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There are still those of us who don't support total surveillance and will not stand for it. Were probably more traditional Unix people and not so embroiled in t
by hp50g 14y ago
There are still those of us who don't support total surveillance and will not stand for it. Were probably more traditional Unix people and not so embroiled in technology. Everyone else has been got if you ask me through media, social pressure or plain old apathy.
However it's worse than just web sites. I've worked for a nefarious company who feeds of data like theirs. I came to my senses when asked to do things which destroyed my ethics and quit to make amends.
At risk of promoting a fanatic, stallman was right for many years. Once a fanatic, then a told you so, then a visionary. I genuinely was brainwashed to think the guy was nuts until I saw it all with my own eyes.
Some things you can do:
* sign out of Facebook forever. There is no point in deleting your profile. Real friends meet you in real life.
* close your google account. It just follows you like a leaky passport.
* get a dumbphone and turn it off all day unless you need it for emergencies.
* read books instead of use e-readers.
* host your own mail and web services at home. Use SSL (with own CA), SSH and encrypt your email if sensitive.
* ask yourself is your employer really doing ethical work. No? Find somewhere else. This is the hardest bit - it took me 10 years to find somewhere ethical.
* use cash, particularly when shopping in large chains or on public transport systems.
* use Firefox only, with adblock and ghostery.
There are probably more.
- speeder 14y agoI am very proud to say that my associate was very happy to build a highly ethical company with me. We make apps for children, and don't put ads, IAP, or content that might cause bad behavior, for example one of the apps I took out a character holding candy before lunch. Too bad this gave no competitive advantage, but lots of disadvantages, thus I must be happy that the money people in the company let this strong ethical opinion.
- hp50g 14y agoGood for you. I wish you both the best as an ethical company.
- MoreMoschops 14y ago"read books instead of use e-readers." How necessary is that? Does it depend on the eReader? I use a Sony 300 series (which I personally think is about the high point of the eReader evolution, with the exception of the 350 for more screen space in an almost identical sized casing) which is as thankfully dumb and disconnected as eReaders get. It plugs in like an external hard drive and I simply copy epub files onto it. You couldn't pay me to have a kindle (well, you could, but you'd have to pay me a lot and I'd just sell it and get another Sony).
- hp50g 14y agoThere are two issues with e-readers which need to be considered. One is obvious, the other is not. 1. e-readers like the Kobo, Kindle, Nook etc (ones tied to a store) phone home and report reading progress and are DRM encumbered. The Kobo even gamifies reading which is just insane if you ask me. 2. The second issue applies to all e-readers and that is that they promote distribution of epub files. The source of epub files is usually illegitimate (as everyone pushes stuff through stores) and the hosts are about as dodgy as can be as well. Books can also change hands easily. If you're going to get an e-reader, your approach is the best.