I have a security camera by a very popular brand, and much to my surprise, I was suddenly unable to use it unless I updated to the latest firmware.
The thing is, the update software said that I was on the latest version.
It took days, physical intervention with a ladder to gain access to the camera, and the company tech support, to force an update to the camera, allowing me to use it once again.
That made me realize that the expensive security cameras I’m using aren’t mine, and might as well be rentals. Because the company could, at any time, render my entire system useless unless I meet their demands, which could be a forced subscription or worse.
The enshittification of paid hardware has no bounds!
Brkdncr@lemmy.world 1 month ago
No one remembers how vulnerable windows server and windows desktop OS’s were before they revamped updates?
Forced updates are great. The internet is safer.
br3d@lemmy.world 1 month ago
This is a good point, but the issue is that vendors have abused this need by not just pushing security updates, but also regular rewrites that make the products more invasive/full of language model shit - Exhibit A being anything at all from Microsoft
Grostleton@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
or changing their product from a one time purchase to a subscription model, I predict there’s gonna be a lot more of that with this new forced app updates change.
Brkdncr@lemmy.world 1 month ago
You can’t maintain security and feature changes separately long term.
whaleross@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Security packed and system updates is one thing.
The constant reorganization of functions and apps and layouts and compatibility is a very different one.
It is a problem that the operating system is controlled by the largest apps and service company that make money from user data in various forms and keep pushing their business model in every device core operations.
And fuck fuck fuck that Google keeps trying to force Gemeni in every update. Let me keep using Google Assistant and stop making it worse by stripping out functionality or replacing shortcuts to Gemeni. Gemeni can still not do the very few things I want my voice assistant to do, namely set alarms and play music on whatever music streaming service I prefer to use.
octopus_ink@slrpnk.net 1 month ago
I remember how much it sucked when ignorant users ignored updates forever and MS didn’t really seem to give much of a shit about security anyway, yes.
MS is a great choice if you want to borrow a computer that someone else controls. Less so if you want a computer that is actually yours.
sykaster@feddit.nl 1 month ago
For most people it won’t matter, they just want something that works.
SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Until they force an update that bricks your device because they want money from you upgrading hardware
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 1 month ago
Debian: am I a joke to you?
(security upgrades are separate from everything else)
okwhateverdude@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Why did they write such shit software in the first place? No, they don’t get off the hook.
JustARaccoon@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Processors change, libraries become deprecated or vulnerable, design paradigms shift, and new integrations become possible that weren’t there when the application first launched. Should we blame old house builders for using asbestos when they didn’t know how poorly that would end up?
cygnus@lemmy.ca 1 month ago
All software is either shit to begin with or becomes shit when it gets big enough. If a Linux distro were forced to maintain as much legacy cruft as Windows it would be shit too.
Brkdncr@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Let’s look at your code from 20+ years ago?
sanpo@sopuli.xyz 1 month ago
Yeah, I remember, now we still have Windows being vulnerable, but in addition we also have untested changes pushed automatically to paying customers.
Forced updates are great!
technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
Forced updates a shitty solution to a much bigger problem: proprietary software.
Zykino@programming.dev 1 month ago
Are you the one user of this OS Server side? /s
Graph showing global OS Market Share for 2023. Linux is at 62,7% while Windows is around 25%. Rest is Unix and others.