Autoenshittification
pluralistic.net
pluralistic.net
And sufficiently complex rentier schemes eventually collapse to the commons, because they resemble Ponzis: they get into the business of enslaving their neighbors because that keeps the scheme going. That's why historical empires have a definite lifespan to them.
What we've been going through with rapid progress in computing and networking is a series of these schemes, which have been the basis of "tech" as a distinct industry - IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, etc. At this point everyone is in on the game and looking for ways to make "smart" devices.
But what ordinary people are doing in response is a kind of turtling of their behavior: doing fewer things that are more aligned with the commons that remains. The pandemic lockdown experience saw a wave of this, with a lot of preference shifts that reverberated through the supply chain.
And so I see a vibrant "future of tech" existing in terms of defining robust commons spaces with norms that resist an entity coming in and saying "let me help you with that". It's just the nature of things that rentiers can always deploy an army of mercenaries to claim the space first, and then the commons gradually catches up by being more survivable in turmoil.
The war on general computing seems to be the common underlying culprit, but how can this exploit ever be mitigated? The average person just wants "iPhone", and the subject of purchased hardware not serving them is even something they are interested in discussing or bothering trying to understand.
Computers are sneaky because what a computer is really up to can be made opaque to the end user.
Remember that experiment a few months back that made the computer beep everytime the web browser sent telemetry?
https://twitter.com/bert_hu_bert/status/1561466204602220544
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32617787 (11 months ago, 108 comments)
You can run a game on iOS and know for sure your other apps are safe. Do the same on windows and it installs a kernel module to monitor everything to make sure you aren’t cheating.
I agree that Windows needs a better system for the user to restrict the permissions of an application. On the other hand: many AAA video games are known to use such a practice, and in such a situation, the typical gamer would rather allow the installation of such a kernel module instead of boycotting the game, as would be much more rational.
I mean, I consider myself a tech person and I also want this for my everyday stuff. I love playing with gadgets and operating systems whenever I have extra time, but I do not want to troubleshoot wifi driver issues or reboot a crashed/bugging window manager when I'm in a rush to check the bus schedule on my phone.
I've been using various Linux operating systems on all my computers for almost two decades, but lately I've been thinking more and more if my next laptop should be a Mac just because I have less and less time to maintain and fix the machines. I want something that just works and I would pay good money to get a fully open and not enshittified phone or laptop, but they don't seem to exist.
Anyone know of a dumb(ish) car that is user repairable with decently easy to find replacement parts?
But they're getting old, and safety systems in newer cars have come a long ways. Even I am considering picking up a Rivian or Bolt to get access to better safety systems.
Though, I suppose there's also fuel efficiency to consider as well.
Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it.
90s cars are just as efficient as new ones (neglecting hybrids). They have port-injected engines that run hot, lean, and efficient. They don't suffer from carbon buildup. They don't make nanoparticulate soot. But they do make more NOx, and NOx is what emissions regulations measure.
90s cars are also lighter, which again contributes to efficiency. Since then, cars have become heavier and gotten bigger blindspots in response to crash testing and the existence of SUVs.
In fact, merely talking about fuel economy, in a society that now mostly drives SUVs and oversized pickups, has become an absurd thing. We end up fretting about marginal issues while the primary trends thunder towards oblivion.
I wouldn't mind having a rooted tesla.
Go to a car show and talk to those that remanufacture cars.
I see large-screen televisions for so little money - because you can't turn off the data collection. People don't want to pay more, let alone 3x for something with privacy.
And the people who sell system with privacy, they can take it all away with an update. silently.
For example, https://puri.sm sells phones that are linux-based, but they have to charge a lot and the experience is sub-par.
I think there's a market for it, but I don't know if it can catch up with the steep drop in "price" for goods where the true costs are hidden.
Maybe legislation?
Simply don't connect them to the internet.
Google is rolling out tech to websits to stop people using web blockers, but this might just create a new type of dark web.
And technofuedalism is killing capitalism and democracy, so now might be the time to learn to program or design circuitboards for the masses.
Volvo and Saab went to great efforts in the 80's to ensure the controls on their cars were suitable, so volvo had buttons that were big enough and tactile enough for people wearing winter gloves so that a gloved finger didnt accidentally push a neighbouring button and they werent left with any doubt about the button being on or off.
Couldnt do that today with some cars, which is perhaps why UK police are fining people for wearing big winter coats and clothing in their cars, the police feel the car heating systems are better than someone's home so they dont need to be dressed for a hike through a winter snow scene when driving to the shops.