3 ms·

I mean, the building blocks are there, but so much has moved into "the cloud". You can't run Just Photoshop anymore, you can only run CC that sends all your ima

I mean, the building blocks are there, but so much has moved into "the cloud". You can't run Just Photoshop anymore, you can only run CC that sends all your images to them, you can't run Word without running Office 365, you cant run most games without Steam, etc etc. And all of the exciting new software is -As-A-Service So while there's more options now for homelab things the overall ecosystem has moved strongly away so there's a lot more to avoid

DerekL 2y ago
What's this about Photoshop? As far as I can tell, using cloud storage is an option in Photoshop, it's not required.
- spencerflem 2y ago
  The only way you can buy it is with cloud included as a subscription
  - DerekL 2y ago
    You said > you can only run CC that sends all your images to them It doesn’t send all your images to Adobe, it only sends the ones you choose to save in the cloud. If you want to complain about having to subscribe to the software instead of purchasing outright, then do that. Don’t complain about something that isn’t happening.
    - spencerflem 2y ago
      It's the key feature that makes it Creative Cloud, didn't mean to imply that it was scanning offline files. They do use the images you upload to train their (non-generative) AI for things like background removal.
- MiddleEndian 2y ago
  Aside from the Cloud bullshit, Photoshop's auto-update is a pain. After some regression I disabled updates right after they fixed it. But recently when I open Photoshop, it's started giving me a nagging popup about being out-of-date. It's done more-or-less the same thing for many years, just take my subscription money and leave me alone!
  - spencerflem 2y ago
    I still have my 2006 copy of CS4. Took me till last year to find a feature I'm bummed about not having (new brush files aren't always compatible)
keyringlight 2y ago
One of the aspects I've wondered about is the software bundled with either the OS or by the device manufacturer. When PCs (broadly, not just IBM compatibles) were penetrating into the home market they would often come with a suite of tools or demos to show what it could do, or let you create things even if they were the basic editions. Before the internet became part of the furniture, if you'd spent several hundreds on some hot technology there was a good chance you'd buy print magazines for it as well, and they would come with cover discs that exposed people to a lot of what was possible with computing. Without wanting to sound like a stick in the mud, the focus of computing has definitely changed now. I see it as an interesting thought exercise on how to get someone running around with what is usually a marvel of computing in their pocket to try and imagine that is not the apex of computing, whether to explore what other means of computing offer or what comes next besides a slightly better version of what we have now.
- BrenBarn 2y ago
  > I see it as an interesting thought exercise on how to get someone running around with what is usually a marvel of computing in their pocket to try and imagine that is not the apex of computing, whether to explore what other means of computing offer or what comes next besides a slightly better version of what we have now. That is a great way of thinking about it and I'm curious what you've come up with. I think it's a pretty hard sell for most people, especially for things like messaging that have become very central to daily life. Also, there's a big difference between convincing someone to try something a bit less mainstream and convincing them to reject the mainstream version. Like, you may be able to get someone to install LibreOffice but it's a lot harder to get them to uninstall Excel. Anecdotally, I've found that people who have some other kind of retro/niche/subculture interest can be somewhat more receptive to the idea that the newest thing isn't necessarily the greatest. Like someone who's into hunting for vintage clothes, or woodworking, or whatever. Ironically such people are on average more tech-averse than a typical "normie", but they often understand the concept that it can be useful to actually put effort into getting something that's not just whatever's handed to you. In a way the insidious aspect of recent tech is the way it's conditioned people to expect that they shouldn't have to think much about how to do things, and to just want "smart" technology that reduces decisions.
cynicalsecurity 2y ago
Gimp, LibreOffice, Gog.
- spencerflem 2y ago
  I love free software, but gimp is not as good as 2006 photoshop and libreoffice is not as good as 2007 word. Gog & itch & humble are great and as good as steam if they have what you want but the collection is a lot smaller
  - Dalewyn 2y ago
    My $dayjob involves lots of officework as in paperwork. You bet your fucking ass I'm using Microsoft Office and reliant on it to a bloody fault. I literally and sincerely can't rely on LibreOffice to open and save documents in ways that everyone else would. If I use LibreOffice then at best I'll embarass myself, at worst I'll waste someone's time and either way I risk losing business for no good reason. A Microsoft 365 subscription (or even buying an Office 2024 license) is chump change because I know I am speaking Industry, not Libre. Nobody understands nor gives a damn about Libre in the real, professional world because the lingua franca is Industry aka Microsoft Office.
    - spencerflem 2y ago
      Totally agreed, with that said, anything at a company using company resources isn't exactly personal computing
      - BlandDuck 2y ago
        But corporate computing is also suffering from the deteriorating user experience. I have access to large amounts of harware and software through my employer. And while Microsoft Office is unavoidable, I hate it everytime I open Word or Excel (daily), even if it is on my company machine. The privacy concerns are arguable even more concerning on a company machine. I wish there was a feasible alternative.
    - 2y ago
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

