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Neofeudalism and the Digital Manor

locusmag.com

211–220 of 255 posts

Re: Neofeudalism and the Digital Manor

#211

Unfortunately the way he describes the "Ulysses Pact" is fantasy. He makes it sound like it would be just like today, except a savvy user could sideload Signal for example if Apple was compelled to remove it. What would _actually_ happen is a long list of companies would say "brilliant, we don't have to conform to the app store guidelines any more" and go sideload-exclusive. Within a matter of months it would be comm…

"What would _actually_ happen is a long list of companies would say "brilliant, we don't have to conform to the app store guidelines any more" and go sideload-exclusive" This hasn't happened in Android, why do you think it would happen with Apple?

It has happened on Android.

Most importantly, Malware creators can just convince people to enable other sources. Most users don't understand the significance.

Re: Neofeudalism and the Digital Manor

#212
post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Medicine development should be sponsored by the government anyway. Private sector development funding optimises for drawn-out therapies that manage a condition indefinitely rather than ones that cure it. This is an unconscionable status quo. Public funding is fine for when your end-goal is known. In medicine, the end-goal is known: cure/manage condition X, which will save lives or improving quality of life of suffere…

> Private sector development funding optimises for drawn-out therapies that manage a condition indefinitely rather than ones that cure it. And still, Moderna and BioNTech came up with vaccines for COVID-19, not therapies.

I don't think this is a good counterexample given the very specific circumstances involved & clear requirements to get a vorking COVID vaccine ASAP.

Re: Neofeudalism and the Digital Manor

#213
post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You've neglected to argue as to why these needs should be artificially subsidized by the issuance of state-enforced monopolies for certain concepts. ... What? Avicebron argued that "financial reciprocation" should not be a priority of a creator, I countered that idealism won't keep you alive for long, and that creators need to make money to be able to create. Your post is completely beside the point.

Why do they need special laws to subsidize their creation? People can pay them to make their work, that's historically how things were done. Now suddenly they need special laws so its illegal to take a photograph in public without permission? Of course they need to get paid in order to live and to work, so do I, so does everyone else. Can we now discuss why creators are so special that they get an entire class of qua…

> People can pay them to make their work, that's historically how things were done.

So who's going to pay them? Their employer? That raises two problems: 1) Creators can't be independent and self-employed anymore, and 2) how is their employer going to make enough money?

A rich patron? That's hardly a better system.

Re: Neofeudalism and the Digital Manor

#214
post #8
post #3

What really puzzles me about Apple fans and it's userbase is that they do not care . They simply do not care at all what's being done to them. It's the strongest example of consumer cultism. Absolute in their exceptionalism and ignorance. Similar problems discussed in the article are found in Tesla. The lowest common denominator of consumer cultism is surveillance and it's no surprise that both Apple and Tesla do exc…

And what to do about it? Windows & Linux probably aren't the answer to the trillion-dollar juggernaut that is Apple. OSS has drawn the talent, and there's a lot of talent building enterprise applications, most of which are the bricks in the wall of mega-tech as they re-write our rights. Macs are great if you want access to the financial funnel that is the app stores now. That probably defines the echo chamber of sile…

> Windows & Linux probably aren't the answer to the trillion-dollar juggernaut that is Apple.

Windows, that indie project from the mom & pop software store :-))

Microsoft is another trillion dollar corporation, not that far behind Apple.

Re: Neofeudalism and the Digital Manor

#215
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If what you are communicating needs to be guaranteed to never be crackable, you only need to use the oldest and most secure way of communicating before the days of internet and computers: short wave transmitted one time pad codes. The reason that number stations continue to operate is that it really is the best way to communicate/order under surveillance which almost certainly is happening in every embassy in non-fri…

You can't operate a number station in someone else's country.... they might not be able to crack the code, but they can sure track down the number station and turn it off/arrest the operator.

I guess but if it is for cross border communications then you could just run it digitally on twitter or like website.

Re: Neofeudalism and the Digital Manor

#216
post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't eat self-actualization, nor can you build houses from it. Sunshine and enjoyment of your work is not sufficient to sustain your body, not to speak of all the other needs that effectively require money to be fulfilled.

