this post was submitted on 29 Dec 2025
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The line between helpful tech and quiet surveillance is blurring — and our devices no longer feel fully under our control.

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[–] FaeriesWearBoots@sopuli.xyz 171 points 22 hours ago (6 children)

people are experiencing innovation fatigue

What innovation? The user experience hasn't undergone significant innovation (improvement) in the last decade

[–] Broadfern@lemmy.world 77 points 19 hours ago

It’s enshittification fatigue, not innovation.

[–] Lfrith@lemmy.ca 66 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Innovative data collection for the shareholders so the line goes up!

[–] TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 41 points 20 hours ago

Don't forget all the innovative ways they've found to make it harder to repair "your" device.

[–] Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 12 points 20 hours ago

Exactly. I almost feel like many are hungry for something new and different. So much so, that you give them something completely useless like an Ai widget, and they are willing to accept it to scratch an innovation itch.

[–] ms_lane@lemmy.world 6 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

Forced 'innovation' see-

  • Windows 8/10/11

  • Gnome 3

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 7 points 12 hours ago

There's no forced Gnome 3 (and it's not been called that for a long time either), because you choose to install it, have the freedom to install anything else you want, and can customise it infinitely if you so choose.

Besides, Gnome is great. Maybe you don't like it, but it seems odd to say that the way Linus Torvalds uses Linux is the "wrong" way to use Linux.

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[–] saltesc@lemmy.world 5 points 19 hours ago (3 children)

There's kind of been an increase in things being more accessible and usable by the standard user where previously they would need to be quite savvy or know a language.

But, yeah, I can't think of much else. Not user-based tech anyway. Just the usual insignificant increases and a bunch of bullshit no one asked for and actually ends up using, but has to pay for.

I think smartphones are an excellent example. Most people wouldn't notice the differences between a second-hand $150 Samsung Galaxy from five years ago, and the latest flagship for 10× the price. The innovation is almost entirely unnoticeable.

[–] mycodesucks@lemmy.world 15 points 17 hours ago

In many cases that accessibility is a full-on neutered replacement for a previous system that offered more user control and customizability, removing options from power users, so one man's progress is another man's step backwards.

[–] Blackfeathr@lemmy.world 7 points 18 hours ago

As someone with a second hand Galaxy from seven years ago, yeah there's not really much difference. Newer phones are slightly more annoying to use, actually.

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[–] scripthook@lemmy.world 73 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

I installed Lubuntu on my Microsoft Surface 2 and my custom PC from 2014 that couldn’t get upgraded to windows 11 due to lack of a tpm chip. We don’t need better hardware, we need better operating systems. We need more Linux.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 21 points 18 hours ago (12 children)

We need more real Linux -- GNU/Linux, with compliant copyleft licensing -- not Tivoized crap like they put on TVs.

Roku OS, Amazon Fire OS, Tizen (Samsung TV OS), etc. -- all technically Linux, but you wouldn't know it because they've systematically butchered them to destroy everything that made Linux good (the users' freedom).

[–] Sightline@lemmy.world 39 points 18 hours ago (9 children)

What's the point of being so pedantic?, they were obviously not advocating for more Roku installs.

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[–] nymnympseudonym@piefed.social 40 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

I have a computer capable of outputting video like 5 different ways: over the internet, near-field EM, HDMI, yadda

I just want a fucking standards compatible dumb screen

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[–] tyrant@lemmy.world 31 points 21 hours ago (4 children)

This is where the Linux and self hosting people chime in.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 34 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (3 children)

I get tut-tutted by other Linux nerds for this a lot, but I think Linux is impersonal in a different way because it simply demands more of the user. Sure, it gives freedom, but that freedom comes with responsibility, and a lot of people just are like "ain't nobody got time for that!" Which I think is a valid way to feel.

[–] CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 19 hours ago

I've been a developer for decades. I've contributed to FOSS code and do a lot of my own development.

I just want a desktop that works. No fuss.

Yes I could compile my own x11 (and have) but I would rather spend my time doing my own shit than trying to stand up a new VM for some edge issue I'm having.

Just...just give me a UI I can use.

It's why I use Ubuntu.

[–] tyrant@lemmy.world 7 points 18 hours ago

Linux has come a long way though and it's basically turn key for some distros. Even with flatpak or system catalogs built into the gui.

[–] Damage@slrpnk.net 7 points 11 hours ago
[–] TeamAssimilation@infosec.pub 22 points 21 hours ago (11 children)

Self hosting doesn’t make you immune, though. See how Plex evolved, for example. Self hosting plus free software that isn’t abandoned or compromised is the way, but idealistic developers need to take bread to the table too.

So the way maybe is self-hosted + libre software + a non-profit supporting the project. And that can too be corrupted, for example, the Mozilla Foundation and Google’s influence.

Always be ready to migrate.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 11 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

This is why permissive licensing isn't good enough; copyleft is essential. (And not just GPLv2 copyleft, but copyleft with anti-tivoization and cloud loophole protection as well, such as AGPLv3.) Every part of the system -- the tech itself, the management, and the legal/business structure -- has to be designed to resist being subverted against the user.

