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Ubuntu, non-advertisements, and spywareUbuntu, non-advertisements, and spywarePosted Dec 13, 2012 14:30 UTC (Thu) by wagerrard (subscriber, #87558)Parent article: Ubuntu, non-advertisements, and spyware
I wonder if the mainstream community shares the worry prompted by things like Ubuntu's Amazon feature.
As the community labors to expand the use of Linux, something Ubuntu does more successfully than others, it's inevitable that many of those new users will not share, and will not want to share, or even be aware of, the values of "the community". They won't be concerned about Ubuntu's Amazon hook. For many (most?) people, the computing experience is almost entirely comprised of interaction with services like Amazon, Google, Facebook, etc., via browsers and assorted tablet and phone apps. People may or may not be aware of the data retained by these services. But, they certainly do not seem less inclined to use them. Just the opposite.
I think it is as unrealistic to expect people to avoid using services or software they like just because the data they generate is recorded by third parties as it is to expect people to stop using telephones because their provider tracks and records the numbers they call.
Privacy issues -- especially the creation of data pools potentially susceptible to future abuse by new actors -- are real. As Linux attracts new users, the percentage who worry about those issues enough to change how they use their software will shrink. I.e., the Linux community will be dominated by users with little or no interests in the ideological pursuits of the current "community", however relevant.
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Ubuntu, non-advertisements, and spyware Posted Dec 13, 2012 15:51 UTC (Thu) by seyman (subscriber, #1172) [Link]
> I wonder if the mainstream community shares the worry prompted by things like Ubuntu's Amazon feature.
I suspect the reaction will be the same one as with security issues. Nobody will care (and may even attack the people voicing their concerns) until it comes back to bite them in the leg, at which point it will become a critical issue which must be taken care of immediately.
Ubuntu, non-advertisements, and spyware Posted Dec 13, 2012 16:05 UTC (Thu) by pboddie (subscriber, #50784) [Link]
The more interesting questions concern themselves with matters such as whether people who start to use something like Ubuntu should be made aware of the issues that brought about its development, and whether such projects should pander to the priorities of the indifferent masses.
However, it is very likely that the indifferent masses are only indifferent because they simply aren't aware of the issues in many situations. Once aware of the way their private data is treated or how their own property is considered an asset of their operating system vendor, it is also likely that many people do want to know more about things like software freedom, privacy, data preservation, and control over their own hardware.
If people don't want to know about ethical matters, there's nothing to stop them from using something like Ubuntu, but we shouldn't just assume that people don't or won't care about such things, nor should we be so intent on replicating the success of Apple or Microsoft that we end up becoming just like them. Those calling Stallman "childish" are probably amongst those who like thinking about "success" and "winning" (and blogging about it all the time), but if Ubuntu "wins" by being Microsoft by another name, the community and the public won't be among the winners.
(And claiming that Stallman tries to forbid people from doing things is all very well, but Microsoft more effectively forbids people from not being obliged to buy their products when buying a new computer. Maybe people making such claims should get their priorities straight.)
Ubuntu, non-advertisements, and spyware Posted Dec 13, 2012 17:32 UTC (Thu) by wagerrard (subscriber, #87558) [Link]
I know plenty of people who are quite aware of what happens to the data they generate online and are not at all exercised by this issue. While they aren't about to start posting PIN's and bank account numbers, they don't care if Microsoft/Google/Amazon/Ubuntu/whoever knows that someone at their IP address bought something online. The potential downside loses to the actual upside. They use plastic to buy everything, loyalty cards at groceries, get photographed driving through intersections, know Google is trolling our email for ad placements, etc., etc. They aren't interested in the remedies RMS suggests, which amount to withdrawing from all of this activity. People are not interested in becoming the Virtual Amish.
Ubuntu, non-advertisements, and spyware Posted Dec 13, 2012 18:10 UTC (Thu) by seyman (subscriber, #1172) [Link]
> They aren't interested in the remedies RMS suggests
I don't think we've read the same blog post. RMS clearly states that the appropriate remedy is to make the dash search local by default.
Ubuntu, non-advertisements, and spyware Posted Dec 14, 2012 9:31 UTC (Fri) by SiB (subscriber, #4048) [Link]
> ... they don't care ...
That is the core of the problem.
Ubuntu, non-advertisements, and spyware Posted Dec 14, 2012 9:42 UTC (Fri) by hugoroy (subscriber, #60577) [Link]
Maybe ignorance/transparency is the real problem. Canonical should be more informative about the "feature" when users install/update Ubuntu. There are ways to make Privacy policies understandable. Their current legal notice, see http://lwn.net/Articles/528810/ with the link to the lenghty Canonical privacy policy, is NOT helping users understand what the issue is.
Ubuntu, non-advertisements, and spyware Posted Dec 17, 2012 0:04 UTC (Mon) by dirtyepic (subscriber, #30178) [Link]
Which problem would that be? Google knows I'm reading a book? My (or your) government knows I bought a movie last week? I honestly don't care. Letting businesses know what things I like means they're more likely to continue making them. If the government wants to know what you're up to they have far easier ways to do it than scraping together bits of Amazon data.
Ubuntu, non-advertisements, and spyware Posted Dec 20, 2012 21:30 UTC (Thu) by JanC_ (guest, #34940) [Link]
I'm sure you would care more if you were one of the Syrian bloggers who got jailed & tortured because of what they read/wrote online...
Ubuntu, non-advertisements, and spyware Posted Dec 21, 2012 22:30 UTC (Fri) by Max.Hyre (subscriber, #1054) [Link] Letting businesses know what things I like means they're more likely to continue making them.A minor quibble: they know what you like because you bought it. They don't need to know it's you that bought it, though, to get the signal to keep making them.
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