20 years ago we could buy a program or game and it'd be ours. Now we basically rent everything. We have to keep paying to renew our licenses, accept all kinds of AI crap they put on our computers, etc. I'm not saying this is the same suffering as serfdom but ... similar principle. Forced renting. - ThreadSky

penguingalaxy.bsky.social • 103 days ago

20 years ago we could buy a program or game and it'd be ours. Now we basically rent everything. We have to keep paying to renew our licenses, accept all kinds of AI crap they put on our computers, etc. I'm not saying this is the same suffering as serfdom but ... similar principle. Forced renting.

Comments

penguingalaxy.bsky.social•103 days ago

Power exerts itself by what we live in and how we live. And the Internet's become one of the things we live in and how we live, when previously it was more things like land and resources.

Land and resources are finite. Is the Internet infinite? Can we keep making new, safer communities in it?

penguingalaxy.bsky.social•103 days ago

I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this. I know continual updating has to happen and that needs paying for. But also, the more sophisticated computers and the internet become, the less we own them, the more we rent them, the less we control. I guess that's a reason we like the free stuff.

suziw.bsky.social•103 days ago

That’s a really interesting connection - I haven’t heard it before. Makes a lot of sense.

penguingalaxy.bsky.social•103 days ago

Thank you! I just made it up tbh. It may be utter nonsense.

suziw.bsky.social•103 days ago

That’s impressive! I wish I was awake enough to make an intelligent response beyond just: I really like the thought.

penguingalaxy.bsky.social•103 days ago

Awww, thank you so much!

I hope you can get some sleep soon, then.

astrosnat.bsky.social•103 days ago

You might find these interesting:
1) the work and thought of Joseph Weizenbaum on computers as a centralising force https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2023/01/26/computers-enable-fantasies-on-the-continued-relevance-of-weizenbaums-warnings/
2) WriteMonkey (free, simple word processing software, no spyware)
3) NLNet (funds free and open source software)

penguingalaxy.bsky.social•103 days ago

Thank you!

Please nag me to actually look into all three. I'm very good at parking stuff on the shelf these days. For an extremely cute reason with floofy hair and octopus limbs.

astrosnat.bsky.social•103 days ago

Awwww ❤️ yes I will nag you. Also, I started using WriteMonkey over Word and Google Docs and have never looked back. Seriously. It's so lightweight and simple.

https://writemonkey.com/wm3/

hulkrh3.bsky.social•103 days ago

The Free Software Foundation are the only IT people who I trust. The giga-giants have most users over a barrel.

penguingalaxy.bsky.social•103 days ago

I didn't even know about them, but definitely someone I'll look into. I'm revolted that the tech giants snuck AI into my Microsoft Word without even telling me. Presumably it's already scraped the stories I've written, which I thought were safe from them.

hulkrh3.bsky.social•103 days ago

I have followed them on Mastodon for a long time, I think they on BS, but not needed to look.

https://www.fsf.org

penguingalaxy.bsky.social•101 days ago

Now, where is that pin icon?

hulkrh3.bsky.social•98 days ago

Not sure what you mean? The symbol by my name is a test-tube (I am a ‘certified’ scientist on BS).

penguingalaxy.bsky.social•98 days ago

Oh, gosh, that was from a few days ago. No, not your test tube on your name. You know how some people reply to other people's posts with a pin emoji, indicating that they want to save the post? (I don't know if it works or not.) I haven't been able to find that emoji on my computer, only my phone.

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply