7 ms·

what can we do? don’t buy toshiba.

segfaultbuserr 7y ago
And salvage all the service manuals online, and host them anonymously on IPFS and Tor onion sites. Try taking that down, lawyers.
- dredmorbius 7y ago
  LibGen might meet this niche.
  - segfaultbuserr 7y ago
    Yes! It's exactly what I was thinking about. But uploading them as normal books would make them difficult to find, at least we need an index. If someone is going to do it systematically, contacting LibGen is surely a possible way to go.
    - dredmorbius 7y ago
      There are several existing special collections. A "Manuals" collection might serve the purpose.
- Tinfoilhat666 7y ago
  Archive.org could also host them. Their mission is to provide universal access to all knowlegde. I have never understood why they can host so much copyrighted material.
  - philpem 7y ago
    You know, I've wondered about this too. I wonder how effective their DMCA process is -- but while they host some of my stuff, I actually want them to. Obviously I don't have standing to try and find out on someone else's material. I just wish their archive (Wayback Machine specifically) was easier to fulltext search.
  - colejohnson66 7y ago
    They been designated a library. Libraries have a lot more leeway with copyright laws
- brokenmachine 7y ago
  I agree about Tor, but IPFS provides no anonymity.
  - segfaultbuserr 7y ago
    Sure, IPFS doesn't offer anonymity at the protocol layer, but one can always operate a service anonymously (socially, not technically) by hosting it at a suspicious Russian/Romanian provider. BitTorrent taught us, once the materials spread, it wouldn't matter anymore.
dredmorbius 7y ago
Boycotts are one form of pressure. Right to repair and right to information though are another. This also means guaranteed minimum supported lifetimes, access to documentation, system upgrades, and the like. As for laptops: I've been actively putting off upgrading for numerous reasons including the fact that no current offerings really seem to suit my needs, wants, or reasonable expectations, but bullshit games (factory-installed spyware, Lenovo, craptacular ergonomics (Apple keyboards, strips), and BDSM bootloaders (Android) leave me feeling physically ill. I was reminiscing earlier that in his 1976 book Imperial Earth, Arthur C. Clarke more-or-less pressages the smartphone, with his minisec, though with some glaring distinctions. There's a physical keyboard (the 'E' key is mentioned as being worn), devices are durable enough to be intergenerational hand-me-downs (the protagonist inherits his father's old device), and apparently the economics and business models of manufacturing, servicing, upgrading, and developing for the platforms have been solved, as they're never mentioned. It's the business models of hardware, software, and services which are killing us. To the point of creating actively shitty products and business practices.
- segfaultbuserr 7y ago
  > BDSM bootloaders Upvoted for this, lol. I think using a lot of products are essentially becoming a BDSM game nowadays... i.e. It has some broken useless features because of some bullshit due to the marketing department. To improve something, you would need to hack it to bypass some arbitrary restrictions first, and many enjoy this process of hacking... Those hackers are heros, but it would be the best if some arbitrary problems are not deliberately introduced by the manufacturers in the first place.
  - antisemiotic 7y ago
    The main difference is that BDSM is supposed to be consensual and have a safe word.
    - krapp 7y ago
      >Many desktop applications also don't open nearly as quickly as the average website. That's not as true if you count the browser as part of a web application, which you should.
ollie87 7y ago
I mean they make nothing I'd buy any way, so I'm already doing my part.
jokoon 7y ago
What alternative is there? It seems all brands only sell cheap stuff. I wonder if Thinkpads really survived this after it was bought by lenovo. Maybe high end Dell laptops are durable? ASUS? System76? Honestly I don't know what brand to choose from, and I think I would prefer not to invest in a new laptop if it's not durable, and keep using desktop PCs.
cptnapalm 7y ago
My first laptop was a Toshiba. It died a month after the year long warranty and would have cost more than a new laptop to get replacement parts for. So, I'm already on the don't buy Toshiba bandwagon.

And salvage all the service manuals online, and host them anonymously on IPFS and Tor onion sites. Try taking that down, lawyers.

dredmorbius 7y ago
LibGen might meet this niche.
- segfaultbuserr 7y ago
  Yes! It's exactly what I was thinking about. But uploading them as normal books would make them difficult to find, at least we need an index. If someone is going to do it systematically, contacting LibGen is surely a possible way to go.
  - dredmorbius 7y ago
    There are several existing special collections. A "Manuals" collection might serve the purpose.
Tinfoilhat666 7y ago
Archive.org could also host them. Their mission is to provide universal access to all knowlegde. I have never understood why they can host so much copyrighted material.
- philpem 7y ago
  You know, I've wondered about this too. I wonder how effective their DMCA process is -- but while they host some of my stuff, I actually want them to. Obviously I don't have standing to try and find out on someone else's material. I just wish their archive (Wayback Machine specifically) was easier to fulltext search.
- colejohnson66 7y ago
  They been designated a library. Libraries have a lot more leeway with copyright laws
brokenmachine 7y ago
I agree about Tor, but IPFS provides no anonymity.
- segfaultbuserr 7y ago
  Sure, IPFS doesn't offer anonymity at the protocol layer, but one can always operate a service anonymously (socially, not technically) by hosting it at a suspicious Russian/Romanian provider. BitTorrent taught us, once the materials spread, it wouldn't matter anymore.

dredmorbius 7y ago

Boycotts are one form of pressure. Right to repair and right to information though are another. This also means guaranteed minimum supported lifetimes, access to documentation, system upgrades, and the like. As for laptops: I've been actively putting off upgrading for numerous reasons including the fact that no current offerings really seem to suit my needs, wants, or reasonable expectations, but bullshit games (factory-installed spyware, Lenovo, craptacular ergonomics (Apple keyboards, strips), and BDSM bootloaders (Android) leave me feeling physically ill. I was reminiscing earlier that in his 1976 book Imperial Earth, Arthur C. Clarke more-or-less pressages the smartphone, with his minisec, though with some glaring distinctions. There's a physical keyboard (the 'E' key is mentioned as being worn), devices are durable enough to be intergenerational hand-me-downs (the protagonist inherits his father's old device), and apparently the economics and business models of manufacturing, servicing, upgrading, and developing for the platforms have been solved, as they're never mentioned. It's the business models of hardware, software, and services which are killing us. To the point of creating actively shitty products and business practices.

segfaultbuserr 7y ago
> BDSM bootloaders Upvoted for this, lol. I think using a lot of products are essentially becoming a BDSM game nowadays... i.e. It has some broken useless features because of some bullshit due to the marketing department. To improve something, you would need to hack it to bypass some arbitrary restrictions first, and many enjoy this process of hacking... Those hackers are heros, but it would be the best if some arbitrary problems are not deliberately introduced by the manufacturers in the first place.
- antisemiotic 7y ago
  The main difference is that BDSM is supposed to be consensual and have a safe word.
  - krapp 7y ago
    >Many desktop applications also don't open nearly as quickly as the average website. That's not as true if you count the browser as part of a web application, which you should.

ollie87 7y ago

I mean they make nothing I'd buy any way, so I'm already doing my part.

jokoon 7y ago

What alternative is there? It seems all brands only sell cheap stuff. I wonder if Thinkpads really survived this after it was bought by lenovo. Maybe high end Dell laptops are durable? ASUS? System76? Honestly I don't know what brand to choose from, and I think I would prefer not to invest in a new laptop if it's not durable, and keep using desktop PCs.

cptnapalm 7y ago

My first laptop was a Toshiba. It died a month after the year long warranty and would have cost more than a new laptop to get replacement parts for. So, I'm already on the don't buy Toshiba bandwagon.