Cav's Place

There seemed to be a fair amount of pushback lately against such privacy violations and treating everyone as criminals in general, including by powerful enough forces to make authorities think twice about pushing forward, but it seems that method two still works, since the European Parliament approved by a large majority the proposal to allow the scanning of all private messages for child sex abuse. Worse, while at the moment this only allows such scanning, the next step is to make it mandatory, and that seems set to happen within months. Even the European Data Protection Supervisor and the Council of Europe expressed concerns, but the vast majority of MEPs didn’t even care about that.
Sure, the major providers already scan messages for advertising purposes, which is a practice that also needs to stop, but encrypted ones are a different matter, it’s not something mandated, and soon required, by the highest authorities, some formal efforts actually being made to push back against it, and something flagged, often in error, by such a scan doesn’t carry legal consequences. So this is entirely different, it means that any expectation that private messages will continue to be, well, private must be thrown away, that people will be even more likely to get in a whole world of trouble because of errors of automated systems, that those tasked with dealing with the real cases of abuse will be even more overworked, needing to go through endless piles of irrelevant messages, and that, once methods to get around encryption will be implemented, it’ll only be a matter of time, and usually a short amount of time, before criminals and other shady actors will exploit them. And it marks another step, a very clear and firm one, down the slippery slope towards the “Big Brother” state.
Now it remains to be seen what the court challenge, if there will indeed be one, will result in, how big the backlash from the public, organizations and maybe also some companies from the field will be and what, if any, effects that will have, and what comes next, but at this point all signs point in an awful direction. So keep an eye on the campaign site if you’re in any way interested, in the cause but also in your own personal digital life and not being treated as a criminal by default, or even possibly getting in an entire world of trouble over nothing…

Friday I had the second dose of the vaccine, so I’ll catch up on the rest at some later point and this post will just be about that day, which started at 9 AM, when the alarm woke me up. I was drizzling as I was getting ready, but I left at 10:45 AM, also taking the paper to drop off in a recycling bin, and at that point it was sunny. The forecast was listing possible storms later, which was worrying and made me take the jacket in my backpack, but even though there were some clouds and the wind picked up at a point when I was on my way from Kaufland to Carrefour, that was it, and by the time I left Carrefour to finally be on my way back here it was even sunny again.
Returning to the vaccine, I should mention that it was Wednesday when I was first woken my the SMS from the system, reminding me of the date and time of the second dose as I had selected it, so Friday at 5 PM, then by the call that followed it soon after I had managed to get back to sleep, which I didn’t answer and was in turn followed by another SMS stating that the call had been from the vaccination center and asking me to call them, which I couldn’t do even if I’d have wanted to. Also had an e-mail from the system to go along with that first SMS, but then there was nothing else until 10:53 AM on Friday, when I apparently received another SMS from the vaccination center, again asking me to call them. That was followed by another identical SMS at 10:59 AM and two more at 11:01 AM, with a call in between, at 11:00 AM, so right at the time when they had told me to come, regardless of what was in the system. But there was traffic and, while I had taken my headphones with me, I kept them in the backpack on the way there, so I didn’t even notice until I got to the clinic and checked the time, seeing 11:05 AM.
That made me also mention that I had just been called after telling the guard that I was scheduled for vaccination, and he invited me into the first room and handed me the paper to fill and a pen, leaving me to it until someone else came as I was almost finished and helped me with the few things I was uncertain about. Then I was told to go back to the hallway and take a seat until I’ll be called, but I was called immediately… Only to then be told that I should go back and wait after all, since the vaccine had to be out of the refrigerator for 15 minutes before being used and it had apparently only been taken out when I got there. Also, the woman who would give me the vaccine was asked to go to someone else, in another part of the clinic, while I waited, which she briefly did even though she initially said she had vaccinations to do. And it was also while I was waiting when I saw the only other potential vaccine recipient that came while I was there, and she wasn’t scheduled, just asking whether she could get it and being turned away by the guard without actually being refused directly this time around, since he just told her that they only had the Moderna vaccine there, which made her pause for a moment and then ask about the Pfizer one, walking away when she was told that the center in the nearby mall had that one.
Either way, I was back in at 11:15 AM and got the shot. Felt the needle as it went in this time around, and it also seemed to take a while and I saw a bit more blood when I took away that cotton ball I had to press there for a moment, but at least I was done with that part… And they seemed relieved as well, saying they had gotten rid of the one scheduled for 5 PM. I’m not sure what else was going on there at that time, however, since while I was waiting for those required 15 minutes there was a woman, possibly the one who had asked the one who gave me the shot to come over earlier, who walked back and forth for a while, talking to someone on the phone and saying she’s in conflict with the clinic. But the staff member apparently tasked with watching over those who had received the shot, who hadn’t been there the first time around, just seemed rather bored, and the guard even more so, even saying at one point that time passes too slowly, which is quite understandable, seeing as they quite obviously have very little to do, considering the massive reduction in the interest for the vaccine and the fact that most of those who do still want it likely go to the centers opened in malls or markets or other such places, or the drive-in ones. I guess I could have helped a little by asking about the side effects during those 15 minutes, but it was only after they passed and I got up to leave that I asked whether I should expect worse this time around, very briefly mentioning what I experienced after the first dose when asked. Was just told that it’s not a rule and I may not even experience anything after the second one though.

