Bonum Certa Men Certa

Living Humbly (With Older Technology or None) is More Compatible With Privacy- and Freedom-Respecting Technological Lifestyle

Tungsten T, introduced in November 2002 and still works in 2020
I still rely on unconnected Palm PDAs for note-taking (or voice memos) and it serves as well as it did 2 decades ago. That becomes problematic when they stop working and cannot be repaired/replaced.



Summary: Simplicity sometimes trumps so-called 'novelty', especially when it comes to human rights and users' freedom

THERE is an important correlation infrequently spoken about. It is a correlation between adoption of expensive or "latest" technology... with abuse of oneself. Whether it's "digital" (a.k.a. "smart") payments or something seemingly innocent and harmless like group chats, there's a hidden cost often completely unaccounted for. The reason group chats -- especially real-time video -- are difficult in a non-centralised (or decentralised fashion) is limit on bandwidth/throughput in any given network, not to mention computational barriers of home computers. It's different from peer-to-peer or end-to-end chats. It does not scale linearly. Similarly, digital payments may seem possible in theory but as scale grows (big growth), so do storage requirements (sometimes quadratically, not O(n)). The constraints imposed make so-called 'clown computing' alluring (a fluid allocation of resources, which can scale to meet growing needs).



"The "War on Cash" -- as we've repeatedly noted -- relies a great deal on demonisation and mischaracterisation."But where are we heading with all that?

Putting aside truly ridiculous metaphors such as "serverless", let's consider the topological ends. At the top we have rich 'suppliers' of computing resources, who increasingly refer to us "mere peons" as just "edges". They want us to broadcast data upwards (to their 'clowns') and pay the electric bill for surveillance, or (pre)processing of data to be transmitted upsteam.

Where are we now?

Well, many homes do not yet have lots of wiring (or even wireless) for spying. They're supposedly 'dumb' for not "getting on with the programme..."

Simple text editors are still better than word processors in many casesPutting aside the presence of several so-called 'phones' in many homes (even supposedly 'smart' ones with back doors), there's an effort underway to put permanent, always-on devices that are mostly immovable. Those are already being used to disseminate data not just to states but also to marketers. They make money that way, at the expense of tenants, but of course they keep jacking up the prices/rates again and again, regardless. Germany is apparently 'leading' in that regard; the push to install a bug in every home is in full swing. Here in the UK it can certainly not be imposed on anybody, certainly no sooner than 2024. Our energy supplier keeps robocalling people, repeatedly, to push them to abuse fellow tenants with mass surveillance (by misinforming and threatening them). They're also wasting company budgets on letters with fake "appointments" in them (to get installed those so-called 'smart' meters). The media likes to portray as "paranoid" those who resist it and sometimes it distorts, deliberately perhaps, the nature of the criticism (similar to the way 5G antagonists are branded as "COVIDiots"... as if the real argument against 5G is something about radio waves passing a virus around).

The "War on Cash" -- as we've repeatedly noted -- relies a great deal on demonisation and mischaracterisation. They paint so-called 'cashless' people as "Smart", whereas everyone else is a criminal (looking to hide crimes), dumb/backwards, dirty (sanitary aspects of demonisation have a dark, dark history), and uncaring about society (think of the children! Install contract-tracing!).

The narrative wars are potentially very effective. The antiwar movement being conflated with Hippies probably did not help, as if to oppose wars is to oppose capitalism itself. Some go as far as to compare people who pursue nationalised healthcare to socialists and bloodthirsty Marxists, as if to save poor people's lives (even when the financial incentive isn't there) is "bloodthirsty".

A lot of the videos I've watched lately portray activists for software freedom as relics and Luddites. The general premise it, people who reject the latest of something are borderline insane. In the GNU/Linux world we're often told that systemd antagonists are just "neckbeards" and people who prefer the command line (not choosing GUI over CLI) don't do so for expressive interfaces, which they can master and leverage for greater efficiency, but for anti-Establishment 'spite' or rebel-like mindset.

Recent Techrights' Posts

When Lunatics Attack Your Family (Especially Women)
The attacks on my wife and my mom are rather revealing. These are acts of extreme misogyny.
Linux is Released Too Often, Tested Insufficiently (Same as Chromium, Firefox, and Systemd)
Driven by schedule, not quality (objective criterion)
 
