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I actually disagree. Ubuntu has a lot of telemetry on by default (unlike Deepin, they disclose this, but I'm pointing this out) and for many years, Canonical re

I actually disagree. Ubuntu has a lot of telemetry on by default (unlike Deepin, they disclose this, but I'm pointing this out) and for many years, Canonical really tried to push the whole account login thing (RIP Ubuntu One). Not to mention the time Ubuntu inserted Amazon affiliate links into the search app (which to their credit, they eventually removed -- tho the Amazon app that was just an affiliate launcher didn't go away until LAST YEAR). In fact, I would argue that most distributions with a focus on user interface and usability tend to have a lot more of the things that macOS and Windows have, like user accounts (tied to app stores or whatever), giving back telemetry (which is often really, really important for developers to have), or are part of major enterprise servicing agreements that have a lot of tracking and management by design. Plus, whether you use a Mac, Windows, or Linux, most users are going to be using Chrome as their web browser, almost certainly attached to a Google account, watching Netflix, using a cloud service for storage, and what, playing games using Proton, which is sure giving Steam a whole lot of your data. The web won and the web surveils us. It just does. If it makes you feel better that your chosen distro doesn't have as many options enabled by default and that you can't have a common user account to sync settings across multiple desktops, that's awesome. But I think that ignores a fundamental way humans use computers and the web -- regardless of OS. You're being surveilled. Linux isn't going to save you.

hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago
> I actually disagree. Of course you disagree because it's your job. Satya Nadella himself makes sure you try to sway the opinion here in favor of your company [0]: "In fact, this morning, I was reading a news article in Hacker News, which is a community where we have been working hard to make sure that Azure is growing in popularity and I was pleasantly surprised to see that we have made a lot of progress..." Hint: criticizing Linux in such a heavy-handed way won't work that well. [0 ]https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/events/FY-2019/earnings-fy-2019-q1.aspx https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/events/FY-2019/earn...
- md8z 5y ago
  Please don't be so cynical. I don't work for Microsoft, I've been using Linux for about 20 years and I haven't used Windows seriously in about that long, and I agree entirely with her comment. Once you go adding all the things to Linux that Windows users want, it starts to look a lot like Windows in more than one way...
- filmgirlcw 5y ago
  Actually, that isn't my job. In fact, very few comments I have made on HN have ever had any association with what I actually do -- and that is by design. I don't speak for my employer, and I'm certainly not astroturfing here. Hint: Being a jerk to people online using a random account makes you look like an asshole.
  - hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago
    I'm not talking about you specifically, but Microsoft employees in general that Nadella says are working hard in order to sway the opinion of HN users towards you ("you" meaning again not you personally but your company). EDIT: To clarify: I don't know how this works in practice, I assumed accounts explicitly identified as belonging to Microsoft employees are used, so that Nadella can open HN in the morning and assess the efficacy of your (plural) advocacy efforts. That's why I initially not excluded you could be one of these people as you have introduced yourself as an advocacy person at Microsoft. Now that you said you are not, I see no reason not to believe you. But it doesn't invalidate the fact that other Microsoft employees are trying to game HN and that this activity is very important for your CEO.
Zababa 5y ago
> Canonical really tried to push the whole account login thing And yet Ubuntu has no "account login thing", and Windows has one. If Ubuntu is doing thing you dislike, it can be easily forked (that's a bit what Pop does, and it works well). > If it makes you feel better that your chosen distro doesn't have as many options enabled by default and that you can't have a common user account to sync settings across multiple desktops, that's awesome. But I think that ignores a fundamental way humans use computers and the web -- regardless of OS. You're being surveilled. Linux isn't going to save you. I'm glad I'm not using Windows if that's the opinion of a developer advocate at Microsoft.
smoldesu 5y ago
Can you link me to the source code where these egregious privacy concerns are taking place? I'd love to open an issue if you're reluctant to.
msla 5y ago
> Ubuntu has a lot of telemetry on by default (unlike Deepin, they disclose this, but I'm pointing this out) and for many years, Canonical really tried to push the whole account login thing (RIP Ubuntu One). You can try to make me conflate Linux and Ubuntu but I'm not going to. Debian and Slackware don't have those kinds of things, and, more to the point, you can use the Linux kernel without those kinds of things. It's both technically and legally possible. Can't really say that about Windows or macOS. > like user accounts (tied to app stores or whatever) No, most package repos don't require user accounts. > giving back telemetry (which is often really, really important for developers to have) Plenty of developers manage just fine without it. The developers of most of the software on a Linux system, for example, with the exception of mainstream web browsers. > or are part of major enterprise servicing agreements that have a lot of tracking and management by design. Enterprise is Enterprise. They're off in a world all their own. > But I think that ignores a fundamental way humans use computers and the web -- regardless of OS. You're being surveilled. Linux isn't going to save you. Inviting the surveillance into my home is different from being watched when I go outside.

hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago

> I actually disagree. Of course you disagree because it's your job. Satya Nadella himself makes sure you try to sway the opinion here in favor of your company [0]: "In fact, this morning, I was reading a news article in Hacker News, which is a community where we have been working hard to make sure that Azure is growing in popularity and I was pleasantly surprised to see that we have made a lot of progress..." Hint: criticizing Linux in such a heavy-handed way won't work that well. [0 ]https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/events/FY-2019/earnings-fy-2019-q1.aspx https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/events/FY-2019/earn...

md8z 5y ago
Please don't be so cynical. I don't work for Microsoft, I've been using Linux for about 20 years and I haven't used Windows seriously in about that long, and I agree entirely with her comment. Once you go adding all the things to Linux that Windows users want, it starts to look a lot like Windows in more than one way...
filmgirlcw 5y ago
Actually, that isn't my job. In fact, very few comments I have made on HN have ever had any association with what I actually do -- and that is by design. I don't speak for my employer, and I'm certainly not astroturfing here. Hint: Being a jerk to people online using a random account makes you look like an asshole.
- hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago
  I'm not talking about you specifically, but Microsoft employees in general that Nadella says are working hard in order to sway the opinion of HN users towards you ("you" meaning again not you personally but your company). EDIT: To clarify: I don't know how this works in practice, I assumed accounts explicitly identified as belonging to Microsoft employees are used, so that Nadella can open HN in the morning and assess the efficacy of your (plural) advocacy efforts. That's why I initially not excluded you could be one of these people as you have introduced yourself as an advocacy person at Microsoft. Now that you said you are not, I see no reason not to believe you. But it doesn't invalidate the fact that other Microsoft employees are trying to game HN and that this activity is very important for your CEO.

Zababa 5y ago

> Canonical really tried to push the whole account login thing And yet Ubuntu has no "account login thing", and Windows has one. If Ubuntu is doing thing you dislike, it can be easily forked (that's a bit what Pop does, and it works well). > If it makes you feel better that your chosen distro doesn't have as many options enabled by default and that you can't have a common user account to sync settings across multiple desktops, that's awesome. But I think that ignores a fundamental way humans use computers and the web -- regardless of OS. You're being surveilled. Linux isn't going to save you. I'm glad I'm not using Windows if that's the opinion of a developer advocate at Microsoft.

smoldesu 5y ago

Can you link me to the source code where these egregious privacy concerns are taking place? I'd love to open an issue if you're reluctant to.

msla 5y ago

> Ubuntu has a lot of telemetry on by default (unlike Deepin, they disclose this, but I'm pointing this out) and for many years, Canonical really tried to push the whole account login thing (RIP Ubuntu One). You can try to make me conflate Linux and Ubuntu but I'm not going to. Debian and Slackware don't have those kinds of things, and, more to the point, you can use the Linux kernel without those kinds of things. It's both technically and legally possible. Can't really say that about Windows or macOS. > like user accounts (tied to app stores or whatever) No, most package repos don't require user accounts. > giving back telemetry (which is often really, really important for developers to have) Plenty of developers manage just fine without it. The developers of most of the software on a Linux system, for example, with the exception of mainstream web browsers. > or are part of major enterprise servicing agreements that have a lot of tracking and management by design. Enterprise is Enterprise. They're off in a world all their own. > But I think that ignores a fundamental way humans use computers and the web -- regardless of OS. You're being surveilled. Linux isn't going to save you. Inviting the surveillance into my home is different from being watched when I go outside.