Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I want a computer that I own

misc-stuff.terraaeon.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

231–240 of 668 posts

Re: I want a computer that I own

#231

Post by taneq »

superkuh wrote: post #184
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…

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…

Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. There are valid reasons to lock down the radio, that doesn't mean we have to accept every smartphone vendor, app author and cloud service provider violating your privacy in every possible way they can think of.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#232

Post by bronco21016 »

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…

What features of the banking apps do you require?

My bank’s app is essentially a wrapper around their mobile site. I can’t think of any specific features it has that require it to be an app, both technically, and in their implementation.

Check deposit may be the only feature not available in the mobile site. It’s certainly not a technical requirement that they can’t implement that though.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#233

Post by taneq »

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 could essentially do just that using a small tablet or other device (Raspberry Pi?) and VOIP calling through a WiFi hotspot.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#234

Post by jhoho »

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…

If you want to stay with Android, maybe have a look at CalyxOS. They integrate microG and flawless system updates while keeping the bootloader locked. Only works on Pixels and the Xiaomin A2 though. Imho it's the one Android distribution that has the right balance of privacy and usability. I flashed it for my mum and my sister and there wasn't one complaint yet.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#235

Post by frosted-flakes »

SilverRed wrote: post #210
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…

There is no reason we can't have a proprietary radio chip connected to an open source phone.

I think that's how the Pine phone works. All of the components and software are open source, except the cellular radio.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#236

Post by andagainagain »

koverda wrote: post #8

> Except for a handful of very over-priced models that I can't afford to buy. This statement here made me pause for a bit. He wants a computer with specific features, but doesn't want pay for the models that offer those features because they are too expensive? Everyone wants to have their cake and eat it too, but unfortunately, reality has constraints.

Exactly. I want these things too. But I'm also willing to pay for them.

Everyone wants the best stuff for free. That's not controversial. But it is controversial to complain that the best stuff is more expensive than the cheap stuff. Of course it is. That's the type of stuff they sacrificed to make it cheap.

If they want low end free btw, they do have that too. Pinebooks are super cheap.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#237

Post by boring_twenties »

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…

> Owning my computer is still relatively possible.

Sorry to burst your bubble, https://libreboot.org/faq.html#intelme

Re: I want a computer that I own

#238

Post by boring_twenties »

_peeley wrote: post #134
sp332 wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Notifications are pretty easy to disable though, right?

I have yet to find a satsifactory way to disable them - it's pretty easy to disable notifications from userspace apps like Instagram or Snapchat or whatever, but disabling notifications or altogether uninstalling vendor apps is a huge pain in the ass. Most advice I've gotten has been flash a custom Android kernel or a de-Googled distro. This would definitely solve my problems, but this removes the ability to install…

It doesn't remove your ability to install apps from the Play Store. You can use the Aurora Store app to install those apps. For the apps that also require Google Play Services, microG usually suffices.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#240

Post by boring_twenties »

marshmallow_12 wrote: post #124
m-p-3 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your average desktop/laptop CPU runs a blackbox like Intel AMT or AMD PSP which is basically an always active mini-CPU that runs in the background and is OS-agnostic. If you consider your OS max privilege level as ring 0, this is ring -1. If/when someone manage to conpromise those, they can basically take over your computer, and Intel/AMD doesn't provide any sort of killswitch or physical way of disabling it.

Tell me more about this. What does this system do, and why can't we do anything about it?

https://libreboot.org/faq.html#intelme
Post reply on HN