Any alternatives to google docs/sheets? It’s really convenient for shared documents, and it’s the only thing (other than gmail) keeping me in the Google ecosystem

The ownership part sounds exciting to me as well, this is the first time I’ve heard about a coop. You also raise a valid point about it being open source. I just don’t really see it becoming as popular as bandcamp or Spotify, since for a regular consumer (who doesn’t like to hop platforms) I don’t think the features could be warranting a switch. I’ll definitely will keep an eye on this project though, I hope it takes off!

Interesting concept! Do you think there is a need to replace Bandcamp as well? To me it seems to be a better alternative to spotify, with a focus on the small creators as well

I’ll check it tomorrow! I didn’t think it would be highly useful, just sounded like a fun project!

I was using Lubuntu (and before, Linux Lite) on an old laptop, and they ran okay. Now I run a very barebones Arch, and it is really snappy, also the battery seems to last a bit longer(but that may be psychological). So if you are into a bit of tinkering, I think give Arch (or Manjaro) a try!

For me, it’s not only that it’s federated, but that it’s limited and kind of small still. It helps me curb my “social media” usage, since there is no limitless stuff to see.

Thanks! The difference in architecture didn’t occur to me, but now I see

What do you use it for?

Does it have a name?

Also, plants! While not the most useful, but they bring so much joy! And also they are in the middle between an actual pet and a pet rock so that’s nice

Why are those better? Is it that they’re simply more powerful? I was thinking of the Pi for the low power consumption.

Yes! The local government-operated bike renting service which I use reagularly just “upgraded” to only using QR codes for renting from being able to enter a phone number and code on the bike. Now if I wanted to switch to a non smartphone, I couldn’t use the service!

What else could one do to lower their expenses, do you think? Especially in a flat, it feels like I don’t really have alternatives.

Also, I would really like to get into self hosting, mostly for websites. I have an old Nexus 7 which I want ro experiment on, bit I might get a Raapberry Pi for a more permanent solution.

I didn’t even know that the thinkpad was such a popular choice for Linux, but I bought a used x121e thinkpad laptop a while back because I needed something small for school. Windows was horrendous on it, so that’s how I got into Linux! Even on this old and not very powerful hardware, Linux Lite and Lubuntu ran quite nicely, but recently I switched to a very barebones arch install which is very streamlined and lasts an hour longer than my Linux lite install. So even a shitty laptop will work very well (especially with an SSD), which is great for your wallet!

Thanks for the info!

Sorry I don’t know much about this. Why would it be beneficial to install this in addition the package manager that’s already on my system?

Yes, giving your data to someone is not necessarily bad. Consent plays a huge role here, and is why privacy online is a concern: people don’t really know how and to what extent they are being tracked, and service providers are not eager to educate them. The cookie popup for example, rather than being informative, is an annoyance at best. So I think educating people about security and privacy concerns online is a crucial component in being able to change malicious practices.

And yes, a decentralized internet would be great, but unfortunately to me seems like an utopia rather than a possible reality. You are also right about the services – in many cases the service is actually really good. It really is a complex question which does not have black and white answers.

Thanks for the book recommendation, I’ll look into it. And you raise some good points.

But, if we’re talking about motives, why would you question the motives of someone standing at your window, and not someone(or something) that’s trying to learn as much as possible about you online? (I was wrong before, I guess: the motives are questionable as well) Also, someone standing at your window is apparent. Using Google or Facebook, you don’t really see how much they learn about you, I think that’s what’s makes me the most unconfortable.

About my motives: First, I am not really a privacy nut, I just like to think about this stuff. I try to use alternative services, but still use Messenger because all my friends do. And I don’t want to be so private, I just want to be private. I think privacy is important to think about because it’s useful to understand the services and platforms millions of people use, and how they can maybe misuse the power they wield. So no, I don’t really put much effort into it, and I don’t think I should, I think regulators should hold the services that essentially spy on people accountable. I don’t want to always hop on the next, most secure platform or app, I just want to be able to use programs which treat their users with respect.

Why would it be suspicious? I think this is a question concerning boundaries. If privacy is the right to self, privacy is something that defines the boundary between a person and the outside world. To excercise the right to decide what others know about you means to define time and time again what is inside (or part of) your private life and what is outside it. (of course, this is a fuzzy boundary) And for someone else to learn information about you without your permission is at most a forceful destruction or at least a complete disregard of that boundary. A house is like this “self”, or private life: Would you like for someone to stand at you window at all times, looking at everything you do, even if you have nothing to hide?

I think this is not about malicious intent at all. What I think Snowden and @ericbujis is getting at is that privacy should be treated like a basic human right and as such, should be respected without question. So you should have the freedom to divulge whatever information you want about yourself (whether online or irl), but only you should have the right to decide what others know about you. From this view, collecting information about someone essentially means you learn information about that someone without their consent, thus infringing upon their right to privacy.

This might be too black and white, since something like looking at another person in a shop and seeing what’s in their kart also constitutes learning information about them without their consent. But when this is done systematically, and with an intent (that’s not necessarily malicious) to learn as much information as possible, it seems quite problematic.

Thanks, I did not know that! Saved me a year!