jupiter2

It falls on Developers - moreso than any other group - to be aware of the dangers the work they perform produces and for whom their work benefits. They must all be aware of the abuses of our basic rights and human dignity modern Private Enterprise engage in.

When these same Enterprises pull developers from a system (or systems) that value our individual rights to one that tramples all over them... it angers me. It begins to limit the Philosophically, user-empowering, alternatives we have. When developers rejoice over the actions of an abusive Enterprise, it disheartens me. It feels like the bigger picture is somehow being missed.

To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin: 'Those who give up their freedoms for temporary ease of use deserve neither and will lose both.'

I do not mean this to sound harsh. You can both work within the current technological framework (as we all do) and, at the same time, rail against a future that runs counter to our core beliefs. It's ok to do both. It's ok to work within a Microsoft-produced framework and at the same time let them know that some of what they're doing is counter to your belief system as a private, law-abiding individual.

What we must not do is defend the Police State we're currently building. It runs counter to everything we hold dear as a democratic and free society. Counter to the best kind of future we can envision for ourselves and future generations.

The chasm between the 'haves'' and the 'have-nots'* is only getting wider. The very concept of a fair society where all men are created equal diminishes. Enterprise OSes produced by Microsoft, for example, have privacy-enabled features the common man does not have access to. The common man - you and I - are now constant targets whereas Corporations, those in Government, those in law enforcement and many others accustomed to living above the law continue live under a different set of rules. This is the emerging new standard.

China will soon get a special build of Windows 10 without telemetry, without "phoning home". I am certain that this special build will contain the same kind of malware and abusive spyware that benefits the Chinese Government over it's own citizens. So... we, possibly have, an American software company building and deploying tools for repressive regimes. Yet we have become so complacent, there isn't even a discussion about it. That's how bad things have gotten.

We shouldn't pretend that this philosophical disconnect is not the biggest change in development. It is essentially the only real difference between Operating Systems/Working Frameworks. As good people... I'm saying that we should never, ever defend it, accept it and be complacent about it.

Gave this a long look and my main beef is that I couldn't possibly do anything on a Windows Machine in its' current state. Linux isn't just about running apps - there's a philosophy behind the system. Users first!

As long as Microsoft continues to disrespect the rights of users in regard to privacy, data-collection, data-sharing with unnamed sources, tracking, uncontrollable OS operations (updates, etc) - I will never go near it.

I find it especially offensive that ex-open source and ex-Linux users (working for Microsoft) have the audacity to come on here and try to sell this as a 'Linux on Windows' system when most of what makes Linux special (respect for the user) has been stripped away.

It's like giving a man who is dying of thirst sea water.

Most comments here appear to be positive and that's fine... whatever. To anyone reading this... please don't sell your souls and the future of software technology for ease of use and abusive business practices. /rant

As long as Microsoft continues to disrespect the rights of users in regard to privacy, data-collection, data-sharing with unnamed sources, tracking, uncontrollable OS operations (updates, etc) - I will never go near it.

I expect some flack for my position... don't care. I find it especially offensive that ex-open source and ex-Linux users (working for Microsoft) have the audacity to come on here and try to sell this as a 'Linux on Windows' system when most of what makes Linux special (respect for the user) has been stripped away.

It's like giving a man who is dying of thirst sea water.

Most comments here appear to be positive and that's fine... whatever. Please don't sell your souls and the future of software technology for ease of use and abusive business practices. /rant

This is part of what makes his works so timeless. Many of his works were a warning about the dangers of tech on imagination, on curiosity, on our ability to learn and the control we give up for comfort. Others works spoke of technology bypassing us morally or testing our own morality. Lots of stuff in between.

I've seen lots of samples of his thinking and influence on modern sci-fi over the last two decades. Whether Asimov influenced such works or we're just catching up to much of what he wrote - hard to say.

It's been a long while since I've read Asimov. Time to start again:-)

I seem to encounter the same problem on one or two other random https sites using Opera. I'll have to track the sites and report the issue to Opera.

Tried using other browsers and no issues accessing this site.

People are offended by this remark (Sanders Fans??) but it's just a joke. Funny too! It speaks to his ideals and the irony... if he had chosen to go this route. They also make fun of themselves with phrases like "high priced".

Now... some of the comments about other candidates are downright snarky a bit mean-spirited! Yeah... there's an overall bias.

