Bonum Certa Men Certa

'Appeal to Novelty' as a Lever for Proprietary Software Monopolies, Bloat (Planned Obsolescence) and More Surveillance

The Appeal to Novelty Fallacy: Why New Isn’t Necessarily Better
From "The Appeal to Novelty Fallacy: Why New Isn’t Necessarily Better" (pattern now used by Microsoft to push Linux into GitHub, i.e. Microsoft)



Summary: Novelty is generally fine, but in many cases products are developed iteratively (not cumulatively) not to advance society or to objectively improve services, only to increase control over people (because emergent 'freemium'-like business models nowadays revolve around addiction and subjugation, e.g. 'brain-farming' and manipulation of minds)

THE general population typically seeks popularity (how it's measured depends on a person's environment, but to many the yardstick is nowadays "number of Facebook 'friends' and 'likes' etc."); nobody wants to "stay behind" and advertising constantly attempts to compel people to get rid of "old things", then buy "new things" (the "smart" stuff, the cutting-edge nonsense with all the latest patents). We see this in "5G" and increasingly in listening+tracking devices often referred to as 'smartphones' (because they're largely for intelligence and sometimes they can also be used as phones).



Shaming tactics are incredibly effective, especially within large and indoctrinated groups (peer pressure), when the target is a career-climbing insecure person with social aspirations (class).

"We see this in "5G" and increasingly in listening+tracking devices often referred to as 'smartphones' (because they're largely for intelligence and sometimes they can also be used as phones)."More people need to learn to say "no!"

"No" to whatever corporations trot out the door and are unable to actually justify (more e-waste, more expenditures and newer patents that artificially inflate prices -- not to be conflated with worth).

This extends well beyond software freedom; environmentalists too, for instance, ought to talk about it. There are people out there who replace their "old" car with something brand new every now and then (even if the functional aspect of the "old" car is totally fine) because many people in workplaces or extended families judge one's "success" by the vehicles that get one around. Yes, vehicles. Plural. Because to 'prove' one's high status the garage may turn into somewhat of a wardrobe, with different kinds of "rides" for all sorts of "occasions".

"Shaming tactics are incredibly effective, especially within large and indoctrinated groups (peer pressure), when the target is a career-climbing insecure person with social aspirations (class)."At the moment, accelerated a great deal by COVID-19, the "war on cash" goes up a notch. People who use "dumb" payments are stigmatised as dirty and primitive (or not "smart", hence "dumb"). They're presumed to be incapable of opening a bank account or having an "app" and they're ridiculed as "conspiracy theorists" if they speak about their privacy. Last month we were turned away for demanding or insisting on payments using cash (for merely ordering a meal) on at least 3 occasions; they're all smug about it, treating customers like lepers if those customers do not wish to be identified.

Digital 'smart' payments... Because the above is always the alternative?



The story regarding "war on cash" is a bit of a cautionary tale; it's part of a broader trend and the goal is to get everybody "in line" (whose line? Sheep line up for the slaughter, too). In the case of software, we've come across conceited corporate players who refer to systemd-rejecting geeks as "neckbeards" (it's a vulgar slur and a gross generalisation); as if a simple system that can be studied comprehensively (and isn't developed on Microsoft servers) is for hairy hermits who refuse to shave (or cannot afford a razor) and likely live in the distant past... maybe in their ageing mother's basement. Actually, UNIX was a more modern alternative to monolithic and hard-to-maintain systems which came before it. Those older systems became dying systems (never used anywhere anymore). We recently published a video about that. So as it turns out, according to more recent history, this sort of 'novel' system like Windows/NT, basically a ripoff of other systems, is nowadays becoming obsolete itself. We're going back to UNIX, except this time it's free (as in freedom) and it's GNU/POSIX.

"People who choose to reject so-called 'novelty' aren't backwards or foolish; it's perfectly possible that they have legitimate concerns about the direction in which things go, mainly to benefit authoritarian governments and corporations (giving them vast powers) at the expense of the general population."It's perfectly possible that systemd -- like Windows/NT -- will be deprecated (Google still rejects it, but we don't call Google "neckbeards", do we?) and when people realise tyrannical 'benefits' of digital payments (surveillance of all transactions/interactions) they will reintroduce physical bartering systems (digital currencies/payments can be made anonymous, e.g. GNU Taler). Newer is not always better; bloat is never better; obsolescence of the old has all the burden on those looking to rationalise it. People who choose to reject so-called 'novelty' aren't backwards or foolish; it's perfectly possible that they have legitimate concerns about the direction in which things go, mainly to benefit authoritarian governments and corporations (giving them vast powers) at the expense of the general population. Such people should expect to be mocked by corporate media, controlled if not wholly owned by those same governments and corporations looking to increase their breadth of control.

