Syncthing has worked well for me between 3 devices(Linux, android, windows). I’ve had one conflict in 6mo and it was easy to identify the right copy to select in keepass’ prompt since the more recent one was a larger file.
Synchthing also provides optional version control which makes backing up easy.
Ofc. Always good to choose the source that treats the consumer well. FOSS alternatives are also becoming competitive for lots of things which is great to see.
But where you used to be able to purchase physical media it’s practically impossible now. Even physical cases of games or audio-visual are usually just packaging for an access key to stream it. It sucks that we have to rely on market force through user-based action (e.g. Helldivers vs sony). These forces simply don’t work against market caps like Microsoft or practically any commercial software (cad, sim, business management) or media service (streaming, music, etc…) where companies can leverage nigh infinite debt to overcome the user base action in favor of market growth.
Like your points and generally agree, but companies deranging their products and adding post-hoc internet reliant licensing is one core message of OP. This has been forced on people on many platforms. Blizzard and WC3 was given as an example by OP. Microsoft is probably the most flagrant example as many people need to use windows for various software, and you need to rip the system apart to kill forced updates or shutdown invasive services.
It just comes down to est. profit margin vs. risk and not some ethics about lawfulnes. If they think they can eat the fines/lawsuits then they’re going to take higher profits until the hammer drops. Especially if it shows short term gains for a publicly traded company.
That said, genetic data is probably not the biggest indicator of how much an individual will cost an insurance retailer (behavior would be better) and i’m not about to sift through HIPPA law to see all that it covers.
My bias here is based insurance company behavior from back when they could descriminate based on pre-existing conditions as well as how any publicly traded company eventually functions. Etc…
You can still use cash. It’s just for electronic payments and ID verification. Though cash is exceedingly rare.
A unified ID system just means you use the same login details for each government agency (tax office, dmv, healthcare, etc…) Instead of a different system for each. It’s also a stand in for a physical signature. It also ensures your data is consistent through the entire government as it’s the same database.
I think it’s significantly more secure for the individual than in the US and, as far as tracking, it’s not like the US’ insecure identity verification systems make it more difficult to track you. The US makes it easier for others to steal you’re identity, and for you to get screwed because an employee misread your name on a net form they have to manually copy into their cobal database or whatever.