The line between helpful tech and quiet surveillance is blurring — and our devices no longer feel fully under our control.
You don’t even hold the hardware if it’s not user repairable, customizable or upgradable
how big would a gpu need to be to be user repairable lmao
Repairability isn’t about the physical realities of executing the repair - that’s a user end problem to be solved and people are often eager to tackle those.
It’s about the manufacturer not being allowed to explicitly make design decisions that make it intentionally harder to do so than is strictly necessary as a side effect of the basic design.
I’m taking at a device level not at a component level, think mackbook vs framework laptop
Sure, I might own the hardware
Not for long. The goal seems to be to make RAM, flash memory, and GPU’s so expensive that most consumers will need to purchase low-powered client devices and subscribe to cloud computing business models. It’s a handful of companies who are cornering the markets, controlling the supply, and seeking rents.
We well make some new companies
I don’t really see that happen. It would mean developers (or crappy AI code generators) would have to write efficient code for the low-powered client devices. The web is basically already other people’s computers and look how memory hungry browsers are, or maybe more specifically the websites/apps that run in the browsers.
I bet it’ll be more like a subscription for an LLM upgrade, since they’re shoving “AI” into the OS, it’ll need a bit of local processing power but then you pay to connect it to a beefier server
Yeah it sucks. The more people that educate and switch others to open source community-run stuff the better. There is also https://alternativeto.net/, and https://european-alternatives.org/ for helping people find open source projects just have to search online if it is corpo or community-run
Our devices are no longer fully under our control, it’s not a “feeling”.
This is where the Linux and self hosting people chime in.
I get tut-tutted by other Linux nerds for this a lot, but I think Linux is impersonal in a different way because it simply demands more of the user. Sure, it gives freedom, but that freedom comes with responsibility, and a lot of people just are like “ain’t nobody got time for that!” Which I think is a valid way to feel.
Linux has come a long way though and it’s basically turn key for some distros. Even with flatpak or system catalogs built into the gui.
In a lot of ways it’s been like this for a long time. I recall back in 2007 when Vista was breaking everything, I installed Ubuntu and was shocked that there were zero driver issues. Even the fucking printer worked. Printers never work!
It’s only gotten better since.
I agree. Linux has come a long way, and I love using it. But its definitely not for everybody.
Many times I just don’t want to do something because I don’t want to invest the time. I also get that there’s a GUI that is very capable, but then why is the terminal easier sometimes?
I also need to look up everything I do. That’s probably me just being a noob but I can never look through the system and figure out how to do something. Everything I do is an internet search first, then an implementation. Again, probably just lack of knowledge on my part but comparing that to the average Windows user, I can see the allure of adding AI to just do things you ask it to. Time is valuable and if you’re not invested into your system then its not worth it to most.
I’ve been a developer for decades. I’ve contributed to FOSS code and do a lot of my own development.
I just want a desktop that works. No fuss.
Yes I could compile my own x11 (and have) but I would rather spend my time doing my own shit than trying to stand up a new VM for some edge issue I’m having.
Just…just give me a UI I can use.
It’s why I use Ubuntu.
tut-tut
Self hosting doesn’t make you immune, though. See how Plex evolved, for example. Self hosting plus free software that isn’t abandoned or compromised is the way, but idealistic developers need to take bread to the table too.
So the way maybe is self-hosted + libre software + a non-profit supporting the project. And that can too be corrupted, for example, the Mozilla Foundation and Google’s influence.
Always be ready to migrate.
This is why permissive licensing isn’t good enough; copyleft is essential. (And not just GPLv2 copyleft, but copyleft with anti-tivoization and cloud loophole protection as well, such as AGPLv3.) Every part of the system – the tech itself, the management, and the legal/business structure – has to be designed to resist being subverted against the user.
Always be ready to migrate.
or be ready to contribute to the project you use, so they don’t have to sell out to google.
Ive contributed to several projects, code and translation, but you can really expect every user to be a programmer, or every programmer to contribute to every piece of software they use.
Besides, contribution is not a protection from capture, just look at MySQL.
