I keep getting pushback on this but I'm gonna to keep saying it: We're NEVER going to free people from the clutches of Big Tech until we realize & respect that most computer users by far aren't actually computer users.
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I keep getting pushback on this but I'm gonna to keep saying it: We're NEVER going to free people from the clutches of Big Tech until we realize & respect that most computer users by far aren't actually computer users.
They don't give a shit about computers. They don't want to see a single line of code, ever.
They don't care about customization, "distros" or versions. They don't care about GUIs or desktop environments.
They just want to get to what they're doing; work or play.
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I keep getting pushback on this but I'm gonna to keep saying it: We're NEVER going to free people from the clutches of Big Tech until we realize & respect that most computer users by far aren't actually computer users.
They don't give a shit about computers. They don't want to see a single line of code, ever.
They don't care about customization, "distros" or versions. They don't care about GUIs or desktop environments.
They just want to get to what they're doing; work or play.
@jwcph "When most people buy a car, they don’t expect to have to learn how an engine works and how to change spark plugs. They buy a car so that they can drive it to get from point A to point B. If the car makes a funny noise, they will ignore it as long as possible. Eventually, it may bother them to the point of taking it to a mechanic who will ask incredulously, “How long has it been doing this?” And the answer will be something like, “Oh, about a year.”
The same goes for computers. People don’t want to learn about gigabytes and dual-core processors and security zones. They just want to send email to their friends and surf the Web." - Raymond Chen. -
I keep getting pushback on this but I'm gonna to keep saying it: We're NEVER going to free people from the clutches of Big Tech until we realize & respect that most computer users by far aren't actually computer users.
They don't give a shit about computers. They don't want to see a single line of code, ever.
They don't care about customization, "distros" or versions. They don't care about GUIs or desktop environments.
They just want to get to what they're doing; work or play.
@jwcph This.
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J jwcph@helvede.net shared this topic
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I keep getting pushback on this but I'm gonna to keep saying it: We're NEVER going to free people from the clutches of Big Tech until we realize & respect that most computer users by far aren't actually computer users.
They don't give a shit about computers. They don't want to see a single line of code, ever.
They don't care about customization, "distros" or versions. They don't care about GUIs or desktop environments.
They just want to get to what they're doing; work or play.
@jwcph@helvede.netMost of those users don't care about ideology or politics either. People usually choose what's easiest over what's best.
Friction matters. If there's one thing that matters in technologhy, it's friction. Entire industries have been created because of friction, or sometimes the lack thereof. One of the best tools to combat friction is throwing a lot of expensive non-developers at the problem, another is invasive analytics, user tracking and metrics-driven development. Open source developers generally don't have access to either, which automatically puts them at a serious disadvantage. This is a lesson that hasn't yet been sufficiently internalized by the OSS community.
There are problems that can only be solved with scale, centralization and analytics. There are other problems where those are much less of an advantage. Most OSS advocates don't have a deep enough understanding of the tech to understand which is which, and that's important for figuring out where the easy wins are.
OSS operates in "berserker" mode, we tend to focus on the next battle ahead above all else, even if that means losing the war. That also needs to change.
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I keep getting pushback on this but I'm gonna to keep saying it: We're NEVER going to free people from the clutches of Big Tech until we realize & respect that most computer users by far aren't actually computer users.
They don't give a shit about computers. They don't want to see a single line of code, ever.
They don't care about customization, "distros" or versions. They don't care about GUIs or desktop environments.
They just want to get to what they're doing; work or play.
@jwcph This is why most open source projects fail in the long run. These devs simply don't care about the everyday user. I'm sick of having to install endless packages and get errors just trying to get a new project I like working.
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I keep getting pushback on this but I'm gonna to keep saying it: We're NEVER going to free people from the clutches of Big Tech until we realize & respect that most computer users by far aren't actually computer users.
They don't give a shit about computers. They don't want to see a single line of code, ever.
They don't care about customization, "distros" or versions. They don't care about GUIs or desktop environments.
They just want to get to what they're doing; work or play.
@jwcph is it possible to free people who don't understand or care about the nature of their freedom ?
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@jwcph is it possible to free people who don't understand or care about the nature of their freedom ?
@vladimirchicken 1. yes - 2. you're assuming that *your* idea of freedom is the only one that counts.
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@jwcph "When most people buy a car, they don’t expect to have to learn how an engine works and how to change spark plugs. They buy a car so that they can drive it to get from point A to point B. If the car makes a funny noise, they will ignore it as long as possible. Eventually, it may bother them to the point of taking it to a mechanic who will ask incredulously, “How long has it been doing this?” And the answer will be something like, “Oh, about a year.”
The same goes for computers. People don’t want to learn about gigabytes and dual-core processors and security zones. They just want to send email to their friends and surf the Web." - Raymond Chen.@TheQuinbox at least cars come with manuals telling you how to do the thing you don’t want to do and give you advice how often you should have done it! XD
I still miss that for any mainline OS/distro.
/cc @jwcph
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I keep getting pushback on this but I'm gonna to keep saying it: We're NEVER going to free people from the clutches of Big Tech until we realize & respect that most computer users by far aren't actually computer users.
They don't give a shit about computers. They don't want to see a single line of code, ever.
They don't care about customization, "distros" or versions. They don't care about GUIs or desktop environments.
They just want to get to what they're doing; work or play.
@jwcph Exactly. People want the computer as a bicycle for the mind, as Steve Jobs put it. A tool to accomplish other things with, not an end in itself.
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@jwcph Exactly. People want the computer as a bicycle for the mind, as Steve Jobs put it. A tool to accomplish other things with, not an end in itself.
@kevinriggle Didn't know he said that - If I ever get around to building an OS (I won't... probably) I will call it Bicycle
