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I want a computer that I own

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Re: I want a computer that I own

#51

Post by kjrose »

I feel the same way but I quickly realize that as soon as all of those walled gardens and advertising networks are gone, a lot of the "free" or "cheap" tools and programs I like no longer are available. This is a combination of the fact that most people simply aren't willing to pay for the stuff they use and would rather have ads and the fact that the remaining pool of people willing to pay is too small to split the cost to something reasonable.

Until we reach a point where we can break that cycle, getting a machine like he's describing is going to either be really expensive or impossible.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#52

Post by missedthecue »

kokx wrote: post #15

I have a similar feeling, but with modern smartphones. Owning my computer is still relatively possible. I can build a computer from parts which I can choose, and have a choice in which operating system to install on them. Laptops are slightly more closed, but even on those I can choose the OS myself. Modern smartphones however, seem like walled gardens in which I have no control at all. I cannot choose any of the par…

You could buy a flip phone

Re: I want a computer that I own

#54

Post by tux1968 »

walrus01 wrote: post #31

> Perhaps I am looking for something like the x286 DOS computer I had in the early 1990's You can do an almost fully GPL compliant Linux desktop by building it yourself today. I can already see people thinking "but what about the closed source binary blobs? my video card? my network interfaces?" But even your 12 MHz 286 or 386SX/20 had closed source AMI or Phoenix BIOS firmware on it. The motherboard manufacturer in…

You have (almost?) no way to verify how the transistors inside the computer chips are wired. And even if you design your own chips, you can't really know if the design you specified has been faithfully followed at the fab facility. It's a tough problem.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#55

Post by Mediterraneo10 »

eeZah7Ux wrote: post #26
kokx wrote: post #15

I have a similar feeling, but with modern smartphones. Owning my computer is still relatively possible. I can build a computer from parts which I can choose, and have a choice in which operating system to install on them. Laptops are slightly more closed, but even on those I can choose the OS myself. Modern smartphones however, seem like walled gardens in which I have no control at all. I cannot choose any of the par…

Buy a PinePhone. It might very well be more open and trustworthy than some laptops or desktops.

The PinePhone is definitely more open and trustworthy, but it also feels pretty useless for the time being. Its Allwinner A64 processor is antiquated, about like a lower-end Android phone from half a decade ago and with only 2–3GB of RAM, but the Phosh software stack isn’t optimized well for these limitations and the device moves at a crawl. Just opening the screen to turn the wifi on or off takes over five seconds. (Yes, there is also UBports, but that is based on 2014-era Ubuntu-specific software that even Ubuntu moved away from, and the whole thing feels like it is bitrotting now.)

I also worry that there isn’t enough of a development community behind the PinePhone to bring it to a basic level of polish. Instead of being the resurrection of the Nokia N900 as a hackable Linux phone, the PinePhone might actually be a repeat of the ill-fated Openmoko Freerunner.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#56

Post by asymptosis »

marcodiego wrote: post #48
kokx wrote: post #15

I have a similar feeling, but with modern smartphones. Owning my computer is still relatively possible. I can build a computer from parts which I can choose, and have a choice in which operating system to install on them. Laptops are slightly more closed, but even on those I can choose the OS myself. Modern smartphones however, seem like walled gardens in which I have no control at all. I cannot choose any of the par…

Owning a computer goes way beyond simply choosing its parts or OS.

I get the feeling you could be tempted to say more about that. Please elaborate?

Re: I want a computer that I own

#57

Post by Shebanator »

buzzert wrote: post #14

> Except for a handful of very over-priced models that I can't afford to buy, our computers are increasingly designed to be little more than advertising platforms and vehicles for maximizing the cloud revenues of their true owners Huh? You can buy a very cheap used ThinkPad for <$200 and run GNU/Linux on it. In fact, I don’t see any mention of Linux in this article.

This is a "have my cake and eat it too" rant, it has nothing to do with reality. He wants it to run Excel, he wants to be able to use google/fb/whatever. He just wants to be able to do it in a way that costs nothing or next to nothing and that somehow still gives him "full autonomy and control". Or, more accurately, the ILLUSION of full autonomy and control. Why an illusion? Because no matter how much control he has over his own computer, it doesn't matter the minute it talks to another computer. By definition he doesn't control that computer, and he is by definition trusting it to treat whatever personal info he discloses correctly. So his dream of a fully autonomous and controlled computer won't even give him what he really wants.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#58

Post by walrus01 »

tux1968 wrote: post #54
walrus01 wrote: post #31

> Perhaps I am looking for something like the x286 DOS computer I had in the early 1990's You can do an almost fully GPL compliant Linux desktop by building it yourself today. I can already see people thinking "but what about the closed source binary blobs? my video card? my network interfaces?" But even your 12 MHz 286 or 386SX/20 had closed source AMI or Phoenix BIOS firmware on it. The motherboard manufacturer in…

You have (almost?) no way to verify how the transistors inside the computer chips are wired. And even if you design your own chips, you can't really know if the design you specified has been faithfully followed at the fab facility. It's a tough problem.

The question then, really, is how far are you willing to go down the stack of software on hardware, in pursuit of true ideological purity? How can, even the Pinephone manufacturers, be absolutely sure that their design is being implemented in hardware as they specced it, without backdoors?

If you have a near infinite amount of money and resources, you can be absolutely certain (the hardware that runs NSA approved type 1 crypto goes through a very thorough vetting process), but such a concept is economically unrealistic for anything that normal people can buy.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#59

Post by a5withtrrs »

kokx wrote: post #36
eeZah7Ux wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buy a PinePhone. It might very well be more open and trustworthy than some laptops or desktops.

I love the PinePhone. It is an amazing project, and I'm definitely considering buying one. However, it does not solve my main problem. For most scenarios I still need a "normal" smartphone with either iOS or Android. Apps like WhatsApp and banking apps are unfortunately needed for a large part of my daily life. At risk of either socially isolating myself or bringing major inconveniences without having them. All unava…

The (not cost effective) solution is to carry both.

Shut off the 'normal' smart phone when you don't need it (for banking or what have you).

Use the web version of Whatsapp (https://web.whatsapp.com/) if you must use it. You could even consider having a WhatsApp specific phone if you have an older model that you've upgraded from that contains no other data.

That was my solution anyway.

Re: I want a computer that I own

#60

Post by judge2020 »

asymptosis wrote: post #56
marcodiego wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Owning a computer goes way beyond simply choosing its parts or OS.

I get the feeling you could be tempted to say more about that. Please elaborate?

I guess they mean the freedom (or lack thereof) of the software license that comes with your OS, ie. 'you should be able to hit the software with a metaphorical hammer', which technically isn't possible with the Windows 10 license.
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