Ive contributed to several projects, code and translation, but you can really expect every user to be a programmer,
i meant contributing with money. contributing code is nice, but that doesn’t help them to pay for electricity.
That’s donations, and I’ve donated to less projects that I’d like, because it would become costly very fast. Mainly things like Wikipedia or Jellyfin.
or be ready to contribute to the project you use, so they don’t have to sell out to google.
that may happen despite your contributing or not
you can also have car accident with or without alcohol, but that doesn’t mean that dui is good idea.
Yes, of course you shouldn’t drive under influence. Still, what a bad analogy. Two completely unrelated scenarios.
your inability to understand it doesn’t make it bad analogy. in both cases, one of the outcomes is far more likely. and your argument is as stupid as drunk driver explaining “i can crash sober, so why try”
your inability to understand it doesn’t make it bad analogy
Wow how condescending we are today. I’m sorry I failed to appreciate the analogy that your big, beautiful smooth brain produced.
Prick.
They’ve been really holding back until now.
Oh yeah linux people have been building like crazy these past 10 years.
Sometimes the user experience is so slick its boring. But the great past of.linux is even when the usage is simple I can always tweak it or modify it to my exact liking.
On Mac it either works nicely or I’m fucked.
Big Tech keeps building smarter devices
Smarter or just louder?
Because soulless ghouls can only pretend to be human.
All monopolies should be split into different smaller companies which would then be given to the workers who would collectivize them.
I agree, big tech should be trust busted to oblivion
Laughs in every computer I own is Linux and my mobile is GrapheneOS
Cries a little for everyone else
I switched to gOS and had to go back for NFC payments and auto.
It is great to see though, those are just necessities for me. Having gone back, I can say I hate pixel launcher and can’t even change keyboard
I’m genuinely curious, what makes NFC a necessity? And what do you mean by auto?
I don’t carry a wallet, and card contactless is limited to like 50. Can’t even do the weekly shop.
Android Auto for driving is difficult to get working, I see gOS can do it but I couldn’t get it to work.
It’s been a while since I got mine set up and working, but IIRC all I had to do was install Android Auto from the preinstalled GrapheneOS App Store app
Its trains when I travel for me. I am not giving up my tap to pay.
I might just be old, but I can do that with my debit and credit cards without involving my phone, so I couldn’t care less.
Limited in terms of value so it is less useful.
Lifestyle creep is real. I was like you before. Keep fighting the good fight and I will join you once Linux figures out NFC.
Brother/Sister if that is the good fight, I seem to be missing my cape. Happy new year :)
I’m just starting that journey … Graphene is dope once you learn your way around
My favorite feature is honestly so simple. Denying network permissions during install.
I’m literally building my set-up…I love having apps but a profile without Google play!
The poor user experience is intentional. Compare FireTV to AppleTV. Everything about FireTV is carefully designed to coerce you into spending money. Easy access to the content you already have doesn’t make money, so the UX serves Amazon, not you. Apple does it, too, but with a more subtlety.
It’s all the same UX to me; I start up Stremio then check what torrent to stream from.
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No no absolutely not Big Tech built a large spy network and now all of your lives are hot linked to every CEO across the planet.
I’ve been on Linux since 2016, and I’m honestly useless at Windows Administration now.
It’s not just that, but a lot of software feels awful to use. It feels like when Cable stations would just start airing Infomercials (maybe they still do) late at night, trying to sell you things you don’t need. Using modern software unfiltered is an onslaught of advertising, and pressure. It’s not fun.
I down graded phones for simplicity and control
The more this shit goes on, the more I find myself aligning with the villains in James Bond films. Burn this whole system to the fucking ground!
The irl villains we’re dealing with took inspiration from Bond… or vise versa.
Seriously, Tomorrow Never Dies and Quantum of Solace have pretty obvious real world examples.
Maybe Golden Eye would be nice, but only because they wanted to destroy the banks while robbing them.
But before all that…
Moves hands up thighs, “Oh Mr. Bond”
Have the day you paid for.
