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Your Computer Isn't Yours

sneak.berlin

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Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#591

Post by croes »

zepto wrote: post #534
croes wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it should be your tool. Apple just grands you the right to use it like they think it's the best for you. That leads to this https://mobile.twitter.com/lapcatsoftware/status/13269902964... How could it be that people are all about freedom when it comes to governments but have no problem if private companies censor and controll what they write and do?

Because if governments get involved we’ll never be able to solve the problem. I.e. if you take away the rights to privately create and distribute software, the current situation will become permanent.

That's not what I said. I didn't say the government should get involved. I asked why it's ok that that a private company controls and censors us.

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#592

Post by megous »

fn1 wrote: post #369
AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In other words, it is perceived as harder because people make it harder. If by "people" you mean "Linux Desktop developers". They have taken relatively simple things and abstracted them two or three times until they are so complex and fragile they need special programs and standards to automagically manage it all for the user. As soon as you step outside the box of what they expect (hey, why can't I install a progr…

> hey, why can't I install a program on a different disk than my OS? Apple user here (had Linux on the desktop for 5+ years and windows for a longer time): Why would I care whether my program is on one disk or another? Why would I even "install" something, instead of dragging/dropping a single "file" (yes I know it's a directory) like I usually do. Do Linux applications all self-update using Sparkle like Mac-applicat…

Linux is not a single thing. There are many different distributions and combinations of software you can have on any of them. You get what you choose.

There are like 7+ different file managers that you can install and use. One of them probably has compress to zip. Some of them are much more powerful than finder in OS X. I use `mc` and I don't even need to click. I just select a folder , and the folder is compressed. Two pane file managers are great. I love them ever since MS-DOS times.

The fact that I can use bitmap fonts is the major benefit of Linux to me, because I don't use hidpi screens. I can have small fonts that don't suck to look at, and are perfectly crisp. I like that I have that choice.

All of those automatic sync things are an anti-feature to me. I was given an iPhone for webdev testing, and was snapping an odd photo or two with it from time to time, including photos of my ID documents, without realizing that it by default uploaded everything into some stupid cloud. Great, now my state ID is with Apple.

A few times I had to use Mac OS for development had me running the other way since then. Why would I search online and download files to drag and drop them around to "install" them, and sometimes click through next next next finish dialogs, like on Windows, when I can just type a list of programs I want installed and they just get downloaded and installed for me with no fuss, and meanwhile I can do something more meaningful? I can install 10 different programs I need for some project in a single command, and it's such a time saver.

To some people Mac features may be great, to some they suck horribly.

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#593

Post by davidwparker »

christophilus wrote: post #402
raxxorrax wrote: post #390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate walled in gardens and in Microsoft land it did get a lot of flack which I am thankful for. I doubt many Apple users have the foresight of a Stallman to see where their environment is headed. There is money in creating apps for Apple systems, but you are giving up a lot in exchange. Some developers use it for convenience but I would not say it is widespread and most are fundamentally opposed to use a mac. Our a…

Probably 90% of developers I've worked with in the past 5 years used a Mac, and really wanted to do so. I know a handful that left Linux to do it, and have told me they can't imagine going back. I'm not sure that your'e right about developers. I do know that my next machine will be Linux. I'm probably going to put together a desktop for my office, and I'll buy a System76 laptop or whatever for those times when I want…

Anecodote- I was on OSX for ~9 years +/-1 or 2 years. Came from Linux (Ubuntu) and Windows for ~10 years before. I made a switch a year ago back to the same (Windows + Linux) and I've been nothing but happy. I know people tend to complain about Linux on the desktop, but I had great experiences a decade ago, and I do again.

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#594

Post by II2II »

zepto wrote: post #542
BLKNSLVR wrote: post #407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Linux desktop. I just use what's presented and get on with my work. I don't have a particularly complicated setup, but I found something that works and I've been using it happily enough for over a year having migrated from Windows. I don't know what disputes are being argued over, so I bothers me not in the slightest. Would it help if you just ignored the detail and just worked with what's presented?

If you are happy to just ‘work with what’s presented’, why not buy an Apple device or ChromeOS machine?

There are many reasons to choose Linux over the alternatives that have nothing to do with one's ability to customize it.

One example is the simplicity of system management. Desktop oriented Linux distributions tend to take care of everything from application installation to updates with a single interface with minimal interruption to my work flow. This is only sometimes the case with macOS and Windows. Android, iOS, and ChromeOS are not realistic contenders in the application space for some users.

