there are reasons upgrading sucks

Kubuntu 26.04 LTS was released back in April, but I've resisted upgrading from 24.04 LTS for two reasons. The last upgrade went not-so smoothly, and I hate upgrading.

My experience upgrading from 24.04 LTS to 26.04 LTS was as follows:

The graphical installer spit back an error that it couldn't upgrade, but without giving me too much info as to why, so I did it the Terminal (Konsole) way...

sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade

(reboot)

sudo do-release-upgrade -m desktop

...which told me something called go-mtpfs was causing some issue. The installer said I had the option to ignore the error and continue, or stop and find the "correct" version/release or whatever. I stopped, ran into Synaptic Package Manager, uninstalled go-mtpfs since it's just for Android stuff, then ran the above commands again. No errors after that, and things continued normally.

Out of the entire upgrade process I only had to answer something like 3 or 4 yes/no questions. Just boot loading stuff for the most part, if I remember correctly.

After reboot, done. This was how it went for both computers.

Getting to the desktop was fine, but where things broke had to do with a switch from X11 to Wayland, so I had to switch back to X11, and that fixed almost everything.

I had to change window settings to turn off crap like floating taskbar, "wobbly windows" and a few other things. The fortunate part is that I got things back to looking and acting how I prefer.

Some things were fixed and improved. I now have sound events for connect/disconnect of USB devices (24.04 LTS never got that right), 7-Zip works better, GIMP now has a light mode to get rid of the default dark mode garbage, and LibreOffice while at a newer version still looks and acts the same, which is good.

The last time I upgraded from one LTS to the next, it went... meh. Some stuff outright broke where I had to use workarounds to fix things. For this upgrade, there were fewer workarounds. That's about the best I can say about it.

Why I hate upgrading

Back in the Windows 7 days, I purposely locked down the OS so absolutely nothing auto-upgraded. Windows updates were shut off. Main browser at the time was Firefox ESR, with extra configuration to block auto-updating (I only updated when it was absolutely necessary). For docs and spreadsheets, OpenOffice 4.1.7 with updates off. For other software I used, same deal. I brought whatever I was using up to the software version I knew did everything I wanted, then stopped updating.

I ran Win7 like that for years with no problems whatsoever. The only time I ever blew up 7 was when I did dumb stuff, such as trying to edit large videos the computer couldn't handle, or using a crappy USB stick or whatever.

The upgrade hate comes from knowing that a) turning all the updates off results in a very pleasant, easy and fast computing experience, and b) turning updates on can and will jack things up.

Unfortunately, no modern OS can be run 100% no-update style like Win7, and that's mainly due to the web browser. Chrome, Firefox, some forked thing, whatever, doesn't matter. The browser has to be updated or certain web sites will break on attempt to use them. And since the browser doesn't run as an island unto itself like it used to, the whole OS needs to be kept updated.

At least the Linux issues I dealt with could be fixed. The desktop environment crap I mentioned above is an example of that. After upgrading, some stuff got enabled I didn't want, so I turned it off. Or, if it were something that majorly frustrated me, I could junk KDE temporarily or entirely by switching to Xfce or any number of others.

It is when I'm not "allowed" to fix issues that I want to start throwing things. Win11 is, of course, notorious for this. For five years -- FIVE -- no small taskbar option. Only now does Win11 finally have it, along with being able to put the taskbar on top, bottom, left or right side of the screen. That will make some people jump for joy, but the point is that for FIVE years, it was a completely unfixable problem with stock 11. In Linux, the wait time to fix a problem is fewer than five minutes if you know what you're doing.

There may come a point in the future when I switch off KDE in favor of something more lightweight and custom code in all the features I want. That might be Xfce or something lighter like fluxbox. KDE Plasma is what I use, but I know the only way to really get a web browser's meat hooks out of the GUI and back to being an island unto itself is with a lightweight environment.

For now, 26.04 LTS works, such as it is.

just go buy another one, my dude

Fixing computers. Won't get you laid, won't get you paid.

