5 ms·
At some point old devices that aren't receiving updates really need to go away, a good thing for security.
by Maxburn 5y ago
At some point old devices that aren't receiving updates really need to go away, a good thing for security.
- notRobot 5y agoThe solution is not to throw away old devices, it's to figure out how to keep them updated
- fnord77 5y agoand a bad thing for e-waste.
- ses1984 5y agoDevices that can’t be updated all face an early ewaste destiny, don’t blame expiring certs.
- fnord77 5y agowell maybe a trust system that forces devices that can't be updated into obsolescence is not a good system.
- josephcsible 5y agoMaybe having devices that can't be updated is not a good system.
- Spivak 5y agoHaving perfectly functional devices that become obsolete because the world moves around them is also not a good system. We don't have to design our support targets to be a moving window of >= $current_version - 2.
- tialaramex 5y agoArguing with time's arrow is fruitless. The world will change, it isn't going to wait around for your OK. For the most part we aren't talking about needless turnover here. The trust store represents an institutional claim, between now and whenever you stop using this device, all the people who have these private keys will take proper care of them. I actually think that claim is extremely dubious for these Android devices today, it relies on people we meanwhile judged as incompetent to have nevertheless correctly destroyed key materials in their possession when they ceased to do business. I would not be astonished to discover that this already did not happen at least once since the devices ceased to get updates. For example I imagine all the Symantec roots are included, and likewise StartCom/ WoSign.
- bombcar 5y agoMy dad had to replace his working but older Motorola phone because MMS stopped working because of outdated certs and he couldn't update anything to get them working again.
- Spivak 5y agoThis is kinda silly. These are problems that, as an industry, we make for ourselves. The fact that you can't make a network connected device that continues to function for decades without a constant maintenance is a problem not a feature.
- doublerabbit 5y agoSure you can. Make an application that is frozen from future features but can still communicate with the platform at a basic level. Text Messages have been with us for centuries and still compatible with nearly 99% of devices. Feature updates normally consist of "your device isn't supported and lock the user out without saying Good Bye. If you create a platform that holds the basic for all versions and don't introduce new features to that; you won't have so much e-waste nor much maintenance upkeep.
- kstrauser 5y agoTo a point. The environmental footprint of a 486 tower system today would be much higher than modern system because the humans that use it more slowly and who have to maintain it use a lot more resources.
- selfhoster11 5y agoGiven lightweight software, a 486 tower is usable indefinitely with a zero environmental footprint as long as the electricity comes from a sustainable source (such as solar).
- kstrauser 5y agoIt is as long as you don’t consider the footprint of the person using it. If it runs more slowly than a modern system such that a human has to spend more time working with it, then it’s almost certainly less resource friendly.
- selfhoster11 5y ago486s ran plenty fast in their time. With a tiny bit of modern hardware like the addition of an SSD, the only thing stopping them from being blazing-fast is modern bloated software stacks.
- Wowfunhappy 5y agoI don't understand. The human wouldn't cease to exist regardless of how fast or slow their computer is, right?
- kstrauser 5y agoIt’s easier if you imagine an office full of people. If you have slower systems, you have to hire more people to do the same amount of work.
- Wowfunhappy 5y ago