Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: What Apple alternatives are you switching to?

news.ycombinator.com

71–80 of 493 posts

Re: Ask HN: What Apple alternatives are you switching to?

#71

To be honest... None. It's a choice. You might wholly disagree, but recent events aren't enough to get me to switch yet, because I think the competition has too many tradeoffs. I can get my photos scanned against a CSAM database... or I can have Google tracking my location constantly regardless of what they say (as they've been proven to be misleading in the past)... or I can use a Linux phone and say goodbye to batt…

Exactly, I think people are just getting a little too worked up over this whole thing. Apple computes a hash of each image you upload to iCloud then check it against a list of CP hashes.

Of all the things in the world to get worked up over, this is ridiculous.

I get it, the mechanism they're using has apparent flaws, and maybe some whacko could somehow get access to your phone and start uploading things that trick the algorithm into thinking you have CP.

But, that alone is such a ridiculous phobia, if someone has that level of access to your phone, they could upload real CP and maybe even upload it to your Facebook for good measure.

Re: Ask HN: What Apple alternatives are you switching to?

#74
post #20

For those studying MacBook alternatives, I think the most underrated “serious” notebook computer in the world is the Panasonic Letsnote SX/SV. Matte screen that actually works outdoors, removable long-life battery, unassuming vintage design (“let’s not rob that guy, he can’t even afford a new computer”). I haven’t investigated the Linuxability of this thing yet, but it’s super-light and impressive as a mosh terminal…

Can you even get one of those Panasonic laptops outside of Japan?

Checked Amazon.co.jp and doesn't seem like they ship to Europe. I'm actually interested in trying one of these out.

Re: Ask HN: What Apple alternatives are you switching to?

#75

To be honest... None. It's a choice. You might wholly disagree, but recent events aren't enough to get me to switch yet, because I think the competition has too many tradeoffs. I can get my photos scanned against a CSAM database... or I can have Google tracking my location constantly regardless of what they say (as they've been proven to be misleading in the past)... or I can use a Linux phone and say goodbye to batt…

Exactly, I think people are just getting a little too worked up over this whole thing. Apple computes a hash of each image you upload to iCloud then check it against a list of CP hashes. Of all the things in the world to get worked up over, this is ridiculous. I get it, the mechanism they're using has apparent flaws, and maybe some whacko could somehow get access to your phone and start uploading things that trick th…

Also, all of the "situations" where this could be abused are already applicable on all other platforms. There's no reason your Ex couldn't upload CSAM to your Google Photos account, or to your Facebook account. Google Photos and predecessors have scanned since, what, 2013?, and would detect it, and would report it to law enforcement.

Despite this having been a possibility for almost a decade... there's a suspicious lack of headlines of this attack occurring.

Re: Ask HN: What Apple alternatives are you switching to?

#76
As of about a week and a half ago, I moved from a 2020 SE to a Nokia 8110 4G "Bananaphone" (the name totally fits) for my primary cellular device. I still have the SE because I've not found replacements for a few key things yet, but it's almost entirely shut off now. Amusingly, AT&T is shipping me a free Flip IV, because my Nokia isn't listed on the "We know it will work with the 3G networks turned down" device list. The tech support guy was quite amused, as was I, so I'll have a legitimate flip phone here in a day or two as well as the bananaphone.

Perks of the bright yellow "What on earth is that?" - it opens up conversations about why I'm moving off Apple.

The lack of KaiOS Signal is a problem, though I've seen some work towards it - perhaps this will drive more development towards the not-Apple, not-Android ecosystems.

I considered a Pixel with GrapheneOS, but Google's hardware reliability lately has left an awful lot to be desired, and I'm just tired of the smartphone concept anyway.

I've been playing casually with a PineBook Pro for the past year or so, and I'm getting that into duty to replace my MacBook Pro for in-house laptop use. There's a new firmware that makes the trackpad actually good, not the laggy, clunky, borderline usable thing that it shipped with, so that's been nice. I simply don't use that much computing power in the evenings, and the PBP accomplishes most of what I want. Unfortunately, again, it doesn't have things like Signal as "easy to install" options (AArch64 is worse than ARMv7/AArch32), so I should throw some time at that as well.

