

this is just for onlookers, as it’s obvious it’s weirdo’s shill: the term in the ToS is “all comms must be readable by all other clients” which an E2EE capable client would be in breach of and would be promptly kicked off telegram’s infra, as was mentioned by those same FOSS developers in lemmy threads regarding that subject. as for you, plonk.

except, implementing E2EE via 3rd party FOSS clients is explicitly against Telegram’s TOS, which I’m gonna assume you already know as you’re parroting weirdo’s stance “all crypto is broken by NSA, so we’re better off without”. take care.

appreciate the effort, but kinda went overboard with the deets :) I run several prosody XMPP servers so I’m familiar with the underlying tech. what you describe should be feasible with it as well, but there are constant issues with devices not being able to access history, so I was wondering if things were better on your end.

so, based on this, I’ll spin up a snikker docker and try it out for a coupla weeks, see what’s what. many thanks.

edit: turns out this snikket thing is conversations (standard XMPP client) and prosody (XMPP server) with different branding.

your argument boils down to “the fully functional and loaded gun is in this weirdo’s holster and he won’t use it”.

the whole point is not relying on the benevolence of the weirdos out there and not letting them even be in the position to do any harm. encrypt my 1on1 comms and I don’t give a fuck what happens in the pedo/terror/carding/etc public groups. ample time to implement that in the past decade+ and be on par with practically every messenger out there. but he/they won’t implement it, they insist on all your shit being in the “cloud”, in plaintext, forever. there is no scenario where there’s not a malicious intent behind that.

I’ve been using Telegram since the early days. it was phenomenal vs the crap of its day - magical, even. like many, I was enamored with the vision of durov the folksy hero battling the forces of evil (in a bozo nightmare) and bequeathing us this tech marvel.

but I can’t trust it with anything any more. if weirdo can’t be trusted about some stuff, then he can’t be trusted with anything. enough for me, YMMV.

sorry for reiterating, so cross-device sync is totally impossible? or just something you don’t use?

aside from the dogshit UX and the uber reliance on Evilcorp’s infra, having more than two devices (I know, shocker in this day and age!), the arduous migration process to a new device, the limited chat history (I think it’s 40ish days) and many more.

same way Telegram adamantly refuses to implement E2EE, and not only that, it actively prevents 3rd party devs (a number of clients are FOSS) from implementing it on their own.

both PJ Harvey and durov respond the same way when asked about any of them things - smokescreens, FUD, whataboutisms, etc.

any of them things woulda been acceptable in 2015, here’s a PoC looking for funding, limited devs and resources; remember TextSecure and RedPhone? nowadays, they are nothing short of malicious.

how’s the chat history with snikket? I had issues with prosody, namely multiple devices coming and going and maintaining the same chat history between all of them, as well when there’s a disconnect (device gone forever, new device connects)

just skimmed their confusing web site, it’s free for selfhosting, right?

although it’s interesting research, I think it’s a weak text if you’re even tangentially aware of Telegram’s bullshit narrative as it focuses on the wrong thing. the main point should be “this dude was caught lying on a number of occasions and throws out smoke-screens and FUD when confronted about super-simple stuff. therefore nothing that comes outta his mouth is to be trusted” which should’ve prompted a mass exodus from this bullshit platform a long time ago.

the way more important issue is the collective action problem of dumping this crapware - leave it for what?

I run XMPP and Matrix servers and use various clients, along with Signal. all of those things are fucking dogshit software, there isn’t one that can come close to Telegram’s UX. if you fell into a coma in 2014 and woke up now to Element of Fluffy or whatever, you’d think someone’s pulling your leg. this is what a decade of development looks like?!

http://archive.today/Ocm8S

for the presentation part, watch standup. watch them construct the story, the path they guide you through, how it all comes together. notice how they lay it out, every syllable, every stutter, how it’s all in the service of delivery. planting and harvesting the callbacks. inadvertently, you’ll start picking up on techniques and implementing them and you’ll notice people hanging on your every word.

as to the actual part converting them over, determine who you’re talking to. if people are aware of the issue but are apathetic about implementing change, that presents one set of issues. if they’re completely unaware that there’s a problem, you’re better off changing environments.