It was 11:35 AM when I left, and while the next point on my route was Auchan, when I went past the Mall I decided to also go in and have a look, checking a bookstore and looking for a location of the store we gathered in before this summer’s Dream Trek, since I won discount vouchers only valid until the end of the month and I seemed to remember that they had a location there as well. Well, they don’t, but I could only be sure of that after getting back and checking, because there don’t seem to be any maps or store lists in that place! Either way, I then also checked a Turkish bakery I had discovered after getting the first dose, meaning to get something but eventually deciding against it, also quickly checked a Mega Image, and out of curiosity looked through the menu of a pizza place.
Once I was finally in Auchan, I got what I meant to get and a couple of other things… Which included more of something I had purchased a few days earlier from Kaufland at a higher price and haven’t yet used, so that was annoying, but at least it’s something that won’t spoil and I could take advantage of the discount to some extent. And, on that note, Kaufland was the next point on my route, and I got what I meant to get from there as well. That included 30 pieces of Liza’s food, and since customers can only enter the number for products that don’t have a bar code at the self-checkout, I asked an employee and she logged on and entered 30 pieces, so I didn’t have to scan them one by one. The cabinet again required a few tries to open, but it eventually worked and I could continue on my way.
As I already mentioned, on my way to the last point on my route, the Carrefour from the park, I was worried that the storm was going to come, and things were already rather hard to carry, in good part because of the bag of cat litter I just learned I shouldn’t have purchased, since it’ll be just over 25% cheaper starting on Wednesday and we won’t need it by then. And the fact that I was carrying so much was probably also what made the people I passed by just before reaching Carrefour change their mind about really approaching me and handing me a can of something my mother occasionally asks for, as they were doing for pretty much everyone else, and I obviously didn’t stop to actually ask for one.
Another concern was that I was almost out of bread and hadn’t found any of the kinds I might get in either Auchan or Kaufland… And once I got to Carrefour I saw that the one I might normally get from there was again only available sliced. However, I managed to find two or three of another kind I could consider and grabbed one, to get me through the next few days, even if it has a fair bit of white flour and it’s too expensive for its ingredients. Then I got the other things I wanted and could leave, though it’s a good thing I noticed that the cashier only moved one of the bunches of bananas, leaving the other on the belt.
Took quite some time to arrange everything in the bags and backpack before exiting that mall, and then again once outside, but I did have sturdy bags and the backpack, and there was no trace of that potential storm anymore, so I could carry everything and got back here at 5:05 PM, the total weight, including everything, having been 22 kg. On the other hand, dad annoyed me again in the evening when he said he threw away a bread I had bought for him on Tuesday, also taking the time to slice it since it was unsliced and he had bought some that was pretty much the same, only sliced, for significantly more before. I had told him at the time that if I’ll leave it out of the freezer he needed to eat it soon, but instead he left it there, even got himself another for the next day, then took it with him when he went to my mother on Thursday, but they decided to leave it for the next day even then, and when they finally meant to eat it they obviously found it moldy and threw it away.

