FACIAL RECOGNITION: "We have never agreed to any of this"

From facial recognition to Digital ID & surveillance, we will be speaking about this at our rally on Saturday 25 April and MORE!

Join the 'Scrap Digital ID #Together' Four Nations Rally

🗓 Sat 25th April - SAVE THE DATE
📢 Spread the word, share this far and wide

London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast

1:30 pm meet for a 2:00 pm start at Trafalgar Square London - more info on other places soon

Keep updated: togetherdeclaration.org/25april

Just a few of many freedom-loving businesses you can find in the Together Directory: https://togetherdeclaration.org/directory

Stay Alone to Master Yourself | Stoic Philosophy for Self-Discipline & Inner Strength | Stoicism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGxJS0-Q9Ec

How To Keep Going When Everything Feels Heavy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqyL3b8j-aI

We're Not Ready For AI Glasses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrkwfI9-maM

Long-Term Data Storage for Home Users

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulh9z-JluBs

World's Deadliest Computer Virus: WannaCry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OmpRDWRT9U

They Lost It. All Of It.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k_70iqBCDc

How to Never Get Angry or Bothered by Anyone | Master Emotional Control | Stoicism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI8PHNTulvQ

3 Reasons You Age Faster After 40 (Doctor Explains)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLvGF0mscK4

Only six weeks to go until we kick off the summer music festival season with the biggest and best value freedom family gathering of the year! Head on over to the website to grab your tickets now and be part of something amazing this summer. We have an awesome lineup for you with solo artists and bands performing on the Live Stage & djs spinning in the Dance Tent all long-weekend-long, plus a full schedule of fantastic workshops, delicious food vendors, our own Freedom Bar, Tastes beautiful Cocktail Van, a wide array of brilliant stalls, teen hangout, all-night acoustic firepit, and even a wild steam sauna and bee bath! Campervans are welcome at no extra charge and you're welcome to bring along your furry friends (who must be kept on leads at all times and cleared up after of course!) For those who simply cannot do without a hot shower when camping, we've got you covered! Prefer glamping to camping? Book your bell tent via the website while you still can! See you there.

standinthelight.uk
@standinthelightfest

💻 Is Zorin the Closest Free OS to Windows XP?
Short answer: Yes — but not always the closest, and it depends what you mean. Let's break it down properly.

🔷 First — why do so many people still miss XP?
Windows XP (XP = eXPerience — released 2001, officially abandoned by Microsoft in 2014) holds a unique place in computing history. Before XP, using a PC felt unstable — Windows 95 and 98 were crash-prone, and Windows ME was a disaster. XP stabilised everything: fewer crashes, smoother multitasking, and a system that could run for days without rebooting. Medium
Widely praised for its performance and stability, it's remembered for chunky icons, a beloved startup sound, and one of the most iconic desktop wallpapers ever made. PC Gamer It was simple, fast, and just worked.
In a tech world now full of bloated software and intrusive updates, that simplicity still feels pretty appealing. Medium
And people aren't just nostalgic — as of early 2024, an estimated 5.5 million PCs worldwide were still actively running Windows XP Computerworld, over a decade after Microsoft pulled the plug. That's not nostalgia. That's loyalty.
Tech publications consistently rank XP among the best Windows versions ever made Digital Trends — sitting alongside Windows 7 at the top, while versions like Vista and Windows 8 are remembered very differently.
So if you're someone who misses XP — you're absolutely not alone. You're in very good company.

🔷 What is an OS?
An OS (Operating System) is the core software that runs your computer — Windows, macOS, and Linux are all examples.

🔷 Why Zorin OS feels like Windows
Zorin OS is a free Linux-based OS (Linux being a free, open-source platform that powers everything from Android phones to supercomputers) built specifically for people switching from Windows. It gives you:
✅ A bottom taskbar and Start-menu style launcher
✅ A familiar file manager and system tray
✅ Themes that mimic different Windows versions
✅ Wine — a compatibility tool that lets some Windows programs run on Linux
✅ Security updates guaranteed until at least 2029
So yes — it's deliberately "Windows-ish" and much safer than sticking with XP, which hasn't had security updates since 2014 and is wide open to hackers.

🔷 But is Zorin the closest to XP specifically?
Not always. Modern Zorin is actually styled closer to Windows 7 or Windows 10 by default. You can tweak it to look more like XP, but out of the box it's a more modern feel. If your muscle memory is locked into pure XP, these alternatives can feel even closer:

1️⃣ Q4OS (closest XP vibe)
Uses a lightweight desktop environment called Trinity that looks genuinely retro — classic menus, window styles, the lot. Very low system requirements. Many XP veterans say this feels like "XP that kept evolving."
2️⃣ Linux Mint MATE or XFCE
(MATE and XFCE = lightweight desktop styles, like choosing a "Classic" vs "Modern" view)
Stable, beginner-friendly, classic taskbar and menu. Feels like a natural XP → Windows 7 evolution.
3️⃣ AntiX or LXLE
For very old hardware. More "XP-era computing philosophy" than visual imitation — basic but solid.

🔷 Important reality check
No Linux distro (distro = a version/flavour of Linux, like different brands of the same engine) is a perfect drop-in XP replacement:
⚠️ Hardware drivers can differ
⚠️ Software installs work differently
⚠️ Old XP programs may need emulation (running the old system inside the new one)
⚠️ Gaming and specialist hardware can be hit-and-miss
Zorin makes the transition easier — but under the bonnet, it's still Linux.

🔷 Quick verdict
🟢 Modern, polished, easy, Windows-like → Zorin OS
🟡 Maximum XP nostalgia, minimal change → Q4OS or Linux Mint MATE
🔴 Reviving a really old PC → AntiX-style distros


👉 For more tips like this, follow telegram.me/keepingonestepahead

Zorin OS Not Showing Album Art 🎵🖼
(Works for MP3, FLAC, and more)

Problem 👇
You download music
You double-click it
It plays perfectly

…but there’s no album art 😑

Why this happens ⚙️
Zorin’s default player (like Rhythmbox) is overly picky and, frankly, a bit rubbish with real-world files.

Most downloaded audio isn’t “perfect”:
• mixed metadata
• different tagging formats
• artwork embedded in odd ways

A decent player handles that without complaint.
Zorin’s default one often just… gives up.

Fix (takes 10 seconds) 🚀

1. Open Terminal
2. Run ONE of these:

sudo apt install lollypop

OR

sudo apt install strawberry

3. Open your music again 🎧

Result ✅
Same files
Same system
Album art appears like it should

Key point 💡
If one app shows artwork and another doesn’t, the app is the problem. Not you. Not your files.

Bottom line 🧠
Zorin works.
Its default music player doesn’t.

Follow for fixes that actually respect your time:
telegram.me/keepingonestepahead