Bonum Certa Men Certa

Controlling Your Computing

2020 figosdev

Index



Control key
Chapter 2: Controlling Your Computing



Summary: "We at least want our software to be free, and for a while, that was possible. We want software to be free again, so let's talk about what made it free, what made it less free, and what could hopefully improve in the future."

In the early 1980s, freedom was a tan-coloured plastic slab that featured several cables and dark brown keys. I never owned a Commodore 64, but I did learn to code in BASIC on a PC.



The C64 connected to cables for power, video output, and possibly a floppy drive or low-speed modem for communicating with the world outside your home. When you switched it on, it would load a BASIC interpreter from a ROM chip. This was typical of 8-bit machines from the era.

"Far too much software is written around the idea that the designers know best. Which is funny, because most of us have never even met."If you had a floppy drive, you could save and load programs with it -- you could even purchase games made for the C64, which were typically more elaborate than something you would want to type in. There were magazines featuring simpler programs to type in and try out. Nobody could stop you from changing them, though they did not typically come with a license that allowed free redistribution.

The machine I'm typing this on is also a plastic slab covered in dark-coloured keys.

Keyboard grey



I know this drawing is unreasonable, but it gives you the idea -- flat, covered in buttons, with a space for a trackpad (which is missing; it was beginning to be an annoyance so I simply removed it). Not shown are four cables: for the mouse, monitor, Ethernet and power.

I didn't buy the computer this way; it's a laptop, it had a screen attached. I used it with the screen until that didn't suit my purposes anymore; when I get tired of a folding screen (or if it breaks) I may just remove it as well. Hence the C64-like form factor.

"What I don't want is Windows, which it came with. I actually removed it in the first 30 minutes I owned the thing."Ideally, computing should work this way as well; if you really don't like a feature, you should just be able to remove it. The machine is less portable now (at least while in use) but when I put it front of a larger screen, I don't have to worry about folding the laptop screen out or putting it somewhere that it isn't in the way. Its closer to what I want, rather than what the designers wanted.

The designers might explain that I have other options that make more sense to them; I could put it off to the side and use an external keyboard. And that's nice -- but I prefer this keyboard to my external, otherwise I would be using that.

I am well aware that I had other options than removing the screen. And I've actually used several of those options previously, out of not wanting to go to the extra trouble. But the thing is, this is my computer. The designers don't own it or have to use it -- I do. And my obligation on how to use my computer is to myself, not to them.

Far too much software is written around the idea that the designers know best. Which is funny, because most of us have never even met.

"At the very least, I want to be able to type things and save files — I usually want a machine to able to get on a network as well."If I were to design this machine for someone like myself, I would have made the screen easier to remove and reattach. You would be able to get the screen in a plastic case, rather than one designed to go into a plastic case; it would have a thin cable on the outside, and an external connector (like a desktop monitor) -- and you would be able to remove the hinges without opening the rest of the laptop.

Most laptops wouldn't be made that way though, because it would add to the cost and people wouldn't want to save the difference. Instead, they pay a lot more to fix it if it breaks. Regardless, I managed to detach the screen and get the thing back together. Sometimes Free Software works this way; lately it doesn't work that way often enough.

They do make a few portables that have detachable screens, but the screen isn't really what detaches -- what it really disconnects is the keyboard. The screen is still attached to the part that does the computing; this converts it to a tablet, but (unlike this machine) all the parts that do the computing are packed too tightly together.

Besides, I got this thing because nobody wanted it anymore, and they didn't even want to bother to sell it online. I got it for less than $100.

If I want to turn this machine on and have it do anything, there's no chip with BASIC on it -- it needs an operating system. At the very least, I want to be able to type things and save files -- I usually want a machine to able to get on a network as well.

What I don't want is Windows, which it came with. I actually removed it in the first 30 minutes I owned the thing.

"A computer running Windows is a computer that Microsoft has more ownership of than the person who bought the computer."Windows and MacOS are not yours -- you don't control updates, Microsoft and (maybe) Apple do. You can't copy and share them, you cant make changes and share those either. A computer running Windows is a computer that Microsoft has more ownership of than the person who bought the computer. So if you want your computer to really be yours, you first have to remove the stuff that Microsoft put there. And that means you need to be able to install different software in its place.

Not everybody feels ready to do this -- it's an adventure, and it doesn't always work the way you hope. Even before I installed anything, I was running a different OS off a USB stick -- this gave me some idea of what it would be like to install something other than Windows. We've gone from running BASIC from a chip to booting a completely different OS from a chip -- only now the chip is in a fob that you can attach to your housekeys.

Although we eventually want equipment that we are free to design, modify and share, manufacturing costs and industry processes still make this mostly prohibitive. We at least want our software to be free, and for a while, that was possible. We want software to be free again, so let's talk about what made it free, what made it less free, and what could hopefully improve in the future.

But first, let's talk about the role that education plays in making you less free.