As for the symptoms experienced after the vaccine, there was a strange feeling in that spot and a slight burning sensation spreading in my arm right after getting the shot, but that burning sensation went away quickly. The pain in that spot did increase over the evening, but only to a moderate level, and then it actually seemed to be going away at night, just that strange feeling, like something was just wrong in that spot, being left. The way I was feeling in general was quickly getting worse, however, in the evening already feeling like I had felt the day after the first dose, and when I took my temperature when I went to the kitchen at night I saw 39.2°C! I was really crushed, barely even sitting, weak, exhausted, rather dizzy, pains and aches jabbing me, those around my ears being the worst, skin feeling like it was burning, even having some chills… There even seemed to be a bit of crap in my nose and chest and coughed a few times. And what made me unable to just sleep once I did finally get to bed was that I decided to make myself another tea at night and drank it not long before going to bed, so I kept needing to get up to pee.
Took my temperature again after getting up and saw 37.6°C, so it was still higher than that 37.4°C that was the most I saw the first time around, but I was actually already feeling much better overall, and the pain in my arm wasn’t constant, but only appearing when I moved it in certain ways, and being significantly less intense than the first time around even then. And it all improved over the course of that day, the general symptoms mostly going away before night came and the range of motion and strength of the arm also improving, fewer moves causing pain and said pain not being bad even then. The sluggishness and brain fog were going away much more gradually, my neck remained quite stiff and I still had a mild headache, but overall it could be said that the symptoms were rather compressed, what I felt on Saturday the first time around taking place, at a higher intensity, between Friday evening and Saturday morning, and Saturday being more like Sunday was back then, and likely even better by the time I went to bed this morning.

What worries me right now, however, is that my feet are really swollen, and my right hand seems to be as well. It is hotter now, and I ran a half marathon distance this week and then walked and carried a lot multiple times, and the socks I wore since Friday night might be a bit tight at the top, and there has been some swelling in similar conditions before, but I really doubt it ever got to this level, probably not even close, though it’d be wrong to say I’m completely certain of that, seeing as I only really noticed it this evening this time around, but now that I think of it my feet didn’t look right when I showered Friday evening, or more exactly Friday night, either, and when I left that morning I actually asked out loud why my shoes felt so tight. So it probably isn’t something caused by the vaccine, but it is also possible that it’s making it worse, and either way it’s a sign of something being wrong. There’s no pain, redness or bruising, my right hand seems a bit warmer than my left but otherwise the swollen areas are clearly colder than other body parts, as extremities generally are, and I just took my temperature again and I no longer have a fever, so those symptoms of something serious aren’t present, but it may well be a sign of kidney problems, or at least that’s the first thing I think of, though it’s clearly not the only possibility. I still mean to run tomorrow, however, and then have a long walk planned for Tuesday, but let’s see how things develop and what I can do about it.

Since I tend to post the submissions I send to The Guardian, even more so when I need non-personal posts, I’m going to add this one I actually sent over two weeks ago as well. It’s a reaction to an article about moving to a cashless society, or to that one and a second one as well. Not that I haven’t kept saying this with every opportunity, but either way, here it is:

“This switch to a cashless society is just another consequence of people handing over control for the sake of convenience, with potentially disastrous consequences, even more so for those who’d rather not. And we’re not even talking of convenience when it comes to something positive, beneficial to the one making said choice, but of more easily handing over money, which is something one should think carefully about, not do as carelessly as possible.
So I for one stick strictly to cash and won’t budge on that. Cash is entirely under your control and watch, can count it to know how much you have at any moment, physically seeing and holding it helps with budgeting, taking just as much as you intend with you makes it physically impossible to overspend, if any is stolen or lost you immediately notice, anyone taking any of it from you counts as theft, your pocket or wallet don’t charge fees for holding your cash or releasing it back to you, no businesses or authorities get rights to just take from your cash, no errors or regulations or other issues may block you from using your cash at any moment…
To give up on all of that for the “convenience” of more easily and thoughtlessly spending money, which the large majority of people have too little of to begin with, is sheer insanity… And sadly fits with many other troubling behavior patterns that are and have been all too common, with the consequences we all see…“