Don't always be shamed into being "novel" or easily become "smart".

Are you being pressured to put a "smart" meter inside the home (one's house, private space)? Things to say to energy suppliers/representatives who push those "smart" meters: 1) you only need 30 seconds in my house a few times a year, not 24/7. Send a person to get a reading. 2) what's so smart about those anyway? Who controls them? 3) sign my contract, as I will not sign yours. $1000 fine for each privacy violation, $10,000 fine for a security breach.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Coping With the Site Going More Mainstream
Fame is no laughing matter
21 Pages in Less Than 7 Hours is No Joking Matter
We've become a lot more effective and efficient
Generation Chaff - Phase V: Censorship of Dissent (Painted as Harassment or Terrorism)
Censorship is all around us now
Generation Chaff - Phase IV: Apps Only Few Companies Decide On
Tools are being collectively confiscated, under the premise or false prospect of "security"
 
Links 24/10/2025: "Independent Media in Cambodia is Collapsing" and Serious F5 Breach
Links for the day
They Never 'Put Down' Corporations
There are "pests" that are traded in Wall Street
Correct Information is a Valued Asset in the Age of Slopfarms and Public Relations (PR) or Spin
Publishing suppressed facts is never easy
The Register MS Continues to Bag Money to Promote a Ponzi Scheme, Even Money From China
Today in the front page
analytics.usa.gov: The Only Supported Version of Windows (This Past Week) is Only Used by About 13.9% of People in the US, the Home Base of Windows
Even Vista 7 is still used more
Rust is Very Secure
If only Rust itself is secure
Who Will be Held Accountable for Breaking Ubuntu by Imposing Rust on Otherwise-Functional Programs, in Effect Replacing GNU With Proprietary Microsoft (GitHub)?
they're practical people who merely point out that a bunch of buffoons not only ruin Ubuntu but also every future distro based on Ubuntu
Generation Chaff - Phase VIII: In Summary
Like "Science" with a capital "S", what we see here commercial interests usurping everything
Generation Chaff - Phase VII: Curtailing Alternative Media
There was always an obligation - a collective duty of sorts - to uphold independent journalism
Generation Chaff - Phase VI: Centralisation of Information (X, Cheetok/Fentanylware)
Would you trust information when controlled by such people?
Generation Chaff - Phase III: Slop and Plagiarism
A lot of the current so-called 'economy' is built upon false valuations
Generation Chaff - Phase II: "Cloud", Blockchains and Other Hype
For those of us who turned down those propositions there was a struggle; we needed to justify not having skinnerboxes or "social" accounts in some site run by a private company
Generation Chaff - Phase I: Social Control Media
IRC predates the Web
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 23, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 23, 2025
More Clues Shed on Collapse of Microsoft XBox
XBox is basically circling down the drain as Microsoft implements 2-3 waves of layoffs each month
'Vibe Coding' Doesn't Work
In a lot of ways, so-called 'Vibe Coding' is already considered vapourware or a passing fad promoted in the media by managers who try to justify mass layoffs, especially ridding companies of "very expensive" software engineers
Links 24/10/2025: Microsoft's Killing of XBox Connected to Revenue/Profit Problems, "How Elon Musk Ruined Twitter"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/10/2025: 86,400 Seconds and "Society's Task"
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Google News and Slopfarms That Relay Nonsense From LLMs
Google News, which once prioritised or used to care about provenance and quality, is feeding slopfarms
Links 23/10/2025: More Health Concerns Over Dumb Chatbots (LLMs) and "Talking Cars" as Latest Buzz
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/10/2025: Daylight Savings Time and Duration Shorthand
Links for the day
Links 23/10/2025: LLM 'Hallucinations' (Defects) in Practical Code 'Generation', China Becomes More Economically and Technologically Independent
Links for the day
Why We Support Richard Stallman and You Probably Should Too
It's not about being "Richard Stallman fan", it is about maintaining the right to hold positions (on technology) like his
Linux Foundation Uses LLM Slop to Promote Microsoft in Linux.com (Again), Rendering It a Linux-Hostile Slopfarm
