Comments
  1. You must read the article before you can comment on it.
    • chronotope2 years ago

      Even when the bullshit is exposed, nothing happens to these companies so that they would be forced to change dramatically. Worse than that, now they want not only to maintain this logic, but also to normalize it so that it cannot even be discussed. We are allowing too much power to be concentrated in the hands of a few people, whose ultimate goal is this relentless pursuit of money, not a human project for society.

    • justinzealand2 years ago

      The author does a solid job of documenting some of the most agregious obuses of big tech. That makes for an engratiating read. The author does an OK job connecting the dots to some of modern software’s shortcomings (ignoring how many of these complaints can also be deemed benefits). From there it’s a straight shot at capitalism’s failures. The bigger the claims, the less actual support of them — the examples become watered down to serve a narrow view of software, tech and capitalism. And to what purpose, the reader is left wondering? To hate on these state of affairs? Is there a tacit or encoded point of view of how to improve the situation? The article is interesting, but not ultimately very informative or indicative of solutions. Unfortunately, my conclusion is that haters are gonna hate. Let’s elevate the conversation with useful perspectives…or be satisfied with a moment to just point fingers into the capitalist abyss?

      • bill
        Top reader of all time
        2 years ago

        Great find. And really great comment.

        I nodded along through the piece (especially the part I quote below) but I also found that the nods weren’t all related, coherent. I wanted a single clear solution/thesis, but - for better and worse - it’s more like a smattering of frustrations.

        We need to remember that the business model of most big tech companies changed a decade ago, leaving software sales as a secondary thing, thus focusing on the use and sale of user data. To track every move we make on their systems, these companies use several technologies, which, of course, add complexity and compromise the usability of the programs. From food recipe pages [38] to operating systems [39], we accept that software is a compulsive collector of our personal data because, after all, it seems a small price to pay for having free access to these platforms. We forget that, by accepting such conditions, we are making ourselves not customers, but products, and this product is consumed by obscure companies that want to manipulate us in different ways, including not just marketing [40].