Licence: Creative Commons CC0 1.0 (public domain)

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Lunduke is Just Provoking People for Provocation's Sake
Be forewarned and remember where this guy came from: Microsoft
It's a Lot Easier to Participate in the Unethical System Than to Oppose Injustices in It
Going after powerful and high-budget interests is never easy
 
Hate Mail From Anonymous Cowards
if this persists, we'll need to escalate
Informal Open Letter to the Lawyer of the Microsofters (on Who's Funding the SLAPPs Against Techrights)
Whenever I ask about the funding they try to change the subject and act all aggressive
Besieged by Plagiarists Who Play With LLMs and Image Fusions
We really need to exercise or use our collective voice to oppose Serial Sloppers
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 08, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 08, 2025
Gemini Links 09/08/2025: Water Painting and Political Violence
Links for the day
Slopwatch: LLM Sloppers in Google News, LinuxSecurity, and More
they also perpetuate some falsehoods as the LLMs lack any comprehension
Links 08/08/2025: China King of Plastics and US Dictator Plans to Meet Russian Dictator
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: Cracking a Family Member's Password and Overdose of Slop
Links for the day
Red Hat's Latest Talent Hunt, Day Ahead of Mass Layoffs, is Yet Another Microsoft Executive
Red Hat will apparently commence mass layoffs early this coming Monday
Links 08/08/2025: "Quit Facebook" and High Cost of Microsoft/Windows Shown Again ("BlackSuit")
Links for the day
Good Morning, Readers of The Register MS
Things The Register MS could (but does not) cover this morning
Why Gemini Protocol Has a Bright Future
Maybe Gemini Protocol's promise becomes more appealing as the Web turns to slop and bloat
Microsofters Filed Two SLAPPs Against Us, Now They Cannot Keep Up With Judges' Orders
For over 4 months already their facilitator in London has been under investigation by British authorities because of what's being done to my wife and I
Censorship Regarding Red Hat Layoffs
Talk about this? They'd rather not.
Struggling to Cut Costs, Microsoft Continues Shutting Down and Cancelling Stuff This Month
There are August layoffs at Microsoft
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 07, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 07, 2025
Fake 'Linux' Articles, Written by Bots to Take Traffic Away From Real Articles
LLM slop helps replace information with junk or misinformation
When Google's Googlebombing of "Gemini" Was Not Enough; They Now Also Googlebomb "Gemini Space"?
We know GAFAM not only worries about Gemini Protocol but also attempts to 'infiltrate' Geminispace
The Register MS Promotes Microsoft Slop, Assumes All Readers Use Microsoft Windows
Microsoft really dominates the site
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: KDE/Qt Development and What's Missing From "Retro"
Links for the day
Links 07/08/2025: US Punishes India Instead of Russia, Attacks Law Firms to Prevent Scrutiny
Links for the day
Read Us in Geminispace as Well
it's definitely a lot simpler than using a Web browser
Once a Site About BSD and GNU/Linux, and After Months of Silence, LinuxBSDos.com Comes Back Only as a Slopfarm
very frustrating
Links 07/08/2025: Hardware Wars, Mass Recall of Colgate Total Clean Mint, More Microsoft Holes Found
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/08/2025: "Right To Manage" and LoRa Analysis
Links for the day
For the First Time in a Month OSI's "OpenSource.org" Blogs and It's Basically a Microsoft Blog Post (Microsoft Controls OSI)
For the first time in a month OSI writes something and it is Microsoft propaganda composed by a Microsoft-salaried operative
Microsoft, Already Borrowing 3 Billion Dollars a Month, is Trying to Cause Many People to Resign
MSN (i.e. Microsoft) and others openly admit it
GAFAM 'Says' is Front Page "News"
The point of journalism is to check and assess facts, not parrot what people and companies merely claim
Links 07/08/2025: Apple Makes False Promises, More Trouble for Microsoft
Links for the day
OSS Didn't Always Mean Open Source Software
"oligarchs all the way down"
The Register MS Does More Microsoft Sez or GitHub Sez (Says) Pieces
60 minutes ago
They Want Activists to Just Barely Walk and Eat, Not Do Activism Anymore
It's sort of like the ending of '1984'
Quit Perpetuating the Narrative of Gemini Protocol 'Dying' (It's False)
The "whisper campaign" against Gemini Protocol
Criticising Social Control Media in Social Control Media
Many people are quitting Social Control Media (fewer of them announce this in public)
Non-Free JavaScript Programs in Banks Aren't Even the Biggest Problem
Technology was supposed to make life easier; in practice, however, for most of us the opposite effect can be observed
Slopfarms Are Typically Fake News
Slopfarms typically relay falsehoods
Gemini Links 06/08/2025: Replacing a Pocket Watch and Buying in Bulk
Links for the day
IBM is Obliterating Fedora
"Fedora releases were shipping with an increasing number of bugs on launch day even while I was using it for a several year stretch."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 06, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 06, 2025