Is the future of computing bleak and restrictive?

Conversation started May 6, 2012 at 10:11.

Jacob Johan Edwards

May 6, 2012 10:11

I think many large OSS projects are adopting a silo approach.

Collaboration and standards slow progress, and intuitively

I think GNOME and Ubuntu and KDE, etc know that rapid progress is needed now

Lest the iPads take over the world more fully than PCs ever did

aking1012

I disagree on that particular point. I don't think rapid progress is needed

Jacob Johan Edwards

Oh, I do

aking1012

we'll just diverge on that one

Jacob Johan Edwards

The "devices" approach to computing is murdering Software Freedom.

Stuff that Microsoft would never dare to do in the 90s is done by Apple every week nowadays

I mean, even at the height of Microsoft's monopoly, "trusted boot" was tossed.

aking1012

OSS just needs to put in non-commercial clauses in everything. libpng and openssh vulns that affect all consumer electronics? yes.

Jacob Johan Edwards

May 6, 2012 10:15

Nowadays, you are hard-pressed to find an open bootloader tablet

aking1012

@JacobJohanEdwards true

i may have a different idea of software freedom though

Jacob Johan Edwards

Well, yes, but presumably your version of software freedom doesn't involve software users' having no right to modify software on their own hardware.

jokerdino

Q: Should "move-to-chat" be provided on demand (as a button perhaps)?

When comments get too chatty the move-to-chat feature asks if you'd like to move it out. But this often happens after the fact and thus doesn't prevent it. I propose that: Move-to-chat be provided as a button along side so that a user who knows their question or conversation may become drawn ...

Someone has suggested it ^

Jacob Johan Edwards

@jokerdino ignored though... :(

jokerdino

I am going to write an answer. including parts of our convo..

aking1012

May 6, 2012 10:19

@JacobJohanEdwards oh, it does allow users to modify on their own. just not for commercial gain. joe at home has every right to modify software on his own hardware. he does not have the right to put a slick UI on top of it and sell a proprietary version.

i think i misread your statement, hence the edit that essentially reversed part of the meaning

Jacob Johan Edwards

@aking1012 I don't mind non-commercial FOSS. I am in favor of whatever kind of FOSS prevents a future of big-brother / centrally-managed / restricted-capability computing

And with the iPad soaring, I see that future brewing.

That's why I think FOSS needs rapid progress.

aking1012

there will be a modder community that keeps up with chipset changes

Jacob Johan Edwards

Even so, it gets more and more inaccessible.

aking1012

maybe. i think you're trying to persuade me. and i'm not going to be persuaded on this one.

Jacob Johan Edwards

Mac OS X is now a flip switch away from only being able to install Apple-approved software

aking1012

May 6, 2012 10:25

python. nuff said

Jacob Johan Edwards

Oh? And who's to say Apple wouldn't sandbox /usr/bin/python so-as to only be used for approved software?

that's already possible with AppArmor on Linux

Without root access, any form of restriction is feasible.

aking1012

it's possible. but saying you can't run python scripts on removable media would be atrocious

Jacob Johan Edwards

Atrocious, but possible.

aking1012

i have severe doubts that will happen

they would lose Dino as a fanboy if they did that

Jacob Johan Edwards

There is tremendous will to make it happen. The idea of things like that makes big content cream its pants.

I mean, heck, Intel is now hard-burning DRM into their CPUs

Who would have imagined that ten years ago?

aking1012

May 6, 2012 10:30

I've always been an AMD ATI guy

All the way back to cyrix chips that doubled as space heaters

Jacob Johan Edwards

And, if people could only access big content from Intel chips, don't you think AMD would buckle under the pressure?

Firefox is buckling under H.264 and video DRM, and they're the most idealistic game in town

aking1012

nope. new media will change that, or there will be media gateways

jokerdino

ok. hold your argument - meta.stackoverflow.com/a/131566/177471 - i just wrote some crap ready to be downvoted.

I don't like how Meta.SO looks. AU looks far better.

Jacob Johan Edwards

It's all about the ability to change software on devices. If consumers have the right to change software on their devices -- which according to DCMA, they don't -- then all DRM is pointless and can be worked around. Otherwise, the most Orweillian nightmares of computing's future are possible.

@jokerdino upvoted

jokerdino

thanks both of you.

aking1012

May 6, 2012 10:34

@JacobJohanEdwards I own a beagleboard. Telling me I can't put something on dev-gear? not going to happen

or i'll move to another country when i can't buy hardware and install the software i want

jokerdino

If they are going to restrict power users, I will move to whatever that allows me to do whatever I want.

Jacob Johan Edwards

@aking1012 Once 95% of people use appliances (eg non-rooted restricted computers), it's quite possible that general computers will require a license to buy.

This will be sold to the populace as security against hackers, piracy, CP, etc

Basically, only CS people will get them

aking1012

see my last comment

jokerdino

are we not merely imagining stuff here?

aking1012

yes...he's trying to modify my current point of view with a highly unlikely chain of possible future events

jokerdino

May 6, 2012 10:38

concern troll Boo

Jacob Johan Edwards

@jokerdino @aking1012 think you're both falling victim to frog-in-water syndrome. Every year, new restrictions are being laid down. And these new restrictions are directed by money interests. It follows that money will continue to be interested in more restrictions.

aking1012

okay, this had relevance to ubuntu about 5 conversation forks ago. now i'm not sure it does. i think i'm done

Jacob Johan Edwards

@aking1012 Okay, fun talking with you

Conversation ended May 6, 2012 at 10:41.

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