I used to be excited about new tech and new gadgets.

@Em0nM4stodon same

bloatware, spyware, etc

I don't want to be that old person who thinks everything is getting worse,

and perhaps people growing up with this stuff crammed into everything will have a better view of it,

but it all seems so damaging to society with no upsides.

unless you are a billionaire who can consolidate wealth and power

@Em0nM4stodon We're also getting older (and wiser). SIGHHH

@Em0nM4stodon same here. Also new tech is not even that new, just old one repackaged with some little shenanigans added

@Em0nM4stodon I'm worried about old tech *also* becoming infested with AI too unfortunately. It seems like a lot of software or products that I had trusted to be a little better have given in.

* BeagleBoard
* OnlyOffice
* DuckDuckGo
* Startpage
* Gitlab
* Mozilla
* Phillips (mostly their razors, which have AI marketing now despite that not making any sense)
* Even fucking Encyclopedia Britannica has a chatbot on their website...WHY

@shawnhooper @Em0nM4stodon OR you can self host it and give MCP access to the AIs!

that way you both get the hurdle of self host and none of the benefits

for more like, share & subscribe

/jk

@Em0nM4stodon same, I really feel the approximate peak of modern technology in it's utility, ease of use, valued cost & lack of privacy invasions, was reached around 2000-2005 ACE. By then we had solid speech/talk to text software & hardware. Mobile phones, including smartphones were durable & had cameras or not depending on your preference. Similarly phones had GPS, & satellite or not. Screen readers were likewise fully developed.

Not everyone needs everything a piece of advanced technology & that's why I would love to see a renewed separation of different devices. Cheap mapping/direction GPS systems, separate from phones, separate from PDAs, separate from cameras.

Speed of doing every tech related task hasn't really changed for most people & if anything it's probably slower due to infrastructure decay.

*As I'm unfortunately continuing to consider which smartphone I should get over the next year & same for my spouse, it really hits me hard how it'd be better for us both if we could just get PDAs, his with a touchscreen & me with a physical keyboard that were 5g enabled. We don't make phone calls, nor answer them on the go & thusly don't need a mobile phone at all.
#Tech #NoGenAI #SurveillanceState #Innovation #Regression #DisabilityAccessibility

@Em0nM4stodon
In the 1970's Dystopian Sci-Fi BBC TV show "Blakes 7", the protagonists had a supercomputer named Orac.
One its abilities was to remotely access and interrogate any other computer in the known galaxy. It was able to do this because it was created by the Genius that created the technology that all other computers relied on.
I feel all gov't and corps want their own "Orac"

@Em0nM4stodon I tend to think it's not the technology per se that's bad but whose hands most of it is now in and their modus operandi.

@shawnhooper @Em0nM4stodon Same!

With Yunohost and similar tools it's easier for people to take back control of their data, apps and services, media libraries, etc.

Linux is getting stronger, better and easier to use. Not only for desktops,but gaming devices such as steam deck and -box.

Mobile linux still has a long way to go, but the progress is really promising.

Keet, Briar, Jami and other apps demonstrates the power of peer to peer and local first.

There's plenty to be excited about!

@Em0nM4stodon I cling to the belief that it all is phase that will fade away.
Too bad I'll be long dead when it does.

@shawnhooper @Em0nM4stodon with a slight cost of all your time sanity and money.... Worth it thought

@watchfulcitizen @Em0nM4stodon Great. I don’t have much of any of those, so…. Worth it!

@stovis @shawnhooper @Em0nM4stodon All kinds of great options out there to play with until it's time to connect them. Are there any Yunotrunklines or LibreISPs? A crowd sourced alternative to Starlink? Always seem to be playing in someone's pond if not sandboxed at home.

@Em0nM4stodon Agree

@stovis @Em0nM4stodon I hadn't seen Yunohost yet. I'm likely starting down the Proxmox/Docker rabbit hole since I'm already familiar with containers at work.

@Em0nM4stodon I wonder if the generations before us went through a similar development, just with different kinds of enshittification.

@Em0nM4stodon

Mullvad browser is new tech.
meet.nixnet.services/b
bitchat.free / Briar / SimpleX
Etc.

@shawnhooper @stovis @Em0nM4stodon I think that is the better way indeed. I tried Yunohost but it installs everything in the main system which limited me a bit compared to doing containers. Using podman now.

@rebtoor
@Em0nM4stodon
@BrahmaBelarusian
@TheNovemberMan

Oh, honey, you need more #SpaceNews in your life. There's all sorts of crazy stuff going on.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/584480/kiwi-photographer-max-alexander-turns-camera-on-planetary-defence-space-junk

@Em0nM4stodon

For new devices, I'm always searching through vetted makers and artists. The electronics from major brands all now have a direct network link to Palantir ICE Technologies or their 1173 AI datacenter partners.