#+TITLE: Reasons Not To Use Reasons not to use popular products and services, just like on RMS's website * Adobe uses the "software as a service" pattern which gives it complete control over who is allowed to use their software, and it can be revoked at any time, such as when a [government requires it](https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/7/20904030/adobe-venezuela-photoshop-behance-us-sanctions). With this licensing model, you never own what you're paying for, you're just renting it. * AT&T marketed "unlimited" data plans that were nonetheless throttled after reaching a certain threshold, for which they were rightfully [punished and ordered to refund $60 million](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/11/att-users-whose-unlimited-data-was-throttled-get-60-million-in-refunds/). Right after that, they [forced customers to switch to more expensive data plans without asking them](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/11/att-adds-10-to-smartphone-bills-for-customers-with-older-plans/), presumably to make up for this loss. Broadband connections in USA are in general expensive and poor quality, as a result of local monopolies and lack of choices for consumers. * Blizzard [[https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/blog/23179289/][banned a player from a major tournament]] for offending the sensibilities of the Communist Party of China by [[https://www.pcgamer.com/blitzchung-removed-from-hearthstone-grandmasters-for-liberate-hong-kong-comments/][supporting the Hong Kong protests publicly]]. Blizzard is partially owned by Tencent, which in turn is owned by the Chinese government. History shows that it is exceedingly easy to offend the Chinese government with Winnie the Pooh memes and other nonsense - we should not let oppressive governments dictate what we are allowed to express, especially abroad. * Google 's '"Project Nightingale" [[https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50388464][included buying sensitive health-related records]] about Americans who were not even notified about their data being up for sale or having been sold. Google promises that this data will not be combined with existing consumer data (presumably for targeting ads), but it surely will, and it will not be the first time Google has bought sensitive private data from another company. Learn more about degoogling! https://www.reddit.com/r/degoogle/comments/hx7895/success_stories_yes_it_can_be_done/ * Microsoft - uses confusing UI patterns to [[https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-users-fume-microsoft-wheres-our-local-account-option-gone/][coerce Windows users to create online accounts during installation]] - [[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jan/10/skype-audio-graded-by-workers-in-china-with-no-security-measures][recorded private Skype conversations and Cortana commands and shared them with contractors without making any effort toward anonymizing them]], or asking the users for permission to record them. Security around these recordings was nonexistent. If you care about privacy, never use any programs that send your voice through third party servers, in particular Microsoft's. - uses deliberately confusing UI patterns to [[https://www.howtogeek.com/442609/confirmed-windows-10-setup-now-prevents-local-account-creation/][force Windows users to create online accounts, instead of local ones during system installation]]. Making local accounts is only possible if you disconnect the computer from the Internet, but [[https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-wants-to-do-away-with-windows-10-local-accounts/][there are reasons to believe they will eventually force users to always use online Microsoft accounts]] for greater insight into their activities. * Samsung was caught [[rigging smartphone benchmarks, and reporting higher performance.][https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/10/02/samsung-galaxy-s4-class-action-lawsuit/]] The court ordered them to pay $10 per person, which is insultingly low. * Tesla can [[https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/6/21127243/tesla-model-s-autopilot-disabled-remotely-used-car-update][remotely disable many features of their cars after they're sold]]. This is reason enough to never buy them, as they can lose all value at the drop of a hat for any reason. * Spotify They convert individual artists and podcasts into major labels, then take completely control of the artist's content distribution system. The artist is disposable to them, the product they sell is the playlist https://thebaffler.com/downstream/podcast-overlords-pelly * Hacker News [[http://n-gate.com/][oh my God]] full of investment bros; I don't think I need to elaborate on the flaws and arrogance of venture capital * Facebook Propaganda, breeding social feedback loops, massive data collection, Zuck laughing at people who 'just trust him' with their data. Instagram, Facebook, etc. WhatsApp is less bad, but is inherently supportive of this ecosystem - and we have no idea whether messages are securely encrypted because they will never open-source the product. * Discord Substantial Chinese funding (meaning the PRC has access to decisions and content via board seats), no encryption, privacy policy allows them to collect any data they'd like. * Spotify They actively support DRM, a cause with good intentions (artists should own their work) but terrible impact (people no longer own parts of their computers). Spotify feigns egalitarianism by pretending to support independent musicians, propping them up in spite of major labels, but in reality these major labels leverage their distribution networks just as effectively internal to Spotify Spotify's unique value ad is their set of carefully curated playlists and recommendations - systems designed to promote Spotify and disposable singles rather than artists, careers and concerts. Their effort to incorporate podcasts into their platform seeks to assimilate podcasts into major labels or distribution networks, preventing them from using any other channels and forcing fans to pay for their distribution networks We need distribution channels that are artist-first https://thebaffler.com/downstream/podcast-overlords-pelly * Urbit http://distributedweb.care/posts/who-owns-the-stars/ * Amazon https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/202x/2020/04/29/Leaving-Amazon -- hating amazon https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/202x/2020/04/29/Leaving-Amazon https://sites.google.com/site/steveyegge2/blog-rants https://gist.github.com/bricker/cb811b3b86d767124801 [[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23262763][YCombinator thread]] https://www.freedomfromfacebookandgoogle.com/ https://rudism.com/quit-whining-about-apple-and-just-stop-using-them/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/11/how-i-changed-the-law-with-a-github-pull-request/