Coming to terms with no longer having privacy and control over my technology

I miss the days of VHS and DVD shelfs in homes, for example. If you bought the tapes and had them in your home, no corporate entity could alter those tapes without your consent, monitor how many times you watch them, sell your data to whomever they please without your knowledge, roll out new mandatory conditions to a 'user agreement,' or remove them from your library if/when they like.

I noticed some dumb change in how Dictionary definitions are shown in the Spotlight (ie, overall search my computer function) in MacOS this week. I've turned off all auto-updates, and I didn't make that change or consent to it. But despite paying the full price all by myself for this machine, I clearly don't have 100% control over it. It seems very clearly to me that consumers having control and privacy over their Internet-connected devices is a bygone era.

After Blizzard, the video game company, replaced copies of Warcraft 3 that I and others had paid for in full and installed on our computers that we could play without connecting to the Internet with a lower-quality copy that prohibited offline play - I swore I'd never pay for a video game again, and 3 years later I haven't backslid on that. I felt so angry, cheated, and robbed by that.

Many people probably won't be bothered by these things, but I am. I don't want to pay full price for something that I don't truly own. I miss the familiarity. I miss the reliability. I miss feeling like it's mine. Dependable. Trustworthy.

Picking my old guitar up again has never looked so appealing. I think I want to go back to investing more time, money, and energy into things that aren't connected to the internet

WolfLink ,

Buy CD’s and DvDs. Check if a game has DRM before buying it (or just buy from GoG where DRM is banned). Run some flavor of Linux.

mbfalzar ,

But if you buy from GOG, make sure it doesn't have DRM, because GOG has been selling a few games that have DRM for a few years now

DmMacniel ,

Hey Choom, privacy, security and the ability to be in control is worth fighting for.

I hate how short term profits ruin good things for everyone but stakeholders. But there are independent developers, musicians, creator in generel or those who sell their stuff DRM free. Those actual humans are worth supporting and following.

Also having a hobby, like learning and or playing guitar, besides computing seems like a really good ide.

GlenRambo ,

Just looked up some of the latest Movies. You can still get DVDs of that's what you want. Even in a store with cash.

Is that what you want?

How are you leaning guitar? YouTube, apps, enshitification sites full of ads? Or buying a book?

qjkxbmwvz ,

For the Spotlight issue, was this certainly a local change without consent, or was it a change in the way the query is processed on Apple's servers?

There is functionally no difference but it's a big philosphical difference.

helenslunch ,
@helenslunch@feddit.nl avatar

They're not gone, you just have to be more selective.

First, many of us have turned to piracy for this reason. I don't like piracy. I don't want to steal. But I will if they don't provide me with a legitimate and respectful purchase process.

I miss the days of VHS and DVD

You can still buy whatever you want on Blu-Ray.

I've turned off all auto-updates, and I didn't make that change or consent to it.

Bit of a double-edged sword there. Mac can make improvements and they can make things worse. The difference is often a matter of personal preference.

I have much bigger axes to grind with Apple, but I digress. Yes the overarching theme is "control" that Apple wants to maintain.

I clearly don't have 100% control over it.

Linux gives you all the control you could ever want.

replaced copies of Warcraft 3 that I and others had paid for in full and installed on our computers that we could play without connecting to the Internet

Pirate it. You have every right, far as I'm concerned.

I think I want to go back to investing more time, money, and energy into things that aren't connected to the internet

WHY DON'T YOU WANT PERSONALIZED ADVERTISEMENTS?

SkyNTP ,

Reject the temptations of short term convenience and adopt sustainable consumption.

Demand ownership of goods. Demand offline-first.

JubilantJaguar ,

IMO the "ownership" thing is a red herring. It has its roots in a specifically American obsession with private property.

If everybody "demands ownership of goods", that means we share nothing. Hardly a model of "sustainable consumption". There are loads of examples of redundant private ownership of goods. My favorite stat: the average electric drill is used for 7 minutes in its entire life. All because every household in every building on every street must have its own one, instead of us finding a way to share them.

In the context of digital "goods", "ownership" really just means control. I wish we would use that word instead.

brbposting ,

“How many of you own a power drill?” Rachel Botsman, the author of the book The Rise Of Collaborative Consumption, asked the audience at TedxSydney in 2010. Predictably, nearly everyone raised his or her hand. “That power drill will be used around 12 to 15 minutes in its entire lifetime,” Botsman continued with mock exasperation. “It’s kind of ridiculous, isn’t it? Because what you need is the hole, not the drill.”

TIL

swooosh ,

A new linux user will be born soon

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