I have an easy job, in my roles I implement the privacy aspect for tech-illiterate people from a security standpoint and I have a dictatorial position - they have to listen to me. I also don’t have tech debt when I implement their IT strategy, i.e. there’s never an issue with an OS or app they love or are used to. all of that is way, way harder when faced with someone who can’t imagine life without a $1000 easily breakable/losable/stealable slab of glass with the blue bubble and the tiks and toks and whatnot.

edit: there’s this thing https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/may/24/what-i-discovered-when-i-asked-amazon-to-tell-me-everything-alexa-had-heard I just saw at HN. this dude having a blissfully ignorant walk down melancholy lane, pondering the details of his decade-long spyware-ridden life, completely oblivious to their most intimate family shit just being out there in the world, for anyone to abuse just so he can be a more effective consumer. reaching those people, although possible, is such a tremendous effort I don’t think it’s worth it.

thanks everyone for the suggestions. second run: 1 cup groats (thanks for the term), 2 cups water, splash of olive oil, pinch of salt. cover, bring to boil, switch to lowest setting, let simmer. got a glass lid, so monitoring progress.

20 min - still water left. 30 min - still some water visible. 40 min - none visible, occasional buble pops through. turn off heat, leave covered for 10 mins. sadly, there’s some water at the bottom, was hoping everything will get absorbed.

third run will be one setting above lowest for the simmer part thus hopefully shortening it to 30 mins, and then leaving it covered for 15 minutes, hopefully that will do the trick.

that’s for Fedora, for Ubuntu it’s toram I think? or was that for older versions… Esc during boot to verify, if it goes “loading to RAM” then you know it’s working.

to add to what others already said, the work from linux-surface is being adopted in the mainline, so it is possible that your hardware is already supported in a modern distro, like Fedora. boot it off a live USB image and poke around, you’ll get a better feel for it.

pro tip, at the GRUB menu press ‘e’ to edit the first item and then add rd.live.ram and that should load the image to RAM. you can then remove the USB and it’ll be way faster to navigate and it won’t touch your existing SSD install.

all Apple devices are part of a covert peer-to-peer network and its primary purpose is to facilitate the Airtags and find-my-shit apps. it runs on desktops, laptops, phones, ipads, watches, etc., including when they’re supposedly off. you can’t turn it off or opt out of it and what that crap additionally does and how secure it is is unknown.

having said that, if you run linux on an old intel-based macbook or similar (say, up to 2015 models) you’re out of that racket and similarly all Apple or iCloud based crap. they do have a permanently enabled IME but that’s true for the majority of devices sold and, dependent on your threat model, isn’t an issue per se.

not sure about the “credit card” angle as you can’t buy a new Apple device that runs linux, the asahi mess is limited to M1/2 models which are like 5 years old at this point.

using laptops as a forever-plugged-in device (regardless if workstation or server) isn’t the greatest idea. as an intermediary solution, like until you have something more permanent in place, sure. otherwise, look elsewhere.

limiting battery charge isn’t available on all laptop models and is aimed at preserving the battery’s functionality; it doesn’t solve the issue of a forever charged and never emptied battery. on the other hand, removing the battery on a lot of models limits their performance, significantly.

what is a viable solution is if you get a laptop board that runs at full power without battery, you can remove the board from the laptop, retrofit it with better cooling and additional storage (mini-PCI or M.2 to SATA adapters) and you end up with an energy-efficient server. but that requires a lot of work and is not something recommended for non-enthusiasts.

in short, sell it or swap it for something more adequate.

so, like torify up until now? tried it on a couple of apps as a replacement, works fine. the rust build chain though, madonn’…