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I want a computer that I own

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Re: I want a computer that I own

#211

Post by xnyan »

skizm wrote: post #197
superkuh wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You will never own your smartphone. That would require you to be the licensed operator for the radio transmission. Instead the radio is licensed to the telco (or related) and the telcos have every regulatory and monetary incentive to prevent users from being able to access or control the radio. The government regulators demand the user not have control and the baseband modem manufacturer(s) demand their licensed inte…

Can I just have a wifi only phone and then have a separate wifi hotspot that actually does the connecting to the cell network? The hotspot wouldn't be "owned" but the phone could be.

You’ve drilled down to the critical issue - batteries. For better or worse, we have observed there’s a limit as to how much stuff people will willingly carry on the regular. Current phones barely fit in that space envelope. Make a phone twice as big or require a separate device, and for most users this is equivalent to not carrying a cellphone.

I don’t think the current dominance of the big two can end until the hardware and software requirements of making a good phone are much much more accessible to normal developers/engineers than they are today.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#212

Post by salawat »

marshmallow_12 wrote: post #156
legends2k wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first section of [1] explains that with references [1]: https://legends2k.github.io/note/clean_me

oh my. I don't see why bloomberg got all busy with hidden Chinese chips. It looks like intel already have it covered.

Alas, it is so. Graphics cards have much the same going on. It's part of why Nvidia will likely never opensource or mainline their drivers... They have a huge need for blobs and hardware backed secrecy in order to enable most systems to be compatible with HDCP. That means they need to be able to attest to their cards having not been compromised since leaving the factory.

As someone could in theory cobble together an HDCP compliant rig and good heavens, might be able to intercept and decode HD content!

So much of what makes the tech giants so lucrative is that they act as centralization points for industry level orchestration of what user behavior to support.

You can bet that if an industry working group is stoked, there's likely hidden in there somewhere an implementation detail intended to curb an undesirable user freedom or general capability.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#214

Post by gm »

ldbooth wrote: post #191
AshWolfy wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dont think we can ever rely on people holding corporations or the government accountable

Not ever... when we vote corporations out of controlling the government, or "we the corporations". Red/Blue is for strawmanning, both parties are $green.

Genuinely curious: Has change of this magnitude ever been achieved entirely by voting? It feels to me like it can only be achieved by revolution (ie, replacing the government entirely with a new government that does what the people actually want). I very well could be wrong.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#215

Post by mikewarot »

You can own a computer, but you have to go back to the days of MS-DOS and floppy disks to really be sure. Once a program is running on MS-DOS, it essentially owns the machine until it makes a DOS or BIOS call. There isn't really enough room in the system to fit any advanced back doors, and you can have your operating system on a hardware write protected disk. You can make backups that you can verify, and write protect those, and keep them offline.

-- The key advantage of an old MS-DOS / floppy based computer is that you can always bring your system back to a known safe state--

Once you adopt any operating system that is always running, the OS has to protect the hardware from everything, if you want to be able to trust it. This rules out Linux, Mac-OS, Windows, etc. I'm hoping that Genode does a good enough job to be able to trust it, but it's a bit beyond my learning curve right now.

If you have a secure OS, which isn't stupid about trust, then you're back in the saddle again, and can build upon this foundation, being careful to never give any executable you run more privilege than it needs to do the job. Linux, Windows, and Mac-OS all have stupid defaults (allow everything the user is permitted)... Genode and systems that implement capabilities don't do that. (No, "access your contacts" on your tablet or phone is not a proper "capability", "you can read this file", and "you can write this folder" are proper capabilities).

-- A secure system lets you assign capabilities using dialog boxes like you're used to using, except they call them a "power box". The OS then enforces your decisions, not the application. No matter how rogue or confused your program gets, it can't access anything outside of the files or folders you've given it access to. 8)

We're a few years out before awareness of the stupid defaults we're all living with take hold, and the inertia of everything then has to be overcome. We'll get there eventually, if we can keep the idea at least an open option before big business closes it down for good.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#216

Post by tyingq »

kokx wrote: post #15

I have a similar feeling, but with modern smartphones. Owning my computer is still relatively possible. I can build a computer from parts which I can choose, and have a choice in which operating system to install on them. Laptops are slightly more closed, but even on those I can choose the OS myself. Modern smartphones however, seem like walled gardens in which I have no control at all. I cannot choose any of the par…

"simple reparation tasks like replacing a battery is a nightmare these days"

Had a recent experience with a Motorola phone with this. And there was no obvious technical reason they couldn't have held the battery down with something other than a shite ton of glue.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#218

Post by mindslight »

kokx wrote: post #36
eeZah7Ux wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buy a PinePhone. It might very well be more open and trustworthy than some laptops or desktops.

I love the PinePhone. It is an amazing project, and I'm definitely considering buying one. However, it does not solve my main problem. For most scenarios I still need a "normal" smartphone with either iOS or Android. Apps like WhatsApp and banking apps are unfortunately needed for a large part of my daily life. At risk of either socially isolating myself or bringing major inconveniences without having them. All unava…

A way to mitigate this is to just accept having multiple devices. This doesn't solve issues like unaccountable microphones, but does give you at least one device that you do control and the no-nonsense software benefits that brings.

I'm at the point in my life where I don't really need proprietary apps on the go, so my "full take" device is a tablet that mostly stays home.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#220

Post by asymptosis »

heterodyning wrote: post #84

I want the search index of the early google age where it was less monetized and more accurate. I want real information not force fed crap that is essentially information fast food causing type-2 terminal stupididty. I want information without the built in addiction.

I think there is a market niche which is being overlooked: pay-to-use search engines.

Infinity Search (https://infinitysearch.co) is something like what I have in mind, but they only charge $5 per month, and search results are noticably less comprehensive than Google.

Kind of like how there are various pay-to-use email services which market themselves on their security, I'd like to see a lot more competitors in the paid search engine space. Eg instead of paying $5 per month, let's pay $200 a year for a search engine which consistently returns superior results to Google.

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