4 ms·

Google isn't a shining beacon of hope, but I do delight in seeing hurt put on closed ecosystems. The Apple app store is a flat-out threat to human freedom. I

by alrs 13y ago

Google isn't a shining beacon of hope, but I do delight in seeing hurt put on closed ecosystems. The Apple app store is a flat-out threat to human freedom. I do not want to live in a world where the only software available is the software approved by Apple and the governments that have jurisdiction over it. edit: Note that I take no warmth in it being Google. Yes, they are closed. The good news is that HP just offered up "Not Intel" and "Not Microsoft" preloaded in a laptop form factor. The hardware companies are retreating to neutral corners and leaving the OS vendors to duke it out on their own. This is good for free software and good for the web.

zobzu 13y ago
ChromeOS is pretty much closed. You don't have a say on what goes in, you don't have a say on what they're going to do with it, you don't have a say if they want to fully close most of it. In fact, you can only see the parts they let you see (in ChromiumOS), and that is the only difference with Apple or Microsoft (albeit arguyably, Apple also open sources it's kernel)
- Touche 13y ago
  This is not true, there isn't much in ChromeOS that's not in ChromiumOS. You can file bugs on crbug.com and they are positive of most requests. And of course you can fork at any time; Chromium is developed in the open.
- ris 13y ago
  > You don't have a say on what goes in Generally, you remove a washer and you get developer mode. From that point you can change anything. > (albeit arguyably, Apple also open sources it's kernel) When was the last time someone managed to build a binary identical kernel to Apple's from the supplied sources?
jkscm 13y ago
Which one of Google's services is not a closed system?
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
bdcravens 13y ago
Apple's app store is closed, yes; to call it a "flat-out threat to human freedom" is a bit extreme. Restricting some bits isn't an issue of human freedom; buy into a different ecosystem. Google is the greatest machine for data gathering and mining in the history of humanity. (Perhaps the NSA or other 3-letter agency eclipses them, but in the private sector, no one outdoes them) Google's entire purpose for all they do is to get more information so they can show you ads. They have the capability (not the desire, I believe) to censor the Internet in monumental ways. (Imagine shaping search results based on political leanings that my search history suggests) They have a dossier of info on me they can turn over to whom they wish. (Probably won't, but a few public statements doesn't disprove the possibility) Which company, at face value, is "a flat-out threat to human freedom".
pjmlp 13y ago
> This is good for free software and good for the web. What free software? Locked down behind SaaS walls.
- Mikeb85 13y ago
  While most of Google's services (and most SaaS providers) are closed, the web does enable freedom, and is still generally more open than the proprietary binary blobs people install onto their computers. Chromium is open source, Firefox is open source, and as long as the web itself is being advanced, we are more 'free', not locked into MS Windows, OSX, or even Linux or BSD.
  - dman 13y ago
    Lets give up our freedoms to install programs, modify operating systems, write native code, use a programming language of choice, freely deploy native apps to users to get the freedom to consume media inside a browser sandbox.
    - Mikeb85 13y ago
      You can do all that with Chrome OS. It's called developer mode... Advancing the web still makes sense.
      - dman 13y ago
        Does developer mode come with a c/c++ compiler ? can you change the boot loader ? how about install a new shell ? replace the browser ? lets say you come up with a cool hack while in developer mode do you have to convince your friends to run in developer mode too ?
        Mikeb85 13y ago
        Chrome OS uses Gentoo's Portage package manager. So to install say, emacs, you simply do # emerge emacs, or whatever you want to install. Anyhow, there's also plenty of online instructions on how to use Crouton to install Ubuntu onto Chrome OS, the point is that Chrome OS is a full, real Linux distro. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v031udlfY5E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v031udlfY5E

by alrs 13y ago

zobzu 13y ago

ChromeOS is pretty much closed. You don't have a say on what goes in, you don't have a say on what they're going to do with it, you don't have a say if they want to fully close most of it. In fact, you can only see the parts they let you see (in ChromiumOS), and that is the only difference with Apple or Microsoft (albeit arguyably, Apple also open sources it's kernel)

Touche 13y ago
This is not true, there isn't much in ChromeOS that's not in ChromiumOS. You can file bugs on crbug.com and they are positive of most requests. And of course you can fork at any time; Chromium is developed in the open.
ris 13y ago
> You don't have a say on what goes in Generally, you remove a washer and you get developer mode. From that point you can change anything. > (albeit arguyably, Apple also open sources it's kernel) When was the last time someone managed to build a binary identical kernel to Apple's from the supplied sources?

jkscm 13y ago

Which one of Google's services is not a closed system?

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

bdcravens 13y ago

Apple's app store is closed, yes; to call it a "flat-out threat to human freedom" is a bit extreme. Restricting some bits isn't an issue of human freedom; buy into a different ecosystem. Google is the greatest machine for data gathering and mining in the history of humanity. (Perhaps the NSA or other 3-letter agency eclipses them, but in the private sector, no one outdoes them) Google's entire purpose for all they do is to get more information so they can show you ads. They have the capability (not the desire, I believe) to censor the Internet in monumental ways. (Imagine shaping search results based on political leanings that my search history suggests) They have a dossier of info on me they can turn over to whom they wish. (Probably won't, but a few public statements doesn't disprove the possibility) Which company, at face value, is "a flat-out threat to human freedom".

pjmlp 13y ago

> This is good for free software and good for the web. What free software? Locked down behind SaaS walls.

Mikeb85 13y ago
While most of Google's services (and most SaaS providers) are closed, the web does enable freedom, and is still generally more open than the proprietary binary blobs people install onto their computers. Chromium is open source, Firefox is open source, and as long as the web itself is being advanced, we are more 'free', not locked into MS Windows, OSX, or even Linux or BSD.
- dman 13y ago
  Lets give up our freedoms to install programs, modify operating systems, write native code, use a programming language of choice, freely deploy native apps to users to get the freedom to consume media inside a browser sandbox.
  - Mikeb85 13y ago
    You can do all that with Chrome OS. It's called developer mode... Advancing the web still makes sense.
    - dman 13y ago
      Does developer mode come with a c/c++ compiler ? can you change the boot loader ? how about install a new shell ? replace the browser ? lets say you come up with a cool hack while in developer mode do you have to convince your friends to run in developer mode too ?
      - Mikeb85 13y ago
        Chrome OS uses Gentoo's Portage package manager. So to install say, emacs, you simply do # emerge emacs, or whatever you want to install. Anyhow, there's also plenty of online instructions on how to use Crouton to install Ubuntu onto Chrome OS, the point is that Chrome OS is a full, real Linux distro. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v031udlfY5E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v031udlfY5E