4 ms·
Enshittification! Microsoft used to earn a lot of revenue from selling perpetual software licenses (like any software company in the 1990s). Now they've pivote
by chongli 2y ago
Enshittification!
Microsoft used to earn a lot of revenue from selling perpetual software licenses (like any software company in the 1990s). Now they've pivoted over to services, SaaS, and ad-driven freemium software (Windows itself). They're not seeing any growth in Windows installs (and haven't in years), so in order to continue growing they've got to enshittify the existing install base!
- gjsman-1000 2y agoCan we please not use the word that makes us sound like whining adolescents? (No apologies Cory Doctorow)
- rererereferred 2y agoCan we call things as they are? We are all adults here.
- larodi 2y ago[flagged]
- Spivak 2y agoBecause people recognize dog whistles when they see them. Calling Adderall amphetamines is literally correct, the generic is "amphetamine salts." Nobody denies it and so there's no reason to point it out in a discussion except as a means to tie someone's medication to the existing negative associations people have with amphetamines/speed/meth.
- lagniappe 2y agoMeth also is a prescribed medication in the form of Desoxyn
- larodi 2y agoReply is absolutely relevant to the sub thread discussing freedom of expression by grownups. It also successfully makes a point. No dog whistle here, no conspiracy theory, no offense, no rude speech, no nothing that you can read as a bait. Sorry the intent was different.
- linguae 2y agoAs a semi-functioning adult, I am sympathetic to the argument that the term “enshittification,” while accurate, is also too vulgar of a term in some settings. It’s one thing to use it on Hacker News, but I personally wouldn’t use this term at church or when talking to K-12 students. Not everything can be PG-13 all the time; sometimes we need G-rated language. There needs to be a more professional-sounding, G-rated term that describes the degradation of quality of software services.
- gjsman-1000 2y agoIf I was Apple or Microsoft, convincing people to use the term “enshittification” is actually the best possible outcome. Nobody can use it in a TV ad. Nobody can use it in political messaging. Nobody can use it in G-rated settings. Nobody can use it in a party platform. Nobody can use it on the debate stage. Nobody can use it in marketing on why they are better. Nobody can use it in a courtroom without being accused of bias. Nobody can use it who is generally soft-spoken or has strong cultural inhibitions. The term itself silences speech. Anyone who calls this out is labeled a prude, which is perfect from a corporate planning point of view. The only possible better outcome would be to use the term “assholeification” or something stronger. Call it “companies fucking with consumers” - that’s even better from a PR perspective.
- zmgsabst 2y agoWhy not use “degradation of software services” when you want to be staid — and let everyone else use the term they want? Inventing jargon with the intention of being boring is just hiding the issue with euphemisms.
- CooCooCaCha 2y agoYou’re just trying to shift the narrative to using a less impactful term.
- omoikane 2y agoRegardless of whether the word is vulgar, I often see it thrown around as a meme that has became overused. Even if the original phrase used different words, they will become less and less meaningful once they start appearing in every other comment thread.
- CooCooCaCha 2y agoThings that are “adult” or “mature” tend to reinforce the status quo and reduce the probability of change. Think about why you dislike the word “enshittification”, it’s likely because the word is both very direct and is based on a swear word. These both give the word impact and switching to a word that doesn’t have these properties would likely have less impact and be less likely to catch people’s attention. Digging even deeper there is also a class dynamic as swear words are considered lower class. I don’t want to write an essay so I won’t go in-depth but “adult” and “mature” could also be considered code for “imitating the upper class” as the upper class loves to protect its identity and uses these dynamics in their favor. Consider for example how, historically, dressing in a suit is both considered upper class and mature, but what function does a suit really have? The primary function is signaling to other people. The point I’m making is that the upper class generally doesn’t want change, they want to keep their status and power. So many of the things we consider “adult” or “mature” tend to really be imitating the upper class and indirectly maintaining their power and the status quo.
- Brian_K_White 2y agoThis is actual whining dude.
- bee_rider 2y agoWhether swearing sounds childish is a cultural convention, particularly in the case of such a mild swear as “shit.” My experience is that it is not something that carries this baggage you describe for the typical person. Of course we’re both commenting from inside our bubbles.
- gjsman-1000 2y agoI think you completely missed my point. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41820447 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41820447
- CooCooCaCha 2y agoThese are cultural conventions and they also help enforce the status quo by pushing us to use less impactful language.
- bee_rider 2y agoI guess I did miss your point, I thought by “we” you meant us currently in this conversation here, instead of some other hypothetical situation. In that case, sure, it would be good to have a sanitized named to describe the thing. Enshittification seems to have found resonance with the folks who engage with tech often, so I think it is a good term for us as. But maybe something like “abusive platform cash-in” would be a better name in other contexts.
- wk_end 2y agoNeither here nor there, but in my cultural context (Anglo-Canadian, middle millennial) “shit” is usually considered one of the most vulgar swear words (second only to “fuck”) outside of the slurs.
- dijksterhuis 2y agoas a brit living in scotland, there are much worse swearwords. we use them on a daily basis here. vulgarity and or beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- vezycash 2y agoIt's change for the sake of change. Features unrelated to the cloud, like Notepad, Calculator, Control Panel, context menus, and now File Explorer, are constantly being tweaked and nerfed.
- soraminazuki 2y agoI could never have imagined this coming back in the '00s. Like it or not, Windows was miles ahead of Linux in terms of usability. Their business practices were terrible as ever for sure, but it was not an OS that constantly tried to screw over the user at every chance it could get. Fast forward 20 years later, Windows is a UX nightmare cramming in a barrage of user-hostile changes every month. It's the least usable desktop operating system out there. What the heck happened?
- bee_rider 2y agoYes, this is sort of my perspective to. Well, I switched around 2010, maybe a bit earlier, so I wasn’t on Linux during the real heyday of Windows villainy. But there were lingering sentiments. It is and odd sort of sentimentality to look at them and say “wow, how did they go from competently evil to just embarrassing.” Time makes IBMs of us all I guess.
- hulitu 2y ago> What the heck happened? They talk directly to CEOs who have no idea about SW. The CEOs buy their crap and the employee must use it.
- hulitu 2y ago> freemium software (Windows itself). Last time i looked, you had to pay money for a Windows licence.
- n_plus_1_acc 2y agoIt doesn't have any effect, except that you can't change the desktop wallpaper.