They tried to destroy linux and free/libre software, and when that didn't work, they started cornering the market and pushing for a move from "Free" to "Open Source." They also support SaaS model, and have made it next to impossible to get a new computer without their mediocre OS. On top of that, their OS is full of spyware, and is starting to become adware too.

But that all pales in comparison to the fact that you do not own your own OS: you can run Microsoft's OS, but you can't modify it or share it.

Oh, and this falls more in the realm of personal preference, but the deliberate lack of customizability is a real pain in the ass.

4/10 OS, only slightly better at disguising its capitalist greed than Apple.

Louis Rossman is my Alex Jones. He's angry, compelling, and talking about something that makes him seen like a conspiracy theorist to normies. Unlike Jones, though, he's usually right (if not always, I haven't fact checked everything he's ever said). It's extremely cathartic to see someone use such extreme rhetoric to talk about privacy and software ownership and right to repair; e.g. it's not "advertiser's entitlement," it's "rapist mentality."

Ironically, youtube's inability to completely differentiate between people at the same IP has accidentally gotten my non-techie roommate into him too. I never shared his videos with her, never said anything about him, and one day I hear his voice as she browses the web. I'm so proud of her.

My least favorite thing about the "engagement friendly" slop in youtube's search results is that it takes up HALF of the results. Because clearly what I expect from SEARCHING for something is to dredge up a bunch of shit that ranges from tangentially related to completely unrelated.

For example, I too just searched a song. Let's see how that went:

7 results
4 "people also watched" videos
5 results
2 "More from [band name]" videos
2 results
3 "people also searched for" suggestions
2 results
3 "For you" vids (IS IT THE FUVKING SEARCH RESULTS I ASKED FOR???? BECAUSE IF NOT, IT'S NOT REALLY "FOR ME," IS IT?)
2 Results
3 "From related searches"
2 results

That's 20 results to 15 irrelevant pieces of ADHD triggering visual clutter. Luckily the results were actually relevant, unlike whatever you're getting.

To all the commenters saying "I have X, I don't have this problem": I have adblock, I don't have this problem, YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT:

YOUTUBE SEARCH IS BROKEN BY DEFAULT. The largest video sharing site on the internet is BROKEN BY DEFAULT. It shouldn't require extra software to function properly when functioning properly requires less work on the server's side

"I am a new linux user. After 15 minutes of research on google, I found a few forum posts and some niche websites that said SystemD was bad, so I took it as gospel. Now my system doesn't work as simply as it did with installer defaults? How do I make everything Just Work™ after removing any OS components I don't understand the need for?"

From Graphene's FAQ

Many other devices are supported by GrapheneOS at a source level, and it can be built for them without modifications to the existing GrapheneOS source tree. Device support repositories for the Android Open Source Project can simply be dropped into the source tree, with at most minor modifications within them to support GrapheneOS. In most cases, substantial work beyond that will be needed to bring the support up to the same standards. For most devices, the hardware and firmware will prevent providing a reasonably secure device, regardless of the work put into device support.

To get down to your actual reservations about privacy: when you flash a new Graphene ROM onto your phone, you're replacing all the software down to the low level stuff. The AOSP devs, google devs, XDA devs, and graphene devs refer to it at flashing the firmware. The only google code you're running is the Android bootloader, which goes for any smartphone.

Further, if you look into it, "Google" pixels aren't actually manufactured by Google. This means their hardware is about as trustworthy as any other phone's. As to why Graphene only officially supports Pixels, I do not fully understand their needs/reasoning, just that they have determined it is the best for them.

Basically my point boils down to: if you have issues with the hardware, the same should go for any smartphone. If you're bothered by google software, you needn't worry insofar as you trust the Graphene devs. If you consider the Pixels "tainted" by association to Google, then the same should go for Graphene and any other ROMs, since the kernel is based off of the AOSP—a google run project—and any android phone, for the same reason.

All that being said, CalyxOS supports a slightly wider variety of devices.

None. The sad, infuriating truth is that the makers and devs are a lot like this comments section: focusing on how good of a computer it is (or what apps it has).

You do a little digging and beneath all the hype there is a line buried in every review, so as not to raise suspicions, that says something like "now the call quality isn't perfect, but..." and what they mean is "it will sound like your friends are playing a full concert on a kazoo trying to talk to you."

Time and time again. Every linux-based, privacy-respecting, freedom-loving phone team out there seems to have conveniently neglected to make the phone good at being a phone.

"Hyperbolic" this, "logarithmic" that, I'm here to propose a radical new theory: all spheres are tasty, your mouth just isn't big enough to have the right tastebuds for the larger ones

Has any online leftist ever talked to an ancap? It's not that they suppirt oppression outright, just that they don't care if it doesn't affect them. That's why their ideology makes sense: they don't consider that they'd be the proles, they'd be the capitalists.

Coincidentally, that's why most authoritarians support their brand of oppression: in their specific genre, they're the winners and the losers can go fuck themselves. And no, they don't consider that they're just paving the way to their ineviable overthrow

Bluesky wasn't as confusing as Mastodon

I'm so tired of this bullshit. I went to the mastodon.social; clicked the big button labeled "create an account"; read and accepted the rules; filled out a form asking for my email address, a username and password; confirmed my email; and could immediately post.

How the fuck is that confusing, that's standard fucking practice. Jesus fucked on a pike.

Companies in any city when a square millimeter of building isn't covered in advertisements

What kind of horseshit twist is that? Are you literally 14, OP? "There's an immortality pill, but OH NOES 😱 it goes in your BUTT 💀💀💀!!!!" Have you considered writing for Black Mirror?

I'm taking it even if it's the size of a horsecock, regardless of which hole it goes in.

That's funny, that's what drew me to lemmy before the reddit exodus even happened.

Love how my identity is just wrapped up in the implicit category of "annoying political talking point"

Translation: "I'm terrible at business, and I'm making it everyone else's problem"