These will one day be hung in a museum as a warning, lest we forget. Unfortunately, humanity is just an endless cycle of repeating the same mistakes, so nothing will be learned.

Christ.

It was 20 years ago and Microsoft was terrible and Windows was awful. Later on I used Windows 8.1 somewhat out of necessity until it was deprecated and went back to Linux because Microsoft is terrible and Windows 10/11 is awful, but now with all kinds of invasive telemetry.

I’m highly reclusive, so this happens a lot.

As I understand it, just straight up repealing Section 230 would immediately shut down practically any ability to post comments etc. No company or individual could accept unvetted posts from users, because they would be liable for any illegal content therein. So in essence, if you hate a site and want to take it down, just make posts that land them in hot water and they will be forced to shut down eventually. And you know the Internet is full of malicious actors. Sites like Lemmy could not exist in the US. Practically, you would have to run your own server to post things you want to express - and make sure no one else has access.

Repealing Section 230 sounds just stupid and short sighted, at least without a workable alternative. So, US legislators will probably go ahead and repeal it. Brilliant.

That’s insane. This is insane.

I spare very little mental capacity to how people utilize their computers where it doesn’t directly affect me. No, it is not something I find worth being bothered about. Life’s hard enough regardless.

I laughed way harder than I should have. Thanks!

A long time ago. I’d guess it was around the time Facebook became popular, because it was inconceivable to me that people were just sharing their private info online, and treating people who didn’t as the odd ones. Later on my I was vindicated, but I’ve been wary of Google and Microsoft’s data hoarding from the beginning I think. It has been frustrating to see tech go this way, and people just accepting it, gleefully.

Likely not. I’ve tried skipping a release once by accident (I didn’t pay enough attention) and it ended with a bricked system and a full reinstall. Don’t do it.

I happen to know multiple people who haven’t died.

I’d say it didn’t fail. It was never really a consumer phone. It was an attempt to get hardware in the hands of developers, and it achieved that.

Other posts here discuss why it didn’t receive wider adoption.

I daily drove my PinePhone until I could no longer receive MMS messages, since my service provider has a different APN for the internet and MMS. That, and the modem became more unreliable over time. I like my PinePhone, but an average user would never adopt it as it is.

The thing is, people by and large don’t want to be convinced. They want their convenience and ease of use, they don’t want to learn a whole new paradigm, least of all one that requires constant vigilance and understanding of the risks. I can’t blame them, they have a lot on their mind, and their existing skill set might not be relevant to privacy issues. People in general resist change and effort. I do. You do too.

It’s less about you, and more about them. People will only start taking steps when it all clicks for them. What the catalyst will be is impossible to tell, since people are wired differently. All we can do is talk about privacy and advocate for it with people who are willing to have the discussions. Don’t expect to go in and change people’s minds. It’s horribly difficult and you will be disappointed. Instead, think of it as giving people perspectives and starting points for their own journeys. If something happens and they are finally willing to start doing the work, they will at least have some context and words, labels to use. They may even come to you for more. They may not.

3.11 was pretty good. After that it’s been a mixed bag. A bag of shit, but mixed.