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December 18, 2024

Asurion Warranty and Cloud Backup The Good and Bad

TLDR = Asurion warranty returned my $415 purchase price, and all my data was saved on Msft OneDrive.

My beloved Beelink $415 computer died a month and a half ago. Wouldn't power on. I had purchased the Asurion warranty via Amazon. I'm a sucker for warranties. In this case, it worked with caveats.

I loved this small form factor, Intel NUC style computer. I had upgraded the ram and the nvme. Great price/performance. Alas, a year and a half later, it died - wouldn't power on.

I created an Asurion claim but didn't want to wait for the repair as I had work to do. So I bought a second "identical" Beelink delivered the next day. I took the upgraded ram and nmve, put the originals back in and shipped off the original for repair under warranty.

I put the old nvme into the new computer and -- booted right back up! I was back in business with thoughts that I'd get the original repaired in time for me to send back the second one. I never worried about my data as I have all my data on OneDrive. My "My Documents" and other directories are linked to OneDrive so I don't worry about my data. I also have periodic local backups but would have been screwed if that had been my only data recourse this time.

Asurion held onto my machine for 2 weeks with occasional information free status updates. "We are working on your computer". They have NOBODY to call and talk to. The AI chatbot was no help. And it wouldn't respond to "I want to talk to a human".

I resorted to x/twitter where I got a response and DM's that escalated the effort until, two more days later, they refunded my original purchase.

My second version of Beelink that was the same as the first had dropped $80 in price, so I made money on this deal.

Ultimately the Asurion paid for my computer after 1.5 years of use. So I'm glad I bought it. But I am not thrilled with their lack of human support.

I'm glad that OneDrive among its other uses, automatically backs my data up to the cloud.

I still think the Beelink's are decent computers for the money. I'll withhold final judgment with this second one.

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December 12, 2025
The "With Many Eyes, All Bugs Are Shallow" Fallacy

That concept, known as "Linus's Law", is not only wrong... it's wildly wrong. Another fallacy often repeated in Open Source: "Diversity makes better software."

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:14:38
December 11, 2025
LibXML2, Used by Steam, Chromium, Others is Now Abandoned

An open source library used by many of the most well known applications, including VirtualBox, GNOME, Edge, & VLC, has been officially abandoned and is now marked as "unmaintained".

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:11:09
December 11, 2025
Rust in the Linux Kernel is Here to Stay

According to a reporter at the Linux Kernel Maintainer Summit, "Rust in the kernel is no longer experimental - it is now a core part of the kernel and is here to stay."

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:11:07
November 22, 2023
The futility of Ad-Blockers

Ads are filling the entirety of the Web -- websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. -- at an increasing rate. Prices for those ad placements are plummeting. Consumers are desperate to use ad-blockers to make the web palatable. Google (and others) are desperate to break and block ad-blockers. All of which results in... more ads and lower pay for creators.

It's a fascinatingly annoying cycle. And there's only one viable way out of it.

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links? Check here:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

The futility of Ad-Blockers
November 21, 2023
openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"

Those in power with openSUSE make it clear they will not allow me anywhere near anything related to the openSUSE project. Ever. For any reason.

Well, that settles that, then! Guess I won't be contributing to openSUSE! 🤣

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links?
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"
September 13, 2023
"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

This episode is free for all to enjoy and share.

Be sure to subscribe here at Lunduke.Locals.com to get all shows & articles (including interviews with other amazing nerds).

"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

[from X.com - Grummz post] Poll ... Gaming: Is It The Design That Matters?

Essentially, the the current "AAA Games" which put "everything" into Social Ideology messaging LOST. 🔥
https://x.com/Grummz/status/1999167652296818935

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December 09, 2025

#C64 I really want one of these.

December 09, 2025

For some reason videos are not processing on Locals at all. At least for me. Have two shows sitting in the "processing" queue for a full day now (with a third about to be added).

I'm talking with the Locals crew about this. Hopefully should be resolved quickly. Luckily those shows are on all of the other platforms as a backup.

Lunduke Journal Lifetime Wall 2 almost full, plus Lifetime Sub as a gift

Two quick tidbits!

First: Lifetime Wall 2 Almost Full

The 2nd Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriber Wall of Shame… err… I mean “Wall of Awesomeness” (which shows at the end of each video) is almost full! Holy cow! So many people have signed up over the last few days and asked to be added! Awesome!

There’s room for maybe 3 or 4 more names on there before I need to start Wall Number 3. So if you want to be on the 2nd wall, grab a Lifetime Sub quickly. (Though, really, being on the 3rd wall will be cool too.)

Plus, hey! You can snag one for $89 this month. Which is pretty sweet.

