Em 
The control of the computer is getting shifted from you, who bought the computer, to the seller of the computer.
This should not happen.
You should be angry about this.
You should refuse to be controlled.
You should resist.
pingu 
@Em0nM4stodon Debloat Windows, install Linux, choose alternatives.
Do whatever you can so that you reclaim the control over your machine.
Do whatever you can so that you reclaim the control over your machine.
Bill
SlightlyCyberpunk@Em0nM4stodon They've been working on that since ~1976 when they realized how much money could be made through that control...and yes we should all be pissed.
Colin B.π¨π¦@admin @Em0nM4stodon exactly right, as that was the point at which Bill Gates realized computing could be exploited and destroyed by capitalism.
My camera shoots fascistsFor many years now, Apple products have been the "devil I know" and I could kind of hold my nose and accept the compromises (and prices). But, damn, the compromises are piling up faster every month! I've accepted that I'm going to have to learn Linux at some point, but it's not just Linux, it's photo and video editing software, and every other app I use that I will have to relearn.
Or, maybe, I will ditch every digital everything from my life and become a hermit hanging out on the porch in the desert with my lizard and bird friends. That is sounding better all the time.
In the meantime, yeah, seize the means of computation as Cory Doctorow says. With torches, pitchforks and guillotines if necessary.
mike805@Mikal @Em0nM4stodon Apple is overwhelmingly the one that did this to the tech industry. If the iPhone had never existed we would still have:
Replaceable batteries
Headphone jacks
Ability to install software from anywhere
Unified messaging
No app stores
The rest of the industry only went that route because Apple got away with it.
I got a Black Friday laptop and went fully to Linux.
Now what do I do when my car breaks? I went car shopping in 2025 and aborted because of hostile antifeatures.
πslow learner, β€οΈβπ₯deep feelerI'm going to find a good mechanic because the antifeatures are too much for me.
@Mikal @Em0nM4stodon
@vervain @Mikal @Em0nM4stodon Likewise. I liked the Honda Accord feature wise, but it has a cellular modem you cannot turn off.
I asked dealers, independent shops, search engines, and AI if there is a hack or workaround. So far nothing.
If my car got wrecked tomorrow, I might get a 10th generation (2022) because some of the lower tier ones do not have a built in modem. I would just not install any apps and hang a Garmin for navigation.
@mike805 @vervain @Em0nM4stodon
This is something that truly amazes me. Why isn't car hacking a thing? I mean FFS, if corn farmers can share cracked codes for John Deere tractors that allow them to work on them and program them themselves, you'd think all the privacy oriented tech nerds would have figured out how to crack car codes so that we could turn off all the surveillance or tweak the settings to our liking.
Till that happens, I'm sticking with my 2012 non-telematics truck.
I spent this morning replacing some of my house's original cracked and corroded cast-iron drain pipe with modern, standard ABS. This is a very useful skill when you need it! But I would readily swap it out for the "car hacker nerd" skill module if I could.
@Mikal @vervain @Em0nM4stodon People do all sorts of car hacks. Audio, performance, appearance, fancy lighting and gauges.
Why no privacy hacks? Some people claim to have pulled fuses or antennas, but where is the model specific howto?
The telematics in the Accord is basically Android. I spent some time playing with it (out of Turo) and I doubt it's as secure as the average smartphone.
I would happily pay quite a bit to anyone who could defang that thing, because then I could have a new car.
Zeph!@mike805 @Mikal @Em0nM4stodon
Cars are surprisingly easy to fix, and the older they are the easier it is. You can easily find manuals to service and even repair cars, but you'll struggle to find such good info on most other things. Start by servicing your car yourself and go from there.
Cars are surprisingly easy to fix, and the older they are the easier it is. You can easily find manuals to service and even repair cars, but you'll struggle to find such good info on most other things. Start by servicing your car yourself and go from there.
Luna Dragofelis ΞΞπ³οΈββ§οΈπ±
Luna Lactea@Mikal @Em0nM4stodon The switch shouldn't be too bad if you're used to Mac OS. Most of your issues will be finding alternative software to what you used on Mac OS, except for a few things that are packaged for both.
Lambda@Em0nM4stodon I like my computer stupid, so it leaves the smarts to me, I hate "talking" to my computer, I don't talk to my tools, I need my computer to just compute, I like my fuck ups be my fault, not whatever background cloud service is running that time, I like to decide WHEN my computer becomes obsolete, I don't want my computer to pretend it knows things or it can do things I don't even need it to do, I don't need it to pretend to be my assistant, friend, etc., it's a tool that I own
RaymondPierreL3@Lamb
Refurbished laptop running Linux and FOSS is the answer. Ditch Apple, Microsoft and Google altogether
Lenovo and Dell come shipped with Linux distros these days.
