In the good ole days MAC addresses are supposed to be unique and immutable, but unfortunately, these days MAC randomization is definitely a thing, and getting more and more widespread. More and more devices and peripherals these days come with randomization built-in, and some devices even offer user-customizable MAC addresses. Many modern cellphones automatically randomize their MACs upon connecting to a new WiFi network.

I've actually looked into firewall filtering by MAC before, for a fairly large public Wi-Fi network. My conclusion, unfortunately, is that these days it is essentially useless, because (1) it is broadcast in the clear, and (2) people can and do eavesdrop on your MAC addresses and spoof them. It's as easy as changing a system setting. Which means (3) filtering by MAC is basically worthless. Worse yet, (4) many devices actually stop working properly if you force them not to randomize their MACs. If they even let you turn it off in the first place. Some devices no longer even offer the option.

Given this state of affairs, it's hardly surprising that the firmware driver will automatically do MAC randomization upon startup. Long gone are the good ole days where you can count on MACs being a reliable device identifier.

The thing about batteries is that in spite of all the benefits they bring, they always have a negative side.

Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

I want to get rid of my vacuum cleaner. It's only picking up dust. Besides, when it works it sucks, and when it doesn't suck it doesn't work!

As they say, when you open up your vacuum cleaner to clean it, you become a vacuum cleaner.

Well I was away and the thread died. So I decided to hire an Uber to get back here.  Turns out, the driver's Russian, and his name is Pickup Andropov.

As far as your apt sources, /etc/apt/sources.list should look something like this:

# You can delete "non-free" if you're adamant about FOSS-only software
deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged daedalus main contrib non-free
deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged daedalus-updates main contrib non-free
deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged daedalus-security main contrib non-free

# Uncomment this if you need backports for whatever reason
#deb http://deb.devuan.org/merged daedalus-backports main

# This is only if you're interested in downloading source packages, if not just skip these lines
deb-src http://deb.devuan.org/merged daedalus main
deb-src http://deb.devuan.org/merged daedalus-security main

Oh, and replace "daedalus" with "ceres" or whatever if you want a different release.

The typical way I install a new package is:

1) Run `apt-get update` to get the latest package lists.

2) If I don't already know the exact package name, `apt-cache search firefox` will give me a list of actual packages that contain "firefox" in the name or description. If that returns too many, you can narrow it down with `apt-cache search ^firefox` which returns only a list of packages whose names start with "firefox". From the list, it should be obvious that the correct package name is "firefox-esr".

3) Install the package with its actual name: `apt-get install firefox-esr`.

4) You're all set to go.

Why ask rhetorical questions?

Oh right, it is 5 circles. See, it confused even me.

Whenever my granpa goes to a Mexican store, he always likes to wear a sombrero and pretend he's Mexican.

It's how he gets his señor discount.

Yes, he's all right.  But what about the rest of him?

Well, that's all that's left...