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

Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?

fsf.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 214 posts

Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?

#71

Post by belorn »

estel wrote: post #14
jessaustin wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was "over the top" about the linked piece? It's got to be the most even-tempered thing I've ever read from RMS. Did you actually read TFA before posting this comment?

I found referring to the Kindle as being for "virtual book burning" straying into rhetoric.

Its a very loaded and picturesque description to use, but is it an wrong description?

The goal of book burning is to remove information, private owned books in this case, from the public by destroying them. While one could smash them and disintegrate them through the use of massive force, burning was the practical tool used.

If kindle suddenly create a goal of removing information from the public, in this case some private owned books, and goes through this act by destroying the information from private people own devices, doesn't that act align itself perfectly with book burning, through instead of using fire, they used electronic means.

Sure, its not something I would like to see on Wikipedia. Its not neutral, and there are better, impartial wording one could use to describe, but is it wrong to use in a blog?

Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?

#72

Post by king_jester »

hdra wrote: post #41
EwanToo wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not going to go line by line, but you could start with this: Proprietary software is associated with malicious treatment of the user I don't believe 99% of people out there associate proprietary software with malicious treatment.

This. Although I agree with his view for free software, the way he convey his messages smells too much of fanaticism for me to swallow.

So you dismiss RMS's arguments just because he doesn't talk and write the way you think he should? Talk about derailment, by this logic you don't have to agree with anyone or anything just as long as you feel they aren't nice or polite or well spoken enough.

Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?

#73

Post by monochromatic »

belorn wrote: post #59

A lot of people are pointing out that if you do not like something, don't use it. It's simple enough, and have a "sounds right" tone to it. As an implied statement with this, anyone complaining should just shut up then. This is a rather crazy line of thought once one actually starts to think about it. If I see a poisonous (say rotten) food being sold, I find it almost my duty to inform people. Somehow it's now being…

... is anyone actually saying Stallman shouldn't have written this?

Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?

#74

Post by takluyver »

belorn wrote: post #59

A lot of people are pointing out that if you do not like something, don't use it. It's simple enough, and have a "sounds right" tone to it. As an implied statement with this, anyone complaining should just shut up then. This is a rather crazy line of thought once one actually starts to think about it. If I see a poisonous (say rotten) food being sold, I find it almost my duty to inform people. Somehow it's now being…

I think the important question is what the users expect. Existing Ubuntu users are used to that box searching only local files and applications, so are annoyed that it now does remote searches as well. For new users, it's quite clear from the first time they use it that that box does a local+remote search. It's not tricking them. Of course, they may still wish that local-only search was more convenient. But they might also find it a useful default, especially as more kinds of results are integrated.

The 'poisonous food' analogy isn't quite right, because it's not as simple as selling something bad as something good. Done right, remote search results could be a useful feature, it's just not the feature many of us would expect in that place.

Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?

#75

Post by monochromatic »

EwanToo wrote: post #2

It's always interesting to read RMS' posts, though I don't agree with a lot of them. In this case, he's got a very valid point (I disabled the adverts on my Ubuntu install), but he uses such over the top language that it makes much of his writing seem like a parody. Ubuntu sending all desktop searches to Amazon by default (even if it's via a proxy) isn't cool, and isn't what most users would expect, but I don't belie…

> he uses such over the top language that it makes much of his writing seem like a parody

Seriously. I read the first paragraph or two and was thinking "who the fuck wrote this, RMS? Oh... yeah, I guess so."

Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?

#76

Post by Karunamon »

jessaustin wrote: post #6
EwanToo wrote: post #2

It's always interesting to read RMS' posts, though I don't agree with a lot of them. In this case, he's got a very valid point (I disabled the adverts on my Ubuntu install), but he uses such over the top language that it makes much of his writing seem like a parody. Ubuntu sending all desktop searches to Amazon by default (even if it's via a proxy) isn't cool, and isn't what most users would expect, but I don't belie…

What was "over the top" about the linked piece? It's got to be the most even-tempered thing I've ever read from RMS. Did you actually read TFA before posting this comment?

What was "over the top" about the linked piece?

Calling a search function "surveillance" for one. RMS is no stranger to stretching really evil-sounding words to fit things they really don't.

Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?

#77

Post by Roybatty »

splawn wrote: post #46
EwanToo wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not going to go line by line, but you could start with this: Proprietary software is associated with malicious treatment of the user I don't believe 99% of people out there associate proprietary software with malicious treatment.

Not disagreeing with your stated belief, but I believe most people in the linux community do associate proprietary software with maliciousness.

I believe you're wrong. The vast majority of "linux users" don't buy into RMS's particular ideology. RMS proactively describes the differences between the OpenSource and "Free Software" philosophies.

Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?

#78

Post by chipaca »

keithpeter wrote: post #51
nicholassmith wrote: post #29

Ubuntu install a custom application that does something involving sending data out -> We're doomed! They're spying and tracking you! Grab the pitchforks! Of course, that's RMS' viewpoint and he's entitled to it, and it often provokes some very interesting discussions around it, but he's terrible at being anything other than over the top. For what it's worth I don't think what Ubuntu did was that a bad a thing, it's a…

"...it's a nice revenue stream for those that use it..." I'm not entirely convinced that this is going to make a lot of money for Canonical. It will be interesting to see figures in a couple of releases if Canonical (which is a private company) decide to tell us. What do we think the value to Amazon is of my random desktop searches for files & stuff on my desktop? The 'slow typing' problem is real: search is dynamic…

Could you re-enable it for a little bit and test that slow-typing thing? We did a bit of work to make it a little bit better at that.

Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?

#79

Post by drzaiusapelord »

belorn wrote: post #59

A lot of people are pointing out that if you do not like something, don't use it. It's simple enough, and have a "sounds right" tone to it. As an implied statement with this, anyone complaining should just shut up then. This is a rather crazy line of thought once one actually starts to think about it. If I see a poisonous (say rotten) food being sold, I find it almost my duty to inform people. Somehow it's now being…

This is a great example of how nothing is free. Linux isn't free, not only does it cost time, it costs privacy. I do enjoy playing with it, so the first cost is meaningless to me, but the second absolutely is not.

Frankly, Ubuntu is mismanaged. From the absurd new UI to a built-in privacy trojan? I'd rather just pay for an OS that doesn't hate me or use a different distro. Not sure what the allure of Ubuntu is at this point. If you can install and use Ubuntu, you can install and use Debian. Or Xubuntu if you're still an Ubuntu loyalist.

Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?

#80

Post by antidoh »

itry wrote: post #37

I find this spyware by default as wrong as Stallman. I dont want my machine to send anything anywhere without me explicitly telling it to do so. What I find even more frightening is Mark Shuttelworths view of this: http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1182 "Don’t trust us? Erm, we have root." Looks like he gets the issues of privacy and trust completely wrong. Imagine catching your cleaning lady reading your diar…

"Time for a new distro. I happily switched to Mint."

Does my irony meter need calibration?

Post reply on HN