In the previous personal post, I skipped ahead as we started running, a few minutes after the scheduled time of 9:03 PM, at sunset. We did that directly, with no warmup, since it was raining and we were already running late. The rain soon eased, however, and with everyone bar me and one other guy having rushed to put their jackets on before starting, they started trying to get them off while running. Still, there were puddles, some of them large, and we were running through some dark areas, plus that at that hour there was traffic, and plenty of people on the sidewalks as well, so avoiding them wasn’t that easy and I ended up stepping in a few. Some were saying that soon enough it won’t matter anymore, I guess because we’ll be too wet to notice, but it wasn’t as bad as the forecast might have made us believe even then, and for the rest of the run it was actually just fine, with some moments of light rain but nothing notable, and the puddles became fewer and smaller as we went along. There seemed to have been quite a gust of wind at some point, however, maybe before the rain started, while we were still in the mall, since we ran past a fallen tree in an area I should have seen on my way there, and Radu also shouted and said he hadn’t seen it earlier either, indicating he lives around here as well. Otherwise, I got some warnings from my right knee, but there was nothing notable, that first part actually seeming too easy. And we had a refreshment point during it, where I drank a bottle of protein milk, I think the vanilla one, and took two protein bars, one of each kind, eating the chocolate and mint one and leaving the white chocolate and strawberry one in my pocket, and also grabbed and ate a couple of bagels before the stuff was gathered.

The first half, or maybe even the first two thirds, of the second part also felt easy and I was staying with those in the lead. The group even split at one point and I stayed with those who rushed ahead, albeit hesitantly, but before the split it’s certain that staying ahead helped at Izvor Park, where we stopped at the toilets and, after not going when we stopped at a gas station during the first part, I ended up the second one at the better toilet that’s there, so I didn’t have to resort to one of the others or have Radu try to pressure me to do so to reduce the waiting time, as it happened to those who were after me. Forgot to stop the stopwatch while waiting for the first guy, however, and while I realized it after a while and then tried to compensate by starting it a similar amount of time later once we got going again, that was obviously a very rough estimate. Otherwise, at the refreshment point I got the chocolate protein milk and a strawberry bar, which was awfully sweet, the combination having unpleasant effects on my stomach, the few bagels I also got not seeming to help too much. And I peed again at Opera’s Park, rushing after that guy who had reached that toilet at Izvor ahead of me as well but seeing him going in the bushes, the toilet not working, so I did the same. I was starting to tire at that point, however, on top of the stomach problems, and I meant to reassess the situation after that part, wondering what to do because I wanted to complete the third as well, but I doubted I’ll be able to keep up and couldn’t recall the route, the return one in particular, so I was trying to get myself to suggest splitting into two groups, one taking it easy and just finishing that part and another for those certain they’ll go to the end and can maintain the pace required, Radu already saying we were behind schedule because the breaks had been too long.

There was another refreshment point at the end of part two, and considering how my stomach felt I got a bottle of water instead of the protein milk, and searched for a mint bar, another guy doing the same, but while I thought I had found some in a box and handed him one as well, we then both had a better look and realized those were strawberry bars as well, and we only got mint ones after the girl managing the refreshment points asked what we were searching for and handed us a box of those bars from the car, saying there were none left in the trunk, probably in an attempt to get people to eat some of the others as well, most avoiding them because they were so terribly sweet. Likely got some bagels again as well, if I saw some, but I’m not entirely sure, and either way I can’t say they helped, and the water actually seemed to make things worse, so I really felt like I needed to take a shit, on top of being exhausted. And I wasn’t the only one, at least one girl asking for a working toilet in the area, but nobody seemed to know of any and we kept going as we were… All in one group, because despite having spent the previous few kilometers trying to prepare myself to suggest that split, I couldn’t get myself to say anything, so I just tried to run as efficiently as possible, taking it bit by bit.

