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17 Apr 2025

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Medical testing company Awanui loses millions amid 'funding gap', staff to strike over pay
The result is the third straight year with no dividend payment to shareholders.

Forget Windows 11. These mad lads made Linux look like Windows XP!
PC users who want to relive the nostalgia of an older Windows interface can download the free Linux distribution Q4OS and install the XPQ4 G UI. The GUI makes it possible to activate different interfaces within the Debian-based distribution Q4OS. In addition to Windows XP, you can also choose interfaces that mimic Windows 2000, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. While you can install and use Linux applications, the system offers a familiar graphical user interface that behaves like Windows, making it easier to navigate. Thomas Joos You can also run the system as a live installation using a USB stick. Since it’s available as an ISO file, it’s also possible to test the distribution in a VM. The Q4OS interface is already similar to Windows. By installing XPQ4, the aforementioned Windows interfaces can be activated. The developers of XPQ4 also offer a ready-made live environment with Q4OS in which XPQ4 is already installed and ready to use. Using Windows XP with Linux (even without installation) To use Windows XP via Q4OS/XPQ4, download the ISO file for XPQ4 as FreeXP from the developers. The best way to do this is to use the ‘FreeXP live CD image’ option under ‘Downloads.’ If you want to use Windows 10 with Linux on the basis of Q4OS and XPQ4, you can also use the ‘Free10 live CD image.’ The Windows 10 interface is available here, but without the option of activating older versions such as Windows XP. If you start this image, you’ll receive a Windows 10 interface based on Q4OS and XPQ4. Thomas Joos To start a PC with Q4OS, whether you’re using the Windows XP or Windows 10 interface, you can use tools like Rufus or balenaEtcher. Using Rufus as an example, connect the USB stick to your PC, start Rufus, and select the USB stick under ‘Drive.’ Under ‘Startup type,’ click on ‘Selection’ and pick the desired ISO file. You can leave the other settings as default. Click ‘Start’ to begin creating the stick. If you boot a PC, FreeXP or Free10 will start directly with the stick. Thomas Joos Logging on to Windows XP under Q4OS The default login for Q4OS utilizes the user name “adminq” and a blank password. You can also customize the language of the user interface during startup. After logging in, the operating system will automatically activate the Windows XP interface if you’ve started the FreeXP version. With the Windows 10 version, the Windows 10 interface will start instead. The functionality of FreeXP resembles Windows XP or whichever Windows version you’ve selected. Customize the Windows interface You can customize the displayed Windows version at any time using the ‘XPQ4 Desktop Styles’ tool. The different Windows versions are available for selection in the ‘Themes’ column. These include Windows XP with the classic view, Windows XP with the familiar colorful Luna interface, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 2000. Thomas Joos Click on a theme and select ‘Apply Theme.’ Next, select ‘Logout now.’ After logging out, log in with the user ‘adminq’ without a password. Working with Windows under Q4OS The operation of the respective Windows interface is similar to that of Windows. There are, of course, a few differences, as the system is based on Debian Linux with Q4OS. The Q4OS welcome screen enables the installation of programs via the ‘Install programs’ button. More features can be activated with ‘More options’ such as various graphical effects. The interface and general display can be customized via ‘Desktop Profiler.’ Thomas Joos Installing Q4OS with XPQ4 Instead of just testing the FreeXP live CD, you can also install the operating system. To do so, click on ‘Install Q4OS,’ which will launch the installation wizard directly in the user interface. This allows you to select the language, the keyboard model, and the Q4OS variant. It makes sense to select ‘Q4OS Desktop’ at this point. You can also specify the partitioning here. As part of the setup, you can set up your own user account with a test password. If desired, you can enable automatic login for FreeXP. Once the wizard is complete, the installation will begin. The operating system will be available on the PC when the installation finishes. After restarting, the user can log in with the new user name and password.