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[–] Fizz@lemmy.nz 17 points 21 hours ago

Oh yeah linux people have been building like crazy these past 10 years.

Sometimes the user experience is so slick its boring. But the great past of.linux is even when the usage is simple I can always tweak it or modify it to my exact liking.

On Mac it either works nicely or I'm fucked.

[–] Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 4 points 20 hours ago

They've been really holding back until now.

[–] BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 29 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

The poor user experience is intentional. Compare FireTV to AppleTV. Everything about FireTV is carefully designed to coerce you into spending money. Easy access to the content you already have doesn’t make money, so the UX serves Amazon, not you. Apple does it, too, but with a more subtlety.

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[–] xep@discuss.online 19 points 17 hours ago (8 children)

I've been considering using my phone only for tethering, and doing anything on the go on a ultraportable Linux laptop. If anyone is doing this already, I'd love to hear about your experience.

[–] eleitl@lemmy.zip 4 points 12 hours ago

I tether my GOS tablet. I currenly don't use a notebook privately, only a desktop.

You need a generous data plan, or never install system updates but on WiFi.

[–] 2910000@lemmy.world 4 points 17 hours ago

I'm working towards something like that. I'm hoping to ultimately drop the smartphone altogether, and I've set my current phone's end of life (2027ish?) as the goal.
I think the other thing that's necessary to keep the same sense of connectedness is a device to receive notifications, and I have an open source smartwatch I want to program for that. I've been working on a notification server too (kind of like Gotify), but at the moment it's a work in progress

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[–] BackgrndNoize@lemmy.world 16 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

You don't even hold the hardware if it's not user repairable, customizable or upgradable

[–] ngdev@lemmy.zip 8 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

how big would a gpu need to be to be user repairable lmao

[–] mycodesucks@lemmy.world 13 points 17 hours ago

Repairability isn't about the physical realities of executing the repair - that's a user end problem to be solved and people are often eager to tackle those.

It's about the manufacturer not being allowed to explicitly make design decisions that make it intentionally harder to do so than is strictly necessary as a side effect of the basic design.

[–] BackgrndNoize@lemmy.world 6 points 14 hours ago

I'm taking at a device level not at a component level, think mackbook vs framework laptop

[–] Puddinghelmet@lemmy.world 11 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

Repost: The power and influence of billionaire tech companies over the government is enormous. Ofcourse workers/users don't get any (privacy) rights in america, none is lobbying for them lol, nobody in Washington is fighting for us

  • A measure you would normally impose on convicted criminals or terrorist leaders is now being used by the U.S. against these three people:
    • former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, who was responsible for European legislation including on social media;
    • Imran Ahmed, who researches online hate, A US judge has temporarily blocked the detention of British social media campaigner Imran Ahmed, who took legal action against the US government over having his visa removed. Mr Ahmed, a US permanent resident, had warned that being detained and possibly deported would tear him away from his American wife and child. 😳;
    • and Clare Melford, who maps disinformation with her organization.

All three are now banned from entering the United States because they criticize and restrict American social media platforms such as X and Facebook.

[–] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 6 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

their power and influence wont stop 100 million people breaking down their gates, grabbing them out of their beds, and throwing them into woodchippers.

[–] Asfalttikyntaja@sopuli.xyz 5 points 3 hours ago

I’m holding my breath, do it quickly.

[–] mrmaplebar@fedia.io 10 points 18 hours ago

The supreme irony of that message coming from Windows Central...

[–] skisnow@lemmy.ca 10 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

The more Windows tries to manage my files for me the less I’m able to find where anything is.

I wish Windows 2000 still ran modern games.

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 14 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (2 children)

Linux does. Not all, but a lot, and more every day.

It's been years now, and it still hits me sometimes how insanely nice it is that my computers now work the way I want them to.

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[–] Wigglesworth@retrolemmy.com 10 points 15 hours ago

Have the day you paid for.

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 9 points 12 hours ago

Because soulless ghouls can only pretend to be human.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 8 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I watched something on Netflix the other day.

It immediately then showed an ad for that same movie I'd just watched, telling me the last day to watch is in a few days.

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[–] paultimate14@lemmy.world 8 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

Sure, I might own the hardware

Not for long. The goal seems to be to make RAM, flash memory, and GPU's so expensive that most consumers will need to purchase low-powered client devices and subscribe to cloud computing business models. It's a handful of companies who are cornering the markets, controlling the supply, and seeking rents.

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[–] Reygle@lemmy.world 8 points 1 hour ago

Laughs in every computer I own is Linux and my mobile is GrapheneOS

Cries a little for everyone else

[–] regedit@lemmy.zip 7 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

The more this shit goes on, the more I find myself aligning with the villains in James Bond films. Burn this whole system to the fucking ground!

[–] okmko@lemmy.world 4 points 5 hours ago

Moves hands up thighs Oh Mr. Bond

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[–] Mulligrubs@lemmy.world 5 points 1 hour ago

Our devices are no longer fully under our control, it's not a "feeling".

[–] Quexotic@infosec.pub 5 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

It's no coincidence that when I let the screen of my windos box turn off, it sounds like it's mining Bitcoin!

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