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 Uses LLM Slop to Defraud (or Rob) Shareholders
Microsoft is basically defrauding its shareholders by LLM slop
The "Davos Effect": Tarnishing the Reputation of Places Not by Overtourism But by Oligarch Infestation
The last Venice needs is an affiliation with Venetian oligarchs
 
What Happens When Your Law Firm is Preoccupied With Harassing and Trying to Extort a Humble Couple in Manchester, Even on Behalf of Violent Microsoft Staff From Another Continent
It's good to see that law firms which operate in bad faith are perishing
Lawyer X, Law Firm X and Elon Musk's X: scandals linked by Old Xaverian
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Distraction-Free Writing and Hytale Mismanagement
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2025: "Beauty of Blogging" and "Etiquette of Collapse"
Links for the day
The Web is a Dead End
We need to adopt alternatives
When Words Lose Their Intended Meaning
examples of words that, at least in the technical spheres, don't mean what they sound like
People Who Disagree With You on Technical Matters May or May Not Agree With You on Political Things (But Usually They Do)
What bothers me a great deal is seeing left-leaning people accusing other left-leaning people of being "nazis"
"Too Much Choice" and "Too Many Programming Languages"
What IBM and its apologists aim for was attempted in the 1930s and it failed
Microsoft Lost 400,000,000 Windows Users, According to Microsoft
more people adopt smaller computers and many people replace Windows with GNU/Linux, as they don't really need a new computer
Half a Year Gone, What's to Come Next
In the second half of 2025 we expect to be done with the Microsoft SLAPPs
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 30, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 30, 2025
People at the Very Top of Microsoft Know How Bad Things Really Are
There's no product that can replace the former profitability of Windows licensing and stuff that went on top of Windows
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Mid Year and a Tour of Old Languages
Links for the day
EPO Presentation Bemoans Misuse of Slop in Decision-Making on Patents and in Classification (Which is Likely Illegal Too)
We habitually mention failed use cases of LLMs on the Web
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft Confirmed, "XBox Hardware Is Dead"
It's possible that over 20% of the staff will be laid off
Links 30/06/2025: Kyrgyzstan vs Media Freedom, Dalai Lama Succession
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/06/2025: Backend Programs in Gemini and Dynamic Content Without The Scripting
Links for the day
Links 30/06/2025: Zuckerberg’s Tax-Evading Scheme Harms Kids, US Copyright Office Lacks Leadership
Links for the day
Microsoft Isn't Laying Off Tens of Thousands to 'Invest' in Slop ('Hey Hi'), It's Laying Off Tens of Thousands Because It's Running Out of Money (and Willing Lenders)
the layoffs are a sign of the business failing, not "hey hi" (whatever that is) replacing staff
Intel Lays Off 20% of Its Workforce, Microsoft is Doing the Same This Year
Like a yoyo, whatever goes up will come back down
Microsoft XBox Layoffs: Almost 2,000 Layoffs Became "Over 2,000"? (Over 20% of the Staff)
over 20% of staff will be let go, not counting staff that leaves voluntarily
GNU/Linux Rises to New Highs in Angola, Africa in General is Abandoning Windows
Western media barely covers Microsoft layoffs in Africa, but in recent years Microsoft culled the workforce and even shut down entire operations
Summer Plans in Techrights and Elsewhere
massive layoffs at Microsoft
Destination Geminispace (in the Age of LLM Slop and Slop Images That Infest the Web and Social Control Media)
Geminispace isn't vast, but at least it is - on average - a lot "cleaner"
GNU/Linux Growing in Sierra Leone This Year
Based on what statCounter is seeing, this year there are more and more people there who adopt GNU/Linux
Serial Sloppers Gonna Slop
More sites out there ought to call out the cheaters
Quartz (qz.com) is Spam and a Slopfarm
It used to be OK. Then they fired the staff.
Links 30/06/2025: US Economic Woes, Extreme Heat
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 29, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 29, 2025
Gemini Links 30/06/2025: "The AI Hype" and New AuraGem Ask
Links for the day
Our Desktops Are Not Your Experiments, X is Not an Experiment
Breaking what already worked
Microsoft's Big Lies Regarding This Week's Mass Layoffs Have Already Begun (and They're Already Being Spread by Slopfarms)
Microsoft is the "market leader" in slop
Explaining the Full Story of SLAPPs From Microsoft Staff
For every action there is a reaction, for every attack there will be proportionate consequences
The Openwashing Shills Initiative (OSI) - Part III: IRS and Status of OSI
"They lied to the US IRS and there’s a paper trail"
IBM Red Hat's Dogmatic Fanaticism Under a Thin Veil of "Modernism"
IBM now has the audacity to paint people who don't agree as "nazis"
Microsoft's Share in Guatemala Fell From 97% to 14%
Eventually Microsoft will get stuck in a loop of layoffs, layoffs, and more layoffs
They Made Technology Scary and Taught Us That It's Innocent, Friendly, Even "Social"
Rejection of all this "apps" and "gadgets" and "Smart" (whatever that means!) status quo isn't a rejection of society
The Media is Under Attacks Partly Because There's Little Other (Remaining) Press to Speak in Its Defence
The biggest danger here is that when there's very little press or no "opposition media" left it becomes even easier to crush critics because there aren't many people left to speak about the matter
If Your Web Site is Run by Bots, Eventually Nobody Will 'Read' It Except Bots (People Don't Want to Read Slop)
Eventually people learn from mistakes
Links 29/06/2025: Microsoft Releases False/Fake Benchmarks, "Google Wants You to Watch Ads or Take Surveys to Read Articles"
Links for the day
Links 29/06/2025: Data Breaches and Online Censorship
Links for the day
Gemini Links 29/06/2025: "The Price Of Eggs" and Gemini 3D Tic Tac Toe
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 28, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, June 28, 2025