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I think that is a little unfair. The tech companies still do some stuff that provides value to people and usually for free. Additionally, grandma isn't going to
by snarf21 5y ago
I think that is a little unfair. The tech companies still do some stuff that provides value to people and usually for free. Additionally, grandma isn't going to be rooting phones and installing toolchains and managing their own hardware and OS. Making tech trivial to use and "just work" at scale is hard. Doing it all for free is even harder.
- panta 5y agoThe point is that they aren't doing it for free. Users are not paying with money, but are paying nonetheless, with privacy and freedoms mainly.
- mdorazio 5y agoAnd the problem with that is most users have definitively and repeatedly voted with their wallets that they would rather give up privacy and freedoms than pay money. The vast majority of consumers simply don't care, and the HN audience are outliers.
- piaste 5y agoPeople also were happy to buy unsafe food at low prices, or cars without seat belts and airbag. Consumers make myopic choices all the time, and it's legitimate to establish regulations enforcing a more long-term outlook.
- snarf21 5y agoRight but freedom is never free. It is free if users think it is free. Companies use lots of chemicals that are unhealthy in/on/around all our food (even "organic") but growing all your own food is untenable, unless we revert to agrarian societies.
- gauravjain13 5y agoDoing it “free” is impossible, hence the ad-tech shitshow.