What's with this "distro" stuff... Can't we just boot into Emacs and call it a day?
Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
161–170 of 214 posts
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#162Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
You're conflating two things, I think. Most Linux users might not buy into a boycott of Ubuntu -- in that sense they reject RMS's ideology. But I think few would argue that proprietary software does tend towards bullshit -- the very DRM and the like that RMS is calling malicious. They might not go around calling it malicious, but they wouldn't consider RMS's attitude there extreme, just the actions he advocates.
Still disagree. I think your definition of "linux users" tends to be more desktop-oriented, where there is more of a philosophical bent towards an RMS ideology. My definition of "linux users" would include developers and sysadmins that are using it as a server, and use it for more practical reasons.
And malicious has strong connotations..e.g malware, spyware, which most "linux users" wouldn't necessarily apply to developers of legit proprietary software.
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#163Canonical is not the first to do this. And nobody minded. In Chrome, every time you start to type a URL, it tries to autocomplete. One source of autocompletions is that it contacts Google, which sends back suggestions. Therefore by default Google knows every search you do in Chrome, even if you didn't want to go to Google. (They turn this off for incognito mode.) I don't know how long this has been the case for Chrom…
Yes, but it's somewhat less of a privacy violation, because you usually expect to send out the URL you type over the internet. That's different from trying a local search on your machine and finding it ended up on the internet.
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Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#164A 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…
The difference between this and your rotting fish analogy is that there is no objective way to say that Ubuntu search surveillance is harmful. Rotten fish can objectively be proven to make you sick. Giving targeted ads may be a useful feature for some users.
In this case, you should not tell people not to use Ubuntu. It's a personal preference, not something that is physically harmful. What should be done is educating people about how their information can be used. If they find that their personal information is being used to provide a service they like, they can make their own decision. Personally, if I have to see ads, I'd prefer they are for things I may actually be interested in.
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
>>> I'm getting something for free that is actually superior to the paid stuff, and sometimes those giving it to me need to feed a kid or two, or buy their Mrs that new outfit on the high street. Classy. You get my vote for that and subsequently pointing out that "They don't even force me to do it because I can turn it off" . This. I also liked the way you ended it. We definitely need RMS, but he definitely needs to…
But why not present it as an option to the user on first launch, or first search? Considering how relatively few people actually want shopping suggestions on their desktop, I expect the majority of users who don't turn it off to be people who simply can't be bothered to find the setting and change it. Exploiting user apathy is not my idea of software that respects its users, which is what the FSF is all about.
From a previous thread on Ubuntu:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4864783
The difference is that - for a chunk of people - this functionality isn't crap. It's actually useful. It's out of the way for people who don't care. It's there for people who do. I've seen folk go "that's so cool" when the amazon stuff came up. This stuff is much closer to the adds folk get in Google search. It's often relevant to what they're doing at the time.
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#166Earlier 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?
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.
Well, it's probably used for surveillance, though?
Not in the 'what did John search for yesterday' sense. But I'm pretty sure it's used for 'what are people searching for this week'.
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#167This should help de-Amazon your Ubuntu.
1. Ubuntu Settings --> Privacy -->Include online results [OFF]
2. sudo apt-get remove unity-lens-shopping unity-scope-video-remote unity-scope-musicstores unity-webapps-service
3. Launch dconf-editor, navigate to: com -> canonical -> unity -> webapps, and then remove everything under allowed-domains, dontask-domains and preauthorized-domains
References:
http://askubuntu.com/questions/192269/how-can-i-remove-amazo...
http://askubuntu.com/questions/214755/how-to-remove-unity-we...
http://xchamitha.blogspot.com/2012/11/de-amazonising-ubuntu-...
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#168Canonical is not the first to do this. And nobody minded. In Chrome, every time you start to type a URL, it tries to autocomplete. One source of autocompletions is that it contacts Google, which sends back suggestions. Therefore by default Google knows every search you do in Chrome, even if you didn't want to go to Google. (They turn this off for incognito mode.) I don't know how long this has been the case for Chrom…
I also enabled instant search in Chrome. Whenever I want privacy, I just Ctrl-N.
and in Chrome you can switch the search engine to DuckDuckGo which does not track your search
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#169Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 migh…
Its like with food-like objects, like plastic decorative fruits, pickled decorative food, and small candy like objects. With clear labeling, everything is fine and those objects do fulfill their role. Without clear labels however, they are a risk to people. Pickled decorative food is a special notable case here, in which if it was eaten, is indeed very poisonous. And while I hope, really hope that people will figure…
I don't think it's warranted to leap from 'this product does external searches' to 'this product is spying nefariously on you and is therefore analogous to poisoned food.'
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#170I am running 12.10 and disabled this right away in the privacy settings. Why not have it opt in instead of the ninja mode opt out? Explicitly prompt the user to enable this when first using Dash but disable by default.
Did you also remove the Unity - Amazon webapp integration?