Then again, I work all week with little entitlement to the "intellectual property" I generate, but I still receive income for my work. Making a livelihood by getting paid for the work I do and its value on the market, and the time I spend doing it and its value to me is the situation most people are in. Being able to extract substantial rent in effective perpetuity from e.g. some copyright you own is a luxury only af…

> Making a livelihood by getting paid for the work I do and its value on the market [...]

You're only getting paid because people have to pay you the market rate for your work. If a musician creates and records a song [1], releases it at market rates (say, 2 USD), and everyone can just copy it without repercussions, he won't be able to make a living, no matter how productive he is.

[1] Which entails many hours of work, plus equipment costs.

Re: Neofeudalism and the Digital Manor

#217
post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Private sector development funding optimises for drawn-out therapies that manage a condition indefinitely rather than ones that cure it. And still, Moderna and BioNTech came up with vaccines for COVID-19, not therapies.

That's a great development which I welcome whole-heartedly, but I don't think this diminishes my broader argument. There are still many conditions besides COVID-19 that only have a therapy available but no cure because of business reasons.

> There are still many conditions besides COVID-19 that only have a therapy available but no cure because of business reasons.

Name three, and give reasons to believe that there's no cure for business reasons. If you can't name at least three (of the "many conditions"), then how can you be so sure of this?

Re: Neofeudalism and the Digital Manor

#218
post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do they need special laws to subsidize their creation? People can pay them to make their work, that's historically how things were done. Now suddenly they need special laws so its illegal to take a photograph in public without permission? Of course they need to get paid in order to live and to work, so do I, so does everyone else. Can we now discuss why creators are so special that they get an entire class of qua…

> People can pay them to make their work, that's historically how things were done. So who's going to pay them? Their employer? That raises two problems: 1) Creators can't be independent and self-employed anymore, and 2) how is their employer going to make enough money? A rich patron? That's hardly a better system.

> So who's going to pay them? Their employer?

Whoever wants artwork, obviously.

> 1) Creators can't be independent and self-employed anymore,

Actually, there are plenty of independent creators who are either self-employed or work at a job.

> 2) how is their employer going to make enough money?

Presumably the reason they are an employer is their ability to run a successful enterprise.

> A rich patron? That's hardly a better system.

Why not?

Re: Neofeudalism and the Digital Manor

#219
post #3

What really puzzles me about Apple fans and it's userbase is that they do not care . They simply do not care at all what's being done to them. It's the strongest example of consumer cultism. Absolute in their exceptionalism and ignorance. Similar problems discussed in the article are found in Tesla. The lowest common denominator of consumer cultism is surveillance and it's no surprise that both Apple and Tesla do exc…

>What really puzzles me about Apple fans and it's userbase is that they do not care. They simply do not care at all what's being done to them.

I am Apple user and I care a lot for my self and my privacy. Thats why I will not support this company with my money. Some people are aware, but unfortunately we run a business in which Mac OS as software platform is superior. Little Snitch is installed in all my Apple computers. In last 5 years after every os update, telemetry from mothership is exponentially more. I don't like this direction and have taken active measures to change my business operation and remove everything Apple related excluding some graphic software and audio. Windows is not an option.

Apple is a company that openly dislikes professional users and focusing marketing efforts to semi pro audience by using powerful tribe psychology, trends and sentiments to create public perception of a Good Shepard and Guardian.

In reality they know that future is data based and Google has advantage in this market. So they correct direction to recondition public over the idea of personal computing and transform Mac OS to iOS UX with already established consumer habit of no control and minimum transparency.

From business perspective the idea that someone will have a log file with my office activity is non acceptable. Period. Apple knows this and recently stopped standalone updates. This pushes businesses to avoid sandboxing of Apple computers in corporate network.

The message is clear. You rent Mac Os as a service, the price is your data. It is Beautified Google:)

Re: Neofeudalism and the Digital Manor

#220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a world where a creator is not entitled to benefits from their invention This is a mis-statement of the anti-IP case. Given the abolishment of IP laws, creators are not prevented from benefitting from their invention. They merely no longer have the benefit of the state regulators in preventing others from following the inventor's example. > Including any monetary benefits if they so choose. The "monetary benefit" h…

So Disney can steal the work of amateur animators and not pay them a dime. Great.

Disney does this already and will bury you in legal fees if you try to prevent it. Repealing IP laws would level the playing field.
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