Want to rotate your scanned PDF page? That will be $12.99! - Rip off of the century.

It's one of the applications that has been used most worldwide and on daily basis, but not allowing basic functionality or not having any alternatives was everyone's pain. Being hit with "Pro version" ad, or taking forever to open a single page, or glitching out because AI is initialising in the background.

By far the best alternative I found is Stirling PDF - https://stirling.com/

They do have "Pro" and "Enterprise" versions, but you get 60+ PDF tools for Free. On top of that it loads faster than Adobe PDF due to reduced bloat.

If you want an app for your phone - ReadEra. Although made for books, it loads PDFs on your phone without ads and very quickly, just like Stirling PDF.

I must also warn, Stirling PDF is not great on phones yet. When opening PDFs in non-standard size it takes long to open, and zoom doesn't work correctly as of date.

So these are great alternatives that I've been using that have absolutely no compromises, instead giving you tools that you haven't used yet if you never wanted to subscribe to $12.99 to be able to rotate a page twice a year.

As an experiment, decided to backup my C:\ drive and install Zorin OS. One of many distros, but this one imitates Windows, while still with it's own character and features.

When you have the USB ready, there's also a basic checklist to unWindows yourself.

• Backup your C:\ drive
  
• Download Rufus to "burn" image to USB stick (At least 8GB): https://rufus.ie/en/#download
  
• Download Zorin OS: https://zorin.com/os/download/
  
• Write Zorin OS to the USB stick
  
• Check for your motherboard's "BIOS Boot selector key" that will allow you to select the USB to boot from
  
• You may need to re-select your "boot storage device" after Zorin OS is installed, just keep that in mind if you get "No bootable device found" after your install it.
  

1. In Windows power settings, make sure to uncheck "Turn on fast startup" - Windows locks drive C:\ when shutting down and may prevent new OS installation
   
2. If on older hardware, sometimes Windows was working with IDE storage configuration, make sure to set BIOS storage to AHCI just so that you're running storage at it's full potential
   
3. Reset overclocking to stock clock speed - Linux is less stable with overclocking and may freeze due to voltage spikes or bad voltage config
   

• Zorin OS has a "Software" app that has extensive list of apps that can be installed
  
• LibreOffice is preinstalled, but may look into installing OpenOffice
  
• Download the IDEs, Thunderbird, Steam to get going
  

Ferran Torres (Spain) scores to make it 1 - 0 at 106th minute. Nico Williams assisted.

As hard as Argentina began to push in extra time, the team could not play well together to put a goal through.

Spain was a team that went to the world cup to win and you could see it, they persuaded Argentina to give way. With most of the possession, and 20 shots taken at the goal posts.

The biggest show by Argentina, was Fernandez (Argentina) sending Cubarsi (#22 - Spain) into a front flip:

Some may forget that specialized finishes are a thing.

You can get wallpapers that have texture and feel to them, as well as specialized plaster wall finishes that can have a pattern or certain look to them.

e.g. wallpaper with decorative golden strips, or marble looking walls.

Also the type of furniture makes a difference. Glass top tables are nice. At times size needs to be considered to be merciful on shins of your guests.

Interior is your living environment that can set the mood for your life. If it's clean, comfortable and looks good, it can relax and give you needed peace of mind that you're in the right place.

Small things that you don't fix can be a nuisance that can make you worry just enough to throw off your comfort.

If you're not into interior, consider making yourself comfortable just a bit - it makes a huge difference to feeling accomplishment.

Latest posts to be added to the front page to overview new posts and to instantly be up to date with any added threads.

It's more engaging to see interesting topics, and minimises navigating.

Although categories are structured, users rarely stick to just one topic to go straight to specific discussion category.

From a month ago, 44 threads so far   Better than any social media to post and share personal thoughts.

https://lounge.forum will be growing only exponentially with like-minded people that want to feel comfortable posting their whole outlook on their interests and daily thoughts.

Although not forbidden, this space doesn't need to "make news" for even more worries, this is where you can relax and share honest opinions without concerning yourself with limitations and toxicity of other social media platforms.

Expressing yourself shouldn't be bottled up or limited to who you can talk to.

Let's keep growing!

Background might be too bright to read at night. 

Colour to be changed to something darker to be easy on the eyes and the stories to put night readers to sleep easier.

Ok, now that games mostly work on Linux (more for Steam games), the very last app is MS Access that doesn't have many good options to run besides Windows VM.

Some use MS Access to store and manage data, and with Windows updating their T&Cs to own every soul that has it installed.

The rush for user data is behind the scenes agenda to provide quality data about individuals, for overall "security" and "accuracy" on your insurance.

Most times it feels like they're working backwards - data required, how to get it on the system, get users to use it.

Linked in was so good at it, that it seems to be the only reason Microsoft bought them. Now you're linked to people that you talk to digitally even before you add them anywhere.

Meta is in the same pond. They have every cellphone number, and cover by making some business and AI subscriptions.

So a lot of services resort to saying "we may share your data with third party providers", and that pretty much is a wildcard to do whatever they like and when they get caught, they get a parking ticket in fines to pay.