Refurbished laptop running Linux and FOSS is the answer. Ditch Apple, Microsoft and Google altogether
Lenovo and Dell come shipped with Linux distros these days.
@RaymondPierreL3 True. I started my journey on FOSS over 5 years ago, currently enjoying 
on my desktop and 
on my 2016 MSI laptop, and rocking a degoogled fairphone 4. So far I've help my parents and two friends to ditch windows as well
on my desktop and on my 2016 MSI laptop, and rocking a degoogled fairphone 4. So far I've help my parents and two friends to ditch windows as well@Em0nM4stodon I just bought a new computer.
I chose the components, just like I did in 1991.
I installed the OS, just like I did in 1991.
I dealt with the glitches, the app problems, the 'issues' mostly like I did in 1991.
My computer is tellinh the vendor *almost* nothing, kind of like it did in 1991.
But I'm a seasoned geek, and it's taken me three days to get a *mostly* functional system working *mostly* the way I want without selling my favourite underwear colour to someone.
In a just universe, the default would be "here's your tool, it works for you" without this much bullshit.
theHastyOneEm...you are confused.. you don't get to participate in the system you are the system. And joy you feel is manufactured and monetized. And work you do, the profit stolen. You want creative freedom..well the EULA says you don't own that. Your purchases are for sale..you don't own the meta data. They get to track your movements and even what you look at..that to can be sold...the profit to the company that owns the software.
And all we need to change this is a few dozen people who believe that our right to exist is as 'not for profit' and to make it illegal to harvest and monetize the populace. A few dozen people to take down the companies build on the millions.
Unus NemoI have no dog in the race, so to speak. As I have not used a proprietary OS in decades. I feel for those that thought I was naive for preferring the 'nix environment.
Pip
@iveyline@Em0nM4stodon You are so right. In the past we bought a computer and the softeare we used for our purposes. Now we don't own most software and are constantly manipulated and captured by big tech and subscriptions. We have lost control of our own space. Now we are force fed with stuff we don't want or need because so much is now subscription based and no longer owned and controlled by us.
WylieCoyoteUK 
@Iveyline @Em0nM4stodon Only if you let them.
There are many versions of Linux to choose from, some of which are easier to use than the mess that Windows and Mac have become.
There are many versions of Linux to choose from, some of which are easier to use than the mess that Windows and Mac have become.
@wyliecoyoteuk @Em0nM4stodon Which version on Linux would you recommend for a home user?
@Iveyline @Em0nM4stodon
Ubuntu, for an almost guaranteed easy to use desktop environment, with LibreOffice and other stuff pre-installed.
There are many different options, different OS bases, different desktop environments, etc., but to get up and running quickly, Ubuntu would be my preference.
Ubuntu, for an almost guaranteed easy to use desktop environment, with LibreOffice and other stuff pre-installed.
There are many different options, different OS bases, different desktop environments, etc., but to get up and running quickly, Ubuntu would be my preference.
@wyliecoyoteuk @Em0nM4stodon Thank you
Tanquist@Em0nM4stodon
Before you buy a new computer, do a web search for used ones with linux ubuntu or mint pre-installed. It's a pretty painless intro to Linux computing.
Before you buy a new computer, do a web search for used ones with linux ubuntu or mint pre-installed. It's a pretty painless intro to Linux computing.
Stuck HereMy daily computer is a used business Thinkpad I bought from ebay 10 years ago. It was already at least 4 years old when it was sold. I upped the memory and added a SSD one year after buying it. It's still going strong. It came with Linux Mint but for this machine I'm doing Pop Os.
There's lots of companies up cycling business electronics on ebay. And so much cheaper than buying new. I paid $250 with shipping included some 10 yrs ago.
As to the upgrades I spent maybe an extra $150 for the time.
@Em0nM4stodon And increasingly away from there too, and to the seller of the operating system.
Skylar Caulfield 
@Em0nM4stodon they don't even want computers to be actual computers anymore. They CEO of Amazon legit said they invisioned us renting our computer and just having some box that streamed. And honestly let me be real, even the box that streams the colpurer, I have a strong feeling it's gonna be like an ISP rented router, if you cancel you gotta mail that shit back