Ask HN: What nags you about the software you used last week? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What nags you about the software you used last week?

Before Slack was born, some people used Teamspeak but wished it would be searchable.

For me, I would love to control the UI of the services that I use. Just 3 months ago my bank decided to roll out a new UI. I still need time finding the click path for doing things I used to be able to do quickly and predictably. I wish that I could have just kept my old UI. Similarly to backwards compatibility for code-based APIs.

Anything that nags you about the software you used last week?

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> Anything that nags you about the software you used last week?

Last week I had to log into some systems using the software from companies convicted of criminal offences, which include monopolism, bribery, fraud, harassment, racism, sexism, digital trespass/computer misuse, amongst other things.

It nags my conscience me a little, because my use of these systems effectively lends my support to criminals, which I do not want to do.

Unfortunately my choices are curtailed because these criminal organisations have insinuated themselves into essential private and government services, and their actions as monopolists have killed alternatives.

This seems ethically wrong. I believe it's my right not to be forced to support people who in the eyes of society have been deemed to inflict objective and real harm upon others. So, I look forward to laws that uphold that right to choose ethically.

I wonder if anyone else has ethical issues with software they need to use?

First, I would also have ethical issues about this! And I have many friends who would agree.

What you described reads like the plot of a major newspaper story to me. Did you ever consider taking this to a journalist? There are sites where journalists are asking people for interesting stories. This seems to fit very nicely! The government spending people's money to monopolist companies with criminal records.

And while there is no guarantee, this might be the most influential action you could do in order to get your sought after alternatives earlier rather than later.

What might also help is discovering a neologism for this type of (government) misbehavior e.g. "does your government/this organization also X" where X is an alternative to "use software from a company that has a criminal record".

Maybe as easy as: Does that organization use (and pay) for "ciminals' software"?

Or: Does your government use "blood software"? (as in blood diamonds)

In case that you are not comfortable taking this to a journalist or want some help, I am happy to support you!

Yeah man, let's blow the lid on this whole sordid "Blood Software" caper. Since it's bound to require abseiling into high security buildings for evidence, and end in car chases and a shootout, maybe let's forget the newspapers and go straight for the film rights. What do you reckon Spielberg, Scorsese, Tarantino?

"In a world where code can kill... Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the keyboard..."

Or maybe Woody Allen because it seems best to diffuse these things with humour than risk facing them. :)

Office 365 upgrade of Outlook. For a while now it had been bugging me with a "restart outlook to try our new look" banner, but on friday it forcibly restarted. I know ina few weeks I'll get used to it, but I hate it when right in the middle of working I have to stop, dismiss a whole bunch of stupid "got it" popups explaining how I could do things I don't want to, and come to grips with the fact that all the UI features I use have been moved or hidden.

Also, just realized I better go see what personal info it's back to harvesting, resetting privacy settings seems to be a big part of each upgrade.

Anyway, I want software that has a stable, boring UI, short of some major, noncosmetic change. Changing fonts and moving buttons around is not a valid reason to waste your users time. I'm very close to dumping Microsoft, unfortunately they have no competitors.

On Android 12, you can tell individual app that they will get approximate location, but you can't make it the default for all apps?

That Snipping Tool is moving but I don't know from or to where, when or what and why.

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