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Date:      Sun, 20 Nov 2016 23:51:21 +0100
From:      cpghost <cpghost@cordula.ws>
To:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Microsoft announced it is joining The Linux Foundation?
Message-ID:  <ef3cd313-9d4e-090d-438b-783a3c5387b3@cordula.ws>
In-Reply-To: <20161120223714.c04ab707.freebsd@edvax.de>
References:  <CAN7_dzdQ9yQNdm5_FbqqkQdJPYXhcYzFMBiCZsPbDiUge7j%2Bmw@mail.gmail.com> <20161118113224.20964d7d.freebsd@edvax.de> <747a871c-4d34-7c06-0c04-4650f31bb6ce@FreeBSD.org> <14047.128.135.52.6.1479482907.squirrel@cosmo.uchicago.edu> <20161118165549.408e9a9f@archlinux.localdomain> <86zikv5mqu.fsf@WorkBox.homestead.org> <F6879306-CDDE-4678-B884-08F31730F5A3@shaw.ca> <5831FE03.2030207@gmail.com> <CAA14A86-63EC-43F3-A6CA-9DDA2DA39861@schamschula.com> <20161120222249.05a75d9e@moonstudio> <20161120223714.c04ab707.freebsd@edvax.de>

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On 11/20/16 22:37, Polytropon wrote:
> Home consumers are, yes. For those who need a specific software
> which is available only for "Windows", or those who are already
> affected by vendor lock-in (data cannot be migrated, programs
> do not exist in portable code form etc.), and those who are
> under strict requirements (see above) this is not true. With
> upcoming hardware configurations, that ability of choice will
> be harder and harder to implement (things like "Restricted Boot").

Oh man, how I grew to hate this discussion that keeps coming up
time and again...

We have a divided market here: a home consumer market with el-cheapo
motherboards that will progressively get vendor-locked down; and then
there's the business market where you can get pricier unlocked
motherboards where you can install any OS without any kind of
restrictions whatsoever.

Personally, I've given up on consumer crap entirely, except for
some rare exceptions. If I need a file server for my ZFS pools,
I'll get a *server board* (say from SuperMicro) with ECC RAM, enough
SATA ports, etc., where I'm sure there's no issues with BIOS/Firmware
and all this. Plus, with good ECC RAM, I won't get silent corruption
creeping into my zpools, which is un underestimated problem. It's
*that* simple.

And as to mobile computing, I *whished* I settled for a good
commercial/industrial ragged notebook that is fully compatible to
FreeBSD, but I'm still searching for replacement right now (running
Linux Mint on a Lenovo Yoga 2 because FreeBSD doesn't support its
Wireless Adapter). Everything else, well, used smartphone with
CyanogenMod... not *great*, but good enough, and tinkerable.

So, everyone gets what they're ready to pay for. We've been riding
on the economics of scale of the mass market for a long time,
but this era is over. Now, it's morphing into a walled garden, and we
professionals and tinkerers will have to pay for professional
machines (again). That's the way it is. Get over it.

>> If people still use e.g. a service provided by Microsoft, despite of all
>> we know about the Microsoft and Linux conspiracy/conspiracies, this is
>> another evidence for the conspiracy/conspiracies.
> 
> Leaked NSA material _proves_ the role of MICROS~1 within the
> spying apparatus aimed at people. But as I said in another
> message, they don't do it because of "pure evil", they do it
> for the money and influence, which is the driving force within
> capitalism.

Whatever. So Microsoft are in bed with the NSA? Regular users won't mind,
because the NSA aren't bad guys to them (seriously, if NSA provided an
E-Mail hosting service, that would be even better than hosting on Gmail),
and corporate users e.g. in R&D worth their salt wouldn't use Microsoft
machines, unless they want to share their data with the NSA and therefore
with their US competitors. That too is as simple as that. No need get all
up in arms about it. People and companies with a need to protect their data
already know what to do and what NOT to do. It's not like there ain't no
alternatives.

So, please, all this is a fight of the past. It's like trying to keep
up the dike while the water has already flooded 2/3 of Holland.

My 2 cents.

C. P. Ghost.




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