Don’t Use Disney Minus. (Disney “Plus”)
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Links 13/05/2024: Wikimedia Rides Hype Wave, XBox Expected to Go Through More Layoffs This Summer (July)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/05/2024: Kingdom of the Dead and Narrative Adventure Game Gem
Links for the day
Visually Enhanced Interviews With ESR and RMS on Free Software (With French)
Nom de code - Linux
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, May 12, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, May 12, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
GNU/Linux Rises to Record High in Macao
iOS and Android are very big there
Debian: Let's Pretend We Never Knew Daniel Pocock
Ad hominem is what happens when the message is hard to dispute
DPL Sam Hartman proves blackmail is alive and well in Debian
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
What is a safe space?
Reprinted with permission from the Free Software Fellowship
Does Debian deserve an independent news service?
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Linux.com So Neglected If Not Abandoned That It Promotes Deals That Expired 4 Weeks Ago
Quite some "stewardship" by the Linux Foundation
The Fall of Meritocracy in Tech
nuff said
Microsoft Has Lost Malta
Android has caught up
In Asia, Baidu Has Become Bigger Than Bing and Yandex is Getting There Too
XBox and Bing are going through existential crises
"Having IBM Next to Your Name is a Scarlet Letter"
IBM staff just motivated not to work
Techrights Browsing Made Easier
a draft for discussion
Links 12/05/2024: XBox Founders Say Microsoft Lost Its Identity
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/05/2024: Enshitification and Mind Maps
Links for the day
Aside From Red Hat Spam and Partisan Media There's a Lingering Rumour of Layoffs
Some rumour said IBM had second thoughts about a WARN notice and delayed that a bit
The Albanian open source community is very healthy indeed
Windows nosedives from 99.1% to a lot less
When I discovered people trafficking in open source software
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Web Sites Hijacked by WIPO on Behalf of Microsoft-Sponsored SPI (and People Looking to Hide Embarrassing Facts)
debian.chat; debiancommunity.org; debian.day; debian.family; debian.finance; debian.giving; debiangnulinux.org; debian.guide; debian.news; debian.plus; debianproject.community; debianproject.org; debian.team; debian.video
Julian Assange on Privacy of People, Even Little Children
Facebook/Google (or GAFAM, an acronym I coined with Assange) knows you better than your mom knows you
[Meme] Miscomprehension of GDPR
Social control in general is a ticking timebomb
In Haiti, the Market Share of Windows Collapsed (From 97% to 27% on Desktops/Laptops)
A couple of months ago Windows was measured at 3.04%
In Most Countries It's Still Possible Not to Have a 'Smartphone' and to Pay for Nearly Everything With Cash
Withdrawing money will be possible as long as enough people use many ATMs (cash machines)
Expect Lots of Material From Daniel Pocock as Election Day Nears
The experiences of Daniel Pocock were an excellent example of reprisal or retribution against either whistleblowers or people who give a voice to whistleblowers
I've Been Promoting Free Software for Over 25 Years
I wrote my first computer program when I was about 14, maybe a little younger (I have visual memory of it)
Reminder: Richard Stallman's Talk is This Week in Paris (and in French)
Defending rms isn't the same as defending everything he has ever said
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 11, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, May 11, 2024
Online Bullying (Trying to Make People Unhappy)
Narcissists and bullies behind mice and keyboards, no honesty or fact-checking required
Talk About Software Freedom
"Linux" and "BSD" may mean a lot to more and more people, but they're still just brands or acronyms
Windows in South Korea: From 98.5% in 2010 to About 30% (Android Rises to Almost 50%)
Samsung ships like a million Linux devices per day
Improving Site Navigation for Easier Discovery and Catch-ups
This site is run by code we wrote ourselves
LibrePlanet 2024 Recordings
Let's hope independent recordings by viewers can help recovery of "lost talks" (recordings)
GNU/Linux Reaches 11% Market Share in the United States Of America - an All-Time High
The United States Of America is where the operating system started (Boston) and where Linus Torvalds works (Portland)
[Meme] Being Believed, Not Censored or Defamed
Daniel Pocock, Zini, and John Sullivan (FSF)
Links 11/05/2024: XBox Crisis, Spotify Exodus Continues
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/05/2024: Why to Delete GitHub
Links for the day
In Europe, Bing Fell Every Month This Year, Lost a Considerable Share Since "Bing Chat" and All the Chatbot Hype
Microsoft's Bing has had many layoffs lately
Links 11/05/2024: Analysis of the Microsoft Crisis and Backdoor-Looking Bugs
Links for the day
Attacking the Messenger?
Stack Overflow and LLM licencing
Microsoft Fired Loads of Staff in Kenya, Which is Another Large Country Where GNU/Linux Has Grown a Lot
Microsoft pays Kenyans only 2 dollars an hour for an IT/office job
Knowing the True History of Debian, Owing to Irish Debian Developer Daniel Pocock (Currently Running to Become Member of the European Parliament)
Irish-Australian and scapegoat of a highly dysfunctional 'Debian family'
Attacking by Credentials
Modest people do not demand fancy titles
Microsoft Windows Used to Have 99% of the OS Market in Jordan, Now It's Just 13% (Less Than iOS)
Based on the data of statCounter, GNU/Linux in Jordan climbed from 0.62% in May 2014 to nearly 5% right now
More Nations Are Reaching and Exceeding 5% Market Share for GNU/Linux, Microsoft Wants to be Bailed Out Again
Microsoft is once again reaching out to Biden for a bailout - a subject we'll cover in a video some time this weekend
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 10, 2024
IRC logs for Friday, May 10, 2024
[Meme] What Do You Call a Woman Who Does BDS on Free Software? Elana Hamasman.
Here are some confused thoughts
[Meme] Mission Aborted
Mission Aborted: cancel RMS
Taking Things Up a Notch
we strive/aim towards 15-25 new pages per day, i.e. around 500 per month or 6,000 per year