Cost of ownership is another factor. Linux may not make sense for some businesses if they have to hire someone to manage their systems, but an end user who can handle often trivial tasks can usually support their own system and benefit from less downtime. While paying for software is a good thing, it frequently adds many constraints on what can be done while modern business models can make licenses prohibitively expensive (e.g. subscription models or various forms of forced obsolescence).

Other reasons include: sometimes the desired software just works better under Linux since it was designed for Linux, a desire for privacy or a need to ensure confidentiality, compatibility with older hardware that is no longer supported by the vendor (but may be supported by open source developers).

Working with what's presented simply means that you are unlikely to modify what is shipped by the vendor. You can still add to it or benefit in other areas.

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#595

Post by microtherion »

geocrasher wrote: post #105
jolmg wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

`sudo` can't affect `>>`. `>>` is the shell opening `/etc/hosts` before launching `sudo`. sudo tee -a /etc/hosts

Good catch. Another way that would work in Linux at least: sudo $(echo 127.0.0.1 oscp.apple.com >> /etc/hosts)

With all due respect, threads like this are why, despite the philosophical appeal of giving owners control of their machines, putting some hurdles in their way makes sense in practice...

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#596

Post by II2II »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #566
II2II wrote: post #553

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to let you in on a secret: most of the people who advocate a particular operating system are pretending that systematic problems don't exist. Strictly speaking, Windows is a usability nightmare. Most people don't notice simply because most people learn and use a tiny subset what is there. Beyond that, there is an entire industry to support Windows (which is part of the reason why people like it). Apple isn'…

I don't disagree, Windows especially has been getting a lot worse as it embraces modern development and the users-are-cattle mindset that comes with it. My problem isn't so much that there are tradeoffs, or even that those tradeoffs are not ones I want to make, it's that there are people out there who seem to insist that Linux Desktop is the one and only proper choice and everyone who doesn't choose it is either stup…

> My problem isn't so much that there are tradeoffs, or even that those tradeoffs are not ones I want to make,

That's fine, and I agree that advocates sometimes detract from progress.

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#597

Post by turbinerneiter »

fxtentacle wrote: post #299
turbinerneiter wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you weren't able to come up with the idea of right-clicking without Google?

Right clicking didn't work. The main menu also didn't offer the option. You need to open a burger menu in the top right corner. And then the new folder button is purely an icon and it doesn't show a folder.

What the heck are you using? :D

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#598

Post by wott »

a_c_s wrote: post #475
mikro2nd wrote: post #456

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bollocks. I've installed Linux for non-technical people any number of times and, provided I make sure everything (network, printers) is working for them, generally never hear from them again. At least not for computer help. Most people are using their (personal) computers for browsing, maybe an email client if they're not using one of those web-email abominations, the odd bit of word-processing and watching movies/li…

Right, they just need an expert to install things for them to get started... that's not simple enough for people who don't have an expert they can call.

Why could anyone's auntie do it when they needed MS-DOS or Windows installed in the 90s, and they could not do it any more today? The 'expert' being a neighbour, the little nephew himself, or whichever friend of the family.

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#599

Post by megous »

supermatt wrote: post #144
deadbunny wrote: post #16

Yet despite all the wailing and gnashing of teeth - both in the article and in the comments here in the various threads - people are still making excuses for continuing to use Apple/Google/Microsoft/et al products because the alternatives are a bit rough round the edges. These companies have repeatedly shown that they don't respect people's privacy and people have resoundingly responded that neither do they. I would…

A number of user stopping using these products wont change the slightest thing. We all encouraged our friends and family to ditch IE for chrome, and look where that got us. Legislation and regulation are the only fixes for these practices. The EC have a lot of kettles in the fire here - on multiple fronts. I trust that, although it will take time, "fairness" will prevail.

Actually if those users go to alternatives and offer they money and feature requests there, alternatives would improve.

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#600

Post by jolux »

unicornporn wrote: post #34
jolux wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just turn off iCloud backup. It’s what I do.

> Just turn off iCloud backup. It’s what I do. But is this problem a problem just at the personal level? The big problem lies at a societal level. And does it then help that a few computer hackers are informed enough to make an important (and crippling) technical decision?

The problem at the societal level is that people prefer convenience to security. The number of people that would forget their password, lose their entire message history, and blame Apple for it is huge. If you have everything end-to-end encrypted, that's the support burden you're looking at, and it's absolutely nontrivial.
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