Bonum Certa Men Certa

We Need a Dumber Pre-Built OS

By figosdev

A gold worldSummary: What happens when Free software distros (e.g. GNU/Linux) become too 'smart'?

Before smart phones, there were dumb phones. They made calls, got texts, maybe even had a web browser. Or if you like, they just made calls. If you didn't want a feature, you didn't buy the phone with that feature. It was that simple.



While the prospect of options doesn't bother me (on the contrary, it's the lack of options I take issue with) the regular onslaught of "features" is a burden. Using only Mtpaint, I loaded a picture of that famous van that says "FREE CANDY" in ominous red paint, and changed it so it read "FEATURES". Don't get in the van!

Now we have smart speakers, and the trend is becoming clearer. "Smart" means it does what it wants, or what its designers want. What you want (or don't want) isn't important, it will do it anyway. "Smart" in this context seems to be a zero-sum game -- a smarter device creates (or asks for) a dumber user, one who is content to just sit back and let the device make all their decisions for them.

"Siri, what colour tie should I wear?" (They actually have this, by the way.)

"Hmm, on that outfit I would try the blue one with the stripes."

"Siri, should I wipe with the 2-ply or the moistened wipes?"

"Very funny, you know that's the smart toilet's job."

"It has to do with the fact that offering real options doesn't suit designers with corporate ambitions anymore."No, thank you, Siri.

Again, the option of a toilet that does the wiping doesn't bother me, though it probably should. What bothers me is that if I want to take care of something myself, the basic assumption going into the design of everything these days is that I shouldn't bother, or even care. If I want to wipe myself, I'll just have to manufacture my own toiletries for the purpose.

This is why we can't have simple things.

Actually, the reason we can't have simple things is more complicated. It has a lot to do with the fact that consumers are worth more as cattle than as people. It has to do with the fact that offering real options doesn't suit designers with corporate ambitions anymore. It also has to do with the relentless dumbing down of society, but if you're worried that sounds a bit elitist, then so am I.

The thing is, we don't offer things to people who want to do things for themselves like we used to. If you want an operating system that doesn't behave like it runs Clippy as its kernel, you'll just have to build the entire stupid thing yourself. Or use one of those distros that are basically a build-your-own-toilet kit.

Not that there's anything wrong with that -- those toilets flush larger things faster, using less water. If you didn't have to design, saw, sand and stain the toilet seat yourself, I would get one.

"I do expect technology to evolve. What I don't expect is for Free software to end up out of our hands. We used to mock clippy, but now he's having the last laugh."Basically, it's becoming all or nothing -- either you compile your own distro, or you ask it when how long until it dispenses your food pellet. But you can't deny this much, you've lost half a stone since you got the thing 2 months ago.

I thought the entire point of Free software was avoiding this dystopian horseshit; I guess I was wrong. But every year that goes by, this software and the processes behind it seem less human, less community-based, more "streamlined" and above all, less free. We weren't forced to give up necessities or well-established, reliable tools for useless gimmicks before. If it's really free, why does it seem like everything is getting dragged out and replaced with some kind of bullshit from Apple?

I do expect technology to evolve. What I don't expect is for Free software to end up out of our hands. We used to mock clippy, but now he's having the last laugh.

Sure, these aren't your typical digital handcuffs. These are softer, they blink, and they say "It looks like you're trying to escape. Can I tighten?"

You're free to reply, in the next major version it will stop bothering with questions and just tighten whenever the sensors determine a certain threshold of looseness.

These damned handcuffs keep getting smarter, but they're doing the job they were made for. In the future, they won't even need a key. Isn't that cool?

"The solution for this in Windows was simple enough -- if you don't want Clippy, just click the "X". But ensuring that he would never come back again? I RTFM but they changed it, again!"Maybe the solution at this point really is just to build my own from source. I'm still surprised that it's come to that, when I'm trying to do simple tasks like run a basic, well-established text editor that doesn't keep getting redesigned in some stupid way. I mean I didn't think my only choices were "F -- - you", OR "LFS".

The solution for this in Windows was simple enough -- if you don't want Clippy, just click the "X". But ensuring that he would never come back again? I RTFM but they changed it, again!

It seems a bit late for that now, the bastard's everywhere you turn. Why won't you die, Clippy? Tell us what realm you came from, so you can be banished once and for all.

