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Whatever you are getting your hands into remember that there's plenty of free alternatives and libre products available in the public domain. Supporting these is a good way to unsupport the closed counterpart.
As an OSS advocate, I fully agree. Sadly, OSS alternatives have to compete with easily accessible, slick and well-integrated products that are aggressively positioned. Just imagine all the steps you need to go through, just to install Fennec from F-Droid.
I just installed Fennec from F-Droid and it was like three steps. Search, install, and confirm install. I guess if I didn't already have F-Droid, it would be more steps to install it, but that's not too hard either, and you only have to do it once.
It's easy for you and me. But imagine you're Joe Everyman. First off, you need to know about F-Droid and where to download it. Then confirm that the browser can install software. And this is where I would imagine many users second-guessing if everything's legit. And after it's installed, you've got two separate app-stores to deal with. You need to know what you can install where.
If I extrapolate from my mother-in-law, who still can't wrap her head around the concept of an app-store, let alone alternative browsers, that's just too much hassle for most people.
Not so much ago i was handled an iphone and i had no idea how to unlock it and use it as there aren't any keys or instructions on the device. Joe Everyman is just used to it but in fact iphones are not easy to use. I think this really thread can also hint something, some OSS may not be easy to use or well supported but it is designed to be open and accessible. Proprietary software and standards puts you through a set of restrictions for example having to register and give away all your personal informations to download binaries.
Dude seriously. I use one for work, I'm relatively tech savvy and can intuitively figure stuff out. Iphones are obtuse by design, they want people to use them and get so used to them that they can't switch to other options. I've used other phones and other OSs and it takes me a little bit and some Intuitiveness to figure it out but I get there, it's been a pain with every single step for iphones.
I have had the identical experience; Samsung user who got an iPhone from work.
When I receive a text from a number not in my contacts there is a blue link prompt asking if I want to block them. However, there isn't any prompt to add them to my contacts. Doing that is two non-intuitive clicks away.
LOTS of things like that.
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Exactly
If you want to pirate, pirate. But there are plenty of free and public domain sources of entertainment and information.
Same with software. It won't be exactly the same experience but if the goal is truly an altruistic attempt to not give money to bad companies or avoid tracking or whatever... there are ways.
I pirate shit. I am not going to pretend it is some holy struggle. I want things that I don't/won't pay for.
I recently converted to Linux and am loving the FOSS environment. Together with my NAS which covers my "cloud storage" and media server needs, I'm having an awesome time not having to give away money and/or my information just to use my own hardware.
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Yeah it's weird how privacy and piracy have blended together over the years.
With some games you need to pirate them if you don't want a Russian nesting doll of launchers and accounts that are able to leak your information and fill your computer with bloat.
I do find the argument interesting some YouTubers try to make about ad blockers being a form of piracy.
"If you want basic privacy protection, you are a pirate and I hate you." - Linus Sebastian, professional L generator (abridged)
Not at all what he said, great “quote”
Did you lose your ability to recognise sarcasm, or did it never develop in the first place?
Of course that's not what he said, but the issue of web ads is much deeper than the ad revenue or no ad revenue question he is taking a stand on. It has been discussed ad nauseum by more technically minded people than him.
"I am a big dumb dumb idiot" - rtxn@lemmy.world
Don't worry it's not an attack on you or a lie about what you said, just sarcasm.
That guy is a fucking loser
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To be fair, it makes sense to liken the use of ad blockers with piracy. Consuming the content without paying for it either way, either without directly paying yourself or without indirectly paying through watching ads. Doesn't change that ads on most parts of the internet are extremely invasive and far too much.
I feel fully entitled to protect myself from the ads because of the problems with them. But I don't feel the need to lie to myself about the fact that I'm consuming content without paying for it in some way. Then again I support some content creators that I feel deserve it. Not sure if that helps offset it somewhat or not, but I don't really care that much either.
Please stop doing this. It just gives bad actors better tools to fuck content creators.
If ads arent chosen and paid to the content creators directly then its a damned cancer on the entire industry and you, by giving them this, are supporting wage theft at best and exploitation at worst
How many content creators have been demonetized for no reason at all yet ads are still injected into their content anyway?
Sorry for being angry about this, but if we as a whole accept this then we are watching enshitification in action and im sick of the amazing thing that is the internet continually get worse
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Anyone who considers adblocking immoral shouldn't block anykind of advertising anywhere.
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With some games you need to pirate them if you don't want a Russian nesting doll of launchers and accounts
I'm not a gamer but is this really true? I thought it was the other way around, that pirated games were the ones filled with malware.
Absolutely. Sure pirated games run that risk but communities are big enough to usually snuff it out quickly if it's a malware filled crack. Going through legitimate means a PC gamer is likely to have steam, epic games launcher, blizzard launcher, EA, Ubisoft, and probably more I can't think of. Many of these are clunky and slow and demand online connectivity or multiple sign in auths every time you just want to play a damn single player, offline game
Sure pirated games run that risk but communities are big enough to usually snuff it out quickly if it's a malware filled crack.
Big time. Even rumours of a repackers adding malware blow up on communities like this.
Core characters in the repack community also occasionally ask for and receive donations. I've donated to DODI, FitGirl, and Gnarly. Hopefully they receive enough to discourage them from anything malicious but they're also adored and respected by the community.
Going through legitimate means a PC gamer is likely to have steam, epic games launcher, blizzard launcher, EA, Ubisoft, and probably more I can't think of. Many of these are clunky and slow and demand online connectivity or multiple sign in auths every time you just want to play a damn single player, offline game
I purchased a Call of Duty title recently and that was a big thing. The amount of ads in the launcher was wild.
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It is not strange. They are greedy. Period. If ever someone is less greedy, then even if only after they die the corp becomes as greedy as possible, ASAP - e.g. Disney.
What's weird is that we are also hard-wired to be generous, so piracy does weird things to our conscience. If that bothers you, my advice is to learn to tip well irl, and in CASH whenever possible - the WORKERS deserve your aid.
Fuck tipping. American tipping culture enables employers to get away with paying their hospitality service industry employees starvation wages. By giving a big tip you are just telling the employer "Don't worry about paying your employees a living wage. I got you fam."
Obviously I still tip depending on where I am, but the minimum amount that is considered socially acceptable.
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You see, the paperclip maximizer is real. Only, it isn't paperclips. We are being compressed into currency.
What's more crazy is that the very ISPs that track all of our information and sell to the highest better are the same ones sending us letters and emails when we use torrents that they'll shut off our services if we continue to pirate movies and music.
Hypocrisy at its finest.
They have to break the law to make sure that you aren't "breaking the law".
Corpos are greedy for money and will attack anything that stands between them and it. That is until the Govt steps in, then the lobbiests fend it off with handfulls of money.
This is almost verbatim the definition of a dystopia, fwiw.
eta: the start of it is nearly a Black Mirror episode
to the point of being denied service
Yes. Spotify blocks my account if I'm using VPN, ChatGPT asks to solve ridiculous captchas (on a paid account!). It's crazy. Reddit blocks access if you're on the VPN and not logged in.
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Use residential IP and the friction stops
Worse is when you have to justify your view on privacy to family and friends.
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this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2024
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