3 ms·

Microsoft is very good at it too.

ryandrake 3y ago
It’s a problem that spans across all modern operating systems. Even if they are not taking up 100% CPU, they are running and that’s still a problem. Just look at Windows Task Manager or Apple’s Activity Monitor (or even Linux ps on some problematic distributions). There are always dozens (hundreds?) of unknown daemons sitting there doing god knows what on a computer that is supposed to be yours. How did we users allow this to happen? I long for the days when all that was running on your computer were things you commanded it to run, not things that the OS vendor wants running at all times for whatever (nefarious or otherwise) purpose.
- dirtyhippiefree 3y ago
  > How did we users allow this to happen? Divide and Conquer. Millions of users against •one• company. Resistance is futile. Users adapt.
  - musicale 3y ago
    Well, Google + Apple + Microsoft + Canonical are at least 4 companies.
- jalk 3y ago
  Those days are still here if you think you have the time for it. I.e. https://www.linuxfromscratch.org/ https://www.linuxfromscratch.org/
  - nottorp 3y ago
    Eh I did that. I've also installed Slackware from floppies and recompiled my kernel for the proper drivers, which came before it. Atm Mac OS seems like the least shitty option (mind, not the best, there is no best) so I mainly use that.
- musicale 3y ago
  People like the convenience of cloud services (cloud storage and backup, easy file sharing, data and password sync across devices, etc.) and multi-device integration (cross-device drag/drop/copy/paste, continuity, call/conference transfer across devices, etc.) but these tend to be implemented with lots of daemons - which makes sense vs. a huge monolithic cloud/services daemon. Another cause is that Apple and Microsoft are now service vendors, and they want to sell you subscriptions to Apple {Music,Arcade,TV+...} or Xbox Game Pass, and they also have app stores where they want you to buy things. The services and apps aren't necessarily bad, but everyone doesn't necessarily want every service, and they add more daemons which seem to run even if you're not using the service. Managed systems for companies and schools also seem to add more daemons to the OS, even non personal, non-managed systems. Finally, security has been a terrible issue, since mainstream operating systems and apps were not designed to be secure (which admittedly is very hard! and threats keep evolving) and customers have largely voted with their wallets for features and performance over security and reliability. Apple and Microsoft have tried to become more security-conscious but this has also made the systems less usable and added anti-malware daemons that do annoying things like phoning home to check if an app's developer certificate has been revoked, or repeatedly re-scanning files to see if they match a newly updated list of malware signatures.

It’s a problem that spans across all modern operating systems. Even if they are not taking up 100% CPU, they are running and that’s still a problem. Just look at Windows Task Manager or Apple’s Activity Monitor (or even Linux ps on some problematic distributions). There are always dozens (hundreds?) of unknown daemons sitting there doing god knows what on a computer that is supposed to be yours. How did we users allow this to happen? I long for the days when all that was running on your computer were things you commanded it to run, not things that the OS vendor wants running at all times for whatever (nefarious or otherwise) purpose.

dirtyhippiefree 3y ago
> How did we users allow this to happen? Divide and Conquer. Millions of users against •one• company. Resistance is futile. Users adapt.
- musicale 3y ago
  Well, Google + Apple + Microsoft + Canonical are at least 4 companies.
jalk 3y ago
Those days are still here if you think you have the time for it. I.e. https://www.linuxfromscratch.org/ https://www.linuxfromscratch.org/
- nottorp 3y ago
  Eh I did that. I've also installed Slackware from floppies and recompiled my kernel for the proper drivers, which came before it. Atm Mac OS seems like the least shitty option (mind, not the best, there is no best) so I mainly use that.
musicale 3y ago
People like the convenience of cloud services (cloud storage and backup, easy file sharing, data and password sync across devices, etc.) and multi-device integration (cross-device drag/drop/copy/paste, continuity, call/conference transfer across devices, etc.) but these tend to be implemented with lots of daemons - which makes sense vs. a huge monolithic cloud/services daemon. Another cause is that Apple and Microsoft are now service vendors, and they want to sell you subscriptions to Apple {Music,Arcade,TV+...} or Xbox Game Pass, and they also have app stores where they want you to buy things. The services and apps aren't necessarily bad, but everyone doesn't necessarily want every service, and they add more daemons which seem to run even if you're not using the service. Managed systems for companies and schools also seem to add more daemons to the OS, even non personal, non-managed systems. Finally, security has been a terrible issue, since mainstream operating systems and apps were not designed to be secure (which admittedly is very hard! and threats keep evolving) and customers have largely voted with their wallets for features and performance over security and reliability. Apple and Microsoft have tried to become more security-conscious but this has also made the systems less usable and added anti-malware daemons that do annoying things like phoning home to check if an app's developer certificate has been revoked, or repeatedly re-scanning files to see if they match a newly updated list of malware signatures.