Second: Sending a Lifetime Sub as a Gift

Several of you have asked if it’s possible to send someone a Lifetime Subscription as a gift (at the discounted $89 / $99 price).

The answer is yes! And, instead of sending instructions to each of you, individually, I am including a Step-by-Step rundown on how to send someone a Lunduke Journal Lifetime Sub as a gift.

There are two options — Locals & Bitcoin — and both work equally well.

(Note: A gifted Lifetime subscription can also be applied to Substack accounts… it just can’t be purchased via Substack because of the way the system works for gifting it to another person.)

How to give a gift Lifetime Subscription via Locals:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Locals.com/support.

  2. Select “Give Once“.

  3. Enter “99“ (or more) into the amount field.

  4. Email “bryan at lunduke.com”. Include the following in that email:

    1. Have the words “Gift Sub” somewhere in the subject line.

    2. Include the email you used to make the purchase and the email address of gift recipient.

    3. Include any special instructions or requests, such as: A special message you would like included, when you would like an email sent to the recipient, or if you would prefer to let the recipient know yourself.

  5. Lunduke will send you a confirmation email after that. This usually happens within a few hours.

How to get a Lifetime Subscription with Bitcoin:

You can also send a gift Lifetime Subscription via Bitcoin.  (And it's $10 cheaper thanks to the lower processing fees of Bitcoin.)

  • Send $89 worth of Bitcoin (or more) to the following address:

bc1qyjakve8fywm8pz2v99v57yhjj0vzr2vjze6fcq

  • Email “bryan at lunduke.com”. Include the following in that email:

    1. What time you made the transaction, & how much was sent (in Bitcoin).

    2. Have the words “Gift Sub” somewhere in the subject line.

    3. Include the email address of gift recipient.

    4. Include any special instructions or requests, such as: A special message you would like included, when you would like an email sent to the recipient, or if you would prefer to let the recipient know yourself.

  • Lunduke will send you a confirmation email after that. This usually happens within a few hours.

Note: The Lifetime Subscription only applies to Substack, Locals, and the Lunduke Journal Forum. Other platforms (such as X, Patreon, & YouTube) do not provide the functionality necessary to create Lifetime Subscriptions.

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December 12, 2025
Last Week on The Lunduke Journal - Fri, Dec 12, 2025

This last week has been, as usual, a doozy for Tech News.

The Mozilla Annual Report dropped, The EU & UK ramped up their war on US Free Speech, and the future of Rust in Linux was cemented (for better or worse).

But the most widely viewed, and yelled about, story of the week — by far — was “Prisma Drops Rust for Javascript, Sees Massive Speed Increase”. I tell ya, followers of the Church of Rust get grumpy if you utter anti-Rust blasphemy!

Oh, and a quick reminder: Lifetime Subscriptions can be snagged for $89 through the end of December. Monthly & Yearly subscriptions are 50% off as well. Just because.

All Shows From the Last Week

Below are all of the shows over the last 7 days, with links to Substack (where you can get both the audio or video versions). If you want to watch on a different platform (Locals, X, Rumble, YouTube, etc.) check Lunduke.com for all of the links.

As always, thank you for making The Lunduke Journal possible. If it weren’t for your support, most of these stories would never have been told (as no other Tech News outlet is covering them).

You rule.

-Lunduke

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November 30, 2025
$89 Lifetime Subs Through Monday, Second Lifetime Wall

Holy tidal wave of subscriptions, Batman! I was not fully prepared for the flood of people taking advantage of the $89 Lifetime Sub deal!

But, hey! That’s a good thing! Welcome, new Lunduke Journal subscribers!

A few quick reminders and bits of info on this glorious Sunday:

  • The $89 Lifetime Subscription deal is good through Monday, Dec 1st. That’s tomorrow. All prices go back to normal on Tuesday.

  • For everyone who has already snagged the $89 Lifetime Sub this weekend, you will be receiving a confirmation email by sometime on Monday.

  • For every Lifetime Subscriber who wants to be added to the “Lifetime Wall” at the end of the shows (but isn’t already), toss me an email and let me know how you want your name to be displayed. I’m adding a second wall which will debut in tomorrow’s show (ran out of space on the first wall).

  • Same goes for Lifetime Subscribers who want the Lunduke Journal X account to follow your X account. Email me. Let me know what your X handle is. I’ll take it from there.

  • For the new subscribers: You can find links and details on the various perks (regardless of where you subscribe from) right here.

Monday should be fun. We’ve already got quite a few stories to cover for this week… and it’s not even Monday yet!

I took off a couple days, last week, to celebrate Thanksgiving. I figured, “There won’t be too many new stories breaking during Thanksgiving!” Boy, was I wrong!

See all of you on Monday!

-Lunduke

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