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I want a computer that I own

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Re: I want a computer that I own

#301

Post by jes5199 »

aiisahik wrote: post #105

This is literally something that NEVER crosses the mind of the average consumer. We should have a HackerNews version of "first world problems" and call it "HackerNews Problems". You now have a computer that is 10,000 times faster than one you had 30 yrs ago at half the price. Oh and it fits in your pocket. A lot of time and money went into creating that. Those people need to get paid. And yes you pay for it with some…

most people have never heard of Tor, but by now most non-techies are suspicious of tech. They've noticed that they're not in control, that it does weird things they don't want, that it spies on them, that it sneaks advertising in, that they're never sure if something is private, that they can't tell if something is real or a scam, or if a service is fine now but is going to turn into something harmful in a a few years.

so let's keep on screwing them over, I'm sure there will never be any consequences as we poison society

Re: I want a computer that I own

#302

Post by jiriknesl »

gm wrote: post #214
ldbooth wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> that does what the people actually want

A problem is, that there's no such thing. There's a common denominator (punishing killers, rapists, thiefs), but this is what punish all governments anyway.

When you go past this point, people's interests are atomized.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#303

Post by coupdejarnac »

_peeley wrote: post #92
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…

I agree with this so much. It would be so convenient if I could just flash Arch Linux or something onto a modern smartphone and be able to use all the applications and settings and data I use on my desktop, but on my mobile phone. Android is markedly better than iOS when it comes to customization, but it's a far cry from a (real) Linux distribution. I've started getting OS-level push notification ads from Google News…

I've been wanting to cobble together a phone using a microcontroller hooked up to a 4g/5g module. Anyone have a module recommendation? I think everything currently available on sparkfun and adafruit won't work for me.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#304

Post by yoz-y »

drvdevd wrote: post #291

I don't believe what the author is asking for exists. The answer to his question, in my opinion, is a definitive "No." Even his 286 was arguably full of components which were probably backdoored in some manner. And even if your hardware and software stack is somehow fully private, having to work with the web as we all do, almost guarantees compromise. This is not to say our efforts at privacy are completely in vain,…

What good is a backdoor without a worldwide network connection?

Re: I want a computer that I own

#306

Post by culturestate »

dirkt wrote: post #300
andagainagain wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> But it is controversial to complain that the best stuff is more expensive than the cheap stuff. Nah. Technically, and in terms of manufacturing cost, it would be even easier to make a simpler computer, without all those bells and whistles that can be turned against the user, without the Intel Management Engine, TPM, and what have you. > That's the type of stuff they sacrificed to make it cheap. No, it's economies o…

> Technically, and in terms of manufacturing cost, it would be even easier to make a simpler computer...without the Intel Management Engine, TPM, and what have you

Maybe I'm missing something here but how is it possible that on-die features like IME affect the manufacturing cost and complexity of a laptop for e.g. Dell?

Re: I want a computer that I own

#307

Post by dr_kiszonka »

BoysenberryPi wrote: post #86

This feels like it was made to get to the top of somewhere like HN but I'm actually very confused. >I want it to be, but which can also be used to communicate securely with anyone on the planet without being observed by a third party. I don't want to be spied on by Microsoft or Google.I don't want the NSA intercepting my conversations or even their metadata. I don't see what this has to do with the actual computer ho…

Not sure if this is what the author had in mind, but Chrome OS has over 50% of edu market share. Effectively, a lot of kids in the US are forced to Google's products.

(Yes, Chromebooks have many benefits. I know.)

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/chromebooks-gain-sha...

Re: I want a computer that I own

#308

Post by jamesrr39 »

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…

With regards to changing parts on a phone, ifixit made a comparison of different phones and how easy they are to change parts for. Something to consider taking a look at when buying a new phone. https://www.ifixit.com/smartphone-repairability

Re: I want a computer that I own

#309

Post by katbyte »

salawat wrote: post #212
marshmallow_12 wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

As if that even matters - pointless standard. can't think of any content that there isn't a torrent up hours after it's available lol

Re: I want a computer that I own

#310

Post by katbyte »

tyingq wrote: post #216
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.

glue is cheap
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