The freedom to NOT run the software, to be free to avoid vendor lock-in through appropriate modularization/encapsulation and minimized dependencies; meaning any free software can be replaced with a user’s preferred alternatives (freedom 4). - Peter Boughton

Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Recent Techrights' Posts

Polygamy, from Catholic Synod on Synodality to Social Control Media & Debian CyberPolygamy
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Only a Third of or 1 in 3 Web-Connected Devices is a Desktop or Laptop, According to statCounter
we can expect Android to widen its lead
 
Gemini Links 24/06/2025: Stimulants and Subscription Costs for DRM
Links for the day
When the Microsoft Aggressors Rely on Several Law Firms ('Attack Dogs', 'Guns for Hire'), Not Just One, Lawyering Up Against Techrights (Acting on Behalf of Americans Against UK Publishers)
From serving customers at some restaurant he has moved on to bullying people with demand letters
Links 24/06/2025: OpenAI [sic] May Soon Die (Too Much Debt) and Social Control Media Accused of Being Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda Amplifier
Links for the day
Nirbheek Chauhan in Planet GNOME Explains Why Wayland Pushers Are Losing
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."
The Days Are Getting Shorter, the First Half of 2025 is Almost Over
We're gratified to see significant increase in traffic and also positive feedback on the work we do
Turning GNU/Linux Into a Political Football
X (not the site) is Free software
X Server Still Works for Many People
A lot of people will grow suspicious of Wayland boosters/pushers if they persist and insist on using these tactics
Exactly a Week Ago "BetaNews Staff" Said "Betanews Is Growing Alongside You". Since Then Every Article (All by "Camila Nogueira") Has Been LLM Slop.
BetaNews is basically a slopfarm
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 23, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 23, 2025
The "Tarzan Effect" in Compilers and Software
What happens when you forcibly make things 'work', either by hacks or by disregarding warnings (like those that compilers tend to issue)?
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: Mass Tourism, Hair Love, and Google Gemini as a Googlebomb
Links for the day
Law Firm Burgess Mee Does Not Fully Deny Participating in Abusive Litigation for Serial Strangler From Microsoft
I am not unfamiliar with these tactics
The Modus Operandi of Wayland Pushers: Make It Political
do what I say or you're a nazi...
Links 23/06/2025: RFE/RL Contributor Vladyslav Yesypenko Released, Recording Industry Cutbacks
Links for the day
Brett Wilson LLP Solicitors (M): Over 99.9% of Our E-mail is Self-Marketing, We Send You 3.5MB E-mails for Less Than 1KB of Text
Why would tech people entrust legal matters to such people?
Peter Moon's (Computerworld) Interview With Richard Stallman
Stallman: If you want freedom don't follow Linus Torvalds
At What Point Does Outsourcing Constitute Malpractice?
Brett Wilson LLP's new staff page is misleading
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sailing to GNU/Linux, According to statCounter
countries in that region will quickly learn the price of neglecting digital sovereignty
From Do Your Own Research to Do Your Own Search
The Web is full of garbage; search engines amplify this garbage
More People Moving to Geminispace?
at age 6+ Gemini Protocol seems to have gained some maturity and it seems like more people use it
Permutation in LLMs Does, Inevitably, Change Meanings and Therefore LLMs Cannot Properly Rephrase or Summarise Texts
LLMs lack actual grasp or comprehension of what they spew out
Links 23/06/2025: Many Security Breaches, Population Declines
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/06/2025: "America at the Crossroads" and OpenWRT Surgery
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 22, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 22, 2025
Pure Dove
Different means different, and sometimes those who "deviate" from "the norm" have a point
Censorship is a Sign of Weakness Which Invites More Censorship Attempts
revolutionaries don't succumb to pressure from bullies
Why It's Unlikely That LLM Slop Will Dominate the Web in the Long Run
Slopfarms will eventually perish (they have no actual value) and "survivors" on the Web will be sites that never depended on search engines and social control media
GNU/Linux in Argentina Now Measured Near 5%
Like in central Europe, they must be seeing an increasingly hostile US
BetaNews is Fake News, Composed by LLM Slop
nothing in BetaNews is written by humans anymore
Links 22/06/2025: Giving Up on Smartphones and 'Jaws' at 50
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/06/2025: Furniture Construction and Bubble for Comments
Links for the day
Links 22/06/2025: Windows TCO Tales and YouTube Getting More Hostile to Users
Links for the day
The FSF Board and FSF Beard
So the FSF's Board has grown
Law Firms Facing the Consequences for Patently Abusive Litigation on Behalf of Microsoft Employees Who Got Arrested for Strangulation and Had Done Even Worse Things
Having spent 1.5 years bullying me with patronising letters on behalf of Microsofters, last week they got served a massive bill and, in effect, lost the Hearing
New Report From the EPO's Staff Representatives in The Hague (LSCTH) Reveals Many Unsolved Issues
Local Staff Committee The Hague (LSCTH) wrote to staff just before the weekend
LLMs Breaking Everything
Computing and the Net became a playground for scammers and "bros", like people who "invented" fake currencies and also try to tell us that LLMs spewing out things will have some real value
Links 22/06/2025: More Slop Lawsuits (Copyrights) and "America’s Oligarch Problem"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/06/2025: Gigantic Toolchest and Annoying Bots
Links for the day