This year we made good progress. You know, Linux gaming becoming better, Reddit fucking up, Metaverse failing etc. But on the other hand Big Tech has or are planning to make some moves. Such as, Google’s Web Enviroment Integrity API (EDIT: they backed off), UK’s encryption bill, etc.

So what do you think of the future? I’m currently optimistic. I think the best recent event was Reddit fucking up. Obviously one of the biggest information sources going down that path isn’t something to celebrate. But it was bound to happen. I believe decentralized social networks becoming more popular is what Aaron Swartz would have wanted if he saw how Reddit was being managed.

    • ΛdΛm_𝒷@infosec.pubEnglish
      9·
      8 months ago

      Convenience over ethics that’s one way to put it…

      I have noticed that the people I preach to about privacy, or at least try, they’re like : yeah, we know we being spied on, but it is how it is…

      And I’m like: No, it’s just a matter of what tools you use…

      Them : such as ?

      Me : you can use Signal instead of WhatsApp, as a start

      Them : in a mocking and condescending manner and that doesn’t spy on you ?

      Me : proceeds to explain what Foss means, and the war that’s going on to harvest user data for the next psychological war and creating a dystopia , the war they’re totally sleeping on

    • TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.mlM
      8·
      7 months ago

      AOSP is fully open source (LineageOS fork as well), and is not compromised or license/usage restricted by some developer/maintainer’s personal whims or crybully behaviour.

        • TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.mlM
          7·
          7 months ago

          You can get by without Google services, it is a bit inconvenient though, but you gain far more autonomy and independence, and are able to do things IRL without being a slave to their services. The best compromise IMHO is having that shitty $100 Googled (without account) Android for apps that need it and Safetynet DRM, that you never carry with you (Michael Bazzell recommends the same), while you have your degoogled/deBigTech’d phone with you as your sole primary phone. The only problem can be GMaps but OSM is equally or even better than GMaps in most instances except for the traffic nav feature.

    • melooone@feddit.de
      7·
      8 months ago

      Aren’t custom ROM’s open source? It would be nice if you could buy a phone from big brands with it preinstalled already. That would make it so much more accesible.

        • melooone@feddit.de
          7·
          8 months ago

          I know that many people still rely on Google’s services, but speaking from my own experience, it’s not hard to ditch them entirely.

          I installed LineageOS 2 months ago, and was only missing my banking app, which I installed using the Aurora store and it works without any issues. For everything else I found alternatives which are, admittedly not as good/users friendly as Google’s. But I wouldn’t say there’s no true FOSS phone OS.

            • melooone@feddit.de
              2·
              8 months ago

              Yes, Aurora is not the ideal solution and Google might be cracking down on it soon. But as long as it works I don’t really mind it going through Google, at least I don’t need an account for it.

              And sadly many Apps are just made with Google in mind because it’s so popular, but my hope is that in the future more and more Apps will have at least a Google free option.

              Mobian sounds cool, but doesn’t seem so promising to me as well. I agree that custom ROM’s are not in a good spot right now, but I think it’s gonna get better in the future.

            • JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world
              1·
              7 months ago

              Surely the objective is not to get companies to “support” yet another platform, it is to use a single platform that is open at the level of protocols and file types.

              And surely that platform is already here and is called the Web.

                • JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world
                  1·
                  7 months ago

                  This strikes me as a best-vs-better situation. What is your solution to this problem that is actually plausible in the real-world this century?

            • TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.mlM
              7·
              7 months ago

              The blobs are a similar issue on traditional computers as well. This is something we are far from resolving until OpenISA like RISC-V become practically usable and purchasable for commoners.

          • Scolding7300@lemmy.world
            2·
            8 months ago

            For example, getting a ride through Lyft is now impossible without GPS, their app won’t start. Knly option is Uber through a website.

            You also don’t get notifications for some apps because of that. So I had to make some sacrifices to not have GPS installed

          • Mio@feddit.nu
            1·
            7 months ago

            It is extreme hard to find a phone with Lineage OS preinstalled in the stores. Very hard to install it by my self, we can’t assume everybody can do this.