Even though this is about something to do with an old Garmin nuvi, that totally qualifies as a computer because it's an electronic thing that calculates stuff.

Got a request to do something that I promptly ignored and decided to write this instead since that was a better use of my time.

The request was this:

I have an old nuvi. Take time out of your life to make a video to fix my nuvi problem, solely for my benefit even though you have no idea who I am since this is my first time communicating with you. Make absolutely certain to instruct very slowly, going through each step like leading along a little lost puppy dog, and be sure not to use any complicated words at all. And if I have any questions demands after that (and I sure will!), answer all those too, also very slowly and carefully. Yeah, I already asked AI before asking you, but that didn't help. Make my video now for free, and quick! KTHXBYE.

It's almost always the way when someone makes a request like the above, it's for a screen that can be bought cheap on eBay right now.

In my mind, I'm thinking, "DUDE. If that nuvi screen you have doesn't work anymore and it's cheap to get a replacement, buy another one."

The screen that guy asked demanded me to make a video about could literally be replaced for under 30 bucks, shipped. I checked. Did he? Obviously not.

No, I will not fix your computer.

one of the dumbest car "problems" to exist

The other day I drove to a place about an hour away. The trip there was uneventful, save for some construction here and there where I had to slow for work zones. No big deal. The trip was uneventful other than it took an hour to get to the destination.

Side note: That stupid cable I bought for my navigation system worked perfectly. My Garmin DriveSmart 66 recognized it, and traffic data was received with no problems. That was good.

For the return trip, it was again uneventful, save for one thing. A warning light appeared in the gauge cluster, the TPMS, a.k.a. tire pressure monitoring system. I thought okay, no big deal, when I get back I'll add air to the tires and the light will go out.

I get back and add air to the tires. The light didn't go out.

Ugh... I know what this is, I said to myself. One or more of the stupid TPMS batteries in the wheels went dead. And when that happens, guess what? Money has to be spent to "fix" this.

If you look up TPMS sensors, most are not that expensive. However, you can't install them. Oh, no. Unless you have the ability to take the wheel off, take the tire off, install the new sensor and set your car's computer to recognize a new sensor is there so that stupid light goes out, then reinstall the tire to the car, yeah you're not installing one of these. A garage has to do it.

On my old cheap car, one sensor replacement has a bare minimum replacement cost of $135 when parts, labor and sales tax are all included at the time of this writing. And yes, that means $135 per wheel, which is close to what I just spent to replace one stupid TPMS sensor. Thankfully, it was just for one wheel, and that stupid TPMS light is now out.

There is no way to use a phone app connected to the OBD-II port to get rid of the light. Not possible. This is not one of those simple OBD-II reset things where purging a trouble code fixes this. If it were, I would have already done the reset myself.

On my car, the only true way to disable that stupid light is to literally unplug the gauge cluster, snip a wire to bypass the TPMS, reconnect that wire elsewhere so all gauges are properly recognized on car startup, and then it never comes back on ever again.

Will I do that? No, but I've seriously thought about it.

The reason that stupid TPMS light is such a dumb "problem" is because it isn't a problem. It's nothing more than a coin cell battery going dead that needs replacement. Yes, the same type of battery that goes into a Casio digital watch, usually a CR2025. When any one of those stupid coin cell batteries dies at any one of the four wheels, BLINK BLINK BLINK BLINK BLINK... there's the TPMS warning light in the gauge cluster. And it won't go away until a new coin cell battery is installed, which requires the whole sensor to be replaced, which is a minimum $135 cost per wheel.

It's a good thing my spare tire wheel does not have a damned battery in it. Some cars do.

I am absolutely not surprised at all that some people take a piece of black construction paper, cut it to size and tape it over wherever the TPMS light is in the gauge cluster. That annoying amber glow will still be there when the light comes on, but at least it will be dimmed and not in your face.

Why do some do that? Easy answer. Cost elimination, since TPMS "solved" a problem that didn't even exist.

Of the statistical data that exists for TPMS, the biggest claim is that having it saves fuel. Even if it does (which I seriously doubt), all the cost savings from not using as much fuel means nothing because they're eaten up by the cost of replacing the stupid TPMS batteries.

The only thing TPMS did was add cost to the car before AND after buying it. Manufacturing cost went up that you pay for, and a garage periodically has to replace batteries that you also pay for, multiple times, for the entire time you own the car.

And keep in mind replacing those batteries is a 100% useless cost since it does not affect how the car drives at all.

Do you know how to check the air in the tires for your car?

Obviously, you just answered yes. Nobody ever needed TPMS.

Another thing I'm not surprised by are guys who purposely drive cars made prior to 2008 to specifically avoid TPMS.

Generally speaking, most cars and trucks made before 2008 don't have TPMS. However, the only way to know for sure is to get the manual for the car as a PDF, then search it for tire and look for any mention of TPMS. If it's mentioned in the manual, then the car has it.

TPMS for me is right up there with daytime running lights and exterior LED lamp arrays for Crap We Don't Need In Cars. DRL does nothing but burn your bulbs out quicker, and LED arrays for things like headlights, turn signals and taillights means when any of them have to be replaced, the entire assembly requiring hundreds spent on technician service at a garage needs to be done instead of just buying a bulb and installing it yourself in minutes.

My car has no DRL and no LED-anything for exterior lamps. But it does have TPMS. Couldn't escape that one.

I've owned the car I do for some years, and this is the third time I've had to do TPMS batteries. It was never cheap. A few years back it was $65-ish per wheel, and now it's $135.

When I eventually replace the car I have, I may specifically seek out one made from 2000-2007. Spending $135 for a $1.50 battery that doesn't even affect how the car drives... total waste of money to replace a TPMS battery, every time.

Last thing I'll say here is that I'm glad I don't drive something like a Kia Telluride. How much is TPMS sensor replacement service for one of those? About $260-$275 per wheel. Screw that.

youtube's recent changes

I've been using YouTube a long time. How long? See the image. That long. That's a partial screenshot of what I see right now when I'm in YouTube Studio.

Yes, I remember the days from oh-so long ago when YouTube was independent and not owned by Google, had 1-to-5 "star" ratings for videos, direct messaging, the video description being on the right instead of below, only having 4:3 video format support, YouTube Groups... and heck, I even remember when a 10 minute time limit was imposed on uploaded videos unless you had a "Director" account.

I also remember the changes to how video views were counted. Originally, it was open season, and people that knew how cheated their way to "front page". I was not one of those people. YouTube obviously changed things so people couldn't do that, but over the years the way video views were counted changed several times.

Ultimately, what YouTube decided to do that stuck around for a while was a 30-second watch time requirement. If anyone viewing a video didn't stick around for at least 30 seconds, the view wasn't counted.

A month ago, that changed, and now a view is registered as soon as the first frame of the video is loaded.

In YouTube Studio, plenty of notice was given before this change was made, so it didn't end up surprising content creators, which was good.

Why the change? Answer: A new metric called Engaged Views, which is different from Views. For example, I have a video with 1.3K views, but the Engaged Views is under 400.

Did this change affect earnings for those with monetized channels? That I don't know. Too soon to tell. But I would think it's the Engaged Views that actually matter more to content creators now, because if Views are high but Engaged Views is low, that probably affects monetization... maybe? Again, too early to know for sure.

I do have one complaint, but it's a small one. Engaged Views is probably what matters more than Views. That being the case, when in YouTube Studio and you click Content and see your list of videos, the default view count column is still Views. That default should be changed to Engaged Views since it's the more important number. Like I said, small complaint. But since YouTube is really pushing this metric as the one to pay attention to, that should be the default view count column in the YouTube Studio Content area.

Or what would be even better is a hybrid column. Views/Engaged Views. If a video has 1,000 Views and 250 Engaged Views, then in the Content area the column shows as 1,000/250. That would be nice.

Something else caught my attention, and that's video ratings.

