privacy – Living Outside The Box

I’ve come to a logical but painful decision.

I’m not going to use software under Windows or Mac OSX any more. And I don’t really want to use Android, either.

After trying to get Windows 7 running in a virtual machine in Linux, I discovered that Microsoft now cripples the activation process for OS’s that aren’t OE supplied.

If I can’t get it to run in Linux in some form, then I pretty much don’t want to use it.

Here’s my dilemma: I actually have software that won’t run in Linux, that I use on a semi-regular basis (hence the reason I was trying to get Windows running in a virtual machine). In particular, I use HPTuners software (for tuning my car) and SoundTower’s Adrenalinn 3 editor. Neither one of them is particularly well written (they won’t run in an emulation layer because of weird UI glitches), but they cover a need that nothing else does.

I’ve been looking at other software as well- games mostly- that won’t run in Linux. Not even if I run Steam in Wine (which is a whole other dumpster fire).

But really, the kicker for me is music production software. There’s millions of useful programs I could buy for Windows or OSX, but that requires me also dealing with the horrific privacy and security mess that goes with each of those options.

I don’t really want to compromise my future security or privacy for the convenience of a nifty tool that I may or possibly may not use. Continue reading “Closed Software”

Most people’s opinions on anonymity are fairly polarized: either they love it, or despise it. And not so surprisingly, it’s pretty easy to guess which group has not the most to hide, but the most desire to find out what others have to hide. And as anyone who reads here should know, I value protection of privacy greatly, even if I don’t take advantage of it regularly for the sake of convenience.

The truth is, there is much more out there watching us than conspirators or the government. Every single thing you do on a computer is tracked and sold to marketing companies. Every time you turn your phone on, it leaves a digital paper trail. Your bank, your insurance company, your employer, your mortgage company, even your regular shopping trips, all track what you do.

So how do you balance convenience with security? Do you really want corporations, banks, and politicians knowing everything you do? Well, up front we don’t. But our actions say otherwise. Privacy, as we know it, is dead. Continue reading “Thoughts On Anonymity”