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Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state

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Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state

#171

Post by whartung »

rolph wrote: post #83
gerdesj wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't bother - no idea what your parent is up to. Linux - the kernel is GPL 2 - that means you can use it to your heart's content. If you make changes, it would be nice if you shared them, please do. A Linux distro will generally have a similar license. Again the idea is that positive changes that you make are made available to everyone. That is the idea of the GNU Public License: If you take our freely available stu…

so if someone takes our freely available stuff, bundles it with a newly assembled system, and sells them, at a marked up price, like normal business does, it wont be an issue if no mention is made of GPL2 and what that means for the end user. the idea that positive changes are made available to everyone, is not yet broadly salient. at least now, poster is probably aware of that condition. you seem to be up on GPL2 ,…

They stick the licenses in the back of whatever pack of documents are used during the sale. Heck, print it on the back of the work order in small print with a gray font.

On my motorcycle, there’s an option to view the software licenses used on the bike. The GPL is in there somewhere. So are a lot of other things.

And, no, during checkout at the dealer, we didn’t spend any time talking about software licenses.

As a bundler you’re obligated to provide the licenses. You’re not obliged to point them out, highlight them, point folks to links, or archives, or explain how they work or what rights users may have.

They just have to be available.

Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state

#172

Post by thewebguyd »

sciencejerk wrote: post #165
ants_everywhere wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't use Windows and actually find it kind of insane when I use someone else's computer to see what Windows is like... But it's kind of MSFT's choice whether TPM and secure boot are requirements for their software. If their software makes security assumptions that the OS has access to trusted hardware then it's a requirement. One could argue that they should create secure and less secure versions of Windows, but I…

I'm no MS fanboy, but don't you think Content Platforms like Netflix or Steam might be applying DRM pressure to Microsoft? And perhaps IP owners also apply pressure to the Content Providers to lock down their platforms, which may include hardware that has access to protected IP

I'd say content platforms absolutely are applying pressure on MS (And Google, and Apple as well). I'd be willing to bet governments are as well, and I'd also be willing to bet that Google's upcoming sideloading/developer ID changes on Android are also from government pressure.

Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state

#173

Post by edg5000 »

kjellsbells wrote: post #161
somenameforme wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are the arguments for Office at the small business or individual level, as opposed to Libre Office? For most users, they'll be able to reacclimate in a matter of hours to near 100% competence. And they now are in an ecosystem that won't constantly try to squeeze you for rent. I think this is even more true in the era of LLMs, because on the rare difference somebody might get hung up on - there's no longer real n…

Sadly in small business Microsoft have a lock because no SMB wants to be the awkward outlier whose IT makes them hard to do business with. For example, to be that supplier that whose documents never quite look quite right or who always struggles with the docusign /PDF /email /spreadsheet /whatever whatever. For an SMB, fitting in with the de facto IT herd that is represented by your customers and partners is essentia…

Generally nobody should exchange Office docs anyway, I find it much more professional to exchange PDFs. I use MS arial so my PDFs made with LibreOffice look immaculate on any device. I think people are really shit for being so attached to their stupid office. I could not sell my dad on LibreOffice though. He'd rather pay 100 EUR/yr than learn to use new software.

Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state

#174

Post by aitchnyu »

neilv wrote: post #25

In addition to the good distro options mentioned, there's also Debian Stable: https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/amd64/iso-dvd/d... There are several options for desktop environment, and you can select which ones to install when you boot that installer image (and also add/subtract more later, and change your preference at login time). One of the nicest-looking ones that should be self-explanatory to use (fo…

With my last PC, I was looking at Freedesktop issues and waiting for cutting edge software for a year to get complete support for my hardware. Hence Ubuntu and Fedora.

Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state

#175

Post by d3Xt3r »

abdullahkhalids wrote: post #162
d3Xt3r wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thing is, regular Linux distros are most prone to breakage when it comes to updates - especially Ubuntu and Ubuntu-based distros[1]. My elderly mum is non-technical and has been a Linux user for the past decade, and she had Xubuntu, Mint and Zorin - all of which ran fine until update broke it (and this is just a bog standard DELL Optiplex desktop with an Intel iGPU). So I switched her to Aurora a couple of years ago…

I would be very surprised if Debian stable ever broke anything. I am on Debian testing and none of the "standard software" - browser, office suite, image editing, zoom - has broken in many years.