DerekL 2y ago

What's this about Photoshop? As far as I can tell, using cloud storage is an option in Photoshop, it's not required.

spencerflem 2y ago
The only way you can buy it is with cloud included as a subscription
- DerekL 2y ago
  You said > you can only run CC that sends all your images to them It doesn’t send all your images to Adobe, it only sends the ones you choose to save in the cloud. If you want to complain about having to subscribe to the software instead of purchasing outright, then do that. Don’t complain about something that isn’t happening.
  - spencerflem 2y ago
    It's the key feature that makes it Creative Cloud, didn't mean to imply that it was scanning offline files. They do use the images you upload to train their (non-generative) AI for things like background removal.
MiddleEndian 2y ago
Aside from the Cloud bullshit, Photoshop's auto-update is a pain. After some regression I disabled updates right after they fixed it. But recently when I open Photoshop, it's started giving me a nagging popup about being out-of-date. It's done more-or-less the same thing for many years, just take my subscription money and leave me alone!
- spencerflem 2y ago
  I still have my 2006 copy of CS4. Took me till last year to find a feature I'm bummed about not having (new brush files aren't always compatible)

keyringlight 2y ago

One of the aspects I've wondered about is the software bundled with either the OS or by the device manufacturer. When PCs (broadly, not just IBM compatibles) were penetrating into the home market they would often come with a suite of tools or demos to show what it could do, or let you create things even if they were the basic editions. Before the internet became part of the furniture, if you'd spent several hundreds on some hot technology there was a good chance you'd buy print magazines for it as well, and they would come with cover discs that exposed people to a lot of what was possible with computing. Without wanting to sound like a stick in the mud, the focus of computing has definitely changed now. I see it as an interesting thought exercise on how to get someone running around with what is usually a marvel of computing in their pocket to try and imagine that is not the apex of computing, whether to explore what other means of computing offer or what comes next besides a slightly better version of what we have now.

BrenBarn 2y ago
> I see it as an interesting thought exercise on how to get someone running around with what is usually a marvel of computing in their pocket to try and imagine that is not the apex of computing, whether to explore what other means of computing offer or what comes next besides a slightly better version of what we have now. That is a great way of thinking about it and I'm curious what you've come up with. I think it's a pretty hard sell for most people, especially for things like messaging that have become very central to daily life. Also, there's a big difference between convincing someone to try something a bit less mainstream and convincing them to reject the mainstream version. Like, you may be able to get someone to install LibreOffice but it's a lot harder to get them to uninstall Excel. Anecdotally, I've found that people who have some other kind of retro/niche/subculture interest can be somewhat more receptive to the idea that the newest thing isn't necessarily the greatest. Like someone who's into hunting for vintage clothes, or woodworking, or whatever. Ironically such people are on average more tech-averse than a typical "normie", but they often understand the concept that it can be useful to actually put effort into getting something that's not just whatever's handed to you. In a way the insidious aspect of recent tech is the way it's conditioned people to expect that they shouldn't have to think much about how to do things, and to just want "smart" technology that reduces decisions.

cynicalsecurity 2y ago

Gimp, LibreOffice, Gog.

spencerflem 2y ago
I love free software, but gimp is not as good as 2006 photoshop and libreoffice is not as good as 2007 word. Gog & itch & humble are great and as good as steam if they have what you want but the collection is a lot smaller
- Dalewyn 2y ago
  My $dayjob involves lots of officework as in paperwork. You bet your fucking ass I'm using Microsoft Office and reliant on it to a bloody fault. I literally and sincerely can't rely on LibreOffice to open and save documents in ways that everyone else would. If I use LibreOffice then at best I'll embarass myself, at worst I'll waste someone's time and either way I risk losing business for no good reason. A Microsoft 365 subscription (or even buying an Office 2024 license) is chump change because I know I am speaking Industry, not Libre. Nobody understands nor gives a damn about Libre in the real, professional world because the lingua franca is Industry aka Microsoft Office.
  - spencerflem 2y ago
    Totally agreed, with that said, anything at a company using company resources isn't exactly personal computing
    - BlandDuck 2y ago
      But corporate computing is also suffering from the deteriorating user experience. I have access to large amounts of harware and software through my employer. And while Microsoft Office is unavoidable, I hate it everytime I open Word or Excel (daily), even if it is on my company machine. The privacy concerns are arguable even more concerning on a company machine. I wish there was a feasible alternative.
  - 2y ago

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]