I tried Instagram’s X rival, Threads, for a month… and I kind of like it?
Like many people these days, I’ve finally moved on from X (formerly Twitter) after all the changes and controversies over the years. X has long been an unpleasant platform to hang out on, but Musk’s influence has seriously ruined things—and I’ve been dying for an alternative. And I’m clearly not the only one, as alternatives have been popping up all over the place. The most promising options? The open-source Bluesky, which I’ve been pretty keen on lately, and Meta’s Threads. While both have amassed millions of users, Threads stands out with over 275 million monthly active users as of late 2024. So, I decided to use Threads for a month, checking in at least once a day, getting involved in conversations, and posting my own thoughts, too. Here’s what I learned about Threads over the past few weeks of trying it out, from the aspects I like to the ones I don’t. What I like about Threads Threads boasts several great features, especially for those of us who remember Twitter in its early days. It feels like a more refined version of Twitter, one that’s built with modern sensibilities (and challenges) in mind. Here’s what I particularly like about it. You don’t have to start from scratch Dave Parrack / Foundry Unlike most of the Twitter alternatives that have sprung up in the wake of Musk’s X acquisition, Threads is attached to an established social media company with a lot of backing. Thanks to it being developed by Instagram—which, like Facebook, is owned by Meta—when you sign up to use Threads, you aren’t starting from scratch. Instead, you have the opportunity to immediately follow everyone you’re already following on Instagram. This feature doesn’t seem to be available on the Threads web app, but at least on the mobile app, you can just click Settings > Follow and invite friends > Follow Instagram friends. Threads will also suggest people to follow based on who you’re already following on Instagram. This interconnectivity may or may not appeal to you, but there’s no arguing its convenience as far as initial onboarding. On other social media platforms, finding people to follow—whether they’re new to you or accounts you’re following elsewhere—can be a friction point. Threads has tons of active users Dave Parrack / Foundry Another positive of Threads over all the other Twitter-likes is the sheer number of active monthly users on the platform. As of January 2025, Threads had reached 320 million users, which compares incredibly favorably against Bluesky, which only boasts around 30 million users. Neither can compete with X and its 650 million users, but Threads is the clear winner out of the comparable alternatives. The number of active users on a social media platform really matters. The more people, the more activity. The more activity, the more it all feels alive and meaningful. When you post something, it’s more likely to get in front of eyeballs, generate discussion, and ultimately matter. I’ve found this especially true when replying to other people’s posts. Whether I’m agreeing with someone, calling them out for spreading misinformation, or just making a joke, the engagement levels are through the roof on Threads—even more engagement than there was on Twitter during its heyday, at least for me personally. Many high-profile accounts are already there Dave Parrack / Foundry I treated my exit from X as a chance for a fresh start, and therefore didn’t automatically follow everyone I was previously following on X on the newer platforms. For me, Threads (and Bluesky) represented an opportunity to re-curate my social media feed experience. And yet, it’s nice to know that most of those big accounts that I know and love and have followed for years—ranging from celebrities to creatives to brands to organizations—are all active on Threads. It lends legitimacy to the platform, which unfortunately isn’t the case yet for Bluesky (although things seem to be moving in that direction). What I dislike about Threads As much as I like Threads, it’s far from perfect—just like any other social media platform. Launched in 2023, it’s now facing many of the challenges that Twitter faced before Elon Musk accepted Jack Dorsey’s invitation to acquire it. Here’s what I don’t like about Threads. There’s way too much engagement farming Dave Parrack / Foundry If you aren’t familiar with the term, “engagement farming” is when people post purposefully incendiary, controversial, or manipulative material on social media to boost likes, shares, and discussions. Engagement farming content is designed to trigger a response out of you. Rage bait is crafted to rile you up so much that you share the content with others. Wholesome content draws you in and gets you to smash those like buttons. You may have also seen “Only geniuses can do this!”-type riddles that prey on an innate drive to prove yourself. That is to say, engagement farming is disingenuous at best and harmful at worst. It’s a huge problem on X, but it’s also there on Threads. Fortunately, I haven’t seen much of it on Bluesky (yet). Many conversations turn negative fast Dave Parrack / Foundry Another way in which Threads is suffering as Twitter did before it? The nastiness that regularly emerges in conversations. While the majority of people are still pleasant and happy to engage in civil discourse, some are quick to turn nasty and sling negativity over the tiniest things. Unlike X, which seems to actively encourage uncivil discourse, Threads at least tries to maintain some level of civility. Along with the ability to report people for taking things too far, if you yourself try to post something deemed unacceptable by Threads’ filters, the platform asks you to reconsider before hitting Send. (Sadly, few do.) Feed customization options are limited Dave Parrack / Foundry Threads offers limited ways to customize how you browse posts. The standard feed is the “For you” feed, which lumps together posts from those you follow and those you don’t but might be interested in. There’s also a dedicated “Following” feed with only posts from accounts you follow, plus “Liked” and “Saved” feeds. That’s it. By comparison, Bluesky boasts multiple different feeds that you can follow, allowing you to truly customize what you see when you open the app. And if you have a little coding expertise, you can even build your own custom feed that others can follow themselves. Honestly, it’s no surprise. Any social media platform developed by the likes of Meta/Instagram/Facebook was always going to restrict how you interact with the platform, but it’s still disappointing to see. Could Threads offer more customization down the line? Maybe. Likely not. Am I going to keep using Threads? After using Threads for a month, I now find myself checking in on the platform multiple times a day. As social media is known to do, once you’ve gotten over the learning curve and invested yourself in the platform, it’s difficult to extricate yourself from it again. You start yearning for engagement, for more conversations, for more feedback. And with Threads as big as it is, it offers the most of that (apart from X). Therefore, yes, I will be sticking with Threads for the foreseeable future. I’m hoping the good parts continue to get better and encourage others to hop over from X, and I’m hoping that Meta will invest the right resources to deal with the platform’s ongoing issues. There’s more good than bad right now. My fingers are crossed that it evolves further.