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Comment by pugworthy | Hacker News Reader

I mean I get what you're saying as an as-long-as internet user, but that's a bit like saying "I know how unsafe cars are so that's why I don't have one"

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No, it's like saying "I know how unsafe and unreliable all the extra electronic gizmos are that manufacturers like to put in cars, so I'm just buying the base model car that doesn't include all that extra stuff, I just want a basic car". I am exactly like the GP: I don't own any of these devices and don't ever intend to, but that doesn't mean I don't use computers or the Internet. I just don't use computers built by companies that have a demonstrated record of misusing the capabilities of their devices.

But I do know how unsafe cars are so that's why I don't have one. What are you trying to say?

Best example is people who don't want ABS or automatic transmissions because it sacrifices control

More like a senior Japanese car mechanic saying they've seen 25 years of companies building stuff that breaks where it shouldn't, or is impossibly compact to service without hauling the whole engine out of the car. Sort of like a small Audi repair process: step 1) remove car

But in the end you're just not buying a car because you don't trust it - which is foolish.

Not saying don't buy a car, more like don't buy a jaguar... I have lots of consumer electronics but none that are Alexa, Siri or Google home enabled.

A car is sort of essential. Bad comparison.

Living in a place where a car is essential sounds dystopian. I know many towns in the US are like that but it's hard for me to picture living in a society without a functioning public transport.

Places where the population is dense generally have much better public transportation, in the US. I've lived in the deep south for over 8 years and occasionally someone will mention "taking the bus" and it gets me every time. I've seen exactly three buses in those 8 years. Probably all the same bus, but three different times.

Los Angeles is an outlier, but it still has trains and buses, just less than I remember San Francisco having. If I were offered a job in Dallas/Ft Worth I'd honestly look into public transportation there beforehand. I cannot stand driving through and in those cities at all.

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