4 ms·

We've heard the warnings about the rise of "proprietary computing", where all experiences in computers need to be approved by the policies of hardware and softw

We've heard the warnings about the rise of "proprietary computing", where all experiences in computers need to be approved by the policies of hardware and software manufacturers. I feel it's getting worse as we get pushed more and more to vertically integrated platforms (Pixel, iPhone, Surface, game consoles, Kindle+Fire etc). We still have Linux, thankfully - at least as long as hardware manufacturers let it run on their computers. https://boingboing.net/2011/12/27/the-coming-war-on-general-purp.html https://boingboing.net/2011/12/27/the-coming-war-on-general-...

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
4bpp 7y ago
In a way, it's fortunate that hardware performance improvements have all but ground to a halt; according to online benchmarks, the CPU in my nearly 7 year old (3rd gen Intel M series) Thinkpad is only something like 50% slower than the most recent comparable models. (This is partly because after 3rd gen, they all switched to U-series CPUs, which were significantly slower.) This way, even if approved-OS-only hardware suddenly becomes the universal norm in the same way that chiclet keyboards did around then, I imagine I will still be set for a long time. (Just imagine using a computer from 1993 in 2000, for comparison...)
- sukilot 7y ago
  On Mac, the oldest supported computers (for High Sierra and Catalina are the only supported OSes) the 2012 vintage (plus older Mac Pros). Older devices (expensive, premium, devices!), which run fine and have specs matching today's cheapest new computers, cannot run a supported Mac OS. There are no longer any supported 17" Mac laptops.
josteink 7y ago
> We still have Linux, thankfully - at least as long as hardware manufacturers let it run on their computers. As a ThinkPading Linux-user I’m looking at all these other people and wondering wth they’re up to on their increasingly leased computer platforms. Whatever that is, I want nothing of it.
zanny 7y ago
> at least as long as hardware manufacturers let it run on their computers. Linux is thankfully totally emancipated from this now. There is no longer an exclusive x86 hegemony of desktop computing - its fringe for now, but ARM, Power, and RISC-V exist as alternative options with currently purchasable hardware that can run several Linux distros today. If Intel / AMD did anything to try to lock platform exclusivity on their consumer offerings to Windows there is an escape hatch. And it also doesn't really align with their business interests to help Microsoft on that - they just want to sell hardware and both employ substantial development teams to support their hardware under Linux already. AMD just got a bunch of money from me this year upgrading to their latest platforms all for their ongoing commitment to Linux support.
viraptor 7y ago
Pixels are one of the few phones with custom firmware loading explicitly enabled and exposed by Google. Sideloading apps is also 1 switch away. It could be even better, but I really don't think it belongs in the same category as iPhone and have consoles.
- lowtolerance 7y ago
  Are we supposed to pretend it’s something other than vertical integration because you happen to prefer their approach?
  - viraptor 7y ago
    I don't understand why you'd pretend anything. You've got 3 areas: 1. Producers actively preventing you from running custom software (iOS, TVs, game consoles, some Android systems, ...). 2. Platforms providing default software and leaving an official way to replace it (pixels and a few other androids, ...). 3. Producers who mostly don't care what you run. (PCs) It matters to me that things are as close to the 3rd category as possible. But let's not lump 1 and 2 together - there's a huge difference.
    - lowtolerance 7y ago
      What does any of that have to do vertical integration?

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

4bpp 7y ago

In a way, it's fortunate that hardware performance improvements have all but ground to a halt; according to online benchmarks, the CPU in my nearly 7 year old (3rd gen Intel M series) Thinkpad is only something like 50% slower than the most recent comparable models. (This is partly because after 3rd gen, they all switched to U-series CPUs, which were significantly slower.) This way, even if approved-OS-only hardware suddenly becomes the universal norm in the same way that chiclet keyboards did around then, I imagine I will still be set for a long time. (Just imagine using a computer from 1993 in 2000, for comparison...)

sukilot 7y ago
On Mac, the oldest supported computers (for High Sierra and Catalina are the only supported OSes) the 2012 vintage (plus older Mac Pros). Older devices (expensive, premium, devices!), which run fine and have specs matching today's cheapest new computers, cannot run a supported Mac OS. There are no longer any supported 17" Mac laptops.

josteink 7y ago

> We still have Linux, thankfully - at least as long as hardware manufacturers let it run on their computers. As a ThinkPading Linux-user I’m looking at all these other people and wondering wth they’re up to on their increasingly leased computer platforms. Whatever that is, I want nothing of it.

zanny 7y ago

> at least as long as hardware manufacturers let it run on their computers. Linux is thankfully totally emancipated from this now. There is no longer an exclusive x86 hegemony of desktop computing - its fringe for now, but ARM, Power, and RISC-V exist as alternative options with currently purchasable hardware that can run several Linux distros today. If Intel / AMD did anything to try to lock platform exclusivity on their consumer offerings to Windows there is an escape hatch. And it also doesn't really align with their business interests to help Microsoft on that - they just want to sell hardware and both employ substantial development teams to support their hardware under Linux already. AMD just got a bunch of money from me this year upgrading to their latest platforms all for their ongoing commitment to Linux support.

viraptor 7y ago

Pixels are one of the few phones with custom firmware loading explicitly enabled and exposed by Google. Sideloading apps is also 1 switch away. It could be even better, but I really don't think it belongs in the same category as iPhone and have consoles.

lowtolerance 7y ago
Are we supposed to pretend it’s something other than vertical integration because you happen to prefer their approach?
- viraptor 7y ago
  I don't understand why you'd pretend anything. You've got 3 areas: 1. Producers actively preventing you from running custom software (iOS, TVs, game consoles, some Android systems, ...). 2. Platforms providing default software and leaving an official way to replace it (pixels and a few other androids, ...). 3. Producers who mostly don't care what you run. (PCs) It matters to me that things are as close to the 3rd category as possible. But let's not lump 1 and 2 together - there's a huge difference.
  - lowtolerance 7y ago
    What does any of that have to do vertical integration?