What surprised me was that I was managing to hold on to the group. I had to push for it, and it was a loose group and I thought I was among the last in it, but after a while I realized with even greater surprise that I was in fact once again among the last in the leading group, since there had been another split, the others vanishing behind and Radu catching up to us when some were wondering whether to stop and wait and saying we’ll regroup at Victory Square. So we kept going until we got there, and I still managed to avoid falling behind, though the fact that we had to wait for quite a few minutes for the others to catch up at that point was definitely quite a relief. I’m not entirely sure what caused such a large gap, however, one possible reason being that the good runner who had kept rushing ahead before then had fallen, but despite having scraped knees he still reached us well before the others, having ended up between the groups. But at least everyone seemed to be there once we did regroup, so we continued to Arcul de Triumf and I still managed to hold on to the group… Though I’m not sure what I did with my stopwatch, since when I pressed the button to stop it and looked when we got there, it was running, so one option is that I didn’t press that button properly, but another is that I had stopped it earlier, maybe when I saw a red light on the way and assumed we’ll stop but we ended up crossing anyway, since there was no traffic, if not even shortly after starting again, when I thought we might stop one more time before leaving the Victory Square area, and then forgot to start it again, in which case quite a lot of time wasn’t counted and the actual running time is significantly longer than what was listed at the end.
Either way, the need to take care of a certain pressing need was quite desperate by then, and not just for me. I even heard the leader of the team I was in last year tell someone else that her legs weren’t hurting, but her stomach was, and when we stopped for another picture at that point that other girl who had asked for a proper toilet between parts two and three insisted once again, so Radu checked to see how long we had until reaching one with running water and toilet paper and also said we’ll cut through Herastrau Park, reducing the distance by some 200 meters, since the planned route would have taken us around that part of it. The distance was still significant, his initial estimate, before deciding to cut through the park, being 18 minutes, but it was enough to keep everyone going, though a few had seemed inclined to stop at Arcul de Triumf at first. I’ll also make a note of the fact that we had to avoid frogs again while we ran through the park, and since it was also dark I’m not sure everyone managed to avoid stepping on any, but what was stranger was that there seemed to have been even more in a certain area we passed through before the park, right on the sidewalk, though I can’t recall whether that was earlier on part three or somewhere on part two anymore.
After thinking that some lights I saw ahead were that gas station and pushing to be among the first ones there only to realize that I was wrong and had exhausted myself even more too soon, it sure was a relief when we did finally get there and I was among the several who took care of that pressing need. Just partially, but when it usually takes me about half an hour and I had to get it over with in a couple of minutes, getting the worst of it out, at least wiping well enough to not feel itchy and not seeing any blood was way better than expected, and I felt so much better after that… At least from that point of view, since I was still exhausted and, once we got moving again, I realized that my back was hurting, maybe as a result of how I sat on the toilet, the pain seeming different despite being in the usual spot, worse than what that bone spur usually causes when it just gets stuck in a bad position, and I couldn’t just snap it to fix it, so that became another issue to manage from then on. In spite of that, and of the fact that a few others announced while we were still at that gas station that they were going to leave at the far end of that part, doing so after we stopped there for another picture, I decided to do my best to stay with the group all the way back to University Square. I was, however, hoping for another break relatively soon, Radu saying there will be a refreshment point where the girls will find a parking spot, so I was struggling more and more as time passed, that break coming quite late on the way back. But I managed to get there without falling behind, and that quite lengthy break and the vanilla protein milk, mint bar, quite a few bagels and small handful of some other snacks that I got helped me reach the end.

It wasn’t even 3:45 AM when we got back to University Square. I’m not even entirely sure it was 3:40 AM, since I seem to remember someone saying it should be as much as we’ll be able to cover in an hour and 50 minutes when Radu said the last part will be shortened, people obviously being tired, at least with the exception of the guy who met us there and joined just for that last part. Still, after struggling so much to get there, a fact which others had noticed, since I had been asked a few times whether I was all right, I clearly wasn’t going to keep up, so I managed to get myself to ask whether they’ll get back through Unirii Square and when Radu confirmed it I said I needed a break, couldn’t continue, but will jog there after half an hour or so and wait to join them again for that last bit. He asked where I lived and when I said I won’t be going home, but just rest there for a while, he was concerned I’ll be cold, not seeming convinced even when I said I had my jacket and pointed to it, tied around my waist, and suggesting that I should accept when that new guy offered me his hoodie and even to give me his car keys. But he left me alone when I refused and, at 3:50 AM or so, the rest of them left, nobody else stopping at that point.

So I made my way to the underground passage and waited there, with my jacket on, taking it off again and going back out at 4:20 AM. Then I lightly jogged to Unirii Square, making a little detour once I got there to check the hours of that Carrefour before continuing to the intersection, where I initially meant to wait. After a little while I jogged back to also check that Mega Image, saw that it was also closed and didn’t even have the hours displayed outside, jogged back to the intersection, waited there a while longer… But then I thought they could get back on the other side, either going through the park or even staying on its other side, so I jogged back to the other intersection… And then realized I rather needed to pee again, so I jogged through the park and crossed to that toilet from that area… Only to find it closed, the message stating that it’ll open at 5 AM, and while that was only minutes away, I wasn’t sure it really would open at exactly 5 AM and was worried that if I’ll be in there after 5 AM I might just miss them, so I jogged back to the park, found some bushes and peed there, then jogged back to the intersection to wait.
I was getting increasingly uneasy as time passed and they weren’t appearing, however, seeing as the announced plan was to finish at 5:30 AM, which was when the organizers seemed to have seen sunrise was at, though when I checked I saw 5:31 AM. So I was starting to think that I either somehow missed them or they used another route, and at 5:20 AM I started jogging back… Only to find myself at the statue right at 5:31 AM, all alone. So I jogged back to the corner, and after a little while saw one guy, jogging with him back to the statue, I believe seeing 5:34 AM when we got there. Then, after he said he had left a bit before the others after their last stop, I jogged back to the corner once again, returning with the others when they also appeared, I think getting there at 5:37 AM.

