4 ms·
Somehow I'd be more comfortable with Microsoft handling my traffic rather than Facebook. I know it's probably misguided, but still.
by scohesc 5y ago
Somehow I'd be more comfortable with Microsoft handling my traffic rather than Facebook.
I know it's probably misguided, but still.
- ethbr0 5y agoWell, Microsoft spent about 20 years not tracking their users, despite having full control of and an effective monopoly on desktop and laptop operating systems. Facebook... has never not.
- GDC7 5y agoI bet many would be willing to be tracked in exchange for a free desktop/laptop It takes 2 to tango. Always.
- Jtsummers 5y agoThis was done in the past. "Internet appliances", I don't recall any being free but they were inexpensive and paired with free/cheap (for the time) internet service. Netzero was also an ISP that offered free internet funded by ads. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_appliance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_appliance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetZero https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetZero
- syntaxing 5y agoWow that was a blast to the past! I remember my dad trying it out because AOL was getting too expensive for us to sustain. Good times!
- ethbr0 5y agoIt's a great point and intersects interestingly with winner-take-all markets (like social networking). If there is likely to be only one social network (broadly speaking), then does that opine on whether that network can choose to be ad+tracking funded and free, or paid? And is it in the best interest of the public to force it to be the other, too?
- GDC7 5y ago> If there is likely to be only one social network (broadly speaking), then does that opine on whether that network can choose to be ad+tracking funded and free, or paid? I think it's immaterial. You can't legislate Power's Law into submission. Winner take all type market are the dictionary definition of Power's law. They produce the most exhilarating wins (eg. Google, Facebook) and the most brutal losses (Yahoo! , MySpace). Another thing about Power's Law and this type of markets is that they receive almost all the attention, whereas stuff like constructions, pipelining, ports, airports don't get the same attention
- ethbr0 5y agoYou can't effectively legislate competition, but you can legislate monopoly behavior. And I think it would be a hard sell to convince me that saying "If you run a company with greater than Y users / market share / etc. then you must offer a paid option that optionally disables all tracking."
- GDC7 5y agoNo, I don't think you can. You can't legislate luck which spurred the monopoly. You'd just move the problem elsewhere (eg. in another sector of the economy or within government)
- ethbr0 5y agoThat's a risk, but not a fundamental limitation. The government can mandate whatever is within the bounds of the laws its passed (and its constitution). Unintended consequences are a reason to wield power judiciously and incrementally, not a reason to avoid wielding it at all.
- ipaddr 5y agoYou are really misguided. Microsoft is more aligned with military/government with contacts and projects going back 20+ years. Facebook hacks around your privacy to keep you coming back to sell higher priced ads. Microsoft doesn't really sell ads but they make great products for law enforcement and desire to work with the cia, nsa, fbi,etc.
- tdeck 5y agoBoth of these companies will give your data to law enforcement and 3-letter agencies. At least Microsoft seems less likely to competently mine the data.
- ipaddr 5y agoThey mine the data as well as an entity. They don't put public feedback via ads so the user doesn't have any clue how effective they are.