Or, and just hear me out on this one. Companies could stop using deceptive and predatory tactics to make a buck?

Yes, I think we all agree the world would be a better place with more honesty. All of us, except for politicians and marketing execs.

The desire for a lower friction less of a pain in the ass economy. The desire not to waste all that effort and energy across the whole economy? A sense of fair dealing and basic honesty?

Wonderful. I share this desire, but I'm a realist. Caveat emptor rings just as true today, as it did when first coined.

A desire to keep Mr. Haney from Green Acres firmly in the realm of comedic satire?

I'll have to take your word on that one.

What about "customer's responsibility to do some due diligence and educate themselves about company's offerings" strikes you as third world bargain tactics?

Hacker's keyboard is great when I'm using apps like ConnectBot. But, when I want to send an email or text, the swipe in Gboard works for me every ducking Rome.

The moment self-driving cars are ready, Uber will get rid of all human drivers

And, why shouldn't they? Better for them, better for the passengers. Win-win.

I doubt you're completely correct, though. If there's a market for it, they'll just have a different tier of vehicle, driven by humans, for riders that want such a thing. "Uber-H", or something.

Me too. I had a Pixel 5 for years. The battery swelled and damaged the screen. So, because there wasn't another phone (with a LineageOS port) available in the size I wanted, I bought another, refurb Pixel 5.

Two weeks ago, the battery started swelling again, so I just broke down and bought a Pixel 9. Awesome phone, aaaand I kinda hate it. Too big. Too heavy. Way too damned slippery (I hate putting cases on my phones).

What I really want is something the size of the old OnePlus X. That was a great phone (crappy camera notwithstanding). An updated model of the OPX, with a mediocre camera (to keep from having a bump) would be great, and I'd pay a premium price for it.

Fascism: You're with it.

Glad to see that /. is still good for the occasional and perfectly-executed Star Trek reference.

Way mo fire than you bargained for

I mean, you make a decent point. But, using the [I admit, arguably appropriate] term "luddites" just makes you sound like a pretentious, wine sniffing prick.

When AI throws tens of millions of people out of work...

You mean 6.1 million, right?

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+truck+drivers+in+us
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+uber+and+lyft+drivers+in+us

"Even my old mom has used it for over 15 years."

ok now that might be harder to do with someone who doesnt have a linux expert on speeddial. And i dont want to be that linux expert for my family and friends (sorry, not sorry).

When win7 lost support, i tried linux on the desktop yet again as i have since 1997. mint in this case. It has the same problems of needing updates, where people force in "design changes" a long with security changes. It has a lifecycle, and you will be told to upgrade to a newer release at some point. During those upgrades, things may go wrong, same as windows. Except i can tell my parents to call any independent computer store and have them deal with it. Not have to call in the elusive linux expert at hundreds of dollars an hour. they can use general forums and self solve, not have to deal with niche forums, and snarky attitudes from linux tryhards.

for me personally, i could have stuck with mint. i had to leave it due to bugs in games, and the lag of proton support to address those bugs. But having some small issue and being pretty much on your own to solve it does grate at the nerves. I just want my computer to work when i get home. I fix computers all day... and in the corporate world, its all windows. Because windows experts are easier to hire (plentiful) and cheaper to pay. The same applies to home support, resources on the internet to solve things, etc.

 

This is only any issue if you're nuking and doing a complete install. You know you don't have to do that, right?

Exactly. This is why my blood pressure spikes whenever I see some damn kid (#GOML) squeaking that "comments are a code smell."

The original point has been lost, corrupted into cargo-cult stupidity.

All this proves is that you don't know what woke means.

*smile* Heh. Ok, educate us.