3 ms·
Thanks for more insight into this issue. > If a desktop computer example is not enough, look at how Android phones have increasingly tightened down everything.
by rollcat 4y ago
Thanks for more insight into this issue.
> If a desktop computer example is not enough, look at how Android phones have increasingly tightened down everything. You can't just take any model and install a custom OS (aka ROM in Android community). It was universally easy 10 years ago, that's why Cyanogenmod became so popular. Now your choices are very limited.
This is exactly the area where I would double down on the "vote with your wallet" argument. There is enough variety and choice in the Android ecosystem, and if you do really care about running LineageOS / GrapheneOS / PostmarketOS / etc, you probably already know what your options are.
> With this I just want to say the wallet argument doesn't work when something slowly becomes the status quo and it takes experts/activists to fight back (a minority by numbers).
You will always be able to buy hardware and support vendors that are explicitly non-hostile. System76, Frame.work, MNT... More maintstream options also exist, Dell was shipping laptops with Ubuntu as far as in 2006 (I remember it was big news at the time, I don't know how is it like nowadays). Even Apple seems committed to allowing (quietly encouraging?) third-party OS's, so I'm watching the progress on Asahi as well.
> A great thread and arguments provided here, how Microsoft [...] will not sign anything GPLv3 for SecureBoot
Complex licenses result in complex issues. I understand why FSF chose to design that license the way they did, but it's my personal opinion that they've caused more harm to the users of their software with it than they've done good. Software has value when it can be used. If I can't use it (e.g. because my vendor won't ship it), it has no value to me.
I don't understand why Free Software advocates want their users on non-free platforms to suffer. Just a couple days ago someone on HN suggested that GIMP shouldn't have been ported to M1 Macs[0]. Emacs disables already-working features, because support exists only on macOS[1]. The BSDs had to ship with years, almost decades old forks of GCC[2]. I think these moves are an underhanded attack on the users' four software freedoms. I might have no choice of operating system (e.g. because this is what my employer mandates, this is the hardware that I was able to afford, there is other non-free software I must run to earn my living, etc), and FSF/RMS think I should be punished for that.
From my (user's) point of view, neither FSF nor MS care at all about what benefits me - the user, and instead just want to play out some petty political conflict.
[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34392834 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34392834
[1]: http://xahlee.info/emacs/misc/emacs_macos_emoji.html http://xahlee.info/emacs/misc/emacs_macos_emoji.html
[2]: https://man.openbsd.org/gcc-local.1 https://man.openbsd.org/gcc-local.1
> But if I followed through, then still the weakest point is/becomes the keyboard.
Nope, keyboard has no more importance than any other part of the device. Once an adversary has physical access, all bets are off. Nuke it from the orbit, restore from backups, and rotate all credentials.
- PinkSheep 4y agoAbout choosing phones: I agree, but for newbies the realization may come after the purchase. And the custom ROM experiment may be postponed until the next purchase... and then forever. I have had a good example of a late realization where choosing the right iirc car/phone in advance would have been needed to avoid incompatibility, but I forgot what it was. About the laptops: I looked at Tuxedo first, I liked the big battery but disliked the rest. As I continued reading, I found out they are reusing OEM laptop chassis, so their only contribution is branding an a distro customization (probably to integrate it better with hardware). I suppose it's what most others do too. After this realization I began looking at mainstream manufacturers and "compromised" on a good model without an OS pre-installed or proprietary plugs. Would I want to compromise on price or features to set a clear signal? At least MS didn't get paid for the license :) About FSF: oh that Emacs story is terrible. Outside of this idiotic disablement, I can understand both sides. "I cater to users, but at the same time I don't want to spend my time enriching an Apple/MS ecosystem for free". Ranted about by wm4 of mpv[1]. This doesn't apply to willing maintainers :) [1]: https://web.archive.org/web/20200709194653/https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/commit/a20ae0417f2d1e1a2c173f5eaf66a81974df0008 https://web.archive.org/web/20200709194653/https://github.co... Another point about GPL licensing was brought up in no pretty words by digdeeper[2]. Someplaces twisting words and the intended logic, but it is an argument close to OpenBSDs: > GPLv3 is (in our opinion) not actually free, and we are not able import anything encumbered by it. GCC 2.4.1 and Binutils 2.17 are the last GPLv2 releases. [2]: https://web.archive.org/web/20210122132451/https://digdeeper.neocities.org/ghost/freetardism.html https://web.archive.org/web/20210122132451/https://digdeeper... My own conclusion: if you want a revolution, an opposition to the closed source (enterprise world) then you show it with a GPL license. To make sure the fruits of your labor are not exploited and only the FOSS part of the software world grows richer. You see where the rhetoric is going. The good examples are coreutils and GNU libc. The bad examples: only few giant companies care to follow the license terms. Many avoid GPL, many exploit it ignoring the terms. TLDR: If you want improve some part of computing in the world, BSD or MIT. If you want to have a FOSS project, a variant of GPL (imho). About politics: I wonder how many are actually still developers and not some... non-developing profession? Although FSFE (Europe; with no affiliation to FSF) exists, I was surprised to learn they only have lawyer and related positions to offer. No development happening apparently.