My feelings about tech industry's

[Jonathan.T.Harpur]

hello i have had my dell xps 15 2023 model for nearly a year in November but i have been Worden how long it will last considering all theses new copilet pcs and desktops it moved from apple mainly cases of cost and being able to repair my own stuff

But it looks like windows machines are going the same way it feels as is u need a account to do every thing on a pc or laptop and if I'm onest i am at the point of giving up on the tech industry as they seem to control every thing we do and owen on our pcs/laptops as a it technician i see there less and less we can do to fix and upgraded customers machines

what do use think or am im just over thinking ?

 

[dmr727]

Buy a Framework laptop and install your favorite Linux/BSD distro.

 

[cjsuk]

hello i have had my dell xps 15 2023 model for nearly a year in November but i have been Worden how long it will last considering all theses new copilet pcs and desktops it moved from apple mainly cases of cost and being able to repair my own stuff

But it looks like windows machines are going the same way it feels as is u need a account to do every thing on a pc or laptop and if I'm onest i am at the point of giving up on the tech industry as they seem to control every thing we do and owen on our pcs/laptops as a it technician i see there less and less we can do to fix and upgraded customers machines

what do use think or am im just over thinking ?

Well it's a bit of a mess really. Some thoughts here from someone looking from the other side of the void.

I have a high end Dell Precision, corporate issue. This is the 4th machine I've received. They all failed fairly quickly. I have no desire to use a PC laptop at all in future. They are hot and stupid.

As for the account thing, I have some worries there as well. My entire life is currently heavily embedded in Apple's ecosystem and this has a number of problems where my hand has been forced to an insecure default either by requirement or convenience. A fine example is the stark realisation that while drunk recently, someone managed to unlock my phone via FaceID and call a Bolt taxi to my AirBnB. They had access to my banking and all my data and files because of FaceID and the Files app being on it. I don't know what they did if anything but they are a good person so I trust them not to have done it. But if it was someone else or a thief things are different.

On top of that the upkeep for the Apple ecosystem is high. If you think it's bad I have 3 kids embedded in it as well. That's currently 5 iPhones, 4 Macs, 4 iPads, 2 Apple watches, 1 Studio display plus a load of extra faff as well. The money I threw into this is insane and I'm not sure I got the value from it. The MacBook Pros are very nice but the battery/top case combo is expensive to replace, the ports aren't great (no USB-A or DisplayPort) and the keyboard gets cranky after a year.

Further to that, there are some software problems! Some software I need to run is very cranky on macOS and some is non existent which leads me to having to run a PC desktop anyway.

Now the sign in thing is something you can work around on windows as you can install Windows 11 LTSC Enterprise via massgrave which does not require sign in. Office can be activated with massgrave as well and all online and cloud stuff disabled.

End game is a better platform for data security and ownership and hardware ownership is looking like a desktop PC running windows configured like it's 2005 again. No AI stuff, no cloud stuff. Limiting the mobile ecosystem reach and synchronisation is almost an essential requirement here.

As for what customers want, they don't tend to care. They just see the machine as an inconvenience or a tool and nothing more. That's fine but I think we need to move on past that as a society.

 

[drrich2]

On the self-repair and work-on angle, it seems building your own system capable of running Windows and/or Linux would be the way to go (definitely not a Mac). Where notebooks are concerned, the drive toward slim, light-weight systems with 'system-on-a-chip' benefits lends itself to a 'buy what you want, 'cause that's what you got' owner reality.

It's not so clear why you seem to equate the need to have a user account with 'they' controlling everything we do and own on our computers. The reality of computing in the modern world (e.g.: with online threats) involves a need for security patches/updates to various software (e.g.: operating systems, web browsers, anti-virus software, productivity app.s), which means receiving intellectual property from companies. These companies want to know who they're dealing with (e.g.: that they're not providing services for pirated software).

What's more, just as cjsuk described, many of us have a lot of our affairs tied into our computers. Automatic username and password entry, automatic credit card and address entry at some vendor webpages (e.g.: Amazon), various documents with sensitive personal information, while the extent varies, many people have a level of vulnerability, especially when a great many personal computers (Mac or PC) are notebooks.

I don't like needing to enter a password, PIN or use Face ID every time I want to access a gadget, but grudgingly understand why things are as they are.

What do you want to do with your computer that 'they' are using their control to prevent you from doing? Give us some specifics and it may be easier to relate to what's frustrating you.

 

[Jonathan.T.Harpur]

@

On the self-repair and work-on angle, it seems building your own system capable of running Windows and/or Linux would be the way to go (definitely not a Mac). Where notebooks are concerned, the drive toward slim, light-weight systems with 'system-on-a-chip' benefits lends itself to a 'buy what you want, 'cause that's what you got' owner reality.

It's not so clear why you seem to equate the need to have a user account with 'they' controlling everything we do and own on our computers. The reality of computing in the modern world (e.g.: with online threats) involves a need for security patches/updates to various software (e.g.: operating systems, web browsers, anti-virus software, productivity app.s), which means receiving intellectual property from companies. These companies want to know who they're dealing with (e.g.: that they're not providing services for pirated software).

What's more, just as cjsuk described, many of us have a lot of our affairs tied into our computers. Automatic username and password entry, automatic credit card and address entry at some vendor webpages (e.g.: Amazon), various documents with sensitive personal information, while the extent varies, many people have a level of vulnerability, especially when a great many personal computers (Mac or PC) are notebooks.

I don't like needing to enter a password, PIN or use Face ID every time I want to access a gadget, but grudgingly understand why things are as they are.

What do you want to do with your computer that 'they' are using their control to prevent you from doing? Give us some specifics and it may be easier to relate to what's frustrating you.

things felt simpler back in the days of xp 7 and 10

There was not need to make a Microsoft account to use ur pc or laptop and u dint have to pay a subscription to use adobe ect or for ur auntie various one u bught ur softwear u owen it but now adays every thing is like ur just lessing it from them u don't really own any thing apart from Ur hardwear u buy

I know u can bypass making a Microsoft account ect but u shouldt have to do on new machines u should be able to make a choice what one u want and it get hard to sell people on the fact the softwear that they use to buy out right now u can only use it if u pay a subscription service

I remember the days when u use to buy say a core i7 with low ram and storage and upgraded it ur self it made it easier on customers when selling them new laptops but now when u tell them that slowly being phased out and u have had over big money upfront that not a easy conversation let me tel u

 

[drrich2]

Things are definitely less simple. Kids growing up need to learn to discern scammer e-mails from legit, to know what phishing schemes are, too, on top of concerns about online predators.

Many of us don't like subscription programs designed to slowly but persistently bleed money out of us. Recently bought a new car and the company has that going on (e.g.: subscription-dependent features). I quit using Quicken due to their switch to a subscription-only model (I now use Money Dance, which is multi-platform), and I use the 'buy once, cry once' version of Microsoft Office.

I, too, miss for example mini-tower computers were RAM slots and spare internal drive bays were included.

 

[Jonathan.T.Harpur]

I'm planning on making a video on my thoughts it will b easier than typing