I’ll also mention that I didn’t use the bug spray again, so carrying it with me was pointless, and the same goes for the other things, with the exception of the mask, which I also used at that gas station, and the money and bags, which I needed later. But what matters more is that the total running time I saw at the end was 4:41:21, a mere 37 seconds over last year’s, though that’s of course rough and uncertain, even more so considering that possible issue on Kiseleff. And, assuming Google Maps can be trusted for measurements, if the route for those three parts was followed, with the exception of that shortcut through Herastrau Park, and I remembered various details correctly, and adding what I covered on my own while the rest were on part four, the total distance seems to have been about 44 km. That would be the longest yet if true, but all the stops mean it can’t compare to actually running a marathon anyway… And actually needing over 20 minutes less to do so… Back before I ended up so out of shape, and probably only getting worse from now on, seeing as I’m obviously not getting any younger.

Now that the event supposedly announcing what’s next for Windows is approaching, I decided to check AskWoody again and saw a post asking for feedback for Windows 11… Which feedback is pointless to offer, of course, being pretty much the usual list of requests that Microsoft doesn’t care about, but on that site there may still be a significant number of users agreeing and offering some feeling of validation, I guess… And since I need a non-personal post this week, I’ll just add what I posted there here as well, but keep in mind that I wrote that as a comment and just included what came to me on the spot, so it may well be that something important is missing.

– Return to the old Windows 7 and older style updates. Allowing users to check for updates without risking to have any automatically install, and having a “disable automatic updates” setting that if selected ensures that no update will be automatically installed no matter what, is absolutely mandatory, but being able to pick and choose individual patches is the actual target. Can of course still have the bundles for all the users who just want to get it over with and don’t care, but let the rest of us do it our way, and make sure that updating will never interfere, and that any update we don’t want, for whatever reason, we can skip, even permanently.
– Ensure that there are clear ways to check and, if desired, disable any automatic behaviors and tasks, so system resources will only be used for what the user desires them to be used. Incidentally, this eliminates the need for a separate telemetry point, since it means it must be easy to completely disable its gathering, purely from a system resource use point of view, though of course those who may for some reason still want to allow it to be gathered but control what of it is sent should also have that option.
– Ensure that changes made by users, by whatever means, be it clear settings, registry edits, group policy or whatever else, are not changed by the operating system, be it after updates or at any other point. If such a change would really conflict with an update, as in truly creating unavoidable problems, not just Microsoft saying it might or coding the update in such a manner as to create them when it could have been avoided, there should be a warning, allowing the user to choose between keeping the setting and installing the update.
– Bring back the version support and updating timeline as it was, no stream of feature updates but releasing a version of Windows that gets five to seven years of mainstream support, during which time there will be one to three major updates, as in the Service Packs, that are not forced on the user, and other minor and entirely optional feature updates among the monthly patches, plus five to seven more years of extended support, with security updates only.
– Ensure that all local functions work properly without connections to the Internet, which obviously also means a Microsoft account shouldn’t be required for anything done on your own computer, and users shouldn’t be tricked or pressured into logging on that way.
– Bring back the Windows 7 start menu.
– Give users a wide range of install options and explain them properly, so the operating system will be as close to the desired state right away, without undesired components and behaviors. This would also imply more customization options, and Microsoft stopping this unifying policy and remembering that users are individuals with individual preferences even on similar devices, not to mention that different types of devices may be better suited for entirely different settings. And it also relates to the system requirements and resource use, allowing users to choose between lightweight and flashy eye candy and anything in between. And obviously also means things like the Store or ads or other such “features” can never be installed at all, though admittedly it does seem fair for this to be a feature reserved for actual paid licenses.