I write about why AI is dumb and bad. (Sometimes why cryptocurrency is bad too.) it keeps me amused. perhaps it will amuse you too.
also, watch the YouTube or listen to the podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/@PivotToAI
https://pivottoai.libsyn.com/
and buy my books:
https://circumstances.run/@davidgerard/109501279637035347
and send me money:
https://www.patreon.com/davidgerard
and read the blogs:
https://pivot-to-ai.com
https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/
tell your friends!
just to confirm:
the account https://mas.to/@davidgerard/ is me
use case: when circumstances.run is having a small moment
do please follow it for more absurdist true crime
do they put management level mozilla employees through special training on how to just blankly lie to people and try to gaslight them to their faces
i literally know it's not all mozilla employees, not even close to all, but that we get two trying literally the same fuckin playbook of talking like abusers as part of their day job
see also https://mas.to/@zzt/116008609965567146
and an enterprise version of Firefox that treats the browser as critical infrastructure for modern work, not a data collection surface.
this implies the regular version is a data collection surface
AI is mentioned only in passing
https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla-new-products/how-mozilla-builds-now/
pivot to ai is too long winded, time to get back to basics https://vibegraveyard.ai/
HOW TO MOVE FROM WINDOWS TO LINUX:
0. Extract your Windows license key with Produkey https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html You may need it later.
1. Pick a distro. Doesn't really matter, but see comments for 1000 suggestions and misleadingly excess complications and twiddles that nobody asked for. Ubuntu and Mint are common starters. I use Xubuntu. Again, really doesn't matter.
The one thing I do suggest is: you pick one with a live USB. That way you can start the computer in your chosen distro and check all your hardware works before committing. Vital if you have any weird stuff.
Nvidia is very unhelpful to Linux, so don't be surprised at issues. AMD is actively helpful and supportive, so if you have an AMD laptop or an AMD video card you should be very happy.
2. Install your distro that works.
3. Many programs will have Linux versions. If so, sweet! If not, a lot of the substitutes are excellent (e.g. LibreOffice).
4. Most Windows software works under Wine. If you use Steam, just install that for Windows games from Steam (it has its own separate version of Wine included).
5. Windows stuff that refuses to work under Linux? Set up VirtualBox and install Windows 10/11 using the product key you extracted in step 0. That way you can use That One Fucking App without having to use Windows the rest of the time.
6. The apps you need for real work are firmly Windows-only? YMMV of course, but I would set up a bad screen (Windows) for that work stuff and a good screen (Linux) for the rest of stuff. Separate work and play laptops are good mental hygiene in any case.
anecdotal reports are that this makes Firefox noticeably faster
that list of settings to disable:
browser.ml.enable
browser.ml.chat.enabled
browser.ml.chat.menu
browser.ml.chat.page
browser.ml.chat.page.footerBadge
browser.ml.chat.page.menuBadge
browser.ml.linkPreview.enabled
browser.ml.pageAssist.enabled
browser.tabs.groups.smart.enabled
browser.tabs.groups.smart.userEnabled
extensions.ml.enabled
browser.search.visualSearch.featureGate
just to confirm:
the account https://mas.to/@davidgerard/ is me
use case: when circumstances.run is having a small moment
do please follow it for more absurdist true crime
I write about why AI is dumb and bad. (Sometimes why cryptocurrency is bad too.) it keeps me amused. perhaps it will amuse you too.
also, watch the YouTube or listen to the podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/@PivotToAI
https://pivottoai.libsyn.com/
and buy my books:
https://circumstances.run/@davidgerard/109501279637035347
and send me money:
https://www.patreon.com/davidgerard
and read the blogs:
https://pivot-to-ai.com
https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/
tell your friends!
I r journalist, so I called up DEFRA. The fellow insisted that deleting emails saved water. He couldn't speak on the record (not so useful for a media desk really) so I have also emailed DEFRA to enquire how much water deleting 1 email or 1m emails saves, and how this remarkable claim made it into the press release.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-drought-group-meets-to-address-nationally-significant-water-shortfall
bsky reader recommendation: "Take commissions to invent new slurs for AI-users."
$1 per new slur to my ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/A1529D5
note on ko-fi that it's for a new slur for AI users
at $4 already!
if i get enough i'll turn the results into a post and vidya too
Prompt-inject Copilot Studio AI via email, grab a company’s whole Salesforce
https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/08/12/prompt-inject-copilot-studio-ai-via-email-grab-a-companys-whole-salesforce/ - text
https://pivottoai.libsyn.com/20250812-prompt-inject-copilot-studio-via-email-grab-a-companys-whole-salesforce - podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH0Ix-Rz9ko&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA - video
David Gerard