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The boiling frog of digital freedom

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Re: The boiling frog of digital freedom

#82
post #19

There is one interesting force acting against that though (or it would probably already have happened). It is the simple fact that most people that are competent enough to actually implement these things also understand the problems with doing so. For the most part anyway. If we could just agree to not do that... well, what are "they" going to do? And of course: we owe it to the web to use Firefox. The Chrome clones…

> And of course: we owe it to the web to use Firefox.

Mozilla is hanging tightly on the Google's tit though. It won't be shocking to see Firefox deteriorate rapidly should it start gaining ground on Chrome. He who pays the piper calls the tune.

Re: The boiling frog of digital freedom

#84

The other day I read an HN comment that thought that when you buy consumer PC hardware, it comes with a ToS that limits your property rights as the owner. It's the kind of uncanny experience I run into more and more often lately: talking with people so immersed in our new normal of cyberpunk dystopia, they seem not to remember how things were in the before-times. So accustomed to exploitative corporate gaslighting, w…

> In the before-times, [...]

You used to get full schematics along with the electronics you bought.

And by "get", I do NOT mean that you'd have to ask for them.

They'd be shipped WITH the products, on paper. It was a normal part of your purchase, just like the manual.

Re: The boiling frog of digital freedom

#85

The other day I read an HN comment that thought that when you buy consumer PC hardware, it comes with a ToS that limits your property rights as the owner. It's the kind of uncanny experience I run into more and more often lately: talking with people so immersed in our new normal of cyberpunk dystopia, they seem not to remember how things were in the before-times. So accustomed to exploitative corporate gaslighting, w…

Which ownership rights do the sellers retain now that they didn’t previously? I’m not familiar with any ToS that permits a company to repossess your PC or parts of it. If you’re talking about manufacturers making their devices more difficult to repair or voiding warranties based on minor modifications, that doesn’t mean you can’t do what you want with the item. It just means you can’t force the company to fix or repl…

It's not that the PCs come with more strings attached than they did before - it's that many people, especially younger generation, are so used to those strings controlling their lives through their mobile devices and everything being a service, that they don't realize the same isn't true with a regular PC. At least isn't yet.

Re: The boiling frog of digital freedom

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about Safari too?

Safari is WebKit based too since a few years back

What does this mean, "WebKit based too"? WebKit is primarily developed by Apple, Safari is the canonical browser that uses it.

It is actually Google's Blink that split off of WebKit, not the other way around.

Re: The boiling frog of digital freedom

#87
> 2027: Non-WEI compliant websites are marked as "insecure" by Chrome and Safari. Accessing them requires confirmation through a "yes, I accept the risk" dialog box.

Did I misunderstand WEI? It's an API a website can use to confirm that a client is "authentic", so shouldn't this rather be "Goodle/Apple/Facebook/... drops support for Non-WEI compliant browsers".

Re: The boiling frog of digital freedom

#88

The other day I read an HN comment that thought that when you buy consumer PC hardware, it comes with a ToS that limits your property rights as the owner. It's the kind of uncanny experience I run into more and more often lately: talking with people so immersed in our new normal of cyberpunk dystopia, they seem not to remember how things were in the before-times. So accustomed to exploitative corporate gaslighting, w…

Which ownership rights do the sellers retain now that they didn’t previously? I’m not familiar with any ToS that permits a company to repossess your PC or parts of it. If you’re talking about manufacturers making their devices more difficult to repair or voiding warranties based on minor modifications, that doesn’t mean you can’t do what you want with the item. It just means you can’t force the company to fix or repl…

They don't. I think the commenter was guessing by generalizing from software/subscription service ToS's, which are ubiquitous; plus the fusion of hardware/software in inseparable packages, like the iPhone hardware, which is a brick without an ongoing Apple subscription.

Re: The boiling frog of digital freedom

#89
post #19

There is one interesting force acting against that though (or it would probably already have happened). It is the simple fact that most people that are competent enough to actually implement these things also understand the problems with doing so. For the most part anyway. If we could just agree to not do that... well, what are "they" going to do? And of course: we owe it to the web to use Firefox. The Chrome clones…

> And of course: we owe it to the web to use Firefox. Mozilla is hanging tightly on the Google's tit though. It won't be shocking to see Firefox deteriorate rapidly should it start gaining ground on Chrome. He who pays the piper calls the tune.

On the other hand Firefox development could be paid with a small fraction of Mozilla's current budget. They are doing all kinds of un-/semi-related stuff. But of course, it remains to be seen if the organization could survive such a financial drought.

Re: The boiling frog of digital freedom

#90
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did, i use firefox for example, but with mobile phones, what's the alternative? Apple and its walled garden? And when filing my taxes only works via chrome, how do i switch countries easily? Move because of a browser limitation and leave everything behind?

Not that it is for everyone; but i have used Sailfish OS for just about 10 years, and it has been quite fine. Any country that isn't a total sh*tshow will have accessibility regulations around that. Let the accessibility folks fight for you.

Or support them...
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