[bobajeff]

I think a problem that is happening here is that there is no competition in search just like there is no competition in social networks and operating systems. Not like there are for things like automobiles, electronics and clothing.

Computers introduce a means to lock people in that don't exist in other markets. In software products there are often ecosystems that tie directly in to the product/service which are not required to be shared with competitors unlike with road systems for cars.

Regulators ought to look into ways to enforce measures that require the companies to completely open their ecosystem to competitors. Or look into ways to standardize these ecosystems and require every service/application/website comply with them (similar to how media companies are forced to include closed captioning).

[pain]

"Jobs did great harm to the world with his iThings: computers designed to be jails for their users. His genius was to find the way to make these jails desirable so that millions would clamor to be locked up." —Richard Stallman

[ntakasaki]

What is more open, a Chromebook or a Windows laptop or a Macbook?

I would think a Windows laptop or a Macbook because the users and developers can install or develop any application, yet we have everyone singing the praises of heavily DRM'ed and locked up Chromebooks and iPads. Sometimes I feel it's more about Microsoft hate than about a free computing environment. At least RMS is consistent and is less prone to company fanboyism than the tech crowd.

[eveningcoffee]

I think he was talking about iPhones and iPads that helped to create a marked for locked down hardware systems where nor developers of the software and users of the software have no say.

[ntakasaki]

>where nor developers of the software and users of the software have no say.

The Chromebook is actually worse, since the iDevices at least give you access to run native applications even if they have to be approved by Apple. On a Chromebook, native applications can only be made by Google.

[eveningcoffee]

Fair enough, but Apple (Jobs) started this madness.

[pain]

Basic needs mad to map?

If madmess means objectification relation issues, are object-relational pattern mapping recognition issues, then we need to address roots causes of offense being made (said infosec minus madus emosec) from the office of authority over self copy.

Systems thinking rarely accounts for system feeling (https://fb.com/groups/roboswears/permalink/574282622692010). Social contract terms can evolve past pleasure-trauma-based war compeatition business forms of safety, to register mental health as material health, user rights as business rights.

Data-legal-rational-emotional-empathic business terms are missing.

Our software and our hardware is taking turns at manipulating real physical and emotional problems by forgetting how many hands it takes to move a machine, and putting a dress over working parts, to light a figurine of determination that barely speaks without hurting.

Even Steve Jobs had to beat odds that respect objectification before emotional development, coming from acid trips wiring depth to doing ACID tests just to pass text notes, we live with tools that we want to share to help, but business terms are designed to define us as without legal-rational-medical parity to corporal hierachies of need.

[castratikron]

Chromebooks are locked up now? I thought you could install your own Linux on them. Don't some even use coreboot?

[ntakasaki]

You can install Linux on Windows PCs without even needing to developer unlock, doesn't that mean they're as open as Chroembooks. Not to mention things like if the battery goes completely dead on some Chromebooks, Linux is completely wiped along with the data and replaced by ChromeOS. Also have to press Ctrl-D past a vscary warning on every single boot on some Chromebooks or flash a new bios.

Can Mozilla make a Firefox for ChromeOS? How many Chromebooks that are being dumped in the education space are having Linux installed on them? Google has root on ChromeOS and the user doesn't. The whole purpose of them is to force the user into uploading all their data into Google's cloud. That's why even a $1400 machine has a paltry 64GB of storage but comes free with a few years of 1TB space on Google Drive.

[joosters]

Unfortunately you can only install Linux on some of them.