Openwashing with slop by "Linux.com Editorial Staff", which basically seems to be a bot
Some Large German Media Covers Richard Stallman's Talks in Germany Earlier This Week
LLM-based chatbots are just "bullshit generators" (as he has long called them)
Links 23/10/2025: Windows TCO Galore and "The Internet Is Going to Break Again"
Links for the day
Trouble in Red Hat/IBM and a Retreat to Ponzi Economics in Search of Wall Street Market Heist
Would you invest your life savings in this kind of crap?
Who Asked Software in the Public Interest (SPI) for a Refund? ($100,000, Resulting in Losses of $267,201 in 12 Months, Highest-Ever Losses)
The IRS does not reveal who or what's tied to this refund (or the cause/reason)
Social engineering attack: Debian voted to trick you on binary blobs
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Techrights Will Always Stand for Women's Rights
We even invest money - personal savings that it - in our principles
Certified Lawyers Should Know Better (Than to Intimidate Us With Man Who Drives on Motorcycle Through a Really Bad Storm Between Distant Cities, Then Collects Photos of Our Home)
Mentioning someone was in prison for bad things isn't a crime, it's a public service
The "AI" (Slop) Bubble is Already Imploding
"ChatGPT Usage Has Peaked and Is Now Declining, New Data Finds"
The So-called "Sexy" Buckets (AI, Quantum) Cannot Save IBM From Reality, Shares Tank
"No matter how much financial hocus-pocus they use to reclassify revenues to land in the "sexy" buckets (AI, Quantum), it still smells old and musty - just like this company."
Paul Krugman is Wrong About the Scope of Mass Layoffs in the United States
A few years ago society was accelerating its journey towards feudalism, boosted by COVID-19
Links 23/10/2025: Proprietary Blunders and CISA's Latest Disclosure of Holes
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/10/2025: Fast Past (F1), 99.9% Uptime
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 22, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Slopwatch: Google News is Promoting Fake 'Articles' About Fake Xubuntu, Fake Articles About Replacing Windows With GNU/Linux
The quality of the Web deteriorates and unless someone cleans up the mess, real sites will lose an incentive to produce anything
When "AI Layoffs" Mean Layoffs Due to the "AI" Bubble Popping
many people that are laid off by Microsoft claim to be specialists in "AI"
Mysterious grant forfeited, $100,000 from Software in the Public Interest accounts 2023
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Evidence: bullying, student union behaviour: Armijn Hemel's FSFE resignation
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Evidence: psychological abuse, stalking, Galia Mancheva, Susanne Eiswirt ignored by FSFE judgment for Matthias Kirschner
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Helping FSFE scam victims and conference organisers
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Nigerian fraud in FSFE constitution
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Worrying and Amusing Stories of "Clown Computing" Gone Awry
Many of these disasters could be avoided
Links 22/10/2025: Amazon Plans to Replace Workers With Robotics, AWS and Clown Computing in General Ridiculed
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/10/2025: Niri Completely Changes Multitasking and Overview of Diff-ers
Links for the day
Links 22/10/2025: Study on Misinformation by Slop and Heavily Debt-Sabbled Microsoft OpenAI (ClosedSlop) Uses "Browser" as Gimmick/Distraction
Links for the day
They've Already Spent Close to a Million Dollars on Lawyers and Sent Us About 50 KG of Legal Papers (Sponsored by Mysterious Third Party) to Try to Censor Techrights, Without Success
They try to overcompensate with sheer volume for a lack of solid, clear arguments (we are the victims here)
12 Months Ago the 'Hulk Hogan of UEFI' Officially Went 'Tag-Team'
We're actually sort of flattered or proud that such despicable people are so desperate to censor us
"Cloud Computing" Was Always a Joke, But This Week Was the Punchline
Maybe stop following tech trends and fashions
"Cloud Computing" Does Not Mean Safety
Fault tolerance is related to the notion of software freedom
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 21, 2025
The Fall of Windows: From Something to Nothing
Of course Microsoft will pretend everything is fine and "just trust the hey hi" (AI)