So, that Ed Zitron article is really good.
-
Mudlark :blobfoxfloofevil:replied to reverse colexicographic Nora on last edited by
@noracodes I think you might have missed a chunk of what he wrote about the average person using technology. Linux is not easier for the average user, there’s nothing more to it than that.
People for the most part use what they are presented with, and take the easiest path, nothing about switching OS is easy for the bulk of people. The Linux experience is different, but also poor for the end user, just in different ways. A lot of the problems with Linux usability apply to other foss solutions. Love foss, I think Linux is great, but he’s talking about the state of web and tech for the layperson
-
reverse colexicographic Norareplied to Mudlark :blobfoxfloofevil: on last edited byThis post is deleted!
-
Christopher Woodreplied to reverse colexicographic Nora on last edited by
It's entirely likely that I misinterpreted something.
I took part of your meaning to be that the linked article would be better by acknowledging there is an alternative to a low-end Windows laptop. That alternative is somewhere within the square bounded by points of low price hardware, Libre OS/software, spare time, and the skill to know what to do with it. Informing people about this alternative would have made a valuable contribution to the article's point.
My perspective is that this alternative isn't available all but a very technologically proficient subset of the population. At first I thought this was just based on spare time and skill level available for hardware/software management/repairs. After checking pricing and considering the real price of used hardware in shortened service life I also think that price point is a barrier here as well. There's a great deal of difference in a total package costing $350 USD versus a starter package costing $500 USD. ($150 USD is a month of bare-bones groceries for a person.)
With the Libre alternative out of reach for so many people I'd disagree that it might be usefully named as an alternative for people at the cheap Windows laptop price point in an article like this. (On the other hand I do think people would be way better off that way, as a different matter.)
Things I checked for pricing:
Buy a Linux laptop - Custom laptops with Ubuntu or Linux Mint
Want to buy a Linux laptop? The best preinstalled Linux laptops of 2025. Go for freedom, choose Open Source! ✓Free Shipping ✓14-days Reflection!
Laptop with Linux (laptopwithlinux.com)
Linux Laptops - Powered by Open Source
Welcome to the world of Linux. Available with coreboot Open Source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary OS, Linux Mint, Manjaro, MX Linux, or Zorin OS pre-installed. View our range of Linux laptops, including the StarLite, StarBook and more. Visit Star Labs for information, support and to buy now.
Star Labs® (ca.starlabs.systems)
-
reverse colexicographic Norareplied to Christopher Wood on last edited byThis post is deleted!
-
Mudlark :blobfoxfloofevil:replied to reverse colexicographic Nora last edited by
@noracodes the article is talking about the kind of person who buys the cheapest possible commodity PC and follows the path of least resistance -
I get what you're saying, but this most common user probably doesn't realise there are alternate internet browsers available beyond the default provided.I see his essay as more of an observation of the current state of things, and an explanation of why it's wrong, as well as a dissection of how and why it got to this point of user hostility (surprise - it's capitalism, he can call it the rot economy, but yes it's just capitalism performing as intended)
I think the action suggested by the essay is that first step of identifying that the way things are in tech right now are horrifically wrong and harmful for most users. it's seeing that harm, and talking about it to others (a lot of people, in and out of the tech industry seem to think things are good the way they are) - people have to know, first.
-
reverse colexicographic Norareplied to Mudlark :blobfoxfloofevil: last edited by
@Mudlark > I get what you're saying, but this most common user probably doesn't realise there are alternate internet browsers available beyond the default provided.
Totally! But again, I'm not saying Zitron needs to talk about specific open source software. Instead, when he, as you say, suggests "seeing that harm, and talking about it to others" - isn't it incumbent upon him to include the *only* existing intellectual tradition that actually engages with how bad things are, and how they got that way?
Or is "normal people haven't heard of it" a good reason to not tell them about it? Because that seems self-defeating.
