definitemaybe

In BC, Canada, auto insurance is managed by the government. We have low insurance rates to begin with, and then we get a cheque in the mail at the end of the year if they collect more premiums than they pay out. (It's not a straight annual thing, of course. I don't know the details, but over the longer term it's how it works.)

It's kinda weird not having any sales pressure, too. They aren't at all light about upselling extra features. I only just found out that for ~$30/yr, I can add replacement car coverage to my plan. Over a lifetime, that's like $2K to never need to worry about a collision leaving you unable to drive for more than like a day to get a rental.

The article addresses a lot of the speculation about these numbers:

• This is an internal estimate that was leaked to the gaming press, and so is likely designed to be an underestimate, if anything, since it makes the entire XBox division look bad for cannibalizing their own sales (although most likely this was a best estimate).
• A whopping 82% of full-price sales of BO6 was on PS5, the one platform that does not have GamePass
• Inflated piracy numbers are addressed directly by the writer, although no specifics are given in relation to this number since the modeling was not disclosed

So, I think a lot of other commenters are unreasonably dismissing this number as inflated when it's likely fairly accurate.

Wait, this has hunted? That map was 80%+ of my TFC playtime. I need to look into this.

DA:O is peak CRPG. I love that game so much. I should do another solo nightmare playthrough, with a different class this time...

Except that it is still an option to only buy phones that allow bootloader unlocking and root? That's been a requirement for me since my first smartphone.

They're super important. They close the loop on power in the district, so that the superintendent is accountable to the community.

Trustees have power to choose/replace the superintendent, who is the "CEO" who theoretically controls everything, but really just Directors and Principals. Directors manage principals and vice-principals. They in turn manage teachers, who manage students (who complain to parents) and communicate learning achievement to parents.

Parents, in turn, can go to trustees if they have a complaint that is not addressed by the district and they usually respond well (if it's reasonable) since parents elect the trustees. (Trustees hardly get paid much, either. It's not a role to pursue for wealth.)

lol. Now that's a unique take.

Briefly looked into it, and Sailfish OS looks like it's getting closer to reasonable for an average user. The Aptoide store seems to have major apps (WhatsApp), but it still requires some tinkering, like going into several settings screens manually to do things that pop-up automatically in Android. Not too bad, but definitely only for someone who's okay with a bit of tinkering.

WhatsApp is a "must" for most users globally as it's the defacto messaging protocol standard used most places. Probably more important than SMS/MMS for most users. At least until everyone starts to switch over and something better (Signal, probably) starts to get a big enough install base that people use it.

In Canada, I frequently tell people they can Signal, text, or Whatsapp me, but the only people who ever use Signal with me are family I installed it for.

Games are probably a big deal, too. tbh, it's not a "must", but I'd be annoyed if I couldn't play Minion Masters on my phone. (But I could probably set up Sunshine/Moonlight streaming, if needed.) I'm guessing a lot of people have games that they wouldn't accept not being able to use.

I'm not sure about the 10.

Exactly the problem; current phones are good for the short-to-medium term, for anyone willing to use aging hardware, but what are the long-term prospects?

I'm hoping this will increase true open source phone OS development, like a Linux phone, but we'll see. If there's a way to really get Android or iOS apps onto a Linux phone (after these changes) then true open-source apps can fill most use-cases, but everyday users can still use the latest games/apps they expect to "just work". That might be the ideal future option, at least until if/when Linux gets enough market share to get its own mainstream support (like the Steam Deck has brought to gaming).

Presumably, rooted users/custom ROMs should be able to get around this, but how many developers are going to continue to support development and/or release .apk files if it's only a tiny subset of the userbase they can reach?

Sure, but that's kinda the point, isn't it?

Linux has so many possible splintered ways that systems could be configured that it's hard to support, especially when a Steam Deck native could then be adjusted to work by your userbase, without any support or testing required.

Still a win, and fair that Larian doesn't have the budget for a full Linux release.

This is going to be one of the biggest legacies of the current Republican administration's Project 2025 agenda. Not only the direct cuts to research, but also the massive cuts to educating the next generation of researchers. Also related: banning/limiting whole swathes of research pathways, like stem cells and mRNA (as high profile examples).

Totally agreed, though; primary research is critical for solving most (all?l of the major problems we are facing. Healthcare, of course, but we're on a knife edge of major Earth cycles breaking down, accelerating anthropogenic climate change. The collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is terrifying, as is runaway carbon escape from defrosting tundra. And the total spending on primary research trying to solve these existential crises is a budgetary rounding error.