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@aral I thought the idea behind the Shopping Guide was nice

@gvenk It is. But it matters who writes the guide. A Guide To Healthy Living is a nice idea but not if written by Philip Morris.

@aral That's true

@aral Here is the EFF shopping guide: https://www.fsf.org/givingguide/v9/

@aral Oops, FSF shoppin guide ;-)

@gvenk Thanks :)

@aral I agree...

@gvenk Holy crap, it gets worse: on the page where they list the spyware that macOS allegedly comes with, the first entry is a third-party ad blocker. This is very sloppy. And it’s wrong. This does not make the FSF look good. I need to have a chat with Richard.

https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/proprietary-surveillance.html#SpywareInMacOS

@gvenk I mean, look, Apple is not perfect and no trillion-dollar company is your friend but for goodness sake, we need to be able to differentiate between corporations with different business models and lead people to the safer options when possible, even if not perfect. Criticise Apple on perpetuating rampant consumerism, on its opposition to right to repair, on not paying taxes, etc. But also tell people that if the option is between a Google Android phone and iPhone, get the fucking iPhone.

@aral I guess that depends on your priorities? There are so many factors to consider. For instance, what about purchasing to the company who evades less taxes?

iPhone is a single company business, Android has one core company but there is some variety of players. As an Apple user, you are stuck with one company (and we can see how for the average Apple consumer there is no way back). Android consumers tend to spread their money in different companies over time.

@gvenk

@icaria36 @gvenk On every Android phone, regardless of manufacturer, you sign into Google, Inc. Not even mentioning that people should avoid Android is unspeakably irresponsible.

@aral As said, a matter of priorities. Recommending people to buy an iPhone sounds equally irresponsible to me. Apple is as horrible as Google.

Plus, you put it as if choosing is an option for everyone. How many millions of mobile phone users in the World cannot afford an iPhone at all? Way more than those who can.

Anyway, no worries. I understand your point and I have no interest in defending Android / Google. Let's leave it here.

@gvenk

@icaria36 @gvenk I wrote this a few years back on why Apple is not just as bad as Google (on privacy): https://2018.ar.al/notes/apple-vs-google-on-privacy-a-tale-of-absolute-competitive-advantage/

Caveats: No trillion-dollar company is your friend and the true alternatives (if we decide we want them) will be funded from the commons for the common good and owned/controlled by individuals (they will be free and open, peer-to-peer, and interoperable).

Happy to leave it here :)

@aral @icaria36 @gvenk till how to say, two days ago Apple didn't allowed you to delete your account (trying for a few years). Now ok.

For a company that "apparently" doesn't care about your data was a bit of a contradiction. And regarding the propietary model, planned obsolescence, unreparaibility and uncompatibility, it's also not good.

But I understand the reasons for picking this poison in some cases. Particularily Android is increasingly toxic and propietary.