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VSCodium – An Open Source Visual Studio Code Without Trackers

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Re: VSCodium – An Open Source Visual Studio Code Without Trackers

#231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why in the hell would anyone trust them?

Why in the hell would I trust anyone telling me not to trust them?

That makes no sense. You are moving from trusting Microsoft, which has actual skin in the game, to random people on the Internet that don't.

Re: VSCodium – An Open Source Visual Studio Code Without Trackers

#232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you trust these random people?

Honestly, yes. More than Microsoft.

Why would trust them? honest question. VSCode is more transparent as any other open source project it can be, yet people still have that Microsoft stigma for years ago. To me is just blatant paranoia.

I would not trust an installer from a third party without knowing what was really changed, that's scary as hell if you ask me. Just look at the bootstrap 4 backdoor that was introduced but luckily was caught.

Re: VSCodium – An Open Source Visual Studio Code Without Trackers

#233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s easy to forget just how many things require an installer-wizard-type process on Windows after being on macOS and Linux for a few years.

I don't know about macOS, but doesn't most software on Linux require installation? I think the most common ways to distribute software are (1) as a package for your distribution's package manager (which the package manager installs, typically requiring superuser privileges), (2) as source code that you make & install, (3) as prebuilt binaries that you are meant to unpack and install. "Unpack and run from where they a…

Installation yes; installer no. To install VSCode on Debian, you would add the apt repository to your apt configuration, run apt update && apt upgrade, then apt install ______. On Windows, most software comes in the form of an installer instead of being installed with a system package manager.

The difference is whether you have to click through one of those wizard things to get the program you want.

Re: VSCodium – An Open Source Visual Studio Code Without Trackers

#234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very few things, if any, REQUIRE an installer on Windows; it's just common (and annoying) that most software is distributed this way for that platform.

I for one prefer that the developer of an application takes responsibility for its installation. That way you can blame them if it does not work. On Linux distros many packages are close to uselesss because they are outdated or have been modified in weird ways incompatible with tutorials and documentation. This is especially true for all scientific software.

I prefer that all my software is installed and updated in one fell swoop, with one single package manager, instead of requiring myriad installers, uninstallers, and update daemons that run in the background for practically each and every program, just sitting there wasting CPU cycles.

If you dislike outdated software, try switching to a Testing or Unstable version of your operating system, or choosing a distro that packages less conservatively (Arch or Fedora, for instance).

Re: VSCodium – An Open Source Visual Studio Code Without Trackers

#235
post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about macOS, but doesn't most software on Linux require installation? I think the most common ways to distribute software are (1) as a package for your distribution's package manager (which the package manager installs, typically requiring superuser privileges), (2) as source code that you make & install, (3) as prebuilt binaries that you are meant to unpack and install. "Unpack and run from where they a…

Installation yes; installer no. To install VSCode on Debian, you would add the apt repository to your apt configuration, run apt update && apt upgrade, then apt install ______. On Windows, most software comes in the form of an installer instead of being installed with a system package manager. The difference is whether you have to click through one of those wizard things to get the program you want.

[deleted]

Re: VSCodium – An Open Source Visual Studio Code Without Trackers

#236

There's already a comment here, and I've also personally experienced just from talking with others offline, that a lot of people don't even know VSCode had telemetry, despite it mentioned several times in the product itself and its documentation. They (and remember, these people are supposedly developers ) either ignored it, or just didn't read the docs. I guess a big WARNING banner might scare users away, but it's s…

Most people don't even know Chrome is reading their entire hard drive, thanks to software_reporter_tool.exe .

I didn't know until I saw it myself. Maybe I forgot some announcement, but I don't need Chrome to role play as an antivirus.

Re: VSCodium – An Open Source Visual Studio Code Without Trackers

#237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Precisely! Albeit I am a bit surprised our infosec team seemingly haven't cracked down or made a stance just yet on Kite and other telemetry software for developers. That day will come soon I am sure :)

Kite runs locally, why would infosec crack down on it?

maybe this is old information but I thought it sent information back to Kite? This article is old but for what it's worth: https://qz.com/1043614/this-startup-learned-the-hard-way-tha...

Re: VSCodium – An Open Source Visual Studio Code Without Trackers

#238
post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I for one prefer that the developer of an application takes responsibility for its installation. That way you can blame them if it does not work. On Linux distros many packages are close to uselesss because they are outdated or have been modified in weird ways incompatible with tutorials and documentation. This is especially true for all scientific software.

I prefer that all my software is installed and updated in one fell swoop, with one single package manager, instead of requiring myriad installers, uninstallers, and update daemons that run in the background for practically each and every program, just sitting there wasting CPU cycles. If you dislike outdated software, try switching to a Testing or Unstable version of your operating system, or choosing a distro that p…

Distribution maintained packages are a really bad idea. You start to realize this once you are not in control of the box you are working on (have no root access). Suddenly you are faced with CentOS 6.5 because some proprietary piece of software depends on a specific gcc version / libc version. Or you can't upgrade the cluster easily because parts of the legacy code depends on specific package versions (boost, gcc). So people invent Spack and before that modules just so that they don't have to depend on the specific package versions they are stuck with. macOS and windows got it right, just distribute all dependencies that you need and don't make any assumptions on the underlying system. Everything else sucks and Linux is a prime example of that.

In short: Once you've worked with a large enough number of nighmarish Linux installations, you treat them as adversarial systems and wish you could install software just by clicking through a few screens.

Re: VSCodium – An Open Source Visual Studio Code Without Trackers

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you explain why this search feature is a problem because I don't understand?

Maybe not understanding the problem with a tool that may be used to work on proprietary code containing trade secret information silently and unexpectedly sending information out to the Internet is the reason for software becoming spyware...

You store trade secrets in your configuration file? I still don't understand what the big issue is. Can you clarify that instead of critizising my lack of knowledge?

Re: VSCodium – An Open Source Visual Studio Code Without Trackers

#240
VSCode seems rather monolithic. Skimming it briefly, there seems code which might be usefully repackaged as npm packages for service elsewhere. (I didn't check whether npm packages exist providing similar functionality.)

This can certainly be the right call for a project. But maybe it's an untapped opportunity for the broader community?

Has anyone looked at running a tracking fork, say mechanically massaging vscode into a monorepo?

As I explore opportunities for coding inside VR, having a more integrated ecosystem for creating IDEs would be nice.

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