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VSCodium – An Open Source Visual Studio Code Without Trackers

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41–50 of 265 posts

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

#41
Is there any difference between this and the version in Arch's community repo?[0] Obviously VSCodium appears to target more distros.

From my experience code (Arch) is entirely debranded, so I can't imagine telemetry was left in.

[0] https://www.archlinux.org/packages/community/x86_64/code/

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

#42
The process for making this yourself is basically as simple as:

git clone

gulp build

Consider doing that before running binaries from more or less unknown sources.

I don’t remember the exact gulp command off hand, but if you check the gulpfile there are myriad build configs for full minified packaged builds.

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

#43
post #33
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did anyone write software for decades before everything was connected to the internet?

Less effectively and at greater expense (with regards to understanding how large swathes of your userbase use your software in practice)

The lack of detailed usage monitoring resulted in more useful software that didn't cater to the lowest common denominator.

Telemetry lets you shed all the baggage of supporting the minority.

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

#44

Isn't the use of the vscode store extensions proprietary?

No, the configuration with the necessary URL endpoints was released under the MIT license:

https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode/commit/b00945fc8c79f6db7...

https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode/issues/31168

Additionally, a URL is most likely not copyrightable.

Flathub and Arch Linux are both releasing open source builds of vscode with this configuration:

https://www.flathub.org/apps/details/com.visualstudio.code.o...

https://www.archlinux.org/packages/community/x86_64/code/

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

#45
post #40

Isn't the use of the vscode store extensions proprietary?

It is, but people try to get away with it by using a mistakenly committed config file from a few years back to argue that the URL’s are now MIT’d. The commit was quickly reverted, but they didn’t rewrite history to totally remove it, and now here we are.

Source?

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

#46
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It maybe starts with simple statistics. But then you want to know what features the user use, then you want to know what other programs they have installed. Then you want to know what the users search for on the web. etc. It's a slippery slope.

You've literally described a slippery slope fallacy

It's not a fallacy. When a printer driver reporting stats back to the manufacturer made national news in the early 2000s and prompted calls for laws regulating privacy, the argument was that it was a slippery slope fallacy to assert that privacy violations would get worse. Look at where we are now.

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

#47
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a shame we have to assume the worst. What would be better is for Microsoft to be more transparent about the telemetry and to enable more granular control. That said, I wouldn't bother checking as I don't really care. I rub shoulders with infosec issues daily, as most IT folk do these days. When I think about the perceived risk of telemetry from VSCode, now and in the future it's a negligible risk that I accept.

They are actually very transparent about the telemetry they collect, and they offer granular control. There is a log of all events sent to MS, and a page in settings dedicated to the different types of telemetry they can be enabled.

Incorrect. That page has essentially no detail.

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

#48

I suspect the tracking in VSCode is mainly used to improve the product. It's probably in my best interest, and the interest of the community as a whole to leave tracking on. I mean, I get it, HN is usually a more skeptical and security-focused crowd. At the same time, it's likely MS will just take that information and tailor their bugfixes and features to the things I need most, so by all means I want them to have it…

So then why keep the telemetry source code secret?

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

#49
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It maybe starts with simple statistics. But then you want to know what features the user use, then you want to know what other programs they have installed. Then you want to know what the users search for on the web. etc. It's a slippery slope.

You've literally described a slippery slope fallacy

[deleted]

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

#50
post #16

I suspect the tracking in VSCode is mainly used to improve the product. It's probably in my best interest, and the interest of the community as a whole to leave tracking on. I mean, I get it, HN is usually a more skeptical and security-focused crowd. At the same time, it's likely MS will just take that information and tailor their bugfixes and features to the things I need most, so by all means I want them to have it…

It maybe starts with simple statistics. But then you want to know what features the user use, then you want to know what other programs they have installed. Then you want to know what the users search for on the web. etc. It's a slippery slope.

I think it sends MS every keypress in search fields - https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode/issues/49161
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