My office, which has a M1 Mac Mini I've done quite a bit of testing and work on, is going to suffer through going to a small ARM box as well - I'm going to put an ODroid N2+ in there, and see how it works. I'll have to drop back from the LG 5k to a 1440p display, as the ODroid can't drive the 5k, but... eh, whatever. Again, I just don't use the computers for an awful lot. I will lose some functionality with regards to video editing, but I simply don't do much of it, and I do have an x86 Windows/Linux PC in the house I can do that on if I need.

The one thing I've not found a great solution for yet is the iPad. I use it for PDF reading, for web browsing, etc. It's probably safe to use in that style, if I strip accounts off, but... even then, I'd like to get rid of it if I can find an alternative. That's going to be a longer project. I'm very interested in the PineNote announcement, as it would make a great PDF reader in theory, but see "a lot of development to make it work." They don't even promise it will run the display when shipped...

As for paying for things, I've got contactless credit cards that can largely replace Apple Pay for "wave something and go," I just have to separate them from the stack of cards first. Not a big deal.

There's a definite loss of function here, but I'm unwilling to state strongly that I'm opposed to all this, and then continue using Apple products as before.

And I've been looking to get away from the tech ecosystems for a while, so this is just a good kicker for me to do it.

I'll probably keep the 2015 MacBook Pro as a "I do still have some value to an Apple device, Apple having been part of my life for nearly 20 years now," but I'm going to strip stuff off and leave it mostly in archive mode.

Re: Ask HN: What Apple alternatives are you switching to?

#77
post #29

This seems like an over-reaction. I'm highly opposed to Apple's CSAM move but they are still much better and transparent than Google, Amazon, and most other services. Many of these already do something like this but they just don't actively tell you or document it. Also, and please correct me if I am mistaken, Apple's CSAM is limited to iCloud for Photos. It does not just work against your local photos. CSAM Detectio…

For me, it was well thought-out. Apple betrayed my trust as a consumer and the response in the past week was plain gaslighting. I thought about it for a couple of days and then decided that I don't want to support a company like that anymore. (edit)I was planning to buy a new MBP/iPhone/Watch in Q4, so this made it easier to decide on those purchases earlier.(/edit) It's correct that the CSAM scanning is currently on…

You’re fooling yourself if you don’t think the government has a dozen other ways to backdoor you. Heck they basically just have packet scanners sitting on the networks of all the major telecoms, and almost certainly have compromised SSL root signing keys so they can trivially decrypt your traffic. Anything that goes over the network is fair game.

Love it or not, we live in a police state enforced by surveillance. Most Americans are just waking up to this because they’re not a member of a population actively oppressed by the police. Socialist / anarchist / labor communities that are more than shitposting groups meet almost exclusively in-person because their communications have long been targeted by law enforcement.

Re: Ask HN: What Apple alternatives are you switching to?

#78
I feel like I'm totally out of the loop on this. My understanding is that Apple scans for CSAM (as it legally is required to) when it uploads files to it's cloud storage. What's the problem and who exactly are you expecting to provide cloud storage and not do this?

Re: Ask HN: What Apple alternatives are you switching to?

#79

To be honest... None. It's a choice. You might wholly disagree, but recent events aren't enough to get me to switch yet, because I think the competition has too many tradeoffs. I can get my photos scanned against a CSAM database... or I can have Google tracking my location constantly regardless of what they say (as they've been proven to be misleading in the past)... or I can use a Linux phone and say goodbye to batt…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What Apple alternatives are you switching to?

#80

Is the CSAM an issue for macOS? That would be my only concern since I do not own an iPhone. Honestly, as much as I go to extreme lengths to limit invasions of my privacy, short of going full Stallman, it would take a lot for me to chuck my M1 MacBook Air. I know people say they have a non-Apple laptop that is as good, but that has not been my experience. Every PC laptop I have owned has ended up being a pile of crap…

I believe it is, if you have iCloud Photos enabled.
Post reply on HN