> I have yet to see a use case that doesn’t amount to buying drugs or defrauding rubes
Russian here. My forgotten Bitcoin stash saved my ass multiple times by providing a way to transfer money to a friend abroad who then paid for my western expenses (hosting, VPNs etc.) using his Visa / MC cards.
Also, a lot of programmers who emigrated from Russia to countries such as Georgia in 2022 were using USDT as a way to receive their salaries.
And also it helps your government to transact with Iran, India, and China in convenient currencies, bypassing US-imposed sanctions and prolonging current war and planning for the future ones.
Apples and oranges. Syncthing is a selfhosted p2p syncing network and it's miles better for this. Nextcloud is a selfhosted "cloud platform" like Google Apps. How good it is for each use case varies greatly. Most often it is used for easy web/mobile access for files and photos.
I don't know which one is better, but considering file hosting, sync and web access, Nextcloud works very well. Regarding usability, as NC doesn't works like Dropbox it is a matter of taste, I prefer NC over Dropbox.
+1 for FolderSync, it works great. I haven't had a single synchronization issue or missing files whatsoever after using it for 2-3 years already. Note that I never had the need to handle conflicts (I don't modify files from two different devices at the same time).
I was a paid Kagi subscriber. I unsubscribed due to my temporary financial difficulties, but I'm resubscribing as soon as I'm able to afford expenses like this. I'm VERY happy with them.
You do you. To be entirely frank 90% of the world is not software engineers. If I were to ask the guy who sells food at my local food stall to pay for a search engine where free (as in dollars) alternatives exist he is going to pick the free one. To be entirely frank he probably does not have enough money to pay for yet another service.
My major concern with kagi is that its good now, whos to say it will ne good in the future. Plenty of SAaS have ebshitiffied. We NEED open infrastructure fpr search. What that lools like Im not sure but it may be possible in the far future.
> The war against Ukraine has overwhelming support among the population
I may be an outlier, and this is obviously an anecdote, but in my entire social circle there are literally two people supporting the war. One is a hardcore Z fanatic living with his parents at almost 50, and the second one is an alcoholic (formerly a talented architect).
> However, after the war started, I lost all interest in reading anything Russian. I know it's irrational, but these lost their luster instantly.
Russian here, living in Russia. Not surprised about this at all. Actually, I predicted that this would happen. By starting the war, Putin has wiped out multiple perceived notions about Russia (the myth of the defender nation, the second-strongest army, and the "Tolstoyesvsky"-centered culture among them).
Paraphrasing Anton Chigurh: "If your culture brought you to this, of what use was the culture?"
As a Russian living in Germany, I perceive that many of the notions surrounding Russia were never truly embraced by the general public. A significant number of people hold preconceived negative opinions and some harbor personal grievances against Russians and Russian culture.
The soft power that Russia may have once wielded in the Western mind was fragile and easily dismantled. It became an easy target for Western propaganda. Just days before the invasion, I explained to a colleague that if it were to happen, the media would likely present a simplistic narrative of the conflict, creating a classic good-versus-bad dichotomy. This would undoubtedly lead to the resurrection of old clichés and propaganda that the British, French, Germans, and more recently, the Americans have historically crafted about Russia.
“Joe Biden acknowledged in 1997 that eastward NATO expansion into the Baltic states would cause “the greatest consternation,” which could “tip the balance” and result in a “vigorous and hostile reaction” by Russia.”
Unfortunately his dementia may have erased these thoughts.
"The United States stands firmly with the Ukrainian people in defense of the NATO alliance." -Kamala
When two powers think they are defending themselves, war typically breaks out.