This is what I get (20Mar2016; 4pm ET)

SSL Error

Your connection is not private

You attempted to reach safepaste.org, but the server presented an invalid certificate.

You cannot proceed because the website operator has requested heightened security for this domain.

You cannot visit safepaste.org right now because the website sent scrambled credentials that Opera cannot process. Network errors and attacks are usually temporary, so this page will probably work later.

(1) http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/08/mozilla-stops-developing-it...

(2) http://benjamin.smedbergs.us/blog/2014-02-11/dont-use-mozill...

The hardware is nice, in love with the low-power requirements and connection options. Personally not a fan of these single board systems as they tend to be less portable than handhelds or UMPCs.

The site's documentation is absolutely awesome. Not too many distros spend time putting together useful documentation - most are vague offerings unless you've been following the distro for years. The passion here is evident, the author's regard for indoctrinating new users is much appreciated (like I said, too many sites simply don't communicate well, if at all). Wish him the best for the niche crowd that's surely interested in SBCs.

It's hard to explain how exciting technology was back then - so many options. I remember learning about and trying to decide between DOS, Amiga, Commodore, Apple IIs/Mac, Atari. These were the OSes/PCs I focused on (not including Unix). Yet, this was nothing compared to the (healthy) competition among app developers. Very innovative times.

Nowadays, if you have even a smidgeon of success - you're either bought out by those who successfully gamed the system or sued into submission.

Lynx was my main browser (effective at the time, simple html). Pine for email. Don't recall what I used for Usenet, editors, file managers and some other stuff. Copy/paste and some automation using DOS tools & TSRs.

I did this out of necessity at the time but later moved over to Win98. Finally embraced Linux this year as my full-time OS so this site has a stronger appeal.

Given what most current OSes are engaged in: surveillance, tracking, data-warehousing, data-sharing with untold/unnamed "trusted" partners, civil rights violations, illegal search/seizure, 5th amendment rights violations, etal... his answer skirts the issue entirely.

I guess... what he was saying is that he's like Linux (The Kernel). To paraphrase him: He's an enabler. Perhaps an imp. Something totally hidden and out of people's mind when it comes to how OSes have been weaponized against people. He has no position on the matter.

A week after the Win10 release (still seeing red because of the privacy issues), picked up an older laptop (wanted something super Linux-friendly) with legacy BIOS and haven't been this happy with an OS in over a decade.

My biggest worry now is that Open Source Software with strong privacy rights policy might be pressured by government/politicians, commercial entities and general public apathy to engage in the same kind of illegal data-mining for so-called "national security" reasons.

At the rate we're going, it's inevitable.

Microsoft never states if their (unnamed, unnumbered) trusted 3rd-parties can also share data.

Microsoft does not release the names or the number of third-parties involved. They can be foreign, governmental, outsourced developers.

There is no language covering the release of this data to "non-trusted" parties.

Microsoft does not distinguish between personal and business data. This, additionally, puts businesses that are required, by law, to protect client/patient information (Law, Medicine, Finance) at further risk.

Microsoft does not distinguish between the (illegal) search/seizure and distribution of personal/business data. It does little to distinguish between adults and children. Captured data (including video) of those under 18 in legally questionable situations, redistributed to (unnamed and presumably large number of "trusted" third parties) may and should place Microsoft as distributors violating various child abuse laws.

Military and Politician data captured can (and should) be viewed as acts of espionage/treason by the US Government.

Their data-collecting scheme had immediate and obvious legal ramifications. I couldn't figure out why OUR government wasn't more responsive to this threat. It's becoming increasing clear that there has been lots of back-door collusion between the tech giants and our own government.

This bill is a testament to that.

Granted this is a complicated issue but we shouldn't be so quick to disregard privacy rights we have fought (and died) so long for. When backdoors and spyware are embedded into a person's home computer and/or personal property (from a car to a mobile OS), we have also allowed illegal search and seizure.

You basically repeated everything I just said. You see... I do pay attention. Along with "lots of help from mobile OSes", Microsoft's big push into embedding spyware into a Desktop OS has completely changed the game. It has given applications - running on user local machines - license to install spyware (which is still considered illegal under the law).

There used to be a distinction between services offered on the web and apps running on the desktop (spyware, illegal). Windows 10 changed all that (along with lots of help from mobile OSes). It's (constitutional) criminal behavior (eula or not) and should be classified as such.

So yes... I read the article and a bit more...