I mentioned the old school 1-to-5 star ratings above. YouTube ditched that years ago for like/dislike. When they first did this, there was a two-color bar below every video. Green for like, red for dislike. The colors were later changed, but I don't remember exactly to what. I think it was red/gray instead of green/red. Later on, the bar was removed entirely and only showed a thumb-up with the like number and a thumb-down icon with the dislike number. After that, it changed again to a thumb-up icon with the like count number, but no number next to thumb-down. And that's where we are now.

More interesting to me concerning video ratings is what happened in YouTube Studio on the desktop end. On the Content sidebar selection, the columns shown no longer include ratings. Are the ratings still there? Yes, but you have to load up the Analytics for a video, then click the Engagement tab, and then "Likes (vs. dislikes)" is seen. However, getting the dislikes count takes more effort. Under Likes (vs. dislikes), "See more" has to be clicked, then under Metrics on the left, Dislikes has to be checked, Likes unchecked, Likes (vs. dislikes) unchecked, then the dislikes count can be seen for the given date range.

I'm actually not complaining about this because the data is still there. It may take more clicks to get the number, but I still have access to it.

It is curious that video ratings almost don't matter at this point. Almost. Yeah, they still count as engagement, so I assume that's why ratings still exists. However, YouTube is really putting forward the message that it's the engagement that counts the most, ratings now is just a small part of that, and it's really not necessary to be seeing ratings in the default Content list view.

I think I actually agree with this, save for the fact Engaged Views takes an extra click. YouTube should do the hybrid column thing like I mentioned above.

Why do I agree? Less distraction. On one of my more recent videos, there was a dislike rating on there and I didn't even know about it. When I thought about that, I came to the conclusion of yeah, better to not see that in the default Content list view.

Seeing a dislike rating, even if just one out of a thousand, can affect how a content creator does things. It is altogether better to make it slightly more difficult to get that ratings info, because there's absolutely nobody that can get 100% likes on every single video they post.

no turns, no sale part 2

Some new information has come about concerning the new ultrawide models from Garmin.

I said prior that I might be mistaken and that on-map turns is actually there.

Good news: I was mistaken, and on-map turns is there.

Bad news: It was implemented in the worst possible way.

The new models I'm talking about are the Drive 7.1 and 8.8.

This is what happened:

From the introduction of the Drive/DriveSmart line in 2016 all the way to 2023, every Garmin screen had two ways of showing a turns list. While on a route, you either a) tapped the top text bar for a list of directions, or b) you tapped the bottom right and then selected Turns. Earlier Drive/DriveSmart models 5, 50, 51, 6, 60, 61, 70, 71 required you to add the Turns button to a pop-up layer from a configurable menu (you only had to do it once). Later models 52, 53, 55, 65, 66, 76, 86 had that layer changed to a separate menu with Turns always present as a selection. Regardless of how you got it, Turns was there.

The primary difference between the text bar way and the Turns way is that the text bar method was a full screen list of turns with no map. To see the map again, you had to tap a back button. With the Turns way, you had a turns list and the map at the same time, and the current street being driven on is still shown along with speedometer and additional configurable data field. Very convenient.

With the 7.1 and 8.8, that's changed. For the worse. Much worse.

There is only one way to get a list of turns now. Tap the text bar. Sounds convenient at first until you see what happens afterward.

When that list is up, 3/4 of the map is blocked, effectively making it useless. Also, the speedometer, speed limit, and current street being driven on is hidden. And the extra data field is gone too.

Now let's talk about the font size.

On the DriveSmart 76, the font in the text bar is large and legible. On the 7.1, the text bar font is now also the turns list font, and has been shrunken down almost to that of a Drive 52, a previous 5" screen model. Yes, that literally means Garmin reverted back to a font size for a 5" screen and slapped it on a 7" screen.

There is a "Large Navigation Text" setting, but the manual states:

Increases the navigation text size.

And that's it. Navigation text for what, specifically? Is that in reference to the turns list? That question goes unanswered.

But let's stay positive here and say it does make the turns list actually legible. That still doesn't bring back the speedometer, speed limit, and current street. It also doesn't change the fact the list blocks 3/4 of the map.

That's... bad.

Again, I'm better off just staying with what I have.