what to do? switch the flavor. Pack your stuff and switch to Debian for easy transition
Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
171–180 of 214 posts
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#172Canonical 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…
Lots of people minded. There was a huge shitstorm when Google introduced it on the search front page, there was one when Firefox enabled it in the search box and there was one when Chrome was released without a separation between the location and search box. At least the search suggestions are genuinely useful, in stark contrast to the Amazon ads.
Google Chrome has always had this feature, yet it didn't stop it from gaining 20% market share. Neither does it stop the "why don't Firefox merge the search and location bar?" comment seen in almost every comment thread whenever Firefox's UI is discussed. I don't think that anyone is under the illusion that the average user care about this behavior in any way.
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#173A 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 educatin…
> there is no objective way to say that Ubuntu search surveillance is harmful
I would argue that all 3rd party "surveillance" is harmful.
Where I define 'surveillance' to mean information collected about individuals (and their computing systems) without their full conscious knowledge and active decision to give it.
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#174>> when he searched for a string in the files of his Windows system, it sent a packet to some server anyone has a source for this? Was this built into windows? (It's not in mine, or it's not active)
Windows XP search assistant* has a database of file types it uses for filtering and to determine which files are worth searching into. It also has a small misfeature where it updates this database every time you search. It doesn't send anything to Microsoft about what you're searching for, it's just an overly persistent auto-update mechanism.
The usual suspects freaked out about this, of course.
* The little dog that makes intermittent scratching noises when you accidentally leave explorer open, slowly driving you mad
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#175"When the user searches her own local files for a string using the Ubuntu desktop, Ubuntu sends that string to one of Canonical's servers." That's not how I see it. I'd correct this to "When the user performs a global search for a string using the Ubuntu desktop, Ubuntu sends that string to one of Canonical's servers to perform that search". If a user wants to search his own local files without searching the entire I…
"stop with the hyperbole that is actually misleading to readers about what the real situation is" I wonder if readers do really understand the situation or not. I don't think the hyperbole is a bad idea when features like these should be opted in and not a default for everybody. I don't know if this feature is properly advertised by the system and if there will be someone that didn't know about it. I'm a happy 12.04…
if you type something in to the search box, and get search results from the internet it is pretty immediately clear that your search string is being sent to the internet. If you can't make that connection, you also likely don't understand the potential privacy risk in having your search strings sent to the internet.
I've yet to hear any valid argument as to why the amazon search is bad that doesn't revolve around some mythical user who is clueless about how computers work, unable to make logical assumptions, and also incredibly privacy conscious.
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#176Stuff like this should be opt-in. And, if you want it to succeed, it should be good enough that people want to opt-in.
People search on Google -- they opt-in to Google Search -- because the results satisfy them (more than the competition).
If Canonical's partners want people to opt-in to their collaborative offerings, they should make them offer significant value. And Canonical, for its part, if they want to successfully build out this revenue stream, should ensure that they partner with partners who demonstrably do so.
I already use affiliate links when I think that the affiliate has given me something of value [1], in discovery or qualified opinion or some other combination of factors.
I think Canonical provides me and the broader community things of significant value. Offer a monetization scheme that is 1) opt in, and 2) Respects my concerns, e.g. privacy, and I would be consciously, favorably inclined to use it.
--
[1] One example, although Amazon may not particularly like this one:
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
Lots of people minded. There was a huge shitstorm when Google introduced it on the search front page, there was one when Firefox enabled it in the search box and there was one when Chrome was released without a separation between the location and search box. At least the search suggestions are genuinely useful, in stark contrast to the Amazon ads.
Google Chrome has always had this feature, yet it didn't stop it from gaining 20% market share. Neither does it stop the "why don't Firefox merge the search and location bar?" comment seen in almost every comment thread whenever Firefox's UI is discussed. I don't think that anyone is under the illusion that the average user care about this behavior in any way.
Sure. But whether or not the average user cares isn't relevant to the question if a vocal minority does. I think the amount of resistance the Ubuntu change gets is broadly comparable to the changes I mention. It's probably roughly the same people complaining.
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#178Do people using Ubuntu not also use web browsers? If so, then they are also being spied on by others such as google, amazon, facebook, twitter - every time they use one of their sites. I just find it overly dramatic to be focusing on this one point of Ubuntu's search being harvested for keywords when this sort of thing is commonplace on the web. At least with Ubuntu you have the option to turn it off.
Do people using Ubuntu not also use web browsers?
Not always. I have some Ubuntu VMs in which the web browsers are prevented from talking to the internet. I use these for secure development and testing of projects that really need to be secret.
I do, however, have to allow the system to talk to Canonical servers if I want to have security patches and other software updates.
This puts me in the position of having to choose between privacy on my desktop and an OS that doesn't conspire with its vendor and 3rd parties to undermine it.
I will not be installing another Canonical OS as far as is practical. Unity sucked anyway.
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#179It'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…
Yup, RMS considers Debian to be not-free enough because they don't make it hard enough to install proprietary software on their system.
Re: Ubuntu Spyware: What to Do?
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
just because he doesn't talk and write the way you think he should If he can't communicate his ideas in a calm and balanced way, perhaps those ideas don't have as much value as he thinks they do. Sorry, but method of delivery counts for a lot.
Jeez you are so emotional, you should just calm down. If you can't say anything nicely, you shouldn't say anything at all. Who believes an angry ranter like this anyway.