Sure, if you stick to stock Debian repositories you should be fine. However this guarantee is gone if you're using proprietary kernel modules, like say nVidia drivers - which is not an uncommon scenario.

Also, the /usr merge thing has caused some issues for users, requiring manual intervention[1]. Not a big deal for techy users familiar with the terminal, but this isn't something end users might want to deal with.

Image based immutable distros don't have issues like this.

[1] https://wiki.debian.org/UsrMerge

Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state

#176

Post by Cu3PO42 »

edg5000 wrote: post #167
repiret wrote: post #41

I agree with all of the articles points except for the first one: TPM and Secure Boot do not reduce user choice or promote state or corporate surveillance. If you want to be able to prevent root kits you need secure boot, and if you want to store secrets that don't need a user password to unlock and can't be stolen by taking apart the computer, you need a TPM; or you need substantially similar alternatives. I would s…

> if you want to store secrets that don't need a user password to unlock and can't be stolen by taking apart the computer, you need a TPM I had a Win 7 system and just entered a password on boot, this decrypted the disk. It was supported without mods or TPM (maybe some registry tweaks though). On Ubuntu I do the same, no need for TPM. Am I missing something? My disk is encrypted. If they take it apart, they need my p…

The important part in the parent is "that don't need a user password". You just said you had to supply a (user) password.

With a TPM you can set it up that your disk is unlocked automatically, but only if no-one changed anything in the signed boot chain. This is the default with Bitlocker on Windows and is also possible on Linux, though somewhat more finicky.

Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state

#177

Post by morshu9001 »

trinsic2 wrote: post #2

I am a IT solutions provider for the public and small business. I think the changes to Windows 11 is gearing up to work with organizations to create a surveillance state. So I have to decided to promote Linux over Windows for computers I build for customers. If you have any suggestions on how I can make this promotion, better let me know.

The article lists 4 Linux distros. I think the most important thing is to recommend just one distro, DE, window server combo, don't know which one but it has to be carefully thought out. They're all coming from the same thing.

The Linux choice matrix is confusing even for programmers. Like I can understand the pieces in theory, but in practice with hardware, user-installed software, varying degrees of compatibility between components, and updates...

Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state

#178

Post by terabyterex »

repiret wrote: post #41

I agree with all of the articles points except for the first one: TPM and Secure Boot do not reduce user choice or promote state or corporate surveillance. If you want to be able to prevent root kits you need secure boot, and if you want to store secrets that don't need a user password to unlock and can't be stolen by taking apart the computer, you need a TPM; or you need substantially similar alternatives. I would s…

a lot of what he says is straight lies or stupidity. I love linux but disagree with everything he says.

Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state

#179

Post by Joel_Mckay »

In general, the Ubuntu cinnamon desktop is a good starter system.

That being said, make sure to install printer, camera, and GPU drivers for new users before leaving your care (note iphone PhotoSync app also works with ssh.) Additionally, loading a suite of common Applications to replace web/email/CAD/publishing/media/gthumb/zoom tools will ease new users experience looking to complete some task.

Linux workstations are easier now given most services are web or App based. MacOS also tends to be easier for the people locked into Adobe =3

Re: Retiring Windows 10 and Microsoft's move towards a surveillance state

#180

Post by erentz »

koyote wrote: post #141
socalgal2 wrote: post #117

I'm sure I will regret this, something will change and I'll be "F.U. Win11!". But, I'm on Windows 11 Pro (upgraded from Windows 10 Pro) and I have barely noticed a difference. Maybe because it's Windows Pro, not Home? Maybe because I have 2 profiles. The one I used to install it which required a microsoft account, and a separate, local only account which is the one I use always. I can't remember the last time I had t…

Some things that any semi-power user will notice and get angry at: * Needing internet and a microsoft account to install the OS * Start menu now requiring two clicks to get to programs list * Right-click requiring two clicks to get to the options you most likely want to use (e.g. 7z unzip or opening in a specific program) * Task manager being slow and laggy * Random ads asking you to install a game pop up in the noti…

> And then there's little bugs everywhere that just grind away at you on a daily basis:

When I create a new folder or file in a directory in explorer it hangs for a bit and doesn’t show up unless I click refresh. Ditto if I save a file to a directory that is open in explorer.

Thinking about trying to get a copy of Win 10 IoT LTSC instead at this point.

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