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I want a computer that I own

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Re: I want a computer that I own

#561

Post by chias »

> I want a computer that can be completely autonomous when 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 think this is the rub of the problem, because it's a contradiction: "I want secure software with no vulnerabilities, but don't you dare force me to update". This kinda sorta worked in the early 90's because most people weren't on the internet and few were actively thinking of exploiting anything -- it was a time of plaintext protocols and unauthenticated commands. The world has moved on, and our tradeoffs balance in a different place today.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#562

Post by jsmith45 »

bboygravity wrote: post #329
bayindirh wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll play the (intentional) Devil's Advocate here to present an alternative viewpoint. I like iOS, but not Android. Let me explain why. I personally love Linux, Unix philosophy (I'm even sometimes an old beardy zealot about POSIX standards and the old way ), and inherent customization possibilities. On the other hand, I don't want to manage my phone like a desktop or laptop computer, or a server because of a plethora…

> iOS takes all of these away. Complete backups are built-in (I know android has it, but I don't know how bulletproof is this) Not to burn you down, but to burn Android down: no, Android does not allow you to take complete backups. Let alone "built-in". The only backups that are made are forced to Google cloud and only backs-up apps that where downloaded through Google Play and app settings for Google stuff. It is an…

Your definition of complete backup exceeds even the definition the parent is using for IOS. There are some things like downloaded files that don't get backed up to the cloud. (Some of them probably do get backed up via iTunes backups, but even there, I'm quite certain that not quite everything gets backed up. Instead it contains nearly everything that an non-jailbroken user might care about.)

Things like the set of apps, settings (both app and system level), game progress, the set of open tabs, etc can be backed up, and IOS is even able to restore old app versions specified in the backup by downloading them from the store.

All that said, both IOS backup options are more comprehensive than the built-in android options.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#563

Post by jpttsn »

sircastor wrote: post #554
jpttsn wrote: post #545

Computers have come a long way in a short time and are very complex. Maybe the diffuse ownership (that OP bemoans) is necessary for that complexity, or at least for it to develop so quickly. If I want a typewriter, car or handgun I “truly own”, I might be able to build one, as a last resort. But building a satisfactory computer without the global supply chains (that impose the bemoaned limitations) seems impossible.

The unspoken statement here is “what do you want the computer to do?” A typewriter or gun both have very narrow application. Any computer can do what any other computer can do provided the right software, data, and time. An Apple I can be built with discrete components pretty easily. But what utility does having an Apple I give you?

Right on. A “computer I own” seems to presuppose that this computer does all these millions of things, many of which (I fear) can’t be provided practically for less than a compromise in ownership.

You can build (and own) the Apple I but you can’t reasonably write a Chrome-compatible browser for it, if Google aren’t interested.

Thus I find asking for a “computer you own, like any other tool” is a bit nonchalant wrt. the scope of the request.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#564

Post by rsync »

p1necone wrote: post #185
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…

You can buy a usb cellphone modem for a PC, the rest of the system still belongs to you.

This isn’t the slam dunk that people think it is, unfortunately.

You see, in addition to controlling the cellular radio and all of those details, the bass band processor also does real time noise cancellation and a variety of other call quality functions that you would immediately miss if they were not there.

That processor is actually doing a lot of different things and is difficult to remove from a phone and maintain what most people would consider an acceptable user experience.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#565

Post by EvanAnderson »

jacquesm wrote: post #113
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…

HN is substantially larger than 4000 people, besides, telling people to design and fab their own chips is disingenuous. The right to privacy is not a 'first world problem', it is a problem.

HN may be larger than 4000 people, but it feels like a disturbingly large portion of the HN community seems to be in favor of anti-owner and anti-privacy policies. Forced obsolescence, razor/blades business models, selling user "behavior" data, and out-right spying on individual communications all seem to be big moneymakers, and some significant portion of HN's audience is more about "IPO and get rich" than "hacking".

Re: I want a computer that I own

#566

Post by chasil »

Zetaphor wrote: post #559
chasil wrote: post #550

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad was the last CPU where the "Management Engine" could be completely wiped and disabled. This is my experience in removing the ARC firmware code from two different HP desktops (I attached both BIOS images): https://github.com/corna/me_cleaner/issues/233 These PCs are quite inexpensive. I run OpenBSD with hardened Chrome on one of them, for all of my finances.

If you're going through all that effort, then why bothering with hardening Chrome? Why wouldn't you start with Firefox, which doesn't require unGoogling to be considered secure?

OpenBSD's Chrome had pledge() first, but you're right, I should consider Firefox.

However, there was a recent Firefox bug in OpenBSD, and the patches weren't applied uniformly. It does seem that Chrome is more consistent, and gets more attention.

https://undeadly.org/cgi?action=article;sid=20200109141600

Re: I want a computer that I own

#567

Post by worstenbrood »

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…

Im using lineage with microg for 9 months now without missing anything. I'm curious what prevents you from using it for daily usage.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#568

Post by bayindirh »

jsmith45 wrote: post #562
bboygravity wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> iOS takes all of these away. Complete backups are built-in (I know android has it, but I don't know how bulletproof is this) Not to burn you down, but to burn Android down: no, Android does not allow you to take complete backups. Let alone "built-in". The only backups that are made are forced to Google cloud and only backs-up apps that where downloaded through Google Play and app settings for Google stuff. It is an…

Your definition of complete backup exceeds even the definition the parent is using for IOS. There are some things like downloaded files that don't get backed up to the cloud. (Some of them probably do get backed up via iTunes backups, but even there, I'm quite certain that not quite everything gets backed up. Instead it contains nearly everything that an non-jailbroken user might care about.) Things like the set of a…

> IOS is even able to restore old app versions specified in the backup by downloading them from the store.

iOS even restores your open applications and task manager state when you restore from the backup. Even more so, theoretically, it can restore every apps state at the point of backing up. It's a feature ported from macOS.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#570

Post by htrp »

MrGilbert wrote: post #415
DeusExMachina wrote: post #410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's once per year. Source: I have a paid developer account.

But I also need a mac for signing, don't I? Like, a Mac Mini? That's the most annoying part, tbh. I feel fine-ish for paying 8 $ a month for my dev account (if you calculate it that way), but buying additional, expensive hardware? No, not really.

AWS has mac minis by the hour (not cheap though)
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