Bonum Certa Men Certa

Minimalism for Maximisation of Productivity and Clutter Mitigation

When corporations become so intolerant that they conspire to harm users (generalising and stigmatising them), then add insult to injury

Selection screenshot
Dictating to everyone what they want and need in order to replace old with new (better serving the corporations, not users)



Summary: Unfortunately, GNU/Linux (especially the latter, Linux) embraces bloat and anti-features in pursuit of sales (appeasing large corporations, not users' needs), reducing the modularity, reliability and productivity of computer systems in the name of helping "dumb" users (they keep telling us people are very dumb and those who disagree are "elitist" and "extremist" or even "neckbeards" -- in effect insulting every person out there)

THERE are two old sayings that I particularly like. One is "less is more" (not the GNU/Linux programs/commands) and the other is, "newer is not always better" (the motto of some sites). When companies say "better" they typically mean, "buy something new already!" Then there are acronyms like K.I.S.S. and a bunch of other nice tidbits. It's very much applicable to today's Whole Wide Bloat (more frequently referred to as the World Wide Web, or "Web" and "WWW" for short).

Earlier this year, for the first time ever in my life, I got a machine with more than 2 gigabytes of RAM. I thought 8 gigabytes should be enough for everything in 2020. But I was wrong. I recently reached memory limits without even doing all that much. As I type this, my music player eats up 293 MB of RAM, Falkon uses 196 MB, and by contrast X-Chat (an old IRC client) takes up no more than 10 MB. Why this massive disparity? Why does a computer need to allocate half a CD-ROM's worth of RAM to just play a low-quality audio track? I'm looking at you, VLC...

Increasingly, over time, I move more of my activities to the command line as I find it more productive. Why can we not keep the lightweight yet expressive GUIs we had a decade or two ago? I'm looking at you, GNOME...

"As I type this, my music played eats up 293 MB of RAM, Falkon uses 196 MB, and by contrast X-Chat (an old IRC client) takes up no more than 10 MB."This is apparently considered 'normal' now. Programmers and OS assemblers aren't expected to take into consideration people who use older hardware. Or have slower/expensive/bandwidth-capped connections (and reject so-called 'telemetry'). The same is true for Web developers. Should a single browser tab ever require more than 100 MB of RAM? Why do some take up more than a gigabyte? This in insane and this kind of insanity is now presumed normal because "everybody else is doing it" and "get a new PC already!"

Tools For ConstrucionOne might jokingly point out that what we have here is "broken windows"; the software makers ensure things get more and more bloated over time to help drive hardware sales; hardware companies, reciprocating for this bloat, add a bunch of undesirable anti-features, such as slowing down clocks, preventing boot using keys (that the computer owner does not have and does not control), and leaving many defects in tact, ensuring planned obsolescence. Cheap components (diodes for instance) and dependence on soldered in components like hardware clocks can "seal the deal..."

The sad thing is, GNU/Linux companies have played along and have voluntarily mimicked many of these really bad things. From keeping things minimal (see yesterday's video, "Unix Philosophy Is More Than Just A Simple Slogan") we've moved to so-called 'UX' (User eXperience) or "user-friendly" -- codename for stripping away useful features, replacing them with bloated but "modern" substitutes that nobody ever asked for.

"Yesterday Phoronix reported that "Intel Platform Monitoring Telemetry Appears Destined For Linux 5.10". Oh, cool, spying inside the kernel. What's in it for the user? Absolutely nothing."What will future generations with so-called 'phones' that have 16 gigabytes on RAM on them (not storage, RAM) think when they learn people could get work done just fine with just 2 gigabytes of RAM -- on multi-head desktops and laptops? Are we getting better technically or just getting better at driving (forced) sales? Whose agenda is served here? Certainly not users'. Remember that at the Linux Foundation not many people even use Linux. They use Windows, macOS and iOS (never with Linux in them). They're all about money, not users (or users' experience), not people but corporations. Intel does not make money from making good products but from shipping as many products as possible. Yesterday Phoronix reported that "Intel Platform Monitoring Telemetry Appears Destined For Linux 5.10". Oh, cool, spying inside the kernel. What's in it for the user? Absolutely nothing. See the comments too. There's a performance toll, obviously. In terms of human rights, "latest" often means worst.

Recent Techrights' Posts

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: Games and More
Links for the day
 
Links 02/04/2025: More Layoffs, Nokia Again Takes Advantage of Illegal and Unconstitutional Patent Court With Nokia Staff as 'Judges'
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: Seizures and Returns to Windows of 24 Years Ago
Links for the day
LLM Slop Helps Obscure and Distort News About Layoffs (IBM, GAFAM)
It's hard to find accurate information
Links 02/04/2025: Microsoft Developers Are Threatening to Go on Strike, World Backup Day Noted
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
Links 01/04/2025: Apple Fined $162M for Privacy Abuses, Disinformation Online a Growing Concern
Links for the day
Why We're Reporting Brett Wilson LLP for Apparently Misusing Their Licence to Protect American Microsofters Who Attack Women
For those who have not been keeping abreast
Newer Press Reports Confirm That Microsoft Shuts Down 'Hey Hi' (AI) Labs Despite All the Hype
The "hey hi" (AI) bubble is not sustainable
Links 01/04/2025: Mass Layoffs at Eidos and "Microsoft Pulls Back on Data Centers" (Demand Lacking); "Racist and Sexist" Slop From Microsoft
Links for the day
Stefano Maffulli and His Microsoft-Funded OSI Staff Are Killing the OSI and Killing "Open Source" (All for Money!)
This is far from over
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: XKCDpunk and worldclock.py
Links for the day
50 Years of Sabotage and a Gut Punch to Computer Science (and Science in General)
Will we get back to science-based computing rather than cult-like following?
Techrights Headlines as Semaphore
"If you are hearing this, thank you"
3 Months in 2025, 4 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Now Offices Shut Down Permanently
"A recent visit by the South China Morning Post confirmed that the office was dark, unoccupied, and had its logo removed."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 31, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 31, 2025
Links 31/03/2025: China Tensions, Bombs Falling in Myanmar After Earthquake
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: Falling Out of Love With Tech, Sunsetting openSNP
Links for the day
R.T.O. at IBM in Texas and Atlanta (State of Georgia) Expected as "Soft Layoffs" Catalyst This Coming Year
It also sounds like more IBM layoffs are in the making
Law Firms Can Also Lose Their Licence for Clearly Misusing It
The bottom line is, never made the false assumption that because you can pile up SLAPPs in a docket you will not suffer from bad reputation or even get disbarred
Link between institutional abuse, Swiss jurists, Debianism and FSFE
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
LLM Slop Piggybacking News About GNU/Linux and Distorting It
new examples
Links 31/03/2025: Press and Democracy Under Further Attacks in the US, Attitudes Towards Slop Sour
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: The OSI Does Not Respect Anybody's Privacy
The surveillance mafia that bans dissent or key people (even co-founders) with dissenting views
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: More X-Filesposting and Dreaming in Emacs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 30, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, March 30, 2025