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Richard Stallman: Cell phones are 'Stalin's dream'
11–20 of 86 posts
Re: Richard Stallman: Cell phones are 'Stalin's dream'
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
Everyone has their own style and code of conduct. I feel it's disingenuous for me to state personal opinions in a neutral tone, implying that they are facts. I also find such writing bloodless. Others may have a knack for doing it well, but when I write without putting myself into the words, it reads like I'm pretending to be an academic writing a paper with all the neutrality and "fair and balanced" viewpoints. Cont…
p.s. Thinking about it, although I explained why I use the word "I," I certainly didn't dispute that I sounded smug and arrogant. So perhaps (a) I ought to use the word "I" when stating my opinions, but (b) I'm going to sound smug and arrogant when doing so. Which presents a few possibilities: 1. Stop using the word "I" but continue to state my opinions. 2. Stop stating my opinions. 3. Carry on, but live with the con…
I didn't find it smug in the least. (Alternate formation: it was not found smug in the least by this commenter.) One of the core principles of positive communication is to use "I" statements in place of blanket judgments: it's the difference between "This sucks" and "I don't like this".
Re: Richard Stallman: Cell phones are 'Stalin's dream'
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
Everyone has their own style and code of conduct. I feel it's disingenuous for me to state personal opinions in a neutral tone, implying that they are facts. I also find such writing bloodless. Others may have a knack for doing it well, but when I write without putting myself into the words, it reads like I'm pretending to be an academic writing a paper with all the neutrality and "fair and balanced" viewpoints. Cont…
p.s. Thinking about it, although I explained why I use the word "I," I certainly didn't dispute that I sounded smug and arrogant. So perhaps (a) I ought to use the word "I" when stating my opinions, but (b) I'm going to sound smug and arrogant when doing so. Which presents a few possibilities: 1. Stop using the word "I" but continue to state my opinions. 2. Stop stating my opinions. 3. Carry on, but live with the con…
I'm not so sure you came off as smug or arrogant. Seemed to me you read one too many "pat little comments" and had a bit of a rant. That is ok, as it was decently written, coherent, and stayed on point.
If we want to start throwing around nearly antiquated terms of insult, it should be noted that the OP was being snide, and whackberry was being iniquitous. (This is true whether or not your comment was in fact smug btw).
Re: Richard Stallman: Cell phones are 'Stalin's dream'
#14Yet again proving that RMS has no concept of the convenience-privacy continuum. Nothing to see here.
First, the word you're thinking of is "demonstrating," not "proving." But let's get to the big stuff. What is this "convenience-privacy continuum?" I just did a web search, I can't find anything. Citation, please. Third, I dispute your suggestion that there is nothing to see here. Strongly. Forcefully. If someone has never read anything about or by Mr. Stallman, there is plenty to see here. There may be nothing to se…
However, I will suggest that his various missives, rants, and other statements contribute positively to the general fabric of discussion around software freedom and personal privacy.
ESR stated in Revolution OS that RMS's 'wholesale attack' on (was it software patents or intellectual property? i don't remember now) was one of the reasons it was hard to convince businesses this wasn't just a hippie pipe dream.
The OpenMoko runs all Free code, afaik, so the whole "being tracked by Big Brother" deal sounds like tinfoil hat syndrome. This particular rant only points out that most cellphones run on proprietary software. Why don't we just shout about anything that uses proprietary software like cars or industrial manufacturing equipment? We know it's proprietary, but comparing it all to a fascist regime isn't going to contribute positively to a discussion to make it more open.
Re: Richard Stallman: Cell phones are 'Stalin's dream'
#15Yet again proving that RMS has no concept of the convenience-privacy continuum. Nothing to see here.
This interview started out on a cell phone, but with repeated dropped calls they had to finish it via email, presumably on RMS's all-free-software laptop. So in this instance covenience and privacy were on the same end of this supposed continuum.
Re: Richard Stallman: Cell phones are 'Stalin's dream'
#16There are many valid criticisms of Richard Stallman: He sometimes fails to show ordinary courtesy, even to his supporters; he can be spectacularly bad at common techniques of persuasion; and he has creeped out some women by making passes at them (or so they tell me).
There are some morally neutral things which may be said about Stallman: His views are far out of the mainstream; he is uncompromising even in small matters; and he occasionally has a weird-but-powerful charisma.
There are some praiseworthy things about Stallman: He appears to be utterly principled; he shows few signs of being tempted by money; and he has persevered for decades to bring about the world he wants.
None of these things, good or bad, affect the underlying question: Is Stallman right?
In my case, I often find Stallman's claims ridiculous at first. Why? Because Stallman is asking us to take extreme measures against threats which seem both unlikely and dystopian, such as the universal DRM he predicted in his 1997 short story, "The Right to Read."
But I've noticed, over the years, that Stallman's most paranoid fears tend to come partially true. Today, we have an acronym for "DRM", and we've spent years fighting the legal powers granted by the DMCA. So I no longer automatically discount what Stallman says, because his pessimistic predictions have a better track record than my optimistic ones.
Re: Richard Stallman: Cell phones are 'Stalin's dream'
#17In Soviet Russia, cell phone call you!
Re: Richard Stallman: Cell phones are 'Stalin's dream'
#18[deleted]
Re: Richard Stallman: Cell phones are 'Stalin's dream'
#19I think we nerdy types know this in the back of our minds about smartphones, but it's good to be reminded of it again from time to time.
Re: Richard Stallman: Cell phones are 'Stalin's dream'
#20So, is it currently possible to run the Replicant fork of Android on a Motorola Droid on the Verizon network? I would like to give that a try, if so.
This page says how to port Replicant to a new phone, but not which phones and networks it's been done for.
http://trac.osuosl.org/trac/replicant/wiki/How_to_port_Repli...