All the concerns above and ongoing squeeze of privacy, alternatives often begin to look more enticing to lift the concerns and move on.
Back to MS Access compatibility issue, looks like instead of waiting for Linux support, it's time to migrate to another application that can do the same job.

The disadvantage with Linux e.g. Ubuntu distro, is that it's often updated to have new look, minor patches, but even one unsuccessful tinkering moment you're left with a brick. So don't jump too far too fast.
Some prefer Fedora and Mint due to their stability. Ubuntu is beginner friendly testing ground that can do everything, but it also depends what you're looking to do if you have to have specific functionality.

As few examples:

• Ubuntu (provider - Canonical) - polished interface and functionality.
  
• Mint (From Ubuntu LTS, provider - Canonical) - overall just stable OS, the middle ground
  
• Fedora (provider - Red Hat) - up to date software if you have brand new PC or need latest software
  
• Ageless (community driven) - removes and forbids any kind of identification that is being introduced by "5 eyes", the countries that are abusing privacy for "security" for the last 2 decades.
  
• POP_! OS - for designers and gamers
  
• OpenSuse - more for system management, very flexible configuration, for low powered devices and enterprise hardware.
  
• Kali - specialized for "senior" Linux guys that work with more than 1 machine and deal with computer security.
  
• Zorin OS - Windows like behaviour and interface
  
• ... if you want me to list all 600 distros and what they do - don't hold your breath, because no one knows. It's more of word of mouth and praise of their community that makes them more popular. Just like Mint is a spinoff from Ubuntu, a lot of other distros are based on other distros as well. e.g. Manjaro based on Arch.
  

• MS Store Ads in start menu e.g. candycrush
  
• "Settings" that supposed to replace Control Panel, does half of what you need.
  
• MS account requirement for their software
  
• OneDrive moving your files and uploading it like it owns it creating duplicate directories that you realise only later on that you need to undo
  
• Then account requirement to start using new PC/laptop
  
• Bing Wallpaper - could've been made 20 years earlier, with perfect wallpaper views, come June pride - your PC automatically flying flag colours of "minor attracted people"
  
• Edge - same as Bing wallpaper - an update shows you a "brand new theme to celebrate a spectrum of identities". Such manipulation and influence to use common computer for ideology is likely when the Edge use tanked.  
  
• Preloading of Defender, XBox stuff for some reason, Edge that went from clean and fast to "reward bloatware" copilot, picture viewer, video player, phone connect
  
• MS Office - subscription only with pretty much discontinued support for offline use
  
• Right click context menu "loading...", important options hidden under "view more".
  

• Windows - needs to listen to the users
  
• Linux - needs a breakthrough for software independence and large use
  
• iOS - works if your pocket does.
  

The movie is not for everyone who cannot adjust to drama taken to sand dunes far far away. But if you give it a go and catch the basics of the drama, it's actually quiet straight forward and easy to understand (except for fictional things that can often remain a mystery which requires an author to explain).

What makes great movies great is that they're written as a story and not just a movie. 

   

If part one and two got you interested, then it's for you. 

The part that I missed at first is why they use air snorkels. Well, they're not breathing extra oxygen, they're collecting their own exhaled moisture as an adaptation to the planet's environment meant to reuse majority of their water. 

If I would get something stuck up my nostrils, I would lose water through my eyes..

I think Zendaya acts well to not put you out of immersion. The main dude going nuts is questionable, but how else do you bend character behaviour for the plot. Will this be a movie about a guy going nuts, or perseveering for one in a million outcome? - I think that's where the interest lies.

Overall the cast is solid from the start - with popular actors and actresses. Likely very anticipated by ladies, they seem to love this movie franchise for it's emotional rollecoaster. For guys, it's likely slightly insane how characters lose themselves, but the original writer of "Dune (1969)" is a guy (Frank Herbert), so it still makes sense to watch. Although there's 20+ books of "dune universe" so this is by far not the last part, this is hollywood's "Fast and Furious" moment.

• My anticipation 6/10 - keen to watch something different and already familiar.
  
• Production is 10/10, so definetely immersive type of movie which works with the flow of storytelling. Production guys are gold while acting and directing gets the credit.
  
• Logic - it's not that type of movie. Dragonfly helicopters are fine.
  
• Not a chick flick anymore, this is serious - guy got bald.
  

OpenAI just released new verison - GPT 5.6 "Luna", "Tera" and "Sol".

They are 3 variations that differ with increased capabilities in the same order.

Sol is promising to make use of multiple agents to separately process requirements that have the same goal. e.g. aimed at developers who need to write code, design interface and manage databases. As any AI, it can be used for general question/answer.

It's yet a new frontier of AI. When using Sol, it spins up agents that breakdown large tasks into smaller steps. This helps with precision and quality of answers. As well as the new problem - it can sometimes do "more than asked". So when you write a prompt without specifisity, it will think deeply about what you need and what could be missing and take it upon itself to implement extra work and results.

Thinking models were created just for that, to try and clear up ambiguity, then act from "clarified" parameters - finishing thoughts on your behalf.

Now that the world is hooked on AI and can't affrd it monthly, you can get your bill for the usage:

• Sol million tokens in - $5 / $30 out 
  
• Terra million tokens in - $2.50 / $15 out 
  
• Luna million tokens in $1 / $6 out